Updated list of NBC's HD Programs. Happy viewing!

American Dreams
A.U.S.A. (Feb 4)
Boomtown
Crossing Jordan
Ed
ER
Frasier
Hidden Hills
In-Laws
Kingpin (Feb 2)
Law & Order
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: SVU
Mister Sterling
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Greg,

Thank you very much for the heads up on current and upcoming NBC HD programming! Are you at liberty to discuss when Clear Channel (or WOAI locally) might come to an agreement with Time Warner Cable for local HDTV carriage? I receive your signal quite well with a Dish 6000 and an over the air antenna, but there are others on the forum who rely on cable. For those who have seen your signal, it looks quite nice.:D

Jim

P.S. In advance of the inevitable complaints about the content of Kingpin, consider this one early vote in favor of showing the program. I plan on watching the first couple episodes and making a decision based on the quality of the writing and acting, rather than complaining about it before it even runs.

Originally posted by JimboG
...but there are others on the forum who rely on cable...

Like me. I understand how stunningly unpleasant it must be to actually negotiate with Time Warner, but there are quite a few of us who are firmly in the grasp and control of said empire.

I'd be willing to throw in a round of Happy Meals (tm) for your entire legal department if y'all can knock it out in the next few months.

Mmmmm. Fries.

Gentlemen, it is 5pm EST in Knoxville 1/10/03. I am watching WVLTDT on channel 182 comcast. CBS HDTV WOOOHOOO!!!!!

Any Info on OTA Towers for Networks. What power are they running?

CBS did not broadcast "HACK" and its other hd programs in hi-def friday night but those could have been pre-hdtv reruns?? I am crossing my fingers for the Titans/Steelers game!!!!

The Hi-Def finally kicked in with 5-6 minutes to go in regulation.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Titans win!!!!!!

Hi Guys,
This thread has got me thinking about HDTV again. I found the CM-4228 for $62.60 delivered from these guys: http://www.spectravox.com/4228.html

Steve's success inb Alcoa is heartening but I live out in a valley in Blount County near Miser Station. Larry has been to my place. I can only get 2 stations via an amplified outdoor antenna on my roof for VHS. These are snowy at best. What are the odds of the ChannelMaster with amplifier to pull in HDTV? I don't mind springing for the parts at $100 but trying to get it mounted at my home will be tough. Any consensus here?

Thanks,
Dave

There is a stand of trees between my house and Sharps Ridge. If the trees weren't there, I could see the ridge, about 12 miles away. Do I need to get out the chainsaw?

Gerald

ps do the Knoxville folks ever get together to ooh and ahh each other's theaters?

I got an email response from Charter Communications that they are testing HDTV in Alcoa and should be rolling it out here in Fair-git "in a few months".

cheers,
Gerald

WVLT needs to get a better feed to the directv uplink. It's not as good as the others stations

Could somebody who is getting HDTV via Comcast Digital Cable care to explain how their pricing works for this setup?

Originally posted by toddytime
WVLT needs to get a better feed to the directv uplink. It's not as good as the others stations

It's hard to believe it could be much worse than the signal they provide to Crumcast.:)

jj5150, their basic service is going up to $46+ next month, was $43+, BTW. You have to buy that and pay box rental, which I think is about $7.95 a month...? It might be going up too. I saw the new rate card at my mom's house. I haven't gotten it yet. I get "antenae service", 2-13 for $7.95 a month, it's going up to $8.50, BTW.

Their base price is so very high. It's a detterant to even considering them for me. Add to that, the analog channels from 40 to 100 look just dreadful and channels 14 to 20 have alot of radio interference. I think HBO is $13+ a month. It adds up quick. I think Comcast is under tremendous competative pressure. Every subscriber who defects to satelite TV costs every remaining Crumcast customer dearly. I'm quite sure there have been numerous defections as rates continue to outstrip inflation rather handily.

I'll proably get satelite TV by summer. I'll proably put up a antenae when the locals do more broadcasting. Comcast looks like the worst option as the chips stand now. Best wishes!

P.S. - Did nobody go see Comcast's HDTV demo at Now A/V about a weekend ago, wasn't it? I didn't have time.

Thanks for the info! I'll probably go the DTV/OTA route myself this summer.

What happened to everyone in San Antonio??? I was reading every post & trying to make up my mind how best to get into HDTV. Have had my 40XBR800 for a little over 60 days now...great set! Live in Live Oak, very close to Toeper- wine and Kittyhawk about 20 miles from the transmitters @185mag heading but unsure what the signal strenth will be. TWC is out for HD right now and not too interested in Direct TV. Been reading the Austin,Waco,SA threads but not much to me...where did you all go too???

I'm waiting PATIENTLY for Time Warner to get here on Saturday with the HD box. I have a Mitsubishi WS-55511 integrated set, but Bulverde is too damn far from the Transmitters. I am so jazzed about the Super Bowl in High Definition! I'm betting that Live Oak can get a signal OTA. Have you tried an antenna yet?

I got an email response from Charter Communications that they are testing HDTV in Alcoa and should be rolling it out here in Fair-git "in a few months".


Wohhoooo! Thats means over here in LC we might have Charter HDTV in a couple years!!


Cheers

Andrew B.

Anyone know if KSAT is going to turn on their digital early for the superbowl?? They usually don't turn it on until primetime.....

From what I have read on other threads only the game will be in HD, not the pre or post shows. I cannot imagine KSAT not being on the air...not to do so could be thought of as Self Destruction!!!

Originally posted by Wizard
Anyone know if KSAT is going to turn on their digital early for the superbowl?? They usually don't turn it on until primetime.....

Even though the wildcard games that ABC broadcast were not in HiDef, KSAT broadcast them digitally. So I can't imagine that they wouldn't turn on their HD "early" for the Super Bowl.

Patrick, Wed I decided to forget about OTA for HD and went with TWC. They delivered it about an hour ago so I am all set for the Superbowl! It is really cheaper this way...Gives me several months to see what developes in the hardware area. What I did was to run the HD 3000 into My Denon rec'r and then into the component input of my 40XBR800.just as I have done with the progessive output of my DVD player. New toy and Im gona have fun playing with all this new equipment

The game will definitely be on in HD via OTA and TWC. At least that is the plan.

Can KSAT broadcast in DD 5.1? If they do, TWC said they are not altering the signal so the audio should be DD 5.1.

I hope so!

I'm counting down the hours until TWC hits in the morning! 5.1 DD would be SWEET! Which Denon do you have?

KSAT has a poll on their web page asking if you are going to watch the Superbowl in HDTV-

I'm suprised that many are saying yes-56% right nowhttp://www.clickonsa.com/

Originally posted by Wizard
KSAT has a poll on their web page asking if you are going to watch the Superbowl in HDTV-

I'm suprised that many are saying yes-56% right nowhttp://www.clickonsa.com/

Wow, 100 people in the local area who have HDTVs (or at least think they do;) ). That's a pretty good number, considering how many people even noticed the poll most likely. Don't worry, I've already cast my vote. Thanks for the find, Wizard!

Jim

Jim, I don't think too many people pay attention their site! They never answered my question (to progamming) about how to get listings what is avail in HD on a daily basis. As of 9am today they still show friday's primetime listings...the only thing you willfind in their HDTV section is a news release dated May of 2002! Such is life!

I just got HDTV so that I could watch the superbowl and now I am getting a little concerned about being broadcast OTA.

While watching the KSAT news last night Steve Brown (weatherman) made mention how exited he was about watching the superbowl in HDTV.

I just looked at the guide for tomorrow and it shows KSAT digital NOT coming on the air until after the game. They will show the post game in HDTV but not the game itself, how ironic.

I hope this is an error in the guide, I am really going to be upset if the only show it on TWC. I have a bunch of people coming over just to see this thing in HDTV.

Anybody have a more reliable answer?

Well, the TWC guy just left here a few minutes ago. He said the game WILL BE IN HD. HBOHD looks incredible so far!

I know the game will be in HD but the question is will KSAT here in San Antonio broadcast it over the air....

I don't have cable so my only option is over the air.

I don't think there is any chance whatsoever that KSAT won't have their HD transmitter on for the game. I wouldn't worry about it.

jr

I figure they will carry it since they put that poll on their web site...I hope

Wizzard...What they put on their website has absolutly nothing to do with what they transmit! Just took another lookat the site and just like it was at 9am, friday's Primetime listings are still there, a few more people have voted and the automated items such as temperature updated the site. Bet no one at KSAT will look at he results till monday, if then. No one on the air pushes the fact that you can vote. I sorta look at it as a lot of useless eyecandy! (IMHO)

So far, so good. At least it's transmitting the pre-game show. NO 5.1, DD 2.0. No full screen either, side bars. I HOPE the damn game will be full screen!

Guess everyone enjoyed the Superbowl.. even shows how live HDTV has a lot of growing to do! The one Commercial nearly blew out all speakers.
Problem with my system is that it seems like the TWC 3100HD installed Fri is not compatable (via component cables) with my Sony 40XBR800. The HDTV is great but if Itry to use the component cable output for better PQ I get an 31" 4:3. Since the Sony recognizes wether the input is 16:9 or 4:3 it tells me that 3100 box component output is always in a 16:9 format even if that the channel is 4:3! It is like watching KSAT or KENS when the are not broadcasting a HD signal...those of you with 16:9 sets see this as black bars on the sides but those of us with 4:3 HDTV sets see it as black bars all around the picture. No problem with DVD's since the Sony senses the proper aspect ratio. Only way a seem to over come the problem is to use S-Video connects but this degrades the picture quality. Called TWC but as usual "we can't tell you anything over the phone" After 20 min of getting nowhere I agreed to have another service rep come to the house. Anyone have any ideas???

I am having to toggle between component 2 on my Mitsubishi TV for HD, & S-Video for regular cable. SUCKS. But, HOLY CRAP! The Super Bowl looked incredible! That Bad Boys trailer scared the hell out of everyone!

Great job overall - the 5.1 sound was close to perfect. It was a little annoying when they kept switching back to 4:3 and SD for some of the cams, but that was a small fraction of the time. CBS had the same problem as well with their game coverage. I assume they were just a little short on the HD cameras... :)

The only other major problem was the aforementioned sound leveling problem on a few of the commercials. That was really bad.

Now if only they could rent out that HD crew for some Spurs games... :)

Patrick, I am having the same problem with my 40XBR800. Apparently the TWC 3100HD outputs only a Digital 16:9 format on its component cables wwhich reduces the 4:3 screen to a 31" diag. Bummer! Had 3 techs out but nothing they can do about it. Have to use S-Video for everthing but HD. Got approval to take it back but ???? Undecided right now

Seeing as there's very few programs actually in HD, I guess we need to get used to it. What other choices do we have? I can't get ANY OTA here in Bulverde, too many hills & miles. Maybe I could convince the Wife to sell the house & move to the Southside? Uh, maybe she won't go for that!

Originally posted by Patrick TX
Seeing as there's very few programs actually in HD, I guess we need to get used to it. What other choices do we have? I can't get ANY OTA here in Bulverde, too many hills & miles. Maybe I could convince the Wife to sell the house & move to the Southside? Uh, maybe she won't go for that!

C'mon man, the reception is great on the Southside! Besides, you guys can't get any decent tamales way up north in Outer Kerrville.:D

Just kidding. Patrick, which HD channels does TWC offer way up in Bulverde?

Jim

Yea! One way to look it is that it's only $10/mo more to rent their box ($30 Instal) and get digital service. To get it over the air is $500 +or- a few$$$. I watch a lot of PBS, CNN, Nat. Geo., DIscovery Spurs etc, none of which are avail on cable in HD for the next few weeks, months or more! The cable box is Just a toy awaiting further progress by the TV industry. Maybe the success of the Superbowl in HD will be noticed by those who can make a difference and speed things up a little. Judging from the lack of post game enthusiasm (pro or con HD) in the media or in these forums I have a feeling we are going back to sleep on it some more. I feel that the whole affair was kinda herky jerky demonstrating that HDTV (live at least) has a long way to go.

I have an integrated tuner in my Mitsubishi, but cannot lock in. As far as TWC goes, it's CBS, ABC (primetime), HBO, & Showtime. No West coast feeds either, which SUCKS!

My e-mail from Charter this week claims that they will roll out HD cable *this quarter*, with the first offerings to be HBO HD and Discover HD theater. We'll see...

Larry

NBA All Star Game on Time Warner channel 156 in HD! WooHoo!

Patrick, where did you get your info? After the last 2 days of scrambled pics and jumbled sound from KSAT(112) I was going to pack up the converter and give up for a while at least until PBS comes on line. Now I may just hang in there! KENS (155) comes in fine, don't have HBO or Showtime.

I asked a CSR (who didn't know), & she emailed the HD guy. She left me a voice mail with the info yesterday. I have been having good luck with ABC, no dropouts. I was not getting any LFE during Alias though.

I'm in an apartment complex by the corner of Huebner and Blanco, north of 1604, that uses SBC/Direct TV instead of Time-Warner cable. All who subscribe get local channels on a splitter originating from a community antenna. Any guess if this local channel feed from the community antenna connected to a HD Receiver would do for OTA reception? The local channel reception is decent, although not spectacular. Not sure how that will translate to the HD signals.

Here is an e-mail update I received from one of the TWC-SA technical staff about the latest HD happenings:

The nbc issue is currently tied up with national negotiations between us and clear channel. However, we are technically ready on our end.

ESPN will not even be available until approx april 10th.

BTW, the entire nba all star weekend event will be on (I believe, channel 156) in HD

A more complete update will be available by the end of the month. I will post it then.

This quarter, huh? Not much time left on that one... but, Discover HD, I'm drooling....

Cheers

Andrew B.

I picked up a Zenith HDV420 at CC and got it fired up late Friday night. My first idea for an antenna didn’t work (see previous post). Since it was late and I just had to see Leno in 1080p, I went to the nearby Lowes and ended up with a Magnavox MANT-400 set-top antenna with a built-in amp, which ran about $40.

As it turns out, I was able to get NBC, CBS, ABC, and the two Spanish stations right away, and after a while I got all of them to a decent signal strength. I could not get Fox/KABB 29 at all. Should Fox be a problem for me to pick up? (I live ½ mile north of 1604 and Blanco.) I plan to get a Silver Sensor but want to know if that would get me more stations or just solidify what I already have. Thanks.

Where did FOX DT go? My FOX 43 (standard UHF) is ok, but no digital for a week or so!!!

Steve

I don't seem to be getting a digital signal either although my channel guide say it's WTNZ-DT. It seems to be the regular analog signal with the ghosts etc. Even when I was receiving the signal it never did appear as a widescreen picture, and since it's not HDTV I've crossed Fox off my list of signals that I even care about.
Larry

My Fox is gone as well. I heard that comcast has all local Knoxville HD channels ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, & FOX available and an exclusive. Fox turned off their HD sugnal about the same time comcast picked it up. Is it possible CBS, PBS, & FOX will not transmit an HD signal free via OTA but through comcast only? Has anyone heard how the CBS HD tower is coming and if PBS is coming to Knoxville in HD anytime soon?

I do not have comcast HD so I cannot confirm. I have Directv with an HD antenna in my attic. I still get ABC, and NBC in HD.

man if they do that that is such BS

Finished setting up an outside antenna yesterday in Fair Oaks Ranch. Needed the pre-amp to get a signal. Now I'm 80-90% for the big three.

The only problem I'm having is a severe lip synch on WOAI NBC during Law and Order last night. Anyone else having this problem?I'm using a Dish 6000.

Originally posted by tsts
Finished setting up an outside antenna yesterday in Fair Oaks Ranch. Needed the pre-amp to get a signal. Now I'm 80-90% for the big three.

The only problem I'm having is a severe lip synch on WOAI NBC during Law and Order last night. Anyone else having this problem?I'm using a Dish 6000.

NBC has been pretty unreliable in my eyes. Sometimes they remap, sometimes they don't. and I've had lip synch issues with them too (using a Sony HD200). I didn't watch them last night. Were they remapped or on 58.1?

What antenna and preamp did you get? and where? I'm looking to get an outdoor antenna.

They were on 58.1. Following JimboG's recommendation here I am using a Channel master 4248 and a CM 7777 pre-amp. Got them from Warren Electronics. Set-up was a breeze.

The folks at Fox are having equipment trouble, nothing more.

Is Warren just online or a local store also?

BTW...my Silver Sensor pegged the meters on my Zenith on the big three just fine (with no amp, too), but I still can't get anything from Fox...crap.

Mike,

Warren Electronics is an online store. They have good prices and excellent service. I ordered my Channelmaster 9251 rotator from them.

I don't think you're likely to get a decent signal from KABB (Fox 29/30) anytime soon. They are broadcasting from only 300' up their ~1450' broadcast tower. This is perplexing, especially considering the fact that their waiver to miss the May 1st, 2002 federal deadline was based on "tower structural improvements" that would allow KABB-DT to use the same tower as KABB analog TV.

You aren't missing too much right now. The local Sinclair stations (KABB and KRRT) are only upconverting their analog signal to digital 4:3 480i. At the network level, the WB has four shows in 1080i. Likewise, Fox has a wide range of sports and filmed programming in widescreen 480p with the occasional 5.1 soundtrack. Unfortunately, only 3 or 4 of the 64 Sinclair stations nationwide bother to transmit HD or ED digital programming.:mad: If you re-position your antenna, you might be able to get KRRT-DT on channel 32. As far north as you are, you have basically no chance of getting KABB-DT. Sorry man.:(

Jim

P.S. tsts, I'm glad your OTA reception gear is working out well for you!

Thanks Jimbo.

By the way, forum viewers, KENS-DT is in the process of repairing a couple of problems; first, we lost a transmitter module, which reduces our power by 50%. We expect a fix on that this week. Over the past weekend and throughout this week we have had a few Flexicoder issues which may have caused your receivers to re-map to 55-1 and back to 5-1 intermittently. That issue should be corrected today, with replacement hardware and a new software revision.

Thanks for your patience!

any idea when FOX will be back up??

No clear idea of when they might return to air. They only have one local engineer and he is overworked.

errr come on man they need to get it together. I think i send them off a letter

Jerry,

Thank you for the heads up! It's always good to hear what's going on at the local stations.:)

Jim

KENS-DT has been offline most of this evening. :(

Gentle viewers,

we've had more than a problem or two, working toward delivering flawless HDTV for the Grammys on Sunday. We think most people won't mind the loss of channel mapping for a couple of days to be sure the picture and sound are just right for Sunday's broadcast.

Truth be told, we're in the middle of an upgrade, and the last component won't be ready until Monday, after the Grammys. So if you don't mind looking for KENS-DT at channel 55-1, we'll be there with HDTV and 5.1 surround audio. I think I have corrected the audio/video sync problem tonight.

I'll check this thread for posts over the weekend to see how y'all pick us up. Thanks for your patience and indulgence.

Jerry,

Do you guys have an estimated start date for 5.1 Dolby Digital sound from KENS-DT? Bob Ross said earlier today that CBS had only passed out new receivers to the top 25 DMAs. Any word on when they might make this available to San Antonio? Thanks in advance.

Jim

EDIT: I'm dumb. I missed the last bit about 5.1 in time for the Oscars. (Note that those are two separate statements. ;) ) Thanks for all the good work Jerry!

I thought Jerry just said they would have 5.1 for the Oscars in his post above yours?

jr

Troy, You asked about the WVLT-DT CBS tower. I see it as I go to work everyday. It has been coming along although a little slow probably because of the weather. I think it has about another 100' to go. The antenna on top of the tower will be a little over 1800' above sea level.
Maybe we'll have CBS HDTV in another month or so. I'm tempted to defect from Directv to Comcast cable. Apparently they offer the east and west coast feeds of HBO and Showtime as well as already have CBS and PBS HDTV as well as ABC and NBC. Directv will never have enough bandwidth to offer everything that is coming down the pike in HDTV such as Discovery channel, ESPN, Cinemax, HDNet Movie channel and additional HDNet channels. Apparently Comcast has no such limitations.
Larry

'Mornin' folks;

we're doing the Grammys on Sunday - but the surround sound will be the same Dolby ac-3 decode we have been doing all along. Maybe I'm the one confused about what y'all are expecting to see as 5.1, since all our HDTV broadcasts from CBS have contained, and we have broadcast, ac-3 surround since we began. I think we mistakenly assumed that our surround was the 5.1 you're hoping to see. (hear!)

Otherwise, do you see and hear us all right? Transmitter still limping, missing a power module, and PSIP is off for the weekend until I get an upgraded computer fast enough to run everything (Monday.)

Thanks for bearing with us as we continue to develop the planet's most expensive science project.

Yea I have been thinking about going back to comcast myself. However comcast cable is very expensive. The cost of HBO and such is like 90 buck a month.

Anyone here in SA pick up "Ed" last night? No joy out here at 1604 / I-35....

I live in the Universal City area and have not seen KMOl for several days....no signal at all. Deltoid's question is the fist time I've seen it mentioned.

The Grammy's looked great. Sounded good too. Good PR as I had several visitors in awe! On my B&K pre-amp it showed as "AC3", and sounded like it too. WoAI appears to have been off the air for the last few days?!

I've noticed all of the 'big three' off for the last few days...I'm guessing it's weather related?

TWC to offer the Scientific Atlanta 8000HD PVR (aka SA 8010 PVR):

Yesterday, I called Scientific Atlanta because I found out that the 3100HD and the 8000 PVR both use the same IR signals which is going to frustrate my macro programming efforts. I was discussing using an IR router with the SA technical rep (which is an effective if pricey solution) when he mentioned that SA had started shipping the HD version of the Explorer 8000 PVR.

So, I just got off the phone with TWC and they confirmed that they will be offering the 8000 HD as soon as they receive them. Unfortunately, she would not comment on when that will be, but the impression I got was that it should be within the next several months. She mentioned that TWC is planning of "advertising it heavily." If the typical sales rep on the phone is already familiar with the marketing strategy, I figure it can't be too far off.

This is terrific news, even if the box doesn't actually record in HD. It will be outstanding new if it does.

Saul

Can you confirm this with a link to product specs of some kind? I just spent a few minutes on the SA website, and on Google, and found no info on a Scientific Atlanta Explorer HD PVR (by the number 8010 or any other number).

I was able to find info on the Explorer 4200HD -- it looks to be an exciting upgrade to the 3100HD, with scaling and selectable scan rates.

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/news/02Dec03-1.htm


Thanks,

Joe

Joe:

Sorry, but like you I have not seen any specs and the SA tech rep really didn't know too much (e.g. whether the box would have firewire or DVI output).

If I learn anything, I will post.

Saul

The 4200HD "include(s) a USB port, an optional DVI HDTV digital interface with HDCP high-bandwidth digital content protection and an optional IEEE 1394 digital interface with 5C copy protection capability." All the features they need to down-rez HD material over the component output.

A better link than the press release is http://www.scientificatlanta.com/customers/subscriber%5Fpdfs/4002571.pdf

One other interesting 4200HD feature -- it downconverts ATSC to NTSC for output to VCRs/PVR's.

I hate to say it, but lacking press releases or product info, I think the rep you talked to may not have known his *#& from a hole in the ground.

Joe

Joe:

I'm pretty sure he knew what he was talking about. I have heard that SA was planning on upgrading the 8000 to handle HD for some time now and it's being reported in other threads. I think I saw one referring to the box being beta tested in one TWC market (maybe South Carolina?).

TWC knows about the 4200 and has stated to me that they're not upgrading to that box.

In any case, you should try to give SA a call. You may have more luck than I did learning information about the box.

Good luck.

Wow...Speak of the devil and this thread suddenly came alive!!!!!!

How many hours a day are HD broadcasts available in Kville? I can't get a signal trying to setup my antenna during the day.

Dave

Dave, I think they're stille just doing evenings, primetime. I think 6 & 10 are stille doing 1/2 power broadcasting...? I'm thinking about putting up an antenae next year when they'll hopefully broadcast 24/7 at full power. Best wishes!

Well GUYS I Spoke with the Head Engineer at FOX and FOx will be back up next WED!!!



WHOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO

I received this word from Scientific Atlanta:


I am not sure why a technical rep at Scientific-Atlanta would be saying that we are shipping an Explorer 8000HD. You are right: we have said we will have an Explorer 8000HD in the future. However, we are NOT shipping the product now and we have not given a timeframe in which it will be shipping. Our current Explorer 8000HD can record HD content... however, it converts it to SD.

Regards,

Peggy Ballard
Vice President-Strategic Communications
Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.

I have asked her to explain what she meant by the last comment -- if this means that 8000HD prototypes presently exist, or if she means that this is what the specs presently call for. I also asked when she thought they would deploy a true HD PVR.

It would seem that the "current" 8000HD has the ability to convert HD to SD -- one of the new features on the 3250HD and 4200HD models.


Joe

Dr. Joe:
Thanks for pursuing this. Her comments are very interesting, both because of the seeming inconsistency and because the rep with whom I spoke seemed pretty sure about it shipping and because the TWC rep was also aware of it (and they typically know very little). But, I suppose we should take her at her word even if others have reported that their TWC market is beta-testing the unit. I just wish they would give us a time frame for release. Although I'm anxious to have a single box to record (SD or HD) and decode HD, I'd certainly be willing to wait a little longer for true HD recording.

Just for my info -- who has reported they are beta testing an 8000HD?

I checked with a friend here in Austin who works for Time Warner (I enjoy referring to s/he as "TWeep Throat"), and s/he said that they are beta testing 3250HD's here in Austin -- and that they have not heard a peep about an 8000HD. S/he also said that it wasn't yet certain that TW Austin would go with the 3250HD -- that they were also considering "other manufacturers" (I asked to be first on the list for getting one if they do).


Joe

Great news..I checked with WVLT the CBS affiliate and they should be transmitting on channel 30 in April. Hopefully by the time the Masters is broadcast in HD. Once they are on, all we need then is PBS Knoxville.

WVLT has stated their HD transmitter will be one of the most powerful in the nation allowing farther out cosumers to get their HD signal and less dropouts.

Please post here when anyone starts getting the HD feed on channel 30 CBS.

Troy

Very frustrating! I cannot find the reference I saw a few days ago to the MSO testing the 8000HD. I thought it was in South Carolina or Arizona or Hawaii. If I can find it again I will post.

I skimmed the hits on the AVS Forum for "8000hd" and the only one I saw was a reference to someone saying that they heard the 8000HD was being beta tested in San Antonio!

Seegmclaughlin's reply on this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=183796)

*grin*

Joe

I forgot to note I also spoke with PBS and they will be broadcasting April 18th. WHOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO



Great news on the CBS. Lets keep working together to push these guys along.


PS Also I would like to start a Knoxville HT group anyone interested.

PS Also I would like to start a Knoxville HT group anyone interested.

I'm all for it!

PM me guys if you are interested.

Realthogue-Jerry Paonessa,

Does Kens have plans to broadcast the HD NCAA basketball games on Friday as many other CBS are doing? I understand that CBS has ok'd all affiliates to broadcast the games on the digital channel while continuing the war coverage on the sd channel.

Thanks
JohnR

John,

I was watching the Texas game this morning in HD. Interestingly, it seemed the HD feed stayed on the game whenever the analog feed would cut to war news.

Yes, I caught the Purdue game there this afternoon. Excellent picture.

JohnR

Any new info about Charter getting HD.

John,
I apologize for not posting a reply to your question on 3/20; Ihope you'll understand we were up to our ears in "alligators."

Stay tuned for more HDTV coverage of NCAA games from CBS:

Friday, 3/28, 6 PM-11 PM, Regional Semi-Final games from the Alamodome here in San Antonio.

Sunday, 3/30, at a time to be determined, the Regional Final game will be fed in HD from the Alamodome. CBS will provide upconverted versions of the CBS Sports Spectacular, featuring the NASDAQ 100 Open beginning at 11 AM, followed at 1 PM by The Road to the Final Four. The game from San Antonio could be as early as 1:30 but may be later.

Next Saturday, April 5, KENS will present the NCAA Final Four in HDTV from CBS at 5:00 PM through 10:00 PM.

Monday, April 7 we will feature the NCAA Men's Championship game from 8:00 PM until conclusion, about 10:30 PM.

That's it from here. Happy viewing!

Thanks Jerry. Enjoyed the broadcast greatly. Picture was excellent!

JohnR

Hello all,
I'm a Newbie to this list so please bear with me.
Just curious, but a few weeks ago, this old Batman fan, tried to record the bad and campy "Return to the Batcave". I recorded off the air so I didn't watch it, but was KENS way off of audio sync. Just wondered if anyone else has been having the same sync problems lately.

Also, not sure if it's KSAT or my equipment, but I'll ask here as a start. I have no difficulty receiving any of the local DTV stations, apart from signal strength, but whe I try to RECORD off my SIRT165 to my JVC DVHS 30K, the firewire shows obvious problems with video sync, and I can't record. I'm trying to determine if anyone else has problems with the KSAT DTV, Channel 48 when trying to record.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE INFO

This is a Great forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris,

Trying to record, eh? I hate to be non-useful, but I don't have any experience with trying to record HDTV. I can say that some of the local broadcasters have at times had audio that was ahead of the video, but I can't comment with any certainty about the stations right now.

As far as recording, have you looked at the HDTV recording section of AVS Forum? They have a lot of good info about D-VHS and computer harddrive recording. Wish I could help you more. Best of luck!

Jim

Jim,
Thanks very much. I'm just starting the search on the site. May take a while.
Cheers,
Chris W.

Chris, you asked,

"... a few weeks ago(I) tried to record the bad and campy "Return to the Batcave". I recorded off the air so I didn't watch it, but was KENS way off of audio sync. Just wondered if anyone else has been having the same sync problems lately."

Actually, we WERE out of sync for a few days on KENS-HD, following a major power changeover here. We installed a flywheel UPS over a weekend, and all our studio equipment was off line for about six hours. When we woke everything up again, some of the hardware was cranky and wouldn't run right; some of the software forgot its more interesting settings, like internal and external delays.

I think we have reconciled the lip-sync problem since then.

As far as recording from KSAT, I'd ask them if they have switched on Redistribution Control in their PSIP. That's just a guess on my part, but if they have, it MIGHT inhibit your ability to record material from KSAT. We have not enabled this feature, and you appear to be able tpo record from KENS-DT just fine, right?

Anyway, thanks for asking, and thanks for your interest in the planet's most colossal science project!

Jerry,
Thanks for the info. Bad movie, cool picture.

I'll check with KSAT about that. I've spoken with JVC and they're mystified about the odd symptoms I'm getting only from KSAT. Samsung has yet to reply.

Things have changed so much in TV since I worked at KENS years ago, but I still have a soft spot for my first TV job! I will say the cameras on the live feeds from the newscasts from KENS are much better than those from WOAI.

Thanks again

FOX HDTV IS UP AND RUNNING

whooooo hooooooooooooooo!

Does our local FOX DT actually passthrough FOX Widescreen? I have never seen it, if so. It is my understanding that all NASCAR races are being presented in Widescreen, but all I am getting so far is pillarboxed 4:3.


Andrew B.

Fox in Knoxville Has NEVER passed the widescreen. Its there they just need to pass it along but they have not done so to date. All other local HD stations are passing the tue HD signal when its available. Fox has not at all. Even their HD primetime programs are not being passed by the local Fox affiliate. Can anyone with an email contact in Knoxville for Fox tell them they are not passing any of Fox's HD signals in widescreen?
They are in other Fox affiliates such as Atlanta.

They may not know how..Its new to them as well.

Still waiting for CBS to go HD in Knoxvile...

I saw on Antennaweb.org where CBS is going live on April 18 and PBS on May 1.

Anyone in the know about this? Anxiously anticipating CBS, the king of OTA HD.

Andrew B.

Antennaweb.org now has WVLT initiating HD broadcasting on April 26...

Larry

Yeah- I saw that... delays, delays....

Andrew B.

The weather has not been very cooperative in the last few weeks. The crane is still in place on top of the tower.
Larry

yeah- I was out on I-640 for the first time in a while today- and saw the crane on top of the tower- but.... man, thats a big tower!! Is it just my poor glancing vision, or is that thing really a mammoth!


Andrew

By the way, antennaweb now has a live date of June 1. So much for April. This is really getting annoying. I don't know much about the financial, political, legal, etc. etc. situation, but it seems to me that they have had plenty of time to get this done and are now just dragging their heels. Thank you WBIR and WATE for being light-years ahead of WVLT.

Andrew

Looks like KLRN, channel 8-1 went DT......I checked the channel and they had a HD loop program playing...looked good, I rarely watch it but will be checking it out now. Looks like they plan to have 8-1 through 8-4 eventually.


http://www.klrn.org/AboutUS/DTV.html

Watched it last night and again some this AM. Picture cuts in & out and some pixilation...sure it's TWC signal and not what PBS is feeding them. I have the same problem with their ABC feed, but CBS is great. Wonder why no 5.1?

Did anyone catch the Magic vs Pistons game the other night on 156. NBA TV. PQ was solid and Awesome! Too bad it was a one time deal. It was the best sports event I have seen this year and I never watch any Eastern Conf games

Spent about 2 hours watching Manor House on PBS (TWC ch 108). Hope that is not what we can expect in the future from PBS. Tried calling around to see if it is truely HDTV but no one on the phones (Sat) and TWC tells me that's what "they get from PBS!" It may be digital but I get a better picture with dvds on my new Bravo D1 (DVI 1080i) output.

Well I guess KLRN will be 9-1, I was picking it up on 8-1 the other day.....sorry bout that

I did see some of the game and it looked good(Directv)

Anyone know the status of Fox here in town??

I couldn't pick up KLRN at all yesterday. Is their tower in the same place as the network affiliates' towers?

I called KABB/KRRT a couple of weeks ago and they said both were probably coming on line with the DT portion in mid-summer.

I can't even get OTA lately on KRRT since they're only sending the fibreoptic link to TWC and aren't on air. I was told that's due to their working on the new transmitter configuration, so they can't be on the air. Wouldn't want the engineers (gearing up so we can get DTV) irradiated....

Hope that info helps.

The tower is in same general direction, but not at the Tall Tower farm in Elmendorf where KENS/WOAI and KSAT's are. It's a few degrees (approx 5) in the southerly direction.

Glad to see that KLRN is up and running...I got to see a little bit of the HD demo loop when it first started but in the last week there has been no HD material at all. What happened to the HD demo? At least it was something...Are there any plans to show any HD material in the foreseable future?

Thanks

Well, I still can't pick up anything on channels 8 or 9. I'm up by the corner of 1604 and Blanco. I haven't played with the antenna (silver sensor) figuring I should get some signal at least.

Originally posted by Mike Fenech
Well, I still can't pick up anything on channels 8 or 9. I'm up by the corner of 1604 and Blanco. I haven't played with the antenna (silver sensor) figuring I should get some signal at least.

Mike, KLRN is on a VHF channel, channel 8. The Silver Sensor is an indoor UHF antenna. Try a pair of rabbit ears and see if you have better luck. You'll want to have the ears out and perpendicular to the direction to the KLRN tower down in Elmendorf. Try pointing the rabbit ears roughly east and west.

KLRN is at somewhat modest power (50kW) but they're broadcasting on VHF with plenty of height. You should have a far easier time receiving KLRN than KABB. Let us know if you have any luck.:D

Jim

Is KABB broadcasting their digital signal right now? It is the only one I can't pick up and I only live about 15 miles from the antennae farm (I am in the Woodlake area just northeast of Kirby and south of Converse). All the other channels (KENS, WOAI, KSAT, KLRN plus the two spanish speaking channels) come in great with a strenght of 100. All of this is with an indoor antenna.

Good afternoon Zagor,

When I was talking with the people at KRRT/KABB they said that they'd be going online mid-Summer with the DT signal.
Hope this helps.
Chris Wallace

Well Folks tonight I enjoyed CBS the HDTV king on Channel 30.

I hope all of you are able to enjoy.


Now all we need is PBS and ill be a Happy Camper.

Thanks Darkstar757...I read your note on CBSand had my Sony Hd100 scan for new HD channels and gues what...I picked up PBS and WB in full HD!!!

CBS would not pick up for me..maybe they do not have it running tonight..

Here is what my HD guide states:

6.1 ABC digital CH 26
8.1 CBS digital CH 30 (not gettin yet..)
10.1 NBC digial CH 31
10.2 NBC 480i why are they doing this?
15.1 PBS digital CH 17
15.2 PBS 480i why are they doing this?
20.1 WB digital CH 50
43.1 FOX digital CH 34

Guys..this means Little ole Knoxville is FULL OTA High Definition!!!

Enjoy...

Yup its confirm PBS in HDTV

WHOOOOOO and CBS Chanel 8-1
or 30



Way to GO KNOXVILLE.


Congrats to all the Engineers in Knoxville.


Im very Impressed.

Thanks Uncle Jimbo.

Well, after the wait I cannot tune in CBS, PBS, or the WB. I live in Lenoir City, have a large rooftop directional anntenna pointed at 54 degrees, and cannot get higher than 15 percent signal on CBS. I get 100 percent on ABC and NBC. Is WVLT low power to start?

Andrew

Originally posted by Zagor
Is KABB broadcasting their digital signal right now? It is the only one I can't pick up and I only live about 15 miles from the antennae farm (I am in the Woodlake area just northeast of Kirby and south of Converse). All the other channels (KENS, WOAI, KSAT, KLRN plus the two spanish speaking channels) come in great with a strenght of 100. All of this is with an indoor antenna.

This is the email I got from KABB today:

KABB is broadcasting a low power DTV signal on Channel 30. We are
presently using a temporary antenna that is about 300 feet high at our
tower site near Elmendorf.

We are actively building out our permanent DTV configuration which will
utilize an antenna 1,500 feet high with high power capability. The
completion date is scheduled for mid July. We plan to post progress
reports on our website www.kabb.com

I managed to add WB digital to my list of ABC, NBC, Fox, PAX but can't raise CBS or PBS. I'm in the west end of Oak Ridge with an amplified directional antenna and have 90% signal strength on ABC, NBC. I'm using an Sony HD-200 tuner. Hopefully either low power or intermittent test for PBS and CBS, don't want to have to get a new antenna (it's big enough as it is)

Originally posted by joealtus
This is the email I got from KABB today:

KABB is broadcasting a low power DTV signal on Channel 30. We are
presently using a temporary antenna that is about 300 feet high at our
tower site near Elmendorf.

We are actively building out our permanent DTV configuration which will
utilize an antenna 1,500 feet high with high power capability. The
completion date is scheduled for mid July. We plan to post progress
reports on our website www.kabb.com

Mid July -- that's a decent sounding time frame. Any word on whether they'll pass through Fox's 480p and/or WB's 1080i by that time? Likewise, any word on an agreement with Time Warner Cable in San Antonio? These are the really important questions. Sure, a receivable digital 480i signal would be a bit of an improvement over NTSC, but real EDTV or HDTV is where it's at!

Jim

currently

CBS and PBS are brodcasting in low power untill June 1st when they go full power.

currently

CBS and PBS are brodcasting in low power untill June 1st when they go full power.

Thank you Darkstar- I do indeed hope they go full power on June 1.

Andrew

All,

This is bugging the hell out of me.

The KENS-DT channel has an annoying tint of green. Assuming it's not just me or my electronics here at home, has this been discussed with anyone already?

-mf

Originally posted by Mike Fenech
All,

This is bugging the hell out of me.

The KENS-DT channel has an annoying tint of green. Assuming it's not just me or my electronics here at home, has this been discussed with anyone already?

-mf

Are you talking about all the time or just on the upconverted stuff? I always thought the upconverted commercials had too much green in them but didn't notice it on the actual HD stuff. I haven't been watching much tv lately though.

jr

Mike,

this is the first I have heard of a green tint in our DTV signal. I regret that I am in Dallas for the weekend on vacation, but I promise to check into the greenies as soon as I get in on Tuesday. When did you notice the problem?

anyone live in the Tri-Cities area? (Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol)

if so, any OTA HDTV signals available here?

any help would be appreciated!

www.antennaweb.org will tell you what you need to pull in HDTV signals in tri-cities

I'm wondering how they could be broadcasting at all even under low power since the crane is still in place on top of the tower, and there doesn't appear to be any antenna in place yet atop the tower. By the way this is a very big tower, and it looks like they are building a 3 sided platform atop the tower which will have 3 small towers on it apparently to hold at least 3 separate transmitters. It is an unusual looking tower. I've tried several times recently to try to scan for the CBS and PBS signal, but as of 2 or 3 days ago was unable to receive them. I get perfect signals on ABC and NBC, but I have no idea what the signal strength is since there is not signal strength meter on my STB.
Larry

I have checked and PBS is running HD all day so all of you should be able to tune it in. They are actually running HD pictures of the Biltmore in NC and other sites around the US. The HD programming only matches the actual analog PBS channel in the evenings otherwise they are playing some sort of HD loop on PBS. As far as CBS goes I have yet to pick it up. Darkstar757 is the only one to claim to have seen it. I do not think they are transmitting yet but if darkstar757 saw it maybe they are running an HD feed.
I also saw the crane still on the CBS tower so maybe they were just testing last Monday night when darkstar757 saw it.

Hey everyone Keep trying to get PBS HD..The signal is there, I had to turn my antenna just a hair and it came in 97%.
I live right off of the cedar bluff exit and use a $15 Jensen HD antenna from Sears..It works great!

CBS


Hey guys I live on Cedar Bluff and I am not lying. i get CBS on channel 8-1 or channel 30.


Im not sure why the rest of you can not see it.


Perhaps someone could call the engineers at CBS and find out what is going on.

As far as CBS goes I have yet to pick it up. Darkstar757 is the only one to claim to have seen it. I do not think they are transmitting yet but if darkstar757 saw it maybe they are running an HD feed.


Folks, there IS a signal on channel 30. My Hughes E86 has a signal meter, and I can lock it in. But I can only lock at a max of 15 percent power- not nearly enough to receive the programming. I also can confirm that I have a friend in Seymour who can tune in CBS.

Same goes for PBS on channel 17. I am also picking up a faint digital signal on channel 23, but have no idea what that is.


Andrew

this jensen $15 HDTV antenna from Sears...is this a tabletop/set-top antenna (like the silver sensor) or a rooftop antenna?

slateef,
The Jenson is a setop antenna. I ran a coax cable to my attic and have this Jensen antenna sitting in my attic and I get all Knoxville HD channels above 90%..This antenna looks like rabbit ears on a base and it also has a fine tune knob. Sears sells these for all thier HD sets for OTA reception. I cannot have a large outdoor antenna in my neighborhood. Luckily this works great. The guy at Sears told me they sell a ton of them and had no problems with OTA HD reception. Hey they use it for their store displays..

I still cannot get CBS though. I may have to move it some.

Also the sound on PBS HD for me has much static and I'm hoping its because they are transmitting at low signal. Does anyone else have this sound issue on PBS HD?

Its been like this from the moment I have had it.

thanks for the info troy, i might just try that one!

Jerry/JR,

I've noticed this on all KENS's HD programing for as long as I've had my receiver, which has been at least 3 months now. I'd have to look at the upconverted signal again to see about it. In contrast, the ABC and NBC HD OTH feeds are fine.

To clarify, the tint seems just slightly off, not enough to make any other color appear green, but very noticable in how it influences the color balance.

Also, the more resolution in the feed, the more noticable the problem is. Watching the NCAA regionals back in March was very annoying.

-mf

Mike,

As I mentioned in my earlier reply, yours is the first notice I have seen about a green tint. I promise we will get looking at it first thing in the morning. Thanks for the info.

I have to echo Andrew. I am in Maryville and I am using an outside OTA from Radio Shack through my Hughes E86. I get CBS at 18-21% on the meter and PBS at 0-3%. I get ABC and NBC at 100 percent. I am getting a clear signal on WB and Fox with signal strength above 60%. Come on PBS and CBS "more power". Let me know if anyone around Alcoa and Maryville is getting better signals.

I'm finally getting every HD OTA at 90% or higher...But I could never get all channels like CBS at the same time. I would turn my antenna one way and I get ABC and NBC at 90+% and 0 on CBS and PBS. I would turn it more and get CBS and PBS and no FOX or NBC. So I kept turning my antenna little by little with the wifes help telling me where the signal strength was for each channel and finally found a spot where all channels come in above 90%. So if you have the means to turn your HD OTA antenna any I would try it and see if it makes any difference. It did for me...

Originally posted by JimboG
Mid July -- that's a decent sounding time frame. Any word on whether they'll pass through Fox's 480p and/or WB's 1080i by that time? Likewise, any word on an agreement with Time Warner Cable in San Antonio? These are the really important questions. Sure, a receivable digital 480i signal would be a bit of an improvement over NTSC, but real EDTV or HDTV is where it's at!

Jim

I didn't ask about TWC-SA, but here's what he said about the rest:

"We plan to pass through both networks in their native formats but it
will not happen for several months. For the immediate future KABB and
KRRT will broadcast converted NTSC.

Once we finish both transmitter projects, we plan to rebuild the studio
infrastructure that will enable network pass-thru. I am unable to
announce a firm timetable for completion of that studio project."

Sounds like they are in no hurry.

Here is the latest info I received from TWC-SA about additional channels:

We had anticipated having deals in place for additional HDTV channels by this time. Due to some contractual issues, these launches have been delayed. We expect to have deals with ESPN HD, Discovery HD and HDNets (and perhaps also with InDemand's HD channel). We have not determined yet the exact packaging or pricing but it should be very affordable. Technically we are ready, i.e.. we have room on the network to carry these services and the necessary equipment. I would like to be able to give you a more definite launch date, but since we have no control over the companies offering these new services we can only keep on the pressure and hope that it happens soon. I would expect a worst case time line to be September-October, but I missed on my first prediction so don't hold me to it. In the meantime, we are testing a new HD box with significantly enhanced features that will make the 5 channels we do offer much more enjoyable.

Originally posted by joealtus
I didn't ask about TWC-SA, but here's what he said about the rest:

"We plan to pass through both networks in their native formats but it
will not happen for several months. For the immediate future KABB and
KRRT will broadcast converted NTSC.

Once we finish both transmitter projects, we plan to rebuild the studio
infrastructure that will enable network pass-thru. I am unable to
announce a firm timetable for completion of that studio project."

Sounds like they are in no hurry.

Joe,

Thanks very much for the heads up! This is the first time that I've heard local Sinclair employees even admit that HDTV/EDTV pass-through might be a good thing that they should strive for. Going full power at their full authorized antenna height will be a good first step for reception. Hopefully it will take relatively little improvement to the cabling and switching in the studios to upgrade both KABB-DT and KRRT-DT to 1080i and 480p pass-through capability.

It would be really nice if they could complete the studio upgrade in time to broadcast widescreen 480p football games this coming fall. Perhaps we can call in and try to get the general manager or some of the sales guys to commit to the next NFL season as a reasonable target date for 480p pass-through. I've got to admit, I would be far more understanding if someone tried to convince me that Sinclair was making a good faith effort to get on the air with adequate power and pass through all of the signal quality that Fox and WB offer them. I mean, I really couldn't fault them for truly unforeseeable delays due to equipment, engineering, weather etc. At the same time, there's enough time between now and the Fall that they should be able to get high power 1080i/480p signals on the air in time.:D

Jim

I did as Troy suggested but no luck. I can't find a spot where I can get CBS or PBS to go beyond, say 25% signal strength. Maybe it is a distance from the tower thing. Again, anyone else in Maryville / Alcoa area getting a lock on CBS or PBS.

I live in Alcoa and get all the available channels with an outside antenna and amplifier combination. There has not been much on PBS HDTV or CBS recently during prime time, or my signal is not always strong (I haven't check strength on Samsung receiver). The other night all channels were coming in quite nicely. I live near the SuperWalmart.

Steve

I'm now able to receive CBS and PBS. I did watch JAG last night, and part of a demo loop from PBS WSJK-DT 17.1. The demo loop from PBS looked like it had pretty high resolution, but JAG looked no better than DVD quality although it was in 16X9. The WVLT-DT CBS signal is not coming from the new tower since the crane is still in place on top of the tower. Apparently they are going to be broadcasting from the new tower in full power soon and plan to move the analog channel 8 transmitter to the new tower as well. So far I have been unable to receive WB digital. I think it is in another direction than the other transmitters, and I do not want to move my antenna just for that one signal.
Larry

Well guys I think with all the buzz with HDTV going on In knoxville isnt it about time we start up a group.



Well any how if you guys are interested PM me and we can setup a meeting this sunday at Borders by westown mall.



Cheers
Brandon

Darkstar:

A local HDTV group is a good idea. Count me in. I live in Farragut. I have a UHF antenna ready to install on my roof, but am waiting for CBS HD broadcasts to be confirmed at full power (soon I hope). Unfortunately, my direct line of sight to the antennas on Sharps Ridge is occluded by a 2-story house up the hill from my house, so I'm not certain I'll be able to get *any* signal...

Larry

(My HT description is at: http://hometown.aol.com/larrychief/myhomepage/photo.html)

Well everyone how does Monday night sound around 6 or 7pm at Borders book store?

All input or suggestions are welcome.

Sounds good to me. So which will it be, 6 or 7? :D

how about 6?

I will be there!

6pm...I'll have to get a "kitchen pass"...but will try to make it also...

Larry Allard

For those who have not seen it, the business section in today's (May 30) News-Sentinel has a nice article about the new WVLT tower construction. It's about 3 weeks from full completion, but is apparently broadcasting already, although it was not clear whether at full power or not...

Larry

Chris Baker, the general manager of WVLT said that the signal we are now receiving over the air is not coming from the new tower. He said the signal we're now receiving is a test, and that they will switch to full power when they begin broadcasting from the new tower.
Their low power test already looks good on my monitor.
Larry

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Mike Fenech
All,

This is bugging the hell out of me.

The KENS-DT channel has an annoying tint of green. Assuming it's not just me or my electronics here at home, has this been discussed with anyone already?

-mf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike, I spent some "quality time" with our Flexicoder last week and over this past weekend, and found no evidence of a green bias on our HD programs. I do notice that CBS appears to use a color bias in some of their productions to evoke a mood for the specific scene, but not everywhere.

In contrast to this, last night during the 10 PM news our HD equipment began a sort of flashing symptom that caused red flashes and an apparent loss of sync timing intermitttently. It took a full reset of the Flexicoder to clear the problem. I usually take the transmitter off the air for the few minutes it takes to clear this up so viewers don't have to experience too much noise and "green slime." After last night's reset everything appears to be working normally.

Are you still seeeing an overall green cast to our HD programs?

Darkstar, Andrew et al...

I'll be able to meet for just a short time starting at 6pm at Borders tonite...I have an interviewee to host at dinner, but will push that back to 7pm. Hope to see several folks there!

Larry

Sounds good Larry.




I dont think the meeting will be too long. We should just meet and discuss what wwe would like to do further.



Ps guys where in Borders should we meet up at?

Guys. I will not be able to make it tonight- my apologies- but please keep me informed- this is something I really want to be involved in......


Andrew

I guess we need to have a bit better plan the next time...I hung around, in the coffee shop and around the front entrance until about 6:20, and accosted a number of potential AVS single guys, then split. I had to leave at no later than 6:30 anyhow, to get to my dinner engagement. I propose we do a "virtual meeting" sometime soon, where we get together in a chat room at a given time. It might be the best way to get started, until we get a good core group together.

I've done this before, but someone else has always set up the chat room. It's pretty easy on AOL, but I'm no expert doing it across ISPs. Any suggestions?

Larry

weel guy i could setup a irc channel and we can chat there.


Iet me know if you guys can do irc???

Well, personally, i'm a Mac guy...so what the heck is irc? :-)

Larry

Thanks for the reply, Jerry. I've been out of town for a few days. I'll give it a good look tonight and tomorrow night and let you know.

Jerry:

Yes, the tint is still off balance. Was very obvious on the the show 'Hack' last night.

-mf

I watched about 15 minutes of Hack last night and didn't notice any green tint problem. Like I said before, the only slight green tint I've seen is on the network upconverted commercials. All the HD stuff has looked good to me.

jr

Mike: I have not noticed any green tint either. I'm using a Samsung 150 and have recently only had trouble with the weak signal.....no tint problem. Perhaps it is your equipment?

I dunno guys. I'll stick with what I said before - the other network HD broadcasts (ABC and NBC) look fine. Equipment used is a Zeinith HDV420 and a Sony 36XBR400, the latter I got ISF'd by Louis Carliner back in Tampa two years ago.

I'm certainly not expecting Jerry to bend back wards anymore just because of my complaint, since I'm the only person here to have voiced one. So I guess I'll just drop it. Thanks anyway, guys.

IRC is, IIRC (sorry couldnt resist) Internet Relay Chat.

I confess to never having actually used it. There appears to be a faq at http://www.irchelp.org. Looks like time to get familiar.

I agree meeting in the virtual world is probably the best bet until we build some interest. I notice that there is a forum dedicated to home theater meets here. Maybe we should start a thread there?

Gerald

Does anyone know if the Knoxville stations are broadcasting digitally at full power? I live about 45 miles from the towers. I was hoping for something HD on Charter cable, but that could be awhile. If most are transmitting at full power, it might be time to install a roof antenna.

WBIR-DT on RF channel 31 is operating 12 hours or so per day at 420 kw ERP. This is 50% of full licensed power.

WATE-DT on RF channel 26 is operating 18 or so hours per day at 300 kw ERP. This is roughly 33% of full licensed power.

WTNZ is operating probably at least 12 hours per day at 460 kw ERP. This is 100% of full licensed power.

The digital counterparts to channel 8 and channel 15 (PBS) are still operating into a standby antenna at very low power. Their main antenna is undergoing testing/commissioning this week.

WBXX has a DTV construction permit for RF channel 50, I'm not sure of their status.

WPXK is on at 18 kw ERP. (operating hours unknown)

My guess is that in a favorable location with an outside antenna you should be able to receive WBIR, WATE, WTNZ at present and the digital counterparts to channel 8 and 15 later this year when they go into their main antenna. You might also be able to receive signals from Chattanooga. All reception is subject to local terrain obstructions. Around here that means that you will be able to view stations further away if you are on a hilltop rather than in the valley. You could use NTSC reception as a guide. For instance, if you can get a half-way watchable signal on channel 43 NTSC then its a very good bet that the digital signals from the same tower will also be viewable. WBIR-DT, WATE-DT, WTNZ-DT, and WTNZ (NTSC ch43) are all combined into the same transmitting antenna.

Please know that the coverage area of a station operating at 50% power is very nearly the same as that same station operating at 100% power.

The FCC provides a site for license inquiries that you might find interesting. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio2?x=tvq.html

BTW, if current regulations hold, all DTV stations will have to provide 18 hours or more transmission time starting April 2004 depending on the operating hours of their NTSC counterpart.

Well, I have seen nothing out of the ordinary (color-wise) on KENS or any other DT signal....

However, can anyone enlighten me on this peculiarity: I have DirecTv, and I also have a nice big Yaggi on the roof for my DT reception. So, I flip on KLRN, Channel 9, and watch a little bit of PBS (News w/ Jim L.); now I switch to 9-1, the digital channel, and I have something entirely different (tonight was a great special on Clint Eastwood's career). Any idea as to why 9 and 9-1 are showing different things? I noticed this last week, and even now, after the Eastwood special, the two channels have different programs on. Which is which?

Anyone???

Thank you PatrickT, that was very informative. I think I'll try one of the new STB's like the Zenith HDV430 when it arrives in the next couple of months with a medium directional antenna. I'll let everyone here know how it goes in case they also lived in the Madisonville/Sweetwater area and wanted digital TV.

Can anyone here comment on the picture quality of Time Warner HD vs. Dish (HBO, SHO) or OTA (KENS, KSAT)?

I'm currently using Dish Network, but TWC recently started being offered in my neighbourhood. I'm thinking of switching.

Deltoid,

One KLRN channel is the standard local feed the other is the Hi-Def feed. The channels have varied over the last 3 weeks, but now 9-1 is the Hi-def and 9-2 is the local feed.

tsts,
I have Time Warner and OTA. Direct comparisons are possible for CBS and ABC in Hi-def and I believe the OTA has a slight advantage in quality- but to my eyes it is a very slight advantage. I am happy with both.

SUCCESS!! I was finally able to pull in CBS for the first time tonight. Obviously they have moved to the testing phase on their new tower, as I was able to go from only a 15 percent signal to a 58 percent signal. I say testing because every 20 or 30 seconds I would get a short drop to 0 signal and a brief loss of picture. But what I did get to see of "Hack" in HD looked pretty darn good.


Andrew B.

Saw earlier on in this thread that someone mentioned Austin folks getting some of the SA Hi def stations or something like this. Is this true? If so where in Austin are you and what kind of antenna and mounting is being used. I'm in South Austin so maybe a big outside antenna may not be such a bad idea if this is possible. I'd think the curvature of the earth and sheer distance would put me way out on this. What about San Marcos getting them? I've yet to take my TS-160 down there and pulg it into my sisters tv to check.

Driver

Anybody know why I was getting a perfect picture from WVLT-DT until a week or two ago, and now since they apparently finished the tower and took the crane off the tower I get frequent picture and sound dropout about every 15-20 seconds in effect making the station unwatchable?

I was getting all the stations except WB. I have a very large highly directional UHF antenna mounted in the attic. I wonder if the signal was initially coming from their old antenna over at the original channel 26 site and now is switched to the new tower more to the west. It could be a directional problem or is it just due to low signal strength from a test signal? Someone said that it was a test signal because it dropped in signal strength every 20 seconds or so. Why would that be true? Unfortunately my receiver doesn't have a signal strength meter. I don't have a rotator on my antenna, and I guess I just don't want to have to go up there in the hot attic to try to reorient the antenna with all the problems that entails especially if they are going to go to full power soon. Does anybody know?
Larry

Hey Larry



Im not sure what the problem is but I live on cedar bluff and Im having the same issue. I think that they are still testing because CBS is not full power yet. Im not exactly sure what is causing the sound and video dropouts. I just wanted to let you know that you are not the only one having this issue.



Cheers
Darkstar

Just got hooked up with Time Warner. Happy to report that the TWC signal PQ for KENS and KSAT is at least as good as OTA, but 5.1 audio for KENS is not as good as that from KCBS that I get off Dish. Also, its interesting to see that the TWC signals have higher color levels than the OTA signals.

What's the latest on TWC adding WOAI- HD?

Originally posted by tsts
Just got hooked up with Time Warner. Happy to report that the TWC signal PQ for KENS and KSAT is at least as good as OTA, but 5.1 audio for KENS is not as good as that from KCBS that I get off Dish.

Not all the CBS stations are equipped to receive the 5.1 from the network. It's mostly the top 30 markets that have that capability now. I'm pretty sure KENS does not have the ability to receive 5.1 at this point. I'm not sure the station people are aware of this either. Even though KENS is sending a signal that looks like 5.1 it's not really.

Realthogue, do you have any more info on this? I know when CBS first started sending 5.1 you thought you were all set but it turned out you weren't. Is there any progress there?

jr

Just noticed that TWC is airing the Discovery Channel in HD on Channel 130! Just a test or what? Nice PQ but hard to tell about sound

Paul,

It is on for good. It was supposed to be turned on this am @0400 but was not. I called to remind them and it was on within the hour.

I guess they are at full power now or for whatever reason the dropouts are no longer occuring. I noticed it has been this way for the last two nights.
Larry

There is no longer any shortage of HDTV programs to watch here in Knoxville. We have ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, WB I guess (I don't get it here), and soon to be FOX. With Directv we also get Discovery HD, ESPN HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, HD PPV, HD special events, HBD HD, and Showtime HD. I subscribe to Cinemax so maybe soon we'll also get Cinemax HD.
Its seems like not too long ago all we could see was HBO and the demo loop on Directv.
Larry

I am trying to decide whether to go Comcast HD or attempt the antenna in the attic route. I live about 7 miles from Sharp Ridge out Alcoa Highway.

Anybody out there on Comcast HD and happy with it?

If I go OTA route do any of you have a tuner suggestion?

It would seem paying Comcast $8 per month rent is not a bad idea. It would take 5 years to catch up to what a hd turner would cost.

I thought the cable HD STB (Motorola 5100) rental was more like $10 per month or $15 plus taxes if you want additional digital (but non-HD) channels.

Sam's Club (East) had OTA Samsung SRT-150's (or 151's ?) last weekend for under $300. I can't comment on whether this is a good STB or not. I think Circuit City has a OTA Zenith STB at a much higher price. I have an RCA DTC-100.

If you can get channel 43 NTSC at your location with a barely passable signal you should get OTA HD okay. Channel 43 NTSC shares the same antenna with the digital counterparts of channel 6, 10, and 43. The channel 8 and PBS antennas are nearby.

Can you bail out of Comcast without additional fees? (probably)
Can you return the SRT to SAM's if you don't get good results? (don't know)
Can you return the Zenith to Circuit City if you don't get good results? (probably)

You might consider renting for a while until the OTA STB's drop in price. There is a FCC digital tuner mandate that if allowed to stand will drive down the price of OTA digital tuners over the next few years. The ideal tuner would have NTSC, ATSC, and digital cable (QAM) ready to go.

Thanks for your input, it gives me several things to ponder.

I do not know the exact charges of Comcast. I am planning on making the move mid August just before the new season of tv starts and of course SEC football on CBS.

I just thought the rent route would be a good alternative now with price drops and anticipated hardware improvements coming down the pike over the next several months.

I am still sitting on the fence...

The real $64000 question for us is: how many NCAA and NFL football games can I expect to see in HD? I'd love it if NASCAR would broadcast in HD, but it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon. Outside of football season, I don't really watch much TV.

If there is enough football (especially UT) available in HD, then I am probably going to go for it.

Gerald

What digital signals are now 24-7????

TWC-SA will be bringing me a new Pace micro HD box with active DVI in the morning! This is one sweet little unit, & has component pass through as well. I will post some thoughts after I play awhile. It's GOT to be better than the 3100HD! I saw one at Bjorns today, and demo'd it with a 60" GW LCD. The DVI looked pretty dang good. I have a Pioneer Elite Pro-630HD W DVI, and it probably won't look as good due to being a CRT.

Patrick,

You haven't heard anything about the hi def DVR that TWC's supposed to offer, have you? Back in July the TWC customer service reps were saying it could be out in September, but I haven't heard from them since.

Jim

I picked up an Explorer 8000 DVR for my bedroom tv a month ago and am using the hell out of it. I must say though that it has many quirks and foibles that still need to be worked out before they bring out an HD model. Don't be surprised if it's not out by the end of this year.

jr

Can someone please post an update regarding signals in Knoxville/Maryville? My TV arrives Wednesday 27th and I am curious. I assume since everyone quit posting that everything must be wide open now.

It says online that I should be able to get them with a small multidirectional antenna except for WB.

I live in Maryville and used the antennaweb site to find out I needed the smallest antenna. Is this pretty accurate?

The antenna's that "antennaweb" suggests are usually correct; however, if you are in the bottom of a valley or in a "concrete canyon" you'll need more antenna. If I had to choose an antenna I'd get a small directional antenna and mount it outside if at all possible. From Maryville all of the Knoxville stations will be in the same general direction.

Because channel 43 (NTSC) shares the same antenna as WBIR-DT and WATE-DT I suggest that you use NTSC reception of channel 43 as a clue. Some ghosting can be tolerated but you should have a noiseless signal (no snow). The ATSC receiver will correct for some ghosting but too poor a signal will cause picture freezing.

In general, Blount county should have no problems receiving any of the DTV stations from Knoxville. I would bet that you can get WB okay also.

A surprise for me was that I can get a stable signal from WB but I can't get a watchable NTSC signal due to ghosting. This from NE Knox county.

The minimum operating time for DTV stations is 12 hours per day. Most are on for longer times and all are on during the evening. Minimum operating times increase to 18 hours April of 2004.

Well, the Monkey (contract installer) for Time Warner came by Saturday to "install" this box. He stood there and looked at my equipment rack & shook his head! Then, he whipped out a component cable to install the DVI box. "NO, no, NO!" I said, "where's the DVI cable?" He said, "do what?". I told him what it looks like, & he went out to the truck and returned with one. I ended up installing the darn thing. It's a pretty cool little unit! I am using the DVI to my Elite 630HD RPTV. The analog signals look like crap, as expected. The HD looks better than component, quite a bit better. It also allows the digital channels aspect ratios to be manipulated. No more switching inputs between HD & cable like on my 3100HD. It also has optical AND coax audio outputs. Very small box as well, and BLACK not grey. I am still monkeying around with it, but so far, so good. As far as the Explorer 8000 HD box, no news yet. My current 8000 is acting up. It won't fast forward HBO recordings without locking up. Everything else works fine. CRAZY.

Thanks for the reply, I just purchased a Samsung SIRT T351 Tuner at Sears. I am looking forward to seeing the DVI in action!

I'm just curious, do they stop broadcasting over the air in Knoxville late at night and you get "NO SIGNAL"? All I am getting right now is WB-20 at 12:42am.

The transmitters use a considerable amount of electrical power. Until there is an sizable audience to support this cost, there is no economic justification for duplicating the programing that is also available from other sources i.e. over the air NTSC, etc. Between 1AM and daylight the potential DTV audience is very small.

BTW, current regulations mandate an increase to 18 hours or so next April.

So does this means that the reason it says no signal right now is they shut it off until a certain time of day? What time does WBIR, etc come on? I noticed that WB20 was on all night.

WBIR-DT operates from noon until the end of Leno. So far as I know, WATE-DT operates from 6AM or so until midnight. I think ch43's digital operates about 12 hours per day.

Regardless, these hours increase in April.

WB-20 looks like it runs about 24 hours a day. I am getting the signals now, I was a little worried because I tested it out analog in my Bedroom to setup the reciever so everything is ready when the TV gets here today. I am getting a good signal with that Zenith inside on top of the shelf so I should be set.

For those reading in Maryville, the Zenith Arrow shaped antenna works well here for me on one level house.

Where can we find out the HD schedule for our area, they don't seem to be very good at posting what is simulcast online. I assume we can get Smallville tonight in all it's glory?

Thanks for answering all my questions.

I am getting some sound breakup on WB-20. Smallville was the first HD show I sat down and watched! It looked great but toward the end, I started getting some funky sounds out of my Sony sub, and some mild breakup, I checked the signal and it was 8 bars (looks like 10 are the max) I have the new Samsung T351. What does the sound breakup mean? I just noticed that NBC is doing it as well on Law and Order, it was fine, and then all of the sudden, the sub kicked on and started making some distorted noise.

I read somewhere were 100 percent signal was not possible, I assume I am getting enough.

I bought 4 antennas and the little Zenith Arrow shaped one does the best, although I have to turn it to get WB. I wonder if I would do better with another indoor antenna?

Hard to say what is causing signal breakup but fiddling with the antenna is the first step. Antennas like to be in free and clear air.

I'd use the quality of the NTSC signal from ch43 (or for that matter from NTSC 10 or 6) as a clue for antenna orientation. Adjust for minimum ghosting and stable picture. This trick is possible because ch43 shares the same antenna as several of the digital stations.

If I only had the ATSC tuner for reference I'd try to determine where the extremes are as you point the antenna. That is, I would turn the antenna slowly in one direction until the signal starts to breakup then sweep back the other direction thorough the best signal strength until the picture is lost in the other direction. Then the middle of that arc is probably the best antenna orientation even if the signal strength isn't at absolute max.

The receivers really need a "quality" indication instead of a simple signal strength indication.

BTW, I personally like the TitanTV.com site for both TV guides. You can tell the site how you are viewing and get listings for cable, digital cable, OTA DTV etc. The OTA DTV usually is accurate regarding which shows are in HD.

I picked up WPXK 54 PAX tonight with the Zenith indoor antenna. Pretty cool! It says online that I would need a blue antenna code.

Hooray, I finally have all HDTV stations coming in here in Maryville. First, I bought a new UHF Channel Master 4 bow tie OTA antenna which brought in all networks except PBS and CBS. No rotational orientation could get the signal above 30. At this strengh, I recieved a breakup of signal most of the time. I invested in a CM7775 UHF amp and now get ABC, NBC, FOX, WB, and PBS at 100% (on my Hughes E86) and get CBS at 58 - 72%.

I am thrilled, Looks great on my Sharp 9000u HDTV front project and Stewart 100" diagonal screen. The PBS channel looks as good as HDnet. I want more !!

I have notice that CBS has been having trouble with audio breakup (picture is rock solid) this week. Anyone else noticed this?

I am getting the audio breakup as well. I posted the before. I am just using a Zenith indoor antenna. I was able to pick up WPXK 54 PAX with the Zenith indoor antenna by pointing it in the right direction.

They just picked up my Hitachi, now I have to find a new TV.

Ok here is my problem.


I am a current direct TV owner. I just received my new Three LNB dish. I stay in a apartment and when I first got direct TV a buddy of mine helped me install the dish. Well the dish is about one and a half stories up. My bud has moved out of the area and I dont own a ladder. Can someone help me by installing this dish for me. You wont have to do any drilling just placing the dish on the mount. I am willing to pay you for your time and effort.


Please pm me if you know anyone who can help.

Thanks alot
BJ

I installed my first Directv satellite dish several years ago, but the installation of the new HDTV dish with 3 LNBs is more complicated. When I bought the new dish apparently the installation was included because they sent someone from East Tennessee Satellite Company to do the installation, and I was not charged for the installation. The dish must be alligned in 3 different axis to get all 3 satellites. I think it would be very difficult to do an installation without special instrumentation. I would call East Tn. Satellite Co.
Larry Raulston

Are there anymore tennis fans in the area that also love HDTV that have been frustrated by the lack of coverage by WVLT-DT in HDTV. I had been looking forward to coverage of the U. S. Open Tennis in HDTV. All of the CBS portion of the coverage has been publicized to be in HDTV. Unfortunately on the weekends when CBS has the coverage of the tennis our local station is carrying syndicated football games which means we have no access to the HDTV coverage. That's OK and I understand that because that's what apparently pays the bills. Thank goodness the coverage was available on WB 20. I thought it would be nice if WVLT-DT would carry the tennis, but they didn't. I think only a total of CBS HDTV coverage of 11 minutes has been available in Knoxville.

Now tonight when the women's final was televised I was sure that there would be HDTV simulcast on WVLT-DT, but alas I was disappointed again. I had earlier in the week planned to have some tennis fans to watch the HDTV on the big screen. Thank goodness I didn't have guests over to watch the tennis in HDTV. I tried to call the station, but you can't talk to a real person on the weekend. I wonder if someone in the control room just forgot to throw the switch, or if it was just not available on the satellite to the station. I remember from reading other threads from other cities who had network OTA HDTV a year or two ago there were many examples of the same sort of thing happening. It's Deja vu.

Tomorrow is the men's final, and I would like to invite people over to watch it in HDTV. Anyone else frustrated.
Larry Raulston

Well, the U.S. Open Men's final was not in HDTV in Knoxville although we were reminded several times during the telecast that the HDTV simulcast was sponsored by RCA. It was stretched 480i. I guess no one else in Knoxville really cares. It's really strange though that the CBS Sunday Night Movie was in HDTV or at least most of it was. It was if someone at the station forgot to throw the switch. I tried to call them, but they don't answer the phone on the weekends. I glad I didn't have that party for tennis fans to watch the finals in HDTV.
Larry

Larry, I also was very disappointed......


Which leads me to the next issue.....Comcast is no longer carrying the HD feed of the local CBS affil.

No problems all summer but a couple of weeks ago.....no more....


I called Comcast to see what was up and they said they are in Negotiations with Comcast.....

I had no idea there was even an issue....

anyone know whats up? I know most of you all are OTA guys....I have had good luck with Comcast HD until now....


Cipro

I am an OTA guy with a Samsung 351 and a Channel Master 3000 antenna. I am getting CBS ok as well as channel 10 but channel 6 and 42 are not coming in good at all.

I did not think with me being only 7 miles from Sharp's Ridge that I would have a problem. The 3000 is omni directional so I would not think position would be a problem.

The antenna is only about 6 in above my metal topped chimney and I am thick woods. Is that my problem?

Should I purchase a uhf amplifier. the antenna has a built in amp but obviously it is not getting job done.

Are all stations transmitting at full power now?

Well in my looking around, I think I got one of my questions answered. Since I have the Channel master 3000 and it has a cheap built in amplifier, I can't effectively add another one so it would appear that I need to send the 3000 back, order one that is directional and for uhf channels. Then if that does not work, I will need to purchase an amplifier.

The problem with omni-directional antennas is that they are more subject to ghosting than directional antennas. You may have plenty of signal strength but if the signal is very ghosty the receiver will not be able to lock on to the signal. My DCT-100 gives a "weak signal" indication for this condition even though the problem is multipath. If you watch the signal strength indication and find it bouncing all over the place that may be an indication of multipath (ghosting).

You may also find that your omni-directional antenna is not perfectly non-directional. You may find that only a slight repositioning will help some channels (perhaps at the expense of others). Getting the antenna away from the metal capped chimney could help. Antennas work better away from metal and in the free air.

Dense foliage will weaken UHF signals especially when the leaves are wet.
A clue that this might not be a problem where you live is that you can receive ch 10-DT (RF channel 31).

Channel 6, 10, and 43 DTV (RF channels 26, 31, 34) all share the same antenna and so come from the same direction.

I use an old RS antenna that is over 20 years old along with a rotor. I have changed the coax and balun at the antenna and can receive WKOP, WATE, WBIR, WTNZ, and WBXX. I can't get the PAX station. I have to turn the antenna to get WBXX. All the others are pretty much on the same axis. I don't live in a restricted neighbor so antennas are not a problem. Positioning of this antenna was touchy (again multipath) until I lowered the antenna getting it away from some limbs.

Thanks for your response. I think I might get a stronger uhf antenna and put it in my attic and run the cable down trough some closets. Kind of a pain but would appear to be doable.

I figured with all of them being on Sharps Ridge that they were basically all in the same direction.

anyone good with a ladder and directv sat installations


pm me

I also tried to call CBS over the tennis weekend and nothing. What a bummer. I hope they transmit some of the CBS NFL football games. I know Directv has the exclusive but if its a national game and our affiliate picks it up we can get it in HD.
I have been unable to get WB lately. Anyone else lose the WB signal?
I get all other channels 90% or better from the Cedar Bluff exit area.

Has anyone been able to pick up other HD OTA channels from Chattanooga or Johnson City?
Not me...

According to Titan TV there is going to be a HD game on CBS Sunday. (Patriots vs Eagles)

I am real disappointed that they are not transmitting SEC football in HD.

I could not get PBS tonight. Isn't it on Channel 17? Did anybody else have a problem. I think I am going to go for a stronger antenna even though I am only 7 miles away ABC and Fox break up on me but channel 10 seems to be OK which is odd since I think all 3 of these stations transmit from same tower.

Are all channels transmitting at full power??

Definitely not getting any signal from JC or Chattanooga or even WB

Could someone please clarify a few things in the Knoxvile area?

1) Why is WB-20 always in Widescreen all the time, while others have bars? What do the codes mean on the screen like SD? I watched Smallville and it looked good, but not as good as Leno.
2) Does CBS pick and choose what is in HD locally? Is the 3:30 NCAA game in HD?


Thanks in advance for answer my HDTV 101 questions.

Sorry to say, I have not picked up WB-20. What channel is it on?

As for SD, I think that stands for Standard Definition.

To my knowledge, anything CBS transmits in HD nationally is going to be HD here.

To my knowledge, the GA vs LSU game will be in HD. If we get lucky and beat FL maybe the Miami vs TN game will make the CBS HD game of the week. I hope so.

No great insights...

I am able to receive WB-DT in NE Knox county with an outside antenna with rotor. By comparison, the WB20-NTSC signal is unwatchable due to ghosting.

SD stands for Standard Definition, usually considered to be 480 interlaced, same as regular TV and similar to 640x480 on your computer monitor except your computer monitor is progressive scan.

Leno is sent in 1080i and is produced as a HD show. Some other HD shows are filmed and then converted to HD. Film gives a different look to the shows that some prefer.

There are lots of possible ATSC formats. Most receiver (display/monitors) convert everything to 1080i so the 480i program you watch is displayed using a line-doubler internal to the monitor. 480i can look very good (DVD for instance) or poor as you all have seen from time to time.

That is why sporting events look so good. The LSU Georgia game looked awesome today on CBS.

Hey has anyone else had a problem with audio on 15-2 (the regular PBS station, not the HD Loop)

I haven't had sound on it in a week.

I had the same issue with sound on 15.2 - none, although my reciever was picking up Dolby Digital 2.0 over toslink nothing came out. Ditto on the analog outs. Its seems intermittant since I have heard sound since I first noticed it. Occassionally getting breakups on both 15.1 and 15.2, weather correlated, hopefully not up to full power yet. Strangely it seems worse on CBS although that's on the same antenna.

I'm using a Sony HD-200 tuner.

I have regular problems on CBS as well out here in Maryville. I am using the new Samsung T351. For some reason I get 10 bars on ABC and 8 on CBS. The CBS will have occasional small popping sounds that activate the sub. CBS went out tonight at the end of Without a Trace. No Signal!

I was flipping through the Charter Digital Cable channel guide the other night and noticed that WVLT-DT and WBIR-DT, as well as some of the subscription channels were present. I called customer service to find out what the deal was and all they could tell me was "not yet".

They told me many moons ago that it would be "soon" for Maryville/Alcoa. Anyone know if they ever rolled it out over there?

THEY are getting ready to build several 3 story buildings right behind my house, and a bunch of trees and the neighbors house are between me and Sharps Ridge. What are my chances of getting a good OTA signal? Any way to judge based on NTSC reception?

Gerald

Gerald, this thread has gotten very lengthy, but somewhere/s it's been stated that if you can get Fox 43's analog, you should do well on D-TV signals. Best wishes!

I have had lots of problems getting good signals with my antenna, and I managed to raise it up and move it around for hours the other day, and finally found a sweet spot that lets me get CBS, ABC, NBC, WB, FOX and PAX. (I actually have to point my antenna 180 degrees away from Sharp's Ridge to pick everything up, if I point towards Sharp's Ridge I can't get anything. Go figure. I get about 65% signal strength on the difference channels average.) I have a couple of quick questions about the local channels, so if someone could help me out, I'd sure appreciate it:

1. I tried watching an HD program on WB the other night, but it was shown in 4x3 480i. Does the local WB station pass HD?

2. I tried watching Boston Public on FOX tonight, and it was in 4x3 480i. I know FOX doesn't do HD yet, but that show is supposed to be 16x9 480p. Does WTNZ ever pass along 16x9 programming?

Thanks.

Sean Dudley

Fox/KABB OTA is up. I'm getting 45-55% signal strength at 1604 and Blanco, but it ain't cutting out at least. JohnRichmond is getting about the same at the NW side of town. Anyone else?

Has anyone been able to see any of the weekly NFL games on fox43 in the enhanced definition widescreen they are broadcast in? It seems our local fox43 channel does not pass the widescreen enhanced signals from the natioal fox feed?
Its week 4 of the NFL and I have not seen one yet. Anyone else get a nice widescreen enhanced NFL game on sundays on fox43 HD?

The Knoxville WB HD OTA signal is the toughest for me to get as well. I will have to play around with my OTA antenna some to get this HD signal. I get all the others no problem. Heck the local CBS channel 8 has been great at broadcasting the national NFL CBS game per week as well. It was not today but it was the last 2 weeks. Thanks CBS WVLT. NFL HD looks great OTA via WVLT channel 8.

I talked to the engineering department guy over at Fox 43 and he told me that they are having a problem with the automatic switch to switch between 4x3 and 16x9 on 16x9 programming and they are waiting on a fix from the manufacturer. He wasn't able to tell me really when it would be fixed. He said they could have the fix in the mail to them today (software update), or it could be a couple of months.

Sean Dudley

I also emailed the head of engineering at Fox43 Knoxville about the lack of widescreen support in the Knoxvile HD area. Here is his response:

"We are looking into the prospect of passing the widescreen format._ This will require the purchase of additional equipment that we hope to have in place by November._ Additionally, the FOX network will begin transmitting true High Definition programming in May of 2004._ Unfortunately, this will not include sports programming._ Personally, I think that's a big mistake on the network's part.
Best Regards,
___ Tom Theilmann
___ Chief Engineer
________ WTNZ-TV
ttheilmann@wtnzfox43.com__

I'm in Fair Oaks Ranch and am getting 70-80% signal strength on Fox/KABB. Wish they had some HD!

Originally posted by Mike Fenech
Fox/KABB OTA is up. I'm getting 45-55% signal strength at 1604 and Blanco, but it ain't cutting out at least. JohnRichmond is getting about the same at the NW side of town. Anyone else?

I've been getting around 80 now for the last week. Unfortunately there is no reason to watch it since their upconversion doesn't seem to be as good as mine.

jr