I hope this continues all weekend, but I am getting a different game on KCCI-DT 8.1 than I am on Mediacom Channel 8. So I get to decide which game I like better and tune that one on the main screen.

Also, I have pledged my allegiance to the KCCI 8.2 weather radar. I used to flip to 13.2 during commercials, but now its straight to 8.2. There is just something cool about being able to see the weather all over the state (and to know what is coming our way all the way from Lincoln).

I also have the March Madness on Demand, so maybe I will be able to watch 3 games at a time tomorrow! What a deal that NCAAsports is offering that service free this year.

I'm very new to HD.
I've got a 42" Magnavox Plasma, with built in receiver, and was hoping to get HD channels thru Mediacom. Of course, if I'm ever able to speak to a human from Mediacom, they tell me they have no HD Receivers, been on a waiting list for 3 months.
I can get local analog channels from a Terk antenna, but can't get any HD signals. Are they broadcast at different strengths or frequencies that I don't know about. Also, tried to get the HD channels by using Mediacom's analog signal, no luck.
Brand new home in brand new subdivision, so I'm assuming all the cables are of good quality.
Any ideas?

First you may want to make sure that your TV has both tuners. You need an ATSC tuner to pick up the HD stations. Many TVs, even though HD ready, only come with NTSC tuners. The laws are changing such that they will have to have the ATSC tuner in the future, but that doesn't help much now.

If you have an ATSC tuner, make sure it is enabled, then try to tune to either the remapped channels at 8-1, 11-1, 13-1, 5-1, or 17-1. If that doesn't work, try the RF channels. Tune to 16, 19, 31, 50, or 59. Once there and tuned, your tv should pick up the digital data, and remap the RF channel to one of the first set of numbers.

Hope this was of some assistance. Please note that the HD channels are currently all UHF, so you will need a UHF antenna to pick them up.

thanks for the quick response, i'll try that

Dave:

I am surprised you cannot pick up any HD signals in Ames if you do in fact have the built in receiver. I am in Ankeny, granted a bit closer than you, but I have just a pair of 1980's rabbit ears and I receive HD channels around 90%. I am assuming you have gone through the auto-tune programming where the tuner will look for the signals and then save them to the tv?

As for Mediacom, the next time you call back don't ask for a HD receiver. If you don't mind an extra $5 per month, ask for a HD DVR. I was on the waiting list like you, and on one occasion I decided to call back and got someone from Mediacom who said "we are always out of HD receivers, would you like an HD DVR instead?" They installed 2 days later and it works great. I also don't mind paying the $5 extra a month for a HD DVR. In fact, I wouldn't even think of getting rid of it now. I record around 8 hours of HD per week, and it looks great coming off the DVR. Plus I get to skip through the commercials.

Plus, if you are watching KCCI through the Mediacom box, you can rewind and watch the NW State prayer answered over and over again! I must have watched that clip 20 times already! :p

LOL!
I would love to watch that play again, over and over and over.
Actually, I did manage to get the HD channels with no problem now.
I appreciate all the help from everyone.

Does anybody know if Mediacom lets you have 2 HD DVRs yet?--or are they still limiting customers to one/household. I have one DVR, and one low def box. I'd love to get two HD boxes, and HD boxes without DVR seem to be impossible to get.

Cyclonedave: If you don't mind sharing, how are you getting them (OTA antenna, cable unencrypted QAM, cable HD-DVR or HD tuner) and which channels? Thanks

denyart

i've got a terk 5 antenna, can pick up 5,8,11,13,17.
i tried the regular cable connection, no luck.
mediacom said they finally have hd receivers, however, now i want an HD DVR. of course, they don't have any of these.

Has anyone tried purchasing a HD DVR receiver of a eBay? They have a SA 8300 or the motorola ones that Mediacom uses. I just didn't want to take the risk of purchasing one and have it not work with Mediacom.

thanks

Dave,
What channels are you searching for when you try to the local HD through the Mediacom cable? When I first got Mediacom 5.1, 8.1, 11.1, etc. didn't show anything. Then I went to 114.2(NBC) 114.4(CBS) , 115.2(PBS) and 115.4(ABC) and they were the local HD through my Mediacom cable. Just an idea to try. Let me know if it works (I got rid of my external antenna since that works)......oh yeah...GO HAWKS!! :-)

Anyone else in Southwest Iowa lose their TVGOS data? I have a Sony HDD250 Hd recorder and I havn't had my guide data populate for the last 3 weeks. My host channel is PBS 36 KHIN out of Red Oak. I called the PBS number and they directed me to the national TVGOS office which wouldn't take my call, saying they only deal with manufactures. If some others are having problems, I'd lilke to know about it and maybe I'll have some leverage with my next call to the station. Thanks.

No luck on the HD channels thru mediacom.
You hear anything on the HD DVR from eBay?

No luck on the HD channels thru mediacom.
You hear anything on the HD DVR from eBay?
that's too bad....nope haven't heard anything

Dave,
What channels are you searching for when you try to the local HD through the Mediacom cable? When I first got Mediacom 5.1, 8.1, 11.1, etc. didn't show anything. Then I went to 114.2(NBC) 114.4(CBS) , 115.2(PBS) and 115.4(ABC) and they were the local HD through my Mediacom cable. Just an idea to try. Let me know if it works (I got rid of my external antenna since that works)......oh yeah...GO HAWKS!! :-)

I hooked up my new LG 50PC1DR yesterday and received the same thing. Crystal clear through my cable line w/ no antenna. If only I could get Fox too...

Navy Dave

DirecTV HD in Des Moines?

I'm moving to Des Moines from Los Angeles, and am wondering if/how anyone gets HD channels with DirecTV service. I currently get them through my dish with no antenna, but I understand that service is not available in Des Moines. If someone gets their HD channels through an antenna (or otherwise), I'd love to know what equipment you have so I can make sure when they do my install they give me what I need.

Thanks.

Anyone trying to watch Nascar on 17-1 this evening? I'm getting no signal via satellite tuner ota or the TV itself. All other local HD are coming in fine.

What's up?

TIA

Anyone trying to watch Nascar on 17-1 this evening? I'm getting no signal via satellite tuner ota or the TV itself. All other local HD are coming in fine.

What's up?

TIA

Ahh...I'm NOT crazy. I'm watching a crappy standard feed right now because there is no HD signal at all. Like you...all other ok. :mad: :( :mad:

BTW....I had the first half of the pre-race coming in fine...then nothin'. Somethin' blew and I can't reach anyone at KDSM. :mad:

No signal for Fox KDSM here either using OTA on a Dvico HTPC tuner. I was looking forward to a night race in HD.

Did a scan a few times...HD is gone. :(

Finally talked with someone not under a rock down at the studios....not sure what the problem was, but it is said that it is being repaired as I type this. Wonder if I'm going to have to rescan to find out when it is back on? Guess so.

I'm planning to stop at my brother's place to see 24 tonight with his OTA tuner. Is FOX back up yet?

I just did a scan about 1 hour ago...still not up in HD. :confused:

I just did a scan about 1 hour ago...still not up in HD. :confused:

Nothing last night either. I sure hope they get things back up by Sunday for Talladega...I've got a bunch of friends coming over ....would hate to call them an cancel. :confused:

No doubt... didn't get 24 recorded because of this. Nothing on their website either.

I was just in Ames last weekend. No riot, but also no KDSM-DT reception for me Sunday night, the only night I watched any serious television.

WOI-DT was a different story -- I watched the Desperate Housewives recap episode with no issues whatsoever.

I had some issues with WHO-DT during Sports Sound-Off, though it's hard for me to tell if it's the station or the trees in the front yard blowing around at the wrong time. The Samsung I watch over there probably has an older generation tuner built into it than the T351 set-top box I use here in CR.

HD is back up at KDSM...as of 2:50pm.

WooT!!!!!

Nascar...we are here!!

HD is back up at KDSM...as of 2:50pm.

WooT!!!!!

Nascar...we are here!!

That's GREAT news! If it will stay up through Sunday, I'll be happy. I already have confirmations from several friends. They want to christen my new 56" DLP with Talladega. I'm not even that much of a Nascar fan, but in HD and DD 5.1 it IS impressive. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the info.

No problem man. It's bad we have to go through this stuff, being HD lovers, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy to at least know there are a few others out there who care just as much! :cool: :)

I don't know if it makes me a loser or what, but I was much more concerned with the inability to watch American Idol in HD tonight if KDSM was still down. I mean come on, we are down to the final 6! :D

That's GREAT news! If it will stay up through Sunday, I'll be happy. I already have confirmations from several friends. They want to christen my new 56" DLP with Talladega. I'm not even that much of a Nascar fan, but in HD and DD 5.1 it IS impressive. Thanks for the info.

I dislike NASCAR but I will watch Talladega. It's where all the great wrecks happen because everyone is bunched together the whole race. It's possible that like nearly half the field won't finish.

Bristol is also good for racing. I've been away from racing for a long time, but now I'm getting back into it when it's in HD. Of course, being able to wake up in time for a race would help too.

Hasan, enjoy your new set, I'm sure all our invitations to the christening were just lost in the mail. ;)

Bristol is also good for racing. I've been away from racing for a long time, but now I'm getting back into it when it's in HD. Of course, being able to wake up in time for a race would help too.

Hasan, enjoy your new set, I'm sure all our invitations to the christening were just lost in the mail. ;)

If you're free Sunday afternoon, come on up! I'm on APRS, so you can see a map to get right to the house. Use N0AN as the right icon...I have about 6 stations on the air, only N0AN is precisely at the QTH. Very easy to find. If you need my cell, let me know and I'll give it to ya, so you can get accurate directions (the place is quite easy to find, only two turns coming out of Ogden (north). 73

Hey kc0bsn...just curious if you've heard any rumblings about KCCI broadcasting their news in HD anytime in the near future? I was passing through Denver a couple weeks ago and saw that at least one of their local news station advertised their news being in HD (don't remember which affiliate). However, I didn't see it since I was in a motel with old small analog tvs.

Has anyone heard if other DM stations going to be doing it soon?

Wow, Hasan. I've never seen a guilt trip work so well and so quickly. :) I'm very much asleep most afternoons anyway. Have fun with the new toys. :D

Jeff, I'm not aware of any plans to go HD with the news for either KCCI or any other stations in the market for that matter. WHO may be the closest to being able to do something as I believe they have the newest studio cameras, but I'm not sure about their news tape server. I sort of doubt KDSM is anywhere close, and I don't know how producing and taping the newscast in Cedar Rapids and sending it over fiber to Des Moines would affect an HD signal. And I honestly have no idea as to WOI's capabilities for local HD content.

There are new things coming, but that's about all I can say for now. ;)

Hey kc0bsn...just curious if you've heard any rumblings about KCCI broadcasting their news in HD anytime in the near future? I was passing through Denver a couple weeks ago and saw that at least one of their local news station advertised their news being in HD (don't remember which affiliate). However, I didn't see it since I was in a motel with old small analog tvs.

Has anyone heard if other DM stations going to be doing it soon?
I believe it was Denver's KUSA-9, part of Gannett's broadcasting arm. They've really been pushing it lately. I believe their St. Louis station, KSDK, also does HD news, and their KARE-11 News in Minneapolis is bragging that they'll be HD tomorrow.

If I were a betting man (and I'm not taking bets from kc0bsn for obvious reasons), I'd bet on WHO because they already look excellent, yet they could probably use a boost. The ratings race over there hasn't really moved much over the past decade no matter what 5 and 13 have tried. I'm sure the folks at 13 are wondering whether going HD might shake 8 off its perch. (Plus, Sonya Heitshusen deserves to be in HD.)

So I have been on the waiting list for over a month for a Mediacomm DVR. I called them today and they told me that they could not offer me a DVR becasue I just have basic cable. :mad: I am still able to get local HD channels through my TV. I was hoping for a HD DVR and I can't believe they won't give me one.

So my question: is what are some of you using for HD DVR?

Any help is appreciated.

Since last year when WOI increased their signal, I had been getting their digital channel in with no problems until recently. This past week, however, the signal goes in and out constantly. It is un-watchable. Is anyone else that has had good reception from them in the past, have had bad reception just recently (past week or so)?

I had to watch the Housewives in SD last night :mad:

Since last year when WOI increased their signal, I had been getting their digital channel in with no problems until recently. This past week, however, the signal goes in and out constantly. It is un-watchable. Is anyone else that has had good reception from them in the past, have had bad reception just recently (past week or so)?

I had to watch the Housewives in SD last night :mad:

If no one else is reporting severe signal loss (I am getting it just fine up here north of Ogden with a medium sized outside antenna on the roof of a two story home), I think you may be seeing the results of vegetation loss. The trees are really starting to leaf out and introduce significant obstruction/absorption loss at UHF. If you only had a 3 dB fade margin (you were getting a good picture, but with only 3 dB to spare), and the leaves come out, you could easily lose another 5 dB, putting you below the threshold for a picture.

What antenna are you using? If inside, go outside. If small omni, put up a "real" antenna outside preferably, but if your roof is made of the right material, you might get away with the biggest antenna you can fit in your attic. If you are already outside, consider a mast mounted preamp (at the antenna). Putting a preamp in the house after a long coax run is not very beneficial.

At this point we need to know:

1. What kind of antenna you are using.
2. Where is it mounted. (how high)
3. How long is the feedline run from the antenna to your TV
4. Is it conneted directly to the TV or is it "split" to other devices?
5. Are you using any distribution amplifier?

I'll agree with Hasan on this one. My signal also has gone down in the past week or two, just as the giant maple trees all around my apartment have leafed out.

On the plus side (well, only for me, I guess), is I've finally got a HDTV. :D Picked up a 32" LCD Toshiba. It has built in ATSC & QAM tuners. I'll have to say that I'm very impressed. Probably more of a sad purchase, though, since I usually work during primetime, but it's all good. It's definitely a huge change from watching HD letterboxed on a 13" TV. :o

Back on topic-ish, I now get WOI via Mediacom and haven't seen any problems with it. The only things I pull in OTA now are KDSM and WHO & KCCI's radar channels. (Still a weather nerd at heart.) I'm also writing a review for my website along with a listing of what other channels are free and clear on QAM. Wheee :cool:

At this point we need to know:

1. What kind of antenna you are using.
2. Where is it mounted. (how high)
3. How long is the feedline run from the antenna to your TV
4. Is it conneted directly to the TV or is it "split" to other devices?
5. Are you using any distribution amplifier?
Thanks for replying...

I was thinking that possibly the vegetation affect could be it, but last fall before the leaves fell, I got 5.1 in fine. At that time (until the leaves fell) I was having problems with 13.1 (WHO-DT), but that seems to be fine most of the time now. So that's why I'm wandering if it's the signal from WOI-DT.

Here's what I have:
1) Channel Master antenna (model 3018)

2) I have it mounted on the roof on a 10' mast

3) The run is about 50' or so.

4) I have it connected to a amp and then a surge protector. I tried changing that around last year when I was having problems getting in 13.1 and by going direct, it didn't make a difference.

5) I'm not sure what a "distribution" amp is, but I am using an amp and re-amp from Radio Shack. It's the 22db model. It's a variable power amp and I've tried decreasing and increasing the power, with no success. Last year I had to lower the power to get 13.1 in. I hadn't changed it since and started having problems with 5.1. I have since messed around with the variable power.

Note: I do live in a low valley area in WDM with trees, hill and large houses to the direction of Alleman. So I know that the signals that I get are not as strong as they would be normally on a flat area that can see the towers with vurtually no obstruction. But since last summer when WOI increased their power to 5.1, I haven't had any problems until this past week and a half.

kc0bsn - congrats on your purchase and welcome to HD!

FWIW, the radio shack models are somewhat noisy. There are CHannelMaster and WineGard models with better signal to noise ratio (actually noise figure is what you look at). The lowest noise figure you can find the better. Anything 3dB or lower is good IMO. The only other idea I have is kind of tricky, and it involves moving your antenna in unusual ways. One thing you can try is the pitch of your antenna. Pointing it up a little can make it pick up the initial signal and avoid reflections from behind the antenna. Also moving the antenna vertically (up or down) can make a difference if you're in an over the horizon situation or dealing with multipath. Increasing the amp strength can only work if you have signal to work with and its clean (no multipath). That being said, you have my sympathy. Antenna signals can be a tough thing to figure out. If you want to get the best signal you can, pick up a good low noise amp that sits at the antenna, a large directional antenna with a high front to back ratio, put the antenna outside as high as reasonable (usually, note there are situations where moving it down actually helps), and lastly use high quality RG-6 cable with good compression connectors and weather seals on outside connections.

Also, make sure if you use a power injector that there is no splitter (or one with a DC passthrough) between the injector and the amp. You could also try an FM trap to get the FM signal out of your signal before you run it through the amp.

Thanks for replying...

I was thinking that possibly the vegetation affect could be it, but last fall before the leaves fell, I got 5.1 in fine. At that time (until the leaves fell) I was having problems with 13.1 (WHO-DT), but that seems to be fine most of the time now. So that's why I'm wandering if it's the signal from WOI-DT.

Here's what I have:
1) Channel Master antenna (model 3018)

2) I have it mounted on the roof on a 10' mast

3) The run is about 50' or so.

4) I have it connected to a amp and then a surge protector. I tried changing that around last year when I was having problems getting in 13.1 and by going direct, it didn't make a difference.

5) I'm not sure what a "distribution" amp is, but I am using an amp and re-amp from Radio Shack. It's the 22db model. It's a variable power amp and I've tried decreasing and increasing the power, with no success. Last year I had to lower the power to get 13.1 in. I hadn't changed it since and started having problems with 5.1. I have since messed around with the variable power.

Note: I do live in a low valley area in WDM with trees, hill and large houses to the direction of Alleman. So I know that the signals that I get are not as strong as they would be normally on a flat area that can see the towers with vurtually no obstruction. But since last summer when WOI increased their power to 5.1, I haven't had any problems until this past week and a half.

kc0bsn - congrats on your purchase and welcome to HD!

Especially in the last week, we have had lots of moisture on the trees/leaves, so the loss would be higher than in the fall.

As far as the amp business goes:

1. Disconnect your antenna lead in (from the antenna lead entering the house) from your amp.

2. Connect the feedline directly to the tuner (either TV or Sat Box with internal tuner). See if the signal comes back.

If it does, the amp is either over-driving the tuner, or the amp itself has a poor noise figure and is not accomplishing anything.

If this doesn't bring the signal back:

Buy an antenna mounted preamp (don't buy the radio shack), look on the web at Solid Signal...they sell good ones. Install it.

While you have the antenna down, look at your feedpoint connection to make sure you haven't had moisture get into it (and the cable). I'm assuming you properly waterproofed the connection at the antenna (that means more than sliding on the rubber boot...it needs to be sealed properly.

With a decent antenna up 10' above your roof, and an antenna mounted preamp, you should have plenty of signal, if your feedline isn't full of water.

This way, you should not need further amplification in the house to do signal splitting. I'm running 4 splits and get perfect reception with the antenna mounted preamp. Don't use common "amps" that you see at Radio Shack. They have very poor noise figures and some I have tested actually oscillate (produce spurs). Video amps, distribution amps, etc., are a bad way to go. Get your gain "up front" at the antenna, then accept your losses after the run of coax. This way, you get maximum sensitivity (signal transfer) and can afford to use passive splitters where needed in the home.

Hope this helps ya!

denyart & hasan,
WOW...good stuff, thanks! There is a lot more than I realized when trying to get OTA (for some of us). In the past (last year), I did try the pitch (aiming the antenna up a little). That did seem to help.

Last night (without doing anything), I was able to get 5.1 in and watched it for a half hour with just a couple blips during that time. Last week (before the rain) and on Sunday was just a no show for 5.1. If I continue to get unconsistant reception, I'll check the connections up on the roof and will probably try a different brand of amp (like the Channel Master or WineGard).

In a couple years, I plan to move and will definately look for a flat area that has good line of site to Alleman.

Thanks very much for your help!
Jeff

I don't believe this has been discussed yet. KPWB has signed on as an affiliate of The CW Network. Meanwhile, the other Pappas station, KDMI-DT has signed on as an affiliate of My Network TV. The thought of most in the area was that KDMI-DT would simulcast KPWB, but apparently that won't be the case.

The point is still pretty much moot, though, as KDMI-DT is listed as only having obtained a construction permit in the FCC database (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=78915).

I don't believe this has been discussed yet. KPWB has signed on as an affiliate of The CW Network. Meanwhile, the other Pappas station, KDMI-DT has signed on as an affiliate of My Network TV. The thought of most in the area was that KDMI-DT would simulcast KPWB, but apparently that won't be the case.

The point is still pretty much moot, though, as KDMI-DT is listed as only having obtained a construction permit in the FCC database (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=78915).

Has anyone heard when (if ever) CH 23 (KPWB?) will bring on a digital signal and will they have HD or only Digital?

Until I saw that KDMI signed with MyTV, I thought that was the purpose of the station. We have someone at work who used to be an MCO at KPWB, and he also thought KDMI was to be the digital side of KPWB. Maybe it still will be that way and the MyTV is more like a secondary affiliation thing... Pappas has made some goofy deals in the past, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more weirdness to come. A search for Des Moines and Ames on the FCC's site didn't yield any new construction permits in the area.

A partner and I have been having problems getting OTA signal from 13-1. Anyone else having this problem or know why this might be happening. All other high def signals come in fine. I live on the southwest side of Des moines anfd he lives in urbandale.

Until I saw that KDMI signed with MyTV, I thought that was the purpose of the station. We have someone at work who used to be an MCO at KPWB, and he also thought KDMI was to be the digital side of KPWB. Maybe it still will be that way and the MyTV is more like a secondary affiliation thing... Pappas has made some goofy deals in the past, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more weirdness to come. A search for Des Moines and Ames on the FCC's site didn't yield any new construction permits in the area.According to this attachment (.pdf format) (http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=360929) to their assignment of license application, Pappas considered multiple uses for KDMI-DT as a possibility from the get-go. A digital simulcast of KPWB was first on the list, along with several potential secondary uses such as Spanish-language programming and UPN. They wanted to convince the FCC that they would use the channel to further the transition to digital by simulcasting KPWB, which currently has no paired DT channel, while potentially adding programming not yet available in Central Iowa. When analog ends, I'd have to guess that KPWB will have to flash-cut Channel 23 to digital and the two will go their separate ways, potentially giving Pappas even more flexibility.

It appears Pappas felt the need to convince the FCC to waive the multiple ownership rules. Although there is, or soon will be, eight independent "voices" in the market, that eighth voice -- a religious station licensed to Channel 34 in Ames -- was still under construction.

Another FYI for you:

There's been a lot of concern about how well viewers will be able to receive digital stations in the low-VHF band (channels 2 through 6). Some are concerned that the FCC won't allow low-V stations to use enough power to overcome the increased electrical and impulse noise on these frequencies. This could affect you since WOI-TV elected to use Channel 5 for its DT after the transition ends.

There is a chance that this election may not hold.

Under FCC rules, they're eligible for the third round of elections. If they want, they have until the close of business on May 26 to elect a higher channel. (They're not allowed to stay on 59 since all channels above 51 will be reallocated to non-TV uses.)

What they'll do is anybody's guess, but WOI-TV is on the record as opposing a move by Pax/"i" affiliate KFPX to establish a DT station on Channel 29 because WOI felt it would adversely affect them. (See this earlier post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5736914&&#post5736914) for more details.)

If they take a new channel it'll almost have to be UHF since 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are all taken in either this market or an adjacent one.

The Quad Cities has a similar issue with WHBF -- analog 4, DT 58, elected channel 4 -- and the same owner to boot. A poster in that thread says corporate is mulling the issue.

For more information about the third round, see this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=676593).

I got a new HP LC2600 TV for my den and hooked it up to my Mediacom std. cable. I did a scan for HD channels and recieved none. I called Mediacom and they said that unencrypted digital was not available through std. cable. In reading this thread it appears that at least some of you are recieving QAM signals. I live in Indianola. Am I stuck with using an antenna or buying digital cable? Phil

Hey all, I'm new here and was directed here from another forum.

I was wondering if someone could help me out.

My wife and I own a 46" Toshiba DLP and while we have cable, get our HDTV through antenna. Some of the channels do how up on cable, but not all. We are in Ames.

Last night we went to watch Lost, but the antenna signal was gone. The signal strength showed full, and audio came through, but no picture.

I tried cable, and it worked fine. I tried switched the antenna connection, and it didn't work, no picture, no audio, low signal strength. I switched back, and was now at no picture, no audio, low signal strength.

The channels that have always showed on cable, still do. But, all antenna reception is gone. I tried a new antenna, nothing. In fact, the antenna can give me standard definition, but no HDTV.

So, I'm at a loss. It worked at least Monday night, as we watched 24, but was gone as of Wednesday.

Has anyone else in Ames experiences a problem? Or, anyone with this TV, or another, have a similar problem. I would like to believe it is not my TV (only 4 months old), but I am at the point I am not so sure.

Thoughts, suggestions?

Hey all, I'm new here and was directed here from another forum.

I was wondering if someone could help me out.

My wife and I own a 46" Toshiba DLP and while we have cable, get our HDTV through antenna. Some of the channels do how up on cable, but not all. We are in Ames.

Last night we went to watch Lost, but the antenna signal was gone. The signal strength showed full, and audio came through, but no picture.

I tried cable, and it worked fine. I tried switched the antenna connection, and it didn't work, no picture, no audio, low signal strength. I switched back, and was now at no picture, no audio, low signal strength.

The channels that have always showed on cable, still do. But, all antenna reception is gone. I tried a new antenna, nothing. In fact, the antenna can give me standard definition, but no HDTV.

So, I'm at a loss. It worked at least Monday night, as we watched 24, but was gone as of Wednesday.

Has anyone else in Ames experiences a problem? Or, anyone with this TV, or another, have a similar problem. I would like to believe it is not my TV (only 4 months old), but I am at the point I am not so sure.

Thoughts, suggestions?

5-1 OTA was fine last night (Thursday), although the Charlie's Angels remake was a disaster (I could only tolerate it for about 10 mins).

Has the signal returned for you?

If not:

1. Are you using a preamp or distribution amp/splitters?

If so, disconnect the preamp and/or splitters and run the antenna feedline directly into the the TV and see if 5-1 comes back. Many preamps are unstable, or have poor noise figures and end up producing more noise and spurs than actual signal improvement.

If you can't get a signal by going directly into the TV (I'm assuming your TV has an HD tuner), then you might have a bad coax connection either up at the antenna (did you water proof the connection at the antenna properly?), or down in the house (intermittant/short/open connection).

Are all your HD OTA (over the air) channels gone or just 5-1? Just curious, the same troubleshooting technique described above still applies. The fact that you still get OTA standard channels may or may not mean anything.

Did you make a mistake reconnecting your OTA antenna to the wrong connection on the back of the TV? Is there some setting in the TV menu that tells you which connector/input is for the OTA vs. Cable?

Just some things to try, good luck.

5-1 OTA was fine last night (Thursday), although the Charlie's Angels remake was a disaster (I could only tolerate it for about 10 mins).

Has the signal returned for you?

If not:

1. Are you using a preamp or distribution amp/splitters?

If so, disconnect the preamp and/or splitters and run the antenna feedline directly into the the TV and see if 5-1 comes back. Many preamps are unstable, or have poor noise figures and end up producing more noise and spurs than actual signal improvement.

If you can't get a signal by going directly into the TV (I'm assuming your TV has an HD tuner), then you might have a bad coax connection either up at the antenna (did you water proof the connection at the antenna properly?), or down in the house (intermittant/short/open connection).

Are all your HD OTA (over the air) channels gone or just 5-1? Just curious, the same troubleshooting technique described above still applies. The fact that you still get OTA standard channels may or may not mean anything.

Did you make a mistake reconnecting your OTA antenna to the wrong connection on the back of the TV? Is there some setting in the TV menu that tells you which connector/input is for the OTA vs. Cable?

Just some things to try, good luck.

Thanks for the reply.

1. I don't even know what that means, so no. :)

All channels are gone, not just 5-1. None have returned yet (although all but Fox still come in on cable, just like before we got an antenna for football season).

Our antenna is indoor, directly into the TV, in the right jack. I've tried a new antenna, so it isn't that, and this worked fine for months, so I don't think it is the fact I use an indoor antenna.

As I said, one night it works, one night it doesn't. I'm at the point I'm worried it is the TV.

One of the frustrations of digital is that sometimes it can be hard to tell what's actually killing your reception. With analog, you can see whether the signal is weak (snow) or whether you're receiving signals from more than one path which can interfere with each other (ghosting). With digital, both will show up as intermittent or no reception.

As long as we've got analog as well as digital, you might as well use it. Try seeing how well you get analog Channel 23 (KPWB) off your antenna. They share the same tower as the digitals for WOI, KDIN and WHO, and the KCCI and KDSM towers are very close to 23's. If it looks stable, has mild to no ghosting and has little or no "snow", in theory you should be able to get at least WOI-DT, KDIN-DT and WHO-DT. If you're having trouble with 23, you can use that trouble to figure out what your problem with the DTs are.

On an unrelated note:

Today was the deadline for the third round of channel elections.

As of right now, we do not know officially if WOI used the third round to try and get their post-transition DT off Channel 5. The database shows nothing, and with Monday being a federal holiday, we may not know anything until well into next week.

Stay tuned ...

I got a new HP LC2600 TV for my den and hooked it up to my Mediacom std. cable. I did a scan for HD channels and recieved none. I called Mediacom and they said that unencrypted digital was not available through std. cable. In reading this thread it appears that at least some of you are recieving QAM signals. I live in Indianola. Am I stuck with using an antenna or buying digital cable? Phil
Figure8, we didn't forget about you either. You were just paginated. :D

I'm assuming Indianola should have nearly the same setup as Des Moines for the cable lineup and configuration. Beyond trying to do the scan on the cable input on your set, I assume you've also tried just keying in 5-1, 8-1 or whatever? I haven't played with an HP set, but my Toshiba seperates the Antenna and Cable inputs from each other so I can tune in 8-1 either by the cable or the antenna input. Also, I see the set has two cable inputs. I'd make sure that you've plugged into the digital cable input. Or at least, try both of them and do rescans to see what you find. [image link] (http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2005/319/x319LC2600N-b.jpeg)

Figure 8,

Not sure if this will work but it seemed to for me. I have my cable right into the TV (well, its also split into the HD Cable box, I do it that way for better PQ on the analog channels). If you are running cable direct into your cable input, then go to channel 114. This should find 2 of the locals in HD. Next, go to channel 115. This should find 2 more. They will remap to 5, 8, 11, and 13. So on mine anyways if I am flipping through the channels, I will get a channel "Cable 5" then the next channel up is "DTV Cable 5-1". A similar thing occurs with 8, 11, and 13. Its worth a shot. Let us all know if this works!

"I'm assuming Indianola should have nearly the same setup as Des Moines for the cable lineup and configuration. Beyond trying to do the scan on the cable input on your set, I assume you've also tried just keying in 5-1, 8-1 or whatever? I haven't played with an HP set, but my Toshiba seperates the Antenna and Cable inputs from each other so I can tune in 8-1 either by the cable or the antenna input. Also, I see the set has two cable inputs. I'd make sure that you've plugged into the digital cable input. Or at least, try both of them and do rescans to see what you find. [image link]"

I'm using a splitter and running the cable to both inputs.

"Not sure if this will work but it seemed to for me. I have my cable right into the TV (well, its also split into the HD Cable box, I do it that way for better PQ on the analog channels). If you are running cable direct into your cable input, then go to channel 114. This should find 2 of the locals in HD. Next, go to channel 115. This should find 2 more. They will remap to 5, 8, 11, and 13. So on mine anyways if I am flipping through the channels, I will get a channel "Cable 5" then the next channel up is "DTV Cable 5-1". A similar thing occurs with 8, 11, and 13. Its worth a shot. Let us all know if this works! "


I'll try this tomorrow when I return home.

Thanks for your helpfull comments. Phil

I'm watching the news and I saw that three workers were killed on top of the tower for one of the stations out there in Oakland. Makes you appreciate what people do for our pleasure.

Well, folks, all signs are pointing to WOI-DT staying on Channel 5 after the transition to digital is over.

The deadline was last Friday for stations in the low VHF band to submit a third round election. It's now nearly a week later. A check of the FCC database shows 25 stations in the whole country have filed the form, a number which hasn't changed since Tuesday morning.

WOI is not among them.

Bottom line is, if you're selecting an antenna for the long term, you'll more than likely need one which picks up low-VHF (WOI), high-VHF (where KCCI, KDIN and WHO are expected to return), and UHF (for everyone else).

I'll keep watching to see if anything changes ...

does anyone here use a LG LST-3150A to tune QAM channels with Mediacom? I get a bunch of music channels but the only tv ones i can find are 114.2 (WHO) and 114.4 (KCCI).

WOI,

Great job on the Belmont
Where was the HD?

what there is a switch you have to flip for HD? Heh good job engineers

I guess I'll clean the cobwebs out of this thread a bit. ;)

For those with Mediacom, it appears that 8.2 has now been added to the lineup. Also, for those that noticed radar disappeared from the channel on Saturday... it's now back. :D

Now, another question for anyone with a QAM decoder but no cable card: I noticed in the past week that I can't get any of the music channels anymore. And now when I tune to where the VOD channels used to be, those, too, say they are encrypted channels. Anyone else seeing this? I'll try again this weekend to find some VOD as there were usually at least 5 things going on at a time. Oddly enough, the Biography channel is still coming through. (Though now that I've said it, Biography will probably disappear soon, too.)

I guess another possibility is that they've rearranged the channels. Music used to come in on the 83.XX subchannels and VOD was usually in the 104-106.XX range. Guess this weekend I'll spend a lot of time flipping through the empty channels. :cool:

VOD channels still show up for me, but have usually ranged from 101 to as far as 117-50. Haven't checked the music channels in a while. Hope they aren't gone, I liked that Blues channel.

Looks like we have a new Digital channel in Des Moines Kinda? 17-2 started broadcasting The Tube. heres the Tv web site link http://www.thetubetv.com/. way to go Fox it looks like your new upgrades will be for the best.

Has anyone herd any new news on the CW in Des Moines?

KPWB has signed on as an affiliate of The CW, but still haven't heard anything about progress with KDMI-DT, which is basically the sister station of KPWB. Either way, Pappas has made an agreement with My Network TV, or whatever the network is, for KDMI.

I'm glad to see The Tube on 17-2, now KDSM's next step can be to stop stretching content on 17-1. There actually seems to be some movement this week on all the local subchannels. 13-2 appears to have moved away from live radar and is now their weather graphics source. Which kind of sucks, since if the meteorologist forgets to send it back to live radar, we get whatever was the last graphic they used. 8-2 is still live radar... for now.

I'm glad to see The Tube on 17-2, now KDSM's next step can be to stop stretching content on 17-1.The strange thing is, out here we have KGAN-CBS2, which like KDSM is owned by Sinclair.

CBS2 in turn operates KFXA-Fox 28 under a local marketing agreement, but does NOT own Fox 28.

CBS2, like KDSM, stretches all SD on 2-1. When KFXA started doing HD, they initially had pretty much the same setup as KGAN. But somewhere along the line, they stopped stretching the SD.

And oddly enough, I believe KFXA-DT is actually on cable here. It's CBS we're missing. (Not that it matters to me with my antenna and all ...)

By the way, how good is The Tube looking on KDSM? Out here on KWWL-DT it took them a while to get the bitrates settled.

Anyone see this? It seems pretty nice. They must have rolled this out with their "Weather NOW" deal.

Props to KCCI Weather NOW Rocks

Very nice alternative to TheWeatherChannel. Now if only one of the locals would add Media Center functionality to their website (10Foot web interface or maybe a direct link to local radar full screen) I would be in weather/news heaven. 8-2's Weather Now is definitely going to get use in my house!

You can still get streaming radar 24/7 from the website if you go to the weather page (http://www.kcci.com/weather/index.html). Granted, the default resolution is 320x240 so by the time you expand it full screen, it will be pixellated. If you're tricky you can find the direct link to the ASX streaming files for both the radar and WeatherNow streams.

Can someone give me a recommendation? I purchased a Westinghouse 42" LCD monitor (no tuners, but a beautiful 1080p display) and have Mediacom's dual-tuner HD DVR box. My apartment complex supplies bulk-rate cable (channels 2-78) and I'm only paying Mediacom for the DVR service and box rental (no hi-def package - not many shows I'd watch on those channels).
I just discovered that I get 805, 808, 811, and 813 which are the digital/HD channels for 5, 8, 11, and 13 but the majority of programming I watch is on FOX or other cable channels. Can someone tell me what options I've got for getting FOX in digital? I can get a hi-def tuner & antenna for my PC and run that to the LCD, or convert to a dish w/OTA locals, but are there any other options from Mediacom?

Fox is going to be fairly easy to pick up with a decent antenna and tuner if you have a view to the south that is not obstructed. I have the little antenna that came with my HDTV Wonder up in my attic, and it picks up all the locals. If I were in your shoes (with that beautiful 1080P Westinghouse display;)) I would think about using a computer with one or two HD OTA tuners in it. I have a setup with 2 HD tuners and 1 SD tuner. I use the SD tuner for watching and recording SD material from cable (2-78) and the other 2 HD tuners capture the over the air feeds from all the local networks (5-1, 8-1, 8-2, 11-1, 11-2, 13-1, 13-2, 17-1, 17-2). It was really an easy thing to do with Windows MCE (or other programs). I even got my friend hooked and he built a similar system with a Dell box. In any case, that is an option. You could also get a QAM/ATSC/NTSC tuner such as the ones LG makes. They even have a model with DVR capabilities built in. Sony does as well. With one of these units you should be able to get the locals that are on the cable free (8-1, 11-1, 13-1), and also using an antenna get the rest. I thought about that unit for a while, but I went the Media Center route out of curiosity.

denyart -

Out of all the HD tuners you have for media center, do you have a recomendation on which produces the best quality picture through your media center?

Thanks!

Trevor

There are other threads for that, but I'll try a short answer. For SD the single tuner NVTV (probably discontinued) is bad for PQ. The USB Hauppauge Media Center Edition is good. For HD, both the AverMedia MCE A180 and the ATI HDTV Wonder tune the channels well enough and the picture is essentially the same (as it should be for digital if the entire signal is being captured).

denyart
being in ames, can you get the hd channels thru mediacom's SD signal without the hd box?
with the ati hdtv wonder card, can you play the recorded HD programs back to your HDTV?
any help would be appreciated
thanks
dave

It has been a while since I had a QAM tuner, but when I did (LG DVD Player HD tuner) I was able to get 8, 11, and 13's digital signal in the clear (unencrypted) over a SD (read expanded basic) cable connection. The signal is near the top of the cable spectrum, as is the cable modem signal. It can be filtered off by the cable company, or encrypted but in my past experience some of the digital cable channels were unencrypted and the rebroadcasts of the local HD channels were among them. You cannot use an ATI HDTV Wonder for this. It does not do QAM tuning. It only receives over the air stations in digital format. It can receive cable stations (or regular OTA) in analog format, but it does not do digital cable. There are tuners that do, but I have never used one of them. My only experience is with a STB that did unencrypted QAM. If you use a tuner card in a computer you can receive the local channels with an antenna, and then you can record and play them back (or watch live) on your HDTV. I do this currently with a CRT RPTV using component video output from my HTPC.

Denyart -
Thanks for the info, although, there are a lot of alphabetical things listed that are way over my head (lol).
If i get the ATI HDTV Wonder, will I need the Windows XP media center edition, or does the ATI come with software to make it work?
I'm just looking for a way to record HD programming and the ability to play back to my 42" plasma.
dave

Denyart -
Thanks for the info, although, there are a lot of alphabetical things listed that are way over my head (lol).
If i get the ATI HDTV Wonder, will I need the Windows XP media center edition, or does the ATI come with software to make it work?
I'm just looking for a way to record HD programming and the ability to play back to my 42" plasma.
dave
I sent you a PM. This is getting way off topic for this thread.

In order to bring things back on topic I have an HD in Des Moines question. Has anyone heard anything at all about KPWB broadcasting in HD? I know it has been discussed but I'm wondering if anyone has any updates or theories about when this might happen. It really stinks that they don't because KPWB has about the worst reception of all the networks for analog, so it looks even that much worse on my HD tv.

My wife loves multiple shows on the WB and would be a lot more excited about everything if they would get off their rear ends and start broadcasting in HD, especially since almost all of their content is available in HD.

Hi TJ, I can't answer your question, but it's good to see some activity on the forum. I've had HDTV for about 3 months, but just got it working a few days ago. I live in a bad 'red zone' and am having trouble with KCCI.

I have a rooftop VHF\UHF antenna with about a 60" boom, and a Magnavox amplifier at the antenna. It's gain is UHF=22db, VHF=28db. The noise level is 4db which from what I've read would be better if it was <=3db. All channels are about 70-75% signal on digital, and overdriven on analog to the point that I've had to use attenuators to reel it in. I bypass the attenuators for Digital TV, but have tried them.

KCCIdt has a signal level of 70-75%, but it drops out a lot. When it drops out it goes right down to about 25-30%, Then will jump back to the higher level. It happens often enough that it's unusable.

I'm supposed to point my antenna at 354 deg. which is fairly easy because I live right off SE 14th St. I have very large trees about 50' from the antenna. I have tried pitching the antenna but didn't notice any improvement.

Can anybody offer any suggestions? I'm afraid of heights and fell from my ladder the other day when I was installing the amplifier and quad shielded RG6. I really don't want to go up there again, but can turn the antenna with a pipe wrench standing on a chair. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

Jack

I feel for you buddy. I hate getting up on the roof. I was so pleasently surprised when I got my hd tv hooked up. I have an el-cheapo indoor antenna that I hooked up to my samsung's built in tuner. I was able to pull all channels with almost perfect signals. My antenna was an actual hd antenna though.

Well, I hope you don't get yourself injured seriously over HDTV. It is nice, but not worth a trip to the hospital. I do have a suggestion. Could you tell us how the antenna worked without any amps with good RG6 and fittings? Also, do you know how good the fittings are on the RG6? The ones the cable company uses (Snap n Seal is the trade name) are a minimum IMO. If it is twist on or the hex-crimp on ones, I would get them replaced. My guess is that may help raise your signal to noise ratio. You probably have your antenna aimed right, and pitching it up ever so slightly should help perfect the aim. I would say it is odd though that 8 has problems and others don't. Reason being is it is not one of the usual culprits (in my experience). That is the reason I am thinking removing the amp may help. It may make 5 and 17 your new problem, but at least it would tell us something. You may also have a multipath problem (which can manifest in great swings in reported signal). If that is the case, then switching to multipath specific antenna (like the old GhostKiller) with a high front to back ratio may help. Just for reference, what antenna do you have? Also, IMO Magnavox amps are not the best. I am not even sure the noise figure they list (4dB in your case) is acurate. Winegard and a few other companies make better ones, but they are not usually available locally in as many places as Magnavox or RadioShack.

In order to bring things back on topic I have an HD in Des Moines question. Has anyone heard anything at all about KPWB broadcasting in HD? I know it has been discussed but I'm wondering if anyone has any updates or theories about when this might happen. It really stinks that they don't because KPWB has about the worst reception of all the networks for analog, so it looks even that much worse on my HD tv.

My wife loves multiple shows on the WB and would be a lot more excited about everything if they would get off their rear ends and start broadcasting in HD, especially since almost all of their content is available in HD.As a reminder: KPWB came on too late to get a digital counterpart. Its owner recently obtained a construction permit for a digital-only station to be called KDMI. One of its proposed uses was a digital/HD simulcast of KPWB until analog shutoff, after which KPWB would theoretically "flash-cut" channel 23 to digital. However, I understand that KDMI has also signed on to be a MyNetwork affiliate.

Beyond that, it all depends on when they can get KDMI constructed.

EDIT: When it comes on, KDMI-DT will be licensed to channel 56, but has filed to move to 31 when analog ends. (31 is KCCI-DT's current slot, but they'll be moving back to 8.)

@denyart. I tried it without an amp and it was much worse. The cable is a manufactured 25' Magnavox quad shielded, the connectors are gold or brass and quite long (1 1/8"). They don't appear to be crimped. I've had the antenna for 12 years and don't know the brand, but I know I bought it from Best Buy.

Since my post I have turned the antenna towards blue sky, not through the trees. It's probably about 330 deg. now and all digital channels are working well but still only have about 75% strength on all of them. That has ruined my analog ch. so it's not the best solution.

I'm going to change the antenna but want to stay with a broadband because I don't know where the channels will be in 2009. Antenna recommendations would be appreciated. I live near Southridge Mall, in a valley, and all of the stations are in the red range. As you can see from my first post I tried several attenuators including a variable one.

@dline, I was scanning yesterday and on my set when it finds a digital signal it turns yellow momentarily. This happened on ch 56 but the tv didn't put it in memory.

Jack

irs900, I PM'd you

Please disregard my post^^it was ch 59 and everyone on this forum except me knows it's ch 5. On another note, I've spent the day tweaking my antenna aim and seem to have found a good medium for digital and analog signals. No drop outs yet! I may not need anymore new equipment for now at least. I was able to replace a distribution amplifier in the house with a four way splitter and am pleased with that. Denyart thanks for the PM, I have been learning a lot but have a ways to go. I know a bit about Antennas from my Amateur Radio days (N0OOG).

Thanks all, Jack

Antenna recommendations would be appreciated. I live near Southridge Mall, in a valley, and all of the stations are in the red range. As you can see from my first post I tried several attenuators including a variable one.
I am also in a valley in WDM with big hill, large trees and large houses to the direction of Alleman and I can get all local digital stations most of the time. The antenna I use is Channel Master 3018. I have it on a 10' mast on the highest point on my roof. I purchased at Lowes for $60. I wish I would have gone with the Channel Master 3020 for $100 because periodically I do have problems receiving signals specially from WHODT. I also use a pre-amp from Radio Shack that is a variable up to 22dB. I get the best reception when it's about 3/4 turned up. Turned all the way up to 22dB, a couple channels drop out more often.

I have a definitive update on KDMI-DT. I was able to contact someone at KDMI/KBWB and get a final answer on what is going on. It is good news :)

"I am currently installing the transmitters and antenna for KDMI-DT and we need to have at least color bars and tone on the air by August 26th, so we're hopping on it.

We will be carrying the CW HD feed on KDMI (Channel 56). We will also be carrying the new MyNetworkTV programming on the KDMI signal also. But with MyNetworkTV being a prime-time only program feed for 2 hours a nite, we will will have programming from the AmericaOne network on for the other 22 hours.

While both CW and MyNetworkTV have HD programming, we will only have the CW in HD. While the digital signal can handle 2 HD feeds, you have to reduce the quality of both in order to make them 'fit' in the channel bandwidth. So, instead of broadcasting two so-so HD feeds, we opting for one good HD feed and a good SD (standard def) feed. In 2009 at the end of analog transmission for everyone, we'll convert our channel 23 transmitters to digital and go CW HD on that and then full MyNetworkTV HD on 56 (actually it will change to Ch 31 in 2009... Don't ask.... Long story.... FCC........)"

Also, I asked when he thought exactly the CW-HD would be on the air, here was his response -

"The CW officially launches September 18th. That is my drop-dead date to be broadcasting the CW in HD on the new KDMI."

I have a definitive update on KDMI-DT. I was able to contact someone at KDMI/KBWB and get a final answer on what is going on. It is good news :)

"I am currently installing the transmitters and antenna for KDMI-DT and we need to have at least color bars and tone on the air by August 26th, so we're hopping on it.

We will be carrying the CW HD feed on KDMI (Channel 56). We will also be carrying the new MyNetworkTV programming on the KDMI signal also. But with MyNetworkTV being a prime-time only program feed for 2 hours a nite, we will will have programming from the AmericaOne network on for the other 22 hours.

While both CW and MyNetworkTV have HD programming, we will only have the CW in HD. While the digital signal can handle 2 HD feeds, you have to reduce the quality of both in order to make them 'fit' in the channel bandwidth. So, instead of broadcasting two so-so HD feeds, we opting for one good HD feed and a good SD (standard def) feed. In 2009 at the end of analog transmission for everyone, we'll convert our channel 23 transmitters to digital and go CW HD on that and then full MyNetworkTV HD on 56 (actually it will change to Ch 31 in 2009... Don't ask.... Long story.... FCC........)"

Also, I asked when he thought exactly the CW-HD would be on the air, here was his response -

"The CW officially launches September 18th. That is my drop-dead date to be broadcasting the CW in HD on the new KDMI."


GREAT NEWS. Now dumb questions:

What is CW and what will their programming be like.

What kind of programming should we expect from MyNewtworkTV and AmericaOne

I know nothing of either of them and am only guessing that CW is what is currently showing on channel 23?

thanks for the update!

GREAT NEWS. Now dumb questions:

What is CW and what will their programming be like.

What kind of programming should we expect from MyNewtworkTV and AmericaOne

I know nothing of either of them and am only guessing that CW is what is currently showing on channel 23?

thanks for the update!
There are no dumb questions, just dumb answers. :)

Earlier this year, the owners of the WB and UPN decided to abandon their separate weblets effective this fall and combine their efforts into a single network to be called The CW. The "C" comes from CBS, which owns UPN, while the "W" stands for Warner Brothers. The network intends to draw from the best of current UPN and The WB programming.

There's a lot of discussion about The CW in the AVS HDTV programming forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=34), and AVS moderator fredfa has been keeping track of The CW's (and other networks') fall schedules at the beginning of the "Hot Off The Press" thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=440744).

MyNetwork will air primarily English-language versions of the "telenovela," a format popular on Latin American television -- somewhat like soaps, only they have a limited run. Right now it looks like they will be "stripping" two telenovelas -- "Table for Three" and "Fashion House" -- airing one episode of each per night, with a "catch-up" show on Saturdays.

AmericaOne (www.americaone.com) airs what appears to be a schedule of classic shows, old movies, and some sports like Canadian football, boxing and motor sports. It looks like a channel I would check out every so often. If KDMI's construction goes according to plan, they'd be the network's first full-power affiliate in Iowa. Right now, only low-power stations in Des Moines and Marshalltown carry them, according to their website.

Anyone notice 5-1 take a nose-dive in strength over the weekend? I saw a lot of pixellation and break up, went to the TV menu and saw only 2 bars of signal...normally about 7. It stayed that way until I went to bed, didn't check it this morning. By chance have they had power problems with the recent storm? Looks to me like they lost a lot of signal. I checked on two different tuners and they both showed the same weak (non watchable) signal. All other channels were normal in the 10 out of 10 or 9 out of 10 range.

Anyone notice 5-1 take a nose-dive in strength over the weekend?
Sorry, I don't have an answer for 5-1 because I haven't checked local HD channels since last Wed, but when I did, all came in ok except FOX 17's two digital channels. It kept going from 49% down to 0 and once in a while I would get a pic at about 60+%, then out again. Did anyone experience that last Wed 8/9 evening at about 9:30pm?

While we are on the topic of OTA reception, am I the only one who experiences far lower audio levels on WHO when compared to other stations? When on 13-1, I may have to crank my receiver volume up to hear it. Then when I flip to any other station, it is far too loud. Is there anything I can do?

While I'm here, has anybody heard anything about Mediacom adding NFL Network, either as a freebie or in a tier? I know NFLN has put a lot of pressure on Mediacom (see commercials, ads in the Register sports page, etc). I have e-mailed Mediacom several times, each time says "thanks, we will reply in 24-48 hours" but I never hear back. I don't know how quickly other cable companies add cable HD channels, but Mediacom has added absolutely nothing since ESPN2 came out in June 2005. :mad:

While we are on the topic of OTA reception, am I the only one who experiences far lower audio levels on WHO when compared to other stations? When on 13-1, I may have to crank my receiver volume up to hear it. Then when I flip to any other station, it is far too loud. Is there anything I can do?

:mad:


1. Yes (the audio level is VERY low.
2. No (there's nothing that can be done, that I know of).

Someone else, please tell me the WOI-DT 5-1 dropped their transmit power over the weekend, because as of this morning, and since all day Sunday, their signal sucks.

Dido on the audio and it's that way on both OTA and Mediacom.

As of Monday late afternoon, it was back, but it's only reading about 5 out of 10 on the meter. It is still not back to full strength, but at least it isn't breaking up.

Hey guys I just got my first widescreen HDTV Panasonic 42PX600U, and I bought a antenna that can be used internally and externally at RadioShack and I have to say it works great however my questions is why do the HD channels come in 4:3 instead of 16:9, the only one thats in 16:9 is channel 11. Let me know.
Thanks

Stations will be in 4:3 until there is actual HD content transmitted. During the daytime and until 7pm, pretty much everyone (except for 11) are upconverted their standard signal onto the digital transmitter. Try tuning in to the stations during primetime and see what you get then. Just remember that most reality shows and news programs aren't in HD/16:9 yet.

Anyone have any idea why I can't get any of the local HD channels now? I know like amonth or 2 ago they were coming in fine but now, nothing. It shows the signal strength is like 90% or something but there isn't any video at all showing up. I can get channels 5,8, 13, and 23 to come in but none of the 5.1, 8.1, 13.1, 17.1 etc. I live in Ankeny and am using the same Radio Shack antenna that I have always been using. Did something change in the last few months that would somehow block from getting these channels now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT : Just checked and I seem to be getting Audio even for those HD channels....just no video. This seems so weird

Thanks in advance.

If you're getting audio then you are definitely getting the stations. Perhaps it is the receiver or some other setting that has been messed up. Or I'll try the new standard of: "Have you tried rescanning the channels?" (As opposed to, have you rebooted your computer? :))

I have a definitive update on KDMI-DT. I was able to contact someone at KDMI/KBWB and get a final answer on what is going on. It is good news :)

"I am currently installing the transmitters and antenna for KDMI-DT and we need to have at least color bars and tone on the air by August 26th, so we're hopping on it.

We will be carrying the CW HD feed on KDMI (Channel 56). We will also be carrying the new MyNetworkTV programming on the KDMI signal also. But with MyNetworkTV being a prime-time only program feed for 2 hours a nite, we will will have programming from the AmericaOne network on for the other 22 hours.

While both CW and MyNetworkTV have HD programming, we will only have the CW in HD. While the digital signal can handle 2 HD feeds, you have to reduce the quality of both in order to make them 'fit' in the channel bandwidth. So, instead of broadcasting two so-so HD feeds, we opting for one good HD feed and a good SD (standard def) feed. In 2009 at the end of analog transmission for everyone, we'll convert our channel 23 transmitters to digital and go CW HD on that and then full MyNetworkTV HD on 56 (actually it will change to Ch 31 in 2009... Don't ask.... Long story.... FCC........)"

Also, I asked when he thought exactly the CW-HD would be on the air, here was his response -

"The CW officially launches September 18th. That is my drop-dead date to be broadcasting the CW in HD on the new KDMI."

Cool. But will they be re-broadcasting through Mediacom at the same time? I sent that question to KPWB and it was ignored, so I'm hoping someone who can get answers from them knows.

Stations will be in 4:3 until there is actual HD content transmitted. During the daytime and until 7pm, pretty much everyone (except for 11) are upconverted their standard signal onto the digital transmitter. Try tuning in to the stations during primetime and see what you get then. Just remember that most reality shows and news programs aren't in HD/16:9 yet.
Thanks for the explanation

Looks Like KDMI changed their call sign from KDMI to KCWI on 8/10/06. Anyone else checking channel 56 everyday just to see if anything is happening yet I know I do.. It also looks like there MINOR MODIFICATION TO A CONSTRUCTION PERMIT expires on 8/28/06.. so they should be up by then... Good news I hope..

Mossy

To my surprise, Mediacom has added INHD on channel 852 as of today. Browsing through the Guide, there are three baseball games on this week in primetime. Everything else on this station appears typical, no-name type shows. At least its one more HD option!

Was just about to post about that. I'm getting the "will be available shortly" message tho.

Was just about to post about that. I'm getting the "will be available shortly" message tho.

I always love beating you to the Mediacom posts - seems like we are the only two posting here about cable.

I'm guessing that the reason for that "available shortly" message was because INHD was showing the Cardinals/Mets game at the time of your post, and that would have been blacked out because we were getting it on Fox Sports Midwest.

I actually found a few good things on that channel coming up, namely HD tours of MLB stadiums and NCAA Football stadiums (including Notre Dame)!

Anybody notice that the KCWI-DT 23.1 and 23.2 channels are online today? Pretty cool. Hope they get their HDTV programming online for the fall season!

I checked for them at 1015PM, and I couldn't find any signal. Is it tuning to channel 56? I thought that was what was said on the previous page. Perhaps it is just off the air for a while. In any case it is good news to hear that it was up (even if only for a while). My wife will appreciate the old WB shows in HD if they are on this fall. It might make them more intersting for me too if the PQ is as good as some have said in other areas. Let us know who is getting the signal and what channel it is on.

Anybody notice that the KCWI-DT 23.1 and 23.2 channels are online today? Pretty cool. Hope they get their HDTV programming online for the fall season!

As of 11:30 No signal from KWCI, it may just be primetime for the next few months but i hope to see them soon if anyone get them post your signal strenght to see how powerful they are.

I always love beating you to the Mediacom posts - seems like we are the only two posting here about cable.

I am mostly a lurker, but I was glad to see that INHD has been added to the lineup.
It still does not show up on my TiVo channel listing, which leads me to believe that Mediacom has not updated the official line-up.

I hope that more channels are added soon.

Any word on Sinclair (local Fox channel) allowing Mediacom to carry HD?

I'm guessing that the reason for that "available shortly" message was because INHD was showing the Cardinals/Mets game at the time of your post, and that would have been blacked out because we were getting it on Fox Sports Midwest.


Must have been because I have it now.

BTW.. does anyone know of a bar in Des Moines that has HDTV and possibly TNT-HD?

Okoboji Grill in Johnston has D* HD.

Must have been because I have it now.

BTW.. does anyone know of a bar in Des Moines that has HDTV and possibly TNT-HD?

The Chicken Coop in West Des Moines Has D* HD. on 9 TVs

Thanks guys. FYI on my search last night. A couple of places I contacted said they did only to get there and see they had the TVs but no programming.

I went to Legends in Johnston, they had like 6 HDTVs but I had to ask them to switch one to HD and at first they switched to SD. When I asked for the HD channel they said they didn't think they got it. Said they had D* and I told them where TNT-HD was and they got it changed. I left there when I was told I had to either put out or step outside with my cigar, even after I had asked them first if it was ok. Before leaving, the bartender told me the WSDM location had similiar screens.

After passing by The Cab, which is smoke free, I went to Okaboji where they had 7 HD screens around the bar area all showing HD sports programs from D*. They had NASCAR, MLS, LLWS, MLB and NFL. I think the screens in the other table areas were HD but I didn't really look. Bartender there said he was certain the Ankeny Okaboji had a similiar setup.

Before going home I stepped into The Cab for a second and noticed they had multiple HD screens, though small ones, with HD programming on.

I also heard TR's on University in West Des Moines shows HD but I don't have it confirmed.
Cool to hear about The Chicken Coop, been meaning to go there sometime.

So there are bar options for watching HD in Des Moines. :)

So there are bar options for watching HD in Des Moines. :)Better than what we have, that's for sure.

I travel a lot between central and eastern Iowa (in fact, a relative I often stay with has at broadcast DT/HD reception) and noticed that many bars in Ames have done a LOT better displaying actual HD than my local ones. Welch Ave. Station and the Old Main brew pub come to mind. Not bad, considering how long it took for you guys to get Monday Night Football.

Out here, there are at least three downtown bars (one of which recently closed) and two in the "Irish District" which bought HD sets, only to display stretched analog cable on their screens.

Any more info on 56.1 DT? I checked my signal strength on channel 56 and it showed 1 red bar. That means there was something there, but nothing good enough to tune in. Are any people getting anything from this channel, or was it just that one time?

I checked for them at 1015PM, and I couldn't find any signal. Is it tuning to channel 56? I thought that was what was said on the previous page. Perhaps it is just off the air for a while. In any case it is good news to hear that it was up (even if only for a while). My wife will appreciate the old WB shows in HD if they are on this fall. It might make them more intersting for me too if the PQ is as good as some have said in other areas. Let us know who is getting the signal and what channel it is on.


I guess the signal on KCWI-DT (56.1 and 56.2) is up and down. I live in Pella and I had full signal strength the other day. There was yet to be picture our sound, but I was happy to see a signal.

56.1 is coming in here on the SW side of Ames. It varies from 4 orange to 6 green (full) bars of signal. The picture is a little choppy and very low resolution (highly compressed), but it is there. It is the AmericaOne TV network.

My D* HD-DVR gets the signal @ about 70%. it picks it up as 56-1 AM1, still cant get it to program into the guide and there is no Audio but I'm liking the progress.

Ok guys. I have the official word from KDMI.

"We'll have a signal on the air this week. It may alternate between test signals and satellite feeds while we are configuring and testing the system.

Until we get the system fully configured, our main signal will be on 56.1. The time frame for 56.2 is September 18th, the launch of the new CW, where we'll have our regular signal on Ch 23 and the HD simulcast on 56.2."

Ok guys. I have the official word from KDMI.

"We'll have a signal on the air this week. It may alternate between test signals and satellite feeds while we are configuring and testing the system.

Until we get the system fully configured, our main signal will be on 56.1. The time frame for 56.2 is September 18th, the launch of the new CW, where we'll have our regular signal on Ch 23 and the HD simulcast on 56.2."

I haven't seen it yet, but I'll check for it again this evening. I could not pick it up with a scan, maybe manually entering it in as 56-1 will work (Samsung HL-R5667W). I get all the other HD locals fine (although WOI-DT has not been good for about 10 days.)It dropped out completely for a few days, then came back and since then it has been marginal. I'm guessing they cut back on power, because all the other digital channels are normal strength.

Will the channel number show as 56 or remap to 23 once the CW feed is up?

It will be 56.1 and 56.2, I think. They probably can't use 23.1 because they are officially a different station. If they label it as 23.1, then that would be KPWB-DT, and that isn't what the FCC approved. In any case, if I set my tuner to look for 23.1 and set the frequency to channel 56 I can't get anything. I needed to manually enter 56.1 and 56.2 as the channels and 56 as the actual frequency assignment. It is some weird thing about how my system works. For instance I can add a manual channel and then tell it what the frequency is. If I put in 56.1 and give it the frequency for channel 8.1, I get a full signal bar but it says there is no signal and nothing works. Somehow the channel mapping (which seems almost superficial to me) is important to some tuners. (BTW I don't get anything on 56.2, it's just in my channel listings so I can check it)

I have two indoor antennas both pointing north. I live on the far west side of West Des Moines. I had them pretty much sitting on the floor and I was getting perfect reception. Yesterday I put all my AV stuff in an audio rack and then set them on top of the audio rack. At that point my reception pretty much died. This was odd to me because I got them up higher and actually pointed out a window instead of pointed into the drywall. I moved them back to the floor pointed the same direction and the reception went back to perfect. Any ideas? Am I actually better off with the drywall? Does elevation make that big of a difference when pointing the antenna?

Thanks!

Trevor

Will the channel number show as 56 or remap to 23 once the CW feed is up?

I did a scan last night with my HL-R5667W Sammy and got a lock on 56.3. Looking at the signal it was 5 to 7 bars (out of 10). There was no video, no audio, just carrier. I'm north of Ogden with a medium sized outdoor antenna on the roof (2nd story).

I got nothing from 56.1 or 56.2.

Once remapped, I expect it will show up as 23.x. The best way is just to do a full scan and let the tv receiver find the digital channels.

I have no idea what 56.3 is....I think it showed something like KEFW or something, but I'm betting it is the channel 23 digital stuff. Now let's see some video. This report is from Wednesday night (August 30). The signal was up for several hours. I didn't check it before going to bed.

I think CBS has only 3-4 HD games per week. Does KCCI-DT always show an HD game for us, or do they sometimes show the SD broadcast of the crappy Chiefs? Do they ever multicast two games (one on the sub channel)? Does anyone know what they did last year or plan to do this year?

I think CBS has only 3-4 HD games per week. Does KCCI-DT always show an HD game for us, or do they sometimes show the SD broadcast of the crappy Chiefs? Do they ever multicast two games (one on the sub channel)? Does anyone know what they did last year or plan to do this year?

As I recall, they always had at least one HD game per weekend. When they had double headers, they didn't always have HD on the 2nd game. It is hard for me to recall, as I was madly switching between NFL Sunday Ticket on D* and the local channels. If something was local OTA HD I always watched it there, as the very best pix is always going to be OTA.

It will be fun to watch this year with all the new announcing and production teams. I can put up with just about anything for announcing if the game is in HD.

I have two indoor antennas both pointing north. I live on the far west side of West Des Moines. I had them pretty much sitting on the floor and I was getting perfect reception. Yesterday I put all my AV stuff in an audio rack and then set them on top of the audio rack. At that point my reception pretty much died. This was odd to me because I got them up higher and actually pointed out a window instead of pointed into the drywall. I moved them back to the floor pointed the same direction and the reception went back to perfect. Any ideas? Am I actually better off with the drywall? Does elevation make that big of a difference when pointing the antenna?

Thanks!

TrevorTrevor, you have already figured out the number one rule of OTA reception. When you get it, you get it, and moving anything (even if in a logical manner) won't necessarily make anything better. I would venture a few guesses about your particular situation. One, your equipment rack is electronically noisy (many are). Two, if you put your antenna somewhere else (especially outside) you would get an even better signal. The fact that you can get it seemingly through drywall is not all that unusual. I get my signal through a roof (OFB, tarpaper, shingles), and in your case it is likely gypsum board, OFB, TYVEK, insulation, and some kind of siding (probably not aluminum or steel!). If you want to get a suggestion about where to "hide" your antennas and still get reception, just ask. As for your current situation, I am guessing many would be happy to know there is anywhere in your place that you can get good signal. Lucky

I forgot about them splitting their games to cover HD for both early and late games. I'm just hoping that they give us something to watch different than the Chiefs, so I was hoping an analog game on channel 8 and a different HD game(s) on their digital channel(s).

If I remember correctly, they did do that some last year. They may even pull 8.2 off of a continuous weather feed to put up a third game, but even if we can only get 2 at a time that is a step forward. I think it stinks for those people at Dir...TV to be the only ones who can offer so many games. If both local networks offered 2 or 3 games at a time it might make the dish people think twice about charging so much for the Ticket...it would also boost the number of people excited about putting up an antenna and getting an OTA HDTV tuner!

I'm in norwalk, and i'm getting a 93-95% signal on KDMI now. Works for me. The sound quality it really bland, the video isn't great my any means either. But hey, at least they are on the air

Well according to KCCI's website, Week 1 has the Chiefs vs. Bengals on both the analog and digital channels. It is an HD game and not a terrible one, but I wish we had a second choice. After the Chiefs start out 0-2, maybe they will back off on them a bit.

I am looking to by the Phillips 42" Plasma Model 42PF9431D/37.

I have Directv currently without the HD package. I want to just get HD channels off of the antenna. In the TV specs it says TV system: ATSC, NTSC. Video Playback NTSC. Will I be able to get local HD channels over an antenna with this TV?

I am looking to by the Phillips 42" Plasma Model 42PF9431D/37.

I have Directv currently without the HD package. I want to just get HD channels off of the antenna. In the TV specs it says TV system: ATSC, NTSC. Video Playback NTSC. Will I be able to get local HD channels over an antenna with this TV?
Yes.

Are you actually getting something on 56-1, or just 56-3?

56-3 is all I've been able to obtain so far (DTV H20-600 at 93 percent signal, I might add.)

At the moment, they seem to be broadcasting the Mystery Meat News Network.

Me too! I've only been able to get 56.3 labled as KEFW when I scan with my Samsung HL-R5667W. It is VERY strong. I have yet to see any video on it, just a blank pix, no audio, no video....but it is very strong.

Has anyone seen actual video on 56.3? If so, when and what was it? I need to look at a time when there might be a chance. I was hoping ch 23 would have it on last night, showing the UNI game as a test, but no luck.

56-3 at this very moment is broadcasting boxing. Full video and audio.

I've seen a poker instruction show and some sort of mystery news on it thus far.

If it was a cable channel, I'd call it "Filler TV". :p

Strangely, all I see for scan results on my Sammy HL-R5667W is 56-3, with no pix or sound, just carrier (last time I checked early last night). However, when I changed to the tuner in my Samsung 360 Sat Receiver (using OTA, of course), I scanned and got 56-1, -2, -3, and saw some ugly looking green tinted video on one of them.

I don't understand why my scan on the HL-R shows only 56-3, but the Sat receiver shows all 3. Very strange. Maybe it has something to do wit the PSP info or such, so I'll keep an eye on it.

I've seen video and heard audio on Ch. 56. It's always been the same thing, a commercial, and I don't even remember which one but it's like Hoverround or something like that. I get a strong signal at all times on 56.1, .2, .3, and I think .4.

Jack

These .1 .2 .3 .4 things are most likely being caused by tunres and how they receive PSIP info from the station. They should get their signal setup properly and everything will calm down. It is good to keep the updates about how it is coming in, just in case they are actually watching this forum to see who gets them and how well. If they are watching then they should be aware that their PSIP is probably messed up.

I just got back from a trip to Orlando to help a station down there. I was also going to post that tonight after coming home I checked out 56.whatever and found all 3 have video. 56.1 & 56.3 seem to be 480i, while 56.2 is registering as 1080i, but it's some funky stretched version of the 4x3 content on the other two. And as tesg stated, only 56.1 actually has any audio. Still, though...sounds like some sort of progress.

Well what can I say...checked tonight and 56.2 is showing broadcasting true HD at the moment while 56.1 is showing the SD version. Still no sound but we are really getting close now...

This morning: Video on 56.1, 56.2, 56.3, Audio on 56.1 only. Bad picture, (but old movie playing), no info screen or guide. Strong signal.

Jack

How does this work? Both DirecTV and Dish say they don't offer the local channels in HD in Des Moines, but I have heard it can be done. Can you plug an OTA antenna into the HD-DVRs offered by D* or E*? Any advice?

Thanks!

The DVR has a built-in HDTV tuner for OTA purposes. Just plug your antenna in and follow the setup instructions.

You can get the complete user guide here.

Great. Thanks!

56.1 had MyNetworkTV on tonight. It looks a little interesting. I hope my wife doesn't get hooked :) It is still 3 channels of the same thing. -1 is the only one with audio still.

I tuned in to watch number 1 vs 2 tonight on woi. The game was supposed to be in HD. Everything on every guide says it is going to be in HD, but when I turend it on, no HD. Crappy standard deffenition signal being played on woi-dt. What is up with that?

I tuned in to watch number 1 vs 2 tonight on woi. The game was supposed to be in HD. Everything on every guide says it is going to be in HD, but when I turend it on, no HD. Crappy standard deffenition signal being played on woi-dt. What is up with that?

I called over and told the engineer that it was in SD, he said they were in the middle of something else and he hadn't checked a monitor. I told him it might be a good idea. Funny thing is, as I type this the HD feed is back. I take full credit!! :D

Good job, clone....I've done that a few times myself.

I forgot all about that game. Too busy watchin' Sharapova reach up that awesome Hepburn outfit.

I called over and told the engineer that it was in SD, he said they were in the middle of something else and he hadn't checked a monitor. I told him it might be a good idea. Funny thing is, as I type this the HD feed is back. I take full credit!! :DI started watching that game shortly before it switched to HD. Thanks ankenyclone.

How bout the IA game. Was it suppose to be in HD and maybe they didn't switch it either?

I started watching that game shortly before it switched to HD. Thanks ankenyclone.

How bout the IA game. Was it suppose to be in HD and maybe they didn't switch it either?

They were advertising the IA game in HD last weekend, but as the week progressed, it was no longer advertised in HD. I did not expect HD coverage of the game.

Now this weekend is a different story - the maiden voyage of the Cyclone-Hawkeye rilvary on ESPN-HD! :)

I know the chances of this are slim, but did anyone notice the Monday Night Football game not coming in on their Media Center PC? I have been using a Media Center PC for both SD (Mediacom in Ames) and HD (OTA) viewing for quite some time. Around 7 when I started to watch the MNF game it said the content was restricted so it wouldn't let me watch it. THis lasted for several minutes before it eventually decided it wasn't restricted anymore. I am just wondering if anyone else out there using a Media Center PC for watching SD cable on Meidacom noticed a problem. It may have been something weird with a broadcast flag, but I didn't think they could prevent you from watching stuff with the flag, only recording.

Has anyone else had issies with woi hd? I could not get a signal Sat night for the game. It was overcast and rainy but not a storm. I have had problems with "no signal" a bunch recently.

5.1 came in clear to me Sat night. It is a touchy channel. Some get it and others don't, unfortunately. 13.1 is even more touchy for me. That's the channel I have a worse time getting. 8.1 always seem rock solid. However, I get a lot of quick one second glitches on that channel since I got the new Dish 622 HD DVR receiver on Aug 30th. I don't remember having these problems on my 811 HD receiver. So I don't know if that is the station or the receiver giving me fits.

Has anyone else had issies with woi hd? I could not get a signal Sat night for the game. It was overcast and rainy but not a storm. I have had problems with "no signal" a bunch recently.

At least a month, perhaps two ago, WOI-DT signal degraded dramatically. I found it unwatchable during much of this weekend (probably due to vegetation soaked with rain <attenuation>). I don't know what they are doing at WOI-DT, but their signal sucks. On a scale of 1 to 10, I see them at about 4 or 5 when watchable, and at 3 or below, no pictured is displayed.

During the same time period, all of the other digital channel signal strengths stayed very strong, typically 9 or 10, the only exception being 17, which shows 7 to 8.

I'm in Ogden (outside it in the country with a medium sized antenna on top of a two story house. The local elevation here is quite good at 1135'.

Now, on to the 56 series channels. They have a BIG signal. Consistently running 10 out of 10 on all 3 channels. In the last day, they started remapping properly, so I see 26-1 and 34-1 as well as 56-1.

THE VIDEO QUALITY IS AWFUL ON ALL OF THEM. Horrible color inaccuracies, very poor resoultion. It looks like an old video tape someone had left sitting in the garage for a few years. I'm hoping it is source material for testing that is producing this yucky pix.

I haven't done any checking on the audio side, other than some channels have audio and others don't. There have been a few times when all 3 channels had real video present. The majority of the time (and last night), the channel detected as HD had no video or audio, and the channel detected as "Multi-SD" by my Samsung HL-R5667W had both audio and video.

At least the channels are there and they must have corrected their PSIP info so they get mapped a little better. RF wise, they are quite strong, so if they get the quality up, it will be nice. (I still don't know what the program material will be like, so we could end up with a great station not worth watching <vbg>

http://upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060913-091952-9973r

I have seen a little of the MyNetworkTV programming on the 56-X series of channels. It looked pretty interesting. I have also noticed the signal is real good except it seems to drop out every once in a while (every couple of minutes). I don't think it is the result of multipath reception, just their transmitter setup probably. I would like to see them send out some true HD (the CW or MNTV, or whatever) soon to see if the signal and picture are good. I am guessing they are still hoping to be sending out HD of the CW once the new season starts (the 18th I think).

It looks like they've done some more work on their PSIP. My set now remaps 56-2 to 23-1 and is simulcasting KPWB (although in stretch-o-vision). 56-1 looks like to be the home of MyTV, or whatever it's called. 56-1 is only showing 480i & 23-1 is showing full 1080i...which is good!

Guys and Gals, what is 'CW'. TIA

Also, My Son in Law needs an HDTV tuner. Can one be had in Des Moines, or does anyone have one for sale? (hope I'm not breaking Forum rules)

Thanks, Jack

Jack, The CW Television Network is the newly formed network from the collapse/merger of UPN & The WB. The other station we're talking about, is myNetworkTV. For basically all intents and purposes, the CW seems to be more of a WB, and myNetworkTV seems to be more like UPN in that it doesn't have as many affiliates as the CW.

Confused yet? :D Try these for help:
The CW (Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_CW_Television_Network) ) (CW Website (http://www.cwtv.com/) )
myNetworkTV (Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyNetworkTV) ) (myNetworkTV Website (http://www.mynetworktv.com/) )

As for set top boxes, I haven't really had any luck finding them in retail stores either. Online seems to be the way to go, but if anyone has seem them, let us know! :cool:

I know Wal-Mart used to carry them (haven't conciously looked in awhile).

Electronics section in the area where they keep television antennas.

Wal-Mart has them on clearance if you can still find them. I'm in Missouri, and my local stores still have them on clearance for $100-129 depending on which store you hit and the mood of the manager. (If anyone wants one, I'll be glad to get them at Wal-Mart price plus shipping, no extra BS charges)

My suggestion though? Get an H20 Directv box if you're not into a DVR yet. That will allow you to get your locals OTA, and they'll be in the guide.

I have an HR-10-250 (contrary to what you've been told, the Directv HR20-the NEW HD DVR- is currently NOT capable of doing locals in the unit so far) does locals but not too overly well (the tuner is an older generation so it doesn't work as well as you might think)

The Directv boxes pull guide info from the satellites, and will scan for channels DTV doesn't know about yet (eg, 56 in Des Moines, 51 in Northwest AR, and so on)

Thanks to all. That's what I thought CW was. I'm going to check the Walmart website to see what they have.

I have an HDTV with tuner, so I am getting all of the stations, but my Son in Law bought his before they had to have the ATSC tuner. He's put an ATSC card in his computer and uses that occasionally.

My TV doesn't have video outputs so I'm having a time trying to figure out how to record just DTV. I'm thinking about putting a tuner in my Media Center PC for recording OTA stuff.

As far as the D* receivers, I recently abandoned D* for a free E* DVR 625, so that doesn't help me record OTA, and I don't get a good enough analog pic to make VCR recording worthwhile. What are other people doing to record OTA DTV?

Thanks again...Jack

I am using a Media Center PC with 2 HD tuners and a double analog tuner for recording and watching everything. It is great once it is all set up and working. If you already have a MCE 2005 computer and it has the slots to add tuners, then that may be your funnest option. Once I hooked my PC up to my TV I never turned back. I use MCE almost exclusively and the tuners that are available seem to receive the locals just fine for me up here in Ames. One side note, I have found a compatibility issue with my current analog tuner (Avermedia Purity 3D 500) and one of my HD tuners (VBox DTA 150). I really like the VBox tuner, and I plan to replace the AverMedia with a different tuner if I can't fix the problem. One problem with Media Center for OTA HD is you need to have an anlog tuner in there at least for setup. PM me if you have any questions about this so we can keep this thread on subject.

For some reason...as in they want you to upgrade to their HD locals package when its available? In any case, aren't those things essentially a large ugly paperweight if you cancel your dish service?

As far as the D* receivers, I recently abandoned D* for a free E* DVR 625, so that doesn't help me record OTA, and I don't get a good enough analog pic to make VCR recording worthwhile. What are other people doing to record OTA DTV?Jack,
I recently upgraded to the Dish 622 HR DVR and it works great for recording HD OTA as well as other HD channels in the DishHD pack. Before that, I used my old D* receiver (a 3 yr old LG HD receiver) and recorded OTA to my DVD recorder. However, the recording itself wasn't in true HD but at least it was wide screen. Fortunately (unlike the E* receivers), digital OTA tuner in my old D* receiver still works even though I don't subscribe to D* anymore. I'm currently using it as a backup and a second OTA tuner since the 622 only has 1 OTA tuner, which I was disappointed about.
Jeff

Does anyone have suggestions for improving channel 5's (WOI) reception so that it doesn't cut in and out. I've tried at least a half dozen indoor antennas and finally broke down and had a Winegard Ghost Killer antenna installed yesterday. Reception on all of the other channels improved except for channel 5. Channel 5's signal strength is at 75 or 76. The same as what I was getting through a $10 Radio Shack rabbit ear antenna. Today I even called channel 5 and spoke with their chief engineer. He told me that their signal strength should be the same as channel 8 and 13 as they are on the same tower. My last ditch effort is to install a pre-amp. Everyone I have talked to says I shouldn't need one in Ankeny as I am only 7 miles from the tower. Any suggestions appreciated...

Well he probably didn't want to confuse you (or maybe he was confused) but even though they are on the same tower they are not the same frequency. WOI is on the top end of the UHF spectrum. That Winegard Ghost Killer is a real good antenna, but it may be a little weak at that particular frequency (I don't know this, just a guess). You could try a good mast mounted preamp (one at your antenna). You could also try different cabling and connectors between your antenna and TV. If you are using any splitters, try removing them with good barrel passthroughs or try high quality splitters. I would suggest good RG6 with high quality compression connectors as well (like the cable company uses is good). The twist on and crimp on connectors are not good at maximizes a signal to noise ratio. Otherwise there is always changing the angle of your antenna. Being that close, you may want to point the antenna up a little (angle the "nose" up). This may improve the signal.

Does anyone have suggestions for improving channel 5's (WOI) reception so that it doesn't cut in and out. I've tried at least a half dozen indoor antennas and finally broke down and had a Winegard Ghost Killer antenna installed yesterday. Reception on all of the other channels improved except for channel 5. Channel 5's signal strength is at 75 or 76. The same as what I was getting through a $10 Radio Shack rabbit ear antenna. Today I even called channel 5 and spoke with their chief engineer. He told me that their signal strength should be the same as channel 8 and 13 as they are on the same tower. My last ditch effort is to install a pre-amp. Everyone I have talked to says I shouldn't need one in Ankeny as I am only 7 miles from the tower. Any suggestions appreciated...

Try connecting the antenna directly to the TV without any splitters (assuming your HD tuner is the TV, otherwise directly to the your hd receiver whatever it is).

WOI signal sucks, it is always way weaker than the others so any engineer who implies their signal should be roughly the same as all the others is probably correct...it just isn't working properly. I see it at best a 4 to a 6 out of 10. At 4 I get drop outs. Once the foliage falls off the trees, then the signal level will pick up. There is quite a bit of attenuation from leaves, and that is only made worse by rain on them.

Nearly all of the other HD OTA signals are 9 or 10 out of 10 here north of Ogden with a medium sized outside antenna on the 2nd floor peak of the roof. WOI-DT has a terrible signal compared to the others and is usually just barely above the threshold for a decent signal. The slightest degradation due to moisture on the leaves, etc. and it goes in the tank. (I'm not using a preamp)

At 7 miles from the tower, you should have a very acceptable signal, even with rabbit ears. I'm very suspicious of WOI-DT...I don't think they have any idea how well or poorly their signal is working, and don't much seem to care. (Lots of people have given them tons of feedback, and there is always some excuse (or no reply at all), and nothing really changes.

You can try moving the antenna all over the place, changing angles, etc. A small UHF bow tie antenna (for inside) might do wonders ...they used to have them at Radio Shack . It's a double bow tie with a screen behind it, rubber feet to sit on the TV or stand. It works very well for an indoor antenna, and ought to produce a terrific signal for you. If not, it's WOI-DT's fault.

Lost Channel 5 and 11 from mediacom. :(

I have a built in tuner, not their STB.

Just wondering if it is just me.

Oh, I live in Ames

John

Lost Channel 5 and 11 from mediacom. :(

I have a built in tuner, not their STB.

Just wondering if it is just me.

Oh, I live in Ames

John

Same thing has happened to me. I wonder if this is just temporary, it does not appear to be mapping to the usual 5-1 and 11-1. Instead, I am finding these two channels at 115-4 and 115-2, respectively.

Thanks I'll give those channels a try.



Same thing has happened to me. I wonder if this is just temporary, it does not appear to be mapping to the usual 5-1 and 11-1. Instead, I am finding these two channels at 115-4 and 115-2, respectively.

Try connecting the antenna directly to the TV without any splitters (assuming your HD tuner is the TV, otherwise directly to the your hd receiver whatever it is).

WOI signal sucks, it is always way weaker than the others so any engineer who implies their signal should be roughly the same as all the others is probably correct...it just isn't working properly. I see it at best a 4 to a 6 out of 10. At 4 I get drop outs. Once the foliage falls off the trees, then the signal level will pick up. There is quite a bit of attenuation from leaves, and that is only made worse by rain on them.

Nearly all of the other HD OTA signals are 9 or 10 out of 10 here north of Ogden with a medium sized outside antenna on the 2nd floor peak of the roof. WOI-DT has a terrible signal compared to the others and is usually just barely above the threshold for a decent signal. The slightest degradation due to moisture on the leaves, etc. and it goes in the tank. (I'm not using a preamp)

At 7 miles from the tower, you should have a very acceptable signal, even with rabbit ears. I'm very suspicious of WOI-DT...I don't think they have any idea how well or poorly their signal is working, and don't much seem to care. (Lots of people have given them tons of feedback, and there is always some excuse (or no reply at all), and nothing really changes.

You can try moving the antenna all over the place, changing angles, etc. A small UHF bow tie antenna (for inside) might do wonders ...they used to have them at Radio Shack . It's a double bow tie with a screen behind it, rubber feet to sit on the TV or stand. It works very well for an indoor antenna, and ought to produce a terrific signal for you. If not, it's WOI-DT's fault.


I tried the pre-amp on the antenna yesterday. No improvement at all. Finally this morning I hooked my $10 Radio Shack rabbit ear antenna up directly to the TV. All channels (including 5) come in crisp and clear. Channel 5 has not dropped out at all. It seems channel 5 somehow loses some of its signal when attaching the antenna through the 411 Dish Network receiver. So it looks like my problem is solved as long as I change inputs to watch channel 5 through the rabbit ears. Thanks!

I forgot to check last night, but checking just now 11-1 & 5-1 come in fine for me with my built in tuner.

I've read many complaints about WOI HD reception, but we live in Beaverdale and have terrible reception of KCCI HD 8.1 only. Any ideas on what may cause/fix this would be greatly appreciated. We have DirecTV and get our local signals through a rooftop antenna.

Also, a general thank you for all the great info we've already gotten off this forum.

Does anybody know if Mediacom will ever bring us Fox in HD? It seems pretty chintzy of them to not to cut a deal for access.

Does anyone have a Series 1 Tivo and a HD Directv receiver? I have found that recording the HD signal (8-1, 13-1, etc.) is superior quality to regular channel. However, the only way I can make this happen is to actually tune to the HD channel. The Tivo doesn't list the -1 channels so you can't program them to record. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

I'm nearby (Waveland) using DirecTV and an antenna, and have no problems at all with 8.1.

Which DTV receiver do you have? I have the H20-600, which has a reputation for having a good tuner. It was the switch to this tuner from the H10 that solved my WOI problems.

Is your antenna above the tree line? You might have multipath issues.
tessg - thanks for the reply. I have the HR10-250 HD DVR. If the problem is the tuner, I may be SOL as I don't want to switch after shelling out so much for the DVR.

The Antenna is mounted pretty high, but the tallest trees in the area are higher. I'm not familiar with what "multipath" issues are. Is there something I can do to address them if that is the problem?

The best way to check for multipath is to run your antenna into your TV and tune it as a regular TV (not cable). Then look for ghosting on the channels. Ghosting is where there appears to be two videos running at the same time with one being predominant and another one usually shifted to the side and real snowy. If you see that you have multipath. Now just move your antenna around and see where the signal gets best. If the picture is real strong in some positions but there is ghosting and the picture looks weaker in others but there is no ghosting then you may want to use the weaker non-ghosting antenna position for HD over the air. Just an idea.

My wife was watching the Gilmore Girls season premier last night on KCWI and they didn't have it in HD, so I called the engineer there and left a message on his voice mail. 5 minutes later... voila it is in HD. Speaking of the CW, near the end of their testing I was receiving as 23-1, but now it is just mapped to 56-2 for me. Is that true for everyone, or do some of you get 23-1?

Ya, I was watching Gilmore Girls with my wife last night and noticed that. Thanks for calling them up.

I don't understand why with all of the local stations that the process for switching from SD to HD seems to be so manual. Why isn't that all automated? Shouldn't their system know what programming comes through in HD and what comes through in SD? I mean, my Media Center PC tells me that. It just seems like this happens pretty often on different channels.

Yeah... it's as if someone sits there all day throwing a switch back-and-forth, and they sometimes miss their cue. Surely not?!?!

Ya, I was watching Gilmore Girls with my wife last night and noticed that. Thanks for calling them up.

I don't understand why with all of the local stations that the process for switching from SD to HD seems to be so manual. Why isn't that all automated? Shouldn't their system know what programming comes through in HD and what comes through in SD? I mean, my Media Center PC tells me that. It just seems like this happens pretty often on different channels.Yes, it's true. Some stations have redone their master control setups to accomodate HD and whatever else comes down the pike. But for many others, HD is an add-on, and an expensive one at that. So until they can redesign their setup -- which is an even more expensive process -- they've merely added another switcher for the digital feed which selects between analog upconvert and the HD feed. Occasionally, from what I understand, this switch is wired with the analog switcher so that it will automatically select HD when network is airing on analog side. At other stations, it's a separate switch.

Other stations have gone to automation systems, but they're only as good as the humans who tell it what to do and those who monitor it. Often times they may be programmed with the SD feed when an HD feed is available, which may take a while to correct -- especially if the station is part of a "hubbed" station group with no local operator on site.

Yeah... it's as if someone sits there all day throwing a switch back-and-forth, and they sometimes miss their cue. Surely not?!?!And, no, there's not some guy whose only job is to flip an "HD switch." The switch is just one more job for the master control operator, who also monitors the output and transmitter levels, coordinates commercials and programming, keeps the program and transmitter logs, tosses control to the news control room so they can do their newscasts, tunes in satellite and microwave feeds for shows and live vans, etc.

I just had my 811 dish reciever switched out for the 211 last night. Seems that my over the air stations are coming in at a higher % now. Then last night Fox KDSM just went to 0%, but all the other channels are fine. Any one having trouble with KDSM last night or today?Just wondering if the new reciever is a problem or if Fox is having issues.
Thanks.

No, it's not your new receiver. I had 0% signal on KDSM last night as well (I have the 811).

I too have been getting no HD signal strength on KDSM tonight. Trying to watch Game 1 of the Yankees-Tigers playoff game.

Oh! Now it is working. I had been trying for about 20 minutes. Maybe an engineer had to get something straightened out.

I tried to call KDSM but of course got the message that said there wasn't an operator available (at this time of night.)

WOI had been somewhat decent for me over the past year, but the past week I am getting no or very little signal. Anyone having the same issues with 5.1 as of recent?

I need a little info. I am new to the whole HD thing. I just bought a new HDTV. I have just regular cable for now, but will be getting digital or going back to the dish soon. Had an issue w/ dic tv a while back. Anyway, I get local HD through my regular cable. I just switch the tv to digital. Duh. But, if the tv is off for a few hours, say overnight, I cannot get the HD channels, unless I re-program the TV. It will say the digital antenna has zero strength. Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to save something? Is this just the stations not having the HD switch on? Also, I do not get ESPN HD. What is the channel for ESPN HD? Does anyone have Mediacom digial w/ an HD box? Big dif? Please throw a little advice this dummy's way. I have never felt so old.

I live in Beaverdale if that matters.

HDJEFF, I just checked my signal on 5.1 and it's 75-80%. I'm near Southridge, in a valley, very fringe but lots of antenna amplification...Jack

bkm. sounds like you need to go into your TV menus and do an automatic channel setup while in digital mode. We call that scanning. It should automatically pick up and setup the digital channels that are available. I have never had cable though so someone may tell you I'm wrong...Jack

bkm, I just re-read your post and it seems like you probably have to add or subtract channels after you do a scan. Maybe it's under edit channels or something similar...Jack

Thanks. I will give it a try.

Anyone got any other ideas? It's not saving, and is really a pain in the ass to reprogram everytime I want to watch HD. It worked yesterday. Then today, I flipped the TV to digital, and nothing. Please?

Anyone see this in the Des Moines Register?

As you probably know, most of us don't get KDSM-DT on cable; now, there's a chance that Mediacom may be forced to stop carrying analog channel 17 as well.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061007/NEWS01/610070348/1001/NEWS

(This also affects KGAN-CBS2 in Cedar Rapids-Waterloo.)

To help spread more fear into our lives, in the past month Hearst Argyle pulled their digital stations from COX in Oklahoma City & Omaha citing pretty much the same crap that Sinclair does. Since we mostly have Mediacom around here, I don't know what that means for central Iowa & KCCI. For what it's worth, I've not heard anything about any of this at work.

I believe it's happened in every town where a Hearst-Argyle station and Cox Cable co-exist.

Sadly, those threads are getting to be as nasty as this one was before WOI went full-power.

Yep, I'm guessing sun outages.

Yes it went out when there was 4:32 to go in the 2nd and was off for ~25minutes. It came back on during a Ford commercial and it was halftime.

"We believe that Sinclair is holding our customers hostage in the Des Moines market .....
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/10/06/1961781.htm

Added: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6378777.html

Does anyone have any idea when the local news will broadcast in HD (especially KCCI, since that's the one we watch) ? Are new cameras needed, or other hardware ? Just wondering what the holdup was. I was in Minneapolis a couple months ago and their local news was in HD.

Does anyone have any idea when the local news will broadcast in HD (especially KCCI, since that's the one we watch) ? Are new cameras needed, or other hardware ? Just wondering what the holdup was. I was in Minneapolis a couple months ago and their local news was in HD.To get the studio in HD you'd need new studio cameras, a new production switcher, and a new routing system to tie it all together. Then you'd want to upgrade the video shot from the field, which would require new ENG cameras, a new editing system, and new HD decks or an HD server to play back that footage. You'd also need to upgrade the microwave paths and the live trucks if you want your live shots in HD as well. And even then, network material and material from other stations is probably going to have to be pillarboxed, a la Good Morning America.

It's all very expensive, of course, and Des Moines (Nielsen market #73) is quite a ways down the pecking order from Minneapolis (#15). Even within their station groups, Hearst-Argyle (KCCI's owner) serves 18 markets which are bigger than Des Moines, and Des Moines ranks fifth among the eight New York Times (WHO's owner) TV markets.

Any rebuild also has to compete with news and weather coverage needs. Plus, WHO and the whole NYT group is up for sale, and I'd have to think any major changes to WHO would have to wait until after their future is settled.

I thought one of the networks already did a studio remodel to enable HD newscasts, but I may be wrong.

In any case I would be happy if all the local OTA stations got together and figured out a way to normalize their audio levels. It gets real annoying dealing with the volume button constantly just to watch TV. It is worse now with entire networks at different levels. 23-1 is loud; 5-1, 8-1, 11-1 and 17-1 are in the middle; 13-1 is quiet. Do they all know this and think they are right and the other guy needs to change, or is this something they can't even control?

Did you see Direct TV just announced Local HD channels will be available by years end. Looks like I have to upgrade the dish to the 5 LNB. wander what the PQ will be like?

My guess would be WHO is currently closest technology wise to be able to do HD broadcasts. I believe their studio cameras are HD ready and it appears the set is, also. The Kalypso switcher that they have should also be HD ready, though it may need an expansion card or two to be ready to go.

WOI's recent studio design appears to possibly be ready for 16x9 framing also, but I have no idea what their capabilities are for cameras & studio switcher.

KCCI's switcher should also be ready for HD, and they have an all digital routing system in place. I'm not sure if the router handles HD, though. The cameras & set would definitely need updating.

As for KDSM, I have no idea where they stand as far as equipment or technical infrastructure. Either way, I would say HD local news for any station is still at least 1.5 years out, if not 2.

As for KDSM, I have no idea where they stand as far as equipment or technical infrastructure. Either way, I would say HD local news for any station is still at least 1.5 years out, if not 2.If I'm not mistaken, the KDSM news set is still here in Cedar Rapids at KGAN Broadcast Park, and the two stations are linked by fiber so they can share stories.

FWIW:

Looks like Des Moines will be among the next 25 markets getting local-into-local HD channels from DirecTV later this year.

A press release showed up in the Programming/Hot Off The Press thread at:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8625186&&#post8625186

Did 8-1 recently reduce power?
It is even weaker than KDSM now and re-aiming the antenna doesn't help.

Bryan

I think they may have been having trouble. I lost 8-1 for parts of the day on Wednesday, but then it came back. Now they are back to normal. I also have had some trouble with 23-1. I think it was on Thursday. Luckily it worked on Tuesday or my wife may have missed Gilmore Girls. That may have been a problem. :)

Thanks for the reply denyart.
23-1 is actually stronger than 8-1 for me right now. 8-1 is the weakest of all of them.
8-1 is the only station giving me problems and this is after having no problems for a couple of yrs.
Nothing has changed in my setup either.
It will suck watching the NFL, NCIS, CSI, Jericho in sd.
I already had to delete my season passes on 8-1 so it wouldn't record an unwatchable signal.

Thanks for the reply denyart.
23-1 is actually stronger than 8-1 for me right now. 8-1 is the weakest of all of them.
8-1 is the only station giving me problems and this is after having no problems for a couple of yrs.
Nothing has changed in my setup either.
It will suck watching the NFL, NCIS, CSI, Jericho in sd.
I already had to delete my season passes on 8-1 so it wouldn't record an unwatchable signal.
You say nothing has changed, but you also said you rotated your antenna to see if it would help anything. Now if it is rotated back to the exact position in which it has worked for years, then something else may have changed. I think 8-1 had some trouble, but from what I have seen it is only a sporadic loss of signal. If you have an external antenna you may want to check to make sure it hasn't sustained any wind damage. You also may want to double check your cables. Many of these problems should make other stations come in badly too, but if you lost one element of your antenna it may affect one channel much more than others. I have seen 6 full green bars on 8-1, but every once in a while it will go to 1 red bar for a short period of time. This isn't very quantitative, but it is the best I can do on short notice. Does anyone else seem to be having serious long term signal reduction on 8-1? If nobody else does, then one would have to conclude something has changed on your end. Hopefully it is something simple and easy to find and fix. Keep in mind it has been rather windy as of late. This can wreak havock on TV systems.

I had all digital stations w/o problems for several months. Until 8-1 started giving me problems in the last week.
I eliminated my 3-way splitter and hooked the antenna directly into the HD-Tivo, I even moved and plugged the pre-amp into a different outlet. I still couldn't get 8-1 to give me a watchable signal. The signal would bounce around from 80 to 0 every few seconds and the 2 tuners would not be in synch.

I then swung the antenna way past it's normal setting and got 8-1 to a steady mid 80's reading. However that lost some of the other signals.
The best I can do now is a steady low 60's (which is still watchable) on 23-1.
Readings now:
KDSM is low 70's and steady. Was in the mid 70's at the old setting
WHO is mid 80's and steady. Was in the 90's at the old setting.
KCCI is mid 70's and steady. Was in the mid 80's at the old setting.
IPTV is mid 70's and steady. Was in the 90's at the old setting.
CW is low 60's and steady. Never watched it, but IIRC was in the mid 70's at the old setting.
ABC hardly registers now and isn't watchable at all. Was in the low 70's at the old setting.

Now that Monday Night Football is on ESPN I never watch ABC at all.
So I am happy I get 8-1 back while only losing ABC.

I hooked the splitter and variable antennuator back into the system and ABC is the only unwatchable signal now.

I am leaning towards an element going out in my channel master antenna as the reason for my recent problems. That would explain the fairly radical new antenna orientation and thus the loss of ABC. I can certainly live w/o ABC.

Directv will have the Des Moines local stations in HD by year end, this will require a new dish and a new receiver however. The new dish will have 5 lnb's and the new receiver (HR-20) will not have Tivo software. Not a deal breaker for me as long as it works but this new receiver doesn't have OTA tuners available yet, though they claim they can turn them on with just a software update and that will be released in Dec.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions and sympathy.
Bryan

Say, now that you describe it a little more, you may have a different problem. You may be receiving too much signal from 8-1. When that happens you get a clipped signal and it often goes extreme like you were describing where it is high and then gone all of a sudden. It could also be something else, but maybe when you changed everything around (like removing the splitter, etc.) it was actually just at a time when 8-1 was having some problems and now you just need to get everything back to the way it was. Perhaps before you were just aimed a little off and it worked fine with preamps and splitters set the way you had them. If you can completely set everything the way it was when it all worked, and be sure none of your cables got damaged and your preamp power injector is on the antenna side of any splitters (or wherever it was before) it may end up going back to the way it was. Antenna problems can be annoying and it is only compounded by the fact that when things are going wrong it may not be your fault at all. I usually don't move my antenna no matter what happens. I figure if anything gets bad it will either get better after the TV station changes something or I may just be SOL. Once you find a good antenna spot (which I have, and you had) you usually don't want to mess up a good thing because as you know it can be hell getting it back. Sorry for your luck. Hopefully you will be able to get a solid signal back on all channels

I have been having problems for the past 3 weeks (about mid Sept or so) getting 5.1, 13.1 and 17.1.

8.1 and 11.1 have always been solid for me and still is. But those other 3 are un-watchable now. I hate that because I love to watch Housewives on Sun night and Lost on Wednesday. And of course it's not that fun to watch in SD (specially WOI). I've had my HDTV for 3 years now and have always had issues with all the channels off and on (except 8.1 & 11.1). Last year I started getting all the channels after the leaves fell off the trees and kept them through this summer until about 3 weeks ago. I too have a power amp and tried turning it down and even off and still cannot get those channels. The next thing I'm going to do is get on the roof and do some tweaking of the antenna. I live in a very low area in WDM with large hill, trees and houses toward Aleman. So I know thats why I have so many problems getting OTA, even though I have a good Channel Master antenna on a 10' mast.

I can't wait till Dish gets our locals. Anyone heard when that may happen? I'm hoping that if D* gets them by year end, that E* won't be too far behind.

The loss of 5-1 is not a concern for me at all. I never watch ABC.
8-1 is the channel I watch the most and am glad to have it back.
The Cowboys sure looked good in HD yesterday.

Bryan

Is anyone experiencing problems today (Oct. 17)? Our signal has cut out on both antenna and the Mediacom cable. We get sound but no picture.

You most liekly have a problem at your end. I had no major problem on most channels. I did however have a bad recording from KCWI-DT. I wonder if that was my problem...

OK - I'm pretty new to the whole HDTV thing, having just purchased a Sony KDF-50E2000 HDTV this last week.

I went ahead and ordered the MediaCom HDTV package, with the box, even though my TV has a built-in tuner, as I want ESPN and ESPN2 HD versions.

I'm messing around with setup for the cable box, direct input from the cable, and the antenna, and I'm getting a little confused.

For instance, watching the Chiefs vs. SD today at noon, I was using the antenna so I could actually get the KDSM Fox game (MIA vs. GB) on 17.1. That picture was PERFECT...full 16:9, beautifully crisp, great sound.

But jumping over to 8.1 (KCCI-DT), the picture was automatically displayed in a narrow view - clearly not 16:9 like it was over on 17.1. If I want it to fill the entire screen, I have to change my wide screen options for that channel. Fox HD automatically fills my entire screen, without distortion. The picture quality was also not up to the standard I could see over on KDSM HD. I'm seeing the same thing going to 13.1 to see what's on that channel, as well as using the cable box to view Channel 5 (805 - WOI HD).

They all say they are in 1080i, 16:9, but they definitely aren't all the same picture/quality.

So, why the wide discrepancy in what I'm seeing on these supposedly "HD" channels? I'm getting what I'm looking for on KDSM HD - the Vikings game right now is again beautiful.

The picture on those other channels seems like it's better than the normal channels, but seem to fall somewhere between what I was getting last week with my old TV on Digital Cable, and the awesome picture I'm seeing on KDSM HD right now.

Why is that? Are the "KXXX-DT" channels not HDTV broadcasts? Sometimes? Like next Sunday, I may see a game that looks as good as Fox is broadcasting, and it will actually fit my screen, rather than have the letterboxes on the side?

I'm confused, and spending this afternoon searching online for the answer has been largely fruitless.

I appreciate your assistance.

On cable, channel 805 was on low def for the game. This is unusual, so I expect they had a glitch. Try looking at some other HD channels.

The KC Chiefs game wasn't in HD today. The game simply wasn't scheduled to be in HD by CBS. You can find more about what games CBS schedules in HD on the programming board (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=34) side of this site. Tonight, Cold Case & Without a Trace will be in HD and should fill your 16:9 screen.

On cable, channel 805 was on low def for the game. This is unusual, so I expect they had a glitch. Try looking at some other HD channels.

Is there a way to know beforehand that a game will be low def vs. HD?

And I assume the way you know this is because it wasn't in 16:9, other than the picture quality not being quite as crisp? If a show is in HD, it'll be full 16:9?

And just because you are getting an HD channel (the "KXXX-DT" and "KXXX-HD" versions) doesn't mean ALL the programs are going to be in HD, right? Some will be, and some won't?

Sorry for all the basic questions - I just want to make sure I know I've got the concept down so if something were to go wrong, I would know whether it's the signal being sent out or my equipment/connection.

The KC Chiefs game wasn't in HD today. The game simply wasn't scheduled to be in HD by CBS. You can find more about what games CBS schedules in HD on the *removed URL - posting restriction* side of this site. Tonight, Cold Case & Without a Trace will be in HD and should fill your 16:9 screen.

Posted while I was doing my post - thank you for the feedback, both of you. Much appreciated.

The Chiefs game was not shot in HD. CBS still only does 3 HD games on Sunday.
Nothing at all to do with KCCI having problems. Don't blame KCCI, blame CBS for doing only a handful of games in HD.
Most of Fox's NFL games are shot in HD. They may have 1 or at most 2 games a week that aren't HD.
If you have sidebars it isn't HD. You can "stretch" the SD programs to eliminate the sidebars, but it makes people look short and fat or at least shorter and fatter than they should be.
NBC's Sunday night game is HD as is the pregame, but there is no game tonight because of the baseball world series.

ESPN's Monday night game will be in HD also.
So blame CBS for only doing 3 HD games a week.

Hope that helps a little bit.
Bryan

Pellakin, about the best way to find out if games or programming are going to be in HD is to check the guides on www.titantv.com. I find most of the stations in central Iowa do a good job updating information with the guide services and checking whether a program will be in HD. WHO-DT is about the only station that doesn't check off the HD flag for the guide services all the time, but usually that is just a problem with repeats. New episodes almost always have the correct HD flag.

Some games will be in SD (standard definition, not San Diego), and many shows are in SD on the digital channels. You should always get the best picture available from your antenna feed, but if your antenna signal is not good enough it is nice to be able to revert back to cable. Obviously you will need cable for ESPN-HD and such. If you notice pillarboxed shows (I believe that was what you were referring to) that is just technology catching up. Some day maybe everything will be in 16:9, but I wouldn't hold my breath. In any case you have found out what many with HD systems don't even know; that there actually is a difference with true HD signals. It is not just a gimick. Unfortunately you also now know one of the other hard truths, not everything you want to watch in HD is in HD. Just consider yourself lucky if you are able to get all of the local OTA (over the air) channels with your antenna. Many people aren't so lucky.

The Chiefs game was not shot in HD. CBS still only does 3 HD games on Sunday.
Nothing at all to do with KCCI having problems. Don't blame KCCI, blame CBS for doing only a handful of games in HD.
Most of Fox's NFL games are shot in HD. They may have 1 or at most 2 games a week that aren't HD.
If you have sidebars it isn't HD. You can "stretch" the SD programs to eliminate the sidebars, but it makes people look short and fat or at least shorter and fatter than they should be.
NBC's Sunday night game is HD as is the pregame, but there is no game tonight because of the baseball world series.

ESPN's Monday night game will be in HD also.
So blame CBS for only doing 3 HD games a week.

Hope that helps a little bit.
BryanIt should be noted that there's a difference between the Sunday afternoon NFL games, which are regional, and Sunday and Monday Night Football.

Each HD game requires a production truck either built for or upgraded to HD, an HD satellite path back to the network, and an HD satellite path from the network to the local station. If you're only doing one game at a time, as NBC does Sunday night and ESPN does on Monday, that's not much of a problem. Problem is, Sunday afternoon games are regional, so multiple games are being produced by each network at once -- and each game needs a truck, a path to the network, a path from the network, and a network master control which can route each game to the stations who need it. And for whatever reason, there's a game which ends up high and dry as far as HD is concerned.

The good news is that things are improving. ABC, for instance, now produces at least one of its Saturday afternoon regional college football games in HD most of the time, and the primetime games have thus far been HD even when they're regional. That's up from zero HD games most weeks last year.

The best place to check which sporting events will be in HD is at www.hdsportsguide.com. That site is almost always correct, and has some events planned out many months in advance (such as the NBA games for the upcoming season.)

Hello all,

I'm hopping mad at several channels around my area in northern Illinois either having stations go to VHF-LO (channels 2-6) or going to channels 7-13 at much less than full power. I see that you guys aren't going to be left out, either.

On Friday, the FCC gave a near-final draft copy of where all the stations will be after analog shuts down in 2009. WOI-DT will move back to channel 5, as it stands right now. We now know that WOI, after analog shutdown, will be at 3.91 kw. That's right... 3,910 watts. They are at 1 million right now. The reason?
At 2,000 feet, that's all the power the FCC will allow. And trust me, with experience from WBBM-DT in my Chicago market, it will maybe go 40 miles,
with a huge antenna...and if storms are anywhere near you or their tower, it's all over...your picture will break up heinously.

There is one piece of good news, however. In that same docket (you can read the last several posts of the Third Round Digital Channel Elections forum, it's a sticky on top of the list), the FCC has decided to give all 40 stations still electing to be on channels 2-6 after analog shutdown one last new chance...a "Mulligan", to go wherever they want to if a channel is open. There's at least a few open channels in Des Moines, or will be after analog shutdown.

Will WOI-DT go the horrid route of being cursed with bad reception on channel 5?
Or will they go to a much lower UHF channel and be the blowtorch they rightfully should be? So far, they haven't bitten, and that's not a good sign. But we shall see...

I know it wasn't in HD and with KGAN in eastern IA not giving Mediacom an HD feed, that game in analog just looked horrible, a lot poorer than CBS's primetime shows and local newscasts, even though we only get the analog channel via mediacom here. Then I saw a couple highlights on MNF last night of the Chiefs game and they looked very poor also. So is/was the uplink from Arrowhead poor or what?

I e-mailed their website to ask them to update their HD schedule. Right now it just shows scheduled program for all time slots. On my DirecTV HD TiVo, I have to manually schedule time periods to record Smallville, etc. No response from KCWI staff.

A year ago I made the same request to WHO and they had it fixed the next day...

Anybody else having this issue?

I'm hopping mad at several channels around my area in northern Illinois either having stations go to VHF-LO (channels 2-6) or going to channels 7-13 at much less than full power. I see that you guys aren't going to be left out, either.


Sebenste:

You might want to hold your horses and save yourself some unnecessary stress. There is a lot more to the upcoming transition of DTV and the return to VHF. The power output a station needs to use to cover the same amount of area varies greatly depending upon the frequency of the channel and the type of modulation being used. Trust me, there is no TV station will intentionally reduce their signal coverage area in 2009. That would be like a bank burning their own money. The main reason many DTV transmitters currently put out power in the one megawatt range is that the traditionally-VHF stations that operate them are trying to replicate their current analog coverage area. But, they are having to do it on high-frequency UHF channels. It takes a great deal more power to make UHF go as far as VHF. A full-power analog VHF station generally only operates at a few hundred kilowatts. Because of the expense of installing and operating these additional UHF transmitters, many smaller stations have not even tried to maximize their DTV power on what they know are temporary channel assignments.

On the other hand, if you're talking about the SAME channel, and make an apples-to-apples comparison of digital 8-VSB modulation vs. analog modulation, digital requires significantly less power than analog modulation at the same given frequency. One of the big reasons for this is how much power is consumed when analog transmitters produce the synchronization pulses between video frames. You only have to look at a frame of video displayed on an oscilloscope to see just how much of the electrical waveform is composed of sync signals. This is not the case with digital modulation. All the power of a digital transmitter can be devoted to spewing out relatively uniform data signals, with the necessary synchronization info being included in the data. Also, digital data is more robust in standing up to interference and degradation over longer distances at lower power. This means that, overall, a digitally-modulated transmitter requires less power to operate. Ever notice how cell phones got smaller and their batteries started lasting a longer after they went digital? Same concept.

Oh, and did I mention that most UHF transmitters still have to use tubes in their amplifier cabinets because of the high operating voltages? $35,000 tubes the size of beer kegs that only last about 3 years apiece? Modern VHF transmitters are all solid state and are therefore cheaper and easier to maintain.

So, for obvious reasons, a great many stations who already have favorable analog VHF channel assignments are going to prefer to give their temporary UHF assignments back to the FCC in 2009. They'll modify their VHF transmitters with digital encoders, and get back down to onto good 'ol VHF with their digital signals. When they do so, they will find that they will need less power out of their VHF transmitters than they did before...a lot less. As a matter of fact, they will be required to reduce power accordingly, because the FCC and stations in neighboring markets will see to it that no out-of-town carpetbagging stations come creeping onto turf that wasn't theirs in the past. Going back to VHF will be in most viewers interest, too, as almost all of us have experienced how UHF reception can be fussier than VHF reception. We'll just re-scan our receivers...and not throw away our VHF antennas.

Having said all that...you do come close to one point...there are reports that 8-VSB modulation does not work as well on lo-band VHF as on high-band VHF. I'm not familiar with the whole technical explanation for that, but I understand it's got little to do with power, and more to do with the overall propagation characteristics of lower-frequency VHF. I understand that is the reason a lot of the old-guard channel 2's, 3's, and 4's will NOT be trying to go back to VHF, and will instead stay on UHF after the digital transition. I don't know how this may affect channel 5, which is still in the lower VHF band. There's a few stations like WOI that got screwed both going and coming by having a low-band VHF channel assignment to start with, and then getting stuck with a temporary out-of-core UHF assignment for their DTV. We'll have to see where 8-VSB encoder and receiver technology evolves in the next couple years.

Did anybody else notice the World Series looked bad last night? And I don't just mean the Cardinals winning! I thought it was my TV, but then I switched to Dancing With Stars to check, and it was coming in crystal clear in HD. I could really tell when the ad that you can see on the backstop behind the hitter was not coming in crystal clear. It looked fuzzy on the edges. Anybody else have this problem?

Didn't see any of the game.

I'm sure all the stuff with the channels will work itself out. The TV industry is still a business, with a bottom line, and they'll work to make as many customers (read: sources of money and advertising leverage) as happy as possible.

By the way - I just wanted to post an experience with MediaCom as a word of warning, especially for anyone that's searching for information re: HDTV and cable in the Des Moines area, like I was last week.

Long story short: I couldn't get an answer to whether the HDTV boxes MediaCom is using had HDMI ports or not. I finally went downtown to the Ingersoll office and the lady behind the desk specifically told me that the HDTV cable boxes HAVE HDMI ports on them.

So I waited for the install guy to show up and...lo and behold, there is no HDMI port. All they have is a DVI output.

I didn't argue about it - I just took my HDMI cable back and exchanged it for a DVI-to-HDMI cable (I don't have a receiver, so digital sound isn't a big deal to me right now) though I'm going to call them to ask that any install fees and maybe a few months of the HDTV service are waived because the lady behind the counter clearly didn't know what she was talking about.

I asked the install guy about it and he said they're getting a lot of requests, but all their boxes have only DVI outputs right now.

Updated news from the Des Moines Register today on the Sinclair/MediaCom spat:

Mediacom-KDSM dispute heads for showdown (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWS/61025030&lead=1)

Mediacom-KDSM dispute heads for showdown
JEFF ECKHOFF
DES MOINES REGISTER STAFF


October 25, 2006



Now, the negotiations are going to get hot.

A federal judge in Des Moines has refused to intervene in a contract dispute between Mediacom Communications Corp. and the corporate operators of 22 television stations.

The judge's decision clears the way for the possible disappearance of
those stations from Mediacom cable systems beginning Dec. 1.

In Des Moines, that would mean an end to “The Simpsons,” “American Idol” and some Iowa football and basketball telecasts for cable customers who view KDSM, the local Fox TV affiliate. Likewise, no more “Survivor” or “CSI” for those who watch KGAN-TV, the CBS affiliate in Cedar Rapids.

(more of the story in the link)

By the way - I just wanted to post an experience with MediaCom as a word of warning, especially for anyone that's searching for information re: HDTV and cable in the Des Moines area, like I was last week.

Long story short: I couldn't get an answer to whether the HDTV boxes MediaCom is using had HDMI ports or not. I finally went downtown to the Ingersoll office and the lady behind the desk specifically told me that the HDTV cable boxes HAVE HDMI ports on them.

So I waited for the install guy to show up and...lo and behold, there is no HDMI port. All they have is a DVI output.

I didn't argue about it - I just took my HDMI cable back and exchanged it for a DVI-to-HDMI cable (I don't have a receiver, so digital sound isn't a big deal to me right now) though I'm going to call them to ask that any install fees and maybe a few months of the HDTV service are waived because the lady behind the counter clearly didn't know what she was talking about.

I asked the install guy about it and he said they're getting a lot of requests, but all their boxes have only DVI outputs right now.

Did you get a Motorola 6412 box? If so, they have only made the phase 3 model with HDMI for over a year. If you received a Motorola 6412, and it has DVI, then is is a recycled box. You might be able to take it back to their office on Ingersoll and trade it for a phase 3. The phase 3 has better picture quality on the analog stations than the earlier models. If you have a different box, then I'd like to know what they are handing out.

The bottom line:
Mediacom and Sinclair NEED each other....plain and simple....no ifs ands or butts about it.....PERIOD. Both stations advertising money income would take a MAJOR HIT. Think about it, would you pay the same rate for YOUR ad if all the cable customers in your market area suddenly can't see your ad???? As far as I can see, Sinclair's 2 local stations have the most to loose, as other stations could be fibered in....WHBF for eastern IA, and FOX 28/40 into Des Moines.

http://www.befairsinclair.com/

The bottom line:
Mediacom and Sinclair NEED each other....plain and simple....no ifs ands or butts about it.....PERIOD. Both stations advertising money income would take a MAJOR HIT. Think about it, would you pay the same rate for YOUR ad if all the cable customers in your market area suddenly can't see your ad???? As far as I can see, Sinclair's 2 local stations have the most to loose, as other stations could be fibered in....WHBF for eastern IA, and FOX 28/40 into Des Moines.Unfortunately there are two reasons this is not going to happen. First off, Fox 28 (there's no Fox 40 anymore; Channel 40 was sold and is now a Dubuque religious station) is joined at the hip with KGAN through an operating agreement, so I doubt they'd risk that by doing something that would tick off another Sinclair station. The other problem is that the cable regs changed sometime in the 1990s to block that sort of thing. It used to be very common, though. I remember when the old Heritage system in Ames used to pull in KWWL to get some of the NBC soaps WHO wasn't running at the time, and more recently when Sioux City's cable systems carried the Sioux Falls CBS station because KMEG wouldn't carry David Letterman for his first few years on CBS ...

Did you get a Motorola 6412 box? If so, they have only made the phase 3 model with HDMI for over a year. If you received a Motorola 6412, and it has DVI, then is is a recycled box. You might be able to take it back to their office on Ingersoll and trade it for a phase 3. The phase 3 has better picture quality on the analog stations than the earlier models. If you have a different box, then I'd like to know what they are handing out.

I have a Mediacom cable box, and it has an HDMI output, which I am using as I write this. I used to have that DVI box, but I found it was really slow to respond, lcoked up alot, and I just got tired of it. I took it in for a new box in July, and have had no problems to speak of with this one. Sounds like this guy got an old box that has probably been through a few different homes, and will likely have problems.

I guess I should have been a bit more patient. I was so frustrated with the run-around I'd gotten that I just went and bought the DVI-to-HDMI cable at BB and figured I'd settle (again - I didn't NEED the digital sound) with the DVI output. I figured the customer service people just didn't know wth they were talking about when it game to DVI vs. HDMI, and it would take me 2 weeks to get a solid answer.

I'll try to run down and exchange it today, I guess, and see if I can scrounge up the receipt for my DVI-HDMI cable and see if BB will apply it towards an HDMI cable without the box.

Thanks for the feedback.

I ran home and checked the box information - it is a Motorola. On the underside it lists: "DCT 6208/1000"

I'll be exchanging it today. Hopefully, the line isn't 10 deep at 11:30 like it was last time when I went down there to be told they "only had HDMI boxes."

Exchanged the box over lunch, and was also able to exchange my cables for a straight HDMI cable.

The new one has an HDMI port, along with about every other port you'd want.

it's a "Motorola DCT 6416/2300, Platform ID 612 Phase 3."

Just be aware that the installers may give you older stuff, and if you want HDMI, make sure you request it beforehand, or be insistent afterwards. I was able to get the install fee waived for my troubles. (Ridiculous to have an install fee for what the installer actually did anyway.)

Thanks again for the advice - I wouldn't have even thought to go back down there if it hadn't been mentioned here.

Exchanged the box over lunch, and was also able to exchange my cables for a straight HDMI cable.

The new one has an HDMI port, along with about every other port you'd want.

it's a "Motorola DCT 6416/2300, Platform ID 612 Phase 3."

Just be aware that the installers may give you older stuff, and if you want HDMI, make sure you request it beforehand, or be insistent afterwards. I was able to get the install fee waived for my troubles. (Ridiculous to have an install fee for what the installer actually did anyway.)

Thanks again for the advice - I wouldn't have even thought to go back down there if it hadn't been mentioned here.

Pellakin, be aware that the HDMI cable you purchased from Best Buy is exactly the same as a HDMI cable you can purchase from monoprice.com for 1/10th the price. Having purchased many cables from monoprice.com in the past, I can attest to their quality at an amazing price. And because HDMI cables are digital, you either get the data or you don't and the difference between a $7 cable and a $150 cable is indistinguishable. I am sure others on this forum have also had great success from monoprice.com. I just don't want to see you throw away unnecessary money when you will see no benefit whatsoever!

Awesome--since you got the 6416, it means you have a 160 GB hard drive. Most of us have the 6412 which has the 120 GB hard drive. This mens you get 33% more recording time which is significant when recording in hi def.

BTW--I have had more than one HDMI cable go bad on me. I think the connectors are not always up to the strain. If your picture goes out, try a new cable as a first troubleshooting step.

Whats up with 13? Last night during SNL....I noticed that I can hear the crowd and effects, but the vocal was very low and sometimes not there at all. I thought, Oh no....my center speaker or amp has a problem. However, it did not happen on dvds or ANY other channel. Today I get home and fine that trying to watch nascar is a joke. In place of vocals....it's static. All other channels are fine....as are dvds or whatever. Anyone else notice this or is just me?

Whats up with 13? Last night during SNL....I noticed that I can hear the crowd and effects, but the vocal was very low and sometimes not there at all. I thought, Oh no....my center speaker or amp has a problem. However, it did not happen on dvds or ANY other channel. Today I get home and fine that trying to watch nascar is a joke. In place of vocals....it's static. All other channels are fine....as are dvds or whatever. Anyone else notice this or is just me?

I also noticed this a few minutes into SNL. The first few minutes sounded absolutely normal. I switched over the standard def feed and the audio was fine. I guess there must be some problem with the HD audio feed at WHO.