I will comment that the Spurs games on 35-1 (OTA) look like DVD quality on my system. Infinitely better than 35 on DirectTV. Best SD I've seen.

I was delighted to find that I get all of the San Antonio HD stations except PBS.


KLRN is the only station in HD on the VHF spectrum. We are located near Lake Calaveras and will not be full power until 2009 when we are supposed to kill analog. With that said, we still transmit on digital, the equivalent power as our channel 9 analog. We put out 30K watts on analog channel 9 and 8K watts on digital channel 8. (Jerry, I would hate to pay your utility bill at the transmitter). As a PBS station, the fits our budget and reaches most viewers. I think you may need to do what others have done and get an antenna that receives both UHF and VHF.
Call me if you need some assistance.

Pete

Sorry, wrong on the last post. 30 KW on analog transmitter with 10X gain on the antenna and 1.215 KW on the DT transmitter with I believe 12X antenna gain.

Thanks, Pete... but I'm 70 miles as the crow flies over the hills, so not much hope for your digital signals... I do get you on Dish of course.

OK, here's a really geeky question...

Speaking of KLRN - using rabbit ears -what's the optimal length of each leg and distance between tips to best pickup channel 9 - the digital feed?

I was messing with it yesterday trying to peak my signal, since it's the only VHF channel if figured I could tweak the rabbit ears just for it (though, maybe I'll try UPN 2 eventually)

Is there a formula, or just a guide somewhere that specifies the optimal length and "shape" or distance between tips for each VHF channel when using rabbit ears?

Thanks!

Oh, and another thing... I was away from PCs yesterday so I could not post this.


Anyone watching channel 12 Tuesday night? They kept going from HD to SD to show election results, and would make the picture itty bitty to display the results.

What ever happened to scrolling stuff along the bottom of the screen so as not to disturb what's showing?

Do they not have the ability to use the HD signal to embed this information in an even less intrusive manner?

Why do some channels (not just 12, but mostly them) insist on interrupting programming to provide "breaking news" that either 1.) no one thinks is that important, or 2.) could easily be provided as a scroller along the screen bottom? I remember missing a good portion of an episode of Lost once because 12 kept interrupting with sever weather warnings, again something that they could have scrolled along the screen bottom!



:)

OK, here's a really geeky question...

Speaking of KLRN - using rabbit ears -what's the optimal length of each leg and distance between tips to best pickup channel 9 - the digital feed?

I was messing with it yesterday trying to peak my signal, since it's the only VHF channel if figured I could tweak the rabbit ears just for it (though, maybe I'll try UPN 2 eventually)

Is there a formula, or just a guide somewhere that specifies the optimal length and "shape" or distance between tips for each VHF channel when using rabbit ears?

Thanks!



Try this site:

http://www.kyes.com/antenna/rabbitear.html

Pete, thanks!

OK, I adjusted my rabbit ears to 31"

I also did some other tweaking and can now get KRRT too, all with my Terk HDTVa!

I have the antenna pointin at 248 degrees, which was the best comprimise to get KRRT without losing my other channels, however I had to do something else too.

I noticed if I pointed the antenna slightly up, that ALL of my channels got stronger. So I crafted a foam block into a wedger and now have my antenna pointin 18 degrees up.

Here's what I have now:
4-1 WOAI-D: 100%
5-1 KENS-D: 98%
9-1 KLRN-D: 73%
12-1 KSAT-D: 85%
29-1 KABB-H: 81%
35-1 KRRT-H: 65%

OK, I just tried to watch KRRT - It's not quite there yet. It's getting a lot of artifacts. I may have to perform more tweaking to get it right. I guess 65% isn't quite strong enough. If I can get it up to 70, maybe I'll be good?

OK, I had to remove 35-1 completely.

It (35-1) was coming in really bad, and - even though 29-1 had an 81% signal - it (29-1) started to bounce back and forth from 0% to 80%, like it was bouncing off something intermitently... The Dish VIP-622 has a bug in it that makes the whole thing crash when it gets a bad HD signal. so, having a channel with fringe reception is bad for it, so 35-1 had to go (and 29-1 had to be fixed).

I returned the antenna back to its old orientation of aroun 170 degrees, but kept the "18 degree wedge" under it, as it seems to boost all my signals a few percent.

So, I was thinking about springing for an outdoor antenna - just for 35 - and then realizd it would be easier to than originally planned. See, when Dish came and upgraed my system last week, they consolidated the previously 2-cable feed into the house into a single cable using some splitter/combiners. So now I have a nice piece of RG6 running from the prime location for an antenna pointing at 35 right to where my receiver is.. so all I'd have to do is mount, connect, and point the antenna.

I was looking at this antenna: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103088 It's a 40" 17-element UHF only antenna, and it's only $25. I can point it at 280 degrees and see how it works. If it's not strong enough I'll add a preamp.

Now, the big question, am I asking for trouble by having an amplified VHF/UHF antenna that's on about 12' of cable and pointed at 170 degrees and an unamplifed UHF antenna on about 40' of cable pointed at 280 degrees? I know HD won't "ghost" like analog, but if it's getting 2 identical signals a fraction of a second apart, will it be able to lock on to just one of them? My concern is with the stations I get really strong signals for... 4, 5, and 12. I seem to be able to get them no matter which way I point my indoor antenna, so it may be that the outdoor antenna will pick them up as well, even though it's not pointing towards them. Am I asking for truoble?

Of course, it's possible that the outdoor antenna, even pointed at 280 degrees, may be all I need and I can get rid of the indoor antenna all together (though I'll need a VHF antenna to get 9).

What do y'all think? Does anyone else have more than one antenna pointing in more than one direction?

I do not want to use a rotor, becuase - if I set up a timer on my VIP-622, it may not be pointing in the right direction when the timer fires. I need a solution that does not require any interaction on my part - with the antenna anyway.

What's with the lip sync problems on ABC's doubleheader NBA games on Sunday (12 MAR)? Can't blame TWC 'cause it was the same on cable or OTA. Guess I should not complain since it's not too often that I get to watch the SPURS in HD.

I wasn't getting the game in HD OTA earlier so I turned my antenna back toward Austin. Been watching the Longhorns on ESPNHD. Did they switch the Spurs/Rockets game to HD?

I give up ABC is simply SD jazzed up to 720... Oh well the Miami game was worth watching!

Did KSAT ever switch over to the HD feed last night? We watched George Lopez and Freddy in SD on the KSAT's HD channel, then switched over to CBS to watch Criminal Minds (for the first time, since Lost was a rerun). We were in bed by the time Invasion came on, but I hope KSAT caught their error by then and showed it in HD, guess we'll find out today when we watch it via DVR.

I tried calling KSAT to let them know they had a problem, but their switch board was closed and they were only accepting "breaking news stories."

Did KSAT ever switch over to the HD feed last night? We watched George Lopez and Freddy in SD on the KSAT's HD channel, then switched over to CBS to watch Criminal Minds (for the first time, since Lost was a rerun). We were in bed by the time Invasion came on, but I hope KSAT caught their error by then and showed it in HD, guess we'll find out today when we watch it via DVR.

I tried calling KSAT to let them know they had a problem, but their switch board was closed and they were only accepting "breaking news stories."I also noticed that KSAT was not running HD. Very annoying. Someone was sleeping on the job.

.....they were only accepting "breaking news stories."Considering what passes for "breaking news" in San Antonio, this might have been the best option! :)

They switched over during Invasion.

Dunno if anyone noticed or if everyone knew but me, but KENS is putting on two basketball playoff games at the same time, one on SD channel 5 and the other on HD channel 5.1. I'm glad I figured it out in time to see the end of the Aggie game last night.
Thank you KENS!

They switched over during Invasion.Yes we finally got around to watching Invasion last night - kind of caught us off guard when it happened.

For some reason the HD feed seems to be a few seconds ahead of the SD feed, so when it happened, we actually noticed the "jump forward in time" before we noticed that the picture got clearer and bigger.

Dunno if anyone noticed or if everyone knew but me, but KENS is putting on two basketball playoff games at the same time, one on SD channel 5 and the other on HD channel 5.1. I'm glad I figured it out in time to see the end of the Aggie game last night.
Thank you KENS!That should be a great test of bandwidth usage for proving the feasibility of multiple program streams, since the action in backetball changes a lot of pixels from frame to frame. I'll have to check that out myself this afternoon. Thanks for the head-up! :cool:

This is for those of you who have been wishing for HD newscasts.

For part of this week I was in Los Angeles, and I spent a few evening hours in my hotel room watching the local stations there. KABC was heavily promoting their transition to HD newsgathering in promos they aired. I took that promo campaign to mean that they were the first in that market to make the switch.

Typically, technological leaps like HD newsgathering happen in a handful of the largest markets first and take a few years to make their way to smaller markets. If the number 2 market is just getting around to making the transition to HD newsgathering, I figure that it speaks well for those stations here in market 38 that have set dates in the next year or two for the same transition. :cool:

I bought a $40 30 db amplifier from Rat Shack and put it between the antenna and the tuner and bingo! No rise in antenna height or rotator needed.




hey dude, could you link to the RS site or give me a model number on that amp?!

I can only pull in 29.1, 4.1, and 12.1 with my HDTVa right near UTSA (IH10 & 1604).

thanks!

Yesterday I went to Radio Shack and bought their cable/tv amp and it made absolutely no difference! I had the signal strength meter up on the screen and turned the gain knob between min and max, and it caused no change. I checked my weakest channels and my strongest channels and no difference. I will be returning it today.

I'm going to Lowes, where I have heard they carry ChannelMaster and buy one of their pre-amps.

michael

For $40 you can get a Scientific Atlanta Surge Gap Drop Amplifier, same as used on CATV. Much higher quality than that Radio Shack g@rbage. I''ve got 2, one used for my poor signal quality on cable. And a second for my small Silver Sensor HDTV antenna. Allowed me to get Fox here in Austin when a lot of other people, even with large outside antenna's couldn't. I think it's 15db.

For $40 you can get a Scientific Atlanta Surge Gap Drop Amplifier, same as used on CATV. Much higher quality than that Radio Shack g@rbage. I''ve got 2, one used for my poor signal quality on cable. And a second for my small Silver Sensor HDTV antenna. Allowed me to get Fox here in Austin when a lot of other people, even with large outside antenna's couldn't. I think it's 15db.
Where is it available?

I bought mine direct from Time Warner here in Austin. Said I would install it myself.

I just bought a ChannelMaster Spartan powered antenna amp which I hope to install tomorrow. I got it at Lowes for $60. It is 2 pieces: one that goes up on the mast at the antenna and the other at the receiver end in your home, where you can plug it into an ac outlet.

michael

I just bought a ChannelMaster Spartan powered antenna amp which I hope to install tomorrow. I got it at Lowes for $60. It is 2 pieces: one that goes up on the mast at the antenna and the other at the receiver end in your home, where you can plug it into an ac outlet.

michael

Be careful not to over-amplify. You're also boosting strong analog UHF signals. If you get too much gain, that will cause noise and harmonics and you could end up with less usable signal on digital. I had that problem in Austin.

One tip if you're looking at antennas as well:
KSAT's digital signal will be moving back to channel 12, once the analog signal is shut down. So, eventually you may need a VHF/UHF antenna.

I don't think KENS and WOAI have chosen their final digital digital channel positions yet. From what I've read, very few low band VHF stations have chosen to go back to those positions for DT because ch. 2-6 are more prone to interference.

Well, I installed a ChannelMaster Spartan 3041 amp and it helps.

However, removing the diplexers from the OTA cable made the biggest difference. Since my HDTivo requires 2 sat cables and I didn't want to drill another hole in the wall to my living room when I first installed everything 3 years ago, I brought the OTA signal in by using diplexers on one of the sat cables. Since Voom died last year, I actually had an extra cable and decided today to use that cable exclusively for OTA. Huge difference. Kens is the only channel I could not get perfectly. The amp makes Kens 90% watchable.

michael

Dunno if anyone noticed or if everyone knew but me, but KENS is putting on two basketball playoff games at the same time, one on SD channel 5 and the other on HD channel 5.1. I'm glad I figured it out in time to see the end of the Aggie game last night.
Thank you KENS!

Ed, last week we didn't get time to publicize it, but we did and will carry NCAA playoff games on the HD side. I will ask the Sports Department to please promote the HD games scheduled so you know when to tune in. Over the weekend we had to guess which games were going to be where, but it seemed to work out. I wanted to get the Air Force-Illinois game on HD but missed it - but we did get the Aggies on.

Sorry if you missed a lot of the HD coverage - The (Express-News) TV Week magazine does indicate which sports events are carried in HD, though.

This week NCAA coverage in HD continues on KENS-DT, beginning with Regional Semifinal Doubleheaders at 6 pm Thursday and Friday. We'll have the Men's Division II Championship game Saturday at noon, followed by the Regional Final Doubleheader starting at about 3:30 pm. Sunday afternoon at 1 pm we'll feature the next installment of Regional Final Doubleheaders.

I'll make an effort to post here the teams scheduled to play; as you may have noticed, the NCAA games CBS provides to KENS-5 in its weekly regionalization may not be the same games available to us on the HD feed. They make this exception for us in the NCAA games only. When we do the NFL season, they are very particular about which HD game we are allowed to show.

Jerry,

Thanks for the heads-up for the tournament. I did notice that the HD feed offers a different game than the channel distributed by Directv on channel 5. That way we have two choices (but only one is HD). I don't supposed you could put another game on 5-2 or 5-3?

Don't you think Kens needs to do more full power testing during NCAA Week? That transmitter might be going bad!

thanks
michael

Excellent idea! I really have to thank KENS for their good attitude and helpful people!

Here are the HD games KENS-DT plans to broadcast on Thursday and Friday, March 23 and 24:

Thursday, March 23

1800 - 2030 Duke vs LSU

2030 - 2300 Texas vs W. Virginia

Alternative games coming out of Oakland were Memphis vs Bradley and UCLA vs Gonzaga

Friday, March 24

1800 - 2030

Villanova vs Boston College

2030 - 2300

University of Connecticut vs Washington

Alternative games coming out of Washington and Minneapolis were Wichita State vs George Mason and Connecticut vs Washington.

Schedules are subject to change, as always, but these two days the HD schedule essentially mirrors the SD plan. As we get closer to the finals there are fewer choices so the same games will appear on HD and SD.

Hi guys i am new here, i recently got EDTV plasma, and updated to timewarner digital cable with HDTV service. THE HDTV channels are awesome but i do notice that when i watch regular channels like TBS(channel 12) , i can see a slight whitish line on the top of the picture, especially if they showing reruns of seinfeld or any old shows. Did that ever happen to anyone else? thanks

I noticed it again last night watching SNL on WOAI 4-1. Awful audio! Has any progress been made?

"...I...notice that when i watch regular channels like TBS(channel 12) , i can see a slight whitish line on the top of the picture, especially if they showing reruns of seinfeld or any old shows..."
Welcome aboard, SAS

We addressed this phenomenon a while back (I have been looking but have not yet found the correct post) and it is caused by the vertical blanking being set a little wide on shows that are upconverted. Happens to most of the local stations all the time. Some upconversion equipment does not permit adjustment of the vertical blanking window, so any information in the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI,) such as closed captioning, test signals, teletext and so on, will be visible as a line or lines at the top of the picture.

HD programming differs because it is digital to begin with, and the packets governing captioning, test signals and so forth are concealed in one of two ancillary spaces. In HD you should never see spurious information at the top of the picture. As time goes by and upconversion equipment is improved or replaced by newer models, these little annoyances will disappear on all broadcasts. For now, however, there's not much that can be done.

Hey Jerry,

The NCAA HD games have looked great except for the occasional in-and-out-of focus issues. Does the flexicoder need some tweaking? It seems it's gotten worse since the tourney started.

Thanks!

Well darn.... my dish 811 has started refusing the Fox HD ATSC signal and locks up entirely when I even go to that channel... slowly slowly rebooting, which is just long enough to take up the review and first minute of new action on 24. Maybe it's time to consider that ViP622... any suggestions? I have an old TIVO that I use for backup if I'm late starting a program, but it's output is miserable for HD stuff.

We have done all the tweaking that is possible with our first-generation Flexicoder. I plan to look at new upgrades soon, but I don't believe any of these address the in-and-out-of-focus issue you allude to.

sorry, that post would have been more appropriate in other threads... but if you want to reply, please send me a pm or something...

Due to technical difficulties, the Late Show with David Letterman will not be available in HD tonight. We expect to present the Late Show in HDTV once again by tomorrow night, March 30.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Due to technical difficulties, the Late Show with David Letterman will not be available in HD tonight. We expect to present the Late Show in HDTV once again by tomorrow night, March 30.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

I noticed the Spurs game the other night was not broadcast in HD, is that the norm for road games?

Originally posted by Harley_Dude: I noticed the Spurs game the other night was not broadcast in HD, is that the norm for road games?

(Speaking only for KENS,) within the context of our current technology, unless a Spurs game is broadcast in HDTV on CBS, KENS cannot originate the game in HD whether it is a road game or not. At present the only feed KENS gets of Spurs games is SD, via Vyvx and Time Warner Telecom.

We know Spurs games in HD are in KENS' future; I do not know when.

Good deal, thanks for the info :)

Some of you may have noticed poor audio on KENS-DT last night and possibly Wednesday; one of our Dolby audio decoders began to fail and as it did, the companion Dolby encoder, which passes all of our DTV audio, tried to compensate for that impending failure.

The result was not very pretty.

We have corrected the problem and I hope it never happens again. I apologize to any of you who had to endure poor audio from our DTV channel.

When digital audio is good, it is very, very good. When it is bad, there's nothing worse.

Did notice. WOW....Drove me crazy. Finally had to watch SD. Thanks for confirming it was your problem not mine.

anyone have an updat on kens going full power and also i am on the south side of san antonio and we cant get any signal from kbej in fred.. any boost in power soon or stick move.. hd for kbej?

Some of you may have noticed poor audio on KENS-DT last night and possibly Wednesday; one of our Dolby audio decoders began to fail and as it did, the companion Dolby encoder, which passes all of our DTV audio, tried to compensate for that impending failure.

The result was not very pretty.

We have corrected the problem and I hope it never happens again. I apologize to any of you who had to endure poor audio from our DTV channel.

When digital audio is good, it is very, very good. When it is bad, there's nothing worse.
When we noticed it happened I leaned over to the wife and said that you must be having difficulties with one of your toys. However, you guys still have the consistently best picture/audio in the market - even with the occasional hiccup.

BTW - those of you having trouble with KENS or any other station - try an attenuator. I had an old (15+ years) 0-20db variable attenuator laying around and put it in line AFTER my preamp (between preamp power injector and my receiver) and my KENS signal went from the hi-70s/lo-80s to a consistent 97%, in fact, the signal for all mys stations, save 35, is now 97% + and 35 is in the low-70s (though still macroblocking). I have the attenuator dialed in at the "0" mark, which means it's probably actually attenuating the signal 1-2 db, given the connection loss.

Did anyone notice if WOAI - NBC was having trouble with their HD signal on this past Thursday night? Seemed like it went in and out a few times during their prime time schedule.

anyone have an updat on kens going full power and also i am on the south side of san antonio and we cant get any signal from kbej in fred.. any boost in power soon or stick move.. hd for kbej?
Unfortunately I have no good news, but please don't shoot the messenger.

1. KENS increase in power: our government seems to move all the slower for our prodding. Belo lawyers request status every week and receive pretty much the same stock answer everyone else gets. Frustrating. We do not know when the FCC will deign to let us increase power.

2. KBEJ is already operating at full licensed power. I won't say it cannot happen, but moving their antenna is highly unlikely. Actually, here at the KENS studio we use a pretty good high gain antenna cut for channel 2 mounted 80 feet above ground with a 20 db preamp, and KBEJ doesn't come in all that well for us, either. But ironically I receive KBEJ on a 30-year-old black-and-white 25" RCA at home in our back bedroom on just a monopole. It's a bit snowy but watchable and the audio is ok. Channel two is a terrible frequency for TV; poor range, lots of impulse noise and not-so-good multipath performance. Coverage in Blanco and Fredericksburg is probably great; here in San Antonio, 50 miles away, not everyone does so well.

3. KBEJ will probably file for its HD construction permit when the final round of DTV allocations are announced. We have no other information on that score.

Jerry, I read in the Express-News (http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/tv/stories/MYSA040106.04B.CW_affiliate.b797a29.html) that KBEJ is changing its call letters on Friday.

Forgive me if this is a newbie question, but this is the first change of this type that's happened since I got my receiver. Will those of us who have KBEJ in our receivers have to rescan to receive it again after the call letters get updated in the DTV signal?

Does anyone else in SA have a problem with KSAT?

I just returned from visiting my folks. They have a Dish 811 with a large Rat Shack UHF/VHF antenna and a Channel Master Preamp. Cant seem to pull in KSAT for anything. It sits on 0%-49% and sometimes will lock but only once in a blue moon when the stars are aligned. I have tweaked the antenna several times to know avail. I am starting to wonder if we have a multipath problem. We do get KENS, WOAI, KLRN, KABB with no problems but KSAT is a bust. He lives just off Callaghan & IH10 which is one of the highest points in SA. He does have a power distribution line and cell tower running down an easement about 50 yards away and at some point it crosses the antenna path but its quite a ways down. Other than that he has an oak tree that is in front of the house that sorta blocks the direct line to the towers but not horrible.

Any ideas and help would be much appreciated!

...Will those of us who have KBEJ in our receivers have to rescan to receive it again after the call letters get updated in the DTV signal?"
KBEJ will become KCWX to better associate the station call letters with the CW network branding. You should not need to rescan your receiver, but I have two questions:

1. Since KBEJ/KCWX is an analog-only offering, how does your receiver assign the call letters? When KCWX does sign on as a digital entity, their PSIP should provide all the mapping information your receiver needs to locate the DTV station.

2. Does a scan of your receiver turn up everyone's analog call letters?

KBEJ will become KCWX to better associate the station call letters with the CW network branding. You should not need to rescan your receiver...I guess I should have been more specific that the question was hypothetical. I don't have KBEJ in my receiver. I had assumed that was because I was too far from the transmitter, but I guess it's not there because it's not on DTV. :o

I guess I should have been more specific that the question was hypothetical. I don't have KBEJ in my receiver. I had assumed that was because I was too far from the transmitter, but I guess it's not there because it's not on DTV. :o

Don't feel bad. I spent several hours trying to get KBEJ's DTV signal before I realized they didn't have one ;)

Does anyone know if the Masters Golf tournament will be shown today and tomorrow on KENSHD either OTA or TimeWarner?

Thanks

it seems that the Masters broadcasts, in the past, have only been in HD on the weekend.

Fellow San Antonians...

Using the techniques I've discussed in this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=654628 I am now getting this:

4-1 WOAI-D (UHF 58): 100%, clear
5-1 KENS-D (UHF 55): 100%, clear
9-1 KLRN-D (VHF 8): 75%, occasional macro blocking (every few minutes)
12-1 KSAT-D (UHF 48): 98%, clear
23-1 KHCE (UHF 16): 64%, mild macro blocking (every 1-3 seconds)
29-1 KABB-H (UHF 30): 98%, clear
35-1 KRRT-H (UHF 32): 74%, mild macro blocking (every 10-20 seconds)
41-1 KWEX (UHF 39): 100%, clear
60-1 KHCE (UHF 38): 100%, clear

It's an improvement over what I started with a month ago. Maybe some of the tips other forum members gave me in that thread will help you with your reception issues...

Since, with the Jointenna, I can have a dedicated antenna just for KRRT, I will probably upgrade that antenna. I think it will be with a CM 4228, but I'm in a holding pattern becuase i may have to move in the next couple of months (still in SA, just another house). Once I learn I'm staying or get where I'm going, I'll do it all over again!

it seems that the Masters broadcasts, in the past, have only been in HD on the weekend.

I could have sworn last year KENS broadcast the Thursday/Friday rounds on 5-2 while carrying regular broadcasts on 5-1 and the analog channel. Regardless, if you have TW, the early rounds are being shown on Universal HD (Channel 164).

Fellow San Antonians...

Using the techniques I've discussed in this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=654628 I am now getting this:

4-1 WOAI-D (UHF 58): 100%, clear
5-1 KENS-D (UHF 55): 100%, clear
9-1 KLRN-D (VHF 8): 75%, occasional macro blocking (every few minutes)
12-1 KSAT-D (UHF 48): 98%, clear
23-1 KHCE (UHF 16): 64%, mild macro blocking (every 1-3 seconds)
29-1 KABB-H (UHF 30): 98%, clear
35-1 KRRT-H (UHF 32): 74%, mild macro blocking (every 10-20 seconds)
41-1 KWEX (UHF 39): 100%, clear
60-1 KHCE (UHF 38): 100%, clear

It's an improvement over what I started with a month ago. Maybe some of the tips other forum members gave me in that thread will help you with your reception issues...

Since, with the Jointenna, I can have a dedicated antenna just for KRRT, I will probably upgrade that antenna. I think it will be with a CM 4228, but I'm in a holding pattern becuase i may have to move in the next couple of months (still in SA, just another house). Once I learn I'm staying or get where I'm going, I'll do it all over again!

Could you add the network for each entry and repost? I can't rememer from '66 what the different channels are. We're moving to Kerrville in July and I've been monitoring the SA thread. Need to get SA OTA from Kerrville.

Could you add the network for each entry and repost? I can't rememer from '66 what the different channels are. We're moving to Kerrville in July and I've been monitoring the SA thread. Need to get SA OTA from Kerrville.

Allen, here are my AntennaWeb results. Yours will be different... the San Antonio stations will be on a similair azimuth, but KRRT will be to your south, whereas it's to my west.
http://fudaserve.net/linkedimages/antennawebjrfuda.jpg

Thank you.

We're moving to Kerrville in July and I've been monitoring the SA thread. Need to get SA OTA from Kerrville.

Allen, I'll be among the first to welcome you to the area and will absolutely guarantee you will like living in Kerrville! I'm a little south of there in Utopia, TX and receive most of the HDTV channels from San Antonio 100% of the time. In Kerrville, the same as in Utopia, you may be altitude challenged and have a nice hill between you and Elmendorf, where most of the transmitters are located (the forum will jump me if I misspeak). I use a Winegard PR9032 yagi and a 29dB preamp. You shouldn't
have any azimuth problems since Kerrville and Pipe Creek and Elmendorf all line up... i.e. no need for a rotor. You may have to go up high though if you are not on the proper side of your particular hill (yes they mean it when they say Hill Country!)

Good luck and please let me know if I can help in any way.

I live in Boerne. I just had D install an OTA on my roof.

I can get all the Austin HD channels, plus the SA stations, but no KENS.

bobemac, KENS is operating on greatly-reduced power, pending a long-awaited approval from the FCC and the Mexican communications authorities to operate their transmitter at full power. Read back in the last 10 pages of this thread and you'll see plenty of detail on that issue.

Why don't all/any of the San Antonio based
OTA HDTV stations display a test pattern, such as,
(PLUGE with vertical gray scale) & (SMPTE color bars)
at certain scheduled times?

Sure would be a big help - Thanks

Does anyone, anywhere do that ?

Does anyone, anywhere do that ?

HDNet broadcasts a test pattern fairly regularly.

HDNet broadcasts a test pattern fairly regularly.

I DVR'd HDNet's test patters a few weeks ago... They usually show them at 0510 or 0550 on Tuesdays.

I used them to test my setup that I had already calibrated using DVE and Avia via my DVD Player, which is connected to the same component input. There was no difference - the HDNet patterns all checked-out.

So, if you don't get HDNet, just use your DVD Player. If you don't have DVE or Avia, most THX-certified DVDs come with most of the test pattterns you'll need (though you'll need to find a source of RGB filters for color optimization). This, of course, will only work if your receiver uses the same inputs as your DVD player.

Hi, old AVS member here, but new to this thread and OTA HD..

I just installed a CM4228 in the attic and am receiving:

NBC 100%
ABC 100%
Fox 100%
KENS 0%

I live 20-25 miles from the antennas. I know KENS has the power turned down..
My question is do you guys think I would be able to get KENS with a preamp installed... like a CM 7777? I am afraid it may "overpower"the others...?

A roof install would be very difficult. I have a very very steep steel roof. I would rather wait for them to go full power than risk my life on that thing:)

btw: of interest, the steel roof blocks 100% of the signal in the attic. I found a little corner facing south in a gable with no steel in the way.

HDNet broadcasts a test pattern fairly regularly.
OK so I sleep in every am...and if I did get up early I watch in news to see who messed up in the world and Im not sure what good a test pattern on one cable channel would do for me!

OK so I sleep in every am...and if I did get up early I watch in news to see who messed up in the world and Im not sure what good a test pattern on one cable channel would do for me!

I don't tend to be up at that time either, however, you can record the program with a DVR. You had asked if there was a test pattern available and I just passed along the only one I knew of.

Allen,

Glad to hear your finally making it out to Kerrville. I live in what is considered Kerrville South (although, I am moving this summer). I am able to get all the channels mentioned previously except KENS (CBS). Jerry explained that there is a tower in Bandera that is doing some retransmission of channels and it disrupts my signal. I have a Channel Master 4228 and preamp. I do have a rotor on it, but don't need it to get all the channels. I do live on top of one of the hills and my antenna is about 8 feet above the roof line.

Mike

Allen,

Glad to hear your finally making it out to Kerrville. I live in what is considered Kerrville South (although, I am moving this summer). I am able to get all the channels mentioned previously except KENS (CBS). Jerry explained that there is a tower in Bandera that is doing some retransmission of channels and it disrupts my signal. I have a Channel Master 4228 and preamp. I do have a rotor on it, but don't need it to get all the channels. I do live on top of one of the hills and my antenna is about 8 feet above the roof line.
Mike
Can't do without CBS. I plan on doing what it takes. Dual 4228s if possible and if needed up to a 30 or 40 foot pole. I'm on top of a 2,000 MSL hill 5 mi. south of town at least facing towards SA. We'll see in July.

That is about how far I am out of Kerrville. I live off Hwy 16. Jerry and some others posted that maybe if I isolated my antenna to have a more of a direct reception line it might help. I never did get around to trying it.

Can't do without CBS. I plan on doing what it takes...
Allen, just an observation or two...

Unless there is a change of heart on the part of Congress or the President, analog over-the-air TV broadcasting will cease in the United States in February of 2009. That means any analog repeaters or translators around Kerrville also will fall silent.

Broadcasters everywhere, including KENS, are quietly preparing for the day of digital-only broadcasting and all the benefits that will bring to viewers: more HD content, local HD events and more.

We expect imminent FCC approval for KENS to resume full-power DTV broadcasting; no, I cannot pin it to a timeline, but we have been forced to operate at reduced power for nearly a year. The sentence should be up pretty soon.

The point of this post is to urge moderation in spending on heroic solutions to receive KENS in outlying areas until we actually return to full power, and only then spend what is necessary to bring in the solid signal you need.

Allen, just an observation or two...

Unless there is a change of heart on the part of Congress or the President, analog over-the-air TV broadcasting will cease in the United States in February of 2009. That means any analog repeaters or translators around Kerrville also will fall silent.

Broadcasters everywhere, including KENS, are quietly preparing for the day of digital-only broadcasting and all the benefits that will bring to viewers: more HD content, local HD events and more.

We expect imminent FCC approval for KENS to resume full-power DTV broadcasting; no, I cannot pin it to a timeline, but we have been forced to operate at reduced power for nearly a year. The sentence should be up pretty soon.

The point of this post is to urge moderation in spending on heroic solutions to receive KENS in outlying areas until we actually return to full power, and only then spend what is necessary to bring in the solid signal you need.
Thanks for the input. I'll wait until the 3rd week of Aug then up go the poles :D
Even at full power from 70 miles out something more than indoor rabbit ears will be needed. Maybe I'll start with a single 4228 with preamp. But with two 4228s I can more correctly aim at the other transmitters if need be. But from 70 miles maybe than is not an issue. On the other hand the signal will be split 4 ways so maybe I'm back to two antennas.

I have 2 computers with 3 HD cards and 2 terrabytes of disk all for recording OTA. So I already have a bit invested. Its fun playing around and watching what I want to watch when I want to watch it all with no commercials.

Anyone in San Antonio interested in talking about this offline with me? I'm interested in mounting my OTA antenna in the attic, but I'm also interested in upgrading if that would yield better results. I live near Sea World and was going to pay someone approx 75bux/hour to help me out this weekend, but only because I can't find the coax drop above my main TV when I went into the attic a couple of weekends ago. I know it is there, though. Either way, any takers?

Rey :)

KENS-DT will delay the CBS Sunday Movie, Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise in HD. Once the Spurs playoff game is over we will air the syndicated SD version of CSI: The Series followed by the CBS film in HD.

Whoopie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!thanks

KENS-DT will delay the CBS Sunday Movie, Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise in HD. Once the Spurs playoff game is over we will air the syndicated SD version of CSI: The Series followed by the CBS film in HD.Jerry, I'm curious about something. If KENS showed the pre-empted programming in its regular time slot on 5-2, would the network also permit you to run it tape-delayed in analog and on 5-1?

I assume the reason you wouldn't want to do that is because it would complicate your traffic and master control operations. :)

Has KRRT upped its power?

Last night, I did my usual check to see if KRRT was coming in any better, and there it was at 98%, instead of its usual 70's

Unfortuneately, while watching Smallville last night, it dropped to 0 at exactly 7:17:01 PM. I had my DVR also recording the SD transmission, so I got to finish watching the show. It was still out at bed time.

This morning, it was at 98% again.

Is there some sort of atmospheric phenomena occuring or has KRRT cranked up the juice? Anyone else notice an improvement?

Ok, I'm sort of running out of time here. I was wondering if most of you who are picking up everything are in running big daddy antennas or simply a set top antenna or a compact outdoor but can be used indoor antenna and how high your antenna is placed. I have a larger indoor antenna that picks up all stations, BUT the signal drops every now and then, especially at night, like after it gets dark. To me, that is just flat out odd, so was thinking of relocating the thing to the attic, but it is not powered, so I was wondering if a longer cable would be detrimental to the signal or not. If so, it wouldn't be worth my 75bux per hour to have that cable installer over tomorrow, so ANY quick advice appreciated. You can send me a message offline, too, stingrey at stingrey and the extension is the main COM one. Having probs posting the addy, so that is why it is all crazy, sorry about that. I'm in San Antonio, and the Rudy's by Sea World should be known enough, but more precisely, I am pretty much at the end of Reed Road at W. Military.

Rey :)

Oh, when I say LARGER, I mean it is about three feet wide, slim though. Stands on my TV top nicely. It is the Terk I gave high reviews to WAY back when on this thread. And in case the above electronic mail thing didn't make sense, the com reference meant it was a dot and THEN com. I think this is a 5 post thing, I'm not yet a veteran 5 poster, but I have kept an eye on this since I hate paying 80bux/month to get HD over TWC's feed even though all I want are my local channels in HD.

Stingrey, I'd recommend investing in a little more antenna and at least putting it in your attic. A description of how I got to my current attic configuration is here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=654628 All told, I probably spent nearly $250, but I I had done it all right to begin with, I would have spend, maybe, $150... In otherwords I have about $100 worth of stuff that I tried and no longer use.

One thing I would Still do different than what I have now is I would have used Channel Master 4228 antennas instead of the Radio Shack ones. The 4228's shape (like a panel) makes it much more attic friendly than the Radio Shack Yagi antennas... and I think they're higher gain as well.

When I move in June/July, I may replace the two RS Yagi's I'm using with CM 4228's, depending on what kind of mounting options I have. If I can mount on a roof, I will keep the yagi's, if I have to mount in the yard, which is what I think I will have to do (I am likely moving into military housing on Fort Sam Houston) than I will use 4228's, since they will be the least obtrusive in a yard... I'll have a pretty stack of dishes and 4228's on a pole in my yard......

...If KENS showed the pre-empted programming in its regular time slot on 5-2, would the network also permit you to run it tape-delayed in analog and on 5-1?

That's a pretty good question. There's more to it than just CBS clearance; that's the easy part. Also, it isn't really a traffic issue because there's no billing for any of our DT services yet.

To run preempted programming on our 5-2 service, I would need to increase bitrate on that service to make it watchable, at least to a 480i standard. That means reducing the bitrate available to the Spurs broadcast to no less than a rate compatible with 480i. Once we return to normal schedule all the bitrates need to be returned to normal. All this is done manually; there is no automation routine to do this. Yes it would complicate Master Control operations, since at these times most of the switching and list management is done by one person. It would mean having an engineer on duty for the duration to make the changes; we'd rather have his efforts directed toward a successful Spurs broadcast.

One day in the future we will be able to automate a lot of the things we do today by hand. Today we have not the hardware nor the budget to make it happen.

KENS-DT will delay the CBS Sunday Movie, Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise in HD. Once the Spurs playoff game is over we will air the syndicated SD version of CSI: The Series followed by the CBS film in HD.

So no HD feed for the Spurs game tonight? :(

So no HD feed for the Spurs game tonight? :(

it's in HD on espn2

it's in HD on espn2

TWC doesn't carry ESPN2 in HD though....

To run preempted programming on our 5-2 service, I would need to increase bitrate on that service to make it watchable, at least to a 480i standard. That means reducing the bitrate available to the Spurs broadcast to no less than a rate compatible with 480i. Once we return to normal schedule all the bitrates need to be returned to normal. All this is done manually; there is no automation routine to do this. Yes it would complicate Master Control operations, since at these times most of the switching and list management is done by one person. It would mean having an engineer on duty for the duration to make the changes; we'd rather have his efforts directed toward a successful Spurs broadcast.

One day in the future we will be able to automate a lot of the things we do today by hand. Today we have not the hardware nor the budget to make it happen.Wow, that is way more complicated than I had envisioned! Thanks for the info. It really brings into focus why the digital channels are used the way they are.

BTW, I figure folks at your station probably wonder if anyone's paying attention to it, so I want to pass along that I've enjoyed watching the radar on 5-2 lately. It's nice to actually have some precipitation to look at. :)

Just spent a few days in Kerrville getting the land and contractors sorted out. Stopped at three places and asked about OTA from Kerrville. They ALL said good luck :eek:

One gave me the name of a company in Fredricksburg that does tower installation. How much is this gonna cost? :(

But I thought,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Oh well.

Well, Allen, all I can tell you is I'm close to the same distance from San Antonio as you, located south of you in Utopia, still hills on all sides, but with me in Sabinal Canyon at the edge of the river, $35 winegard yagi uhf antenna on about a 40 to 50 foot high mast... barely peeking over the top of my oaks... 29dB preamp booster... perfect picture at all times from 4 (NBC), 5 (CBS), 12 (ABC) and 29 (Fox) all in high def, I can rotate a few degrees north and pic up channel 35 (WB). All of these are totally perfect pictures at virtually all times. When I rotate to 35 I loose 5 except in perfect conditions. I can't get the low powered PBS station and doubt you could either. I doubt you need more, and think possibly your advisers were thinking analog rather than digital. I think it's worth the attempt before investing in a tower.

Ed, do you still have to rotate to get 35? I think they cranked their power up last week becuase I went from getting a consitent 70's signal to a solid 100 now. They either cranked up their power or changed the shape of their "lobe" so that I'm getting a stronger signal in my area (Kirby/Converse). Maybe you'll be able to get 35 now with your antenna pointed at the rest of the stations? It's worth a try!

If not, and you don't like moving your antenna, do what I did and by a second antenna just for 35 (small RatShack UHF), point it at 35, and combine it with your "main" antenna using a Channel Master Jointenna set for OTA 32. It works really well for me, giving me excellent reception on stations with almost 180 degree seperation.

Well, Allen, all I can tell you is I'm close to the same distance from San Antonio as you, located south of you in Utopia, still hills on all sides, but with me in Sabinal Canyon at the edge of the river, $35 winegard yagi uhf antenna on about a 40 to 50 foot high mast... barely peeking over the top of my oaks... 29dB preamp booster... perfect picture at all times from 4 (NBC), 5 (CBS), 12 (ABC) and 29 (Fox) all in high def, I can rotate a few degrees north and pic up channel 35 (WB). All of these are totally perfect pictures at virtually all times. When I rotate to 35 I loose 5 except in perfect conditions. I can't get the low powered PBS station and doubt you could either. I doubt you need more, and think possibly your advisers were thinking analog rather than digital. I think it's worth the attempt before investing in a tower.
Sounding better. Where/what is the mast you are referring to?

Ed, do you still have to rotate to get 35? I think they cranked their power up last week becuase I went from getting a consitent 70's signal to a solid 100 now. They either cranked up their power or changed the shape of their "lobe" so that I'm getting a stronger signal in my area (Kirby/Converse). Maybe you'll be able to get 35 now with your antenna pointed at the rest of the stations? It's worth a try!


Excellent info, John... I checked 35 with the rotor in the normal san antonio only position and got 60%... that'll work!

Anybody want an antenna rotor??

:)

Sounding better. Where/what is the mast you are referring to?

Mine looks to be a standard multisection telescoping mast, I have it on top of my two story house so it's just barely over the top of the oaks.... multiple guywires. It scares me in windstorms like we had yesterday because the rotating section has no guywires, but it's always survived so far. I use a Winegard PR9032 yagi and a 29dB preamp.

There's a good antenna comparison at http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

and info on my antenna at
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/W9032.html

...It scares me in windstorms like we had yesterday because the rotating section has no guywires, but it's always survived so far.
After tuesday's hail storm, I was suprised my two dishes were still on the roof, and even more suprised that they did not go out of adjustment! My wife was home at the time and I don't think she even experienced any rainfade!

My antennas are in the attic, so they were safe and sound.

Jerry!,

Ahoy from an "early days" (2001) KENS-DT HD viewer. Moved away, now moving back to virtually the same location up in Schertz. What's the deal w/ your broadcast power? I've been reading here that you're broadcasting at a lower power level.... Think I'll be able to pick up the signal from 21 miles away (unobstructed, on my roof, just because I CAN)?

Looking forward to moving back where I started watching HD,

Deltoid

For The Record: Currently living in Northern OK; I am picking up ALL DT broadcast from OKC, a distance of 85 miles, with a roof-mounted antenna, no pre-amp, and a cable run of 75 feet that is spilt to provide OTA HD to two televisions. All signals are S.H.!!

What does "SH" mean????????????????

I believe it is time to go another route.

George.Bodenheimer@ESPN.com
VP of Programming at ESPN

Mine looks to be a standard multisection telescoping mast, I have it on top of my two story house so it's just barely over the top of the oaks.... multiple guywires. It scares me in windstorms like we had yesterday because the rotating section has no guywires, but it's always survived so far. I use a Winegard PR9032 yagi and a 29dB preamp.

There's a good antenna comparison at http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

and info on my antenna at
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/W9032.html
I think I already have the same antenna and was planning on taking it. I pull everything in from Mt. Wilson over 60 miles away. Won't hurt to try it.
Just have to find a mast.

I believe it is time to go another route.

George.Bodenheimer@ESPN.com
VP of Programming at ESPNFor what? :confused:

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but why isn't Conan in HD on WOAI-DT? I'm assuming becuase it's not immediately following Leno and they don't have the equipment to do the feed tape-delayed. Well, if so, move Access Hollywood out of the way!!

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but why isn't Conan in HD on WOAI-DT? I'm assuming becuase it's not immediately following Leno and they don't have the equipment to do the feed tape-delayed. Well, if so, move Access Hollywood out of the way!!You're probably right about the reason, but San Antonio loves its showbiz news! I imagine WOAI's management prefers the additional money that it makes from selling ad time on Access Hollywood, which probably draws higher ratings than and has more commercial avails than Conan.

You're probably right about the reason, but San Antonio loves its showbiz news! I imagine WOAI's management prefers the additional money that it makes from selling ad time on Access Hollywood, which probably draws higher ratings than and has more commercial avails than Conan.

It is an issue of viewership and revenue; the two go hand-in-hand. Personally, I would love for us to air Conan at 11:35. But I understand the economic reality of it all, too.

Regarding the HD playback, we do not have a local HD server, and, frankly, I do not know when we will get one.

I love HD. I purposely seek-out HD programming. But I also know that broadcasters have poured MILLIONS of dollars into this new technology, that in many cases has yet to return a single dollar to our bottom lines. Our News 4 WOAI Weather Plus (24/7 weather station on channel 4.2) is generating income, but that revenue is only a tiny fraction of the capital we have spent to build-out the facilities. And there is much more to build, and spend. Big money.

I'm not looking for any sympathy by posting this. I'm just trying to paint the big picture from a broadcaster's perspective.

My parents live back in the Minneapolis/St.Paul market, where I'm from, and KARE, the NBC affiliate just started broadcasting their 10pm news in HD. Apparently, it looks gorgeous. I'm going home next week and I'm pretty stoked to watch the news every night. lol

From what I was told up there, and maybe you guys who work for the locals might know this, KARE is one of the best in the business. Winning numerous awards for their 10pm news. Maybe this is just bisaed stuff I hear up there, so I'm curious to know if it's true or not.

It makes me wonder how they can justify the cost...as many stations will wait as long as possible to put the capital towards doing news in HD. They're owned by Gannet...which is a behemoth. So who knows.

I'm rambling, but it's interesting to me, sooo... :P

It is an issue of viewership and revenue; the two go hand-in-hand. Personally, I would love for us to air Conan at 11:35. But I understand the economic reality of it all, too.

Regarding the HD playback, we do not have a local HD server, and, frankly, I do not know when we will get one.

I love HD. I purposely seek-out HD programming. But I also know that broadcasters have poured MILLIONS of dollars into this new technology, that in many cases has yet to return a single dollar to our bottom lines. Our News 4 WOAI Weather Plus (24/7 weather station on channel 4.2) is generating income, but that revenue is only a tiny fraction of the capital we have spent to build-out the facilities. And there is much more to build, and spend. Big money.

I'm not looking for any sympathy by posting this. I'm just trying to paint the big picture from a broadcaster's perspective.

Funny thing though is that the stories or segments shown on Access Hollywood shown at 11:35 PM are already "old". They often have segments telling viewers to "tune in to tonight's episode of _______________". By that time, the show has already been shown. It's already a pointless show but even more so at the time that it's aired.

Greg, what can you tell us about your station's plans for 4-3? I have noticed it's been empty for the last few weeks. Maybe you can't get specific yet, but in general, should we expect to see something new there in the near future? :)

Cool!

Dish Network began carrying the CBS and FOX SA locals in HD last night. So now I can view them either via OTA or SAT, and record from either source... I'll have to do some sidw-by-sides to see if there's a quality difference. ABC and NBC are forthercoming. I do not think they have plans for PBS, WB (MNTV), or UPN (CW) yet.

It'll be nice to not have to choose between HD/SD versions of shows when I want to DVR two at once.

Cool!

Dish Network began carrying the CBS and FOX SA locals in HD last night. So now I can view them either via OTA or SAT, and record from either source... I'll have to do some sidw-by-sides to see if there's a quality difference. ABC and NBC are forthercoming. I do not think they have plans for PBS, WB (MNTV), or UPN (CW) yet.

It'll be nice to not have to choose between HD/SD versions of shows when I want to DVR two at once.

That is good news. Now if TWC could just find a way to get Sinclair to give them the HD feeds for Fox and WB....

Harley, are you in SA now? I thought you were up north a bit more.

Yes, I'm about a mile north of 1604 off Kyle Seale. I can get OTA HD signal for every channel except KENS & WB with my Terk indoor antennae. I just get a little frustrated that I can't record anything in HD on my 8300 DVR from TWC that comes on Fox or WB locally.

Harley, that's too bad.

I don't know if you remember my rant here and at CocoonTech about having to move in June... It looks like I'm going to be able to move into the house next door, so my OTA reception should be minmally impacted (maybe improved, since it's a 2-story vs the 1-story I'm in now). I may even make the jump from attic-installed antenna to roof-mounted... depends on what the attic looks like there, though.

Cool!

Dish Network began carrying the CBS and FOX SA locals in HD last night.


Excellent, John... I was about to ask if anyone had more info on this subject and there you are! Which channels is Dish putting them on?

ksat 6426
kens 6427
woai 6428
kabb 6429

I have my box set to give HD priority for channel maping, so it was seamless to me. So, for KENS, I now get it in HD by going to channel 5-00 on my box (VIP-622).

Here's the actual channel mapping for SA locals on Dish:
CALL TYPE CHAN SAT SLOT
KSAT DT 6426 E*10 (110)
KSAT TV 6205 E*10 (110)
KSAT TV 8470 E*10 (110)
KENS DT 6427 E*10 (110)
KENS TV 6206 E*10 (110)
KENS TV 8471 E*10 (110)
WOAI DT 6428 E*10 (110)
WOAI TV 8472 E*10 (110)
KABB DT 6429 E*10 (110)
KABB TV 8473 E*10 (110)
KRRT TV 8474 E*10 (110)
KCWX TV 8475 E*10 (110)
KLRN TV 8476 E*10 (110)
KWEX TV 8478 E*10 (110)
KVDA TV 8479 E*10 (110)

I think the duplicate "TV" (NTSC) entries are due to the migration to Echostar 10 that is underway. Eventually, there will only be one entry each for ATSC and NTSC versions of each channel (if an ATSC version is ever broadcast). As you can see, slots are already set for NBC and ABC, they're just not boradcasting on them yet.

Ed, we simu-posted!

Allen,

I live 4 miles south of Kerrville off Hwy 16. I do live on a hill. My antenna is mounted on a pole that goes along side the house and is about 5 feet above the roof line. I use the CM 4228 with a preamp. I pick up all the channels except for CBS due to that transmission tower in Bandera. I know you mentioned you love CBS (as do I), there might be a way to isolate the signal but I haven't tried it since I am selling the house and moving.

You probably got those responses since most haven't even thought about trying it.

Allen,

I live 4 miles south of Kerrville off Hwy 16. I do live on a hill. My antenna is mounted on a pole that goes along side the house and is about 5 feet above the roof line. I use the CM 4228 with a preamp. I pick up all the channels except for CBS due to that transmission tower in Bandera. I know you mentioned you love CBS (as do I), there might be a way to isolate the signal but I haven't tried it since I am selling the house and moving.

You probably got those responses since most haven't even thought about trying it.
Thanks for the positive feedback. Is the Bandera tower interfering in some way?
Or will the problem go away if KENS (CBS) increases its power?

Yes it has a license to retransmit the NBC,CBS, and ABC channels for the bandera area on UHF. I believe the problem will go away once KENS turns up the juice. Since I can receive NBC and ABC. Jerry says that the towers license will end in a year or two. So there is hope on the horizon when KENS gets up to speed with the rest.

Did you find a piece of property yet?

Yes it has a license to retransmit the NBC,CBS, and ABC channels for the bandera area on UHF. I believe the problem will go away once KENS turns up the juice. Since I can receive NBC and ABC. Jerry says that the towers license will end in a year or two. So there is hope on the horizon when KENS gets up to speed with the rest Did you find a piece of property yet?
5 so. on 16 & up Madrona Dr. to Kerrville South Dr. Land is being graded right now.

Hahaha, that proves it is a small world. That is exactly where I live. I live on Sun Haven that runs off Madrona at the top of the hill. Your reception will work just as mine, so you will be good to go.

Way cool. Can I stop over and look at your outside rig?

Now that I think about it I have several questions. What kind of Internet is available out there? There is no cable so for TV its either satellite or OTA or both. And you said that CBS OTA HD is NOT available???? :eek:

Allen,

I sent the invite and my email via a PM.

Mike

And you said that CBS OTA HD is NOT available???? :eek:


Allen... ref pg 79... dish now offers our CBS and Fox channels in HD with the proper packages and will add NBC and ABC as soon as they can work it out. We're in great shape!

Allen... ref pg 79... dish now offers our CBS and Fox channels in HD with the proper packages and will add NBC and ABC as soon as they can work it out. We're in great shape!
My computers with 3 HiDef cards and 2 TB of disk are all set up to record OTA. :o
Allen

My computers with 3 HiDef cards and 2 TB of disk are all set up to record OTA. :o
Allen

Now that's SERIOUS! :D (green with envy)

Well, antenna mounting worked wonders for my reception :) I had that cable guy out (I call him a cable guy, but he's a professional who wires buildings here in San Antonio for all sorts of stuff) and he dropped some network cable in my other rooms while he was here. The point, however, is that my Terk picks up the following now:

4 (all 3, including that blank one)
5 (2 of those from what I remember)
9 (4 of those)
12 (I think that has 2, traffic, right?)
29
35
all of that religious cluster of channels on 20something
and the spanish channels with channel 60 having some kind of sound problem for some reason... Not that I really watch those, but still, that makes me wonder what is going on regardless.

The antenna I have is found by searching for "TERK HDTVLP Indoor / Outdoor TV and HDTV Antenna" in Google. It isn't that obtrusive when set on top of your TV, got it at Best Buy, but I had to turn it slightly to pick up 9 or 12 or 4... That got old. Now it picks 'em ALL up. Thanks for the tip on which way to point, and thanks for the offer for help, to those who replied to me. I'm good now! If anyone wants an awesome installer's number, this guy can drop cable to any place you need it for the most part... Just let me know. I'll get the # to you. be prepared though as he charges by the hour to the tune of 75 bux! To me it was worth it, I've skipped out on TWC's digital cable due to the price difference for what I wanted, which was the locals in HD... So I've been saving money for some time now.

Rey :)

P.S. I'm right off of W. Military, for reference.

I've got TWC and the HD-DVR supplied by them. It's also the HD converter box, as my tv does not have an internal decoder. There is a pale vertical band that moves horizontally from right to left across the screen, and I can't seem to get rid of it. I think its some sort of EMI, but haven't been able to figure out the casue. I've had the box switched, the HDMI cable switched, tried turning off all fans and other electrical devices in the living room. The band is about 2 inches wide (on a 34 inch widescreen display). I don't see it when I watch dvd's, but do when I watch tv(HD or not). When I record something on the dvr and play it back, I see the moving band also.

Anyone else experience this, or have any suggestions?

Article in today's Express-News about the test of AT&T's U-Verse IP Video service that's happening in Alamo Heights.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA052006.1D.uverse.233f904.html

Some highlights:

• U-Verse is a lot like T-W's Digital Cable/DVR except that no HD content is available yet. HD will be added this fall.

• The T-W rep helpfully pointed out to the reporter the U-Verse DVR is a single-tuner model, vs. the dual-tuner models provided by T-W. ;)

• It's apparently cheaper than T-W, but few details about pricing were made available.

• The customer interviewed in the article said that he was disappointed that he couldn't watch the Spurs in HD with it. Apparently he's not aware that the competition doesn't have the Spurs in HD, either!

TWC's ESPN carried the Spurs in HD last night. Great PQ the I cant stomach Mr Waltons commentary. He wasn't too bad lasty night!

TWC's ESPN carried the Spurs in HD last night. Great PQ the I cant stomach Mr Waltons commentary. He wasn't too bad last night!Ah, I don't have digital cable, so I didn't know that ESPN carried the game. I watched on KENS. :cool:

Anybody with the new Dish VIP receivers have all 4 major networks in HD yet. I'm still holding out until all 4 are available.

Anybody with the new Dish VIP receivers have all 4 major networks in HD yet. I'm still holding out until all 4 are available.

Just the two so far, but working well as far as I've seen.

Ed

I just got my 1st HD TV. It's got an NTSC, ATSC, and QAM tuner. I have TWC "basic cable". I'm trying to figure out digital signals in the clear. The TWC channel listing assumes you have their set-top decoder, so it doesn't help me any. Does anyone have or know of a listing of what's on what QAM channel on Time Warner in San Antonio? THANKS

I just got my 1st HD TV. It's got an NTSC, ATSC, and QAM tuner. I have TWC "basic cable". I'm trying to figure out digital signals in the clear. The TWC channel listing assumes you have their set-top decoder, so it doesn't help me any. Does anyone have or know of a listing of what's on what QAM channel on Time Warner in San Antonio? THANKS

From my MyHD channel list file:

KSAT-DT (ABC) is on 103-1
WOAI-DT (NBC) is on 103-2
KENS-DT (CBS) is on 112-1
KLRN-HD (PBS) is on 112-2


And I believe that's it for the locals...FOX/WB are not available in HD over cable here for some reason.

From my MyHD channel list file:

KSAT-DT (ABC) is on 103-1
WOAI-DT (NBC) is on 103-2
KENS-DT (CBS) is on 112-1
KLRN-HD (PBS) is on 112-2


And I believe that's it for the locals...FOX/WB are not available in HD over cable here for some reason.
THANKS VERY MUCH! Those are the main ones I wanted as I mostly watch the big networks anyway. I've found other HD content though, that's not even on the TWC channel list like the "Military Channel". Guess is pays to scan around every once and a while.

From my MyHD channel list file:

KSAT-DT (ABC) is on 103-1
WOAI-DT (NBC) is on 103-2
KENS-DT (CBS) is on 112-1
KLRN-HD (PBS) is on 112-2


And I believe that's it for the locals...FOX/WB are not available in HD over cable here for some reason.

I have TWC w/the HD package. Are you guys saying you don't need the HD tier to get HD content from a basic TWC package?

Also, Fox (and WB) are not broadcast locally because Sinclair Broadcasting who owns those two affiliates in San Antonio believes that TWC should pay them more to broadcast the HD signal. I believe that it is a nationwide issue in the 60 or so smaller markets that Sinclair owns.

From my MyHD channel list file:
KSAT-DT (ABC) is on 103-1
WOAI-DT (NBC) is on 103-2
KENS-DT (CBS) is on 112-1
KLRN-HD (PBS) is on 112-2
And I believe that's it for the locals...FOX/WB are not available in HD over cable here for some reason.
Is this a coincidence or really a MYHD user? Do you have a MYHD card in a HTPC? If so you might want to check out the Playlist_Manager and Record_This thread.

I monitor the SA thread because I'm moving to Kerrville in less than three weeks. I'll be setting up to receive HD OTA using 2 MYHD cards and 1 Fusion card.

I have TWC w/the HD package. Are you guys saying you don't need the HD tier to get HD content from a basic TWC package?

Also, Fox (and WB) are not broadcast locally because Sinclair Broadcasting who owns those two affiliates in San Antonio believes that TWC should pay them more to broadcast the HD signal. I believe that it is a nationwide issue in the 60 or so smaller markets that Sinclair owns.
The answer is it depends on what you want to watch. If you have QAM tuner, you can pick up anything that's "in the clear". Typically this includes the local major network stations. The "premium" stuff in encrypted and you need the TWC Digital HD box or a set with a QAM tuner and a Cable Card - either way you'll end up having to pay them extra for the HD tier.
Of course they won't tell you all this...

Does anyone here have experience with GVTC? I am going to be moving to a neighborhood with GVTC fiber to the home and given the HD line-up they have I was thinking of cancelling DirecTV and using them. I am not a fan of the HD-DVR they use (I had TWC for a short time and the 8000 was very buggy), but if the quality is good I may give it a shot.

With the line up GVTC has, I think it would be worth a shot given the chance. I've never heard of anyone with their service. With FTTH, how bad could it be? PQ should be superior to D*. HD DVR inferior or not I think PQ would be worth it. Maybe you could try them out before cancelling D*.

Can anyone with Time Warner Cable in San Antonio confirm that Cinemax-HD & Starz-HD was added?

It was said by someone in another thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7847102#post7847102

Another question for TWC

When will we have ESPN2HD????

It's true...MAXHD is on 382 and STRHD is on 383

It's true...MAXHD is on 382 and STRHD is on 383

Can you provide a pic and post it in this thread:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7854774#post7854774

as you are one of the first to witness hell freezing over.
every TWC customer nationally needs to know.

Can you provide a pic and post it in this thread:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7854774#post7854774

as you are one of the first to witness hell freezing over.
every TWC customer nationally needs to know.

I took a quick snapshot for you and posted to that thread. I guess it is big news from an HD package perspective BUT I would have rather had ESPN2HD and/or the NFL Network rather than MaxHD and StarzHD.

We are still stuck with the 1.87.16.a109 firmware for the SA8300HD DVR. It still has the "boot to live" bug and the inability to watch an in progress recording from the beginning. MAJOR issues compared to what Tivo was doing 5 years ago....How's about TWC getting their hardware firmware at least within 6 months current to fix some major bugs before rolling out new channels?

The new HD channels are now on TWC website...

http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx?ChannelFilter=HDTV+Service&Zip=&CLUID=388

Does anyone know if you can use the SAMSUNG SIR-T451 with TWC and get the regular network HDTV channels? Or some other QAM STB?

Does anyone know if you can use the SAMSUNG SIR-T451 with TWC and get the regular network HDTV channels? Or some other QAM STB?
These posts say SIR-T451 receives unencrypted (local HD) QAM channels:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7843665&highlight=SIRT451+qam#post7843665
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7692634&highlight=SIRT451+qam#post7692634
Ditto per spec sheet on Samsung website and avsforum OTA STB summary.

This recent post reports reception of unencrypted QAM channels on TWC-San Antonio:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7780902&highlight=qam#post7780902

So if you can't receive them, perhaps TWC erroneously encrypted them (perhaps only for your neighborhood node???) and needs to be encouraged to follow the LAW re no encryption for local broadcast channels...or maybe your STB has a problem...

Don't have the box yet. I have seen the post about it, also seen some post where they said that particular box didn't work well. Just wanted to see if anyone had success with that STB or another with TWC-SA, before dropping the hammer to buy one.
Thanks

Just found out that TW offers the HD box at no extra charge with the digital package. Don't have to pay the extra $5 to get the network channels in HD.

I live near the Quarry golf course. I'll soon be getting a new HDTV with it's own HD tuner. While I get HD from TWC, TWC does not carry Fox in HD. Hence, I'd like to get an indoor antenna just to get FOX HD. Can someone give me a suggestion please?

Fox has a prettty strong broadcast - I bet just about anything will work. I think the Terk HDTVa indoor antenna is a good value. It streets for around $50, is amplified, and - given your location, should get you everything on the east side of town - which means all the channels except 35 and 2.

If you have an old loop or bowtie on hand, give it a try, you never know!

egrady, I agree with jrfuda. You're closer to the towers than I am and I'm getting good reception with the least expensive set-top antenna that I could find at Wal-Mart. Unless you're down in a valley or have walls sheathed in or full of something metallic, you should be able to receive KRRT with a very simple, inexpensive antenna.

...If you have an old loop or bowtie on hand, give it a try, you never know!
Well, just for fun I dug out an old loop antenna, screwed it to a matching transformer and stuck it on to the back of a Samsung SIR-T351 basically on the floor of an apartment, using a 20" Philips computer monitor for video and a JVC Surround amp for audio. And whaddayaknow! I receive WOAI, KENS, KLRN, KSAT, KHCE, KABB, KWEX and KVDA, with all their multicasts. I did my test just off Fredericksburg Rd. between Callaghan and Louis Pasteur. That's about 27 miles from the Elmendorf antenna farm. It has the advantage of a high overlook on the city but my little loop was inside a ground-floor apartment at the back of the complex, with no clear view of anything - except the building next door.

The Sammy doesn't display a quantified signal strength, just bars, but all the stations I receive are pretty much the same, 4 to 5 bars. Did not receive KMYS (formerly KRRT) but the channel did map. Don't know what's going on there.

So once again the rules of antenna physics have been shown to be more liberal than first expected. This sort of practical experiment causes me to wonder why some viewers much closer than I am have so much reception trouble with bigger and better antennas.

Speaking as an engineer now, KENS-DT soon will do signal strength measurements at key locations to determine uniformity of pattern and multipath potential when at full power. It'll take a while but the results will be telling for areas that have reported poor reception in the past.

I'll keep you posted.

Jerry, noticed you guys did a software update the other day - was this just a bug fix of some sort, or has it expanded your capabilites?

Everyone else, what's up with KSAT. They're broadcasting everything is stetch-o-vision and it lok horrible! It's gunny becuase, during primetime, you can tell wich commericals were inserted locally vs. nationally, becuase all the local ones are stretched. My wife was watcing Entertainment tonight, and they were talking about someone loosing weight, but they still looked fat becuase they were all stretched out. What is KSAT thinking?

John,

we're upgrading PSIP today, that's all. Didn't want people to worry that we had changed our channel mapping.

Can't speak for KSAT. A letter to their Programming and/or Engineering folks might make a difference, though.

Jerry, noticed you guys did a software update the other day - was this just a bug fix of some sort, or has it expanded your capabilites?

Everyone else, what's up with KSAT. They're broadcasting everything is stetch-o-vision and it lok horrible! It's gunny becuase, during primetime, you can tell wich commericals were inserted locally vs. nationally, becuase all the local ones are stretched. My wife was watcing Entertainment tonight, and they were talking about someone loosing weight, but they still looked fat becuase they were all stretched out. What is KSAT thinking?

We've changed some of our KSAT recordings on the Tivo from DT to analog channels because of that.

I too have noticed just recently that KSATDT is not digital anymore. Just discovered because I don't watch this station that often. Does anyone know what is going on or why there not broadcasting with better quality. I also noticed that my Directv HD-250 receiver will not even force panels on sides for better picture of standard signal. any ideas????

Actually, KSAT's still showing stuff directly from ABC in full DTV, it's just all the locally inserted stuff they're putting in stretch-o-vision.

Stuff from ABC = Primetime linu-ep, soaps, GMA, and SOME commercials during these.
Local stuff = everything else, plus SOME commericals during above.

My guess would be that some piece of equipment, like an encoder, that KSAT only has one of, has failed, so they're sending SD as a fallback. Since HD viewers number in the few thousands and "viewers who would know the difference" number in the dozens, you can imagine it's not a huge priority to get whatever-is-broken fixed—especially if it's expensive to fix/replace. :)

This entry in The PVRblog (http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2006/07/nyt_dissin_the_.html) from yesterday made me wonder if anyone has tried to get a CableCard from TWC-SA. I've been holding out on digital cable because I'm satisfied with the offerings on OTAHD and don't want to add box rental fees to my already-too-high-IMO cable bill. That's why I'd been expecting to get a CableCard ready tuner someday. What's the story on CableCard here in SA?

First of all, you might not have noticed that KENS-DT has returned to full power. We received authority from the FCC June 29 and power was increased within 30 seconds. I made no announcement to see if anyone would notice. Since CBS isn't doing any major events in HD right now, I might have a long wait.

We've done a couple of software upgrades to improve our PSIP and timekeeping software, and as soon as July ratings are finished we'll upgrade the Flexicoder operating interface. That will make it simpler to switch off that pesky second channel during big HD events.

I was waiting for KSAT to jump in and explain their affinity for stretch-o-vision, but it looks like they're not reading the Forum. I believe they are deliberately using a piece of hardware that upconverts their SD to HD (rate, not quality) and in the process lends an anamorphic stretch to the video. Stuff in the center of the screen is almost normal, content on the sides is stretched out. You can really notice it in weather crawls that run along the bottom of the screen. They appear to be doing this to their SD and non-HD network material, which is what, 90% of the time? ABC network HD offerings look correct in native 16x9 aspect, and the 720p isn't bad.

KENS-DT has a similar box that I use for other applications. When we first received it a couple of years ago, we experimented with the variable aspect capabilities but chose not to implement them.

Jerry,

No, I hadn't noticed. About a month ago I had finally tweaked my system so that I received 5-1 (and -2) with no breakups. Anyway, I checked this morning, and now ch 55 is the STRONGEST of the digital channels I receive. Congratulations.

Sherrill

First of all, you might not have noticed that KENS-DT has returned to full power. We received authority from the FCC June 29 and power was increased within 30 seconds. I made no announcement to see if anyone would notice. Since CBS isn't doing any major events in HD right now, I might have a long wait.

We've done a couple of software upgrades to improve our PSIP and timekeeping software, and as soon as July ratings are finished we'll upgrade the Flexicoder operating interface. That will make it simpler to switch off that pesky second channel during big HD events.

I was waiting for KSAT to jump in and explain their affinity for stretch-o-vision, but it looks like they're not reading the Forum. I believe they are deliberately using a piece of hardware that upconverts their SD to HD (rate, not quality) and in the process lends an anamorphic stretch to the video. Stuff in the center of the screen is almost normal, content on the sides is stretched out. You can really notice it in weather crawls that run along the bottom of the screen. They appear to be doing this to their SD and non-HD network material, which is what, 90% of the time? ABC network HD offerings look correct in native 16x9 aspect, and the 720p isn't bad.

KENS-DT has a similar box that I use for other applications. When we first received it a couple of years ago, we experimented with the variable aspect capabilities but chose not to implement them.

That is excellent news Jerry! Thanks for letting us know. I also didn't notice the power increase because many of the shows I usually watch are in reruns so I haven't used the DT side for a few weeks. I checked my signal strengths this morning. The DT signals coming from KENS used to be in the 60's. Now they are in the 90's! Great work!

Thanks for not implementing the "stretch" while showing non-HD material. TNT-HD does that sort of thing. While it can be tolerable, it leaves the viewer with no choices as far as how they would like to view SD content. As for myself, I like it pillarboxed. Sometimes though, I like to use the zoom feature on my equipment for various reasons. Stretching the video for the viewer also distorts the picture to the point that it really does look funky most of the time. I can see why it would be used but as for me, no thanks.

Jerry, I did notice, but wasn't sure, as I just moved here and bought a pair of rabbit ears in mid june and was having trouble getting KENS-DT...then I moved my ears around about a week or week and a half ago and got a lot better reception and wasn't sure if it was the placement or not. I'm glad we should have permanent power now. Thanks!

Jerry, I noticed - merely becuase my Dish 622 reports signal strength whenever a OTA channel is selected. We moved last month and I have not had time to install my outdoor antennas, so I'm relying on my old Terk. I was gettng KENS in the 80's with it, now I'm getting it at a steady 100. I'm back to not being able to get 35, though - at least not without rotating the antenna manually, and even then it's in the 80's.

I've given-up on PBS. It seems to be getting weaker and weaker. There was a time when I could get it with my outdoor antenna setup, but just before the move, it seems to have gotten weaker. Now, with the indoor antenna, I can barely get 30%, which is not enough to get a picture at all. I've since removed it from my receiver's memory to avoid the hisitation my receiver has when it changes to a dead channel.

... I'm back to not being able to get 35, though - at least not without rotating the antenna manually, and even then it's in the 80's.
Glad to hear you get KENS ok, John. 35 is a challenge for me also. I was using an indoor antenna and could not get WB at all. When I moved the antenna out onto my west-facing patio, it came in ok.

... I've given-up on PBS...Now, with the indoor antenna, I can barely get 30%, which is not enough to get a picture at all...
John, is your indoor antenna rated to receive VHF? You should get KLRN with little more than unamplified rabbit ears unless you're 'way-the-heck out and far from the transmitter. I am on a hill (nine mile hill) almost overlooking the city and I receive KLRN's 4 multicasts/2 HDcasts with good signal even with a Philips MANT-940 amplified UHF antenna (on the patio.) Indoors reception was iffy, looking through all the brick, wood, steel and stone between antenna and outside air. When I moved the antenna outside everything improved.

I am testing the antenna for mobile use with a calibrated DTV receiver to begin field testing the uniformity of the KENS-DT high-power coverage.

Jerry, it's a Terk HDTVa, which is UHF & VHF. I've tried adjusting the length of the rabbit ears to the proper length for their DTV freq (someone posted it a few pages back) but am not having any luck. Perhaps I'm getting some sort of localized inteference on multipath that is causing my problems. At the old house I put a variable attenuator on my outdoor antennas and got improved signal strength accross the board with it dialed-in at about 6db, perhaps I need to add it back in for my indoor array, and that will fix my problem.

Right now I am using a Terk indoor antenna sitting on the floor in my second story loft. I get everything (including the WB) exept for PBS. I can receive PBS if I slightly turn the antenna in another direction. Kind of a pain but it works. Don't do it very often though because sometimes I'm recording a show on another channel at the same time.

Anyone know if the Scientific Atlanta HD-DVR that TWC provides has an input for an antenna? I was thinking of adding a settop antenna to get Fox in HD, but don't know what kind of input I should look for on the box.

OTA uses ATSC modulation, which will NOT be decoded by any cable boxes, which expect to see either Analog or Digital QAM modulation.

What is the deal with ESPN HD (124) on TWC? I get nothing. It went off right when the Yankees @ Rangers was supposed to start. SD ESPN (24) shows the feed from ESPN News right now. I called TWC and they said its an outage and they are working on it, but I think the girl didn't have a clue. Seems like a blackout thing, but I didn't think Ranger games were blacked out here. Its not being broadcast on any local affiliate, so why isn't ESPN showing it here?

It's been blacked out for us on Dish network on ESPN because it's on one of the alternate FSN channels for us, channel 446.

Wait, it's on ESPN and ESPN HD now but the program guide says baseball tonight.

I looked to see if it was being carried on Fox Sports Southwest, but it wasn't. I don't understand these blackout rules.

I sent KSAT and email asking them to discontinue their "stretch-o-vision" and refered them to this thread, since it appears no one from KSAT is an active participant. I'd like to think that KENS benefits from Jerry's participation in the thread.. maybe KSAT doesn't now about it...

I sent KSAT and email asking them to discontinue their "stretch-o-vision" and refered them to this thread, since it appears no one from KSAT is an active participant. I'd like to think that KENS benefits from Jerry's participation in the thread.. maybe KSAT doesn't now about it...
Thank you. I have been looking for some reference by KSAT on their "new" zoom policy.
I figured once I found it then I would respond to that source. However, I believe you probably have selected the best way to attack the issue. Obviously, I don't care for their zoom technique either.

KSAT if you are listening (reading) then ADD ME TO THE - Stop the zoom list.

Even in this age of high speed communications, blogs, emails and everything that goes with them, nothing gets a manager's attention like a plain old written or typed letter, sent by snail mail. It is documented evidence that a communication, good or bad, was received and it begs action.

Clearly not every DTV engineering manager in San Antonio reads or contributes to AVS Forum. KLRN certainly does, along with WOAI. Our other brethren may follow the threads but perhaps do not have the time to contribute. It's an individual thing. I can guarantee that every DTV engineer in this market is very busy every day, but we prioritize our time management differently.

If a station receives enough correspondence about their technical characteristics, they usually will examine their policies and procedures and change what needs to be changed.

If a station receives enough correspondence about their technical characteristics, they usually will examine their policies and procedures and change what needs to be changed.

And if that doesn't work, there's always the option to use the competition to shame them. If KSAT doesn't respond, I'd suggest emailing Jeanne Jakle (jjakle@express-news.net), the media columnist at the Express-News, about the Stretch-O-Vision issue. She seems to be non-technical, so any correspondence to her should explain the issue very simply, with a minimum of acronym-speak.

Does anyone know if woai has a hd channel through dishnetwork. Can not get cable out where I live.

Thanks, Rtslot

Actually, John Fuda reported in this thread back on May 11 that Dish network began broadcasting local channels in HD.

Quoting now,

"...Here's the actual channel mapping for SA locals on Dish:

CALL TYPE CHAN SAT SLOT
KSAT DT 6426 E*10 (110)
KSAT TV 6205 E*10 (110)
KSAT TV 8470 E*10 (110)
KENS DT 6427 E*10 (110)
KENS TV 6206 E*10 (110)
KENS TV 8471 E*10 (110)
WOAI DT 6428 E*10 (110)
WOAI TV 8472 E*10 (110)
KABB DT 6429 E*10 (110)
KABB TV 8473 E*10 (110)
KRRT TV 8474 E*10 (110)
KCWX TV 8475 E*10 (110)
KLRN TV 8476 E*10 (110)
KWEX TV 8478 E*10 (110)
KVDA TV 8479 E*10 (110)

I think the duplicate "TV" (NTSC) entries are due to the migration to Echostar 10 that is underway. Eventually, there will only be one entry each for ATSC and NTSC versions of each channel (if an ATSC version is ever broadcast). As you can see, slots are already set for NBC and ABC, they're just not broadcasting on them yet..."

Thanks again for the info, John. Thought I'd go ahead and quote you to get the word out fast.

Hello from Corpus Christi

Saw some nice discussion and thought I'd pop my head in. :D

I see I wasn't the only one who noticed something weird about KSAT. I noticed it when I was picking it up a couple of weeks ago during that diamond show they show around midnight. Not picking it up right now. I hope they do something about it if they haven't already. KSAT was my first taste of what ABC looked like in HD and even standard digital before our local ABC affiliate FINALLY started transmitting their OTA digital signal a couple of months ago.

Every now and then, I pick up KSAT, WOAI (wish we had NBC Weather Plus), KENS (the only way to watch CSI and Letterman in HD...CBS here isn't HD yet :( ), all those TBN stations, Ch. 35, KVDA, and KABB.

I have a question for anybody who would happen to know. Is it at all possible for a station which has sister stations to carry two or more HD channels on the same station? In some cities, I noticed that subchannels are sometimes being used to carry sister stations (for example x-1 is CBS, x-2 is WB, x-3 is Telefutura, etc.). I think y'all may have a couple of stations that do that. But these subchannels (at least the ones I've seen so far) are always SD. The only high definition channel is x-1.

I'm just wondering if it's at all possible for x-1 and x-2 to be HD.

...Is it at all possible for a station which has sister stations to carry two or more HD channels on the same station? In some cities, I noticed that subchannels are sometimes being used to carry sister stations ... I think y'all may have a couple of stations that do that. But these subchannels (at least the ones I've seen so far) are always SD. The only high definition channel is x-1.

I'm just wondering if it's at all possible for x-1 and x-2 to be HD.

Welcome to the Forum! Glad to have you aboard. The short answer is yes.

Take a peek at San Antonio's KLRN in Prime Time, if you get a chance. Every evening they shut down their SD multicast channels (9-3 and 9-4) and air two HD services, one on 9-1, the second on 9-2. They use a technology called statistical multiplexing, or "statmux," for short, which budgets the maximum possible bitrate to each HD service at any given moment. As long as there's not too much action in both channels, this works really well. You may have seen the SD version of this technology at its best and at its worst on NFL Sundays on DirecTV.

Most San Antonio stations appear to use a fixed bitrate for their channels, which precludes doing justice to more than one HD. Speaking only for KENS-DT, all we can do is shut down our radar service on 5-2 (no easy task, either) to get another 1.5 Mbps, hardly enough to make a dent in another HD.

I sent them an email (from their website) that actually got a reply. I have sent several, and this is the first time I have heard back. Since I sent it from their website, I don't have my original message. I was basically asking what was up with the stretch o vision. Why are they doing it, and when would they stop.

I got this in reply

Hi, thanks for writing and for watching KSAT12. We really appreciate your feedback. We are testing some new technology which allows us to present our local programs in WideScreen. One reason for this test is that some viewers with large screen TVs see a "burn-in" on their screen if they view all programming in 4x3, repeatedly. Again, it's currently in the testing phase and we do appreciate your feedback.

I replied saying that was understandable, but ludicrous. I directed them to this thread.

Long time lurker that just registered so that I could post my response from them.

My view on SOV (stretch o vision :))



I replied saying that was understandable, but ludicrous. I directed them to this thread.

Long time lurker that just registered so that I could post my response from them.

With one of my sets being a CRT and vulnerable to burn-in, I appreciate KSAT's concern. However, Toshiba, in their great wisdom, gave me control to zoom my picture to full screen without distorting it, simply by cutting the top and bottom margins. Of course this deletes score banners and news tickers, etc, but the protagonists are not fatheads (smile). If I'm watching something that requires attention to the top and bottom two inches of the screen, I simply have to go back to my standard format.

Mom watches KSAT's tabloid news religiously and I suppose the stretch just looks normal to her, but she'll be surprised if she ever meets Leslie Mouton and finds out she's actually slim and quite attractive (heh heh).

My view on SOV (stretch o vision :))



With one of my sets being a CRT and vulnerable to burn-in, I appreciate KSAT's concern. However, Toshiba, in their great wisdom, gave me control to zoom my picture to full screen without distorting it, simply by cutting the top and bottom margins.

Most of the widescreen CRT's I've seen have aspect features like that. I know some Mitsubishis even have their own version of "stretch-o-vision" as one of their aspect options. Even my Samsung STB has options like full screen, zoom, and letterbox. I think it would benefit KSAT more if they made their viewers more aware of these options rather than worrying about anything on their end.

Here's a copy of the email I sent Leslie today... if anyone can get this problem fixed, it's Leslie Mouton!

---------------------------

Dear Leslie-

I suppose you guys watch yourselves on old-style 4:3 monitors, so you may not know what your technicians are doing to you on the HD broadcast: They stretch the narrow picture out to fill the HD 9:16 screen, giving all of you bulbous bodies and chubby cheeks...

They've been doing this for quite some time now and the experts at the San Antonio HDTV AVS forum ( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=137205&page=82&pp=30 ) have been worrying themselves to death over it for weeks. I think if anyone should be concerned it should be you (my vote for cutest newswoman in the entire known universe) - maybe you can get someone to record you on their DVR... or on your own, so you can see how unflatteringly they portray you.

With admiration and concern,

Ed Scott
Utopia, TX

---------------------

she answered!

-----------

Thanks so much for writing - I'll pass this along to the bosses!!!!
Thanks for watching!
Leslie :)

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she answered!

-----------

Thanks so much for writing - I'll pass this along to the bosses!!!!
Thanks for watching!
Leslie :)

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Good move, Ed! :D

Nice response from Leslie M. What happened to Digital 35 and 35-2? Am I the only one who has lost it entirely? Not even a blip on the signal strength. I am at IH-10 and Foster road area.
edit: as of 6 p.m. 8-13-06 all is good and strong!

Going into the 10:00 hr. here in the Coastal Bend. KSAT 12 is coming in strong right now. Still stretched unfortunately. Long time no see, Jozannah Quintanilla :) (she did the morning news here for a while).

Also picking up KENS pretty good. WOAI pixelating some.

Going into the 10:00 hr. here in the Coastal Bend...Also picking up KENS pretty good. WOAI pixelating some...

Did you ever try to catch KLRN's dual HD broadcasts, on 9-1 and 9-2? Their Chief and I both would like to know how it looks to you.

Hi guys. I hope you don't mind me poking my head in here, but I'm considering a move from Jacksonville, Florida to San Antonio and I was looking for a bit of a summary of the HDTV choices in your fine town.

I have DirecTV now (with the HR10-250 HD Recorder) and an HTPC with a couple of DVico Fusion USB tuners for OTA.

We get the full suite here in Jax, every network is HD, though none of it is HD on the satellite so I get my locals OTA with an antenna in my attic.

What am I looking at if I move to San Antonio? Do you guys have every network in HD already? Any places in town I should avoid because they have poor reception? Is Dish, DirecTV or the local cable company the better provider (I love my TiVo so I tend towards DirecTV, but with the MPEG-4 changes I'm having to re-evaluate that)?

Hey Jerry, We only do 1 HD feed with 1 SD feed. We stat Mux the streams with 7 Meg min and 15 meg max on the HD side and 2 meg min and 7 meg max on the SD side. The HD gets 75% priority and 25% on SD when it comes to bandwidth allocation .

Pete

Hi guys. I hope you don't mind me poking my head in here, but I'm considering a move from Jacksonville, Florida to San Antonio and I was looking for a bit of a summary of the HDTV choices in your fine town.
I have DirecTV now (with the HR10-250 HD Recorder) and an HTPC with a couple of DVico Fusion USB tuners for OTA.

Hi, Ereth. I just moved from Orange Cty, Ca. to Kerrville, some 70 miles northwest of the SA transmitters. I also have DirecTV but hardly ever use it for HD even tho all local LA channels were broadcast in HD. I do all serious HD viewing OTA with my 2 HTPCs. One has a Fusion and MYHD cards and the other has another MYHD card.

We moved into a new home on a new lot and had/have a 1,000 things to do. I finally got my systems back up and am finishing the '06 season. That is about all the HD I get to see. DirecTV does NOT broadcast the local SA stations in HD and it is misery to watch 4:3.

I brought my 12' UHF antenna with me and just today bought some material to mount it. I am hoping and praying that being on top of a hill facing the south will allow good HD reception. But as some should say, the CBS station does not transmit in full power and I don't have clue what kind of reception I will get.

Since you have 2 Fusion cards you might want to check out the Playlist_Manager thread? There are a couple of programs there, one of which you might find useful. The first one is for MYHD users and will gather, sort and modify ts.tp,mpeg from all over a network and build a playlist for the MYHD card. The second program builds recording schedules for MYHD and Fusion cards. It also has a ton of bells and whistles. You just specify a list of programs that you want recorded and that you have 2 Fusion cards and it will watch for them and set them up in the database if they are showing. Handles reruns and many other issues.

So SA people, what are the chances of getting good HD reception with a 12' UHF antenna mounted 13' off the ground? For now I didn't see the need to go 30' like I was thinking. I'm on top of hill at 2'000 MSL. And the other thing is that when we moved in I saw a neighbors antenna crumpled over useless. Obviously caused by high winds.

But if it doesn't get the job done I'm going to contact this Fburg co that installs antennas.

Hi guys. I hope you don't mind me poking my head in here, but I'm considering a move from Jacksonville, Florida to San Antonio and I was looking for a bit of a summary of the HDTV choices in your fine town.

I have DirecTV now (with the HR10-250 HD Recorder) and an HTPC with a couple of DVico Fusion USB tuners for OTA.

We get the full suite here in Jax, every network is HD, though none of it is HD on the satellite so I get my locals OTA with an antenna in my attic.

What am I looking at if I move to San Antonio? Do you guys have every network in HD already? Any places in town I should avoid because they have poor reception? Is Dish, DirecTV or the local cable company the better provider (I love my TiVo so I tend towards DirecTV, but with the MPEG-4 changes I'm having to re-evaluate that)?

As far as your HDTV choices are concerned, come on over! I have essentially the same sort of setup here on the northwest side of San Antonio, 27 miles from the major transmitting site, and 15 from the other. I get strong HD signals from all the majors: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS and WB. At my location, WB is a perfect 180 degrees from the other transmitters. All I use for an antenna is a reasonably priced Terk indoor (amplified) antenna in my 2nd floor attic that's split to go to two different receivers (the unamplified split provides ample strength for either a PC tuner or an H20). I also have the HR10-250. DirecTV installer I saw the other day thinks its only a couple months before we'll have locals in HD, but I too like my Tivo and my OTA reception.

Hey Jerry, We only do 1 HD feed with 1 SD feed. We stat Mux the streams with 7 Meg min and 15 meg max on the HD side and 2 meg min and 7 meg max on the SD side. The HD gets 75% priority and 25% on SD when it comes to bandwidth allocation .

Pete
Well Pete, that SD channel looks mighty good. I apologize to everyone for spreading misinformation, but KLRN's two services looked like they were both HD - to my tired old eyes. :o

Anyone seeking more information on Statistical Multiplexing should read this article from Broadcast Engineering magazine:

http://broadcastengineering.com/digital_handbook/broadcasting_hdtv_data_multiplexing_5/

Hey guys, I peruse intermittently with replies and the recent "Stretchovision" problems are also compounded by a clear downsampling of the audio, to my ears sounding like converting from a CD quality to <128Mbps MP3 with lots of artifact. The picture is, of course, screwy but the audio is truly offputting on regular shows.

Just thought I'd add my 2 pesos' worth of feedback.

Great to read your posts.

Chris Wallace

I have a problem that I hope will be resolved by someone on this forum. Sometime in July, I noticed that my Dell plasma TV no longer displayed KLRN's HD programming on ch 9.2. My set displays KLRN's SD programs on all four minor channels without difficulty. It displays HD programming from all the other local channels, too. I receive the local stations via a rooftop antenna and until July, my set displayed HD programs on ch9.2. I spoke to Peter Gonzalez at KLRN about this problem and he suggested posting here to seek an answer. Peter mentioned that in July KLRN restarted its Exciter and began including a VCR clock sync signal in its HD stream. I have rescanned the local channels several times since noticing the problem on ch9.2, but the problem persists. Curiously, now when I tune to ch9.2 during an HD broadcast, my set frequently displays the HD program for a second or two and then the screen goes dark followed by a "weak signal" message. Also, when I press the "Info" button on my remote, the TV indicates the program is "SD Caption" material. Something appears to block my TV from recognizing HD programming on ch9.2; ideas anyone?

Mark McMillan

I printed it out but lost it. The post that had all the digital freq for SA. Did several searches, "uhf freq" but couldn't find it. Could someone post a link to the post and I'll bookmark it? Thanks.

Its 29.1 for FOX
48.1 for ABC
55.1 for CBS &
58.1 for NBC.

So far all I can partially receive is NBC.
Practically speaking I'm SOL right now. :mad:

Sitting here in Utopia, about 85 miles from the transmitters, nothing better to do, here are my ATSC signal strengths at a little after 6pm today:

Ch 4.1 - strength 83 - grainy low def picture quality during the news program
Ch 5.1 - strength 85 - gorgeous low def picture during the news program
Ch 12.1 -strength 80 - no picture at all (picture on dish tells me they're working on something)
Ch 29.1 -strength 75 - nice low def picture during King of the Hill
Ch 35.1 -strength 72 - nice low def picture with grey borders during Malcolm in the Middle

I don't get KLRN at this distance because I only have a UHF antenna.

Note: My antenna is pointed between the 35 transmitter and the others. My yagi is about 40 or 50 feet up and the signal is amplified.

Allen I think you might just need more height, but check with your neighbors I guess... sorry if I built false hopes.

ed

Nobody around me does OTA HD. My 93" UHF Channel Master served me well when I was in south Orange County. Easily over 60 miles to the transmitters. I thought I should have at shot even at 75 miles here. But then it dawned on me that back in the LA area the transmitters are atop Mt. Wilson. Thats probably 4,000 ft or more of elevation so there is no worry about earth curvature.

So you might be right that height is needed. I have a guy coming out tomorrow to scope out the property to see if something will work.

I'm confused about most everybody referring to channels 4.1, 5.1 and 12.1. Aren't those really 58, 55 & 48? I mean there aren't any sub channels in the VHF range of 2 thru 13 are there? It has me lost.

Maybe its culture. When I started viewing HD back in 2001 we ALL talked about the UHF channels the locals stations transmitted HD on. And thats all I understand. Maybe as 3 or 4 years went by it was decided that people could not understand the UHF channels and just started referring to them as the local station followed by .1

So don't the SA locals use 29, 48, 55 & 58? UHF that is????

Allen,

I sold my house on Sun Haven and moved up to New Braunfels. But, if you recall I did manage to get 4.1, 12.1, 35.1, 29.1 and a host of other off chan types. I had an antena that was about 8 feet above my roof top. Also, if you recall the previous post. You may be getting the reception from that transmitter in Bandera that broadcast the UHF channels on 55,57, 59. I had a rotor on my antenna and had to find the sweet spot around it. I pointed slightly NE to get around it. You might try turning a little more to get that secret spot. I used a Channel Master 4228 with the CM amp. So, the sub channels in (4.1,12.1,35.1) are the HD channels. If I entered 48.1 then it would jump my box to 4.1 or I could just let it scan and it would load up those 4.1,12.1 .... I only once saw CBS on 5.1 and never got it again.

trol1374, Thanks for reminding me. Whats on 35.1?

35.1 is KRRT for Kerrville

...I'm confused about most everybody referring to channels 4.1, 5.1 and 12.1. Aren't those really 58, 55 & 48? I mean there aren't any sub channels in the VHF range of 2 thru 13 are there? It has me lost...So don't the SA locals use 29, 48, 55 & 58? UHF that is????

Sure we do, Allen. But the ATSC in its wisdom decided to "map" our analog channel with subchannel designations to the UHF RF channel we transmit the DTV signal on. So for KENS, our major channel number is 5. The analog VHF service, on analog RF channel 5 is designated 5-0. Our DTV primary channel is 5-1, the secondary or multicast channel is 5-2, both transmitting on RF channel 55. As long as a station is transmitting the correct PSIP (Program and System Information Protocol) your receiver will automatically map itself to the right channel without regard to the RF channel used for transmission - IF you have the correct antenna, etc., and you are in range of the transmitters. This is explained pretty well on page 32 and 33 in the Sarnoff Corporation's PSIP tutorial, found here: http://www.sarnoff.com/products_services/government_solutions/psip_tutorial/psip.pdf. Oh, and there is one lone VHF DTV station in San Antonio, KLRN. Their VHF analog channel is 9, and they're operating their DTV on RF 8. Once they switch off the analog service, I believe their plan is to retune to RF 9 and keep their existing channel. Their DTV presently delivers four services during the day, two at night (one of those is HDTV. See Pete Gonzalez' post a little earlier in the thread.)

KENS-DT will be something of a challenge in Kerrville, even though we are at full power, as long as that channel 55 analog translator is still operating SE of Kerrville. I expect it to go dark in February 2009. Before then, however, KENS-DT will move to a new RF channel (39) to make room for Qualcomm's grand VOD over cell phone scheme - if there are still any viewers around willing to watch anything on a tiny screen. FCC gave them RF 55, right in the middle of the "new" 700 MHz "Public Safety" band. Go figure.

If you can raise your antenna a bit more, it might help reception. You're probably already using a low-noise preamp. Great antenna, too. If you want the PBS fare from KLRN it'll take a VHF amplified array to bring them in.

Did you ever try to catch KLRN's dual HD broadcasts, on 9-1 and 9-2? Their Chief and I both would like to know how it looks to you.

No luck with KLRN :( I've been curious to see how it looks. KMYS 35 is coming in really weak but channel scan recognized it.

I've been receiving quite a few San Antonio and Austin stations the past couple of days (usually early morning and around nightfall). KSAT in SA and KVUE in Austin being the strongest.

I'm not sure the DTC-100s that were built 6 or more years ago knew what a PSIP was. And they were about the only HD receiver then. So I will still tell the DTC-100 to go directly to the UHF channels and I will tell the new Polaroid ------------- no, it will tell me if I understand you correctly. It will autoscan the freq, read the PSIP and use the contents therein to display the channel naming convention.

And I won't be seeing some of my favorite shows, NCIS & CSIs, in HD for a long time. :mad:

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure you must have posted info like this near a dozen times.

Wait a minute! I've got three HD cards and I wonder how up to date they are in the PSIP formatting and info. Guess I'll find out.

Well, looks like signals are getting weaker and I'm losing a few stations (none of the Austin stations are coming in). I'm still getting KSAT and KENS. Ch. 4 and Ch. 35's pixelating in and out.

Never got KLRN. Sorry to Pete and Jerry. I think I may be having difficulty receiving KLRN because their channel allocation is DTV 8. Correct? DTV 8 is also our local ABC affiliate and it might be overpowering it. Months ago before our ABC affiliate went digital, I used to receive all 4 KLRN channels. I guess they weren't doing the statistical multiplexing stuff back then yet.

Anyway, I just finished watching some of Americus Diamond on KSAT not too long ago. It appears that the words of the AVS Forum (and possibly many, many others) have been heard. It's undistorted! Hope it stays that way.

**Half past 7 the next morning, checked out of curiousity. I'm getting KSAT in and out. Looks like things are back to "normal". Shame on you, KSAT.**

I think I may be having difficulty receiving KLRN because their channel allocation is DTV 8.

Just came from KLRN website. I stand corrected. KLRN is DTV 9. Still never got it even manually adding it. The other station I never got was KVDA.

KLRN is advertising as channel 9 in our PSIP but we broadcast on RF channel 8. I also checked the FCC web site and didn't see a channel 8 in Austin.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=TX&call=&arn=&city=austin&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

Sorry your not receiving us. We have been doing Stat mux'ing for about 18 months. The only things we have done in the past few months are:
-added Nielsen rating encoder on our DT channel 9.1 (March 06) adds unique ID to stream for Nielsen receivers
-added Gemstar TV guide encoder to digital stream.(March 06) This is similar to the TV guide on our analog channel 9 service. This service is known to reboot Voom non ATSC compliant receivers.

If one of these services is the cause of the problem, I would like to give the manufacture of the encoder your equipment setup to see if its something that can be fixed.

KLRN is advertising as channel 9 in our PSIP but we broadcast on RF channel 8. I also checked the FCC web site and didn't see a channel 8 in Austin.

Looks like I misled you with my title post. But it was "Losing SA *and* Austin". Apologies.

I would like to give the manufacture of the encoder your equipment setup to see if its something that can be fixed.

Thanks. Not really necessary for me. Considering I'm 150 miles or so away from your transmitter. I live in Corpus Christi (ABC is DTV 8 here). If I get your signal at all (or any of the SA stations), it's via the tropo.

I had a guy come out and look the property over to see if a tower could be put up. He said no problem with a 40' unsupported tower and that his proposal would include a large aluminum mesh dish, not a conventional UHF antenna. I said I wanted the UHF freq and he said yeah, thats what we're gonna pull in.

So can someone tell me or confirm that an aluminum dish is a good/superior way to go over the the CM 4228, the 91XG or my current 93" CM??? He didn't say what size the dish was going to be so what diameter should it be??

Allen,

I can't say for certain whether a large mesh dish will be equal to or better than anything you already have without knowing what he plans to put up for you. Here are a couple of manufacturers you can look at, but it would help more to know what he has in mind:

http://www.sateng.com/catalog/short_product_id.asp?product_id=PB-61-BB

http://www.lindsayelec.com/antenna/commercial.catv/6-pbu-uhf.html

Good luck with this; keep us posted.

The second url led to the 6PBU-1469 which had specs comparable to the 91XG. I'll make sure the proposal includes specifics on the antenna so I can compare it with the ones I know about.

Thanks.

videogod69...not sure if the term " "jesus" channels "is appropriate. KLRN is the only one that is in the VHF band, all the other stations are broadcasting UHF. You might try switching or adjusting your antenna accordingly.

[QUOTE=So can someone tell me or confirm that an aluminum dish is a good/superior way to go over the the CM 4228, the 91XG or my current 93" CM??? He didn't say what size the dish was going to be so what diameter should it be??[/QUOTE]

Sounds darned expensive Allen, but only you can determine the value I guess. At least the commercial antenna guy can guarantee reception. I'm lucky enough that I could get my $37 yagi PR-9032 to work on a long used mast. :) I'm a skinflint.

Here's the comparison charts again in case they can be of use: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

Peter,

Would it be possible for you to relay my post on pg 83 re the inablility to display HD program material on 9.2 to your encoder manufacturer to seek a fix? If they need more specific information, I could provide that too.

Thank you,
Mark McMillan

Hey, y'all. I'm helping my Dad, who lives in San Antonio, pick a new TV. I'd like to have him get a high def set. My question is how good are HD stations in San Antonio? Are there a lot of them? He's not a technical guy at all and isn't very interested in learning a lot of new things to use his tv. So this will only work if it's very simple. Oh, and he uses Time Warner Cable. Thanks for any help.

If you're dad is my age, he probably doesn't watch much Fox. I'm a satisfied TWC customer (former Dish Customer) that is pretty satisfied with San Antonio's HDTV over cable. Here's a link to their HD programming.

http://www.twc-sa.com/tw_hdtv

Put another 10' in my antenna mast. AT 23' I get 4.1 and 5.1 in the 80s and perfect picture. 29.1 and 5.1, FOX & CBS are in the 50s with no picture. I'm told there are repeaters around Bandera. How do I know I'm reaching the San Antonio transmitters and not the repeaters?
I'm surprised, my old DTC-100 is correctly decoding the PSIP (?) and displaying 4.1 and 12.1 for the UHF frequencies.

Anyone have an idea about reaching the Austin transmitters. I'll mark the current antena position then swing it around to the northeast.

... How do I know I'm reaching the San Antonio transmitters and not the repeaters?...
Allen, as close as you are to that channel 55 translator, it will probably inhibit any reception of KENS-DT ( 5.1; RF channel 55) unless you can find a way to block it. You should receive 29.1 ok; I don't remember any translator on that channel. Likewise 35.1 and 35.2 should come in fine from Lake Hills, northwest of S.A.


...Anyone have an idea about reaching the Austin transmitters. I'll mark the current antena position then swing it around to the northeast.
That would be my suggestion. Austin antenna farm is in south Austin, so don't swing too far northeast...

I did some more fine tuning (pointing) with my old 93" UHF and now I get 4.1 in the high 80s, 12.1 in the low 80s, 29.1 in the high 70s and 5.1 in the high 60s. Yup, picking up CBS. The picture might flicker once every 10 or 15 minutes but its viewable. I'll try Austin tomorrow night. I'm going to replace the old antenna with a DB8, CM7777, new cable and quality splitters. Have to split the signal 5 ways.

So is the 5.1 I'm getting from the repeater or SA? Is there a way to tell??????

I think I may have saved myself a bundle because I was going to have a 40' tower put up but maybe my 23' steel 1 1/4" mast will do the trick. With a new antenna that is.

Anyone have an idea about reaching the Austin transmitters. I'll mark the current antena position then swing it around to the northeast.



Supposedly there is some ridge between Austin and San Antonio. May prevent it. Worth a shot though if you are in someplace like say San Marcos or New Braunsfels. Better have a big antenna to try though.

[QUOTE=AllenDB]
So is the 5.1 I'm getting from the repeater or SA? Is there a way to tell??????

The repeater in question on channel 55 is analog only. So you're not getting 5.1 from it. It just tends to overpower digital 55, which is 5.1.

[QUOTE=AllenDB]
So is the 5.1 I'm getting from the repeater or SA? Is there a way to tell??????
The repeater in question on channel 55 is analog only. So you're not getting 5.1 from it. It just tends to overpower digital 55, which is 5.1.
Now that I exactly realize what is going on ----- :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
How was this fiasco put together????????
I know it has to be old story but they want to repeat the VHF signal and and and
they decide to use the same freq the UHF HD signal is using thereby making it maybe impossible to HD users to get SA. Sounds like a colossal screwup to me.

But in my universal wisdom (actually ignorance) it wasn't an accident. It was done on purpose by someone with twice my IQ of 80. Or maybe the repeater was there first and then they decided to put the UHF out on the same freq the repeater was using. Sorry for the rant but the season is starting and my HD pickin's are slim.

Yesterday afternoon I thought I had it. Got all 4 networks in HD. But around 6 or 7 PM the signals for FOX, CBS and ABC faded so much they couldn't be watched. Did I get bushwhacked by the troposphere bounce or some such?? :rolleyes:

... How was this fiasco put together????????
I know it has to be old story but they want to repeat the VHF signal and and and
they decide to use the same freq the UHF HD signal is using thereby making it maybe impossible to HD users to get SA. Sounds like a colossal screwup to me.
The translator was there first. It is not for KENS, but for WOAI. Realize also that RF 55 is not the final channel KENS-DT will have in the DTV transition. Our DTV allocation will be RF 39, which will not be affected by the ch 55 translator. KENS was given 55 as a preliminary channel to get our DTV running until our turn came up in the second round of DTV allocations. It may not seem so to you today, but reception will get better in the future. Folks in the know tell me that low power TV, repeaters and translators will be around even AFTER the Feb. 17, 2009 analog sunset; in the case of the channel 55 translator, however, I don't know what they'll have to translate!
...Did I get bushwhacked by the troposphere bounce or some such?? :rolleyes:
Probably. Even though we have not completed "official" field strength tests yet, I can tell you that you are at the "hairy edge" of our predicted DTV contour. Even in analog terms, that takes a fairly heroic antenna, mast and amplifier to get in a quality signal. Nevertheless it sounds as though you have what it takes to bring in the San Antonio stations; I just don't know how tall a mast you're going to need to do it!

Watching the Cowboys game. Signal strength 92 and steady. Lots of breakups off and on. Anyone else having a problem?

Watching the Cowboys game. Signal strength 92 and steady. Lots of breakups off and on. Anyone else having a problem?

Yeah I had to give up and watch analog.

D* said that San Antonio was to get the 'major' network's HD channels carried via DBS in August. Did they make it or are you still waiting. Just curious since I'm up the road in Austin and D* said we were to get our locals in September and wondering how badly they're keeping to their schedule. Thanks

D* said that San Antonio was to get the 'major' network's HD channels carried via DBS in August. Did they make it or are you still waiting. Just curious since I'm up the road in Austin and D* said we were to get our locals in September and wondering how badly they're keeping to their schedule. Thanks
I talked to them recently about this and they just said in the next few months. I asked how would we know and they said something in the mail. I hope 'major' includes FOX. So AFAIK the answer is not yet.

Watching the Cowboys game. Signal strength 92 and steady. Lots of breakups off and on. Anyone else having a problem?

I was having the same problem, FWIW. Couldn't take after awhile a went analog as well. :mad:

What is up with WB [35.1] KRRT-DT and 1080i ?

Now that they changed to KMYS; they went to 720p ?

Just noticed it Sunday afternoon (Sept. 10. 2006)

Well, since the soapbox is still empty - - -

MORE IS LESS - - -
Kens (5.2) new weather sub-channel look

The old format was perfect.
Simple and easy to see what is happening at a glance.

It warned us of impending dangerous weather several times when
none of the "regular" weather broadcast channels were providing
updates for areas OUTSIDE San Antonio.

...Kens (5.2) new weather sub-channel look

The old format was perfect.
Simple and easy to see what is happening at a glance.

It warned us of impending dangerous weather several times when
none of the "regular" weather broadcast channels were providing
updates for areas OUTSIDE San Antonio.

Andy or Ken, I'm not sure about what you mean. I think you might be commenting on our weather department sometimes changing the view on the 5-2 service as they check on tropical storms or look at other areas. Our 5-2 weather radar is only one of our weather department's diagnostic tools, and sometimes they may change it to suit their work, but I believe they usually return the image to the familiar local radar scan.

I will pass on your message to our weather office together with my reply. If you want to add any more comments they certainly will be welcome and I will include them on Tuesday morning.

The old format was perfect.
Simple and easy to see what is happening at a glance.

It warned us of impending dangerous weather several times when
none of the "regular" weather broadcast channels were providing
updates for areas OUTSIDE San Antonio.The view they were using most of the day yesterday was wider than the default view. It was showing storms and wind direction indicators well into the mountains of Mexico.

I didn't think it was bad. It was showing where the rain was coming from, hundreds of miles to the SE. That's why it rained most of the day.

Quick question for Jerry at KENS.

Did you guys do something to the audio during the newscasts? The audio sounds a little different. Not worse or better, just different. Maybe a little more compressed. New mics? Mixing board?

You're a very astute listener, Chris.

We have been experimenting with light compression on the analog microphone inputs to our new digital audio console. Our goal is to eliminate the digital clipping that has occurred at times when the a-to-d converters are overdriven. We didn't want to limit the levels too severely but we intend to stop the distortion and maintain sufficient headroom for good dynamic range.

We'll continue to fine-tune our audio until we get the sound we want with consistent results.

Ah! That's what I thought. Thanks for clarifying that. In one of my past lives I was a part time audio mixer for a studio. I pick on on stuff like that fairly quickly. :)

Like I said before, it does sound different but definitely not worse. Actually for the early morning broadcast (at 5am) the compression helps. My ears don't usually wake up until about 7. LOL

I talked to them recently about this and they just said in the next few months. I asked how would we know and they said something in the mail. I hope 'major' includes FOX. So AFAIK the answer is not yet.


I've heard that Direct-TV went live with local HD's as of Wednesday, Sept. 13.

I've heard that Direct-TV went live with local HD's as of Wednesday, Sept. 13.

I checked DirecTV's website and it appears that KENS, KABB & KSAT are now available in HD. One thing that is curious to me...If Sinclair will allow their "precious" Fox HD signal to be carried, why not WOAI?

I checked DirecTV's website and it appears that KENS, KABB & KSAT are now available in HD. One thing that is curious to me...If Sinclair will allow their "precious" Fox HD signal to be carried, why not WOAI?
And those transponders would be????

I am obviously so confused. Coming from the LA area I expected the channels to be some abc or xyz or qfr. The LA stations are NOT transmitted in HD on their original numbers like 2,4,7&11. They are up in the 80s. I expected SA HD to have their own set.

And those transponders would be????

Not sure on transponders...the channels are 5, 12 and 29 just like their current location on DirecTV's guide.

Not sure on transponders...the channels are 5, 12 and 29 just like their current location on DirecTV's guide.
Now I know I'm confused. If SA HD signals are now transmitted on 5, 12 & 29 then those that do not have an HD receiver will not see the picture. But obviously I don't understand the whole picture. There is more to this than 5,12 & 29.

Now I know I'm confused. If SA HD signals are now transmitted on 5, 12 & 29 then those that do not have an HD receiver will not see the picture. But obviously I don't understand the whole picture. There is more to this than 5,12 & 29.

DirecTV is pretty much plug and play. I'm guessing if you have an HD receiver, you will get the locals in HD and if you have an SD receiver, you will see them in SD.

When I was a customer, all I had to do was enter a channel into my remote. That's not saying things haven't changed in the past 9 months though :)

Don't HD Locals require the 5 LNB dish and an MPEG4 receiver?

I checked DirecTV's website and it appears that KENS, KABB & KSAT are now available in HD. One thing that is curious to me...If Sinclair will allow their "precious" Fox HD signal to be carried, why not WOAI?

Where did you see that on the website? I've only found this page:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packProg/channelChart2.jsp?assetId=1100086