...it would be really cool (and maybe even useful) to have regularly updated maps that show where signals are coming in clearly and where they are not... Has anyone ever heard of anything like that for DTV?How about if we use this one for a self-maintained map? :cool:

http://www.frappr.com/avsforumsanantoniotxhdtvreceptionreports

Enter your reception report and antenna setup in the "Shoutout" area.

After talking to Jerry last week at our monthly broadcast engineer meeting, I decided to check out this forum. I read the entire San Antonio thread and got some good feedback. I will try to answer any question about our station and will check on this tread when I can. I'm glad to see so many people in San Antonio with a high interest in HDTV.

Pete Gonzalez
Chief Engineer, KLRN-TV
210.270.9000 ext 2225

Hi Pete,

Welcome to AVS Forums.

I was just in SA helping my father get his new HDTV setup this weekend. I follow this thread and the one from my neck of the woods near ABQ, NM. I called your engineering dept on Friday trying to find out why KLRN is not currently broadcasting anything in HD.

Can you give us the DTV vision plan so to speak for KLRN? I am curious why you are trying to run 4 channels instead of the more normal 2 channel setup? It seems like your trying to timeshift an awful lot of content! When do you expect to be back to broadcasting in HD?

After talking to Jerry last week at our monthly broadcast engineer meeting, I decided to check out this forum. I read the entire San Antonio thread and got some good feedback. I will try to answer any question about our station and will check on this tread when I can. I'm glad to see so many people in San Antonio with a high interest in HDTV.

Pete Gonzalez
Chief Engineer, KLRN-TV
210.270.9000 ext 2225

I too have almost given up on KLRN but lookong at it right now, ( 9 PM) Ch 9-1 is in 480i showing The American Experience in widescreen. Ch 9-2 is showing the American Expeience in 1080i but its not a HD program but interesting nevertheless. I realize that many of these pgms cannot be in HD but I never know what to expect! AND if you have TWC you can see KLRN on FIVE channels!!! (91, 92, 93, 94 and 104) Oh well I still watch a lot of their Programs

Contrary to what the schedules showed, last nights episode of Las Vegas: American Experience was in beautiful 1080i HD. At least it was here in ABQ, NM! :p

Lots of great shots of the Vegas skyline. Looking forward to the conclusion tonight.

From what I could gather KLRN will be able to air HD once again by the end of the calendar year.

I too have almost given up on KLRN but lookong at it right now, ( 9 PM) Ch 9-1 is in 480i showing The American Experience in widescreen. Ch 9-2 is showing the American Expeience in 1080i but its not a HD program but interesting nevertheless. I realize that many of these pgms cannot be in HD but I never know what to expect! AND if you have TWC you can see KLRN on FIVE channels!!! (91, 92, 93, 94 and 104) Oh well I still watch a lot of their Programs

A few things you need to know about KLRN.
In the past, PBS had two pass through channels, (PBS Kids and PBS You) that we would pass along to TWC. When we went digital, we aired 9.1 a simulcast of analog channel 9 and TWC channel 10 and the PBS HD loop pass through on 9.2.. On October 1st this year, PBS stopped producing PBS Kids and PBS You. KLRN decided to create our own version of the two channels with KLRN Kids (9.3) and KLRN Learning (9.4).
At this time, we also decided to run 4 SD channels during daytime hours and HD/SD in the prime time hours. We are having problems with the audio that PBS in sending on the HD channel. I had to buy a Dolby decoder so that I can put the audio through our system in is raw format (PCM audio). If we play the show straight off satellite, you will see true 1080I. If we record it to our server, we must do it in SDI. With the new decoder, I will be able to record in 1080I. I expect to have this done very soon.
I hope this answers some of your question,

Pete Gonzalez
Chief Engineer, KLRN-TV

thanks Pete! I understand.

KENS-DT is coming in strong over here by Seaworld! Has the power been increased? Or have the antenna adjustments I made paid off?

Methinks your antenna adjustments may have something to do with it; our power hasn't changed significantly since we were ordered to reduce power.

Unfortunately I have no information from the FCC or our corporate engineering management as to when we can turn up the power.

Patience...

For info...I've combined a Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna (pointed SE) with a seperate Radio shack UHF anntenna (pointed for WB) with a simple UHF/FHF/FM combiner to get all current San Antonio HD channels...works great.

Jim
Helotes

I lost my Kens5 signal Thanksgiving Day and haven't got it back yet. All other channels have same signal strength so was wondering if something happened with transmitter/power. My amplified attic antenna hasn't been moved, but no Kens.
Thanks in advance for response.

Don

Getting KENS fine here...odd you only lost that one channel. Perhaps you need to do a rescan for HD channels??

Jim

A few things you need to know about KLRN.
In the past, PBS had two pass through channels, (PBS Kids and PBS You) that we would pass along to TWC. When we went digital, we aired 9.1 a simulcast of analog channel 9 and TWC channel 10 and the PBS HD loop pass through on 9.2.. On October 1st this year, PBS stopped producing PBS Kids and PBS You. KLRN decided to create our own version of the two channels with KLRN Kids (9.3) and KLRN Learning (9.4).
At this time, we also decided to run 4 SD channels during daytime hours and HD/SD in the prime time hours. We are having problems with the audio that PBS in sending on the HD channel. I had to buy a Dolby decoder so that I can put the audio through our system in is raw format (PCM audio). If we play the show straight off satellite, you will see true 1080I. If we record it to our server, we must do it in SDI. With the new decoder, I will be able to record in 1080I. I expect to have this done very soon.
I hope this answers some of your question,

Is there any difference between KLRN on TWC 92 and 108 regarding HD or are they exactly the same?

I get a weak signal, fading in and out, between 7 and 23 on the signal strength meter...but need steady 50's. I did do a rescan, 55 showed up, but not strong enough to lock in and present a picture. Must be something with my antenna or something interfering with it. Have had perfect Kens for over a month, and now nada. Thanks for your input. Hope something magical happens, I'd hate to think I need to check out a fourth antenna....the one I have now is the amplified Terk HDTVa.

50s to lock in on a signal is on the low end. Isn't the Terk an indoor antenna? Are you unable to use an outdoor antenna?

Yes, the Terk is an indoor antenna, but has been working fine for Kens for over a month (steady picture with solid 60s) and all the other channels are still great, some 70s, some 80s... so, can't figure why all of a sudden its not getting the strong signal I used to get. Even though Directv is likely to provide San Antonio with local HD, I still want the locals OTA for my computer hookup... just hate to think I have to put up an outside antenna (still puzzled why things were so good for a month with Kens!).

May not be the antenna. Just ran a signal check on KENS and previously I was getting a 82-84 and today its down to 66-68. Could be power was dialed back a bit by KENS??

Jim

Glad to see I'm not the only one having recep. issues with KENS. I want my CSI! :D

Hope to get an answer back to my email tomorrow when the KENS office opens up. I too want CSI and NCIS back! I would hate to start watching 'Bones' on FOX and 'Night Stalker' on KSAT simply because KENS can no longer get their signal to me.....

TWC uses the SA8300HD and the HDMI/DVI port is enabled.

Sorry, don't know. Send them an email or enter chat - they respond relatively quickly.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/SanAntonio/customer/contactus/

Is TWC using SARA or Passport software?

Thanks
What's that and is it important at the receiving end?

Got my KENS/CBS HD programming back today as if by magic....hadn't touched a thing since noon yesterday.

Hello,
My name is Tim and I live 55 miles south of San Antonio in Pearsall. I went out and bought a new Samsung DLP TV last week and I knew I needed some HD channels to get the most out of it. I searched the web and found out I could get over the air HD. I went and bought the phillips indoor antenna at Wal-mart. (Radio Shack does not carry indoor antennas here, they say they don't because they do not pick up reception.) It is an amplified unit and to my surprise I got woai, ksat, and kabb all in HD. I was happy with that alone then one night I noticed I was getting these channels with the power off on the antenna, so I turned it on and did a scan and all of a sudden I had about 15 digital channels which include kens and the pbs stations as well as some others (David Letterman was in HD on two different channels). So as you can imagine I was happy. Sad thing is next morning went to check and I had no signal on any channels besides 4, 12, 29 and some spanish stations. Now I want my other channels back. Any suggestions? Outdoor antenna not a problem, just don't know which one to get and what else I might need. Please help. I posted my position on the Map in previous post above (frappr SA forums) , it is pretty close to my exact location in Pearsall.

Nietotem, first go to antennaweb.com, put in your address and see what signals and the directions to them (magnetic) you can reasonably expect to pick up. If you live on hilltop, great., KENS is on reduced power right now (ch5.1) but you should get it when they resume normal power. All the digitalstations are UHF 'cept PBSwhich is in the VHF range at ch 8.1

Is TWC using SARA or Passport software?

Thanks

john,

TWC is using SARA software. i can get you the driver numbers later when i get home if you like.

Any particular reason you are choosing Westover Hills?

Are you going to custom build a house or use a track company like Ryland, Centex, etc?

I had a lot of friends move here from california, and with the great profits they had on their homes most of them moved out to the Stone Oak area 281/1604. that zip code (78258 and 78260) is one of fastest growing zips in the nation...

when will WOAI broadcast Conan in HD?

they just let it sit there in 16:9 but shrunk for 4:3 tvs and not HD

Is there any difference between KLRN on TWC 92 and 108 regarding HD or are they exactly the same?


No difference. Time Warner wanted to keep all four KLRN channels together at 91-94 and also all HD sources on the low 100 channels.

Pete Gonzalez
Chief Engineer, KLRN

Thanks for the info Paulbehnke. I hope Kens goes full power soon. I like being able to watch CSI in HD. What about the WB is that hard to pick up?

Any recommendations for home builders that are willing to work with Home Theater / Computer enthusiasts? I plan add Ethernet in most rooms along with RG6 for CATV or SAT in most rooms. Media / Theater room will have additional wiring for projector and speakers along with an added equipment room.

John, I'd recommend you get a builder recommendation from Bjorn's Audio/Video. They are a San Antonio-based reseller of consumer AV equipment, and they probably sell more gear for home theaters than any place else in town. As a result, they have likely worked with every builder in town multiple times and I would guess that they have some builders that they recommend.

http://www.bjorns.com

I lost my Kens5 signal Thanksgiving Day and haven't got it back yet. All other channels have same signal strength so was wondering if something happened with transmitter/power. My amplified attic antenna hasn't been moved, but no Kens.
Thanks in advance for response.

Don

First, I apologize to the Forum for not responding sooner. Believe it or not, I took the Thanksgiving weekend off!

KENS experienced a catastrophic shutdown of one of our DTV transmitters in the wee hours of the morning after Thanksgiving. The reserve transmitter was brought on line, but it was only making about 35% power. Unfortunately, that's what caused our signal to be so weak.

Sunday morning all the San Antonio stations that operate out of Elmendorf experienced a City Public Service power outage of a couple hours' duration. Our standby generators came on line and the loss of programming should have only been about 30 seconds.

During emergency power recovery Sunday, we managed to get the reserve transmitter back up to 100% power, which should have helped get the Patriots-Chiefs game out to more viewers in HD.

Monday afternoon I was able to repair the problem in the primary transmitter. It has been in a test configuration all night and I'll put it back on the air today.

Thanks for the info Paulbehnke. I hope Kens goes full power soon. I like being able to watch CSI in HD. What about the WB is that hard to pick up?
Can.t tell about WB ur probably closer but may need to orient your antenna. Use the Antenna web site to make finding it easier

Sir, I noticed you are with the station. Just wondering how I would find out how far I am from the tower for HD. I live in Cibolo. any suggestoins?

Jim Sterner

Sir, I noticed you are with the station. Just wondering how I would find out how far I am from the tower for HD. I live in Cibolo. any suggestoins?

Jim SternerJim, you can get distance and direction from your location to all of the transmitters from the web site http://antennaweb.org.

when will WOAI broadcast Conan in HD?

they just let it sit there in 16:9 but shrunk for 4:3 tvs and not HD

well i found the answer to my question, so i'll give it here in case anyone else was wondering..

WOAI said they tape delay Conan, so the tape is not recorded/played-back in HD :mad:

WOAI said they tape delay Conan, so the tape is not recorded/played-back in HD :mad:You did the right thing by asking the station directly. If they have it on record that viewers want this, they will have an easier time justifying the purchase of new HD recording and playback equipment.

What happened to KENS and Ghost Whisperer Friday in San Antiono? I have a HUMAX
HFA 100 and recieve all the other S.A. HD stations, KMOL, KSAT, just fine. All three antennas are around the same place. Is it the station or me?

Wasn't watching at 8pm, but am watching David Letterman right now and all is well...good show in HD, strong signal....I'm in the Silver Creek area near Tezel/Culebra.

Hello DTV friends,

I'm eight miles west of Castroville off Hwy 90--46 miles from the four and twelve, and kens 5 antennas but don't receive five. Does anyone know if KENS is still on low power-or not at full strength?


Hoover

SA--DTV Dudes and Dudesses

I have the large muti-directional anntenna as recommened. Maybe i need a preamplifier? Would that help? Or does the tuner make a difference. I'm over the air only and get everthing but 5 from my Medina County home.

Hoover

I'm 27 miles from the transmitters and am using an indoor Terk (amplified) that's in the attic. KENS signal strength is 10-15 points less than 4 and 12, but is coming in fine. I have that same antenna split so it also serves my computer's HDTV pci card for HD reception on my computer's digital monitor. I had tried a couple of unamplified antennas first and couldn't get KENS, but now all is well.

Thanks Scotty44. That helps. i have a large unidirectional antenna on an outside mast. Anyone have any suggestions what type amplifier I might put on the outside antenna? Would that be the best way to go? Or Should i try a different forum?

I used a pre-amp I bought at Wal-Mart (about $30) and it helped out immensely as opposed to just using an amp by itself.

Does anyone subscribe to Knology digital in the KNoxville area and if so, what happens when I upgrade from the basic cable to the HD package with all my non-digital TVs. Will I still be able to watch the non-digital programming on my older analog TVs?

Dear Destrata,

Where do you live in relation to S.A? Where is Waelder (SP?)? I am going to buy something and even Hondo has a Wal-Mart. What is the Wal-Mart amp's db gain?

Hoover--No longer-a-tuber

I love my LCD.

Hello DTV friends,

I'm eight miles west of Castroville off Hwy 90--46 miles from the four and twelve, and kens 5 antennas but don't receive five. Does anyone know if KENS is still on low power-or not at full strength?


HooverJerry Paonessa (Realthogue in this forum) is the engineering supervisor at KENS. He has posted in the last 2 weeks that there has been no progress in KENS getting authorization to operate DTV at more than the current low power. He also promised to keep us informed with posts in this forum, so I would assume nothing has changed in that regard.

Jerry Paonessa (Realthogue in this forum) is the chief engineer at KENS. He has posted in the last 2 weeks that there has been no progress in KENS getting authorization to operate DTV at more than the current low power. He also promised to keep us informed with posts in this forum, so I would assume nothing has changed in that regard.
Whoa, there, BarsAntone!

I'm not the Chief Engineer, only the Engineering Supervisor. My boss (whose title is Director of Technology) would not appreciate me assuming the "Chief" attribution, even though I have been a CE in the past, at another station in a galaxy far, far away...

But to bring you up to date, you are correct in your statement that nothing has changed. In a post a few weeks ago I offered some email and snail mail addresses for viewers to contact the FCC; at least one viewer did, and copied me in his correspondence. The FCC, however, has deigned not to return the favor of correspondence. In an unrelated action, Kathleen Abernathy has resigned her seat on the Commission.

The news is, there is no news. We'll keep plugging away at the FCC, asking if and when they'll consider our request.

Whoa, there, BarsAntone!

I'm not the Chief Engineer, only the Engineering Supervisor. My boss (whose title is Director of Technology) would not appreciate me assuming the "Chief" attribution, even though I have been a CE in the past, at another station in a galaxy far, far away...Duly noted and corrected in my post. :)

Dear Destrata,

Where do you live in relation to S.A? Where is Waelder (SP?)? I am going to buy something and even Hondo has a Wal-Mart. What is the Wal-Mart amp's db gain?

Hoover--No longer-a-tuber

I love my LCD.

I live 80 miles east of San Antonio off I-10. I pick up ABC, NBC, Fox, UNI, TELE and some religious station fairly strong(~80-85%). On a good night I can pick up KENS at around 65% but that's very seldom. I need 60% to lock in on a signal. I'm closer to Austin so I usually have my antenna pointed toward there. The pre-amp I bought is a Philips brand and has a db gain of 28.

I live 80 miles east of San Antonio off I-10. I pick up ABC, NBC, Fox, UNI, TELE and some religious station fairly strong(~80-85%). On a good night I can pick up KENS at around 65% but that's very seldom. I need 60% to lock in on a signal. I'm closer to Austin so I usually have my antenna pointed toward there. The pre-amp I bought is a Philips brand and has a db gain of 28.
This was an entry that I have been waiting for. This means that I should have no problem from Kerrville. The antenna elevation will be over 2000' with no obstructions. You did not say what antenna you were using.

This was an entry that I have been waiting for. This means that I should have no problem from Kerrville. The antenna elevation will be over 2000' with no obstructions. You did not say what antenna you were using.

I don't know what brand it is. It was already here when I bought this house. It's has 36 elements, I can tell you that much. I do know that not all Wal-Marts have the pre-amp though.

I don't know what brand it is. It was already here when I bought this house. It's has 36 elements, I can tell you that much. I do know that not all Wal-Marts have the pre-amp though.
Did u say that your antenna will be 2000 feet high? Must have other uses for it. Picked a random address in kerrville and put it in the antenna web computer and it says that HD signals wont be available in that direction. Then again they don't allow for such an unusual antenna.

OOPPS my reply was directed to allendb.

Did u say that your antenna will be 2000 feet high? Must have other uses for it. Picked a random address in kerrville and put it in the antenna web computer and it says that HD signals wont be available in that direction. Then again they don't allow for such an unusual antenna.

I should have said 2000' MSL. I think I have a pretty clean shot to SA. South side of Kerrville on top of a 2000' MSL hill with a 50' tower. I need OTA or I have to scrap a lot of computer equiptment.

Realthogue,

Repeat those FCC adresses or direct me to them so I can write the FCC. I understand you to be saying KENS is low power but KMOL and KSAT are high power. Is that correct? I love to lobby the FCC for change so hook me up. I miss not being able to view all of the big three networks and the FCC has no basis for discrimination. What's up Realthogue?

W. Hoover--Medina County 8 miles west of Castroville.

BADWilliam,

Here are some addresses:

Federal Communications Commission,
445 12th St. SW,
Washington DC 20554.

The FCC entertains comments and complaints at fccinfo@fcc.gov.

You can write to the Chairman at KJMWEB@fcc.gov or the individual commissioners:


Michael J. Copps, michael.copps@fcc.gov or
Jonathan Adelstein, jonathan.adelstein@fcc.gov.

Kathleen Q. Abernathy has resigned her seat.

Maybe one of them can answer the question, "...why can't (KENS) get (their) license?"

Ask also, "...Why have you taken no action on any DTV license requests in the past several months? We were under the impression that Congress and the FCC were eager to roll out high-power DTV stations. What's the holdup?"

Maybe they'll answer you.

I wish we knew what the holdup really was. As I have written before, the Commission has taken no action on requests like ours in several months; we are not alone in this. We are perplexed that there is so much pressure to get broadcasters to switch off their analog services and get on the air in DTV at full power, but when we need a simple amendment to our license, we are forced to operate our blowtorch in cigarette-lighter mode!

Makes no sense.

Good luck lobbying the FCC, William; thanks for your interest.

I sent an email using congress.org 20 minutes ago and have already received an [automatic] response from Congressman Gonzalez' office!

Are we there yet? :rolleyes:

michael

AllenDB, must be nice to be king of the hill and looking down on the antennas just SE of San Antonio! They probably average less than 2000 ft above mean average sea level. The only problem is how much signal will get to you and how aircraft and the millions of Mexican Freetail bats that summer here will affect your reception. You might want to looks at the stations sevice contour maps that are available on the FCC,s internet site(I think). Good luck and let us know how it works out. Paul

Today I was down at the WOAI studio and was in the control room talking with one of the technicians. He told me that the studio equipment (cameras, switchers, etc) should be upgraded to HTDV in hopefully a year to a year and a half. He said it was very expensive but the prices are coming down.

In the meantime, I got to take a look around. The newsroom is huge! Much larger that some of the other studios I have seen. I went into the equipment room and got a look at the some of the racks. One thing that stuck out at me was the Dolby encoder for HDTV audio. Very cool. :) I also noticed that they had monitors setup that were tuned to KENS and KSAT. ;)

Overall, nice place but smaller than I thought. It's amazing what they can fit in those tiny office buildings downtown. If any of you guys I met today are reading this, thanks for the hospitality. It looks like you have a great bunch of people down there. I would love a more in-depth tour of the place if you would let me. I am sure our readers here would love to hear about some of the neat toys you play with every day. :)

Thanks Realthogue,

I'll crank out some correspondence to the FCC and other relevant agencies this weekend. Kens 5-1 and 5-2 were detected by my tuner two days ago when the weak signal somehow got through. When I tried to watch, however, I just get a blank screen and the message "Looking for signal."

On the signal strength indicator KMOL and KSAT register at 80% but KENS is usually 0% and 10%--not enought to lock in a picture. And you all transmit from the same general location. We need to help you get the blowtorch up and so we can quit playing with lighters.

I will write and complain about KENS signal strength and lack of certification and let you know what kind of response I receive:)

BADWilliam near Hondo, TX

I live out in St hedwig area and have a 10' ratshack antenna which give me ota on my directv sat. 3 days ago I lost my 35-1 dtv channel for KRRT. Looking at signal strength last night and it has gone below 5 near 0. Has anyone had a problem with this station. Would like to know before calling service on HR10-250 dvr recently installed.

swriman,

KRRT is operating at extremely low power, accounting for your loss of signal. Plus, you're at the opposite end of the country from their transmitter, which is in Lake Hills near Medina Lake. We were talking to an engineer in the know about WB35 Wednesday night and thet's the skinny. Give 'em some time and they will work out the gremlins...

No matter what you may think, we still are in the middle of the most expensive, complicated science project ever devised for television. Your receiver and dvr are probably just fine.

Realthogue, thanks for the info. I am glad that it might not be my equipment. I know I am quite a ways from there tower. When I setup my antenna 4,5,12 are at ~190deg and 35 is at 290. If I tweek just right and find sweet spot they will all come in. If there were a better way it would be nice. Just wondering if I need a amplifer or something.

Heres another possibility to use...I set up a normal UHF/VHF antenna for channels 4,5,9,12, and 29 then added a seperate Radio Shack UHF only antenna ($24.95) pointed at 35 and combined them with simple Radio Shack UHF/VHF/FM combiner ($5.95). Works great and don't need an amp or need to compromise max signal for any of them.

Jim
Helotes

swriman,

No matter what you may think, we still are in the middle of the most expensive, complicated science project ever devised for television.

What he said! Add to that:

- A generally uninformed and/or confused public. Example: The term "digital" has been so overused and watered-down to a point that it has no real meaning to the end-user. Any day now I will get an e-mail from someone asking me if their new digital coffee maker can get ESPN. Of course, we all know the answer is "yes" but only if you grind the beans yourself.

- Green retail salespeople, many of whom have no idea what they are selling and even less experience actually using it. So the next time you're at one of these retailers and you hear a salesperson tell a prospect that they must have a satellite system to receive HDTV, please smack them upside the head.

- 4x3. 16x9. EDTV. HDTV. DLP. LCD. CRT. DVR. VCR. DVI. RGB... Good grief, most people are running for the E-X-I-T PDQ after hearing all of that.

- And finally, my personal favorite e-mail: "I want to buy my husband an HDTV for Christmas. What do you recommend?"

That's one lucky man! Bless you, lady.

Does anyone know what formats the locals broadcast in? My Panasonic TH-42PA25U/P plasma is capable of displaying only 480p/1080i (although is does display 720p via the PC input only) and I'm wondering if I'm missing out.

Let's say I tune into an HD broadcast via my OTA antenna that is in 720p, will my TV automatically down-convert the signal and display it in 480p or up-convert it to 1080i? FYI...I'm using a Phillips HR10-250 HD DVR from D*.

Also, would anyone happen to know if all the HD programming for D* is in 1080i?

Thanks,

Tony

Over the last few weekends, I have spent some significant time viewing football on the various networks, and frankly, I'm a little surprised at the differences in picture quality. I'm wondering if anyone else is seeing this, and I'd really be interested in Realthogue's thoughts.

WOAI NBC (college) and KENS CBS (NFL): Both networks have very pleasing pictures, except in instances of significant motion. In those instances, there is often much break-up or pixelization of the picture. I've heard this referred to as motion artifacting or motion blurring. I've read that is is a function of bitrate and that subchannels that "steal" bitrate from the main channel can contribute greatly to the artifacting. Interestingly, I have DirectTV's Sunday Ticket and have watched the DirecTV CBS Hidef games and do not see the same artifacting I see on the KENS over-the-air broadcast. This is disappointing. The DirecTV CBS games are a much cleaner presentation than KENS OTA. Also on KENS, there is occasionally a somewhat blurry or out-of-focus look to the picture on long shots, like before the ball is snapped. But then it sharpens up until the next long shot.

KABB FOX: A very nice picture with little to no motion artifacting. There's not much negative to say about Fox's picture, except that they really clutter up the screen with graphics and such. But I seldom if ever see artifacting, so in this regard, they are better than KENS or WOAI. On scenes that give KENS trouble, like panning with a player running, Fox'sbroadcast is nearly flawless.

KSAT ABC: Monday Night Football always looks excellent with practically no motion artifacts. On scenes that give KENS trouble, like panning with a player running, ABC's broadcast is much, much cleaner.

ESPN (through DirecTV): Perhaps a tad better than ABC, but virtually indistinguishable. No motion artifacting and a razor sharp picture.

Overall, football is one of those killer experiences that really highlights the benefits of high definition. I just wish there wasn't so much motion artifacting on KENS' broadcast (I've seen it on Time Warner's KENS-DT feed too).

I've also noticed some differences in audio presentation, but don't have a handle on the differences right now. I think it's mostly levels.

WOAI NBC (college) and KENS CBS (NFL): Both networks have very pleasing pictures, except in instances of significant motion. In those instances, there is often much break-up or pixelization of the picture. I've heard this referred to as motion artifacting or motion blurring. I've read that is is a function of bitrate and that subchannels that "steal" bitrate from the main channel can contribute greatly to the artifacting. Interestingly, I have DirectTV's Sunday Ticket and have watched the DirecTV CBS Hidef games and do not see the same artifacting I see on the KENS over-the-air broadcast. This is disappointing. The DirecTV CBS games are a much cleaner presentation than KENS OTA. Also on KENS, there is occasionally a somewhat blurry or out-of-focus look to the picture on long shots, like before the ball is snapped. But then it sharpens up until the next long shot.


The artifacting during the CBS games is probably caused by the side-channel radar that KENS runs and refuses to turn off during games. I believe it steals about 3MBS of bandwidth.

The out of focus problem is caused by an improper setting on their Harris encoder. It hasn't bothered me enough to complain about it but if it bothers you then you could write to Realhogue about it.

I thought that was the difference between 1080i and 720p. 1080i has more resolution but possible pixelation in high motion. 720p handles the high motion but comes with a softer picture as compared to 1080i. ABC & FOX deliver 720p but CBS is 1080i. I forget about NBC.

Heres another possibility to use...I set up a normal UHF/VHF antenna for channels 4,5,9,12, and 29 then added a seperate Radio Shack UHF only antenna ($24.95) pointed at 35 and combined them with simple Radio Shack UHF/VHF/FM combiner ($5.95). Works great and don't need an amp or need to compromise max signal for any of them.

Jim
Helotes

Althought you live much closer to towers than i do, not sure if it would work for me. I have thought of the additional UHF attenna but was going to purchase a channel master JOIN-Tenna 0585-2 to lock on ch35 only with addtional attenna.

The artifacting during the CBS games is probably caused by the side-channel radar that KENS runs and refuses to turn off during games. I believe it steals about 3MBS of bandwidth.

The out of focus problem is caused by an improper setting on their Harris encoder. It hasn't bothered me enough to complain about it but if it bothers you then you could write to Realhogue about it.

That's quite a large theft for something that I doubt many people are veiwing, especially during a game. I believe the other stations also have sub-channels going, though, so it's interesting that it seems to affect KENS more.

KENS' Harris encoder has had this problem in the past. It seems to come and go.

I thought that was the difference between 1080i and 720p. 1080i has more resolution but possible pixelation in high motion. 720p handles the high motion but comes with a softer picture as compared to 1080i. ABC & FOX deliver 720p but CBS is 1080i. I forget about NBC.

Yes, I've read similar. But that's why I pointed out that DirecTV's broadcast of the CBS hidef games does not have the same motion artifacting.

Yes, I've read similar. But that's why I pointed out that DirecTV's broadcast of the CBS hidef games does not have the same motion artifacting.
I don't think DTV uses the same compression algorithms that OTA does. I have both and can see the diference. It is easy to see the crispness of OTA as compared to DTV. I doubt/cannot believe that DTV delivers true 1080i.

Right now on NBC HD they are showing Elton John: The Red Piano. There is a horrible echo effect with the sound. I'm using TWC. When I go to the regular NBC channel, the sound is fine. Anyone else have this problem? I've noticed this in the past, always on NBC and always with concert broadcasts. Some months ago NBC showed The Eagles Live in Melbourne, and there was the same sound problem on the HD station. Why does this keep happening?

Going to stack a UHF antenna and add a channel trap from Channel master- My question is these are channel specific when ordering, do I want to trap ch35 for KRRTDT or what it is being mapped at ch32? Does anyone know what freq ch35 broadcasts on.

Right now on NBC HD they are showing Elton John: The Red Piano. There is a horrible echo effect with the sound. I'm using TWC. When I go to the regular NBC channel, the sound is fine. Anyone else have this problem? I've noticed this in the past, always on NBC and always with concert broadcasts. Some months ago NBC showed The Eagles Live in Melbourne, and there was the same sound problem on the HD station. Why does this keep happening?

This has been going on for quite some time and so far WOAI has not been able to fix the echo problem. It's a problem with the Dolby Digital signal only.

I've been in contact with Bill Heimbuch of WOAI and we've been trying to resolve this for several months. I'll be emailing him again today to let him know what happened.

It's true: we have 'em. I do not know if:

1. the symptom is more severe because of our 5.2 multicast of the radar (even on clear days,) although I don't think this is the cause

2. an incorrect Flexicoder setting (causing a shift in apparent focus)

3. the encoding differences between 1080i and 720p

I do know that FOX, ABC and NBC use 720p encoding, and I believe that's what DTV uses as well.

As far as the Flexicoder settings are concerned, I see that viewers write that the symptom comes and goes; I have a call in to Harris to discuss this and the motion artifacts with our liaison. If there is a fix we'll apply it as soon as I get it.

Hey Jerry, do you stat mux your streams or constant bit rate? I started stat muxing earlier this year and it really improved my signal. My bit rates can go as low as 1 meg if they don't need the bandwidth.
BTW, I use a Tandberg mux and encoders.


Pete Gonzalez
Chief Engineer, KLRN

Keep on talking guys...I used to think that my 76 yr old eyes and ears were the problem! Now I am beginning to feel younger.

Swirman

Since you will be pointing your UHFs in directions so far apart (290 and 190) do you think you will have multipath problems that require a specific trap for Ch35? If you can get away with just the UHF/VHF/FM combiner then later on whenever UPN (Ch 2) goes HDTV you could probably tweak the Ch 35 UHF to pick up both...just a thought.

Jim

Yes I am going to use the trap for digital ch32 and see how well this works. Haven't given much thought to ch2 in future. I it comes online with some good hd programming then I might have to use the vhf/uhf/fm combiner. I am waiting on channel master 585-2 now and it looks like 2 weeks leadtime.

Hey Jerry, do you stat mux your streams or constant bit rate?

Pete Gonzalez
Chief Engineer, KLRN
Pete,

we use constant bit rate. With only the low bitrate radar siphoning 2 Mb/s there should be plenty available for the HD service. I have yet to see any broadcast where we had zero null packets. That tells me there's enough bandwidth remaining even with the multicast channel in service. Statmux makes a lot of sense for you and for KHCE, with four streams each. We may look into that at a later date when sales decides to use the multicast channel(s) more aggressively.

I've had a chat with Harris Corporation and researched a thread provided by John Richmond about the motion artifacts and focus blurring so prevalent in CBS/KENS broadcasts. I am going to try some experimental settings beginning tomorrow morning in an effort to minimize the problems.

Be patient, though; Harris recommends the "automatic" setting that is causing the problem. We're going to venture into uncharted territory and post the results here.

We may look into that at a later date when sales decides to use the multicast channel(s) more aggressively.

Thanks for the heads-up, Jerry. I'm sure all us HD enthusists will look forward to having more shopping venues on the side channels. :p

I've had a chat with Harris Corporation and researched a thread provided by John Richmond about the motion artifacts and focus blurring so prevalent in CBS/KENS broadcasts. I am going to try some experimental settings beginning tomorrow morning in an effort to minimize the problems.

Be patient, though; Harris recommends the "automatic" setting that is causing the problem. We're going to venture into uncharted territory and post the results here.


Jerry, a couple of things that I have changed.

1. Don't use any video noise reduction on your mux. In the Tandberg mux it uses bandwidth and does nothing for the video quality.

2. Use high delay. If the entire signal is delayed, you wont have lip sync problems and we're only talking about a 2 or 3 sec delay max. It gives your encoders and mux more time to compress and error correct to keep artifacts down.

3. Don't give too much to audio. I believe only 196K is recommended but I give 265k for main and only 96K for SAP. Make sure you not giving more that 1M to PSIP.

4. I've heard that many problem come from jitter in the STL microwave. I use MCR Twinstream radios and we had to send them in for an oscillator replacement. If you use a SMPTE 310 stream to get it to the transmitter, check your receive stream.

Not sure what test equipment you have but, I demo'ed a 310 analyzer form Rhode and schwarz that did show some jitter on our stream. You may want to call them for a demo and check your stream.

Pete

Back to that awful audio delay on WOAI-DT - I first noticed it on SNL - music performances usually. It's SO bad - it makes these shows unwatchable (unlistenable!) I'm glad they are working on it.

Back to that awful audio delay on WOAI-DT - I first noticed it on SNL - muisc performances usually. It's SO bad - it makes these shows unwatchable (unlistenable!) I'm glad they are working on it.

Hey Jimbo, did you hear any echo on any NBC shows last night?

Thanks, Pete; good suggestions.

We were using "automatic" video noise reduction; the Flexicoder settings do not permit much control of that parameter. This is the setting we're going to experiment with. I don't think delay is much of a variable in the constant bitrate scheme; I don't find a setting to apply a global delay.

We've been running 384kb for audio; with only one HD channel it works well, although there are occasional audio gremlins, and the default setting for PSIP is 200kb.

We monitor the SMPTE 310 stream here and at the other end of the (Twinstream) STL with the Tektronix MTM300. We're interested in the Rohde & Schwartz you have - we liked the demo at November's SBE. But so far the MTM300 has shown our jitter to be slight. We have upgraded all the YIG oscillators in our MRC radios.

The setting I allude to is the video prefiltering. "0" is automatic, "1" is none, and "2-7" applies increasing amounts of noise filtering. "7" causes the most video softening. I am going to start with "1."

Thanks for the heads-up, Jerry. I'm sure all us HD enthusists will look forward to having more shopping venues on the side channels. :p

...and Infomercials. Don't forget those.

I didn't watch much TV last night (Wednesday) - but the WOAI-DT HD audio delay seems to happen only during music performances. It's not always a problem - not always an issue. I'll be sure to report improvement.

Newbie question.

Using a Terk indoor antenna, I am able to receive 4.1,5.1,9.1, and 29.1 digital signals. I was able to get 12.1 until 2 weeks ago, but the the screen states the signal is poor quality. The signal strength meter onscreen is very good at 80%, higher than the other stations.

What could be the matter?

TIA

I didn't watch much TV last night (Wednesday) - but the WOAI-DT HD audio delay seems to happen only during music performances.

It's happening elsewhere. For example, I heard the HD audio delay during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade during the cross-talk between Matt and Katie. I flipped over to the regular NTSC broadcast and the delay went away.

Our engineers are working on isolating the gremlin in the system. I can tell you all that this is frustrating for us, too, much like booting your computer only to be greeted with the blue screen - repeatedly. :eek:

New technology = new challenges. We'll get it worked out.

Thank you all for your patience and your feedback. You all are a big help to us.

Feel free to write me anytime. I'll pass your feedback along to our engineers.

Realthogue--Jerry,

Here is the response I received from the FCC about KENS transmitter. I work for the Hondo Anvil Herald so I wrote as a reporter and their media division responded.
Mr. Hoover,

"The FCC media bureau advises that:

KENS-DT, San Antonio, Texas, is awaiting action on a pending application to modify its DTV construction permit.* The station is currently operating at reduced power with an STA. When it was constructing its full power facility, the station realized that in had inadvertently failed to modify its DTV construction permit to match what it was actually constructing.* Therefore, the station filed a modification application to change its DTV construction permit.* Unfortunately, the modification application is awaiting Mexican clearance and remains pending.* Once Mexican clearance is obtained, the modification application can be granted and the station can begin operating with full power.* In addition, the station has asked for a waiver of the July 1, 2005 "use or lose" deadline based upon these facts.*

In addition, the other two stations at the same site are KSAT-DT and WOAI-DT (not KMOL as specified in the email). KSAT-DT has been operating digitally with full power (1000 kW) since 4-8-2000, and WOAI-DT has been operating digitally with 776 kW since 10-1-2004."


I hope that helps. What does Mexico have to do with this Jerry? I can't even pull in your signal in Medina County, just eight miles west of Castroville. What is an STA and how many kW are you transmitting at low power from KENS?

BADWilliam

Newbie question.

Using a Terk indoor antenna, I am able to receive 4.1,5.1,9.1, and 29.1 digital signals. I was able to get 12.1 until 2 weeks ago, but the the screen states the signal is poor quality. The signal strength meter onscreen is very good at 80%, higher than the other stations.

What could be the matter?

TIA

Perhaps your receiver has dropped 12.1....have you rescanned for HD channels lately?

I was watching Conan O'Brien just now, and it was in HD for maybe 30-45 minutes...but then after a while (after a bit of dead air time, it seemed), they switched back to the SD feed, which I believe is time-delayed by half an hour (and indeed it was back to a part of the show that I'd already seen in HD). Not quite sure what was going on there.

Here's an update on the WOAI-DT HD audio delay issue. Last night's SNL seemed fine - and great!

Perhaps your receiver has dropped 12.1....have you rescanned for HD channels lately?
Thanks, rescanning worked but I do not know why it would.

Previously,12.1 was listed in the available channels, it could be reached by either manually inputting the channel or scanning the channels by the remote.

Anyway i glad to be able to receive all the digital channels but 35.1. That seems to be too weak a signal for my indoor antenna.

Here's an update on the WOAI-DT HD audio delay issue. Last night's SNL seemed fine - and great!

I concur. I haven't watched SNL since they went HD but I made a point of watching last night to check out the audio (certainly not for the comedy :p ). No noticible problems anywhere.

Thanks, rescanning worked but I do not know why it would.

Previously,12.1 was listed in the available channels, it could be reached by either manually inputting the channel or scanning the channels by the remote.

Anyway i glad to be able to receive all the digital channels but 35.1. That seems to be too weak a signal for my indoor antenna.

KRRT comes and goes....last night their signal dropped entirely for awhile then reappeared. I get them off the backside of my Terk indoor antenna (mine is the Terk HDTVa, amplified). I had tried the HDTVi but couldn't get KENS-5 until I went to the amplified. My location is actually closer to the KRRT transmitter (16 miles) than it is to the other guys (28 miles). If you tweak the direction of your antenna you might be able to add KRRT to your list without losing any of the others.

I agree that KRRT WB 35 is very difficult to receive, especially for me. I am more that 35miles from this tower. I have been having lots of problem with this station only. Recently tried adding a second uhf attenna to my combo vhf/uhf 10' outdoor antenna. I makes it very difficult wiht the channel dropping out so often. You never know when trying to tweak for more signal that they are shoot full signal.

After install of 2nd uhf i can now point one uhf to 4,5,12,29,9 and the other at 35. Only problem now is signal strength meter is reporting digital reception but signal is verying up and down consistantly and no picture comes in but it does not show searching for signal anymore, just blank screen.

Does anyone have any suggestions, ie preamp or adding channel master trap filter???

Realthogue--Jerry,

What does Mexico have to do with this Jerry? I can't even pull in your signal in Medina County, just eight miles west of Castroville. What is an STA and how many kW are you transmitting at low power from KENS?

BADWilliam

Wow!

At least you received a reply, but that is the same thing we have been telling anyone who asks. You are the first person I am aware of who has gotten a reply from the FCC. Possibly due to your reporter status, I hope.

I have never understood what Mexico has to do with this, since our full power signal will never reach Mexico, even at double the power. Whether I understand it or not is unimportant; the United States is required by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to coordinate changes to transmitter operation and licensing with neighboring countries. In our case Mexico neighbors Texas, so that apparently flags our paperwork for coordination with Mexico - whether it needs to or not.

An "STA" is Special Temporary Authority to operate a transmitter in a limited manner until full license approval is granted. We are operating our DTV transmitter at approximately 2 kW into the antenna, with an Effective (Isotropic) Radiated Power of approximately 30 kW. That's just a Bic lighter compared to KSAT and WOAI, operating like blowtorches in the 1,000 kW neighborhood.

Thank you for getting results from the FCC. Your inquiry brought more information to light than any of our calls, emails or letters. The only part I don't like is that the reply makes it seem that we decided in mid-stream to make changes and that we failed to tell anyone about them. That isn't exactly true and was out of our hands from the beginning. The errors made date back to 1997; we're stuck with the consequences but we remain ready to resume full power operations the moment we are cleared to do so.

I've been poking around unsuccessfully and since I see there are a couple of engineers here I'll drop the question. Is it possible to access the network schedules programatically from my computer? We see TV schedules in papers, magazines and several web sites. I want to get the same data into my program on my computer. Could someone make a quick inquiry for me if this can be done? Please and thanks.

Enyone getting weaks signal for KrrtDT. I would like to know while I am troubleshooting this problem want to find out if I am chasing my tail when there is no/or weak signal from there tower. I am 43miles from tower in St Hedwig area.

I've been poking around unsuccessfully and since I see there are a couple of engineers here I'll drop the question. Is it possible to access the network schedules programatically from my computer? We see TV schedules in papers, magazines and several web sites. I want to get the same data into my program on my computer. Could someone make a quick inquiry for me if this can be done? Please and thanks.


AllenDB,
I'm not sure about the other networks but, PBS stations tend to make schedules based on community wants and needs. That being the case, its best to get the local PBS stations schedule from there web site. Our's :" www.klrn.org " has both the digital and analog schedule. We also send out 36 hours of program guide in our PSIP on the digital stream OTA. A station is only required to broadcast 12 hours but, with a few tweeks in the PSIP generator, you can squeeze out more without eating up bandwidth.

swriman,

KRRT-DT is operating at extremely low power. Until they can increase power, you will have a devil of a time receiving them in St. Hedwig. Word is, they'll be able to make full power by April 2006, if all goes well.

Realthogue, thanks for the info. Shouldn't this station inform the viewing area that this is going on so most of us will quit giving ourselves heart attacks trying to debug when all along it is the station.

Also, it doesn't seem to affect the non-digital broadcast because my other non-digital tv all pick up quite well.

I called the station(Krrt) the other day and spoke with an engineer about there channel mapping and asked him if they were having problems, of course he said they are at full power. humm now i realy wonder.

Dear Jerry,

I always expect a source to spin the facts in their favor. There are as many sides to a story as people involved. Sometimes there are benefits to being a reporter, like being able to get a reply, despite the lack of financial rewards. But having an MPA and being a paraplegic from a 1981 motorcycle/deer collision, its a good niche gig for me. I love being able to telecommute. Medina County is beautiful but the jobs are sparse, which keeps the green space open for us nature lovers.

I now know I don't need a new antenna to pick up KENS as there is no antena tall enough to pick up 30 Kw from 45 miles out. I just need to wait, like you do, for KENS to receive FCC approval to go to blowtorch status, ie full power. I will be putting in an antenna rotator so I can point at KRRT and other transmitters north of me and then swing it west towards the three transmitters out by Calaveras Lake.

Thanks to for explaining STA. As a writer, I hate it when someone uses an acronym without referring to its definition. The FCC is an arrogant enough bureaucracy for me not to be surprised.

Question. How many kW's will you be transmitting at when you receive FCC approval for your full power permit? Also, I have sent the FCC follow-up questions so if you have anything else you like me to try to ask, let me know. The answers received last week gave me a great deal of benefit and I don't mind.

William

Enyone getting weaks signal for KrrtDT. I would like to know while I am troubleshooting this problem want to find out if I am chasing my tail when there is no/or weak signal from there tower. I am 43miles from tower in St Hedwig area.

Just for info, it's 8:43am Wednesday and am getting signal strength from KRRT equal to KSAT and WOAI and stronger than KENS, all are coming in nicely. I'm 28 miles WNW of Calaveras transmitters.

Sounds like your getting good signal. I was not as of this morning 6am when I left for work. Can't check now i am at work. Scotty44, may I ask what attenna and receiver your are using. I am thinking that being 43mi from krrt tower I might have to add some kind of amplification but don't want it to over amp my other ch4,5,12 which I get about 90% signal strength.

William,

our full licensed power is 980 kW. I can't wait to turn it up.

FYI a service in Blanco, TX is receiving KENS-DT on an antenna at the top of a 50 foot tower. Not everyone can afford or execute such herculean efforts just to receive DTV, but it can be done. Better to wait, though. Even moving at the speed of government, it is more cost-effective to wait for the power to be turned up.

Thanks again for writing to the FCC. I forwarded the reply you received to our Director of Technology, who promptly called our lawyers. Hopefully there will be positive results very soon. THAT would make a great Christmas present!

...Shouldn't this station inform the viewing area that this is going on so most of us will quit giving ourselves heart attacks trying to debug when all along it is the station?

Also, it doesn't seem to affect the non-digital broadcast because my other non-digital tv all pick up quite well...


Existing analog services are unaffected by the digital services; they are completely separate facilities, except for the equipment required to simulcast the analog programs. In KRRT's case their analog service radiates with five million watts. My source there tells me their DTV input power to the antenna is about 350 watts, approximating a radiated power of roughly seven thousand watts.

In a roundabout way, the word about KRRT's low-power status has been made known here in this Forum. Even though our stations, networks and groups compete with each other, we also support each other in this growth area of Digital Television. That's why answers to questions sometimes come from unlikely sources.

I see that Scotty44 is getting good KRRT signal at a position 28 miles WNW of the Calaveras transmitters; unfortunately he's that much closer to the transmitter than you are and we're not sure about his antenna configuration. Swriman, I recommend that you hold out for a few months for their high-power equipment to come on line.

Originally posted by AllenDB
...Is it possible to access the network schedules programatically from my computer? We see TV schedules in papers, magazines and several web sites. I want to get the same data into my program on my computer...

CBS isn't too open about a full program grid, mostly because there are constant changes to the lineup. On the CBS site there is a listing for Prime Time HDTV programs at http://www.cbs.com/info/hdtv/index.php, and it usually is current. Still, I don't think that's what you want.

The most up-to-date-CBS/KENS-DT listings will be on TVGuide.com and Zap2it.com. Zap2it is the vehicle KENS uses to export our TV listings to the MYSA.com site.

TWC-SA announced the addition of a new HD channel starting today, according to http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2005/12/19/daily19.html

The cable company will now broadcast NBC's Universal HD, Boomerang, HTV and Infinito.

NBC's Universal HD can be found on channel 164 on the HDTV service. The channel will broadcast hit shows Law & Order: SVU and The District as well as footage from the upcoming 2006 Winter Olympics in high definition quality.

TWC-SA announced the addition of a new HD channel starting today, according to http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2005/12/19/daily19.html

Universal HD is indeed showing up now. However, the guide data is wrong. The guide shows the channel as being NBCHD and shows the programs that are on NBC instead of Universal HD. Hopefully this is corrected soon.

I'm new to satellite TV. I have been on Time Warner Cable for years, but the apartment complex I am moving to has an SBC-only contract, and they have, of course, forced me to use Dish. Does anyone in the San Antonio area know if the Local Channel feed from Dish carry the HD counterparts? I would like to know if I need to also start looking into OTA tuners as well. Thanks.

-Don

They do not at this time. Start looking at an OTA tuner for the short, and maybe, long term.

Existing analog services are unaffected by the digital services; they are completely separate facilities, except for the equipment required to simulcast the analog programs. In KRRT's case their analog service radiates with five million watts. My source there tells me their DTV input power to the antenna is about 350 watts, approximating a radiated power of roughly seven thousand watts.

In a roundabout way, the word about KRRT's low-power status has been made known here in this Forum. Even though our stations, networks and groups compete with each other, we also support each other in this growth area of Digital Television. That's why answers to questions sometimes come from unlikely sources.

I see that Scotty44 is getting good KRRT signal at a position 28 miles WNW of the Calaveras transmitters; unfortunately he's that much closer to the transmitter than you are and we're not sure about his antenna configuration. Swriman, I recommend that you hold out for a few months for their high-power equipment to come on line.


Thanks Realthogue for your reply. I know I sound frustrated mainly because I am a big Spurs fan and watching the games in DTV vs Sat is like night and day differant. I think I will try and raise my attenna allittle higher since the signal is weak and comes and goes maybe this will help. Also might try to add additional UHF antenna thinking this will help pull in more signal. Not sure how to configure, stack w/ both point in same direction or one at calaversus the other at KRRT. Maybe will wait to 2006 when D* comes online with our locals with new sat for mpeg4.

Sounds like your getting good signal. I was not as of this morning 6am when I left for work. Can't check now i am at work. Scotty44, may I ask what attenna and receiver your are using. I am thinking that being 43mi from krrt tower I might have to add some kind of amplification but don't want it to over amp my other ch4,5,12 which I get about 90% signal strength.

My antenna is indoor Terk (the amplified model HDTVa, not the straight HDTVi). My location, as can be seen on Frappr, is 16 miles from the KRRT transmitter near Medina Lake, versus the 28 miles from WOAI,KENS,KSAT transmitters around Calaveras; but presently, I'm also able to get a solid signal from KENS with this indoor antenna located in my second story attic. And I actually split that signal so that my D* HD DVR, HR10-250 gets the amplified signal, and my computer's HDTV Wonder by ATI, gets the unamplified signal.....but still receive KENS solidly on the computer.

Sorry to any Knoxville guys that stumble on this thread. The Knoxville thread was accidentally merged with the San Antonio thread (no it wasn't some wacky experiment - just a copy/paste error). I broke off the original Knoxville posts into this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=620546

I'll update the Index to point to the new thread. I'll try and pull some of the more recent Knoxville posts as well to preserve the ongoing discussion.

"...might try to add additional UHF antenna thinking this will help pull in more signal. Not sure how to configure, stack w/ both point in same direction or one at calaversus the other at KRRT..."

If you add a dedicated antenna for KRRT, it should be pointed WNW, toward Medina lake. Try a Radio Hut model 75R, catalog number 15-2160 or better. Separate the two antennas by a couple of feet so they're not sitting on top of each other. You'll need a 300-to-75 ohm matching transformer for each antenna, two short pieces of RG-6 or equivalent coaxial cable, terminated in new F connectors at each end, and a two-into-one combiner such as model 15-1234 or better from your friends at Radio Hut.

Other, better makers of TV antenna include the people at Winegard, ChannelMaster and more. Check the DTV Antenna thread here in the 'Forum, at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=381623.

Connect the matching transformer to each antenna and run that short piece of coax from each antenna to one side of the combiner. Connect the downlead that goes inside the house to the combined output connector on the combiner.

Point the top antenna in your array to the WNW, heading 281 degrees and aim the bottom antenna just past due south at a heading of 193 degrees. (Headings derived for your area from http://www.antennaweb.org.) If I was doing this I would add an antenna preamplifier on the KRRT antenna only, using a combiner with a DC pass capability on one side to power the preamp. Sometimes with this sort of array you may need to experiment with the spacing between the two antennas, so don't take down the ladder once you get everything pointed where you think it should be.

This might bring in KRRT-DT better than you get it now, worth a try if you're energetic and want to experiment.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Jerry,

I recently bought an Ilo 32 lcd, and noticed something that I have not seen on my two other displays. There is "garbage" for a lack of a better term, on the side/ and or top of the screen on different channels/ programs. Sometimes this appears as a line of color- green usually, and other times appears to be blinking bar codes. I assume that this is an overscan issue, as I believe the Ilo has no amount of overscan built in. my projector has an adjustable overscan setting, and I think my crt has a non-defeatable overscan.

I realize that this issue probably only affects a small percentage of viewers, but is it possible, on your side, to introduce a 5% overscan? how does that work?
Kevin

Jerry,

I recently bought an Ilo 32 lcd, and noticed... "garbage" for a lack of a better term, on the side/ and or top of the screen on different channels/ programs. Sometimes this appears as a line of color- green usually, and other times appears to be blinking bar codes...is it possible, on your side, to introduce a 5% overscan? how does that work?
Kevin

Unfortunately the version of Flexicoder we (KENS-DT) are using does not permit variable overscan. In the coming months we'll upgrade the Flexicoder interface to permit more control over blanking, which will eliminate what looks like blinking bar codes. I had not heard of it described quite that way, but it is an apt way to put it. You have described what closed captioning, Neilsen data (AMOL) and Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC) look like when seen in the vertical interval at the top of the picture.

Some of the extraneous junk on the sides of the screen can be attributed to differing mask sizes in effects generators used during live events and newscasts. We see this sometimes when setting up the next shot in a newscast. I have seen something similar on CBS sporting events. You should not see this, ever. But since we are using older equipment to provision a new technology, you will occasionally see artifacts of the old way of doing things (that used to be invisible to the casual observer in the old analog technology - get it? ;) ) getting onto the edges of the picture.

As all of us replace older equipment with new, HD-capable hardware and software, the artifacts of old will gradually disappear and the image quality will improve.

Thanks for the reply.

The lines at the top of the screen appear as a solid green line, sometimes red. On the sides, I see the "blinking bar code." In fact, on Christmas day, while watching something, can't remember right now, I saw text on the side of the screen which read something like "try to decode this", accompanied by a smiley face. I assumed this was someone's idea of a prank/ retaliation for being forced to work on Christmas. If I remember right, it was KENS. It just seems that if the engineers can introduce information onto the side of the screen, they could remove it.

It seems, based on your explanation, that the only way to avoid seeing the artifacts is to buy a display with built-in or variable overscan (or wait until the stations upgrade their equipment.) Oh well.

Thanks for continuing to contribute your knowledge and expertise to this thread.

what is the latest/greatest high def receiver/tuner/dvr u can get from time warner with service?

D

what is the latest/greatest high def receiver/tuner/dvr u can get from time warner with service?

D


The Scientific Atlanta 8300HD

Supposedly they are going to get soon the latest Pace HD DVR, but have to keep calling back to check, so far they don't have it.

...The lines at the top of the screen appear as a solid green line, sometimes red. On the sides, I see the "blinking bar code." In fact, on Christmas day, while watching something, can't remember right now, I saw text on the side of the screen which read something like "try to decode this", accompanied by a smiley face...



Happy New Year to All as we enter 2006. I hope this year will be an exciting adventure for all of us.

I am impressed by the amount of detail you were able to discern in your picture. I sure don't know where the "try to decode this" message came from, since we at KENS do not have the means to insert such a message. I don't think anyone else in town does, either. So, bottom line, we (KENS) didn't put it there. I have also not heard (or seen) the blinking bar code phenomenon at the sides of the picture before your mention.

In a CRT TV display the colored lines you describe sometimes manifest themselves as a failure of the TV set to "blank" (make invisible) the scan retrace lines at the very top of the screen. This is often caused by a failed capacitor in one of the vertical sweep circuits. Since LCD's do not "scan" in the same way, that's not the cause. I don't know what it is. Maybe your symptom is caused by a technical problem or defect requiring a service visit or maybe warranty service from Ilo.

I don't know what else to tell you. Maybe our colleagues here in the Forum have some suggestions. Nevertheless, I hope everyone had a good holiday season!

Anyone notice, maybe within the last month or two...a small loss of signal or some video noise coming through on the HD channels through time warner.
Looks almost like distortion or fuzz. hard to say. My HD looked beautiful then one day i started noticing little imperfections coming from what seems to be signal loss or interference. weird.
using a 3250 hd, think i'll go trade it in for the 8300hd
i dont know.
j

I was hoping someone out there could help me with a referral for antennae installation. We live in a 2 story that's hard to access without a 30 ft ladder. I'd put it in the attic but I'm no good at running cable through two floors.

Any ideas on people in the local area who do this reliably for a reasonable price? We live just west of Sea World in the Westcreek subdivision. Thanks and hope everyone had a good New Years.

I was hoping someone out there could help me with a referral for antennae installation.When I checked a few months ago, there were about 6 listings under "Antennas" in the SBC Yellow Pages. Perhaps some of them would give you an estimate over the phone?

The Scientific Atlanta 8300HD

Supposedly they are going to get soon the latest Pace HD DVR, but have to keep calling back to check, so far they don't have it.


what will the pace give me that i dont have with the 8300?

thanks

D

what will the pace give me that i dont have with the 8300?

thanks

D

According to http://www.audioholics.com/news/pressreleases/PaceMicroTahoeHDDVR.php
The Tahoe HD DVR set-top box features include:

* Dual tuners for two-channel recording
* Expandable 160 GB next generation internal hard drive
* Dual HD decoding for HD picture-in-picture
* Home media server DVR functionality
* DOCSIS v2.0 Cable Modem/DSG capability
* New silicon technology for optimized analog picture quality
* Extensive connectivity and memory options

thanks i had seen that although im not sure if there is any "upgrade" in there.

the HD space doesnt appear to be an issue for me....
im not sure i want the box to be both my cable modem and my dvr but maybe this would be nice.....
i cant tell by the description if there will be a noticeable quality improvement of non HD video...

what im really looking for is will it allow me export the video over my intranet to my other computers. If it can do that well and if the interface is slightly better then i dont need my replay any longer

D

what im really looking for is will it allow me export the video over my intranet to my other computers. If it can do that well and if the interface is slightly better then i dont need my replay any longer
I don't think you'll ever see that officially supported in a DVR. Hollywood doesn't want digital versions of its content to be so portable!

Just on principle, I'm much happier paying for ReplayTV service than I would be if I were sending any more dollars each month to the money-grubbing cable industry. I'm proudly converterless and fearing the day when the only cable service available is digital. :(

well id be happy if replay had high def as well but i want high def

D

I called a technician at KENS5 this morning about reception HD signals at Helotes.
In my area, I can receive HD's from WOAI, and KSAT but KENS5! Here is the problem! The UHF emission power for KENS5 is 30KW and that of WOAI is 1 MW. According to the technician, the power of KENS5's emission can be raised to 1MW in a second if FCC approves it. It is the FCC that limits the emission power.

I am using a non-amplified Yaki small UNF antenna. The thing is when I try am amplified antenna such as RCA ANT706, my other digital channels will be overloaded and I still can not get KENS5! The net result is I got less channels with an amplified antenna!

Is there any suggestion about this? BTW, I used to receive KENS 5.1 and 5.2 but that was the only time. Does anybody receive stable KENS 5 HD signals from Helotes? Thanks,

If anything unamplified will get it, the Channel Master 4228 will. It's available on the web for about $40 plus shipping. I'm not as far out as you are, but I get KENS without the other channels overloading.

I called a technician at KENS5 this morning about reception HD signals at Helotes.
In my area, I can receive HD's from WOAI, and KSAT but KENS5! Here is the problem! The UHF emission power for KENS5 is 30KW and that of WOAI is 1 MW. According to the technician, the power of KENS5's emission can be raised to 1MW in a second if FCC approves it. It is the FCC that limits the emission power. You could have saved yourself a phone call if you'd read the previous 2 or 3 pages of this thread. :) If you want to help KENS boost its signal, there are instructions in one of Realthogue's posts on how you can write the FCC and ask them to get the Mexican government to act on KENS request to broadcast full power DTV.

just letting everyone i added myself to Bars' frappr page.

You could have saved yourself a phone call if you'd read the previous 2 or 3 pages of this thread. :) If you want to help KENS boost its signal, there are instructions in one of Realthogue's posts on how you can write the FCC and ask them to get the Mexican government to act on KENS request to broadcast full power DTV.
Yes, you are right! I am new to this forum. Thanks for the comment.

If anything unamplified will get it, the Channel Master 4228 will. It's available on the web for about $40 plus shipping. I'm not as far out as you are, but I get KENS without the other channels overloading.
Where can I find the CM 4228? In this web?
Sorry! I am new to this web and sometimes I even got lost surfing this site:)
BTW, I've seen someone post signal strength in terms of percentage.
I got a Philip 42" plasama with weak signal setup but there is no percentage shown! Is there another equipment to measure signal strength?

I'm very familiar to satellite DVB but new to OTA HDTV. I've a satellite finder which will show singal strength on VU meter. I don't know if that one help in tuning OTA signal strength?

I'm in too:)

Realthogue--Jerry,

Here is the response I received from the FCC about KENS transmitter. I work for the Hondo Anvil Herald so I wrote as a reporter and their media division responded.
Mr. Hoover,

"The FCC media bureau advises that:

KENS-DT, San Antonio, Texas, is awaiting action on a pending application to modify its DTV construction permit.* The station is currently operating at reduced power with an STA. When it was constructing its full power facility, the station realized that in had inadvertently failed to modify its DTV construction permit to match what it was actually constructing.* Therefore, the station filed a modification application to change its DTV construction permit.* Unfortunately, the modification application is awaiting Mexican clearance and remains pending.* Once Mexican clearance is obtained, the modification application can be granted and the station can begin operating with full power.* In addition, the station has asked for a waiver of the July 1, 2005 "use or lose" deadline based upon these facts.*

In addition, the other two stations at the same site are KSAT-DT and WOAI-DT (not KMOL as specified in the email). KSAT-DT has been operating digitally with full power (1000 kW) since 4-8-2000, and WOAI-DT has been operating digitally with 776 kW since 10-1-2004."


I hope that helps. What does Mexico have to do with this Jerry? I can't even pull in your signal in Medina County, just eight miles west of Castroville. What is an STA and how many kW are you transmitting at low power from KENS?

BADWilliam
Thanks for your efforts that eliminate my intent to write FCC questioning about KENS emission power problem. Unfortunately, we hadn't got the Chrismas gift as realthogue mentioned in a early post:( One thing I don't get is why this has something to do with Mexico? The emission tower equipped with KSAT, WOAI, and KENS transmission devices. If KSAT and WOAI can operate on their full power, why not KENS?

One thing I don't get is why this has something to do with Mexico? The emission tower equipped with KSAT, WOAI, and KENS transmission devices. If KSAT and WOAI can operate on their full power, why not KENS?I believe that there are international treaties which give governments the right to approve full-power broadcast signals from other countries that would operate within 150 miles of their borders. It works both ways, though. The FCC gets to approve Mexican and Canadian broadcast licenses within that 150 miles.

If we didn't have that, it's not hard to imagine broadcasters setting up shop in Mexican border cities and blasting signals into the US that interfere with licensed broadcasters here. (I think there were some radio instances of that happening in the 40s and 50's?)

The FCC's wheels are notorious for turning slowly on licensing. Perhaps their Mexican counterpart is even slower?

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm

is where I got mine.

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm

is where I got mine.
Thanks. I am looking for a UHF/VHF one to get KLRN.
I originally hope KLRN will swith to UHF but it seems that there is no such plan.
Here is what I got from KLRN:

KLRN chose the current VHF channel for several interrelated reasons – all adding up to lowering the cost of on-going broadcast operations while at the same time providing excellent coverage and quality. To provide the same broadcast coverage area, UHF requires substantially more transmitter output power – consuming more electricity in the process. We’re sticking with VHF for those reasons – and because we have millions of dollars invested in our transmission equipment for VHF. Why don’t you do what I do at home – I have a VHF/UHF antenna and receive all the DTV stations (as well as their analog counterparts) with great clarity. The antenna isn’t very large and the cost was under $40.00 which seems like a fair price for outstanding performance.

I've been poking around unsuccessfully and since I see there are a couple of engineers here I'll drop the question. Is it possible to access the network schedules programatically from my computer? We see TV schedules in papers, magazines and several web sites. I want to get the same data into my program on my computer. Could someone make a quick inquiry for me if this can be done? Please and thanks.

Allen, Zap2It, as others has mentioned, provides online program guides. In particular, Zap2It Labs ( http://labs.zap2it.com ) provides the guide in an xmls format and it canbe cusomized to only send you the channels you want information on. I use Zap2It labs with two different home automation applications (actually only use one actively) which allows me to view the listings of the channels I want to see on my PCs and even have my home automation program change channels and/or record programs if I want (Don't use this much anymore since my Dish DVR does this for me now).

Thanks. I am looking for a UHF/VHF one to get KLRN.
I originally hope KLRN will swith to UHF but it seems that there is no such plan.
Here is what I got from KLRN:

I've still got an extra 16 foot Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna new in box for only $30. PM me if interested.

...If KSAT and WOAI can operate on their full power, why not KENS?...

That's exactly what I would like to know. For six months the FCC has stalled on taking action on our case, claiming it is waiting on clearance from the government of Mexico. The FCC's reply that you quoted has the essence of truth but is not complete. The Construction Permit alluded to was first drafted in 1997, when KENS had different owners, attorneys and Engineering staff. The STA (Special Temporary Authority) was prepared in 2001 or 2002, by a new crowd of attorneys under a new owner for KENS, and filed containing an accurate specification of the equipment in use.

Like it or not we are stuck waiting for the government to act. Do not, however, think that you should not write the FCC to complain that they continue a great disservice to San Antonio viewers by dragging their feet on the KENS action. I encourage everyone who has a mind to, to write to the FCC and tell 'em what's on your mind. Please do write. Do not be discouraged by one reply.

By the way, I am the person you spoke to on Thursday.

...Unfortunately, we hadn't got the Chrismas gift as realthogue mentioned in a early post...

It was wishful thinking on my part. Sorry.

Allen, Zap2It, as others has mentioned, provides online program guides. In particular, Zap2It Labs ( http://labs.zap2it.com ) provides the guide in an xmls format and it canbe cusomized to only send you the channels you want information on. I use Zap2It labs with two different home automation applications (actually only use one actively) which allows me to view the listings of the channels I want to see on my PCs and even have my home automation program change channels and/or record programs if I want (Don't use this much anymore since my Dish DVR does this for me now).

Thanks.

Yes, Zap2It gives me what I need. My app is already half way written. I've got 2 machines, 3 HDTV cards and nearly 2 terra bytes of disk all for OTA recording. Thats why I have to write an app to do what TIVO does and then some.

We're moving to Kerrville next year and a bit concerned about getting OTA from SA. Hoping that being on top of a hill, with no trees, a 50 foot tower and a couple CM 4228s will do the job.

Hoping that being on top of a hill, with no trees, a 50 foot tower and a couple CM 4228s will do the job.Heck, you'll probably pickup my baby monitor with that! ;)

Thanks. I am looking for a UHF/VHF one to get KLRN.
I originally hope KLRN will swith to UHF but it seems that there is no such plan.
Here is what I got from KLRN:

Surprisingly, the 4228 does a good job on KLRN. I have no VHF antenna at present but get a 91 signal strength on KLRN 25 miles away.

That's exactly what I would like to know. For six months the FCC has stalled on taking action on our case, claiming it is waiting on clearance from the government of Mexico. The FCC's reply that you quoted has the essence of truth but is not complete. The Construction Permit alluded to was first drafted in 1997, when KENS had different owners, attorneys and Engineering staff. The STA (Special Temporary Authority) was prepared in 2001 or 2002, by a new crowd of attorneys under a new owner for KENS, and filed containing an accurate specification of the equipment in use.

Like it or not we are stuck waiting for the government to act. Do not, however, think that you should not write the FCC to complain that they continue a great disservice to San Antonio viewers by dragging their feet on the KENS action. I encourage everyone who has a mind to, to write to the FCC and tell 'em what's on your mind. Please do write. Do not be discouraged by one reply.

By the way, I am the person you spoke to on Thursday.
It's really a small world:) I thought you should be on duty most of the time and would not be able to join a forum like this! Anyway, I will write to FCC later.
BTW, I have tested another indoor antenna (Philips MANT410). I placed it on top of my TV in the FIRST floor. Guess what? I got WOAI, KHCE, KABB, 39.3, 39.4, 60.1, and most amazingly KENS 5.1 and 5.2! To my surprise, signals of 12.1 and 29.1 are usually very strong but somehow they are missing using this indoor antenna.

mountain_boy

I've been able to get all channels in Helotes using the following setup...a Radio Shack unamplified outdoor UHF/VHF for all but channel 35 for which I use a seperate Radio Shack unamplified outdoor UHF only. I then combine them with a simple UHF/VHF/FM combiner. Our home is on a small hill which probably helps.

Jim

mountain_boy

I've been able to get all channels in Helotes using the following setup...a Radio Shack unamplified outdoor UHF/VHF for all but channel 35 for which I use a seperate Radio Shack unamplified outdoor UHF only. I then combine them with a simple UHF/VHF/FM combiner. Our home is on a small hill which probably helps.

Jim
So, you really live in the hill country:-) You don't need an antenna tower then!
Congratulations! Based your findings, it seems that UHF only antenna is sharper than U/V type of antennas. It has something to do with U/V interference I guess.
BTW, how far your U/V and U antennas are separated? I used to read an atricle that the stacked antennas have to be separated in a distance longer than a half of the wavelength of the lowest frequence. Here is an article about it: http://pages.cthome.net/fmdx/stackant.html

Allen, Zap2It, as others has mentioned, provides online program guides. In particular, Zap2It Labs ( http://labs.zap2it.com ) provides the guide in an xmls format and it canbe cusomized to only send you the channels you want information on. I use Zap2It labs with two different home automation applications (actually only use one actively) which allows me to view the listings of the channels I want to see on my PCs and even have my home automation program change channels and/or record programs if I want (Don't use this much anymore since my Dish DVR does this for me now).
jrfuda,
I am interested in Zap2It but I don't have registration certificate code.
Would you PM it to me! BTW, I'm not using it for any profit. Just curious about it.
Thanks,

The UHF/VHF combo antenna and the UHF only antenna are about 20 feet apart. When I tried putting them stacked on the same pole even with a pole extension to get everything higher I had problems with all channels. Went ahead and mounted the UHF only antenna seperately for Channel 35...so far so good :-)

Jim

(omit...) I encourage everyone who has a mind to, to write to the FCC and tell 'em what's on your mind. Please do write. Do not be discouraged by one reply.
(omit ...)

FYI:
I've sent a complaint to the FCC. Once I got their responses, will keep everybody posted:)

The UHF/VHF combo antenna and the UHF only antenna are about 20 feet apart. When I tried putting them stacked on the same pole even with a pole extension to get everything higher I had problems with all channels. Went ahead and mounted the UHF only antenna seperately for Channel 35...so far so good :-)

Jim
Great! I assume you got KENS-DT as well.
Actually, in your case, an indoor amplified antenna may work:)

Great! I assume you got KENS-DT as well.
Actually, in your case, an indoor amplified antenna may work:)


Yes, have been able to get everything broadcast digitally in the area.

Jim

Just let you know that I boosted my mast to about 25 feet and KENS-DT signal is okay now but it still very weak! I would not be able to hook up any splitter 'cause it reduces signal by about 3 dB. Anyhow, I am looking for something like single-channel amplifier to boost just KENS-DT signal. My next step is to stack antennas to receive west signals from KRRT-DT and KPXL-DT.

Recently Jerry (Realthogue) over at KENS 5 graciously took the time to show me around the KENS 5 studio. We spent a couple of hours touring the equipment rooms, control rooms, news room and news set.

Jerry gave me a quick rundown of what was in the equipment racks. I've included pictures of a few of the racks. Just about all of the programs you see on KENS are fed from servers (no more tapes, Woohoo!). Jerry couldn't give me an exact number but needless to say there were many Teribites of storage capacity and that includes the ability to timeshift HD (300 hours worth I believe).

Jerry showed me some of the HD equipment. Most of it is new (duh) but there is one thing that was interesting. KENS is broadcasting the full allowed bandwidth for HD (I believe Jerry already mentioned it somewhere in this thread). The subchannels do not take away anything from the primary channel. I looked at the pie chart display on the equipment myself and it is true.

Another cool thing is that the Dolby Digital encoder takes everything and upconverts it to 5.1. However, when CBS passes a true 5.1 signal, the encoder becomes transparent so what you hear is unprocessed Dolby Digital 5.1 from CBS. The equipment room in general is very clean and well maintained.

We then proceeded into the control rooms. There are 2 of them. The bigger one is obviously the main control room where, say for instance, the live news casts are produced. There is also a smaller room for other various broadcasts like SPURS games and such. The pictures show the control rooms along with the audio mixing boards tucked away in the back corner.

We then walked into the news room. I saw a few familiar faces like Wendy Rigby and Joe Reinagel. They both said hello and smiled. Most of the staff at KENS are friendly and very receptive to visitors. Jerry showed me the camera they have setup in the news room. It's a Sony HD camera just waiting for the day when KENS starts producing their news cast in HD (which might be soon :) ).

On to the news set. It's quite large. One half is the news and the other is the morning show set. Bill Taylor was in the weather center getting ready for the next show which was to start in 15 minutes. The cameras are older models but will soon get replaced with HD cameras. On the way out I got a quick handshake and hello from Chris Marrou.

After that, Jerry and I hung out for a while and talked about HD locals. He agrees that even when MPEG 4 HD locals come to satellite (DirecTV & Dish Network), receiving locals OTA will still be the way to go. With MPEG 4 something will get lost. BTW, I forgot to mention. The SD feeds from the satellite companies are connected to KENS via fiber.

Overall, it was a very pleasurable experience. The tour was a few weeks back so my apologies to Jerry if I missed anything important. Maybe he can fill you in a little more about what is contained in the pictures. A BIG thanks to Jerry for taking the time out of the busy schedule. I am very much impressed with the people and the facility of KENS. THANKS JERRY!

More pics

More pics 2

More pics 3

More pics 4

I would say News in HD would get my business. Currently I just surf the big three newscasts. There are things I like(and dislike) about each. HD would probably put them over the top.

Thanks for the pics and report.

Interesting, I am now getting KENS better OTA than KSAT.

Hello all involved in the biggest television experiment yet,

I'm just checking in with Jerry, and keeping my fingers crossed, regarding any news from the FCC permitting KENS to throw the DTV switch from spark to flame thrower. I'm probably going to boost my antenna height and get a directional rotation device before KENS goes full power but only because during the night I sometimes lose my signals from WOAI and ABC too. Also, I'm a tad impatient at not being able to receive KENS from my location 8 miles west of Castroville and just south of Highway 90. How far is that from the Calaveras Lake transmmitter site anyway? Jerry? You have an idea? I'm off Hwy. 90 right at the crossing of Hondo creek near the world famous Catfish Lake :)

Does anybody know why a DTV signal might vary in signal strength according to the time of day? Or could the correlation be with the changes in the weather or the conductivity of the night time atmospheric conditions? Just wondering.

Just for luck I'll ask for my wish here. Come on FCC and Mexico's governing officials, sign KENS permit to allow them to go full power.

William Hoover

Hi all, long time lurker first time poster here.

I have a question about WOAI's OTA HD/DT service. A couple of questions, really.

First, how come I cannot get any channel guide info from WOAI? All the other channels feed their guide data but my OTA box (Samsung) gets "No Data" from WOAI.

Also, I've noticed that when WOAI comes back from a commercial break back to an HD program, often the audio is all screwed up... Sometimes there's no center channel, no voice, only background music, or sometimes no audio whatsoever. The problem usually gets corrected within a couple of minutes or whenever the MC technician finishes his sandwich and realizes something's wrong. It's really frustrating. Last night's SNL for example, went thru the entire cold open, the open credits, and the entire monologue with no "voice" audio, only background music and such.

Is there a person forgetting to flip a switch or something?

It seems like there ought to be an automatic switch when coming out of crappy SD back to HD so that these screwups (which happen a number of times per week) don't happen at all.

Is anyone else noticing this?

Thanks.

Mike

(omit...)

Does anybody know why a DTV signal might vary in signal strength according to the time of day? Or could the correlation be with the changes in the weather or the conductivity of the night time atmospheric conditions? Just wondering.
(omit...)
William Hoover
The strength of OTA HD signals you receive will vary because of the weather condition. In my case, there are tiles on the picture if the weather is bad. By and large, I got KENS-DT, though weak, satisfiable so far.

Just let you know that I boosted my mast to about 25 feet and KENS-DT signal is okay now but it still very weak! I would not be able to hook up any splitter 'cause it reduces signal by about 3 dB. Anyhow, I am looking for something like single-channel amplifier to boost just KENS-DT signal. My next step is to stack antennas to receive west signals from KRRT-DT and KPXL-DT.



I found out that my west side is blocked by the roof:-D
If I don't raise the antenna (25 feet height for now), I can't get the digital signals from KRRT-DT and KPXL-DT! Raising the antenna could be a problem for me because I use 1" electrical conduit. The joint (coupler) for two conduits is not too strong. If I would connect another 10-foot electrical conduit, that might be way too weak:-( I don't want to destroy my neighbor's roof, should the mast falls down due to strong wind in the hill country:-D Well, I thought I could use metal wires to strengthen the mast. However, to do that I would have to climb up the roof to set up all these things. Guess what! I never climbed up my roof and I will have to, looks like:-D

Hi all, long time lurker first time poster here.
(omit...)
I have a question about WOAI's OTA HD/DT service. A couple of questions, really.

First, how come I cannot get any channel guide info from WOAI? All the other channels feed their guide data but my OTA box (Samsung) gets "No Data" from WOAI.
(omit...)
Mike

I got Philips Model: 42PF7320A/37 and couldn't find any thing like EPG in my Satellite box! From my satellite experience, some channels do not feel EPG data. The format of this piece of EPG data should be standarized. If you can get all but WOAI's, it is probably because WOAI does not send this stream I guess!

Nice photos and report, Chris. KENS looks like a well-equipped station. I think they need to hang up a few more logos, though. ;)

BTW, for sharp-eyed folks like me, I think your pic of the Weather Center revealed a little TV magic. Not all of those things on the wall that look like monitors are actually monitors. :)

Chris,

thank you very much for the great writeup and pics of your visit to KENS. You did a great job covering a lot of material in a small space. The servers shown are our newsroom servers; the program and HD servers look pretty similar (a server looks like a server looks like a server!) We are a station in flux, with new changes every day. Come back in a few weeks and some things will look very different.

You made us look great! Thanks again for coming by.

Does anybody know why a DTV signal might vary in signal strength according to the time of day? Or could the correlation be with the changes in the weather or the conductivity of the night time atmospheric conditions? Just wondering.


We have enjoyed (suffered?) some unusual weather recently, causing several days of strong temperature inversions in the local area. When this happens and the air is calm, the resulting transition layer between masses of cold air (below) and warm air (above) becomes like a mirror, deflecting TV signals in varying frequency bands back down to the ground before they reach a radio horizon - the line of sight path those signals would take in a theoretically perfect universe. The inversions we experienced were severe enough at times to kill our studio-to-transmitter path more than once. Fortunately this only happened in the middle of the night, so very few viewers knew about it.

The problem is worst in calm conditions. When atmospheric temperatures are uniform or manifest a normal gradient (warm at surface, gradually becoming cooler at higher altitudes) the atmospheric effect on RF transmission is minimal in the local area. Likewise, when the weather is more windy, the layering effect cannot occur at the lower altitudes that cause the problem, so reception should be consistent. At greater distances some RF is bounced off Ionosphere layers all the time resulting in some neat long-distance radio and TV reception under certain conditions that have no impact on local reception.

Hi all, long time lurker first time poster here.

I have a question about WOAI's OTA HD/DT service. A couple of questions, really.

First, how come I cannot get any channel guide info from WOAI? All the other channels feed their guide data but my OTA box (Samsung) gets "No Data" from WOAI.

It is possible that WOAI's PSIP computer may have stalled until someone checked it and corrected the problem. I know all of us try to check our PSIP several times a day, but a computer can hang and stall the moment you turn your back. Check for an EPG again next week, when everyone's back on watch.

Also, I've noticed that when WOAI comes back from a commercial break back to an HD program, often the audio is all screwed up... Sometimes there's no center channel, no voice, only background music, or sometimes no audio whatsoever. The problem usually gets corrected within a couple of minutes...Is there a person forgetting to flip a switch or something?

It seems like there ought to be an automatic switch when coming out of crappy SD back to HD so that these screwups (which happen a number of times per week) don't happen at all...

Now, I don't work for WOAI. But I do know about the equipment and the problems CBS has had with automatic metadata switching on KENS. NBC appears to be suffering in a similar way on WOAI. There is an automatic switch that is supposed to change the audio from 2/0 during commercials to 3/2(L) for programs, if they're encoded that way. Problem is, sometimes the metadata itself gets corrupted in transmission from the network to the local affiliates, and it takes only one missing or corrupt bit to prevent the switch from happening correctly. The Master Control Operator is not to blame here.

KENS-DT has minimized this symptom with the addition of prototype hardware that automatically encodes all audio material to 5.1 surround. As Chris Blount alluded to in his writeup about KENS, this device becomes transparent when CBS transmits 5.1. When CBS switches to commercial, or KENS is in SD mode, our equipment "upconverts" the 2/0 to 3/2L, simulating 5.1 surround. It would not surprise me if WOAI purchased similar hardware very soon.

Remember, although 5.1 Surround has been around for a while, the technology for transmission and switching of complex audio metadata within a large digital video bitstream still is in its infancy. New tools are being developed all the time to improve the delivery of our product to our viewers, whether KENS, WOAI, KSAT or anyone else.

This is truly a learning thread...keep it up ya all!

Jerry:

Thanks for the explanation about what's probably happening with WOAI's audio, I figured it was something like that.

I'll try to contact their engineering people to see if their program guide info is going to be fixed anytime soon.

Mike

Does anybody know why a DTV signal might vary in signal strength according to the time of day? Or could the correlation be with the changes in the weather or the conductivity of the night time atmospheric conditions? Just wondering.


At KLRN, we use outside air to cool our transmitters. We shove a bunch of air through them and dont use AC at all. Electronic equipment is more efficent when cooled. I noticed in the mid summer that our transmitters had to work much harder to keep 100% power. There were a few times when we could not make 100%. We dont have the overhead on the transmitters because this is not our final build. When the analog cut-off date reaches, we will put our DT operation on channel 9. Our transmitter will have enough power to compensate for the hot temperatures.
I think Jerry did answer your original question well. RF is a strange critter.

Pete

At greater distances some RF is bounced off Ionosphere layers all the time resulting in some neat long-distance radio and TV reception under certain conditions that have no impact on local reception.

I've often wondered about that. According to the maps, I'm about 130 miles from the major network towers in Houston. I sometimes pick up Fox, CBS, and NBC from Houston at about 75% which is pretty decent for me not to mention KENS at about 70% with the weak signal at about 100 miles away.

I've often wondered about that. According to the maps, I'm about 130 miles from the major network towers in Houston. I sometimes pick up Fox, CBS, and NBC from Houston at about 75% which is pretty decent for me not to mention KENS at about 70% with the weak signal at about 100 miles away.

And what configuration are you using. Antenna, preamp, tower heigth??

BTW, for sharp-eyed folks like me, I think your pic of the Weather Center revealed a little TV magic. Not all of those things on the wall that look like monitors are actually monitors. :)That is true. It's even more so at WOAI. All of the little displays around their news set are just pictures on the wall. LOL

Last night's SNL for example, went thru the entire cold open, the open credits, and the entire monologue with no "voice" audio, only background music and such.
I noticed that too. Very frustrating. I ended up skipping over that part of the show (it was recorded). Thanks for the info Jerry. I was wondering what happened.

Good write-up, Chris, and great pics!

And what configuration are you using. Antenna, preamp, tower heigth??

I have a 36 element directional antenna...I think it's one of those RCA ones from Wal-Mart. I got it from my uncle. I added a 28 db pre-amp. It's about 30 feet high. Normally I can only pick up WOAI, KABB, and KSAT, but on these weird nights I can pick KENS too. I usually just have my antenna pointed toward Austin since it's closer, get anywhere from 80-95%. I switch over toward San Antonio whenever there's sports on ABC that I want to watch. KVUE's picture is awful but that's another story.

I have a 36 element directional antenna...I think it's one of those RCA ones from Wal-Mart. I got it from my uncle. I added a 28 db pre-amp. It's about 30 feet high. Normally I can only pick up WOAI, KABB, and KSAT, but on these weird nights I can pick KENS too. I usually just have my antenna pointed toward Austin since it's closer, get anywhere from 80-95%. I switch over toward San Antonio whenever there's sports on ABC that I want to watch. KVUE's picture is awful but that's another story.

Thanks.

Hi all!

I've been a lurker here gathering research for my upcoming LCD HDTV purchase (likely the Sony 55" LCD) and had some questions. We are building a house in Helotes that is going to be ready this week, it's located about a mile north of 1604 off Kyle Seale Ranch. I figured it might be time to jump in with a few questions of those that have preceeded me down the path to HDTV goodness :)

My questions are as follows-

1) I must have DTV due to Sunday Ticket. I believe that they do not offer locals in HDTV for San Antonio, correct?

2) I would likely be getting the HDTV DVR unit because once you have DVR, it's hard to go back. Is anyone using the DTV HD DVR in combo with OTA antenna?

3) If going with the OTA antenna, are there any options that bolt to the dish on the side of my house?

Thanks!

1) I must have DTV due to Sunday Ticket. I believe that they do not offer locals in HDTV for San Antonio, correct?

Right. HDTV locals are available OTA or on Time-Warner digital.



2) I would likely be getting the HDTV DVR unit because once you have DVR, it's hard to go back. Is anyone using the DTV HD DVR in combo with OTA antenna?

This one I don't know - but another lurker will no doubt have the correct answer.


3) If going with the OTA antenna, are there any options that bolt to the dish on the side of my house?

Given your Helotes location, I would stay away from the options that bolt onto the dish itself. The best OTA can be had with a 50-75 mile rated antenna; you might want a preamp. As you may have read, KENS-DT (CBS) is hobbled by the FCC and operating at low power. Hopefully that will change soon. I mention this because KENS-DT will be your most difficult reception challenge - until we are permitted to raise our power to where it should be. For other antenna recommendations, see the AVS Antenna thread elsewhere in this Forum, and pay a visit to http://www.antennaweb.org, the CEA site for consumer antenna suggestions.

Mountain_boy, another Helotes dweller, also has some recent posts in this thread that might be useful to you.

Jerry, with KENS operating at low power, what are my chances of getting a waiver from KENS to get a CBS-HD feed from Dish Network? San Antonio is my DMA. I get KEYE from Austin just fine but according to antennaweb, I'm not supposed to get digital channels where I live. Would I have to get a waiver from KEYE as well?

Hi all!
2) I would likely be getting the HDTV DVR unit because once you have DVR, it's hard to go back. Is anyone using the DTV HD DVR in combo with OTA antenna?


I'm using a Dish HD DVR 921 with a ChannelMaster mast antenna for OTA HD.
I'm not crazy about using the mast antenna, but it works best for me in getting excellent HD reception for locals in my area (Vance Jackson/IH10). I couldn't find any decent add-on antenna for the dish, otherwise that's what I'd be using.
You're right about DVR (especially HD)....you'll never go back!! I just love that replay feature while watching Bikini Destinations on HDNET!! ;)

Jerry, with KENS operating at low power, what are my chances of getting a waiver from KENS to get a CBS-HD feed from Dish Network? San Antonio is my DMA. I get KEYE from Austin just fine but according to antennaweb, I'm not supposed to get digital channels where I live. Would I have to get a waiver from KEYE as well?
You wouldn't need a waiver from KEYE because it is an O&O station. Unless KENS has changed its policy, it automatically denies all waivers regardless of merit. I live in Austin and CANNOT get KENS but because the FCC says I should be able to get a grade B signal and KENS will not grant a waiver, I am not able to get the CBS-HD feed. Neighbors a few blocks away from me are labeled as not being able to receive the KENS signal and do get the national feed. I have a co-worker who lives about 1 mile SOUTH of me and he was not blocked from getting the CBS National HD feed. :mad:

Jerry has been very cordial in my discussions with him, but apparently his hands are tied in this matter. And to say that DirecTV has been less than helpful would be an understatement. If it wasn't for the NFL Sunday Ticket, they would have lost my business last year about this time when I was trying to get this resolved.

Murray

Destrada,

I am sorry, but as MurrayW points out, our hands are tied at KENS as far as waivers are concerned. Our Corporate parent, A. H. Belo Corporation, has embargoed all DTV waivers. I couldn't grant one if I wanted to.

As I have written before, the waiver policy may be revisited once all DTV stations are operating at full licensed power after analog TV is switched off forever. Belo is reluctant to give up local viewers because once a waiver is granted, it is pretty much grandfathered for future policies. In other words, waivers are forever.

...I live in Austin and CANNOT get KENS but because the FCC says I should be able to get a grade B signal and KENS will not grant a waiver, I am not able to get the CBS-HD feed. Neighbors a few blocks away from me are labeled as not being able to receive the KENS signal and do get the national feed. I have a co-worker who lives about 1 mile SOUTH of me and he was not blocked from getting the CBS National HD feed. :mad:

I'd be mad, too. What disturbs me greatly is the fool who says you can receive a Grade B signal in Austin from KENS-DT. Murray, we need to get the right information to whomever that is. Can you provide me with any information as to who or what office claims you should receive our Grade B in Austin?

This is academic for DTV, by the way. "Grade B" is a term applied to analog TV service, for viewers more than 40 miles or so from the transmitter site. The further out in the Grade B contour you are, the snowier and noisier your analog reception becomes, until there's no signal at all, even with a formidable antenna. In DTV broadcasting you either receive "Grade A" or nothing at all. So again, please help me set this office straight.

I'd be mad, too. What disturbs me greatly is the fool who says you can receive a Grade B signal in Austin from KENS-DT. Murray, we need to get the right information to whomever that is. Can you provide me with any information as to who or what office claims you should receive our Grade B in Austin?

This is academic for DTV, by the way. "Grade B" is a term applied to analog TV service, for viewers more than 40 miles or so from the transmitter site. The further out in the Grade B contour you are, the snowier and noisier your analog reception becomes, until there's no signal at all, even with a formidable antenna. In DTV broadcasting you either receive "Grade A" or nothing at all. So again, please help me set this office straight.
Jerry,
The fool is DirecTV. They have a utility on their website where you put in your address and it spits out what TV stations you were supposed to be able to receive OTA either Grade A or Grade B. From what I understand this is for analog signals but they use it to determine whether you can receive digital signals or not.

Here's the link: link (http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressForm.aspx)

I spent a couple of hours 1 night mapping my neighborhood and as stated before, some of my neighbors a few houses away from me were eligible for the CBS feed.
I posted a screen shot of my results when I enter my address.

Thanks for your help.

Murray

EDIT: I never could get a phone number or have an "expert" call me back. I dealt with CSR's, Retention personnel and their supervisors who kept quoting that their HD "experts" said I did not qualify because I could receive KENS.

For Harley_Dude:

Suggestion: join FRAPPR, AVS Forum San Antonio HDTV Reception, and you can see where several members live and what their setups are. I'm near 1604 south of Bandera, about 27 miles from the transmitting towers, and you shouldn't be too much further out than I. I do have DirecTV Tivo HD DVR, HR10-250 with OTA and everything is great; haven't had any blocks on my screen in ages, including KENS. All I'm using for antenna is amplified Terk, hdtva, from Best Buy, $60 (open box only $55). That same antenna provides the signal (unamplified) to my computer's pci card for HD television on my digital monitor, a Cornea CT1792T. All in all, you may not have to go to great extremes to get all your locals.

For Harley_Dude:

Suggestion: join FRAPPR, AVS Forum San Antonio HDTV Reception, and you can see where several members live and what their setups are. I like that suggestion! :)

The more folks who post reception/equipment reports on the map, the more useful it will be. The link to the map is in my signature below.

BTW, I see that someone added the KLRN transmitter site to the map. I had been thinking lately that transmitter sites would be a useful addition. I would welcome any more of those that the engineers among us would care to add.

For Harley_Dude:

Suggestion: join FRAPPR, AVS Forum San Antonio HDTV Reception, and you can see where several members live and what their setups are. I'm near 1604 south of Bandera, about 27 miles from the transmitting towers, and you shouldn't be too much further out than I. I do have DirecTV Tivo HD DVR, HR10-250 with OTA and everything is great; haven't had any blocks on my screen in ages, including KENS. All I'm using for antenna is amplified Terk, hdtva, from Best Buy, $60 (open box only $55). That same antenna provides the signal (unamplified) to my computer's pci card for HD television on my digital monitor, a Cornea CT1792T. All in all, you may not have to go to great extremes to get all your locals.

Thanks for all the feedback! I picked up the 55" Sony LCD projection TV today at Circuit City. It's going to be delivered on Saturday to our new home and I'm going to pick up the HD Tivo and amplified Terk antenna this week to get everything going. I'll post signal strength and my success (or lack thereof..haha) on the FRAPPR site next week :cool:

Here's one area I hope someone can enlighten me on....

Through reading back a couple pages on this thread, I discovered they have a newer HD DVR cable box available from Time Warner here in SA, the 8300HD by Sceintific Atlanta.

I currently have a 8000HD. I will attempt to stop by a service center today to pickup the newer 8300HD. I realize that the 8300HD has a larger hard drive for recording purposes, so the upgrade is still worth it....but here's the MAIN reason I'm upgrading to the newer box.

I spoke with a tech rep at TWC's customer service, and after asking the question, I found out that the IEEE 1394 firewire port is *active* on the 8300HD available here in town. My older 8000HD had the capability, but the particular boxes available from TWC here in SA didn't have that connection active.

If what they told me is true, this means I am now able to connect my 8300HD to my Mits HDTV, and fully utilize my Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U DVHS VCR!

Up to this point, I have only been able to record a HDTV signal if I received it OTA (over the air) utilizing the built-in tuner on the HDTV, then using the firewire connection between the TV and the VCR to record a HDTV signal. Of course, since there was no firewire connection to be made between the cable box and my HDTV/DVHS, I couldn't record anything HD from any of the HD channels on Time Warner. The TV is able to downconvert the signal to SD, to be recorded that way, but I wanted a way to record HDTV. Please keep in mind that the only means to record a HD signal with the Mits DVHS is via the firewire connection...it does not have a component input/output. The only way it can record or play a HD signal is through the firewire connetion. So far, I've primarily used my DVHS to record the KABB Fox HD signal to record primarily football (FOX HD is not available on TWC, due to issues between Sinclair and TWC), so this is the only way I have to watch and rewatch football broadcast in HD on FOX.

Now, it appears I have the capability with the 8300HD and firewire connetion. Of course, there are program signals that are flagged 'record once' and 'do not record' for copywrite reasons, but for the majority of HD programs (sports, news, etc., especially sports), I now have the capabilty to create an archival copy for my own personal use, and am no longer at the mercy of a hard drive crash on the DVR cable box.

If what I'm told is true....great! I had been considering a switch to DirectTV, but several things were holding me back-- the costs of getting a HD TIVO box was cost prohibitive, the newer MPEG4 equipment hadn't been made available yet...and last but not least, the big price tag of NFL Sunday Ticket (and additional charge for the HD) is not stopping me from going to an alternate view site (Buffalo Wild Wings in Live Oak) to see the games. Of course, if that firewire connection truly works as advertised, chalk up yet another reason to stick with TWC....for the moment, anyways.

Is there anyone out there who has a similar setup, and is already able to do this...and can verify TWC's claim that the 8300HD does have it's firewire port available? If so, what programming are/aren't you allowed to record? Please help! Thanks in advance.

Bill
Converse, TX

BTW, I took the opportunity to join up FRAPPR. While using a cheap indoor TERK amplified antenna, I primarily use and get the best reception from the KABB HD OTA broadcast signal.

I traded in my 8000HD DVR for the 8300HD DVR quite a while ago mainly because the 8300HD has a much better picture from 1080i sources. The 8000HD looked good on 720p sources but the picture didn't get any sharper on the 1080i sources like it did on my Pace box that I had also.

I know the HDMI output works on the 8300HD but I've never tried the Firewire output so I can't help you there.

Well my TV got delivered on Saturday but I had a change of plans on the service provider. After doing much research and coming to the conclusion that having DirecTV meant no locals in HDTV until "possibly" later this year and having to buy yet another $500 box when they did, I decided to call TWC. I was able to get the expanded service with HBO and HDTV tier plus two DVR's (1-HD 1-SD) for $53 a month with no commitments or purchasing of equipment so I went that route.

Reading the forum here provided me with the heads up that Sinclair won't let TWC carry the KABB signal in HD, I also opted to put a Terk TV5 antenna on the ground floor of my home (1 mile north of 1604 & Kyle Seale) to try and get the FOX broadcast. Here are my results -

Signal strengths-
4 WOAI (68) 70
5 KENS - no signal
12 KSAT (65) 69
29 KABB (70) 73
35 KRRT no signal

So the only thing I am really missing out on is WB with the combination of TWC and the antenna. I think I'm good for now unless the thought of missing Sunday Ticket/NFL Network and the availabilty of mp4 locals in San Antonio makes me go back to DirecTV via some great "new customer offer" this fall.

Also, watching "24" tonight on FOX was outstanding! I can't wait for the Superbowl this weekend :cool:

Since you have the antenna and it sounds like your TV has a built in tuner would you mind doing some comparisions of HD OTA PQ vs that delivered to you by TWC?

Since TWC has the ability to compress and downgrade the signal coming into your system to save bandwidth it would be nice to keep tabs on how it looks as compared as to a totally free OTA HD signal.

Update on 8300HD....

Went to the service center on Pat Booker, and they had the 8300HD in stock. Well, I think, "Great, let me have one"!

Until I look the box over...and no firewire connection to be found. I queried the attendant, and he explained that the 8300HD with the firewire connection is available, but not stocked at the service centers...it has to be ordered from the warehouse.

So, when they call me later this week, I'll stop on by to pick it up. The only thing that troubles me is that not all of the 8300HD they're giving out are the same after their tech support insisted that all their 8300HD had the capability. And if you don't ask for the specifics, they'll be happy to give you the dumbed-down version of the same box.

When I do get the new 8300HD, I'll post back and let you all know the results.

Since you have the antenna and it sounds like your TV has a built in tuner would you mind doing some comparisions of HD OTA PQ vs that delivered to you by TWC?

Since TWC has the ability to compress and downgrade the signal coming into your system to save bandwidth it would be nice to keep tabs on how it looks as compared as to a totally free OTA HD signal.

Sure, happy to provide feedback. My TV is the Sony 55" A20 LCD projection and it comes with built in tuners. I'm having a few folks over for the Superbowl this weekend so I'll switch back and forth a few times between the TWC & OTA feeds to get a group opinion on PQ :cool:

...Since TWC has the ability to compress and downgrade the signal coming into your system to save bandwidth it would be nice to keep tabs on how it looks as compared as to a totally free OTA HD signal.

I've seen this sort of comment before, so I did a little checking...at least for local HDTV stations, TWC does not compress or downgrade our DTV signals in the process of turning them around onto cable. Each DTV gets 6 MHz of space, just like over the air, but without the multicast channels.

In the case of KENS-DT, TW receives our DTV off air, transcodes our 8-VSB into one of the flavors of QAM, and distributes it to subscribers. No additional compression, no downrez, just pass through.

So, I would think you will not see any difference in the KSAT DTV whether OTA or via TWC. It will be interesting to read Harley_Dude's viewing report.

I've seen this sort of comment before, so I did a little checking...at least for local HDTV stations, TWC does not compress or downgrade our DTV signals in the process of turning them around onto cable. Each DTV gets 6 MHz of space, just like over the air, but without the multicast channels.

In the case of KENS-DT, TW receives our DTV off air, transcodes our 8-VSB into one of the flavors of QAM, and distributes it to subscribers. No additional compression, no downrez, just pass through.

So, I would think you will not see any difference in the KSAT DTV whether OTA or via TWC. It will be interesting to read Harley_Dude's viewing report.

I don't have cable but I do have OTA and DTV. The differences in definition are readily seen. The DTV picture is soft wheras OTA is sharp, really sharp.

Oh, yes I do live in Orange Cty, Cal but I have 2 acres just south of Kerville and am keeping up on the need for getting OTA from SA in a few months.

I don't have cable but I do have OTA and DTV. The differences in definition are readily seen. The DTV picture is soft wheras OTA is sharp, really sharp.

Oh, yes I do live in Orange Cty, Cal but I have 2 acres just south of Kerville and am keeping up on the need for getting OTA from SA in a few months.

If DTV is DirecTV in your post, then it's a well known fact that DirecTV down rezzes their picture(HDLite). That's a bad comparison. As far as I know most cable companies don't down rezz their picture.

I have been receiving all the stations, even KENS when it would use the high power. We had a bad wind storm that knocked my signal a little off. I was still receiving 9,12,23 and 29. I tried to recapture 4 but when I rescanned my DTV receiver I lost 12. It seems like I would be able to pick up 12 if I am getting 23 and 29. I would think I could pick up 4 as well. I live in Boerne and the antennaweb.org says I need 137 for 12,29 and 138 for 4,5 and 141 for 9. Seems that if I am receiving 29 and 9, I should be picking up the others as well, except 5 of course. Is my logic flawed?

When is the best time to try scanning so that the receiver will pick up the channels?

Thanks

It will be interesting to read Harley_Dude's viewing report.

Well the consensus was that there was no distingishable visual difference in the OTA signal vs. the TWC feed. The only thing we noticed was that the audio on the TWC feed seemed to be much louder. I believe that was probably related to the SA8300 DVR doing some type of boosting of the audio signal but I could be wrong.

All in all, a very good game last night. Seemed like the officials continued the trend of making some oddball calls at the worst possible time or the game might have been much closer :)

When is the best time to try scanning so that the receiver will pick up the channels?
For me, optimal scanning is dependent on antenna position. I have to move my set-top antenna from one specific orientation to another during the scan if I want the scan to include both KLRN and KSAT.

The game was (Picture and Sound) GREAT!!!! The Rolling Stones sound was AWFULL and washed out like an old Edison Cylinder.

The game was good but the sound of the Rolling Stones was AWFULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was via TWC

Sorry I messed up with a double post

Just a quick update....

Finally received the 8300HD, and after some tinkering and resetting, finally was able to record HDTV from the cable DVR through the firewire connections to my DVHS.

I'll play around with it in the next few days....

I'm looking to get some OTA reception near UTSA's 1604 campus and was wondering if anyone knew how good the signal is out here. I am in a second floor dorm with an east facing window, if that matters......also, whats a cheap OTA HD box that will do the job?

thanks so much.

I'm looking to get some OTA reception near UTSA's 1604 campus and was wondering if anyone knew how good the signal is out here. I am in a second floor dorm with an east facing window, if that matters......also, whats a cheap OTA HD box that will do the job?

thanks so much.
There is a link maintained by Frappr that shows singal strength around SA:
http://www.frappr.com/avsforumsanantoniotxhdtvreceptionreports

If you get an indoors amplified antenna, you should be able to get all HDTV channels except KENS5 which you might not be able to get it.

Hello,
I am new here to the forum and to San Antonio. I live in timberwood park which is up blanco road above 1604. I just purchased a new 42 inch panasonic plasma with the built in tuner and I am trying to find out what antenna I should buy. I really don't want anything next to the plasma so I think either something in the attic or on the roof is where I am headed. I went to antennaweb and I am still a little confused on what to do. It says I need a blue and violet antenna for all the stations listed on their report. I was thinking about buying the terk hdtvs antenna. Could someone please help me with this decision, or if someone lives close to where I am can you please tell me your success stories. I am open to all advice. Thank you in advance

Hello,
I am new here to the forum and to San Antonio. I live in timberwood park which is up blanco road above 1604. I just purchased a new 42 inch panasonic plasma with the built in tuner and I am trying to find out what antenna I should buy. I really don't want anything next to the plasma so I think either something in the attic or on the roof is where I am headed. I went to antennaweb and I am still a little confused on what to do. It says I need a blue and violet antenna for all the stations listed on their report. I was thinking about buying the terk hdtvs antenna. Could someone please help me with this decision, or if someone lives close to where I am can you please tell me your success stories. I am open to all advice. Thank you in advance


Hi jbplank...
I'm using a ChannelMaster 3018 which I bought at Lowe's for $70 if I recall correctly. I'm using it to pull in the local HD channels and use my Dish921 to pull in the balance of HD channels provided via Satellite. You mentioned going to antennaweb....that's what I did before buying my ChannelMaster, which is an outside antenna. It works great for me, as I'm located at IH10 & Vance Jackson area. You might want to check out the antenna's at this link to CM to see which one matches what antennaweb recommends for your area.
http://www.channelmaster.com/home.htm

BarsAntone provided the following link to all of us in order to post your location/reception on a map of our area. Visit this link and you may see that another member lives in your area, posting his/her antenna and reception strength.
http://www.frappr.com/avsforumsanantoniotxhdtvreceptionreports

I'm sure others will also join in and give you some additional suggestions. Good luck.

Congrats on the 42" plasma!!! :D

JBplank,

I recommend you go with a Channelmaster instead of the Terk. If you read all of this thread you will find more satisfied Channelmaster and Radio Shack customers.

michael

Hello,
I am new here to the forum and to San Antonio. I live in timberwood park which is up blanco road above 1604. I just purchased a new 42 inch panasonic plasma with the built in tuner and I am trying to find out what antenna I should buy. I really don't want anything next to the plasma so I think either something in the attic or on the roof is where I am headed. I went to antennaweb and I am still a little confused on what to do. It says I need a blue and violet antenna for all the stations listed on their report. I was thinking about buying the terk hdtvs antenna. Could someone please help me with this decision, or if someone lives close to where I am can you please tell me your success stories. I am open to all advice. Thank you in advance

See my post 1-19-06. I receive all locals, including KENS, with indoor Terk hdtva (amplified) in my attic.

alright, I got the Terk TV5 and all I can pull in are WOAI and KSAT. Kinda sucks. At least I get the Olympics in HD.

I am on the north side of my apartment building, so I can't get near a south-facing window.

I thought about just returning the STB and antenna...is it worth it for TWO channels? Well, after a week, the answer is...YES. I won't live here for more than another year anyways.

Is it sad if my next apartment location is based on how many OTA channels I can receive? lol

Perhaps try scanning again....you should also be able to get Fox (KABB Ch 29) station 30.1, it's at least as strong as WOAI and KSAT. Is the Terk TV5 amplified? I found that the Terk hdtva (amplified) did better for me, and I had tried two others.

I'll give 'er a go. Yeah its amplified, which for sure helps with the ones I DO get.

I might have to try a different antenna. I would like FOX. Oooh.

ok I got the Terk HDTVA, works a lot better. Fox works pretty good now. Thanks for the advice scotty!

anyone know when WOAI is gonna do their news in HD?

It would be nice to have the news in HD, it's pretty noticeable as the bars come and go on the side of my screen as the TV goes from HD to SD :)

I emailed WOAI and the engineer there said they would be converting to an all HD facility within 2 years. woopie.

It would be nice to have the news in HD.Do you really want to see newsmakers like Phil Hardberger and Susan Reed in HD? ;)

I'd like to see Jennifer Broome and Shelly Miles in HD...oooh.

Realthouge did KENs go full power or did my improvement work.?

BAD William here to report I can finally pickup KENS 5, plus a lot of other channels, from my location 5 miles east of Hondo. I bought a $40 30 db amplifier from Rat Shack and put it between the antenna and the tuner and bingo! No rise in antenna height or rotator needed.

Shazam and rock and roll, I feel I've beat the cable and satellite TV companies. Now I can watch all the local channels with perfecft reception and no monthly payment. I like this huge TV experiment! And I got into the game with an $884.00 32 inch Vizio and a $200.00 tuner. Not bad to beat a monthly tithe of $50 to $90 a month. Of course I'm just guessing at the price because I'm OTA all the way and have been for 10 years.

BAD William

I finally started getting HD after the installation of my Dish VIP622 this morning. Dish in beaming HD locals down to SA yet, so I had to get them OTA. I used a Terk HDTVa indoor amplified VHF/UHF antenna and it worked great. Picked up 21 channels with the VIP622's channel scan feature, of which I only kept 4-1, 5-1, 9-1, 12-1, and 29-1. I don't watch the Spanish language channels and I don't find any need to watch radar and traffic feeds, so I didn't keep the network sub-channels.

Anyway, I was suprised to get KENS after followng this thread for a while. I'm getting it at nearly 90% strength. I live off of FM 78 between Converse and Kirby, so I'm pretty close to all the transmitters, though.

I noticed that there seemed to be a mirror broadcast of FOX on both 29-1 and 27-1. I only kept the 29-1 version since it mapped automatically to the local channel guide. 27-1 was labeled "East."

I could not pickup 35/WB at all - are they broadcasting HD yet? I know they're pretty far away and my indoor antenna probably won't reach it, but I though I'd at least get a weak (non viewable) signal. antennaweb.org said broadcast date was TBD, but I thought I had read here they already were....

Also, I got a weird station. I think it was 23 - which antennaweb says is TBN. Anyway, it had 5 or 6 subchannels, all with strong signals, but not one of them coming in correctly. They were all extremely pixelated, but with clear audio. Are they just testing their equipment, or are thye overdoing it with subchannels and messing up their feed?

Hello fellow TWC customers, the following is info gathered from emails to TWC Executive Fred Dressler. These are his quotes.

Future HD channel update

ESPN2-HD - hopeful to have espn2hd in time for baseball.
STARZ-HD - End of the year at the earliest
CINEMAX-HD – is almost done
TMC-HD - is done
Wealth TV-HD - are not in the works
Outdoor Channel 2-HD – are not in the works
MHD (MTV) - will take many months to conclude.
National Geographic-HD - No Word
Food Network-HD - Scripps has not yet made us a proposal.
HGTV-HD - Scripps has not yet made us a proposal.

Hello fellow TWC customers, the following is info gathered from emails to TWC Executive Fred Dressler. These are his quotes.

Future HD channel update

ESPN2-HD - hopeful to have espn2hd in time for baseball.
STARZ-HD - End of the year at the earliest
CINEMAX-HD – is almost done
TMC-HD - is done
Wealth TV-HD - are not in the works
Outdoor Channel 2-HD – are not in the works
MHD (MTV) - will take many months to conclude.
National Geographic-HD - No Word
Food Network-HD - Scripps has not yet made us a proposal.
HGTV-HD - Scripps has not yet made us a proposal.

Andy,

Thanks for the update!!!

I've really been curious when more HD was going to be added to TWC. If they get ESPN2, TMC, CMAX soon. they will have a awesome lineup of HD. Too bad there's no word on NGEO, i really wish they would add that HD channel soon.

keep us informed of any other info!

Now if they could just work something out with Sinclair Broadcasting for Fox and WB :D

Now if they could just work something out with Sinclair Broadcasting for Fox and WB :DBe careful what you wish for here. "Working something out" will likely involve TWC paying Sinclair some kind of per-subscriber fee. Those charges would get passed along to us subscribers. It's not hard to imagine other group owners trying the same gambit once it has been shown to work for Sinclair. Before you know it, monthly cable TV bills would resemble car payments! :eek:

...did KENs go full power or did my improvement work.?..."

BAD William

Your improvement did the trick. KENS remains at penny-whistle power as the FCC deliberates.

Your efforts demonstrate clearly to all who read these posts that a little research with antenna and preamp will overcome a lot of reception problems! :D

Congratulations on the outcome of your successful efforts.

...I used a Terk HDTVi indoor amplified VHF/UHF antenna and it worked great. Picked up 21 channels with the VIP622's channel scan feature, of which I only ket 4-1, 5-1, 9-1, 12-1, and 29-1...
Anyway, I was suprised to get KENS after followng this thread for a while. I'm getting it at nearly 90% strength. I live off of FM 78 between Converse and Kirby, so I'm pretty close to all the transmitters, though.
Cool! I am surprised that you get such good results with the Terk. Probably because you are relatively close to the transmitter sites. :cool:

...I could not pickup 35/WB at all - are they broadcasting HD yet?
WB35 is broadcasting in HD, but their transmitter site is to the west of you. If you like the WB offerings you may want to invest in a separate antenna and aim it west-north-west to get WB35. The transmitter site is in Lake Hills, near Medina Lake. BTW, outdoor directional antennas work best, although you can place them in an attic if you don't want them on the roof. ;)

...Also, I got a weird station. I think it was 23 - which antennaweb says is TBN. Anyway, it had 5 or 6 subchannels, all with strong signals, but not one of them coming in correctly. They were all extremely pixelated, but with clear audio. Are they just testing their equipment, or are thye overdoing it with subchannels and messing up their feed?
That is TBN. I think their Chief has been experimenting with statistical multiplexing to test the practical limits of multicasting. I'll forward your comments to him (he's an old acquaintance of mine) as food for thought.

Thanks Jerry.

I whipped out my compass and pointed my antenna right at the WB tower (according to antenna web) and couldn't get anything at all. Must be too distant for my little indoor antenna.

Perhaps with the coming WB/UPN merge, there will be something closer to SA next fall?

SA's is one of the DMAs that Dish is supposed to be adding HD locals for, so maybe I'll eventually get it that way.

If I can ever get a lock on WB, I may add a second antenna. I guess HD must be immune to mutlipath, so you can have antenna's pointing in all sorts of directions if you want???

I have to forgoe anything bigger than an indoor antenna, becuase I'm a renter who has to move every few years (military), so I cannot install a real antenna. So I may just have to live without the 1 hour of WB I watch each week (in HD anyway).

While I have you ear, would love to see KENS5 news in HD - the only local news I watch.

Thanks again!

Hello people... I stumbled upon you just today and thought I'd join up and drop a few remarks... I'm a retired EE type and converted to HDTV last spring. I live in Utopia (west of SA about 70 miles or so), so my original attempt was through Dish. I then wanted the local channels of course so I purchased a very long yagi type and put it about 40 feet up (I live on the river so the trees and hills surround me), amplified and rotored. I was delighted to find that I get all of the San Antonio HD stations except PBS. If anyone needs to know the equipment I'm using please ask. My only issues are the fact that WB35 is a few degrees away from the other channels, but not so far that it's a problem. The weakest station is KENS and if I rotate to the WB location, I sometimes lose channel 5, but the other channels are uninterrupted and gorgeous.

With the demise of the WB network, Sinclair Broadcast Group (owners of KRRT35) have signed an agreeement to become an affiliate of MyNetwork TV.

This is the new network coming this fall (beginning September 5th) from FOX.

Press release (http://www.sbgi.net/press/release_200632_146.shtml)

With the demise of the WB network, Sinclair Broadcast Group (owners of KRRT35) have signed an agreeement to become an affiliate of MyNetwork TV.

This is the new network coming this fall (beginning September 5th) from FOX.

Press release (http://www.sbgi.net/press/release_200632_146.shtml)

I wonder what exactly this will mean for us here in San Antonio? I only watch two things on WB, the Spurs & Everybody Hates Chris. Hopefully, they will bring the broadcast tower closer to town.

So is UPN, Ch 2, going to be the new "CW," someone else, or no one?

So is UPN, Ch 2, going to be the new "CW," someone else, or no one?

Very Good question...
Perhaps PAX would pick up CW instead....

Problem with Ch. 2 is that it serves both S.A. and Austin so if CW stays with the original WB station in Austin (Ch 54), KBEJ2 would get dropped there.

I wonder what exactly this will mean for us here in San Antonio? I only watch two things on WB, the Spurs & Everybody Hates Chris. Hopefully, they will bring the broadcast tower closer to town.

Don't watch it but I thought Everybody Hates Chris was on UPN.

Don't watch it but I thought Everybody Hates Chris was on UPN.

You're right, I just have it plugged in to record on the DVR. So now I only watch one thing on WB. Does anybody know if the Spurs games they do show on WB are broadcast in HD?

...would love to see KENS5 news in HD - the only local news I watch...

John,

we've installed the HD studio cameras and we're using them already, just in an SD mode. Still to come are the HD production switcher and a new audio console. The digital audio console is now in what we call "proof." That means we've built it and we are testing and (pardon the expression) idiot-proofing it. The HD switcher will be the last (and most costly) component of live HD news. ENG field cameras will remain SD for a while to come, but we will switch 'em to 16x9 so the widescreen format is consistent throughout the broadcast.

So is UPN, Ch 2, going to be the new "CW," someone else, or no one?
Speaking strictly off the record, I don't think that decision has yet been made.

The funny thing about this business is just when you think you know how things will turn out, they change. I'd speculate that we'll all know something official before too much longer.

...Does anybody know if the Spurs games they do show on WB are broadcast in HD?
Unless the games originate in HD from a WB source, no. KRRT-DT, like KENS-DT, does not yet have the facilities to originate a remote broadcast in HDTV. Even though some Spurs games may be broadcast in HDTV on ESPN or NBATV, if those same games are made available to KENS-DT, for instance, we are provided with an SD feed only. The same would be the case for KRRT-DT.

... I stumbled upon you just today and thought I'd join up and drop a few remarks...

Welcome to the Forum, Ed. Always glad to see a new contributor here!

Unless the games originate in HD from a WB source, no. KRRT-DT, like KENS-DT, does not yet have the facilities to originate a remote broadcast in HDTV. Even though some Spurs games may be broadcast in HDTV on ESPN or NBATV, if those same games are made available to KENS-DT, for instance, we are provided with an SD feed only. The same would be the case for KRRT-DT.

Thanks for the clarification. I don't feel as bad now that I can't get WB to come in on my setup. The game sure does look good when I can catch one on a national feed for ESPN, TNT or a local network (ABC, etc).

I bought a $40 30 db amplifier from Rat Shack and put it between the antenna and the tuner and bingo!
BAD William


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

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

thanks!