Hello,

Here is an overview of local OTA updated as of October 29, 2008:


http://mysite.verizon.net/centralpahdtv/hdtvgrid.jpg


Central PA HDTV Website (http://mysite.verizon.net/centralpahdtv/) updated as of 10/29/2008


Local H/DTV Google Map (http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/programming/broadcast-market.php?dma_name=Harrisburg-Lncstr-Leb-York)


Antenna Help:

AntennaWeb (http://www.antennaweb.org)
TV Fool (http://www.tvfool.com)


Here is the link to the TV Fool torrent that will provide the overlay on Google Earth to show the signal coverage for each digital channel:

TV Fool Coverage Map for Harrisburg DMA (http://www.tvfool.com/kmz/torrent/Harrisburg_PA.kmz.torrent)


A list of torrent programs are found here:

TV Fool Recommended Torrent Programs (http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=41)


Local cable companies:

http://www.verizonfios.com/
http://www.comcast.com/
http://www.brctv.com/hdtv.shtml


Joe


Original first post is below...









Hello,

Titan TV says WHP will go live on March 15. This coincides with the beginning of CBS' NCAA coverage. Is this live date the real deal or just an estimate?

It's now nearly two weeks since we lost WITF. It's kind of funny that we were expecting one additional DTV station by now. But instead, we have temporarily lost one.

I wonder whether they'll do WLYH around the same time as WHP since they are both Clear Channel stations.

Well, someone over at whp has been telling me, " give us another week or two" since Jan 1, so who knows. I don't believe anyone anymore, until I see it on my tv.

I got the March 15 ETA from Danielle DeRitis at WHP, but she said it's all contingent on when they can get the appropriate technical people in to install the equipment. They have the equipment, which was backordered for some time. Right now there's nothing we can do but wait and see.

I wish WITF would come back on! Damn, how long does it take to fix a transformer?

Danielle is the same person who at first told me they were on schedule for Jan 1, then has consistently told me a week or two since then. The latest she gave me was that the people who are needed to install everthing are in high demand at the moment, and they just don't know when they will be available.

So, I get this letter from WITF-TV with "It's Time" or something like that on the envelope, seeking money. With the transformer down for at least two weeks, my first inclination that they picked a bad time. Upon further reflection, maybe a donation of $35 would help. However, there was absolutely no mention whatsoever of their DTV efforts on channel 36.

I'll send a donation with a note restricting the use for DTV.

I hope to catch some of the last few episodes of Smart Travels. The ones on Italy were spectacular.

As of 6:45 PM, WITF-DT 36 is back after a three week hiatus. I caught the tail end of a Leif Erickson documentary produced by the Smithsonian in HD.

It's on! I wish WHP signs on in time for the NCAAs.

Hi All,

HDTV Newbie from Dillsburg here with a question. Do you think I would be able to get HDTV Channels from Harrisburg with a good roof antenna? TitanTV.com says I should be able to get ota signals from Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York as long as I use a pre amp. I was shopping at Best Buy when I was out of town and i got a RCA DST-100 for $149.99. It was an open box, demo unit but for 150 bucks and a 30 day no questions asked return policy i had to buy it to see. I have been a DIRECTV customer for 5 years but just got my HD ready TV 3 months ago so I know very little about OTA stuff. ANY advice or tips you may have would be gretly appreciated.

Thanks,
Bryan

Is anyone else able to get 36 in since two weeks ago? I sure can't down here in Lancaster! The best signal strength I can get is under 30. :( As for 21 I sure do hope they get that going soon!

Patrick

PBS 36 returned at low power. I am getting occassional audio drop outs causing me to re-tune the channel to correct the audio. They might be testing the new transformer.

As for CBS 4, I called yesterday about when I could see the NCAAs in HD. They say next week. This is different than maybe in two weeks. If you haven't already, give WHP a call and ask when you can see the NCAAs in high definition. And post your results here. Keep the pressure on as they think there are only 5 people with HDTV sets in the 46th largest DMA of just under 700,000 people.

I did not inquire if they are in the process of installing the antenna...

Bryan,

I live in Mechanicsburg and I can pick up WGAL perfectly with an attic-mounted Radio Shack antenna (about $30, the VU-75x, I believe). I also bought a rotor for it, which was another $70. With a roof mount you should have no problem with any of the stations. PBS is at low power right now so you might have some dropouts, but when they're back on full power you'll be fine.

I strongly recommend the rotor, since our stations are in pretty divergent locations and you will have to move it. Do NOT buy one of the so-called omni-directional antennas, they are anything but.

If you have other questions let me know.

jsb, I e-mailed Danielle DeRitis last week and she told me the equipment and antenna were installed at WHP and they were testing, so the next week comment is probably accurate.

Anyone talk to WPMT? I have no idea what they're planning. I realize Fox doesn't do HDTV but I still wouldn't mind seeing "24" in digital widescreen. It has to be better than my crappy cable signal....

Well, for shits and giggles I decided to call Fox and spoke to one of their engineers. He said they have a transmitter but were waiting for a corporate study to be finished on what would be the best antenna to use. He said the study was expected to be done soon and then the lead time from there to broadcasting would be about four months. So they'll miss May 1 but at least they're doing something.

For more shits and giggles I called ABC 27 and talked to one of their engineers. Very nice guy, but not very good news. The problem is that ABC was assigned digital channel 57, which is too close to WGAL's channel 58. So they petitioned the FCC for a new channel and have yet to hear back. Without their channel they can't order equipment. So until they hear from the FCC nothing's going to get done there.

David,

It is interesting that I was given the exact same story by a WHTM engineer many months ago. I find it hard to believe that the FCC would simply sit on such a request for so long. While I know very little about the FCC application process, I went to the FCC site and did a search on all PA stations that filed any type of application regarding digitial television. The only application filed by WHTM was one filed on November 16, 1999. The application was listed as a type of "Minor Modification to a Licensed Facility" relative to channel 57. It seems to me that there is more to this than you and I have been told by the engineer. I can't help but believe that if they were really interested in broadcasting on their digital channel that they would not let an existing application sit for 2and one-half years or not quickly file a new request to allow them to change from channel 57. I certainly hope I am wrong about all this. Perhaps someone else may know more about the detailed workings of the FCC process and fill us all in.

Scott

Scott,

That's interesting. Now that you brought it up, I went to the FCC site a month or so ago to check on 27 (I was looking up the extension waiver or some other thing, I forget now exactly what it was) and you're right, the only thing I found was a couple of years old, which made me think they were not going to file for an extension. My wife knows someone who works there, I'll try to get the scoop from her.

David,

Let me know if your wife finds anything out.

If it helps, the FCC file number on the 1999 application is:
BPCDT 19991028ACF and the facility ID associated with that application is 72326. I'm sure these numbers mean something to the FCC and may help them locate the details.

I haven't forgotten about having you over to see my Digilink and the Rock+. I am having everything tweaked on Tuesday evening and will contact you after that if you are still interested. Have a great weekend.

Scott

Scott, I'm definitely still interested in seeing your setup. Keep me posted.

Hi Guys,
I need help picking an antenna to use in Dillsburg to pick up OTA HDTV. Are any of the local station broadcasting in or planning to broadcast in VHF? I know that i probably need a rotor(thanks David F), and according to antennaweb.org i need a preamp as well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I was just planning to go to the shack and get the bigeest antenna they had but I did a little research first and now I am more confused then ever. Do I need uhf or uhf/vhf. Do I need a preamp or will that just amplify the noise as well as the signal. Do you think if I ducktaped a RS double bow tie to my chimney i could get PBS/CBS this weekend?
Thanks

Bryan, I use a Radio Shack VU-75x yagi antenna in my attic. They have a couple of similar models that are only different in size, depending on your space needs. I would try one of the Rat Shack antennas before anything else. You don't really need to differentiate between a VHF and UHF antenna, the yagis can get both. With the exception of WHP (digital channel 4-11), all of the locals are high in the UHF range. I don't think I'll have any problem with WHP.

I would get the antenna first and see if you need a preamp. It might help if your cable run from antenna to TV is REAAAAALLLLY long, but mine's probably at least 30' attic to basement and I don't have any problems at all. You might not need it.

As for VHF, WHP will be on channel 4. Most other stations will be UHF. I am using a Channel Master UHF eight bay bowtie antenna with the Titan2 pre-amp with a rotor. I picked up my gear at Cumberland Electronics in Harrisburg. I am getting good signal strength from my location for WITF (88) and WGAL (70). My set up is in the attic. My plan is to get a separate Channel Master VHF antenna for tuning WHP if it ever lights up.

At 6:00 PM, I tried WHP-DT 4 and found some testing at 4-2 under low power. The image was stretched. It was choppy and very little sound. Signal strength was all over the place.

Well, it's a start!!! I hope they don't run into any problems setting up the HDTV channel.

That's interesting, the channel that scanned into my Panasonic was 4-11. I'll have to manually enter 4-2 and see what happens.

A few information updates....

I tried to enter 4-2 into my Panasonic last night and it auto-switched to 4-11. So for some reason that is where I'm picking up the WHP feed. I did not get any picture last night when I checked, but there is a channel there; my screen says ANT:HD. I did a 360 degree rotor swing but got nothing. Has anyone else had any luck? I guess they're still testing.....

My wife talked to her friend at ABC 27 about the long delay since their last filing over channel assignments. She said that they resubmitted a new proposal in January, but there are more complications. They want to be assigned digital channel 10, but they are also having problems with their analong cable channel 4 and WHP's digital channel 4. I'm not sure how ABC 27 transmits their signal to the cable company for carriage, but apparently WHP did something to knock their signal out for a while. They may ask the cable company for a different channel for their analog station.

I'm not really clear on these last couple of points since I didn't talk to her directly, but that's the info I have for now. The good news is they aren't just sitting on their hands -- they're taking steps to move forward. The bad news is that they're significantly behind the market and even if everything fell into place this week it will be a long time before they're broadcasting digitally.

David,

I tried last night also to pick up the WHP digital channel 4 and did not have any luck. My antenna is mounted in the attic, but does pick up the digital channels from WITF and WGAL.

Your comment about Channel 27 and the interference was very interesting. I had always assumed the cable companies simply picked up their signals by antenna or by direct feed over land-lines.

I agree that it appears local ABC HD signals are quite a ways off for those of us in this area.

Let me know if you have any luck picking up the WHP digital signal over the next couple days. Unfortunately, I will be away over the weekend and won't get much chance to try from my end.

No channel 4 yet. Last week when I talked to the engineer, he hoped to be able to show basketball at full power. Does anyone know if the cable interference issue has been resolved?

I haven't talked to anyone at WHP for a week or so, but I'm still not getting a signal as of 8:30. If I have time I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Can you pick up 4 with a uhf antenna ?

You will need a VHF antenna for channel 4.

A good old yagi antenna should be good for both UHF and VHF.

Originally posted by Ralph Degenero
Can you pick up 4 with a uhf antenna ?

Ralph,

You can pick it up with a coat hanger if you are close enough and have adequate signal strength, as was done many times in the past with analog signals. A UHF antenna will work, but not be as efficient as one designed for VHF. How far are you from the broadcast tower??? If you're close and can point the antenna at the tower (UHF antennas are usually a little more directional than VHF, especially the ones that are "dish" shaped), you should get it fine.

Okay, I heard back from the senior engineer at WHP, a guy named Rob Hershey. Very nice guy who explained what the situation is at the moment.

Apparently when they first tested their DTV channel 4 they got a call from Comcast that some cable customers around the base of Blue Mountain had lost cable channel 4, which is WHTM. I asked how an OTA signal could interfere with a cable channel, which I thought of as kind of a closed system. He said that's what they thought too, but that the problem seems to be coming with TVs that have cheap wiring going to them, and this wiring is acting as an antenna and wrecking the cable signal. He said they are working with Comcast to fix the problem, which basically involves WHP transmitting at 25% power for brief periods and having Comcast field calls and go out and fix wiring. He is really anxious to get on the air but at the same time doesn't want to screw around Comcast customers unduly, even though they have every legal right to just throw the switch. He's hopeful that the situation will be resolved in a few days, but it's impossible for him to give a firm date for full power. They are broadcasting SDTV upconverstions right now and will continue to do so until 6:00, at 25% power. I'm going to check this when I get home.

That's all I have for now.

Well, it looks like we won't be seeing CBS at full power anytime soon (sigh....). I understand why WHP is doing this, but it still kind of bites.

Here's the info. I copied the e-mail I received from Rob Hershey, one of the station engineers.


Hi David

I will try to email you when we do the next test. My boss talked to Comcast
today about yesterday's test and they said they had a lot of phone calls and would continue to work on fixing the problem areas. We will continue to help Comcast out with low power test and that will delay us from going full power and full time for it looks like weeks. I am very sorry about this.
Thanks for the link. I am very pleased to see the interest in our two
stations. We are doing the RF test on WLYH DTV next week.

I was reading the emails about me saying "we'll be on the air in about two
weeks" from about Dec. of last year. I wish I would not have said that,
but that is what the transmitter builder was telling me. I should have
known better.


Thanks
Rob Hershey
Director of Engineering
WHP/WLYH Television
3300 North 6TH Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
(717) 238-2100 Fax (717) 236-0198
E-Mail rhershey@whptv.com

Hello,

Any news about WHP? I tried contacting WHP without success. Does anyone know the degree of interference affecting cable channel 4 in the one area that's holding things up. I hope it's more than just a little ghosting to justify the delay.

Originally posted by David F
Scott, I'm definitely still interested in seeing your setup. Keep me posted.

Dear Scott and Dave

Re: Channel 27 and their digital frequency.

I read in a trade magazine about six months ago ,( don't recall
which one, perhaps Broadcasting Engineering) that WHTM had
applied for the channel 10 frequency. Have not heard anything
since. It's rather doubtful whether they will be granted it.
Channel 10 in Philly will undoubtedly switch to digital channel
10 when the analog band is officially dropped, and they will
relinquish the UHF digital channel. Channel 10 now drops a
strong grade B signal as far as Reading. There may be inter-
ference problems. Channel 8 in Lancaster will also in all
probablity drop their channel 58 digital frequency in favor of
channel 8 digital in a few years. I believe channel 27 may be
stuck with a permanent UHF digital assignment.
I do hope though that this will not be the case. I would like
to see this market turned into a competitive VHF digital
market with the old major networks (NBC,CBS,ABC) all on the
VHF band. I would bet this frightens WGAL a bit. They have
been the Lone Ranger of VHF television since the late 1940's.
Regarding Over the Air receiving antennas: An excellent UHF
antenna is made by Winegard. Model Chromstar Ch series.
Channel Master did make an excellent VHF antenna called
the Quantum series. You could also try Winegard's top of the
Line VHF. Do not buy the pre-amp until you see what the
antenna can pull alone. Yes, you will need a rotor. Channel
Master makes an excellent brand. Good luck.


Tim
New Freedom,PA

Joe, I also received an e-mail from Danielle DeRitis a week or so ago (sorry, I don't have it anymore or I'd post it) and she said the low power on/off situation would last for weeks. No other information than that.

My understanding was that the interference was enough to knock WHTM out completely. #%$& cheap cable!

After a brief hiatus, WITF is back.

Does anybody have the inside line on WLYH-DT 23?

Hello,

Is it just my receiver or is the sound from locally originated ads (black bars are the giveaway) much louder in comparison to network originated ads (Preakness wallpaper bars are the giveaway) on WGAL-DT 58?

Hello,

On WGAL and WHP, I have noticed the HD switch not being flipped since May 1. Originally, I thought my Hughes E86 was having fits. But after viewing either upconverted stretch or a feed of dots with occasional upconverted 4:3 commercial (Leno), I called the stations to ask them to flip the switch. I don't know if this intentional to see whether people will call in to complain to gauge viewership or if this relates to the newness of DTV and HDTV.

The stations' staff are courteous on the line and the HD feed has been, in my experience, flipped on before the phone call ends.

I tried to watch CSI on WHP digital last night. Actually I did watch the program, but the dropouts were killing me. Beautiful HD picture for 5 - 10 minutes, then the screen would either go blank or freeze or go "blocky." Sound never quit.

Anyone know if they are now running full power? No matter where I point my antenna, I can't do better than 74% on my Dish 6000.

I recently put up a chimney mount and still can't get WGAL Digital. UPN 15 comes in great. And analog signals are quite good (look like crap in my HT of course). In fact, with the chimney mount, I can even get VHS channels I never knew were there!

I think I bought the wrong Radio Shack antenna. It doesn't have a UHF bow tie on it & it is quite small. Shouldn't affect WHP (being VHF). Going to upgrade the antenna in a week or two & see what that does for me.

John,

I've had the same problems with channel 4 CBS-DT also. There are numerous dropouts and block artifacts making the program unwatchable. I guess we need to call them and let them know. Is anyone else out there having the same problems?

John, where are you located in PA? How far are you from the towers?

I'm in Camp Hill, near the country club. Receiving WHP should be a no-brainer from here. I sent a very friendly email to WHP telling them about my problems. Just sent it this morning, so it may be a little while until I hear back from them.

Never heard back from WHP but their signal seems a lot more consistent these days. Today WITF is on the fritz. Channel surfing around 1PM and couldn't lock onto a signal.

Antenna upgrade scheduled for next week. Hopefully that will yield a usable signal from WGAL.

Hello,

I heard from WHP that they went full strength on June 17, 2002. CBS-HD is looking great now. Thanks WHP.

They also seem to be flipping the HD switch on a more timely basis as well.

Hello,

It might be my Hughes E86 at fault. However, WITF widescreen programming is coming through on my set with picture freezing every 5 seconds. There is a widescreen program tonight at 8:00 PM. Please let me know if you saw the programming without freezing. I also saw the picture freezing every 5 seconds during The Flip Flop Shop that airs at 9:30 AM every Saturday, Sunday and Monday. HDTV comes through fine.

Thanks...

Where is the transmitter for WHP-DT? I am in Lancaster. I get WGAL and WITF with no problem. I can also pick up Phila. and Baltimore stations but I can't get 4-1 or any other digital 4 reception.
Brian

Is WHP sending the HD signals? I just got an antenna up on the roof and for the first time I am able to pull it in. I watched a little bit of prime time last night which was supposed to be in HD, but the quality level didn't seem anywhere near what HD Net comes in at. It looked like DVD level at best. I also still can't pull in WITF which I used to be able to pull in back in Feb. I thought I would at least get a stronger signal with the antenna up on the roof with a preamp. I only go between unlocked and 3 on my E86.

Last night, CSI was 14 x 9, not HD. Somebody at WHP forgot to flip the switch after the Raymond special which was not in HD. I caught the last five minutes of CSI as I watched something else in HD.

A call to the newsroom or control room can get the switch flipped.

Anybody know when ABC will be going digital in our area? I was hoping it would be up by the time the new shows started but now I am just hoping to watch the Super Bowl in HD. TITANTV has them listed as AWAITING FCC PERMIT for the last couple of months.

That is the 2nd post I have read about the infamous "switch". A guy on another forum from S.C. had to call and have filp the switch at his CBS affiliate last Saturday. Pretty low tech, huh!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DHarp193

Dave Harper in Elizabethtown? Do you do calibrations in Hershey? Thanks!

For anyone in the Hershey/Hummelstown area...

I'm located near Waltonville Road south of Roush Road, that is, I'm blocked by a ridge which prevents me from getting a line-of-sight view of the various transmitters located north of Harrisburg.

However, from the digital stations, I do get usable signals from:

WHP Digital Channel 4 (CBS)
WGCB Digital Channel 30 (independent)
WJZ Digital Channel 38 (CBS)
WMAR Digital Channel 52 (ABC)
WGAL Digital Channel 58 (NBC)

If I aimed its direction, I could also get a usable signal from WLYH Digital Channel 23. I cannot get WITF's digital signal under any circumstances. I cannot get WHTM's digital signal, but I'm not sure whether it's actually broadcasting yet.

I have two antennas located in my attic:

- a large UHF/VHF/FM Channel Master aimed roughly northwest
- a "four-bay, bow-tie" UHF-only Channel Master aimed roughly south

The bow-tie has a pre-amp. The antennas are combined using a Winegard joiner.

Finally, the WMAR signal will, occasionally, drop slightly below usable levels, and I'm hoping to do some fine tuning of the aim to resolve that problem.

Any news on Fox 43 digital? They were suposed to go live on October 1st. Titan has them now under review. I know it isn't HD but digital sure beats analog! I was hoping at least to get Sunday football in better.

No luck...

At 5:00 p.m. I checked for a WPMT digital signal (channel 47) and got zero. I'm very well positioned to receive it, and so, I'll assume WPMT was not transmitting digital at that moment.

Dave,

WPMT-DT is not up yet. WHTM-DT doesn't even have a channel assignment. It's great news you can get ABC out of Baltimore. With the recent ABC announcement, I am going to get the hardware to try as well.

It looks like WHP has stopped stretching its upconverted programming.

Well, it doesn't look like we'll be getting WHTM digital any time soon. I received this message from WHTM today:

"abc27 does not have a date for broadcasting in digital as of yet. We are still awaiting a channel assignment from the FCC, which we need in order to move forward."

Alas, more bad news on the local digital front. Today, the Titan TV station database shows that WPMT digital is now not scheduled to go live until January 1, 2003.

A bit off-topic...

Anyone in the Harrisburg area have any experience with any local ISF technicians? I'm looking for someone to calibrate my RCA.

Thanks!

Folks,

I confirmed with the Fox 43 CE that TitanTV.com's 1/1/2003 is a good date, give or take a couple of days. Delays are being caused by the hardware vendors.

Dave,

I had an RCA 38310, actually two before ultimately going with the Mitsubishi. Both were lemons. It has a very nice picture absent any defects. I understand that there is a "Chipper Check" port behind the back panel that a trained RCA service tech can access with a laptop with the "Chipper Check" software to fine tune the set. It is a question of calling around to determine which shop has this capability.

I have some ChannelMaster antenna gear on order at Cumberland Electronics, specifically the CM 7777 VHF/UHF pre-amp. ChannelMaster pre-amps are really good. Anyway, what signal strength are you getting for the Baltimore ABC station?

Thanks for the Fox 43 information! Also note that WGAL-DT (58) has been having a variety of audio problems. Sometimes the local audio feed is missing. Sometimes the national audio feed is severely out-of-sync with the video.

As for my 38310 ... It appears to be one of the later "YX5" models, and so far, it's been a joy. No problems of any kind, except for the well known fan annoyance. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

As for my signal strengths ... I've made some changes to my antenna rig since my earlier post (above). Now, I am using only one antenna, the Channel Master four-bay bow-tie, aimed roughly south at the Lancaster/York/Baltimore stations. (I've given up on WHP-DT 4.)

With that new rig, my signal stengths on the Baltimore stations are higher, but still highly dependent on the weather. Channel 52 (WMAR-DT, ABC) will vary from 38 in rain to 48 in clear weather.

Enjoy,
Dave

FYI, I just received this message from WGAL:

Thanks for your report. We have located the source of the problem that you
reported and have restored Channel 58 to normal audio operation. The
problem was caused by a incorrect setting on our HD router. The audio was
locked on to one source while the video was changed. We don't know exactly
when this setting was changed but it may have been the result of an
automation setting. NBC is now offering upconverted NTSC programs as well
as HD programs to us and we are taking advantage of their feed (it is
better than our upconversion). That means that the HD feed is switched many
times during the day and there may be problems that we are not yet aware
of.

Originally posted by dbuffington
[QUOTE]Originally posted by DHarp193

Dave Harper in Elizabethtown? Do you do calibrations in Hershey? Thanks!

Hi Dave:)!!!

Sorry, I just stumbled on this thread again today for the first time in a while.

Yes, I can do calibrations in Hershey. That would be a welcome trip as most of my work has been pretty far away (Waldorf, MD and Columbus, OH this past weekend :rolleyes: )

Be advised though that I don't have the mentioned "Chipper-Check" software on my laptop as of yet. Have you tried R.T. Grim Electronics in Camp Hill??? I used to manage there and I know they are authorized RCA servicers.

Give me a call or email if you have any questions:

(717)877-4125
harperhometheater@comcast.net

Thanks for the info regarding local HD...I've been wondering what's been up around here:(!!!

Hello,


WITF is down. WHTM is nowhere to be found. WPMT could be on by the end of the year.

Does anyone know if WHTM has been proactive in getting the new channel assignment?

Also, this may be unique to my Hughes STB; however, the sound level on WLYH is much lower than on the other DTV stations. Anyone else notice the same problem?

Is anybody else getting dropouts on WHP during the Bond film? My signal strength has dropped from 100 to 58~72.

Yes. The audio would very occasionally vanish for about a second.

Is anyone getting HD cable from comcast? I am scheduled to get hooked up on Tuesday. I'll post my impressions but since this will be my first experience with HD, I won't have anything to compare it to.

FYI,

I know FOX isn't true HD, but our local station, FOX43, was supposed to go digital on Jan 1st. I called their engineering dept and they said that they were having problems with their antenna and they should be up by mid january.

Well, they seem to finally be up on channel 47-2. I just installed a new UHF antenna and did a new channel scan and there they were. I only seemed to be able to get about 65-75 on the meter, so they may be in reduced power for now. Anybody know???

Enjoy your new 480P FAUX...errrrr, ahhhh, I mean....FOX Widescreen Hi-"resolution" broadcasts:rolleyes:!!!

Dave, the fcc website says they are to start off at 10 kw and full power in the spring 920kw. I do not think that is the case because I get them well here in Thurmont. They have not broadcast any widescreen yet hopefully they will start. Jeff

Thanks Jeff!!!

When did you first see them???

They started on friday. Picture looks good but I am hoping for widescreen. Jeff

24 tomorrow night should be in widescreen.

Are they broadcasting all day or just during primetime? I did a quick scan last night and couldn't pick them up, but I didn't know if they were on the air or not.

I cannot seem to pick this station either. I have tried at different times (including primetime) and have moved the antenna around. Is FOX-DT still on the air and are others still receiving the signal?

Hello everyone:

I am located in West York near the fair grounds. My problem is with Baltimore stations like WMAR. When I had the antenna in my attic, I could receive WMAR during the week, but not on weekends. Also, no 11 or 13. So, I decided to place the antenna on the roof thinking I would do better. Now I can receive 13 great but 2 and 11 are not there. Tomorrow, I am having a 40' foot tower installed on the east side of the house. If I still can't receive the Baltimore stations I am going to rip everything down and go back to cable........ Glad to see others are receiving 2. It gives me faith!

Dr. Ed

Hello,

For those who have Comcast HDTV service, have you seen the NBA All Star Weekend listings appear on your on-screen guide for Saturday and Sunday nights yet?

Is anyone getting channel 172 on their on-screen guide?

Thanks in advance...

Joe,

I did not see it in the guide as of last night, nor does ch 172 show up.

On a side note, I am getting OTA Channel 47-1 FOX WPMT-DT again from York.

Dave,

Thanks for the reply. I did a hard reset, which I believe is unplugging the Moto 5100 for at least one minute and plugging it back in. I may have waited about a minute to turn the power back on.

I lost most programming *guide* info for the time being and I had to bypass the parental locks to view programming. So, I then tried to tune 172 and it came up!

Channel 172 is for the moment on and identified as CSNHD. Color bars are being shown with "INDEMAND NBA HD" superimposed.

So, it's there after all. But a strange way to get to it though.

[edit: added "guide" which appears inside the set of "*" for clarification purposes.]

Folks,

Please pardon the second request...

For those who have Comcast HDTV service, have you seen the NBA All Star Weekend listings appear on your on-screen guide for Saturday and Sunday nights yet?

Is anyone getting channel 172 on their on-screen guide?

Thanks in advance...

Anybody having a problem with comcast HD HBO and Showtime. I'm getting sd hbo and showtime but not hd. All the other hd channels coming thru fine.
Brian

Hello,

I noticed that HBO-HD was down as of Sunday morning. The HBO-SD channels work fine. As of 10:00AM Monday, HBO-HD is still down. I sub to Comcast-Harrisburg.

Whats the deal with Wpmt? I thought they were to go to full power over the summer. As is their signal is very weak now and hopefully they will increase it before football. Jeff

I just blogged about the fact that WHP has performed poorly on the Sunday afternoons when we've been lucky enough to receive the HD game of the week. Every time I can recall watching this game, there's been a significant delay between the time WHP begins showing the game (in "upconverted" mode with their grey sidebars) and when they change over to the HDTV feed. Yesterday's KC-OAK game was the longest delay yet. I didn't time it, but I think it was about 15 minutes.

Is anyone else annoyed by this? Do you think there's anything that we can do about it? I think at minimum I'm going to send an email to the general manager of WHP.

I generally call out of principle but I was on my way back from Philly. The WHP number is (717) 234-6397. Ask for WHP engineering. They can flip the switch before you can hang up. Once the control room people get HDTVs in their living room is when you will see improved quality control on flipping that switch.

Hello all!

I am going to New Jersey for Thanksgiving, and will be riding up 81. Because I cannot drive, I will have the opportunity to use my portable digital television system to receive digital television along the way. I know 4 is going to be a pain in the rear-end if my local WBRA-DT is any indication, but what about the others? Are they doing subchannels?

This is what I'm hoping to see...

08-1 58 NBC WGAL
15-1 23 UPN WLYH
21-1 04 CBS WHP (Only when VERY close)
33-1 36 PBS WITF
43-1 47 FOX WPMT

Is this correct? Or are there some subchannels or something?

Thanks a bunch!

- Trip

What's the latest on CBS whp-dt and UPN wlhy-dt? I get good OTA recption on 15-1 but no actual hd transmission of Enterprise, just sd letterboxed. Is whp-dt being broadcast? I can't find it OTA but Comcast has it on 182 I think. Any sight of ABC whtm? Fox 43-1 is good (go Eagles)
Brian

Just got this reply:
Hi Brian

Not yet, we have an HD encoder ordered, when it gets here it will be in HD and wide screen.

Thanks
Rob Hershey
Director of Engineering
WHP / WLYH Television

Dave,

Are they talking about Tracks Ahead there? I thought I saw the "Chloe" prototype in HD which was really cool. Of course, the train on Wild Wild West was great in HD on CBS a couple of weekends ago.

:D

> Are they talking about Tracks Ahead there?

I thought that was on WITF?

> I thought I saw the "Chloe" prototype in HD which was really cool.

The Chloe prototype was at the Railroad Museum in Strasburg for awhile, and I _think_ it's now down at the Smithsonian.

Of course, HD does sometimes look better than reality :p

> Of course, the train on Wild Wild West was great in HD
> on CBS a couple of weekends ago.

The TV train? Or the movie train?

Originally posted by dbuffington
> Are they talking about Tracks Ahead there?

I thought that was on WITF?

> I thought I saw the "Chloe" prototype in HD which was really cool.

The Chloe prototype was at the Railroad Museum in Strasburg for awhile, and I _think_ it's now down at the Smithsonian.

Of course, HD does sometimes look better than reality :p

> Of course, the train on Wild Wild West was great in HD
> on CBS a couple of weekends ago.

The TV train? Or the movie train?

Dave,

I am just busting on you because you posted the G Scale Group link up above.
:)

Hey, everyone, good news!

I got an e-mail from Jim Myers at WPMT and Fox is now broadcasting at full power. I wasn't able to get it previously but now it's coming in perfectly. Digital channel is 47-1. For you Eagles fans, Jim said that if Fox provides them with the EDTV widescreen feed of the game this weekend they'll pass it through.

So... does anyone know what happened with WMPT tonight about 3/4 of the way through showing 24? Is this situation normal for the locals in York/Lancaster/Harrisburg and HDTV?

On a related note, I thought Law & Order SVU would've been HDTV on ch58, but it looked like SD to me. Someone forget to flip the switch? (Not to mention that the HDTV feed faded to black with only an NBC logo about 1/2 way through.)

Okay, I just called WHP and asked them to "flip the switch" for hi-def - lo and behold, within 30 seconds, no more gray bars! (Thanks, jsb_hburg)

Isn't there any way to automate this process?

Bob

Originally posted by bhench
Okay, I just called WHP and asked them to "flip the switch" for hi-def - lo and behold, within 30 seconds, no more gray bars! (Thanks, jsb_hburg)

Isn't there any way to automate this process?

Bob

Yep, the phone number is a few posts above. I was out; otherwise, I would have called. I gather based on their reaction on the phone in the recent past that they have no idea that they are not passing the network HD feed.

When they do pass the feed, it looks awesome. I'm glad others call. For Guardian or Judging Amy, I just can't bring myself to tune to the channel; so...

Hello,

I noticed over the weekend some resolution changes on 15-1. It has been confirmed by
the station's CE that WLYH has gone 1080i with the arrival of the new HD encoder in
support of UPN programming in HD. Programming is being upconverted right now. Enterprise just might be in HD tonight!

There are color bars on 15-2 but I don't know if 15-2 will continue or not. Hopefully, everything will work. Hey, come to think of it, where's WHTM???

Any update on WITF, WHTM?

Has anyone got any idea when Comcast will carry ABC and FOX on the HD side of things? Just got my HD box this weekend and that is the only disappointing factor. Also, what are my chances of getting OTA reception of these channels in Lancaster? I live near the state police barracks if that helps.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hello,

The first post of this thread has been updated to reflect the current stae of OTA and to provide links for known local cable companies providing HDTV service.

All stations have transitioned to digital. But not all stations are at full power.

I am able to get all major network affiliates using a Terk HDTVi antenna connected to my integrated Samsung 26 inch HDTV set.

Joe

Is anyone in Northern Baltimore County/Carroll County having any luck picking up the DTV broadcast from WHP-TV in Harrisburg?

I am in westminster and get WGAL perfectly, FOX 43 perfectly, the UPN station on 23.1 perfectly, and some other religious station on 30.1.

But I cant get WHP. I wonder if its because they are broadcasting on 4.1 and thats the same station as WRC.

Any thoughts??

Sport06,
I live in Lititz, Pa (32 miles from the tower) and I can't get whp either. They are only broadcasting @ 2.3kW.... I have d*TV and wanted the CBS feed from them but they said that they needed a waiver from WHP, SO they send one and I got denied. I wrote directly to WHP and asked them why and they said they don't give waivers. So I sent a email back asking them what they are going to do about this since it is there problem and not mine. I'm still waiting for a replie...

Originally posted by shepler76
I live in Lititz, Pa (32 miles from the tower) and I can't get whp either. They are only broadcasting @ 2.3kW.... I have d*TV and wanted the CBS feed from them but they said that they needed a waiver from WHP, SO they send one and I got denied. I wrote directly to WHP and asked them why and they said they don't give waivers. So I sent a email back asking them what they are going to do about this since it is there problem and not mine. I'm still waiting for a replie...

For low-VHF (channels 2-6), 2.3kw isn't very low powered. It's kind of medium range. As long as you're not near NYC or Philadelphia, you should be able to get them with a quality antenna setup within 20-30 miles.

No station that I know of is in the habit of granting waivers to people who can get their analog stations clearly. At 32 miles, I have no doubt you get a clean signal from their analog station, and that is all the waiver process addresses at this time.

Thanks for the info, unfort. I am 50 miles from the towers in PHL and also near NYC and Baltimore. Until they stop broadcasting in analog I guess I'm screwwed

50 miles is very doable if you're willing to go through the effort. I'm 75 miles from my target stations and have had a reasonable measure of success (note: I went to extreme lengths.) 60 miles is considered the reasonable limit for UHF reception, and you're well inside that.

Ya, but I live in an apartment and can not put a huge antenna on the roof. Whats funny is that I can get CBS from PHl (57.3 miles) with my indoor antenna but not Harrisburg (32.4 miles).

shepler not sure why you need a waiver for Harrisonburg locals are on both dish net and direct tv unless you are trying to get the HD feed.

Yes, I'm trying to get the HD Feeds...

I'm still wondering why my HD Dish Network set-up, with locals added, doesn't include the HD feed of the locals. Haven't been able to get a straight answer on that one, and I'd really like to be watching 24 in HD!

Luke

Comcast Hershey has NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS HD channels, They need to work on UPN. We do not have a local WB Ch, as the cable WB feed is from Phila.

Our CBS HD channel sucks. has lots of problems, Audio is not DD5.1 it is only DD2.0, That also needs addressed.

Originally posted by aharden
I just blogged about the fact that WHP has performed poorly on the Sunday afternoons when we've been lucky enough to receive the HD game of the week. Every time I can recall watching this game, there's been a significant delay between the time WHP begins showing the game (in "upconverted" mode with their grey sidebars) and when they change over to the HDTV feed. Yesterday's KC-OAK game was the longest delay yet. I didn't time it, but I think it was about 15 minutes.

Is anyone else annoyed by this? Do you think there's anything that we can do about it? I think at minimum I'm going to send an email to the general manager of WHP.


Trust me it's now Late Jan 2005, and nothing has changed. Lots of problems with there HD. You can tell it is only simulcast in Fake HD, and is not True HD. Compare the sporting events from FOX, ABC, ESPN to the CBS HD sports. The PQ is quite obvious....

no wonder comcast has not added UPN 15 to the HD selection as of yet.

Final channel elections are in! Here's the results:

WGAL-8
WLYH-23
WHP-21
WHTM-10
WITF-33
WPMT-47
WGCB-30

- Trip

With WHTM dropping ABC News Now, the data rate is now 17.1 Mbps for the HD channel. The picture quality has looked awesome. It is like looking through a window when watching ABC HDTV programming. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

Comcast has added HD-VOD on the Harrisburg system. There are five to seven titles. Half are Imax.

Originally posted by jsb_hburg
Comcast has added HD-VOD on the Harrisburg system. There are five to seven titles. Half are Imax.

Same here on the Hershey-Comcast Feed.

We have only 4 HD Movies at this time listed.

solarmax
Shrek 2
Surv Xmas
The Terminal

Peter

Originally posted by lukeout
I'm still wondering why my HD Dish Network set-up, with locals added, doesn't include the HD feed of the locals. Haven't been able to get a straight answer on that one, and I'd really like to be watching 24 in HD!


As it currently stands, only New York and LA can get HD locals via satellite. In O&O markets, it is possible to get one of the New York or LA affiliates, but AFAIK, Harrisburg doesn't have any O&O stations.

DirecTV has announced plans to offer HD LiL in the next 24 months or so for all markets. Dish doesn't have the capacity to match.

With an HD Dish receiver, you should be able to receive HD locals using a quality outdoor antenna.

Originally posted by Trip in VA
Final channel elections are in!

I think you mean "First-round" channel elections. Final elections are still over a year away.

WHTM is the only one that might run into trouble, as they'll be competing with WCAU in Philadelphia for channel 10.

Originally posted by sregener
I think you mean "First-round" channel elections. Final elections are still over a year away.

WHTM is the only one that might run into trouble, as they'll be competing with WCAU in Philadelphia for channel 10.

Yeah, but I imagine most of those are uncontested.

And WCAU has elected channel 34...

- Trip

Does any one have a list of Comcast PSIP Channels in the Harrisburg area.

I have found the following Local DTV & HDTV channels:

PBS HD 36.1
CBS HD 54.1 WHP
ABC HD 82.2 WHTM
PBS HD 91.1
NBC HD 94.1 WGAL

Have not been able to locate FOX, WPMT along with others.

I am using the QAM tuner built into my TV.

Any help appreciated,
Teddy

Howdy everyone. I'm in Colorado but am trying to find out a few things about the current state of HD in Central PA for my father-in-law. I'm from Carlisle - so I'm pretty familiar w/ all the "old" stations (as of 9 years ago...).

Anyway, he lives in Carlisle - north of town. Any idea what stations he should be able to get w/ an off-air antenna? He would probably use a Winegard SquareShooter (that's what I use & have had excellent luck w/ it) - the amplified version...

What is the local cable company back there? Out here, we can get Comcast's basic cable package for $14/mo & use the QAM tuner internal to our set to get HD locals off of it. What do they have available?

He's been asking around but doesn't really know what to ask. Any help is appreciated!

-robert

Originally posted by rmeredith
Howdy everyone. I'm in Colorado but am trying to find out a few things about the current state of HD in Central PA for my father-in-law. I'm from Carlisle - so I'm pretty familiar w/ all the "old" stations (as of 9 years ago...).

Anyway, he lives in Carlisle - north of town. Any idea what stations he should be able to get w/ an off-air antenna? He would probably use a Winegard SquareShooter (that's what I use & have had excellent luck w/ it) - the amplified version...

What is the local cable company back there? Out here, we can get Comcast's basic cable package for $14/mo & use the QAM tuner internal to our set to get HD locals off of it. What do they have available?

He's been asking around but doesn't really know what to ask. Any help is appreciated!

-robert

Hello,

He might have Comcast. He can enter his address at comcast.com to see if he is served by Comcast via the what's in my area link. Comcast does not yet carry the UPN station, WLYH. All the other local HD channels are carried and are clear QAM. Towers are 15 to 40 miles from Carlisle. A good outdoor antenna with pre-amp should get the locals with the big locals within a 50 degree arc.

Pulling in the Harrisburg Market channels on my 811, I've noticed something with the local PBS Station WITF.

All my other local channels (except WGCB which Dish for some reason does not carry) map the guide info to the correct digital subchannel, except for WITF.
The guide shows WITF as 33-1 & 33-3 (33-1 is the normal SD broadcast, and 33-3 is PBS HD). Both show up at "Local Digital" in the guide.
But whenever I manually scan digital channel 36 (WITF's digital frequency), then 33-1, 33-2, and 33-3 show up in the guide, with WITF's guide data showing in 33-2. But whenever I switch to any of the WITF channels, then 33-2 disappears from the guide (along with the guide data).
WITF's DTV website shows they use 33.1 & 33.2, but their link to titantv at shows 33.1 & 33.3

Any ideas if the disappearing guide data is on Dish's end or WITF's?

Total Newb here. I live in Mount Joy, PA and know very little about HD. I've been a DirecTV customer for about 3 years - and have the oval dish and one SD box and one SDTivo. I'm adding a home theater and will need a 3rd box (HD) to run the Sanyo Z3.

I will want HD mainly for Sunday Ticket but will also like for some network programming like 24.

So where to start, I keep reading all about UHF/VHF, HD lite, MPEG4, Superfan, DVI problems on the HD box, current HD boxes becoming obselete in a few months, etc....??

I guess first off - how many RG6 lines do I need for a DirecTV HD box? And is there a better box out there than theirs?

Anyone have any experience with what equipment I'll need in my area - as far as antennae, etc.?

What is the best approach for me to upgrade my service without paying a fortune? I'll need to renew my Sunday Ticket and add Superfan, obviously, but I'm not crazy about paying $200-300 for another box, OTA antennae, etc. What approaches will work with CSR to get discounted equipment?

Thanks for any help!

jaggernaut1

I guess first off - how many RG6 lines do I need for a DirecTV HD box?

That will depend on which HD box you purchase. If you purchase a HD box without TIVO capability or without 2 tuners, you will only need a RG6 line. If you purchase the DirecTV HD box with TIVO, you will need 2 RG6 lines (because there are 2 separate tuners in that box. I have that box and I am very pleased with it. I also have a regular HD box that works well for my other TV. This will all depend on whether you want TIVO capability and whether you are willing to pay the extra cost of the HD TIVO unit.

What approaches will work with CSR to get discounted equipment?

I would suggest that you contact customer retention directly (800) 600-8977 and suggest to them that you can get HD cheaper with cable and are thinking of switching to cable. Most of the time, the CSR will offer to give you some discounts on purchases of equipment and programming. If you don't like the offer given you, you can play CSR roulette and call again and speak to a different CSR.

With respect to superfan, that is necessary to purchase in addition to Sunday Ticket if you want to see the games in HD. There are several extensive threads on this issue in the HD Programming Forum here on AVS. There have been very recent announcements that the charge for Superfan has just been reduced from $99 to $49 for existing Sunday Ticket Customers. Others have been able to obtain discounts on Superfan by talking to a CSR in customer retention.

I can't help you much with picking on OTA antenna as that is very highly dependant on the exact location of your house. You could also consider getting a basic cable package that might give you local HD channels if that is available in your area. If you live outside the local viewing area of the network stations, you can get HD network channels from NY and CA through DirecTV. However, I assume you are probably too close to the local network stations. Some people have been able to qualify for these distant network signals from DirecTV by "moving" to another location outside the local stations areas.

HDLite refers to the fact that DirecTV is not broadcasting the HD stations at their full HD resolution. Whether the resolution they are broadcasting at can really be called HD is the subject of some dispute. The signals still look very good, but if you have a very large screen or are very fussy about the quality of the signal, you may notice the difference.

MPEG4 is the new method that DirecTV will be using to broadcase HD signals in the future. Many people believe that DirecTV will replace the customer's equipment with new equipment when necessary for little or no charge, but there is no guarantee of this.

With respect to DVI issues, you may want to check the HD Hardware forum here on AVS.

I hope this helps to answer your questions on a basic level. There is a lot that could be added for each of your questions and I am sure others will add their comments.

Scott

Total Newb here. I live in Mount Joy, PA and know very little about HD. I've been a DirecTV customer for about 3 years - and have the oval dish and one SD box and one SDTivo. I'm adding a home theater and will need a 3rd box (HD) to run the Sanyo Z3.

I will want HD mainly for Sunday Ticket but will also like for some network programming like 24.

So where to start, I keep reading all about UHF/VHF, HD lite, MPEG4, Superfan, DVI problems on the HD box, current HD boxes becoming obselete in a few months, etc....??

I guess first off - how many RG6 lines do I need for a DirecTV HD box? And is there a better box out there than theirs?

Anyone have any experience with what equipment I'll need in my area - as far as antennae, etc.?

What is the best approach for me to upgrade my service without paying a fortune? I'll need to renew my Sunday Ticket and add Superfan, obviously, but I'm not crazy about paying $200-300 for another box, OTA antennae, etc. What approaches will work with CSR to get discounted equipment?

Thanks for any help!

jaggernaut1


OK, Lets start by saying that the HD box from D* is a good box and does not have an DVI problem that I know of (the HD-DVR box HAD issues but seemd to be fixed) You only need 1 line from the dish to the HD box and 1 line from your antenna. Due to the fact that 2 of the Harrisburg station broadcast in VHF (4,10) you will need to get an antenna that does both VHF/UHF and probably an amplier. To see which antenna you should get and exactly how far away you are you can go to http://www.antennaweb.org and put in your address. As for the MPEG4 issue, you don;t have to worry about that for a while since Harrisburg is the 47th market it could be at least 1.5-3 years before we get HD Locals (maybe sooner for people with Sunday Ticket + SuperFan which is a total rip off) and when they do switch they are saying it will be a free swap out.

To try to get some kind of discount or credit, you might try talking to the Customer Rentension Deptment and tell them that you are interested in getting the D* HD but your local cable company has more channels, what can you do to keep me with you. don't tell them about the Sunday Ticket since cable does not have that.


Hope some of this helps
Good Luck

Thanks for the help! I guess my options are really limited due to the NFLST. So assuming I go with the standard DTV HD box, what is it like switching channels from OTA HD to Sat HD to SD? Are there delays or processes or is it as easy as changing channels normally?

Do OTA antennas need to move to tune in stations?

Thanks again!

Thanks for the help! I guess my options are really limited due to the NFLST. So assuming I go with the standard DTV HD box, what is it like switching channels from OTA HD to Sat HD to SD? Are there delays or processes or is it as easy as changing channels normally?

Do OTA antennas need to move to tune in stations?

Thanks again!


By going to the antennaweb.org site, you will get the degree bearings for all the locals you can receive. Depending on the arc, you may or may not need a rotor for your antenna. A rotor will let you fine tune the signal to get the optimal antenna point from the comfort of your living room using the rotor remote without having to tweak the antenna manually on the roof.

Hello. I live just north of Balitmore, about 41 miles from York. I'm trying to get Fox out of York in digital, OTA, on channel 43.1. Do you guys know if they have gone full power yet? Any tips on receiving Fox 43 out of York down in my area? I've gotten other digital and analog stations further away and I'm trying to figure out why I can't receive Fox 43. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Has anyone else lost WBAL 11.1 ? Analog 11 comes in fine. I went from 70 - 80 % signal strength to nothing. My TV cannot even find 11.1 .

mine was out all last night. try 59.1,.2, and .3. maybe they switched frequencies?

mine was out all last night. try 59.1,.2, and .3. maybe they switched frequencies?

I think you are right. Some one on the Baltimore thread said the same.

Okay, need some help with OTA.

I just had D* install the HDDVR with an OTA (Winegard).

I live in Mount Joy, 17552, with and unobstructed southern exposure, 2 story house. OTA is mounted to the dish, on the lowest point of the roof on the southern side of the house, so there is obstruction from my own roof to the north.

I can get channels 8.1, 8.2, 15.1, 33.1, 43.1, and 49.1.

The OTA is rated light green. I looked on antennaweb.com and all the channels I want to get are either red or blue.

I can't get 21.1 or 27.1, which is really going to stink because I want HD for football, and Monday Night Football, playoffs, and the Superbowl will be on channels I can't get in HD!

Any advice on how to get these channels? Should I get another antenna, adjust this one, move it, or is there no hope? Please help.

You are going to have problems because 27.1 and 21.1 are at VHF channels 4 and 10. I believe the antenna they gave you is UHF only since that's what 97% of digital channels are at.

Thanks for the reply. Any suggestions on what to do? Can I change to an antenna that will get both UHF and VHF? Or add a VHF antenna? I really want to get these channels.

Thanks for the reply. Any suggestions on what to do? Can I change to an antenna that will get both UHF and VHF? Or add a VHF antenna? I really want to get these channels.

Usually the antenna that mounts on the dish is junk anyways. You are better off getting a real antenna and putting it on your roof, the higher the better. Radioshack has a nice VHF/UHF antenna (not sure the model number) but you would also want to get an amplifier. Note that you will really only need an antenna for about 1-1/12 years (so they say) until they get all the new sats up and then we will get all our HD locals via the sats; Including the WB from Phila.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2185

Is this the one?

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2185

Is this the one?

Nope, Something more like this.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2152

But you can try it. Nice thing is if it don't work, take it back.

I live in hummelstown and am considering these same issues. I am looking to upgrade to HD and bought an in-house antenna from radio shack just to test - my Hitachi tv has a HD tuner. I can pick up 21.1 very well just from this antenna, so I am thinking that even with D*'s crappy outdoor antenna I may be ok getting 27, 8, 15 and 43.. Does anyone have experience with the OTA's provided by D*? Do they even offer ones that support UHF and VHF?

Yesterday the US Open on CBS HD was stunning. Switching to the Red Sox vs. Yankees game on Fox HD was a disappointment. The picture was very poor. Any ideas why that was so? Some say that Fox sometimes uses SD equipment for their HD broadcasts?

Yesterday the US Open on CBS HD was stunning. Switching to the Red Sox vs. Yankees game on Fox HD was a disappointment. The picture was very poor. Any ideas why that was so? Some say that Fox sometimes uses SD equipment for their HD broadcasts?

PQ on FIX-HD from Hershey ComCrap Feed looked good to me. FOX & ABC take there HD Sports broadcasts very seriously.

NBC & CBS could give a crap.... :(

P

I live in hummelstown and am considering these same issues. I am looking to upgrade to HD and bought an in-house antenna from radio shack just to test - my Hitachi tv has a HD tuner. I can pick up 21.1 very well just from this antenna, so I am thinking that even with D*'s crappy outdoor antenna I may be ok getting 27, 8, 15 and 43.. Does anyone have experience with the OTA's provided by D*? Do they even offer ones that support UHF and VHF?
Which Radio Shack antenna did you get? I live in Harrisburg, and have been unable to pick up 27 at all, and 21 only intermittently. I realize these are broadcast via VHF, but I'd like a recommendation for an antenna that someone has successfully used (having bought two that don't). Thanks.

I live in Shippensburg, which is in a weird limbo area in Comcast's regions with Baltimore and Central PA. Basically, other then a slightly different lineup, we get FSN Pittsburgh and Comcast MD, but not Comcast Philly... it makes no sense and aggravates me because I want the Flyers and Phillies, not the Capitals and Orioles!!!

Anyways, I have a Sanyo HT30 and I'm currently using my QAM tuner for HD. I'm not at home right now, but my channel line-up is really confusing. 80.1 and .2 are CBS and FOX HD, ABC is also in the 80's... 90.1 is ESPN HD, 90.2 is PBS HD, and 94 something or another is NBC. A big bulk of the channels are the uselss Music Choice channels and the SD channels are all over the place, and I'm assuming there are more channels but it seems the Sanyo can't go higher than 107 for digital... does each TV make up its own QAM lineup or is there a definitive one out there somewhere? Also, does anyone know if I can go higher than 107?

TNT-HD is now on channel 204 on the Comcast-Harrisburg system.

TNT-HD is now on channel 204 on the Comcast-Harrisburg system.

Same for the Hershy Comcast Feed.

TBT-HD Ch: 204

next should be ESPN 2 HD

Live in Central PA... Comcast's "Chambersburg" region. I've been using my built-in digital tuner for my HD channels... and now I get a "scrambeled channel" message on those channels. This happened last night. I did another channel search with my set, and now I can't even access them. Isn't this illegal?

Live in Central PA... Comcast's "Chambersburg" region. I've been using my built-in digital tuner for my HD channels... and now I get a "scrambeled channel" message on those channels. This happened last night. I did another channel search with my set, and now I can't even access them. Isn't this illegal?

No this is not illegal. Comcast has been broadcasting non-encrypted signals during the switch to digital simulcast. but from what I have herd they are done and it was only a matter of time before they changed it.

Well, I found out they just rearranged the location of the channels, and now have all the local HD channel frequencies lumped together in one section. Took out ESPNHD, though. :(

Well, I found out they just rearranged the location of the channels, and now have all the local HD channel frequencies lumped together in one section. Took out ESPNHD, though. :(


I'm in Ship and have the Chambersburg Comcast lineup as well. I did another scan but seemed to have lost a lot of channels. I get 150 channels on the scan, but over half of them have nothing on it. The receiver must read some type of signal there, but there is nothing but a blank screen when I go to the channel. I found the new networks tonight, but as you say, they seem to have taken out ESPN. I also had the NBA league pass until the other day. Not all of the games but about half of them. Most of what I get now is just a simulcast of regular analog cable....channels 2-78 or whatever. My channel mapping appears to be just like yours. My old ESPN was 90.1 and CBS, ABC, and FOX were right around 80-82 and NBC was 94-1. I have an LG DVD player with QAM tuner. A buddy has a Phillips TV with QAM tuner with the same channel lineup.

Several Ch, now show up on my tuner as ENC.

Peter

Anyone having problems with the CBS Steelers Game not showing in HD?

I'm in Ship and have the Chambersburg Comcast lineup as well. I did another scan but seemed to have lost a lot of channels. I get 150 channels on the scan, but over half of them have nothing on it. The receiver must read some type of signal there, but there is nothing but a blank screen when I go to the channel. I found the new networks tonight, but as you say, they seem to have taken out ESPN. I also had the NBA league pass until the other day. Not all of the games but about half of them. Most of what I get now is just a simulcast of regular analog cable....channels 2-78 or whatever. My channel mapping appears to be just like yours. My old ESPN was 90.1 and CBS, ABC, and FOX were right around 80-82 and NBC was 94-1. I have an LG DVD player with QAM tuner. A buddy has a Phillips TV with QAM tuner with the same channel lineup.


Wow, a resident from Shippensburg as well? Where are you at?

But yep, everything you said applied to me. After deleting all the useless MusicChoice channels, I basically get all the channels I already have on standard, just now with the local HD channels, which are lumped together in freqs 108-110. I also get a couple on-demand channels for movies, but since it's just random showings and not in HD, it's kind of useless. As for the League Pass and ESPN College GameDay, I've always gotten the weird looping advertisments, never any games... though, I never tried flipped them on during game times now that I think about it. And lately the HD broadcasts have been very glitchy and non-working. Also, I don't really get any digital-only channels (NFL Network as an example), just the standard channels.

I know if I can get on-demand movie channels, there must be a way, somehow to get ESPN back... I can't live without!

I'm out near Cleversburg, just off of Baltimore Road. I do get the On-Demand stuff, but it's really weird, because I'll be watching a movie, and then it will switch to another movie, then lose signal completely. I change channels, and sometimes I can find the movie on another channel, but it will be in a different part of the movie. I have yet to be able to watch a movie from start to finish. It is so frustrating that I gave up even trying. I don't complain though, because I'm not subscribed to digital cable. I get the HD networks, and that is really why I got my LG DVD player w/ QAM tuner. ESPN was fun while it lasted, but I get that with DirecTV, so I'm ok with that.

Wow, a resident from Shippensburg as well? Where are you at?

But yep, everything you said applied to me. After deleting all the useless MusicChoice channels, I basically get all the channels I already have on standard, just now with the local HD channels, which are lumped together in freqs 108-110. I also get a couple on-demand channels for movies, but since it's just random showings and not in HD, it's kind of useless. As for the League Pass and ESPN College GameDay, I've always gotten the weird looping advertisments, never any games... though, I never tried flipped them on during game times now that I think about it. And lately the HD broadcasts have been very glitchy and non-working. Also, I don't really get any digital-only channels (NFL Network as an example), just the standard channels.

I know if I can get on-demand movie channels, there must be a way, somehow to get ESPN back... I can't live without!

If you haven't herd WB and UPN are going to be merging this fall to create CW network. And from what they are saying they will be using the UPN Network setups. This is great news for us in the Harrisburg area as there is no WB here. It will be great to be able to watch WB and UPN shows in HD now.

Everyone with Comcast of Harrisburg and Hershey and Lebanon.

I got a report that ESPN2-HD Comcast Ch 203 was working for about 1 hour today for testing, but does not seem to be online at this time.. Also Both ESPN & ESPN2 have gone DD5.1 audio now.

If anyone catches the testing of ESPN2-HD on there system, please post a alert....

Last I had heard, March 2006 was the timeframe for ESPN2 HD in SC PA

Does anybody know at what time and on what channel I can find test patterns for Comcast Cable in Harrisburg? I would like to calibrate my TV for my set top box. Thanks!

Does anybody know at what time and on what channel I can find test patterns for Comcast Cable in Harrisburg? I would like to calibrate my TV for my set top box. Thanks!

INHD sat Morning at 7am
show is called "Tune Up"

Everyone with Comcast of Harrisburg and Hershey and Lebanon.

I got a report that ESPN2-HD Comcast Ch 203 was working for about 1 hour today for testing, but does not seem to be online at this time.. Also Both ESPN & ESPN2 have gone DD5.1 audio now.

If anyone catches the testing of ESPN2-HD on there system, please post a alert....

Last I had heard, March 2006 was the timeframe for ESPN2 HD in SC PA

With WITF pulling the plug on HD and Comcast reclaiming the bandwidth, we should see ESPN2 or Universal HD sooner with the open HD slot available, assuming the contracts permit.

INHD sat Morning at 7am
show is called "Tune Up"


It is on every Saturday morning at 7:00 AM in case you missed today's airing. If you have a DVR or DVHS, you might consider making a copy so you can do a tune-up whenever it is needed.

With WITF pulling the plug on HD and Comcast reclaiming the bandwidth, we should see ESPN2 or Universal HD sooner with the open HD slot available, assuming the contracts permit.


WITF still has the HD Ch but there is very little HD content on it. I think I saw 2 shows so far in HD :( CH 240 on the Hershey Comcast Feed.

There simulcasting there Analog Ch when there is no HD.

WITF still has the HD Ch but there is very little HD content on it. I think I saw 2 shows so far in HD :( CH 240 on the Hershey Comcast Feed.

There simulcasting there Analog Ch when there is no HD.

I checked WITF a couple of times using an OTA tuner for programs in HD when so indicated by TitanTV but saw SD. So, it is difficult to determine what WITF is showing in HD in advance. But that is the $22,000 question.

Can anyone in the Mechanicsburg / Camp Hill area tell me what HDTV channels you can pick up with a QAM tuner.

I don't want to go out and spend $150 and find out that everything is encrypted.

Is there a WGAL-HD tech on this list?

Several problems on the Nascar Feed.

Took a break from the race, whats up with WGAL. they started 5.1 on and off at the start of the Olympics. Last week the practice for the Daytona was in 5.1, sounded great. Now the race is in digital not 5.1. Is this Comcast or WGAL?

Took a break from the race, whats up with WGAL. they started 5.1 on and off at the start of the Olympics. Last week the practice for the Daytona was in 5.1, sounded great. Now the race is in digital not 5.1. Is this Comcast or WGAL?

Its OTA, and the Pre-Race feed was DD5.1 with only 3 Ch audio in the stream. Now it's just DD2.0

PQ was horrible for PreRace. Bit rate went up at start of race but it's nowhere near full strength.

OK...I put an antenna in my attic, and was receiving all off air HD local broadcasts--perfect. The other day, the FOX network's HD went down--confirmed by the station ( a "splicer" problem). It is now back up, according to them, but I am receiving nothing--a "0" or "--" signal strength. All of my other HD channels are working perfectly, but the engineer at FOX (who has been doing his very best, but I believe now is at a aloss) has been unable to get my picture back or explain why I am still not receiving signal.

I borrowed an HD set top box from a friend, and it receives the FOX signal fine, yet the tuner in my TV (built in) will still not receive the singal--it indicates "unusable signal." The problem is apparently not with the antenna positioning or that actual signal not being sent, and seems to be more of "decoding problem" according to the FOX engineer. Any way to reset the TV (RCA Scenium) back to the factory original settings (to try as a first step), or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

OK...I put an antenna in my attic, and was receiving all off air HD local broadcasts--perfect. The other day, the FOX network's HD went down--confirmed by the station ( a "splicer" problem). It is now back up, according to them, but I am receiving nothing--a "0" or "--" signal strength. All of my other HD channels are working perfectly, but the engineer at FOX (who has been doing his very best, but I believe now is at a aloss) has been unable to get my picture back or explain why I am still not receiving signal.

I borrowed an HD set top box from a friend, and it receives the FOX signal fine, yet the tuner in my TV (built in) will still not receive the singal--it indicates "unusable signal." The problem is apparently not with the antenna positioning or that actual signal not being sent, and seems to be more of "decoding problem" according to the FOX engineer. Any way to reset the TV (RCA Scenium) back to the factory original settings (to try as a first step), or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated...


Try turning off your HDTV. If it is a DLP or other display type with a fan, wait until the fan stops before taking the next step. Then, unplug your HDTV and wait a couple of minutes before plugging it back in. Turn your HDTV back on and rescan your channels if necessary. Test for Fox.

Let us know the results.

I've tried that--to the point where I've even left the TV unplgged overnight, and then for a weekend when that did not work--the TV seems to still hold it's memory. Ive re-scanned numerous times, to no avail, as well as manually entering the channel. Any other suggestions--this is very frustrating...

I sent the following email to WITF concerning their lack of PBS-HD.
===========================================
WITF:

Several weeks ago on my HDTV I recieved 2 stations from WITF.
33.1 - Standard WITF Digital Signal
33.3 - PBS HD

More recently I no longer get 33.1, but only get 33.3 which is now the Standard WITF Digital Signal, and no longer PBS HD.

Should this be the case?

thank you,
Bobby Elrod
York, PA

This is the response I received.
======================================

Thanks for your question. We have, for the immediate future, suspended our high-definition service. Here’s why:

Since WITF became the first television station in Pennsylvania to transmit its digital channel in November 1998, the station has been airing a continuous loop of high definition digital programming supplied by PBS. The content of that channel included repeats of specials created in the High Definition format, the only PBS series provided in HD (Nature and History Detectives), and miscellaneous programs that PBS would insert to round out the schedule.

Since its inception, WITF has had no local input or opportunity to add value to the content of the channel. We have been unable to provide any of our local programs, like Smart Talk, Explore PA, or the Our Town series in the schedule, or any of our “Candidate’s Access” or special election coverage.

As WITF faces the eventual relinquishing of its analog service (the deadline set by Congress is now February 19, 2009), we have been weighing the value of our broadcasting a prepackaged digital schedule loaded with repeats against a locally-programmed schedule that offers those programs available to us in HD as well as the other programs our viewers value.

Our concern over the content delivered by PBS in the national digital feed (particularly the fact that there were just so many repeats, and little new material) preceded PBS’s precipitous announcement of a costly fee—imposed after station operating budgets (including WITF’s) were set for this year.

WITF was faced with three options: eliminate other services and reallocate money to cover the fee; find an underwriter or donor to pay the fee; or drop the service, at least for the short-term.

After attempts to find an underwriter to pay the fee were unsuccessful, WITF opted to suspend the service and replace it with a simulcast of our analog programming, “upconverted” to a digital (but not hi-def) picture. However, when high-definition versions of the programs we carry are available to us, as I indicated above, we will, of course, feed those programs in high-definition.

Though PBS’s unanticipated charge for the service was a catalyst in WITF’s making this decision this year (a decision other local public television stations have faced, as well), the content of the digital feed was a problem already under discussion at the station. WITF will continue to press PBS for more original programming/less repetition in its high-definition service and we will re-evaluate our decision if PBS indicates that the content of the channel will be improved.

If you have additional questions or comments about this, or anything else you see on WITF-TV, or hear on WITF-FM, please feel free contact me.

Thanks again for writing,

Joe

______________________________________

Joe Miller
Programming Assistant
WITF-TV / WITF-FM 89.5

OK...NBC is showing with 100% signal strenght for HD, yet there is no picture or sound....
UPN (which the signal was usually in the low 70's for strength) is now showing a variation between 0 and 6 or 8 signal strength (thus no picture or sound)...Does anyone know what is going on with HD in the Harrisburg area?

keithl1967

We are having the same issue with our NBC. Have "feelers" out to find a possible solution.
Signal strength is about 90% but no picture or audio. Very strange.

FYI On another set in the house, Analog NBC is coming in fine.

With March Madness starting this week, I wonder what WHP's plans are.
1 HD game or multiple SD games?
What did they do last year?

Yes, the analog signal is fine and clear here, too--Just the HD problem persists...I sent an email to WGAL, but received no response...

I live in Ephrata and WGAL is perfectly fine.... Haven't had any problems... I don;t have a signal meter on my TV but I can pick it up just using the indoor amplified antenna on the top of my HD TV

All,

Here is WGAL's response:

Thank you for your inquiry about the reception of WGAL-DT.

This past Thursday, we made some temporary changes to our HD transmission
stream that unfortunately changed the channel assignment displayed on HD
receivers. The reason we made this temporary change was that our equipment
was not sending out the correct program ratings and the computer that
generates that signal seemed to have some type of problerm. We are
continuing to work on thisissue but we have restored the 8-1 and 8-2
channel designator in the data stream and you should now find us again at
8-1 and 8.2.

Here is a bit of background information to help you understand the problem.
WGAL-DT actually broadcasts on UHF Channel 58. Embedded in the data stream
is a channel designator that causes HD receivers to display 8-1 and 8-2 on
your HD receiver while, in fact, your receiver is really tuning in Channel
58.

Please accept our apologies for this problem. The fact is this type of
change causes problems in some receivers and, in others, the signal is
displayed as if nothing happened. If this happens again, you may find that
your HD receiver will find 58-3 and 58-4 if you have it rescan for
channels.


Carol Jacoby
Program Manager
WGAL

Found WHP's March Madness Guide.
http://www.whptv.com/sports/ncaa/

Week 1:
MARCH MADNESS
3/16
12:20pm Wichita State vs. Seton Hall (Analog and HD)

2:40pm Marquette vs. Alabama (Analog only)
2:40pm Tennessee vs. Winthrop (HD only)

7:10pm George Washington vs. UNC Wilmington (HD only)
7:20pm Gonzaga vs. Xavier (Analog only)

9:30pm Syracuse vs. Texas A&M (Analog only)
9:30pm Duke vs. Southern (HD only)

3/17
12:30pm Arkansas vs. Bucknell (Analog Only)
12:30pm Arizona vs. Wisconsin (HD Only)

2:45pm West Virginia vs. Southern Illinois (HD Only)
2:50pm Villanova vs. Monmouth (Analog Only)

7:10pm Pittsburgh vs. Kent State (Analog Only)
7:25pm Connecticut vs. Albany (HD Only)

9:40pm Texas vs. Pennsylvania (Analog Only)
9:45pm Kentucky vs. UAB (HD Only)

I have direct tv (in Silver Spring) and will be wanting HD (especially locals) when I move to Bonneville at the end of April. Anyone have any experience with direct tv, adelphia, and sus com with hd. I know direct tv doesn't offer locals and i am not sure if i can pull a signal from Harrisburg or Baltimore. Also, Iam a rookie so not sure what if any equipment i will need. Any help is appreciated. :)

This thread is great!

Live in southern York County. I can get a strong OTA signal for 21-1 at 85 to 90. But I can not get 27-1 at all. I know they are only about 0.5 miles apart. Is the signal from 27-1 a lot weaker than 21-1? Where should I rotate the antennae from 21-1 to get 27-1? I would think they should be in about the same location. Thanks.

Live in southern York County. I can get a strong OTA signal for 21-1 at 85 to 90. But I can not get 27-1 at all. I know they are only about 0.5 miles apart. Is the signal from 27-1 a lot weaker than 21-1? Where should I rotate the antennae from 21-1 to get 27-1? I would think they should be in about the same location. Thanks.


Does anyone every visit this site? Two weeks since my last post and no response or any other posts.

if you go here http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx enter your address and it will tell you where the towers are and where you should point it.

Thanks for the reply. However, I have already done that. I get no digital signal at all for 27-1. I get a digital signal strength of 90 for 21-1. They are basically in the same location (337 degrees 47.5 miles and 343 degrees at 47 miles). I was wondering if there was something in the way that 27-1 broadcasts that limits the signal to the south east. Analog reception is about the same for both 27 and 21. I though someone out there may know something about the way that 27-1 broadcasts its digital signal. Thanks.

This thread is a little slow compare to most. I live in Dover (middle of York County I guess). On July 1st I will be moving into my apartment and experimenting with this stuff so I will start posting here.

Thanks. I have ordered a CM 7777 Pre-amplifier to amplify the signal at the source. I will let you know if that helps. I only have a distribution amplifier currently. Please note that the Tube is now on 43-2. That is an all music OTA channel. If you get 43-1 you should be able to get 43-2.

Is anyone here in the Shiloh or York, Dover area?
I am interested in getting HD on channel 8 and 43 with an antenna.
I now have Dishnet but none of my local channels are in HD.
I am located in Shiloh.
What antenna setup are you people using to pick up these channels?

Thanks. I have ordered a CM 7777 Pre-amplifier to amplify the signal at the source. I will let you know if that helps. I only have a distribution amplifier currently. Please note that the Tube is now on 43-2. That is an all music OTA channel. If you get 43-1 you should be able to get 43-2.
I recently installed a CM 7777 with my setup. Distance to towers varies (12 to 60 miles from three directions), but averages around 40 miles (the 12 miles is a low power station).

Without the CM 7777 I was getting signal strengths of 50 to 93 (In the basement, I was using a CM quad output distribution amplifier of 23 db to boost the signal at 8db per output).

With the CM 7777 installed my signal strength dropped significantly 0 to 70 with many signals lost. I removed the distribution amplifier and the signals with just the CM 7777 improved to 70 to 100. I have the power unit for the CM 7777 in the basement and have the output signal going to a dual output splitter (not a diplexer). Each output goes to a diplexer where the antennae signal is combined with my DirecTV signal (Please note that I have a Phase III DirecTV system. I understand that the AT9 (MPEG 4)system does not allow the signals to be combined.). I use a single RG6 to convey the signal to each of my H10 receivers where I again use diplexers to split the antennae signals from the DirecTV signals. This seems to work very well.There is such a thing as too much gain with the digital signals.

When I moved the power unit for the CM 7777 closer to the antennae, I was able to use the CM quad distributor with no loss in signal (but no gain either). This does allow for four outputs with no signal loss.

I am able to get Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC and Harrisburg, PA signals for ABC (except in PA), CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, UPN (MyTV), WBN and a couple of independent channels. All in all about twenty stations (about 45 channels counting subchannels).

I do sometimes get stations farther away, but not on a regular bassis.

I am very pleased with the performance of the CM 7777 and would recommend it for use in fringe areas. I do not really need the distribution amplifier, but it does allow me to output to more TVs.

I am using a Radio Shack VU-190 outdoor antennae and a CM rotor. I am located in southern York County.

Thanks for the reply. However, I have already done that. I get no digital signal at all for 27-1. I get a digital signal strength of 90 for 21-1. They are basically in the same location (337 degrees 47.5 miles and 343 degrees at 47 miles). I was wondering if there was something in the way that 27-1 broadcasts that limits the signal to the south east. Analog reception is about the same for both 27 and 21. I though someone out there may know something about the way that 27-1 broadcasts its digital signal. Thanks.

Does anyone know whether 27-1 is at full power? Is there something in the way that 27-1 broadcasts that limits the signal strength to the south?

Is WITF HD back on comcast? Thought I saw some while channel surfing late last night.

It could be PBS-HD. Comcast here in New Britain, CT (southwest of Hartford) offers that at night when cable-only WEDH-DT (PBS) of Hartford isn't on.

Does anyone know whether 27-1 is at full power? Is there something in the way that 27-1 broadcasts that limits the signal strength to the south?


I am getting 27.1 great but for some reason I can not get channel 21 and they are very close together.
Is 21 not broadcasting as strong as 27?

There's a PBS Nature show on now in HD on comcast's braodcast of witf dt. I thought they had stopped all hd broadcasts due to money troubles. The witf.org web site links to titantv with a full schedule of hd programming. When did they come back on?

This is defintley from WITF, I get it OTA as well.

How come you guys didn't let me know HD was back?

I am getting 27.1 great but for some reason I can not get channel 21 and they are very close together.
Is 21 not broadcasting as strong as 27?

SEA157. You are having the exact opposite effect from me. I get 21.1 great but no 27.1. You get 27.1, but not 21.1. I am located south of Harrisburg. Perhaps you are located east or west of Harrisburg. Sometimes stations broadcast in a north-south direction or an east-west direction but not both. This may be our problem.

I've tried that--to the point where I've even left the TV unplgged overnight, and then for a weekend when that did not work--the TV seems to still hold it's memory. Ive re-scanned numerous times, to no avail, as well as manually entering the channel. Any other suggestions--this is very frustrating...

This is a little late to the game, and you've probably figured this out...

Remove the antenna cable from your set. Scan for channels (none found, I should hope!) Reinsert the antenna cable and do another scan.

Sometimes stations broadcast in a north-south direction or an east-west direction but not both. This may be our problem.

It's not. You can check out the maps for yourself, but here's what the FCC predicts for coverage:

WHTM: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1006678.html
WHP: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT602358.html

The problem with these maps is that they assume the analogs aren't causing problems - and they are. WRC analog 4 in DC can interfere with WHP, and WCAU analog 10 in Philadelphia can interfere with WHTM. That problem won't go away until 2009.

pclement, I'd try removing the diplexers and the amplifiers from your system, as well as all splitters, and see if you can get a signal on WHTM on just one set. You ought to be able to get a signal. Then add one back and make sure everything still works, then the other. (Note: if the amplifier is hard to reach, just bypass the diplexer for the first part of the test.)

Since WHP is lo-VHF, electrical interference can be a major problem. It can also be tricky to track down. If it's in your house, you can eliminate it, but usually it's in the power lines and you're stuck begging the power company to fix their lines.

SEA157. You are having the exact opposite effect from me. I get 21.1 great but no 27.1. You get 27.1, but not 21.1. I am located south of Harrisburg. Perhaps you are located east or west of Harrisburg. Sometimes stations broadcast in a north-south direction or an east-west direction but not both. This may be our problem.

pclement ,
No I am also south of Harrisburg.
I live in Shiloh, just north west of York,PA

It's not. You can check out the maps for yourself, but here's what the FCC predicts for coverage:

WHTM: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1006678.html
WHP: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT602358.html

The problem with these maps is that they assume the analogs aren't causing problems - and they are. WRC analog 4 in DC can interfere with WHP, and WCAU analog 10 in Philadelphia can interfere with WHTM. That problem won't go away until 2009.

pclement, I'd try removing the diplexers and the amplifiers from your system, as well as all splitters, and see if you can get a signal on WHTM on just one set. You ought to be able to get a signal. Then add one back and make sure everything still works, then the other. (Note: if the amplifier is hard to reach, just bypass the diplexer for the first part of the test.)

Since WHP is lo-VHF, electrical interference can be a major problem. It can also be tricky to track down. If it's in your house, you can eliminate it, but usually it's in the power lines and you're stuck begging the power company to fix their lines.

Thanks. I've tried several different setups(without splitters, diplexers, etc.) I can get a signal for 27-1, but never strong enough to lock in (30 - 40). It may be interference from channel 10 in Philly as I can get a weak analog signal for 10. I guess I will wait until 2009 to see it the situation improves. Doesn't bother me too much since I can get Baltimore and DC ABC stations very strong (70 to 100).

Hey guys, I moving to Dillsburg off of State line road. I am getting D* installed because as I now understand WHP broadcast the Ravens when the two are scheduled at the same time. I have to try and get WHP because of the stupid blackout rules. D* doesn't carry locals in HD and Adelphia doesn't have WHP. When will D* have hd locals?

I have the D* HD Package and a Terk HDTVa (indoor) antenna which enables me to receive CBS 3 (26.3) out of Philadelphia and FOX 43 (43.1 or 47.3) out of York. I also sometimes get The Tube (43.2 or 47.4) now as well. This is really cool and brings me back to my MTV days. I have tried many different indoor antennas to lessor success than with the HDTVa. The problem is that I really would like to get NBC and ABC. D* will allow me to get the NY/LA feeds with a waiver from the local stations. Does anyone know how I can get a waiver from my local stations? For reference purposes, I live Northwest of the city of Lancaster (close to Park City and the LGH Health Campus).

Don't even bother with the waivers. They will say NO! As they did with me. and thats why I switched back to cable. You could always "move" if you have family somewhere that lives in an area where the stations are O&O. You should be able to get NBC (8.1) and UPN/CW (15.1) with that indoor antenna. I live in Ephrata and can get 8,43,15 with my set of amplified rabbit ears.

I have the D* HD Package and a Terk HDTVa (indoor) antenna which enables me to receive CBS 3 (26.3) out of Philadelphia and FOX 43 (43.1 or 47.3) out of York. I also sometimes get The Tube (43.2 or 47.4) now as well. This is really cool and brings me back to my MTV days. I have tried many different indoor antennas to lessor success than with the HDTVa. The problem is that I really would like to get NBC and ABC. D* will allow me to get the NY/LA feeds with a waiver from the local stations. Does anyone know how I can get a waiver from my local stations? For reference purposes, I live Northwest of the city of Lancaster (close to Park City and the LGH Health Campus).

Guys the best indoor antenna I have found is the Radio Shack VHF UHF HDTV amplified Antenna (Model #15-1892).

I live in York PA (actually Shiloh) and I am getting 8.1, 8.2 (WGAL Lancaster NBC), 15.1 (WLYH Lancaster UPN), 21.1 (WHP Harrisburg CBS), 27.1, 27.2 (WHTM Harrisburg ABC), 33.1 (WITF Harrisburg PBS), 43.1, 43.2 (WPMT York FOX) and 49.1 (WGCB Red Lion INDEPENTANT).

And the best thing about these antennas is you can get them on e-bay for around $25.00 shipped.

I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would get all these local channels with an indoor antenna.

CBS and ABC are the hardest to get as they are VHF channels and the towers are the farthest away. one of the also is on digital HD channel 10. same as the analog channel (10) from philly. So you can get some interferance

CBS and ABC are the hardest to get as they are VHF channels and the towers are the farthest away. one of the also is on digital HD channel 10. same as the analog channel (10) from philly. So you can get some interferance

Shepler,
I know 21.1 Harrisburg CBS is VHF but I thought 27.1 & 27.2 Harrisburg ABC was UHF.
Are you sure they are all VHF?

Shepler,
I know 21.1 Harrisburg CBS is VHF but I thought 27.1 & 27.2 Harrisburg ABC was UHF.
Are you sure they are all VHF?

WHP-DT is on channel 4 while WHTM-DT is on channel 10 - both VHF. All of the other Harrisburg market digital channels are UHF. Hope this helps.

Shepler,
I know 21.1 Harrisburg CBS is VHF but I thought 27.1 & 27.2 Harrisburg ABC was UHF.
Are you sure they are all VHF?

WHP-DT 21.1 CBS HARRISBURG PA VHF 4
WHTM-DT 27.1 ABC HARRISBURG PA VHF 10

From www.antennaweb.org

Hey guys I need some help,

Ill be in my Carlisle Dorm room and I was wondering what Antenna I should use to pick up the HD signals out there. It's gotta be indoor too.

Thanks

Mark

Hey guys I need some help,

Ill be in my Carlisle Dorm room and I was wondering what Antenna I should use to pick up the HD signals out there. It's gotta be indoor too.

Thanks

Mark

Radio Shack VHF UHF HDTV amplified Antenna (Model #15-1892)

I'm moving to Gettysburg in a couple of weeks and we've been leaning toward going with Dish, but obviously wouldn't get locals in HD with them. If we pick up a HD OTA antenna, will we be able to get all or some of the networks in HD? Talking to Adelphia, they seemed to indicate we would only be getting two local channels in HD if we went with them. If we can at least pick up some OTA HD channels in our area, that would be great. Something's better than nothing.

Does anyone know if the Pittsburgh spotbeams for D*/E* reach Harrisburg? I'm thinking of dumping Comcast for one of them and am curious if I could get the Pittsburgh locals by "moving" out there. Thanks.

I think you are on the border of the Pittsburg D* spot beam, Don't think it will work unless someone else that is doing it says otherwise.

OK, I am fairly new to the HD world. I live in Mount Joy (17552) and can receive all channels except CBS 21.1 and ABC 27.1. Bought the Radio Shack VHF/UHF/HDTV Indoor Antenna that has been mentioned hear and spoken highly about. All the channels I get are coming in great. I just can't figure out how to get the VHF channels to come in. I am using a Vizio L32 HDTV. The TV won't let me just put in the channel and when I do a scan it doesn't pick these 2 channels up.

How do I get VHF channels to come in on my TV?

I bought the radioshack HDTV antenna and I'm not picking up anything. I ran the cable from my dorm room to my vhf/uhf input, and I can the putput from the antenna to the astc/digital cable input on my tv. Does anyone have any ideas?

WHP has turned on their sub-channel affilate of MY on. They're calling it "My 21.2".

Does anyone know if the Pittsburgh spotbeams for D*/E* reach Harrisburg? I'm thinking of dumping Comcast for one of them and am curious if I could get the Pittsburgh locals by "moving" out there. Thanks.
For the Pittsburgh spot TP 29, I get no signal in York County.

WHP has turned on their sub-channel affilate of MY on. They're calling it "My 21.2".


derwin0
Thanks for the information.
I just did another local scan on my STB and sure enough there is was 21.2, now I have 10 local digital channels.

Now I have 10 local digital channels.
I think I get 11 locally from the Harrisburg market. The table in the opening post really needs to be updated.
8.1 - WGAL HD
8.2 - Weather
15.1 - WLYH HD
21.1 - WHP HD
21.2 - My 21.2
27.1 - WHTM HD
27.2 - News
33.3 - split between WITF stuff & PBS HD
43.1 - WPMT HD
43.2 - Tube
49.1 - WGCB SD

I wish WITF would turn 33.1 back on so we'd have a digital version of their normal feed.

I think I get 11 locally from the Harrisburg market. The table in the opening post really needs to be updated.
8.1 - WGAL HD
8.2 - Weather
15.1 - WLYH HD
21.1 - WHP HD
21.2 - My 21.2
27.1 - WHTM HD
27.2 - News
33.3 - split between WITF stuff & PBS HD
43.1 - WPMT HD
43.2 - Tube
49.1 - WGCB SD

I wish WITF would turn 33.1 back on so we'd have a digital version of their normal feed.

Yes I get the same as you 11 channels but I don't ever watch 49.1 so I deleted it.

I think I get 11 locally from the Harrisburg market. The table in the opening post really needs to be updated.
8.1 - WGAL HD
8.2 - Weather
15.1 - WLYH HD
21.1 - WHP HD
21.2 - My 21.2
27.1 - WHTM HD
27.2 - News
33.3 - split between WITF stuff & PBS HD
43.1 - WPMT HD
43.2 - Tube
49.1 - WGCB SD

I wish WITF would turn 33.1 back on so we'd have a digital version of their normal feed.


33.1 made the HD on 33.3 look like junk.

I wish 21.2 MNTV was on 15.2.

33.1 made the HD on 33.3 look like junk.

I wish 21.2 MNTV was on 15.2.

WOW keep me posted if 33.1 comes back on then.
Because 33.3 I think is very good.

WOW keep me posted if 33.1 comes back on then.
Because 33.3 I think is very good.


When WITF started running two subchannels, the original HD subchannel became very pixellated and soft (out of focus). Unless WITF has invested in much better stat mux equipment, I would hope that 33.1 stays off the air as 33.3 has returned - I believe when Iast checked - to its original stuning quality.

WITF 33.3 does now include some local content.

Question for you all... I live in Ephrata and just recently put up an Antenna to get my HD channels Via OTA. I get everything fine except for ABC and CBS from Harrisburg. I am getting about 40-50% signal on ABC (27.1) and only 10-15% on CBS. I have a Channel Master antenna with a 20db in-line amp. Anyone have any other suggestions? Who knows when D* with have the Harrisburg Local HD channels up and running and with the new season of CSI starting my wife is going to kick my AZZ if she can not watch CSI in HD. Do you think I could add another Amp or something.

Thanks

Question for you all... I live in Ephrata and just recently put up an Antenna to get my HD channels Via OTA. I get everything fine except for ABC and CBS from Harrisburg. I am getting about 40-50% signal on ABC (27.1) and only 10-15% on CBS. I have a Channel Master antenna with a 20db in-line amp. Anyone have any other suggestions? Who knows when D* with have the Harrisburg Local HD channels up and running and with the new season of CSI starting my wife is going to kick my AZZ if she can not watch CSI in HD. Do you think I could add another Amp or something.

Thanks

You need an antenna that can handle VHF, as WHP-DT is on channel 4 and WHTM-DT is on channel 10. I doubt another amp would help the situation. You didn't mention what model of Channel Master you have.

- Trip

It is a Channel Master CM 3016 Suburban Advantage TV Antenna, VHF/UHF

I don't know if any of you are Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy fans, but does anyone know why WHP isn't broadcasting these shows in hi-def widescreen starting this past Monday?

When I called WHP, the guy in "Master Control" told me the shows aren't available in hi-def and that I must be mistaken. I'm not.

I don't know if any of you are Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy fans, but does anyone know why WHP isn't broadcasting these shows in hi-def widescreen starting this past Monday?

When I called WHP, the guy in "Master Control" told me the shows aren't available in hi-def and that I must be mistaken. I'm not.

It's only in HD in a few select markets so far. They are not required to purchase the HD versions.


I did hear that Central PA area is due for it by end of year.

It's only in HD in a few select markets so far. They are not required to purchase the HD versions.


I did hear that Central PA area is due for it by end of year.
I see, I didn't realize they wouldn't have gotten it automatically.

Good to hear we should be getting it soon though, thanks!

Anyone else getting audio sync issues with the new CW? 15-1

Sorry if this was covered earlier in this thread but has anyone in the Harrisburg area had any luck getting kwy, channel 3 CBS out of philly? Antenna web has me 91.2 miles away. I live in enola on a slight hill.

Question for you all... I live in Ephrata and just recently put up an Antenna to get my HD channels Via OTA. I get everything fine except for ABC and CBS from Harrisburg. I am getting about 40-50% signal on ABC (27.1) and only 10-15% on CBS. I have a Channel Master antenna with a 20db in-line amp. Anyone have any other suggestions? Who knows when D* with have the Harrisburg Local HD channels up and running and with the new season of CSI starting my wife is going to kick my AZZ if she can not watch CSI in HD. Do you think I could add another Amp or something.

Thanks


Point your antenna east. With the right antenna (and rotor), you'll easily pick up all of the Philly stations and won't need to pick up the Harrisburg channels. I keep my antenna usually pointing east and have no trouble getting 3.1, 6.x, 8.x, 10.x, 12.x, 17.x, 29.1, 57.1, and numerous others.

Sorry if this was covered earlier in this thread but has anyone in the Harrisburg area had any luck getting kwy, channel 3 CBS out of philly? Antenna web has me 91.2 miles away. I live in enola on a slight hill.
No joy for me, I'm in Enola as well.

At times during both "Grey's Anatomy" and "Six Degrees" on WHTM-DT (ABC27, via Comcast) this evening, the audio for the program after commercial breaks turned into a staccato screetch. It would last from 10-20 minutes, by my estimate. We tuned to WHTM-TV in the meantime.

Did anyone else here experience that? I left a message for ABC27 via their website, but have never tried to interact with them.

At times during both "Grey's Anatomy" and "Six Degrees" on WHTM-DT (ABC27, via Comcast) this evening, the audio for the program after commercial breaks turned into a staccato screetch. It would last from 10-20 minutes, by my estimate. We tuned to WHTM-TV in the meantime.

Did anyone else here experience that? I left a message for ABC27 via their website, but have never tried to interact with them.


Had the same problem off the Comcast Reading Pa Headend. So it was on the ABC HD Feed.

I had to change the channel, it was worse then plain noise.

I had the same thing with DishNet.
So it must have been something in the broadcast.

At times during both "Grey's Anatomy" and "Six Degrees" on WHTM-DT (ABC27, via Comcast) this evening, the audio for the program after commercial breaks turned into a staccato screetch. It would last from 10-20 minutes, by my estimate. We tuned to WHTM-TV in the meantime.

Did anyone else here experience that? I left a message for ABC27 via their website, but have never tried to interact with them.

Hey folks!

Living in Mechanicsburg (Good Hope Farms) and am wondering:

is the chart on p.1 of this thread still accurate?

Antennaweb.org shows me the following for my street address:

* yellow - uhf WITF-DT 33.3 PBS HARRISBURG PA
* yellow - uhf WLYH-DT 15.1 CW LANCASTER PA
* yellow - vhf WHP-DT 21.1 CBS HARRISBURG PA
* yellow - vhf WHTM-DT 27.1 ABC HARRISBURG PA
* blue - uhf WPMT-DT 43.1 FOX YORK PA 139°
* blue - uhf WGAL-DT 8.1 NBC LANCASTER PA

Haven't bought my HDTV yet, but just curious as to how many stations I'll be able to get without turning my antenna (it's in the attic). Have read about Philly stations, too.

Don't want to upgrade to digital cable unless I have to.

Thanks.

Yes, it is up to date except there are also now:
43.2 (the tube, music channel)
21.2 (MyNetwork)
27.2 (abc weather now)
8.2 (Weather Plus)

Might relocate to Harrisburg area, probably looking around Hershey. What area stations are broadcasting true HD content? And what should I be able to recieve from there?

Might relocate to Harrisburg area, probably looking around Hershey. What area stations are broadcasting true HD content? And what should I be able to recieve from there?
In Hersey you should be able to get all channels.

All broadcast what ever comes from the network in HD in HD (well I think some game shows are now in HD but not here yet)


WITF-DT 33.3 PBS
WLYH-DT 15.1 CW
WHP-DT 21.1 CBS
WHP-DT 21.2 (MyNetwork)
WHTM-DT 27.1 ABC
WHTM-DT 27.2 (abc weather now)
WPMT-DT 43.1 FOX
WPMT-DT 43.2 (the tube, music channel)
WGAL-DT 8.1 NBC
WGAL-DT 8.2 (Weather Plus)

first..thanks to all those that responded..I am receiving all channels fine now--still not quite sure what had happened...

One other question...what network is 49.1?

49.1 is a religious channel out of Red Loin.

(I think it's okay to ask this question in this forum, if not, let me know)

OTA I have a grasp on now, but does Comcast in this area encrypt their cable content? I.e., if I buy an HDTV w/ both an ATSC tuner and this:

"Digital Cable Ready (DCR) and includes CableCARD, which means you won't need a set-top box to enjoy basic, one-way, digital cable service. (Be sure to check with your local cable company for CableCARD compatibility and availability.)"

Is there even a remote chance I'll get at least some digital cable without upgrading my service?

This is the set I'm looking at:

JVC HD61Z786
(http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL027382&pathId=114&page=2)

D* just anounced that they will have Local HD channels for Harrisburg area up by end of year! FINALLY!

1) What is D*?

2) And, sorry to be dense, but does that mean that I will not need to upgrade my service or buy a set-top box?

(edit: or were you just posting info for everyone, not specifically in response to my post?)

1) What is D*?

(edit: or were you just posting info for everyone, not specifically in response to my post?)



For everyone.... D* = DirecTV

(I think it's okay to ask this question in this forum, if not, let me know)

OTA I have a grasp on now, but does Comcast in this area encrypt their cable content? I.e., if I buy an HDTV w/ both an ATSC tuner and this:

"Digital Cable Ready (DCR) and includes CableCARD, which means you won't need a set-top box to enjoy basic, one-way, digital cable service. (Be sure to check with your local cable company for CableCARD compatibility and availability.)"

Is there even a remote chance I'll get at least some digital cable without upgrading my service?

This is the set I'm looking at:

JVC HD61Z786
(http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL027382&pathId=114&page=2)

I believe that the only HD channels you will get without a subscription to a digital package will be the HD locals... To get the digital simulcast of the analog channels you will need them to put a cable card in your TV. I think it is something like $4.99 a month... I could be incorrect as it was been sometime since I had Comcrap...

On Comcast in York, so far all I get is Fox 43 digital, the weather sub channels for the locals (8 & 27), some kind oddball channels. Suscom broadcast nothing in the clear so I will give Comcast some credit. I am using a MyHD 130 card, all the cable channels are in the physical 80 range. I don't know if there are any limitation on what I received that are due to the card, not Comcast.

I can face the antenna that came with my ATI HDTV Wonder in an East-SouthEast direction and pick up NBC (WGAL, 30% signal strength), Fox (WPMT, 34%), PBS (WITF, 61%), ABC (WHTM, 66%), and "CW" (tuned to 23-1, 66%).

But I can't seem to pick up CBS (WHP, RF channel 4.1). Signal strength shows up at about 12%. Wondering if I hook up to my attic aerial or try to face the ATI antenna in a dif't direction, would it make a difference? (I'm in the basement, so directional options for the ATI are limited without getting a much, much longer coax cable)

The HDTV Wonder is a poor performer when trying to receive distant stations when compared to the ATSC tuners in TVs. I have one and it doesn't even come close to the tuner in my TV for picking up stations. Even with a large outside antenna, I doubt if you'd receive any Philly stations in Mechanicsburg with an HDTV Wonder. If you can receive 3.1 in an area, you can usually receive 6.1, 10.1, 12.1, 17.1 and 57.1 as well.

The antennaweb.org site is no longer accurate or reliable. For my location it lists less than half of the channels I can actually receive. The site used to list everything accurately. It essentially stripped all the Philly stations off even though I get very strong signals on all of the major stations.

Yes I get the same as you 11 channels but I don't ever watch 49.1 so I deleted it.

Question for everyone. I live 5 miles outside the city of Harrisburg. I currently have a little indoor antenna (RCA 1250) that allows me to get CBS 21.1 and PBS 33.3 in HD OTA because I have Dish Network. On a lucky day, I get NBC in HD as well. What antenna do I need to buy in order to get the 11 channels you mention? I especially want FOX and NBC in HD. Thanks for any help you might have to offer.

WHYY-DT 12.1/2/3 has been off the air for some time now, supposedly for maintenance with a "back on the air" date of 10/26. Well, that date has come and gone and I still can't receive WHYY. Does anyone know what's going on? There's not even a word of them being off the air on their web site.

I originally posted this in the wrong forum spot. I think this is a better spot.

I have a question about my Comcast DVR with HDMI. I have it hooked up to my Sanyo Z5 on a 92 inch screen. First, some channels are amazing (the Steeler/Saints game on Fox this past Sunday). What I am dissapointed about is the (in my opinion) is a terrible feed for ESPN. I was watching football this past Saturday night and the Indiana/Butler basketball game on Tuesday night. It is grainy and I think it looks terrible. Is the ESPN feed more compressed than others. The Rangers hockey game on INHD Tuesday night looks real good. ESPN2 looks better than ESPN. What gives?

Question for everyone. I live 5 miles outside the city of Harrisburg. I currently have a little indoor antenna (RCA 1250) that allows me to get CBS 21.1 and PBS 33.3 in HD OTA because I have Dish Network. On a lucky day, I get NBC in HD as well. What antenna do I need to buy in order to get the 11 channels you mention? I especially want FOX and NBC in HD. Thanks for any help you might have to offer.

The fox/nbc is in a different location than cbs. You might want to try an attic channel master 4221 for those stations. Combine the uhf/with the vhf and you should be good to go. If you don't do this you will probably need a rotor. Good luck

I originally posted this in the wrong forum spot. I think this is a better spot.

I have a question about my Comcast DVR with HDMI. I have it hooked up to my Sanyo Z5 on a 92 inch screen. First, some channels are amazing (the Steeler/Saints game on Fox this past Sunday). What I am dissapointed about is the (in my opinion) is a terrible feed for ESPN. I was watching football this past Saturday night and the Indiana/Butler basketball game on Tuesday night. It is grainy and I think it looks terrible. Is the ESPN feed more compressed than others. The Rangers hockey game on INHD Tuesday night looks real good. ESPN2 looks better than ESPN. What gives?

I've noticed a drop in espn PQ the last few weeks too. Not quite sure what it is.

OK, here goes. I finally bought my HDTV (Panny 50" 60U) now I need to get HD channels (like you guys didn't know this) I live in an apartment complex in Elizabethtown, 17022 (it's a very old building, used to be a factory sort of U shaped if you looked at it from the sky. My one large window (huge) is facing towards harrisburg. So I need an antenna. I also want to go with a provider, either comcast, DishNetwork, or DirectTV. I would prefer to not go with comcast, who I actually have now, unless they are clearly superior in HD (there customer service really ticked me off a few times). What can you guys recommend? This gets confusing sometimes.

Well, I finally got around to running coax from the antenna in my attic. It actually gets worse reception than the one that came with the ATI HD Wonder.

Do you think it's because:

a) the attic antenna is old?
b) I'm converting from antenna wire to coax?

I don't know which direction the attic one is pointing. The ATI HD Wonder hangs on my basement window on the Southeast side of the house.

So I'm wondering what my best option is to:

1) Get Fox better (WPMT FOX43 is in York, so a direction change will not help, right? I'm in Mechanicsburg)
2) Get CBS (WHP is in Harrisburg; why isn't my SouthEast picking it up?)

I could run coax outside and up the side of the house, or to the roof, or to any side of the house.

Help, please?

in case anyone is interested, I talked to a DTV CSR a week ago and they told me the Harrisburg locals would be on in HD in late February.

Croda,

Received the same report from D*...several of my neighbors have the new slimline 5 LNB dishes installed. Haven't talked to any of them yet but I would like to hear their opinion about it.