What would be cool is if WPTV aired the local storm stuff for people just waking up on this on 5-1, and then on 5-2 aired the national feed that the rest of us want! Don't know if they could legally do that, but why not?

WPTV?!? Are you listening here?

Adelphia SA8300 HD DVR box now has newer software.

For 18 months now if we tried to watch a HDTV program half-way through whilst it was being recorded there was an annoying problem.
It put you at the live position and then you had to rewind to the start.
Also, when the program ended in real time it booted you out.
Then you had to fast forward to where you were before or rewind
from the end of the program, whichever was closer.

Quite often we would just wait until the program was totally recorded
before trying to watch it, especially with 2 or 3 hour programs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We just noticed some new options on playback on our Adelphia box.
(The FLASH software version on our Adelphia box is now SARA 1.88.19.1 and not 1.87.X.X)
Now you can go to the “Recorded LIST” as it is recording a program and it will let you select the program and play from the beginning !
In addition, it will not boot you out of your viewing the recording
when it gets to the “realtime” end of the program.
This makes the box much more user friendly.

Not as friendly as a SD TiVo but you can’t have everything………

Anyone else experiencing this? Started yesterday sometime. I have the Radio Shack Accurian receiver and have never had problems with WPBF before.

Anyone else experiencing this? Started yesterday sometime. I have the Radio Shack Accurian receiver and have never had problems with WPBF before.

I had sound problems in general yesterday with a whole spectrum of channels through Adelphia’s service, both digital and HD channels.

Jon.

MPEPIN, yes WPBF is having problems.
Their digital signal is not being transmitted in the proper format.

I use OTA antenna and on a Sharp HD and Toshiba HD, they won't decode the video or audio.
However on a Directv H10 receiver tuned to over the air 25-1, the video and audio come in. But if you watch the 4:3 format when they are in SD, you'll notice it's not true 4:3. The black pillars are very narrow. So they are overscanning or something which is driving certain ATSC receivers crazy, like yours and mine.

I called WPBF spoke to eng and master control last night and at first they denied any problem but when they looked at the local news and saw the odd size 4:3 via their Adelphia feed, they said, "hmmm, maybe there is something wrong". (Later on I noticed audio was out of sync with video at times by .5 sec.)

We need people to call them but if you are in Broward or Dade they won't care and blame it on weak signal. Call 561-694-2525 and if the weekend, hit 25 for the newsroom. Then ask to be transferred to engineering or master control if eng isn't available. If a dozen folks, call they will take it more seriously.

For some time now PBF on both my MCE box with dual Avermedia HD cards and another HTPC box with a myHD130 card the channel simply will not tune in. However, on my 27 inch Samsung HD CRT TV with built in ATSC tuner, it does just fine. It seems like it's been happening for a few weeks now. I remember the last two episodes of Lost had a number of audio dropouts (always seemed to happen at key points in the program and never during a commercial - go figure). Oh well, I use Adelphia HD as a back up. Any ideas when it might be fixed?

Please see NR4P post and call the station as I have. The more that call and say that some receivers will not pick up the signal, the more likely that they will acknowledge a problem..........

Thanks mpepin...will do today.

While they fixed the 4:3 size problem, the digital signal is still a problem. Even receivers that can get the HD signal, find the audio does go out of sync often.

Call them during business hours, ask to be transferred to Jim in Engineering. If he's not there leave your name, return phone number, and the equipment/tv you have that is the problem.

They are collecting the info as the problem is driving them crazy too. But they need data as not all tuners are having problems.
And lets hope they fix it soon. Please call.

CORRECTION: Its Joe in Engineering

Not getting any audio or video on WPBF today, but the signal strength is just about at full strength. On a HD Tivo, and a Hughes htl-hd D* receivers. Anyone else seeing this with WPBF today? Hope they get it resolved for tonights NBA finals telecast. I can usually get WPLG o.k., but sometimes it is just a little too weak. BTW called WPBF's engineering department, and left a message for Joe.


John

I'm not receiving WPBF is digital tonight either!!! Don't it figure...I was really counting on seeing the Miami Heat play the Mavs in HD :mad:

Adelphia SA8300 HD DVR box now has newer software.

For 18 months now if we tried to watch a HDTV program half-way through whilst it was being recorded there was an annoying problem.
It put you at the live position and then you had to rewind to the start.
Also, when the program ended in real time it booted you out.
Then you had to fast forward to where you were before or rewind
from the end of the program, whichever was closer.

Quite often we would just wait until the program was totally recorded
before trying to watch it, especially with 2 or 3 hour programs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We just noticed some new options on playback on our Adelphia box.
(The FLASH software version on our Adelphia box is now SARA 1.88.19.1 and not 1.87.X.X)
Now you can go to the “Recorded LIST” as it is recording a program and it will let you select the program and play from the beginning !
In addition, it will not boot you out of your viewing the recording
when it gets to the “realtime” end of the program.
This makes the box much more user friendly.

Not as friendly as a SD TiVo but you can’t have everything………

This is a big improvement to the DVR. In addition to what you noticed, if I'm not mistaken, they also added a 4th Fast Forward/Rewind speed. I can now spin through a 1 hour HD recording in approximated 30 seconds, a big improvement.

Now if they can just mprove the program guide to have more TIVO like function........

I'm not receiving WPBF is digital tonight either!!! Don't it figure...I was really counting on seeing the Miami Heat play the Mavs in HD :mad:

Same thing here...no WPBF-DT, and I planned on watching the game in HD!!! :mad:
One thing I noticed though is that when I tested the signal strength on our HD-D*TIVO, the signal kept quickly flashing from 90 to No Signal on Tuner 1, while Tuner 2 remained locked at 90, but I still couldn't get any picture in at all from either tuner. I can't believe they messed it up and couldn't fix it on a day like today with the Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on ABC!!! :mad:

They screw up all the time. The season finale of LOST had major problems, the FSU/Miami game had problems. But some stupid Freddie Prinze Jr. sitcom will come in just fine. :mad:

Same problem here. I'm getting a locked signal of 92 on my DirectTV HR10-250, but still getting the "Searching for signal" error message. Why is this not a priority at Ch 25?

Does anyone know if the problem is confined to the HR10-250?

It seems to be working now. Must've got something fixed during half time.

Welcome to Palm Beach County Digital Television - "Where You Come Last!"

Over-The-Air broadcasts are no longer a priority to them. They do not make money on it. Most of their base, about 90 percent, watch via cable or satellite. We are insignificant to them.

I still have no audio on my Radio Shack Accurian receiver with this station. All others come in fine ( even WTVX ).

Called and left a message for them to call me back. We'll see what they say...

I also called and left a message for Joe in Engineering. I have Samsung SIRT-150 OTA only receiver (2001 vintage) and after trying a million new combinations, I am receiving WPBF 16/25.1 at 6 bars (ok). Yesterday, after the carrier only session, I enjoyed great picture and sound for a while, but then the sound went out - just short bursts of audio less than a word, for the rest of the evening.

My new setup, that allows 25 reception, is a silver sensor antenna, laying flat on the top of my entertainment center, pointed north, feeding a RadioShack amp at about 50% gain, feeding a UHF/VHF-hi/VHF-lo filter with the UHF going on to the receiver. I get 5, 12, 29, 34 with no problems. WXEL 42.1 has 8 bars but has frequent pixelation and sound dropouts. I'm only 6 miles from the antenna (and all the other strong Lantana antenna farm signals), so I shouldn't even need the amp, but without the amp (and the filter) my receiver can't get lock on WXEL. It has to be some sort of overload issue, but I sure don't understand how the amp makes the issue better.

I also called and left a message for Joe in Engineering. I have Samsung SIRT-150 OTA only receiver (2001 vintage) and after trying a million new combinations, I am receiving WPBF 16/25.1 at 6 bars (ok). Yesterday, after the carrier only session, I enjoyed great picture and sound for a while, but then the sound went out - just short bursts of audio less than a word, for the rest of the evening.

My new setup, that allows 25 reception, is a silver sensor antenna, laying flat on the top of my entertainment center, pointed north, feeding a RadioShack amp at about 50% gain, feeding a UHF/VHF-hi/VHF-lo filter with the UHF going on to the receiver. I get 5, 12, 29, 34 with no problems. WXEL 42.1 has 8 bars but has frequent pixelation and sound dropouts. I'm only 6 miles from the antenna (and all the other strong Lantana antenna farm signals), so I shouldn't even need the amp, but without the amp (and the filter) my receiver can't get lock on WXEL. It has to be some sort of overload issue, but I sure don't understand how the amp makes the issue better.

I live around Hypoluxo Rd. & Hagen Ranch Rd, about 4 miles aways from the Lantana antenna farm, so a decent indoor antenna is all I should need. I have an HR10-250 HD D*TiVo in our familyroom HT setup and an LCD flatpanel with an ATSC tuner built-in in our bedroom. I've used a Silver Sensor for at least a couple years now since I've had OTA HD, but when some dropout/pixelization problems came back recently , I decided to seek alternative options.

Here's what I found, and all I can say is that it's MUCH, MUCH BETTER than the Silver Sensor for those of us that live somewhat close to the DTV antennas, and it's only $49+shipping.

Now, we rarely get dropouts/pixelization, and all signals (5.1, 12.1, 12.2, 25.1, 29.1, and 42.1) come in perfectly with strong signals and little problems. Occasionally, we might have a quick pixelization, but not nearly as frequent or as bad as when we had the Silver Sensor connected. BTW - supposedly, according to a comaprison test, this antenna beat out many others including the Silver Sensor (look at the 2nd link for that test). I still have 2 Silver Sensors connected for my bedroom LCD hdtv, (pointing in different directions with a splitter), but I'm thinking of ordering another DB2 since I get frequent pixelizations (especially on 5.1 WPTV-DT) using the Silver Sensors in the bedroom. Anyone want to buy 2 Silver Sensors????? :D

Check it out at...

http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB2_Indoor_antenna.html

http://www.antennasdirect.com/HDTV_antenna_review.html

btw - I didn't "invent some sort of stand for it," as the comparison test article suggests. I just didn't attach it to a pole or anything; the DB2 is just standing up on it's own (it doesn't fall down) on top of our built-in wall unit (where my old Silver Sensor used to be); it's a directional antenna and can be moved around to be pointed in the best direction.

- Hypoluxo Rd. & Hagen Ranch Rd, about 4 miles away from the Lantana antenna farm
- Silver Sensor - some dropout/pixelization recently.
- DB2 - (5.1, 12.1, 12.2, 25.1, 29.1, and 42.1) Occasional, quick pixelization, but not as frequent or as bad as Silver Sensor
-2 Silver Sensors with splitter see frequent pixelizations (especially on 5.1 WPTV-DT)
-DB2 - a directional antenna can be pointed in the best direction.

I am just so confused. The DB2 says "15-30 miles" and you are saying it pulls 25.1 just fine without an amp. WPBF is 42 miles from me, maybe 38-39 for you.

My silver sensor (with an amp and the vhf-lo filter) gets all those channels, but I can't use the same antenna orientation to get both 42 and 25. Pointing to maximize 25 is overloading on 42. I have to point the antenna away from 42 to get a solid lock even though the signal strength is very good.

I really want to get the two Miami PBS and WB, and the West Palm PBS with all the locals (2,5,12,17,25,29,34,39,42). It is just so weird that I have the most trouble with a station 6 miles away (42).

My HD-TiVo recorded 30 minutes of dead air instead of COPS on WFLX-DT 29-1. Off the air I guess. :mad:

I am just so confused. The DB2 says "15-30 miles" and you are saying it pulls 25.1 just fine without an amp. WPBF is 42 miles from me, maybe 38-39 for you.

My silver sensor (with an amp and the vhf-lo filter) gets all those channels, but I can't use the same antenna orientation to get both 42 and 25. Pointing to maximize 25 is overloading on 42. I have to point the antenna away from 42 to get a solid lock even though the signal strength is very good.

I really want to get the two Miami PBS and WB, and the West Palm PBS with all the locals (2,5,12,17,25,29,34,39,42). It is just so weird that I have the most trouble with a station 6 miles away (42).



The DB2 (without any amp) gets all WPB OTA channels, including 42.1 in perfectly (when they're broadcasting properly; not the case this evening with 29.1 and the other day on 25.1 :mad: ) without having to move it around. Even my Silver Sensor (in our bedroom) pulls in 25.1 for the most part without too many problems, and their broadcast tower is located in Juno Beach or Tequesta I think. But with the DB2, everything comes in great with less problems, and most importantly, very little or no fiddling with the antenna...it just stays planted in 1 spot, facing 1 direction. It cannot, however, pull in the Miami OTA broadcasts from my location. For that, I think you would need a much larger, more powerful outdoor antenna from this loction.

I can't deal with the Silver Sensors anymore...I just ordered another DB2 for our bedroom. 25.1 was coming in perfectly downstairs in our familyroom with the DB2 antenna, while the Silver Sensors upsatirs in our bedroom couldn't pull 25.1 in, and I'm tired of the constant pixelization I get on 5.1 with the Silver Sensors. Anyone interested in buying 2 Silver Sensors???

I just ordered another DB2 for our bedroom.

I might have missed this, but why not just use the single DB2 for the whole house?

I might have missed this, but why not just use the single DB2 for the whole house?

HD-D*TiVo downstairs in familyroom HT setup and LCD flatpanel (with basic cable & built-in ATSC tuner) upstairs in our bedroom; not interested in running cables throughout the attic, walls, etc. Using 2 separate HDTV antennas is just easier and they were only $60 each shipped. :)

My HD-TiVo recorded 30 minutes of dead air instead of COPS on WFLX-DT 29-1. Off the air I guess. :mad:


Apparently STILL off the air too. 15 mins until the NASCAR race.

Anyone have a # that I can use to call WFLX to bitch and complain??

Came home from work and got audio and video..........

and WPTV is set as Dolby Digital but they have their receiver configured to receive the stereo feed, so what we get is only stereo in the left and right channels :(

I wish they could fix that, the hockey game sound pretty bland :(

Just called the newsroom of WPTV to tell them they forgot to flip the HD switch......AGAIN!
about 5 seconds later, BOOM .......HD back. Asleep at the wheel again! 2nd time in 2 days! Does incompetence have no bounds?

can you tell them to switch their receiver from stereo to dolby digital

bsgoren - most of my pixelation problems went away when I upgraded my antenna as well. Combine that with most of the local stations getting a bit better at the broadcast, things are looking up for OTA HD these days. I'm lucky enough to get both Miami and WPB from my wing antenna on the roof, so if one station is having trouble, I can switch to the other market.

bsgoren - most of my pixelation problems went away when I upgraded my antenna as well. Combine that with most of the local stations getting a bit better at the broadcast, things are looking up for OTA HD these days. I'm lucky enough to get both Miami and WPB from my wing antenna on the roof, so if one station is having trouble, I can switch to the other market.

I used to think the Silver Sensor was the best non-amplified indoor antenna. For quite some time, my H/DTV signals were quite stable. Then, they become quite unreliable and frustrating, so after some research online, I ordered the DB2 antenna, and all has been well again downstairs in the familyroom. :)

Then, I got the LCD flatpanel (with built-in ATSC tuner) for our bedroom, and suddenly our OTA signals from a Silver Sensor antenna about 20 linear feet from the DB2 antenna became completely inconsistent and unreliable; I was moving the Silver Sensor antenna every 5 min! :mad: The DB2 double-bowtie antenna has stabilized our OTA signals downstairs again, and I imagine the same will happen for our bedroom setup when I receive my 2nd DB2 antenna next week. From my experience so far, it appears the DB2 antenna is superior to the Silver Sensor antenna.

I'd use that antenna, too (or it's bigger cousins), if it did VHF as well.

Regarding WPTV`s lack of 5.1. The engineer assigned to that task tried his hardest to get it to work, but no luck. I have a feeling, until Dave looks at it, we will continue in stereo. Currently, the station management is more concerned with their internet webcast than HDTV. I actually think they have HDTV confused with HGTV. :)

What if I have you give them the URL to the pdf file that shows them how to switch their satellite encoder from stereo ;)

Thanks, go ahead and send the URL. I`ll pass it on.

I've been doing somersaults to get 42.1 solid (like my 19 other channels) and tonight it dawned on me that I have not ever seen WXEL broadcasting in HD, just SD. Do they ever do HD?

I've been doing somersaults to get 42.1 solid (like my 19 other channels) and tonight it dawned on me that I have not ever seen WXEL broadcasting in HD, just SD. Do they ever do HD?

Usually, WXEL-HD has some HD programming later in the evenings, but only on 42.1 I believe (not on their other subchannels).

I'd use that antenna, too (or it's bigger cousins), if it did VHF as well.

Well, I get 12.1 in just fine, but as you know, WPEC-DT is on the cusp of VHF & UHF. All other WPB DTV broadcasts are in the UHF range, so that's all I need. I do not get in any Miami DTV broadcasts.

here you go :)

Some background info/reading and where the pdf below comes from
http://www.dolby.com/about/news_events/dtvaudio_update/dau_mar2005_vol6no6.html

pdf
http://www.dolby.com/professional/pro_audio_engineering/5_1_implementations/NAB_diagrams/NBCBlockDiagram.pdf

then after that I admit that really doesnt tell them how to get it working, but just merely a diagram

Even my Silver Sensor (in our bedroom) pulls in 25.1 for the most part without too many problems, and their broadcast tower is located in Juno Beach or Tequesta I think. The 25.1 tower ( along with the 34.1 tower) is located in Martin County adjacent to I-95 just West of Palm City.

The 25.1 tower ( along with the 34.1 tower) is located in Martin County adjacent to I-95 just West of Palm City.

I was sort of close. Anyhow, it's strange that the 25.1 broadcasts are at least 40 nautical miles away from my location, and I've always had the most trouble with the broadcasts that are only 3-4 nautical miles away. :confused:

Anyway, now with the DB2 antenna, my HDTV antenna issues are all but resolved. :)

... it's strange that the 25.1 broadcasts are at least 40 nautical miles away from my location, and I've always had the most trouble with the broadcasts that are only 3-4 nautical miles away. ...


I certainly agree - I get all the Miami stations UHF and VHF from 40 miles to the south, 25.1 which is 40 miles to the north, but 42 - which is only six miles away, and co-located with some other stations which I get perfectly, and has good signal strength, - 42 pixelates about once every minute or two.

I live in Port St. Lucie and just rented a cable box for the network hD, When it works the picture is fine. I also have been told by D* that the local HD channels will be availble on June 25th, providing to get a new dish and receiver for those Channels. They agreed to swap one of my recievers for a new receiver and stronly suggest that I use a pole as opposed to the side of the house. If I go that way I will leave my existing receivers on the house and only change one for the living room. I have the r5000 receiver and as long as Mpeg2 is around their equipment is the best. I also bought a directional outdoor antenna that Terk said I can get two or three channels. (model hdtvo) But I will have to move it to get more that two channels. I have never tried OTA so it may be interesting if it works. I am told that I am 53 miles which did not bother terk.

I live in Port St. Lucie and just rented a cable box for the network hD, When it works the picture is fine. I also have been told by D* that the local HD channels will be availble on June 25th, providing to get a new dish and receiver for those Channels. They agreed to swap one of my recievers for a new receiver and stronly suggest that I use a pole as opposed to the side of the house. If I go that way I will leave my existing receivers on the house and only change one for the living room. I have the r5000 receiver and as long as Mpeg2 is around their equipment is the best. I also bought a directional outdoor antenna that Terk said I can get two or three channels. (model hdtvo) But I will have to move it to get more that two channels. I have never tried OTA so it may be interesting if it works. I am told that I am 53 miles which did not bother terk.I get excellent reception from all of the Palm Beach and Martin County digital transmitters using an attic antenna. As I recall someone in PSL reported the same results. Unless you have a metal roof or something unusual, you should not need cable or satellite for local channels.

Which antenna do you recommend? I did speak to Terk and they said two things 1. The directional unit hdtvo can only get two channels with one setting, and I would have to move it to get the other three. Based on the orientation of my home I have a spot adjacent to my dish to try it. I will advise you how I make out since I already ordered it. My zip code is 34986 at exit 121 on 95. I do not have a metal roof etc so if it works outside I can move it inside. I l live in a golf course community and they think basic cable and dial up is wonderful. Thanks

Which antenna do you recommend? I did speak to Terk and they said two things 1. The directional unit hdtvo can only get two channels with one setting, and I would have to move it to get the other three. Based on the orientation of my home I have a spot adjacent to my dish to try it. I will advise you how I make out since I already ordered it. My zip code is 34986 at exit 121 on 95. I do not have a metal roof etc so if it works outside I can move it inside. I l live in a golf course community and they think basic cable and dial up is wonderful. ThanksI use a Radio Shack UHF yagi coupled with a 5 element channel 13 yagi. You might want to search this forum for my previous posts. The metal roof is only a problem for an attic installation, if you put it on your roof it doesn't make any difference. There are lots of hi-gain antennas that will work, I don't believe Terk makes anything that would be satisfactory except under the most ideal conditions.

Flabingo, if it works outside and you wish to leave it there and you own the home, check this out.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html


That will solve your community loves basic cable issue but dial up, that's a different story. Good Luck.

If you check the terk site you will find hdtvo which they say will be able to connect up to 60 miles. It is directional and there are three stations at 172 or 174 which are nbc fox and pbs. I am 53 miles away and they are normally very conservative. I happen to have a myhd card which should be able to record hd OTA. I will try it as soon as I receive it and get it installed. I am not concerned about any problems with the golf community where I live, but I am one of very few people that have an antenna. The antenna looks like it should work. More later

flabingo, I assume you're in PGA Village? If so, I can really appreciate your reports here. I'm about a mile east of you and haven't found a satisfactory antenna as of yet. Unfortunately, my wife does not want a big multi-element on the roof and my attic is too small to contain a large antenna, so I'm stuck with indoor units. I'm using rabbit ears currently and am only able to get 25.1 and 34.1 with any strength. 29.1 will come in occasionally, but only very briefly.

I received the terk dhtvo unit and am going to show it to my installer tomorrow. It is rather small and I have the impression it will fit adjacent to my exisitng direct dish. I will keep you up to date tomorrow. They say it will work in an attic also, as long as you don't have any metal.It is directional and they say that it will easily go up to 60 miles, and the two channels are at 172 and 174 about 52 miles according to terk. If I want to bring in another channel I will have to move it. David

Some of the networks (WPBF/ABC and WPTV/NBC) went "live" today via DirecTv MPEG4. Was wondering if anyone else is having trouble with the audio on WPBF? The picture comes in fine for me, but no audio.

sfin54

Some of the networks (WPBF/ABC and WPTV/NBC) went "live" today via DirecTv MPEG4. Was wondering if anyone else is having trouble with the audio on WPBF? The picture comes in fine for me, but no audio.

I will stick with my HR10-250 and will not upgrade to an MPEG4 receiver for a while. Please keep us posted on how well our local broadcasters do with the uplink to DirecTV. Let us know when (if) WPBF gets the audio fixed. I'm curious - is it just OTA broadcasting that they have problems with.

I just checked my H20 out. I am getting NBC and ABC on the PB locals. NBC seems to be fine, but ABC has no sound. When will CBS and FOX go live on the HDs?

I opened the box of my terk hdtvo directional antenna and found the following 1. The unit must be installed horizonally. 2. My first location was facing a concrete roof and Terk told me that the steel reinforcing wire would interfere. I found another location on the wall of my southern exposure and next week I will have it installed. Terk also indicated that although I can get a good picture 60 miles away. I can only get two channels 172 and 174 without turning the antenna. ( a 5 degree range). More later

I must point out that my interest in the OTA broadcast is that it will enable me to record using my nextcom modification since they can't handle mpeg 4 at this time. By the way, the equipment works very well and I have very few if any quality or dependability problems. I also am not interested in the new receiver which I am told requires a separate pole.

Yep! abc is 720 w no sound.

WPBF 25.1 OTA sound is fine. Has been quite good, an occasional 2 sec audio dropout but very rarely. HDTV video stable too. The problems must be on DTV MPEG4 only.

If anyone has a big screen HDTV (50inch plus) and can do a live split screen with MPEG4 on on screen and live OTA on the other, I'd be curious as to how the MPEG4 compression degrades the signal or colors of an HD program if any. Any channel as long as they are the same on both and in HD.

It may take some work as I suspect the DTV delay is probably at least 2 seconds behind OTA. Thanks

Rather than change receivers and antennas I got a box from Adelphia for hd and the quality is fine. I have to turn up my audio receiver quite a bit and I get five or six channels for 11 dollars. I hope to compare an OTA with my new antenna with the hd cable

If anyone has a big screen HDTV (50inch plus) and can do a live split screen with MPEG4 on on screen and live OTA on the other, I'd be curious as to how the MPEG4 compression degrades the signal or colors of an HD program if any. Any channel as long as they are the same on both and in HD.

I have a Mitsu 65" and have tried to compare the OTA & MPEG4 feed. To me they appear almost identical. The OTA transmission may be a tad sharper, but not much. I know it's not a "scientific" comparison, but I hope it helps.

sfin54

Guys,

I have relocated temporarily to Boca Raton near Palmetto and Powerline.. Anybody living nearby care to point me towards a good HDTV off-air indoor antenna?? All I want are the big four.. and don't care too much for PBS, WB and UPN..

Any help would be appreciated. :)

Does anyone know if D* moved HBO HD from ch 509?

Does anyone know if D* moved HBO HD from ch 509?

D*TV had had a duplicate HBO-HD on Ch. 70 for quite some time. I believe they did this b/c all their other HD channels are also in this lower range.

Yes I know that. Both ch 70 and 509 stopped working for me.
I don't know if it is my sat or D*?
I have good signal on Sat A 101, and Sat B 119, but the 3 transponders for Sat C 110 are at zero.
Before I get the ladder out to check, just want to know if everyone else still gets Ch 70 and 509 and Sat C has signal on it's transponders?

hbo-hd is on 110 so if you have zero signal for it, that would explain your problem

71, 73, 74, 75, 78 are also there so did you lose those also?

Yes, thanks. Soon as it stops raining I will do a equipment check.

hbo-hd is on 110 so if you have zero signal for it, that would explain your problem

71, 73, 74, 75, 78 are also there so did you lose those also?

when did this happen? I'll have to check that. All weekend long, HBO has still been on 70 for me.

I have a Mitsu 65" and have tried to compare the OTA & MPEG4 feed. To me they appear almost identical. The OTA transmission may be a tad sharper, but not much. I know it's not a "scientific" comparison, but I hope it helps.

sfin54

I spoke w/ DirecTV the other day. From what the told me, the WP HD locals are not currently being sent on the MPEG4 sats yet. They are still being sent on the older sats using MPEG2.

Can anyone with an older HD receiver confirm this?

when did this happen? I'll have to check that. All weekend long, HBO has still been on 70 for me.

I think he meant Satellite 110, and channel 70. I got screwed by D* when they offered to give me Cinemax for free with HBO for 3 months, and while updating my account, they encountered some technical problem. So, now I am without HBO-HD for the past three days. The programming guide still shows HBO-HD on channle 70, so it hasn't moved to ch 110.

For those that have not been following other HD TiVo threads; DirecTV announced an update for the HR10-250 D-TiVo to version 6.3. It was first posted on the DirecTV Web site but the next day it was changed. Here is a link to a copy of the original notice:
HD DirecTiVo 6.3 Update (http://www.gammaquad.com/63/)

I'm in Jupiter and just recently added HD through Adelphia.
Two issues I have at the moment:

1. WXEL has no picture. The sound is there...just no picture. All the other HD channels are fine.

2. WPTV (NBC) has alot of horizontal 'interference lines', for lack of a better term, during their news broadcasts. Is this a known issue with channel 5?

I have not yet called Adelphia about these items...figured I'd ask here first.

My exp with WXEL on Adelphia is similar to yuors, just intermittant. Sometimes I get video, sometimes I don't. Channel 5 is the same as well, horrible interlacing issues with SD broadcasts on that channel.

Also anybody else notice that like 9 times out of 10 the guide info for XEL is never right? Last night they listed at 8PM Live from Poptech - a show about upcoming tech...but what aired was certainly not that program. It's been like this for a long time.

Thanks for the response.
Glad to see it's not just me.

Looks like an email to channel 5's engineers is in order!
Has anyone brought this to their attention?

My exp with WXEL on Adelphia is similar to yuors, just intermittant. Sometimes I get video, sometimes I don't. Channel 5 is the same as well, horrible interlacing issues with SD broadcasts on that channel.

Also anybody else notice that like 9 times out of 10 the guide info for XEL is never right? Last night they listed at 8PM Live from Poptech - a show about upcoming tech...but what aired was certainly not that program. It's been like this for a long time.

When Adelphia started carrying WXEL HD several months ago the picture had
terrible pixelization but I have not really noticed much recently. Perhaps it is because I record programs and 90% of the time what they advertised in the
guide was not actually broadcast. It is not just when they do pledge drives, they
appear to have problems knowing what is going on in their own organization all the time.

Hi, I bought my first HDTV the end of May. I am having the same Adelphia problem in Palm Beach Gardens with WXEL HD not having a picture and the guide being wrong. There seems to be a picture in the day though but not at night.

I noticed a ABC 701 issue the past few days or so where the sound seems to be stronger on the right speaker or headphone. It balances out again when changing channels. Has anyone else noticed that?

Thanks,
rjd

Does anyone know if Adelphia is planning to add any more HD channels? The lineup still sucks. I love ESPN in HD, but it'd be great to have some other channels as well. You'd think for as much as they charge for Digital + HD Plus they'd include a few more channels than the 10 or so they have.

Does anyone know if Adelphia is planning to add any more HD channels? The lineup still sucks. I love ESPN in HD, but it'd be great to have some other channels as well. You'd think for as much as they charge for Digital + HD Plus they'd include a few more channels than the 10 or so they have.

The Comcast buyout of Adelphia was recently approved. I'm sure you'll get all the Comcast HD channels once the transition is over.

Well seeing as the sale has been approved and is supposed to go into action July 31st, I think not.

The one thing I've been wondering is, does comcast get contracts that adelphia had and vice versa, or will the channel lineups stay the same.

The Comcast buyout of Adelphia was recently approved. I'm sure you'll get all the Comcast HD channels once the transition is over.

Any idea when that is supposed to happen?

Has anyone with DirecTV MPEG4 started receiving all the Marlins and D-Rays games? It says the Miami spot beam, but I can't imagine there is a different beam for West Palm since it's so close...

Has anyone with DirecTV MPEG4 started receiving all the Marlins and D-Rays games? It says the Miami spot beam, but I can't imagine there is a different beam for West Palm since it's so close...
Miami spot beam is about twice as large as the Tampa, West Palm Beach one. 26 is the transponder for Miami and covers most of Fla and well past Key West. 20 and 12 for Tampa and WPB coverage stops about Key West according to my map.

Any idea when that is supposed to happen?

I read recently that a judge delayed the transfer to Comcast/Warner until Sept 7th IIRC. It was supposed to be end of July.

Hello HD fanatics....


Does anyone in the the area have Adelphia basic cable , and a HD tv, and Does it have the QAM tuner ??

Has anyone tried a QAM tuner with this adelphia and are there any channels available?

would it be an important feature in a tv?


Thanks

I think the locals and discovery HD are clear qam

Adelphia might also support cablecard if you don't want a box

yeah , say I was to get a large expensive hdtv , and it only had the QAM tuner but no cable card slot , how would that compare to with a cable card installed or with a box ???

without a cable card you'd only get what I listerd above

With the cable card you'll be able to get the other pay tiers, Digital Basic, HD Plus Tier, etc...

Does Adelphia cable HD have WB channel? Seems they have everything except UPN and WB.

Nope they have neither a UPN HD or WB HD

The West Palm OTA markent doesn't even have a WB-HD

When Viacom bought WTCN-CA they moved WB programing that was on WTVX to WTCN. A channel satellite doesn't carry and I can't pick up OTA.

I suppose if Adelphia asked, WTCN could feed them with a hardline feed of WB-HD

Can Broward county and Miami Channels be picked up in West Palm Beach (OTA) with the right sized antenna? Lastly it has to be put in the attic due to HOA rules on size.

Im in Royal Palm Beach area

I have a little rca indoor right now and it picks up all of the WPB HD Locals, but if I can get more Ill return this and upgrade.

Thanks in Advance

Diggy, if you are getting all the PB County locals then stay with what you have. I live in RPB and I have a large antenna in my attic. If I point it South it still does not reliably get the Miami stations. If I take it out of the attic and mount it outside on a tower with a rotator then I would be able to get most of the Miami stations. It's not really worth it to me. Consider yourself lucky to be able to get all of the PB County stations with an indoor antenna.

Sorry guys, I'm sure you discussed this, but I'm new to the fourm. if yuo can just send a link to the info, I have DTV 3 LNB dish, and samsung 50" HDTV...I'm looking to get locals in Delray Beach. Any Ideas?

Paul

Sorry guys, I'm sure you discussed this, but I'm new to the fourm. if yuo can just send a link to the info, I have DTV 3 LNB dish, and samsung 50" HDTV...I'm looking to get locals in Delray Beach. Any Ideas?

Paul

Paul,

I would recommend the over the air (OTA) route. I have two antennas in my attic, one pointed south the other pointed north and I pickup every West Palm Beach and Miami Digital Television (DTV) station with the exception of WSVN-DT, WPLG-DT, and WLRN-DT. Going OTA is the cheapest route and will yield the best picture quality.

I would experiment with several antenna positions from the attic to the roof. At a minimum you will be able to receive the West Palm DTV stations. Most of the stations in the area are UHF with the exception of WPLG-DT(9), WSVN-DT(8),and WPEC-DT(13). WPEC-DT broadcast at a high enough frequency and with enough strength that you can pick it up with most UHF antennas.

Antennaweb.org can help with general orientation. Lowes, Radioshack, and Best Buy have a good selection of UHF antennas. Avoid the Terk HD55 and you will be fine.

Ansek, thanks.. Is this just a regular UHF antenna or is it different. Does it have a 75 ohm F connector and goes into the air input of the TV ( it has HD tunner built in)

OK I got a cheep indoor antenna to "test out" and tried hooking up to the TV and to the Sat receiver. I got nothing on either one. I think I'm missing something.

I'm in South Boynton Beach with a Channel Master 4228 antenna and a CM7777 pre amp in my attic. I get 2.1,4.1,6.1,7.1,10.1,12.1,20.1,29.1,33.1,35.1,42.1 and 67.1.

Alan

What is with the digital channel nunbers? ie 2.1, 4.1 etc. My TV and HD tivo channels are just 2,3,4,5 etc. Like I said I got a cheep indoor antenna and I got no signal anywhere. I even put it outside and moved it all around. What kind of antenna so I need to receive these OTA digital channels?

I just saw a winegard ss-2000 on another site. according to Antenna web my locals are:
CBS on VHF 13 is 11 miles
NBC on UHF 55 is 11.2 miles
FOX on UHF 28 is 11.7 miles
ABC on UHF 16 is 49.2 miles (ouch)
According to winegard this antenna will work

Any coments?

Diggy, if you are getting all the PB County locals then stay with what you have. I live in RPB and I have a large antenna in my attic. If I point it South it still does not reliably get the Miami stations. If I take it out of the attic and mount it outside on a tower with a rotator then I would be able to get most of the Miami stations. It's not really worth it to me. Consider yourself lucky to be able to get all of the PB County stations with an indoor antenna.

Thanks for the reply. I do notice that some channels show alot better than others. NBC looks great all day and many others look good during prime time. Im new to HD, I just got a set about 3 days ago.

Now I need to decide what provider to go with to get more channels.

Thanks for the reply. I do notice that some channels show alot better than others. NBC looks great all day and many others look good during prime time. Im new to HD, I just got a set about 3 days ago.

Now I need to decide what provider to go with to get more channels.

What you are seeing are the different sources they use that are not true HD (resolution of 720P or 1080I). If the programming they are showing is non-hd they will "upconvert" it for your 16 x 9 screen. Most of the broadcast networks' prime time shows are shot in HD with HD equipment; otherwise it has probably been upconverted. When you decide on a service provider watch HDNET or Discovery HD and you will be amazed at the picture quality (PQ). Enjoy football season too, in my opinion one of the best reasons to get HD TV.

Here is a warning though. Any of our local Over-The-Air (OTA) broadcasters could be experiencing technical problems at any time and you won't know it - other than their channel is "pixellating" and "lagging" (picture breaks up and the program stutters). This may be because they had to switch to low power at the transmitter or it may be an interruption between their station and the network feed. Do not start adjusting your antenna or equipment until you know for sure that the problem is yours, not theirs. How do you know? The broadcasters won't answer the phone and they won't publish the fact that they are having problems so the best thing to do is call someone else in your area that has HD. I say your local area because sometimes there may be interference from a local source that's causing the problem, i.e. a high powered pirate radio station or any high powered radio transmitter that is nearby.

What you are seeing are the different sources they use that are not true HD (resolution of 720P or 1080I). If the programming they are showing is non-hd they will "upconvert" it for your 16 x 9 screen. Most of the broadcast networks' prime time shows are shot in HD with HD equipment; otherwise it has probably been upconverted. When you decide on a service provider watch HDNET or Discovery HD and you will be amazed at the picture quality (PQ). Enjoy football season too, in my opinion one of the best reasons to get HD TV.



I use to do sat installs and I always remember Discovery And HDNet having the best picture. I have cable thru the HOA so its only 13 dollars for me to get Hi Def thru adelphia, but thet dont even have TNT..Adelphia is lagging badly

I just saw a winegard ss-2000 on another site. according to Antenna web my locals are:
CBS on VHF 13 is 11 miles
NBC on UHF 55 is 11.2 miles
FOX on UHF 28 is 11.7 miles
ABC on UHF 16 is 49.2 miles (ouch)
According to winegard this antenna will work

Any coments?

The SS-2000 should work. You should also consider antennasdirect.com. They have several great antennas including the Lacross, DB2, DB4, DB8, and 45XG. Terk has a knockoff of the SS-2000 that you can pick up at Best Buy.

Keep in mind OTA reception is an art not a science and there will be some trial and error.

You also want to make sure the OTA receivers are active on the HDTiVo. I believe in the initial setup you have to select your dish configuration with OTA or without OTA. If you go to "Messages and Setup" -> "Settings" -> "Satellite & Off-Air Antenna" check to see if "Off Air Singal Strength Test" appears as an option. If not you need to rerun you initial setup.

Can anyone with adelphia report on the system now that it switched to comcast? I'm curious to know the changes...

Did you lose the channels comcast didn't have (like HDNet and HDNet movies) and did you gain the channels adelphia didn't have (TNTHD, Universal HD, FSN Florida HD)

I don't have a HD Cable box but I do use a MyHD-130 with QAM. I am currently rescanning but I doubt anything has changed. There is a discussion in the Programming section that Comcast can run the Adelphia areas for 30 days as Adelphia so they might not make any changes the first day.

But I'll keep looking.

I ordered the DB4 from antennas direct yesterday. I also ordered a 5 x 4 multi switch that they said would work so I can use a diplexer at the Sat receiver. I wasn't sure though, I thought you guys said you couldn't diplex the signal to the HR10-250 or was that for the MPEG-4 receiver only?

I'll let you know how it works when I install it.

Looks like someone at FOX wasn't paying attention when they were doing WFLX's HD logo. :cool:

As for former Adelphia cable, not picking up anything new with my MyHD-130. All channels are the same. Their name is still on the digital guide and info channel. Time Warner's logo actually appeared on the TV Guide channel on August 1st but has since been removed. No reference to Comcast yet.

lol wrong call letters

[QUOTE=Panth1]Looks like someone at FOX wasn't paying attention when they were doing WFLX's HD logo. :cool:

Looks like they are picking up the signal from Albany, GA FOX 31 WFXL HD Signal ????

http://www.wfxl.com/

[QUOTE=Panth1]Looks like someone at FOX wasn't paying attention when they were doing WFLX's HD logo. :cool:

Looks like they are picking up the signal from Albany, GA FOX 31 WFXL HD Signal ????

http://www.wfxl.com/

OK. Any bets on how long it will take for them to realize it and/or change it?

Just for laughs I went to WFLX 29 (http://www.wflxfox29.com) to see if they had posted any information as to why this was happening. I saw the "Ask The Expert" button and clicked on it but that's not exactly the expert I wanted. So if you look at the box on the left under "HEADLINES"????? there is this:

Fox29 in HDTV- Fox29 is in HDTV on Adelphia & Comcast!
We are channel #703 on Adelphia digital cable and channel #183 on Comcast.
For a listing of our weekly programs available in HDTV, click here and read the descriptions.

And this.....

Fox29 on HDTV and Satellite - WFLX Fox 29 is pleased to announce we now broadcast in HDTV from 6PM to midnight! We are located on channel 29-1. We can also be found on Direct TV Satellite Service on channels 29 or 904 and the DISH Network on channel 8863.

That was helpful. :confused:

Anyone using a DB2 or 4 antenna? I need something smaller that can either fit in the attic (mine has very little room) or is very unobtrusive when mounted outside. Also, I'm 50+ miles from the Fox, Nbc, and Cbs towers, will either of these work? I can't fit any of the larger multi-element boom antennas in the attic and I'm trying to avoid mounting one outside if I can help it (not very Hurricane-resistant).

Anyone using a DB2 or 4 antenna? I need something smaller that can either fit in the attic (mine has very little room) or is very unobtrusive when mounted outside. Also, I'm 50+ miles from the Fox, Nbc, and Cbs towers, will either of these work? I can't fit any of the larger multi-element boom antennas in the attic and I'm trying to avoid mounting one outside if I can help it (not very Hurricane-resistant).I use a Radio Shack UHF Yagi in my attic with excellent results. This is a very small antenna. With this antenna, channel 13 (12.1) was a bit weak so I added a 5 element channel 13 yagi , another very small antenna. If you do this, use a UHF/VHF coupler.

You should know that the antennas you refer to are large because they are designed to accomodate channels 2-6 which you do not need. Almost any hi-gain UHF antenna should work for you. Experiment in your attic, then put it on the roof if necesssary.

Anyone using a DB2 or 4 antenna? I need something smaller that can either fit in the attic (mine has very little room) or is very unobtrusive when mounted outside. Also, I'm 50+ miles from the Fox, Nbc, and Cbs towers, will either of these work? I can't fit any of the larger multi-element boom antennas in the attic and I'm trying to avoid mounting one outside if I can help it (not very Hurricane-resistant).

If you are considering the DB4, you might also consider the Channel Master version of the 4-bay bow tie design, the CM3021 (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC3021). It appears to be about half the price and I would guess that it is at least as good as the DB4. Channel Master has been around a long time and makes very good antennas in my experience. I just put a CM3021 in my attic today in West Palm Beach and I receive decent signals from many Miami stations with it (50+ miles away, according to antennaweb.org).

I also have the Channel Master 7778 preamp, which I've found to help tremendously. Whatever antenna you get, consider the preamp, as I've found it to be very helpful in these situations.

How much room do you have in your attic (HxWxL)? Does the long part of the attic happen to point toward the towers? If so, the main concern will be getting the antenna into the attic. In which case a UHF Yagi might work quite well for you. The CM3023 would be the best bet, but it is long (80") (I used to have this one in my previous houses). The CM4308 is only 43" x 20" x 10.7", and might fit? I've used the Radio Shack equivalent of this on to pick up signals in the Panhandle that were about 50+ miles away (but we had it outdoors and only 10' off the ground).

WPEC-DT Channel 12-1 Dolby Digital audio mode switching has been automated. No human intervention in necessary any longer in switching between DD 2/0 and DD 5.1. Metadata in being read to detect when CBS is sending a program in DD2/0 vs. DD 5.1 and switching takes place automatically.

In addition, you will notice that your decoder reads and outputs DD 5.1 all the time, since we are now using a Miles Technology M86 Multisonic Imager to create a high quality 5.1 mix derived from the DD 2/0 stream when only DD 2/0 programming is available. Thus, your decoder will receive a seamless audio stream whwn tuned to 12-1.

Please let me know how this is working out.

David McRoy
Technical Operations
WPEC/WPEC-DT, West Palm Beach, FL

Hey everybody, Thanks for the great information. I just got my first HDTV and I have it hooked up to the SA8300HD(adelphia). Still in the process of calibrating everything (and if anyone has any pointers re: the SA8300HD I would appreciate it [eventhough this might not be the correct forum for this]). I have a couple of question re: OTA HD here in West Palm Beach:

1. Is it worthwile getting a HD antenna eventhough I have the cable box service? Will I get any extra channels? Better quality?

2. I live downtown in a condo, so I cant place the antenna outside. Will the antenna work inside of my condo. Has anyone else done this who lives in the downtown area.

3. Also, can anyone recommend a good quality HD antenna and price ranges.

Thanks for your help!

Guzzler,

1. I have both Adelphia and antenna. You should not notice any quality difference between the two when everything is working. However, sometimes Adelphia has trouble getting the feed from the local stations and back to you, so if you are experiencing the picture jumping or pixelating, a strong antenna feed can eliminate these problems if you are having them. However, if you're using an Adelphia DVR, you can't record off the antenna.

2. I live about a half mile south of cityplace, and tried 6 different antennas for the period of a year before finally getting all but one station at one time. The only way I was able to do this was with an outdoor antenna aiming north to ABC, and picking up everything else (but WXEL) off the back of the antenna. The chances of you picking up all local stations with an indoor antenna from downtown are slim. The chances of you picking up a few are pretty good. The only way to check it for sure is trial and error.

3. I'll let others with recent experience suggest antennas, but my experience showed me that how well an antenna works varies dramatically by where you are, where the antenna is, etc. This is particularly true indoors. You may find that an antenna works great in one room and lousy in another. The one that worked best for me was a terk, which many people have poor experience with. Again, depends on your specific location (i.e. not downtown, but your yard, apartment, room, etc).

My overall advice is that if you're getting the feeds from Adelphia without a problem, I'd stick with what you've got.

I've been off these boards for about a year since I got a crazy cheap signup deal from Adelpha, and have been happy receiving HD with DVR for $40 a month. However my deal expired and I'm now forking over $80+ for basic cable plus a small number of HD channels. Since I can get most locals off my antenna, I'm considering switching to Dish TV (with DVR), since they picked up a bunch of the voom channels a year or so ago.

1. Anybody have any experience with Dish HD (good or bad)?

2. I got rid of DirecTV a while back because the compression on the SD channels was so bad (I'm watching a 50" plasma, so compression is really noticeable). Does Dish have the same problem?

3. I've heard conflicting stories of wheter or not local HD channels are available on Dish in WPB. Anybody have any confimed sightings of such?

Baylor, thanks for the info. Ill stick with what I got then. Now if I can just figure out how to get the adelphia box (SA8300HD) to allow the pass through without having to reset the settings evertime I turn off the TV.

Pass through is when you just select all the resolutions from the menu.

480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i

All should have dots next to them

This is how it is on an 8300 my brother has w/ another provider, adelphia may be different

WPEC-DT Channel 12-1 Dolby Digital audio mode switching has been automated. No human intervention in necessary any longer in switching between DD 2/0 and DD 5.1. Metadata in being read to detect when CBS is sending a program in DD2/0 vs. DD 5.1 and switching takes place automatically.

In addition, you will notice that your decoder reads and outputs DD 5.1 all the time, since we are now using a Miles Technology M86 Multisonic Imager to create a high quality 5.1 mix derived from the DD 2/0 stream when only DD 2/0 programming is available. Thus, your decoder will receive a seamless audio stream whwn tuned to 12-1.

Please let me know how this is working out.

David McRoy
Technical Operations
WPEC/WPEC-DT, West Palm Beach, FL

Dave,

Tried to watch the 3rd round of the PGA championship today, but it wasn't being sent out by your station in HD. I called in to get engineering directly, but the phone system said ext 1793 was INVALID. I did finally get a nice guy in the newsroom who said he would walk around and let someone know. Five minutes later it was on in HD.

While I'm grateful it was quickly resolved, why does it still take customer intervention, if the audio system is now automatic? Don't you guys have some monitoring on this (an OTA tuner setup right there in your offices would work) where you can see real-time what WE are seeing?

Am I the only one having this problem?

Every time I try to watch Dave Letterman with my Adelphia SA8300 HD DVR on the Hi-Def channel, the audio sync is way off. I don't seem to be having this problem on any other Hi-Def station or program.

I hate calling Adelphia because they alway want to send an idiot out to my house that doesn't have a clue and I doubt they will come to my house at 11:30 PM, anyway.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

baylorgator, if you want a lot of HD variety, DISH is THE way to go right now- especially if you can pull in the locals over the air. There's a lot of national HD networks with more (nationals) being added (FoodHD just lit up).

I was a massive fan of D* for about 10 years, but I got sick of waiting for more (national) HD. So I went to the short-lived VOOM, where I greatly enjoyed bout 36 HD channels until it folded. E* picked up some of the Voom channels and have added more since they went with the MPEG4 capable equipment.

The 622 DVR works very well and E* seems committed to regular software upgrades.

The thing I don't know about it is when/if the WPB HD locals are available via E*. I haven't seen any promotional info about it, nor have any E* telemarketers called to try to talk me into HD locals. So, my guess is NO, the WPB locals are not yet available via E*. Then again, I personally could care less since I can get them all via antenna.

Lastly, if one of your questions is about SD video quality, some say E* is a little better than D* (and others argue it's the other way). To my eyes, both are compressing their SD signals a bit too much. But, since there is so much HD variety, I rarely watch any of the SD channels anyway.

Hope this is helpful

caysone, I'm not quite up as far north as you (I'm in Hobe Sound), but my outdoor antenna setup picks up everything locally. Of course, in pursuit of maximum channels, I flew against the "unobtrusive" desire and bought a big JBX-21 from Blake. I was hoping it could pull Miami locals as well, and it does an ok job of that for some channels.

What I wasn't expecting was the ability to pick up some Orlando stations. I've got the antenna mounted on a rotor so that it can be pointed (this particular antenna is highly directional). By aiming for certain targets to the N-NW, I can pull in several channels out of Orlando, including 6, 9, 18, 27 and 41 pretty regularly. There are times when a number of others light up as well.

You are another 20 or so miles "closer" than I am. If you too decide that"unobtrusive" is not that big of a deal, you might want to buy something obtrusive and see what you can do.

Having backup channel options has proven beneficial on many occassions.

Thanks Darryl, that was helpful.

I see one other user (Ansek) posted in the HD prog area about the motion artifacts on tonights NBC Sunday Night Football game....anyone know what is going on here? Both the SNF games I have watched had severe motion artifacts. WPTV is not running a sub are they? I never thought I would see it but, WPTV is putting out a HD NFL broadcast that rivals WPEC's HD football broadcasts in bad quality because of motion artifacts. On a large screen it is painful to watch when fast motion happens. At least this year D* Sunday Ticket is not (fingers crossed it is true) going to black out the D* broadcasts when the local affiliate carries the same game....I know pretty sad, but the D* CBS games (whatever their res is) are usually much better than WPEC's broadcast.

I see one other user (Ansek) posted in the HD prog area about the motion artifacts on tonights NBC Sunday Night Football game....anyone know what is going on here? Both the SNF games I have watched had severe motion artifacts. WPTV is not running a sub are they? I never thought I would see it but, WPTV is putting out a HD NFL broadcast that rivals WPEC's HD football broadcasts in bad quality because of motion artifacts. On a large screen it is painful to watch when fast motion happens. At least this year D* Sunday Ticket is not (fingers crossed it is true) going to black out the D* broadcasts when the local affiliate carries the same game....I know pretty sad, but the D* CBS games (whatever their res is) are usually much better than WPEC's broadcast.

I'm glad it wasn't just me. I don't understand what is up with WPTV-DT. I wonder if they are reserving bandwidth for a future sub?

What I wasn't expecting was the ability to pick up some Orlando stations. I've got the antenna mounted on a rotor so that it can be pointed (this particular antenna is highly directional). By aiming for certain targets to the N-NW, I can pull in several channels out of Orlando, including 6, 9, 18, 27 and 41 pretty regularly. There are times when a number of others light up as well.

Having backup channel options has proven beneficial on many occassions.


You know, I've always been curious about this. I thought it might be nice to have this available for occasions when the Dolphins are blacked out on TV. Do the Orlando stations usually have the 'Phins on or are they more Bucs biased?

Also, I'm willing to try most of the antennas you all have suggested, my only problem being the issue of a return policy. Most online vendors won't accept a return on an OTA antenna it seems. Did you folks buy locally? And I'm assuming most of you did the install yourselves, was it difficult(roof mounting, grounding, etc.)?

HiDefDave - I'd love to give you some feedback, but for the last few months 12-1 has not been coming in very well for me, with absolutely no change on my part. Has your signal strength been reduced, or any changes of that nature ? Or do I just need to visit my roof and scrape the dove turds off the antenna ?

Does anyone have any update on the comcast/adelphia integration? I noticed that comcast already removed the name adelphia from ivr some systm when you call to pay a bill. It now just "Thanks for calling customer service" rather than thanks for calling Adelphia like it used to. I guess they don't want to confuse customers either, so they don't advertise it as Comcast. I am most excited about hopeful HD channel additions. Adelphia's current HD lineup sucks. If I could get Fox Sports net in HD like on Comcast, I'd be a very happy guy come hockey season!!!!

HiDefDave - I'd love to give you some feedback, but for the last few months 12-1 has not been coming in very well for me, with absolutely no change on my part. Has your signal strength been reduced, or any changes of that nature ? Or do I just need to visit my roof and scrape the dove turds off the antenna ?

HiDefDave & JeffBowser -
I too have noticed an noticable drop in 12-1's signal (I live in Stuart), so much so it makes us not want to watch it due to pixelization/audio drop outs. If there's a known issue, I'd like to know so I don't waste another trip up to the roof if I can.

thanks

Thanks cr - glad to see I am not alone there.

HiDefDave & JeffBowser -
I too have noticed an noticable drop in 12-1's signal (I live in Stuart), so much so it makes us not want to watch it due to pixelization/audio drop outs. If there's a known issue, I'd like to know so I don't waste another trip up to the roof if I can.

thanks

Not to jump on the bandwagon but I have noticed a change in WPEC-DT's signal which causes audio dropouts.

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In preparation for a better antenna (probably the CM 3021)with my D* HDTivo, I moved my current antenna into the attic. Its just a basic set of rabbit ears. I've never been able to get a signal for anything other than ABC and UPN around here. Now that the antenna is in the attic however, I'm seeing a signal from FOX, CBS and NBC. FOX and CBS seem to have a signal fluctuate between 15-50, even locking in a signal better than 60 briefly. NBC doesn't seem to get any better than 20 or so. According to antennaweb.org, I'm 52 miles from all towers, except for ABC/UPN which are 14 miles away (signal in the 80s or better). Will adding a preamp help me to lock in CBS/FOX with my rabbit ears? If so, that may hold me over for a bit and appease the wife at the same time. Twofer!

In preparation for a better antenna (probably the CM 3021)with my D* HDTivo, I moved my current antenna into the attic. Its just a basic set of rabbit ears. I've never been able to get a signal for anything other than ABC and UPN around here. Now that the antenna is in the attic however, I'm seeing a signal from FOX, CBS and NBC. FOX and CBS seem to have a signal fluctuate between 15-50, even locking in a signal better than 60 briefly. NBC doesn't seem to get any better than 20 or so. According to antennaweb.org, I'm 52 miles from all towers, except for ABC/UPN which are 14 miles away (signal in the 80s or better). Will adding a preamp help me to lock in CBS/FOX with my rabbit ears? If so, that may hold me over for a bit and appease the wife at the same time. Twofer!You need a hi-gain antenna in your attic for reception in your area. Rabbit ears will not do the job regardless of amplifcation.

HiDefDave & JeffBowser -
I too have noticed an noticable drop in 12-1's signal (I live in Stuart), so much so it makes us not want to watch it due to pixelization/audio drop outs. If there's a known issue, I'd like to know so I don't waste another trip up to the roof if I can.

thanksI expect you are experiencing the affects of lightning, as VHF channels are susceptible to signal disruptions due to noise impulses. I have noticed this problem a few times since 12.1 has been on the air. You might want to take a look at the radar picture on 12.2 to see if the problem is associated with lightening noise. How is your reception on analog 12?

BTW, my signal strength appears to be normal.

Joel - I do notice problems with lightning (I have been receiving digital OTA for over 2 years now), but my specific 12-1 issue has been ongoing for awhile. It is not a transient problem.

Joel - I do notice problems with lightning (I have been receiving digital OTA for over 2 years now), but my specific 12-1 issue has been ongoing for awhile. It is not a transient problem.
OK. I normally don't look at signal strength unless there is a problem. I'll try to take look once in a while over the next few days.

For what it is worth, the analog signal is no different than it always has been. Indeed, I can even get channel 25 analog (but not digital). Used to be 12-1 was one of my more reliable signals (as far as ability to receive, that is).

Something's up with 12-1. Last Saturday and Sunday the PGA on TNT-HD was perfect but the coverage went to hell on 12-1, both audio and video. Saturday was particularly bad, so bad I flipped back to D*. I hope they figure it out before the new season begins.

yeah, I noticed the PGA problem as well, for the 3 minutes 12-1 even came in for me at all. However, I get the DirecTV locals in HD, that wasn't so bad.

Quick question here, I recently got HD via DirectTV and wanted to get the HD local channels that Dtv doesn't carry. I was scoping out my attic and found a very large antenna already attached up there that looks like it has been there for a fair amount of years maybe 10 or more +. My question is if I attached a pigtail transformer to it, would I be able to pick up my Local channels in hd or would I cause harm to my receiver if i used this old antenna?

Quick question here, I recently got HD via DirectTV and wanted to get the HD local channels that Dtv doesn't carry. I was scoping out my attic and found a very large antenna already attached up there that looks like it has been there for a fair amount of years maybe 10 or more +. My question is if I attached a pigtail transformer to it, would I be able to pick up my Local channels in hd or would I cause harm to my receiver if i used this old antenna?No you won't cause any harm. If your cable is OK you should be able to get some or all the local stations. You will probalby find that OTA reception on non-hd channels is much better that D*.

Gunnerman -- Do make sure that the big antenna in the attic has two sections that have a vertical component. They should look like this from a side view -->---- this vertical component of a "large" is what picks up the UHF signals for OTA transmissions which is where your HD channels are found. Also note that you want to point the vertical position correctly to pick up the best signal strength as these antennas are typically directional antenna - meaning they have to point to the right location. Hopefully, the person who installed the antenna did it properly and things will work fine when you plug it in -- if not, check out this web site as it will tell you how to point the antenna based on your location to the local OTA stations in the area. www.antennaweb.org Note: many people make the mistake of pointing the UHF antenna the wrong way. It should point with the vertical components facing open towards the direction of the station's location. Don't forget you can usually use your satellite receiver to look at the signal strength of the OTA channels as well. Hope this helps a little...

The antenna in my attic looks similar to this, I want to say its about 6 ft in length and
looks something like this >-->--->->--->-->. I'm thinking the middle of it is where the UHF must be. THe antenna seems to be pointed at the SW, but I can move any one of the arms on it. I'll head to RS today to pick up a transformer and some cable to see if it works.

gunnerman, as a suggestion if the antenna works: take down the parabola of your dish as part of your hurricane preparations. This way, when the storm passes you can just replace the parabola and won't have to worry about realigning it. Also, as long as you have power you'll be able to follow the news via your antenna. Even though I currently only get 2 stations, this worked well for me during the last 3 storms.

gunnerman, as a suggestion if the antenna works: take down the parabola of your dish as part of your hurricane preparations. This way, when the storm passes you can just replace the parabola and won't have to worry about realigning it. Also, as long as you have power you'll be able to follow the news via your antenna. Even though I currently only get 2 stations, this worked well for me during the last 3 storms.

CarysonE, thats a good suggestion I woke up this morning and seen that forcasted track. I went out allready marked the locations with a sharpie marker on the dish. just in case

For what it is worth, the analog signal is no different than it always has been. Indeed, I can even get channel 25 analog (but not digital). Used to be 12-1 was one of my more reliable signals (as far as ability to receive, that is).I looked at 12.1 several times on Fri, Sat, and Sun. The signal strength looked good. The only thing I watched for more than a couple of minutes was the football game on Sat. There were two or three minor audio events ( discontinuities ) which could have been reception related. There was no corresponding video breakups. I

I checked my signal strength on Sat, it jumped between 30 and 40, with brief forays into zero. My receiver can't lock that low, so I'm outta luck with that channel. I'm not inclined to move my antenna - it has not moved in a year, and 12-1 used to be fine for me.

CarysonE, thats a good suggestion I woke up this morning and seen that forcasted track. I went out allready marked the locations with a sharpie marker on the dish. just in case

That's the thing though, if you just remove the parabola (the actual "dish" part), you won't disturb any of the adjustments. 4 bolts attach it, leaving only the mast and LNBs to fend for themselves. A much smaller profile against the wind.

On a similar note - what the heck am I doing wrong? Today I went and bought a fairly large Radio Shack antenna (model VU-90 XR (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103085&cp=&origkw=antenna&kw=antenna&parentPage=search) )and ran it up into the attic. I got nothin! Barely better reception than my rabbit ears. Shouldn't this antenna be sufficient? I don't have a lot of room to maneuver, but I did get it pointed in the general direction of the antenna farm and was able to get all of the elements extended fully. Am I just stuck having to put this outside?

I tried the antenna in the attic routine myself a long time ago. I got better reception with a cheap wire stuck to my dish than with an attic antenna, and I had a full size monster to boot. It wasn't until I stuck one on my roof that I got good consistent reception. Tile roofs atentuate the signal quite a bit. I used a winegard wing antenna - very low wind profile - it has survived 3 windstorms so far.

Oddly enought - 12-1 was coming in between 50 and 60% for me yesterday, and I was able to get a signal lock, with a bit of pixelization when it made brief forays into 35% for a moment or two. Weird. I left my dish up last night, no ill effects, and indeed, we kept a satellite signal throughout.

After I watched the news last night saying the storm was going to be more of a rain event than wind I figured I would just keep my dish up, no problems reported here as well, maybe lost signal for a min or so last night.

Which has a better deal adelphia or directv? and by deal i mean selection of HD channles? Thanks, Rick in Jupiter

Which has a better deal adelphia or directv? and by deal i mean selection of HD channles? Thanks, Rick in Jupiter

I can't answer that directly, it's been years since I have had cable. I can tell you that the post hurricane experiences of my neighbors over the last two years drove them to satellite over cable, regardless of other pros and cons. I had TV the very next day. They ended up waiting weeks, and even then, the picture was terrible.

I have direct tv HD package now and it has been a God Send during hurricanes. I have trouble getting in the locals and its getting frustrating. I even purchased a antenna from antennas direct that was suposed to be better. I have moved it, re aimed it and I still loose the locals somethimes. I also wounder about stations like TBS and USA that have programs on in HD but dont come through.?

Pardon my ranting:
[begin rant] I cant believe how horrible PBF's (local ABC affiliate) audio has been over the last 6 months or so...and it's getting worse. The audio dropouts are getting longer, they started at about a .25 seconds, but now they're up to about 2-3 seconds per dropout. It happens on all my sources: over the air (on four different receivers) and cable (two different boxes) sources of the hi-def channels. SD channels via OTA, cable or DirecTV are fine...no dropouts whatsoever. In fact SD programs on the HD channels dont experience this problem, only the HD programming. I tolerated the dropouts at the end of last season, although it made watching Lost an experiment in frustration as I never knew when I was going to miss an important line. But now its at the point where I cant even watch HD programming on PBF due to the dropouts.
So, I just wanted to thank PBF for absolutely ruining my enjoyment of ABD HD programming. It's impossible to watch and that is absolutely inexcusable and extremely frustrating, given the amount of money I've spent on my gear throughout my home, let alone all the people I've turned on to HD programming and equipment.

Does anybody in their engineering department even know this is happening? Are they not aware?

I just want to scream!!!!!!!!!!!
[end rant]

Pardon my ranting:
....
Does anybody in their engineering department even know this is happening? Are they not aware?

I just want to scream!!!!!!!!!!!
[end rant]
I generally have not had problems with WPBF-DT audio. We watched/TiVo'd "Lost" all last season in HD with no audio problems like you have experienced. I even use Sony DTS-surround headphones and there were no dropouts.

Check with someone else in your area to see if they are having the same problem.

I have, same issue on cable. What I dont get is how I could be experiencing this on three different TVs, all three with OTA, two with HD cable. I was just watching the ABC 20/20 show tonight on cable and had four three second dropouts in less than five minutes. Then I switched to OTA receiver and had three, three second dropouts in five minutes. I'm going into the bedroom now to test both cable and OTA to see if it is replicating there as well. Also, this is the only station I am having problems with, CBS, FOX and NBC both able and OTA are fine in all my setups.

My only complaint about Directv is that you have to use an antenna to get the locals in HD. Up here on the Treasure Coast, that is a real PITA. They are changing this however. But the locals in HD are a technology in its infancy, and I think we all know how that can be.

I really have no comparison to make though, as far as package differences. I haven't used cable in over 7 years. All I know about Adelphia is that I couldn't get anyone on the phone to sell me service when I needed TV in my house.

I have, same issue on cable. What I dont get is how I could be experiencing this on three different TVs, all three with OTA, two with HD cable. I was just watching the ABC 20/20 show tonight on cable and had four three second dropouts in less than five minutes. Then I switched to OTA receiver and had three, three second dropouts in five minutes. I'm going into the bedroom now to test both cable and OTA to see if it is replicating there as well. Also, this is the only station I am having problems with, CBS, FOX and NBC both able and OTA are fine in all my setups.
That is strange that you get the same problem on cable as well as OTA. I was thinking that maybe there was some frequency interference like from wireless networking or phone but that would not cause interference to your cable. Do you have an amplifier on any of the COAX?
Does anyone else on this forum notice this?

With the announcement that Jeopardy/Wheel of Fortune going HD in a few days, does anyone know if WPBF will be doing this? I'm kind of curious to see these shows in HD, though I never watch them otherwise.

I tried the antenna in the attic routine myself a long time ago. I got better reception with a cheap wire stuck to my dish than with an attic antenna, and I had a full size monster to boot. It wasn't until I stuck one on my roof that I got good consistent reception. Tile roofs atentuate the signal quite a bit. I used a winegard wing antenna - very low wind profile - it has survived 3 windstorms so far.Jeff, you may some metal in your roof. I have tile and am much farther away from the transmitters than you are. I get good reception.

For anyone that is interested. Here are some steps you can follow when trying to get away with the "smallest" antenna.

1. Get a small size antenna you can return like a R/S UHF Yagi.
2. Buy a small section of cable that the F fittings have already been connected.
3. Hook the antenna up to a small TV anywhere in your house and observe the reception. Analog station are fine. You should get some reception.
4. Take the whole mess up to the attic and play with location and direction. Your reception should markedly improve. This will give you an indication what you will get with a properly connected attic antenna. You might need a better antenna or an outside installation. If you don't, it's just a matter of running the cable a determining what kind of amplification you will need.

Joel - true - my AC ducting is metal, and my house wiring is run through metal pipe all across the attic. However, it is a tested fact that tile roofs are good attenuators.

Cayson - I am able to get HD local through DirecTV, if you are in the WestPalm market, you will be able to as well.

That is strange that you get the same problem on cable as well as OTA. I was thinking that maybe there was some frequency interference like from wireless networking or phone but that would not cause interference to your cable. Do you have an amplifier on any of the COAX?
Does anyone else on this forum notice this?

My OTA antenna is amplified, but again, PBF is the only station with these symptoms. Also, last night my wife and I worked together, me in the bedroom she in the livingroom, me watching the OTA, she watching the Cable...when ever a dropout occured it happened on both sources at the same time for the same duration. This further confirms for me that it is not my setup and it is the source: WPBF.

Pickle: when you said you Tivo'd in HD, I assume your implying the Adelphia SA 8300HD PVR? Is that how you record?

That's interesting - I would expect the OTA and the cable to be slightly offset in time. I know my OTA and satellite is very offset, due to the transmission delay differences. I would think that cable and OTA would also be different (but not as much as satellite). Point to all that ramble - I also wonder, as "ElectricPickle" does, if there is some sort of external frequency interference......

Sorry, should have been clearer: the dropout occurs at the *same point* in the program and for the same duration (give or take a couple hundred milliseconds perhaps), not necessarily at the same *clock* time. there is indeed a bit of a delay in the broadcasts for sure...

as to the external frequency interference...would it not impact the other HD channels? Why just PBF?

Besides, I don't expect anyone here to have the answers, but I do appreciate the input. I ranted here because my poor wife is tired of hearing me drone on about it :-)

Interesting - ok, this makes a bit more sense now. Sorry, no idea here, then

Cayson - I am able to get HD local through DirecTV, if you are in the WestPalm market, you will be able to as well.
True, I can get the HD locals over the dish, but not with a decent DVR yet. I'm not sure I want to give up my HDTivo for Directv's new DVR just yet. I don't really like the software. So, for now, I'm going to have to use an antenna or suffer without. :D

Gotcha. I don't record anything. I hate watching sports when knowing that the outcome has already been determined, and if I miss some show I wanted to see, I just pick it up again during one of the many, many reruns periods. Of course, since I say that, my wife wants a Tivo. I figure like you do, if I am going to get one, it needs to be HD, so I'll wait.

Pickle: when you said you Tivo'd in HD, I assume your implying the Adelphia SA 8300HD PVR? Is that how you record?
No, I have DirecTV HR10-250 TiVo so I get WPBF-DT OTA only. I agree with the others here in that I'm waiting to see how the new DirecTV MPEG4 DVR (that delivers WPB locals in HD) works out before giving up my TiVo. I'm more curious now about your problem. Can you find someone in your neighborhood that has HD and ask them if they get the dropouts? Does it happen all of the time or just certain programs?

PBFs issues are only on HD programs and pretty much any program they run in HD. Sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's better, but it is consistent and has been since about late April-early May.

I run an HTPC with dual HD cards, so I can record two shows at once in HD. i also have the SA8300HD from Adelphia and can record HD there as well...

Whether the PBF program is recorded or not, the symptoms always occur. I'll tune into Greys Anatomy at 8Pm and see if it's behaving the same as it did last night. but I'll bet you dollars to donuts that it will.

yep...9 minutes into the Greys Anatomy and it dropped out for 2.5 seconds...thats OTA...switching to cable now to see if it is doing the same.

I should qualify my statement about it being any program...I dont watch all PBF HD so I guess that statement was less than true. It appears to be any program on ABC that "I watch"...At the end of last season I noticed it on Lost all the time...drove my wife nuts. This summer Ihaven't watched much on ABC primetime.

Cable so far has been fine since I switched over tonight. 20 minutes and no drop out. The 20/20 show last night was horrible on both OTA and cable. Tonight is much better.

I spoke too soon, the last minute of Greys Anatomy on the cable feed of PBF dropped for 3 seconds...right during a critical line.

I spoke too soon, the last minute of Greys Anatomy on the cable feed of PBF dropped for 3 seconds...right during a critical line.
OK, I noticed this too. I was switching back & forth between football on 34-1 and Greys Anatomy on 25-1. I noticed exactly what you are describing here. It's definitely WPBF's problem. :eek: Have you contacted them yet about this?

:mad: I have to watch the Dolphin game on DirecTV's analog channel 34 because 34-1 is not making it here tonight with enough signal. DirecTV has so much compression on channel 34 that I feel like I'm watching it through a screen door. I've seen better PQ on YouTube videos.

Edit: Now there is a "Please Stand Bye" screen so I guess there's an uplink problem.

Glad to hear its not just me...and no I haven't contacted them 'cuz i dont know how or who to contact. plus, i dont figure they'll listen to one person or do anything about it. i cant believe they aren't aware of it either.

Click Here to Contact WPBF By Phone, E-Mail (http://www.wpbf.com/station/280692/detail.html)

thanks pickle...i'll try tomorrow

thanks pickle...i'll try tomorrow
I emailed them and included a link to this forum beginning with your "Rant" :p

Oh know!!! That explains the WPBF news goons outside my house all night ;-) (jk)

Gunnerman -- Do make sure that the big antenna in the attic has two sections that have a vertical component. They should look like this from a side view -->---- this vertical component of a "large" is what picks up the UHF signals for OTA transmissions which is where your HD channels are found. Also note that you want to point the vertical position correctly to pick up the best signal strength as these antennas are typically directional antenna - meaning they have to point to the right location. Hopefully, the person who installed the antenna did it properly and things will work fine when you plug it in -- if not, check out this web site as it will tell you how to point the antenna based on your location to the local OTA stations in the area. Note: many people make the mistake of pointing the UHF antenna the wrong way. It should point with the vertical components facing open towards the direction of the station's location. Don't forget you can usually use your satellite receiver to look at the signal strength of the OTA channels as well. Hope this helps a little...

Ok, I finally fished the cable today for the OTA antenna in my attic, I am picking up all local and miami channels even the new MY33 channel, the only problem is the HD Upn channel from Fort pierce, but that can be a directional problem of the antenna not facing that direction.

pbf is dropping out like crazy during the ND game this is unwatchable. im upset

Is anyone also having major audio drop outs with their Hi-Def channels? I have Adelphia and all of the local HD channels are having problems; however their are no audio problems with ESPN HD, Discovery HD, HBO HD, Starz HD and all other non-local HD channels.

I contacted Adelphia and good luck if they do anything but is anyone else having the same problems?

I've only tuned into the ND/GT game about 20 minutes ago, but I'm not having any audio dropouts. Its rock solid.

Are you watching with cable or OTA?

no problems here during first half of ND game, OTA

OTA for me.

Is everyone listening through a receiver in 5.1 Dolby?

Currently, no. My TV doesn't recognize 5.1 through HDMI, so my HDTivo is downmixing it. I won't have space for my receiver until my TV stand is finished.

I am thinking more and more it could be a problem with Adelphia. They had some major fiber optic cut a few weeks ago and this is when I began to notice the problem. Must be them or maybe I need to check all my connections to see if something is loose.

I called Adelphia on Saturday evening.

I am experiencing the same audio dropouts (with some video dropouts)
on HD Digital stations. As you say, no problems with channels 761-768,
but problems with the major networks and HBO HD, Starz HD and
Showtime HD.

The Adelphia rep was quite knowledgable and at the end of a shift.
He had fielded several similar calls from places like Port St Lucie and Jupiter.

He admitted that they thought it was an Adelphia problem with some
of their headend equipment.

I still have the same dropouts on Sunday morning.

I've been having the same problems here in Delray Beach with Adelphia HD, and now(Sunday Morning), I have no audio whatsoever on any HD channels. This is the worst cable company I have ever dealt with.
*EDIT - If you are having these problems, unplug the box for 30 seconds and plug back in. Audio returns but eventually will fade out again. I'm going to get a new box as soon as I have a chance, but I doubt its the box.

By 12.30pm it seems Adelphia HD channels are back to normal.

Perhaps the day shift all-star team showed up ?

Or perhaps some of the sponsors of the Sunday lunchtime infomercials were
calling up the networks and Adelphia and bugging them ?
Money talks you know.

I'll wait a couple of days before I cancel the Adelphia service truck roll,
but things do look much better now.

Just in time for the FSU Miami game tomorrow night !

:eek: OMG. It's time! NBC will be in charge of "televising" NFL football tonight. The "Fear Factor" network gives us football? OK, I'll give them a chance to prove themselves. But what really scares me is WPTV-DT channel 5-1 has to "perform" tonight too. Confidence is low. :rolleyes:

I've been watching 5-1 again for the last couple nights (instead of 6-1). I have been surprised, they seem to have stabilized since I last bothered with them a year ago.

they gave up on Dolby Digital though since they tried to use it and couldn't get it right

Oh, well, I knew there had to be a catch. Had the chance last night to compare the OTA 5-1 to the DirecTV 5-1 MPEG-4 transmission. In the stupid sitcom I looked at for 5 mins, it was hard to tell a big difference. Of course, there was not much movement, and that is where the artifacting, if it existed, would have been readily evident.

they gave up on Dolby Digital though since they tried to use it and couldn't get it right

this day in age, with all the time that this station has had to become familiar with this technology, it is absolutely laughable that they can't "get it right". This is not rocket science for goodness sake. they should be utterly embarassed. they cant get it right so they give up? unbelievable...ok, dont with my rant :D

Had the chance last night to compare the OTA 5-1 to the DirecTV 5-1 MPEG-4 transmission. In the stupid sitcom I looked at for 5 mins, it was hard to tell a big difference.....
Would appreciate another comparison tonight if you watch the football game. Are you getting the HR20 when they are available?

I'll do that, but at the first sign of their old pattern of blanking out on me every 5 mins, I am back to 6-1 in a flash. Not sure about the recorder - I have had an S-VHS recorder since God was a young boy, and I only used it to record probably twice. I'm just not that much of a TV fan, and once a sports game has been played and the outcome determined, I lose interest in seeing it. Oh well.

Oh my goodness...how miserable is local NBC broadcast of the football game tonight? I've lost count how times they've mysteriously gone to SD within the first 15 minutes of the game. let alone the lack of 5.1 audio...oh, dont forget how miserable any of the close up shots are or how pixelated the opening with Pink was...it's funny, but when they do the mysterious SD switchover the picture during close ups between plays actually looks better than when they're in HD....what a joke...these guys should be embarassed.

Oh my I can't believe it...they just went to DD 5.1...can anyone else confirm? I have it in 5.1 both OTA and via cable.

Yep... at 10:33 in the first it went to DD5.1

I had to fire up the laptop so I could check here to see what was going on and still watch the game in the living room.

Not a very good start, maybe NBC needed more preseason HD games to get ready for the start of the season.

is it real 5.1?

cause last time it's been the stereo feed even though the receiver says dolby digital

is there sound coming out of all 5 speakers?

I don't know but they just did the Miami defense piece and it sounded like the center was coming out of my center.... now the announcing at 8:03 is really messed up. It is echoing from the center and fronts!

This is horrible sound!

its kind of all over the place.. the last two minutesof broadcast has a serious echo effect...receiver indicates DD 5.1, with proper sound distribution (crowd out of the rears, announcers out of the center) - that is when it si on, before the last wig out... oh and pohnl...laptop here on the couch...wife giving me wierd looks as I talk to the TV and type furiously

still experiencing the echo effect...kind of like watching a game in the grand canyon

I don't know but they just did the Miami defense piece and it sounded like the center was coming out of my center.... now the announcing at 8:03 is really messed up. It is echoing from the center and fronts!

This is horrible sound!

That should read "...it sounded like the center was coming out of my subwoofer..."

I'm getting announcers from both the center and then an echo from the fronts. I'm close to muting, very annoying!

up to this point the game has been as lame as the broadcast ;-)

pohnl...exact same sound effect here...u described it perfectly...maybe that;s why they gave up on DD as noted earlier today in this thread

Yep..I hear the echo effect as well. Did you guys notice the Comcast commercial for Chronicles of Narnia on Starz HD on Comcast? That's the first one I've seen since it's switched from Adelphia

Ah it's stopped!

This broadcast by Channel 5 and NBC is pathetic. I now have a headache from the echo during the DD experiment. Somebody should be very embarrassed.

It's stopped because they went back to stereo. But I'll take working stereo over broken 5.1

The DTV NBC channel is horrible lots of artifacts on screen in fast sequences, I can't even get 5.1 to come in, 6.1 is smooth as butter.

i'm surprised 6.1 is "smooth as butter". If you check the main thread for this broadcast what we're experiencing image wise on 5.1 seems to be occuring across most of the country.

i'm surprised 6.1 is "smooth as butter". If you check the main thread for this broadcast what we're experiencing image wise on 5.1 seems to be occuring across most of the country.


I am not experiencing any problems with the 6.1 feed, the DTV looks like there is FPS dropping, I dont experience that with 6.1.

When I can get 5.1 to come in I experience the same problems as the DTV channel, I just dont understand why I can't get a solid lock on 5.1, I only live a few miles from the tower.

NBC
PQ=B-
Audio=F
Camera Work=C
Commentary=B (points off for the sideline um, person)
How freaking long did they spend of the commissioner?
::end of commercial:: "Touchdown - Pittsburg!!" What? Huh?

wish i could get 6.1, just a bit out of my range. at least i'd have the option...

6-1 was good for me last night. I watched 5-1 just enough to get a comparison between the OTA and the DirecTV MPEG4 HD transmission. There was a visual difference between the two, but not as big as one would think. Of course, 6-1 was better than them both. Too bad about the 'fins - they were in it right up until 5 mins left.

6-1 was good for me last night. I watched 5-1 just enough to get a comparison between the OTA and the DirecTV MPEG4 HD transmission. There was a visual difference between the two, but not as big as one would think. Of course, 6-1 was better than them both. Too bad about the 'fins - they were in it right up until 5 mins left.
Thanks Jeff. I guess I just need to take my OTA antenna out of the attic and hang it outside so I can try for 6-1. Too bad about the 'Fins. They looked pretty good though.

Funny thing - I was just at the Miami forum, and they are calling 6-1's performance last night "total crap". I'm starting to think it's all reasonably good most of the time, and the problem is mostly self-delusion and personal unhappiness :p

Funny thing - I was just at the Miami forum, and they are calling 6-1's performance last night "total crap". I'm starting to think it's all reasonably good most of the time, and the problem is mostly self-delusion and personal unhappiness :p

I watched 5.1 the during the 4th quarter and I can say that it was much worse than the 6.1, 5.1 was better than the DTV feed, that was just plain horrible.

This is my first post to this Forum. I live in Lake Worth and have been having a horrible time trying to get any OTA reception. I have the Channel Master 2882A antenna mounted to a 30 ft telescoping mast. The mast is extended to about 25 feet. The best reading I have been able to get on the TV's signal meter is 58 for channel 12.1. The cable is connected to a 32" Sharpe Aquos set. I've read about people who are 60 miles from the transmission towers getting great reception using rabbit ears. What gives since I'm only 9-12 miles away? Do I need a pre-amp?

Nice surprise to see WFLX DT on the program guide this morning. Means that the 2 football games will be shown in HD.

This is my first post to this Forum. I live in Lake Worth and have been having a horrible time trying to get any OTA reception. I have the Channel Master 2882A antenna mounted to a 30 ft telescoping mast. The mast is extended to about 25 feet. The best reading I have been able to get on the TV's signal meter is 58 for channel 12.1. The cable is connected to a 32" Sharpe Aquos set. I've read about people who are 60 miles from the transmission towers getting great reception using rabbit ears. What gives since I'm only 9-12 miles away? Do I need a pre-amp?


ozonedan,

Would love to provide advice. I can't find any information on the Channel Master 2882A. A few items to check. Make sure you your antenna is capable of receiving UHF signals. All but one DTV stations in Palm Beach are UHF. You are almost due east of the local antenna farm you should experiment with pointing your antenna west and slowly rotate north until you can receive all local channels. All channels with actual numbers above 13 are UHF. Be mindful of the fact WPBF-DT and WTVX-DT are north of you in Ft Pierce and WXEL-DT is south of you in Boynton Beach.

Below is a list of stations you should try to receive.

Call Sign: Virtual Channel Number (Actual Channel Number)

West Palm Beach
WPTV-DT: 5-1 (55)
WPEC-DT: 12-1 (13) - VHF but so close and powerful you should receive it
WPBF-DT: 25-1 (16)
WFLX-DT: 29-1 (28)
WTVX-DT: 34-1 (50)
WXEL-DT: 42-1 (27)

Miami
WPBT-DT: 2-1 (18)
WFOR-DT: 4-1 (22)
WTVJ-DT: 6-1 (55)
WSVN-DT: 7-1 (8) - VHF probably can't receive without VHF antenna
WPLG-DT: 10-1 (9) - VHF probably can't receive without VHF antenna
WBFS-DT: 33-1 (32)
WBZL-DT: 39-1 (19)


One more thing. I will assume the "A" in 2882A means amplified. I would try during down the gain on the amp. It is possible to provide to much signal to a DTV receiver.

ozonedan,

Would love to provide advice. I can't find any information on the Channel Master 2882A. A few items to check. Make sure you your antenna is capable of receiving UHF signals. All but one DTV stations in Palm Beach are UHF. You are almost due east of the local antenna farm you should experiment with pointing your antenna west and slowly rotate north until you can receive all local channels. All channels with actual numbers above 13 are UHF. Be mindful of the fact WPBF-DT and WTVX-DT are north of you in Ft Pierce and WXEL-DT is south of you in Boynton Beach.

Below is a list of stations you should try to receive.

Call Sign: Virtual Channel Number (Actual Channel Number)

West Palm Beach
WPTV-DT: 5-1 (55)
WPEC-DT: 12-1 (13) - VHF but so close and powerful you should receive it
WPBF-DT: 25-1 (16)
WFLX-DT: 29-1 (28)
WTVX-DT: 34-1 (50)
WXEL-DT: 42-1 (27)

Miami
WPBT-DT: 2-1 (18)
WFOR-DT: 4-1 (22)
WTVJ-DT: 6-1 (55)
WSVN-DT: 7-1 (8) - VHF probably can't receive without VHF antenna
WPLG-DT: 10-1 (9) - VHF probably can't receive without VHF antenna
WBFS-DT: 33-1 (32)
WBZL-DT: 39-1 (19)


One more thing. I will assume the "A" in 2882A means amplified. I would try during down the gain on the amp. It is possible to provide to much signal to a DTV receiver.

Hello ANSEK,
Boy am I an idiot!! I was punching in the wrong channel numbers!! Everything is working GREAT!!!!! Like I said, what an idiot. Thanks for your information.

Funny thing - I was just at the Miami forum, and they are calling 6-1's performance last night "total crap". I'm starting to think it's all reasonably good most of the time, and the problem is mostly self-delusion and personal unhappiness :p

Jeff,

There were big problems at the beginning of the football game on WTVJ, 6-1. There was some type of odd ghosting going on that gave every player a halo of blue. This lasted about 15min. I switched over to 5-1 and there was not problem except for pixelation. I switched back to 6-1 and the rest of the game looked fine.

Ah, I never saw the halo.

I've heard that WFLX is now being broadcast in HD on Directv. Anyone with an HR20 or H20 sat box that can confirm this?

Yesterday, 11:36 AM #5728 (Print)
mahoneybill
Member


Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Lake Elmo Minnesota
Posts: 16 Fox HD now on program guide

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Nice surprise to see WFLX DT on the program guide this morning. Means that the 2 football games will be shown in HD.

__________________
Bill Mahoney

Forgive me for posting this as a reply but I cannot figure out how to post a new message. I have only been doing computers since 1967 so it is still confusing.

I installed a Channel Master 4228 (Peter's recommendation) in my attic in February 06 and all was fine except lately I have been experiencing low HD signal strength from WAVY-HD. Is anyone having these same difficulties. I live over on Linkhorn Bay off First Colonial sort of behind the beach hospital. Forgive me if this topic has already been covered a zillion times.

Also - can anybody tell me how to start a new post.

- Thanks

Hi Mitch and welcome,

Since you are in a standing thread, West Palm Beach, FL-HDTV, you just do replies and people reply back. That is fine as long as your looking for feeback from WPB people. If you want to start a new thread you have to go to the forum you want to post say HDTV Reception Hardware and select New Thread.

I've heard that WFLX is now being broadcast in HD on Directv. Anyone with an HR20 or H20 sat box that can confirm this?

Yes, dtv has had it since 9/5/06.

Sorry - I was not at the correct location. Confusing site until you get used to it.

Pardon the potential obviousness of this post, but I'm trying to deconfuse myself. I live in Stuart. I understand that DTV now has a 5 lnb dish that will allow me to receive local channels in HD, correct? But how many local channels and which ones? I really don't want to mess with an OTA antenna. Also, is there a DVR available that will allow me to receive the HD locals? On the other hand, am I just better off with Adelphia? Which company provides more HD programming?

Pardon the potential obviousness of this post, but I'm trying to deconfuse myself. I live in Stuart. I understand that DTV now has a 5 lnb dish that will allow me to receive local channels in HD, correct? But how many local channels and which ones? I really don't want to mess with an OTA antenna. Also, is there a DVR available that will allow me to receive the HD locals? On the other hand, am I just better off with Adelphia? Which company provides more HD programming?
Welcome to the forum. I use DTV but I receive my local digital channels OTA. You are correct that D* now has equipment that uses their new MPEG4 compression technology which allows them to send you HD locals via the satellite. And yes, they just introduced a new HD DVR, the HR20-700 that works with it (it's not TiVo brand though but probably better than what you would get from your cable company). I think there is someone else in this forum that gets local HD via D* and they could explain better what channels you get and PQ. You may have to call D* and see if Stuart is part of their South Florida market that is getting HD locals. Eventually all zip codes will get it but they are still rolling it out in phases. I'm sure someone else here can explain what Adelphia offers. One advantage to D* vs cable concerns outages. After last year's hurricanes I just bolted my dish back on and I was back in business. My neighbors with Adelphia cable were out for weeks. If you are primarily interested in the number of HD channels offered than you should consider Dish Network also as they offer the most HD channels (I don't think locals are HD though).

Currently, you can get NBC, ABC, and Fox over the 5-LNB dish in the WPB market (Stuart is included in that market). Adding rabbit ears will get CW in HD for you. The only channels you'd be missing are CBS and PBS. I can easily say that the new Directv dvr, while not Tivo, will be better than Adelphia's. My neighbors have Adelphia (no HD) and that DVR is the clunkiest thing ever. They were looking for a show and could search by the first letter only. It took forever.

I have compared picture quality between OTA and the DirecTV MPEG4 HD transmission, and it is close. OTA will always be better, but to my eyes, on my 65" rear projection, it is close enough for everyday viewing, at least now (it may change in the future). As for cable vs satellite, that seems to be an emotional argument. Personally, my experiences with cable have been abysmal, and I have no intention of ever going back.

Hi, I've had HD with Adelphia for about 3 months now. I'm in Palm Beach Gardens. I've got the SA8300 SARA DVR. I've reached the frustration level. On most of the HD channels including 701, 702, and 704 when I record shows the picture and sound freeze multiple times within the recording. Last night Survivor was basically unwatchable. I had to watch it on another device that recorded on SD channel 9 with no issues. I also notice that these freezes happen sometimes when watching live too. I've done hard reboots and it doesn't really help. There are also issues with some shows just not recording on the SA8300. Sometimes you can't see them at all in the recorded list. They will show up after a reboot but nothing was recorded. Sometimes they are there but then you go to watch and there is nothing recorded. I have to record just about anything important anymore on 2 devices in case it doesn't record or does the multiple freezes on the SA8300. My question is where to start. Should I go to Adelphia and get a different cable box? Is this typical behavior for Adelphia and Palm Beach Gardens? Or should I have Adelphia come to the house? Many thanks for your advice.

Regards,
rjd

Wow, not exactly a ringing endorsement for Adelphia. I wonder if this is an isolated problem. Which local channels do you get with cable? Have you compared, overall, which company offers more HD channels? Personally, I would have them come out immediately to try to assess the issue.

Pardon the potential obviousness of this post, but I'm trying to deconfuse myself. I live in Stuart. I understand that DTV now has a 5 lnb dish that will allow me to receive local channels in HD, correct? But how many local channels and which ones? I really don't want to mess with an OTA antenna. Also, is there a DVR available that will allow me to receive the HD locals? On the other hand, am I just better off with Adelphia? Which company provides more HD programming?Adelphia has more HDTV programming than D*. I've been a D* user for about 10 years, but the new larger dish may be a deal breaker for me. For local stations, you will probably do better with OTA reception if you have an adequate antenna. Temporarily, I have D*, Adelphia, and OTA. The most reliable reception is OTA.

As a follow up in case anyone is interested, I wound up taking the SA8300 into Adelphia and traded for a new one. Since I just got it I don't know yet if this will fix my issues. In the twenty minutes that I was there in line there were two other people bringing in SA8300s. One of them had similar issues to mine with the shows not taping.

Regards,
rjd

It appears that 12-1 and 12-2 are off the air.
Back on in time for the games.

i live in Palm Beach Gardens and have adelphia as well. I dont know if it is just the DVR (I have a stand alone tivo), but the HD locks up with my Aquos and cable card. Sometimes, it says "failed to receive broadcast" when the show is playing..weird stuff which I can only attribute to either a flunky cable card or flunky HD (as a note, the weirdness only happens on the HD channels and not on the analog tier or digital tier. It's clear that HD is still a mystery to cable companies.

I can only hope that Comcast makes a positive improvement.

To speak on the HD DVR, my neighbor has the box that you are refering to and he has the same problems as you do. He's taken it back and received a new one, same issue. I've thought about getting a series 3 tivo, but I am not certain if the issues will be corrected because, like I said, I have these problems with a cable card plugged directly into my TV.

I have the exact same problems with my Adelphia 8300. We just got the box replaced last week and the new one does the same thing. I love the channels and quality that I normally get, but some recorded show are really unwatchable. I would like to know if anyone has had any success getting rid of the problem. I don't want to have to get a dish, but I might have to if the problems can't be fixed.

I have the exact same problems with my Adelphia 8300. We just got the box replaced last week and the new one does the same thing. I love the channels and quality that I normally get, but some recorded show are really unwatchable. I would like to know if anyone has had any success getting rid of the problem. I don't want to have to get a dish, but I might have to if the problems can't be fixed.
Click on the link below:
SA 8300HD Problems and solutions thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=586837)

Good Luck!