KSAT(ABC 48-1) joined KENS(CBS 55-1&2) and KMOL(NBC 58-1) on the air this morning. In order of received signal strength at my house it's 48-58-55.

I had the opportunity to speak with KSAT's chief engineer this morning. He said that KSAT will be full power, 24/7 for right now. Eventually they plan to go primetime unless they perceive a big demand for digital. KSAT would then comply with the 2003 50%, 2004 75% and 2005 100% simulcast rules.

I would encourage anyone in San Antonio or Austin who can receive KSAT to write a letter to the general manager or engineer. Yeah, Maury Povich and ABC soap operas don't benefit much from digital, but it would be nice to get the digital simulcast for sports events and such during the day on the weekends. Once again, a little praise typed out on dead trees could go a long way towards showing viewer interest in HDTV here in south Texas.

Jim

I haven't checked today yet but when KSAT was testing a few weeks back my signal strength was the highest of the three networks.

KENS = 78%
KMOL = 83%
KSAT = 94%

Cool, I'll give it a shot tonight. Though given that I can't even get Austin's Fox station, my hopes aren't high.

Looks like I'm going to be sending an e-mail to KSAT. On their DT feed, they place a very bright and annoying logo at the bottom right hand side of the screen. If left there for extended periods of time, it could seriously burn in to the picture tubes.

Chris,

I was thinking just the same thing about that logo. Funny that they don't have such an intrusive logo on their NTSC channel. I guess it's ok to cause burn-in on a $3000+ HDTV but not on a $100 19" tv. Also, did their logo look at all pink/fuzzy to you? It sure did when downconverted to my 36" Toshiba.:confused:

Jim

P.S. On the plus side, KSAT is far and away my strongest digital station.

KENS 55-1 was doing it last night, too. Both looked bright red (not pink) on my 56" Toshiba through a Zenith DTV1080

The logo looked fine on my setup.

I've noticed this evening that the logo is now at the lower left of the screen and is transparent. Maybe they actually read my e-mail or this forum!

Thanks KSAT!!!

Anybody heard anything about when KMOL will be getting their DD5.1 going? I think it would be nice for watching Leno.

I also noticed the KSAT bug and was going to say something to them until I saw it was corrected this evening.

JohnR

Speaking of Leno, I finally got to see a show last Friday. WOW! That's probably the best Hi-Def picture I've seen yet.

Originally posted by Chris Blount
Speaking of Leno, I finally got to see a show last Friday. WOW! That's probably the best Hi-Def picture I've seen yet.

Too bad you don't get HDNet, Chris. Just about everything on there has picture quality equal to or better than Leno.

JohnR

Bump...

Any new news?

Anyone else having problem with picture break-ups on KSAT??

The last half of Alias and all of Practice had tons of break-ups.. signal meter was bouncing around 70-58-37-45-29-65-40- (etc)...

I had that problem when KENS first went live, but get them pretty consistent in the 70-80's. Any thoughts?? I'm located in north central (alamo heights).

Thanks in advance!

-Matt

Matt,

I'm on the west side of town, outside Loop 410 between Marbach and Potranco. I didn't have any trouble during the hi def part of Alias, but I got severe pixelation and picture freezing during some of the upconverted commercials. Must be something that KSAT was screwing around with last night; I haven't had trouble like that during other HD ABC broadcasts.

Jim

P.S. What receiver are you using? I've been using a Dish 6000.

Excuse my ignorance on this subject, please educate me. I also live in Alamo Heights and, after reading the comments here,went to RS and got a double bow tie antenna. I plugged it directly into one of the antenna inputs of my Elite 510. Nothing but static. I assume this talk of "signal strength" has something to do with stallite as if you plug the antenna directly into the set you have no way to measure strength.

Can you, or is anyone, watching HD with a conventional OTA antenna? How are you doing it?

egrady,

I don't think your Pioneer has an HDTV tuner built in. I'm pretty sure you will need an over the air HDTV receiver. There are several excellent receivers for DirecTV. Furthermore, Dish Network has the Dish 6000 and Samsung makes the SIR-T150 over air only set top box. For $400-600 you can get the most out of your HDTV.

Jim

JimboG,

Would I be correct in assuming the HDTV Receiver would have to be plugged into a component video input?

egrady,

I'm pretty sure you'd use the component video inputs. Some of the early Mitsubishis, RCAs (and possibly Pioneers) had 15 pin VGA inputs. The high def component inputs on your 510 should work just fine though.

If you're looking for the best price on an HDTV set top box, you'll probably find it online. If you're willing to pay a little bit more at a brick and mortar store, Bjorn's off 281 has some knowledgable employees and good support.

Either way, I'd really encourage you to get an HDTV receiver. CBS, NBC and ABC all have HDTV signals on air locally. Furthermore, with a satellite receiver you can get HD Showtime, HBO and (with DirecTV) Mark Cuban's HDnet. Discovery HD is coming on June 17th too.

Oh yeah, there may be a cheaper way to get HDTV on your Pioneer! Time Warner Cable has HD cable boxes at no extra cost. They currently have HBO and Showtime HD. Supposedly they will add ABC, NBC and CBS sometime soon. If you already have digital cable, there's no additional charge for the HD cable box. Pretty good deal really.

Jim

Originally posted by JimboG
<snip>
Oh yeah, there may be a cheaper way to get HDTV on your Pioneer! Time Warner Cable has HD cable boxes at no extra cost. They currently have HBO and Showtime HD. Supposedly they will add ABC, NBC and CBS sometime soon. If you already have digital cable, there's no additional charge for the HD cable box. Pretty good deal really.

Jim [/B]
</snip>



WHOOAAA there... who do you have to talk with at Time Warner to get a customer service rep with a clue??? I would probably be interested in this... especially if they're gonna pickup the big three...

-Matt

PS: Oh, and by the way, I've got the RCA DTC-100 reciever.

Mbeebe,

TWC Customer Service responded to my e-mail telling me they're "negociating" with the locals to add the HD transmissions. What I don't know is if the negociations are at the local or corporate level. In other words, does each market make their own deal or is it negociated at a national level?

Is there anyone out there who is already getting the big three in HD from TWC?

egrady

I hear Houston has for some time.

I noticed today that, on my Zenith, channel 58-1 has been remapped to 4-1. I guess KMOL has added the appropriate header information. It will simplify things for my wife when the other stations follow.

I wouldn't count on Time Warner Cable getting HD locals on their system any time soon and even if they did, it's almost impossible to get a converter box. They are in short supply and when you try to order one, you are put on a waiting list.

So far all three stations here in town look great. One thing that was really nice was seeing "The Sixth Sense" on ABC in Hi-Def AND Dolby Digital 5.1. That was really cool but I could't stand the numorous commercial breaks so I ended up pulling out the DVD. I will be the first in line for an HDTV recordable PVR.

I noticed today that KENS also is mapping to 5-1/5-2, but I no longer have a picture. I get a signal strength in the upper 70s on my Hughes Platinum DirecTV receiver. ALso, it seems that KSAT went away yesterday. Getting no signal at all on 48. Still 100 on KMOL though. Guess it is just a matter of working out the bugs.

According to the post of gmclaughlin in the HDTV Hardware Forum, under the heading "New Cable Boxes Debuted", the lucky TWC Customers in Maitland, FL are already getting the majors HD Broadcasts. If what he says is true, it's up to the local TWC Company to add the HD material to their line up, or not. I wonder what is holding TWC here in SAT back?

Send TWC and tell them you want HDTV where you live once the locals are broadcasting it OTA! I'm between a rock and a hard place. TWC won't say when the HD material will be added. I could buy HDTV tuners for my two sets at $600 a pop and hook them to an OTA antenna. I'm sure if I did that TWC would add the HD stuff the next day. UGH!

I tried to tune into KMOL last night to see if the LA Law movie looked decent in HD. Unfortunately they were off the air. Clear Channel is headquartered here in San Antonio. Don't any of their execs have HDTVs? Don't any of the Clear Channel staff watch their own local digital TV station?

I asked if they would have the station back in time for Saturday's Preakness. The guy at master control said they hadn't heard yet that it would be in HD. Didn't NBC send out a press release three weeks ago?

Jim

Originally posted by JimboG
I asked if they would have the station back in time for Saturday's Preakness. The guy at master control said they hadn't heard yet that it would be in HD. Didn't NBC send out a press release three weeks ago?

Jim

This is why it's nice to have HDNet. And yes, the press release said all three Triple Crown races. By the way, I'm really thinking that War Emblem has a great chance at the Triple Crown.

JohnR

This morning KENS-DT switched off their PSIP stream. This should enable more viewers with expensive hardware to pick up HD content on 5-1. Channel mapping remains 5-0 = KENS analog, 5-1 = KENS-DT (HD) and 5-2 = KENS-SD (multicast). Apparently there's a bug in the existing PSIP scheme that blocks some receivers and STB's from receiving video and audio stream if PSIP is streaming. I've noticed that Hughes and Toshiba receivers/STB's don't like the KENS PSIP, but RCA, Zenith and others work fine.

So what happened to KSAT? Are they off the air or am I just not picking them up? I get KMOL and KENS at 100% on my meter....

For the record, my STB is a Hughes E-86 and I use DirecTV.

Realthogue,

Welcome to the forum! That's good news about PSIP being turned off until everything can be ironed out. I'll have to go home and remap KENS this evening. If everything works out all right, I'll go ahead and let Dish know that I've moved to San Antonio. I've been afraid to lose WCBS-DT from Dish until I was certain that I could watch the local CBS HD channel. Maybe I can finally order that Dish 501!:cool:

I don’t want to encourage multicasting too much, but here goes. Why doesn’t KENS show their 24 hour news channel on their SD subchannel instead of just copying the channel 5 analog feed in SD? I know Belo co-produces this channel with Time Warner, but this would be an easy way for people with satellite or over the air digital only to watch the 24 news channel. Assuming this channel is advertising supported, the increased viewership could only help.

Jim

Originally posted by Deltoid
So what happened to KSAT? Are they off the air or am I just not picking them up? I get KMOL and KENS at 100% on my meter....

For the record, my STB is a Hughes E-86 and I use DirecTV.

I believe that KSAT is only broadcasting digital in the evening. Check them again this evening.

JohnR

I just sent emails to WTNZ (FOX) and WATE (ABC) which were both indicated as "going live" on June 1st acording to TitanTV. Here are the responses I received:

From WTNZ (FOX):

We will be signing on with the digital tower by the end of June. We are awaiting the delivery of a new transmitter.

Thank you for you comments,
WTNZ Programming

From WATE (ABC):

Dear Sean.....we are set to turn on the digital in June...but probably more like mid-June. Please remember that when we do turn on.....you will find our digital offerings on Channel 26. Our analog signal will continue on Channel 6. Also know that the cable systems are not carrying the digital signals yet. So............you will have to pick up Channel 26 off of your TV antenna.

I am sorry if you already knew all of that. But many people are confused by how the consumer will receive the digital programming being offered. I hope this helps.

I've been watching the men put the final touches on the new antenna for ABC, NBC, and FOX. It looks like they are almost finished. It's fascinating to watch the men climbing way up on the top of that structure and riding their little makeshift elevator. Something should be on the air pretty soon.
I have to get my cables installed quickly. It is a major pain to run these cables four stories through the center of this almost 100 year old home.
Larry

KENS briefly had PSIP on again today, testing a new software load. Although I saw no posts here, KENS did get calls about loss of signal again. So, KENS PSIP is no longer streaming. If your channels were mapped to 55-1 and -2, you'll still receive tonight's HD offerings :)

There continues to be a compatibility issue with a Hughes chipset in receivers/STB's of some makers.

Back to the drawing board.

I was hoping you could give me HD antenna advice. I live right in Knoxville and I currently use a standard set of rabbit ears for analog reception. I am in a basement. What would yo suggest I use to get the new HD channels in Knoxville as an antenna? The analog channels are not always clear since I'm in the basement. Any brands suggestions?

Also I assume I could get a higher powered antenna from radio shack (suggestions?) install in my attic and run a single coax down to the basement where the HT room is and use a splitter to run one coax lead to the analog input on my Sony HD100 receiver and the other coax lead to the OTA HD input? Would this affect the HD reception any?

Thanks for your input. I want to be ready when they hit the HD switch.

Please post here when you start getting a signal and also list the channel numbers?
I'm assuming living in Knoxville I would not be able to get HD channels OTA from other cities like Chattanooga, Johnson City?

Thanks again

Troy

One more time..... Is KSAT (ABC) on the air in digital in San Antonio? No dice for me and my Hughes STB / DirecTV - not on the list of available channels, and no signal from the antenna....

Anyone?

KSAT only fires up their digital transmitter part of the time. Try searching for KSAT-DT (Channel 48) during prime time when there is something in HDTV on ABC. Other than that, KSAT turns off their digital channel to save on the electric bill.

Jimbo,

Thanks. I mapped KSAT last night during the hockey game, so now I'll be able to watch KSAT whenever they switch on the power. 100% strength for all 3 stations! Now, If I could just get the tv to stop acting up....

More good news with KSAT-DT! Last night I couldn't find channel 48-1. (Hmm, I don't remember doing a channel rescan.) Looked in the local channel menu on my Dish 6000 and found "12-1 KSATD". Coolness! KSAT is using PSIP to remap from channel 48 to channel 12 and it finally works on my Dish receiver! For those of you in San Antonio with fully PSIP-compliant receivers, are any of the local stations sending program guide information over the air yet?

Jim

I get programmin info on all 3 digital networks. DirecTV and Hughes E-86 for gear (plus the BIG antenna....)

Anyone have drop-outs and such Monday night on KENS broadcast between 8 and 9 pm? Have a 100 signal strength, but several times during "Raymond" and the show that follows, the picture froze up, pixel-ated, and then continued.... Anyone? BTW, during the same time period I checked KSAT and KMOL and they looked fine....

Deltoid, I didn't get to see those shows, but KENS-DT has somewhat lower power than KMOL and KSAT. For that reason, slight sync anomalies in the network signal or the coding at KENS itself may cause brief "dropouts" of the signal. Interesting that you see 100 for a signal strength, though. Here in Oak Hills I see KSAT with a 93-97, and KENS/KMOL with an average of 88. That's on an RCA F38310. We see a measured RF level on KENS-DT here of -55 dbm, or approximately 400 microvolts. That's not a lot of signal, and slight changes in the path from transmitter to receiver can cause little disruptions. When KENS can increase its power this situation should improve a lot.

On another subject, Jimbo asked about off-air guide information appearing on PSIP-enabled receivers; as far as I know, no stations here are streaming dynamic PSIP with guide information. KENS and KMOL are static - in fact, KENS are not streaming PSIP at all until a problem with certain brands of receiver can be resolved. I notice, though, that you are getting guide info. Are you receiving this OTA, or via your DirecTV connection?

I honestly don't know if the program info I get comes from DirecTV or OTA - all I know is that the info is there in my guide when I call up 5-1, 5-2, 4-1, or 12-1. Also when I hit "Info" on my remote while watching the show, the correct information is there.

100 signal on all 3 - I love that Big Antenna!

Deltoid, that's cool! Also, I learned today that KMOL is now streaming fully dynamic PSIP with correct channel mapping to 4-1 AND guide information. I spoke to their transmitter engineer this morning, and he says they have had their PSIP up and running only since Monday. So, I was mistaken when I said,
"...as far as I know, no stations here are streaming dynamic PSIP with guide information..." KMOL is the first in town to have full service PSIP.

Now, the question remains, can everyone see them? I do, on our RCA and three Harris ARX-H200's - but those have almost always been pretty tolerant of PSIP variations.

Other comments, anyone?

I lost audio from KSAT the other day when I rescanned on my DTC-100. It is still out now. I guess I need to unplug the receiver for awhile and try again?

JohnR

Well, like i said I getall the info for all the stations.

Tonight on KENS 5-1, there was extremely low-level audio on during the HiDef broadcasts of "CSI" and "The Agency", but the audio sounded fine (normal level) on 5-2. Anyone else notice this? The audio was so low on 5-1 it was impossible to watch the show (lucky for me they were repeats). Any ideas as to why I might be experiencing this?

My new (Replaced by Bjorn's) Tosh 57-HX81 is awesome!

John, I can only guess what happened with KSAT. They're coming in okay here. Were they on air when you rescanned?

Deltoid, sorry about the KENS audio. A Dolby encoder that was supposed to automatically detect AC-3 on the incoming bitstream didn't wake up on time, ruining everyone's enjoyment of CSI and The Agency. Problem was with KENS - your gear is fine.

Just wanted to update the Knoxville area HD info.

I sent a note to both WATE and WBIR.

Here is what I have heard back from WATE:

"Bare with us cause we'll be up any day now. We are
totally ready
from our end but are waiting for our tower crew to give the go ahead. They are having a small problem with the transmission line within the tower.
So...............we are patiently waiting.
Thanks for your interest.....please feel free to stay in touch with us for the
latest."

Has anyone heard anything from the other stations in the area?

Troy

Sean was kind enough to let me know the HD signal is working for NBC. I cannot get it so I may have to move my antenna. I am gettng ABC though.

Hey guys, this sounds great!!! What kind of set top box and antenna are you using? A good box for OTA/Sat would be nice. I currently have comcast cable. Also I have heard some have better line doublers than my Mitsubishi. This my first post... thanks

I am using the Dish 6000 from Dish Network. It can accept over the air local digital channels as well, so I am just running my coax through it and it acts as my set-top-box. As for my antenna, I am just using a regular directional antenna. At the moment I seem to be having trouble finding a point to aim my antenna where I get both a good signal strength for ABC-DT and NBC-DT. If I put it in the middle where I can pick up both, I don't get a good signal strength for either and get lots of dropouts, so I've got to play with it a bit and see if I can figure out a way to get a good signal strength on both.

I just got done watching Crossing Jordan and Jay Leno in HD. Crossing Jordan looks pretty good, and Jay Leno looked great!

By the way, it looks like NBC drops their digital signal right after Jay Leno gets over. I can understand this since they don't have many digital viewers yet and I'm sure it is expensive to run the digital tower.

Sean Dudley

I just talked with NBC, and was informed that they are running at half power until the end of the year. Also, they will be operating just during prime time, or any time something is in HDTV if something is aired in HD at an unusual time.

The ABC and NBC transmitters are on the same tower. This is really strange considering that I have to point to two different areas to pick up both signals well. Haven't figured that one out yet.

Well I went to my attic and moved my rabbit ears antenna around and I'm getting 100% signal on ABC and 97% on NBC!!! WOW...

I use a Sony HD100 Directv receiver and a $12 Jensen UHF/VHF antenna from Sears...I thought I would start cheap for the antenna. Sears sells this as the antenna to use with their HD sets nationally for HD OTA. I thought, $12 I'll try it.

It works great!

At first I only had a 40% signal on NBC and moved it some with my wifes help and I now have great signal.

Jay Leno is Awesome in HD and its FREE!
Watched Spin city tonight as well.Looks great.

Hey Sean have you heard anything on CBS channel 8 having a digital signal and what channel will they have?

Troy

Hi Troy,

CBS is running a bit behind. They are shooting for a live date of October 28th. Their digital station number will be 30.

I'm glad to hear that you are getting a great signal! About how far are you from Sharps Ridge?

I think there is a tree blocking a lot of my signal, so it is rather iffy for me. My signal strength varies a bit and I get fairly often dropouts. I am going to raise my antenna about 15 feet higher to get around the problem when I get a chance. Don't want to have to wait until next year when they go full power to get a solid signal :) .

I'm envious of you all getting to be the first probably in Knoxville to watch digital HDTV OTA. Getting the coax installed from the attic antenna to the basement where all my equipment is rack mounted is a major pain and not well accepted by the wife. (Besides the attic is very hot right now). I guess it will have to be a while. This is sort of like the excitement that I remember from my childhood when we watched the first TV images from Huntington, W.Va and Atlanta before Knoxville had TV stations except this is actually more exciting.
Larry

KMOL-DT in San Antonio is currently off the air.

We experienced torrential rains, flooding, and storms last week in south Texas that damaged a transmitter circuit board. The good news is that parts are on order and we should be back on the air by Friday July 12.

Sorry to hear that, Greg. I've really been enjoying Leno in HD and hope you get back up soon.

JohnR

I'm glad to hear this since I upgraded the software on my MyHD card the night KMOL went out and have been unable to get it ever since. I thought the outage might have been on my end.

Thanks for posting!

Hurry back! We miss you.

Greg,

Don't forget to hype WOAI-DT when you guys make the name change. A new season of hi def programming from NBC and new (old) call letters. Seems like a pretty good opportunity to tout HDTV to Lowry Mays, Red McCombs and the 10 of us on AVS forum who can afford an HDTV!;)

Jim

Jim,

I got into HDTV with my Sony 1251 that I picked up for $750. The point being you don't have to be well-off to get into HDTV (and I'm not). ;)

JohnR

I finally got a temporary antenna connection to the attic up and running.
It's early in the afternoon, and I can't find WBIR-DT at all. I guess that may be that they transmit only during prime time? There is one strange thing, and that is I'm receiving a very clear picture from WATE-DT on channel 6-1 according to my receiver. I thought that the digital signal was supposed to be on channel 26. When I was setting up the receiver earlier today it indicated that a channel 26 was being received, but I can't find anything on channel 26. WATE-DT is on channel 6-1 according to my Panasonic TU-HDS20 receiver. I'll try again tonight, and see if it will pick up WBIR.
Larry

FYI, readers: KENS-DT plans to resume streaming PSIP this week, probably Tuesday, July 16. This is to restore correct channel mapping and prepare for full PSIP operation, including a new EPG for KENS-DT 5-1. I probably don't have to ask for reception reports, they'll "stream" in - but please let me know how your receivers map the station (or how they do NOT map it) once PSIP is back in the mix. I'll add another message within the hour it is in the stream.

Realthogue,

That sounds great! I look forward to seeing streaming PSIP on KENS-DT. Hopefully my Dish 6000 will deal with this gracefully.

Everybody,

On a completely unrelated note, www.titantv.com claims that KWEX-DT is going live today. Has anyone seen hide or hair of digital Univision? If yes, I'm sure their engineers would appreciate reception reports.

Titan TV has been (charitably) unrealiable in listing predicted dates for start of service from various local broadcasters. If Titan TV can be believed, both Univision and Telemundo will be on the air by the 1st of August.

Jim

Jim, I don't know anything about KWEX, but I will ask.

Meanwhile, KENS began streaming PSIP at 0840 today. So far, everything looks normal - but then, it has always looked normal, even when many viewers were muted by this action. Let me know what you see - or don't.

5-1 and 5-2 are coming in fine on my Zenith DTV-1080

Last night I watched a few minutes of Everybody Loves Raymond on TWC channel 155, KENS-HD. A bit of a let down. The picture would go blank every so often, not during the commericals of course, but my main concern was the quality of the picture. While it was good, it didn't look any better than a average dvd on my Elite 510.

What does CBS broadcast in HD that really looks good? Maybe my 2000HD box needs to be upgraded. I'm perplexed because some of the stuff on HBO, like the Sopranos, looks fantastic.

Hi Larry,

Generally WBIR and WATE are just broadcasting during prime time on their digital tower. WATE has its digital signal at channel 26, but it does get remapped to 6-1 on many receivers. The digital signal has the ability to remap to a different channel number, so your analog channel and your digital channel end up in the list together. You should find that WBIR remaps to 10-1 also.

Sean Dudley

Has anyone else had a problem receiving KMOL DT tonight. It seems that sometimes it's there and sometimes not. I do a manual add, and it finds 58 digital, maps 4-1, but then shows "no signal."

Originally posted by sfmartin
Has anyone else had a problem receiving KMOL DT tonight. It seems that sometimes it's there and sometimes not. I do a manual add, and it finds 58 digital, maps 4-1, but then shows "no signal."

They've been off the air since the flood. I guess they're still working on getting to full power.

JohnR

Hey Guys, Where is Sharps Ridge ? What kind of Antenna should I be using from say 50 miles away?

Sharp's ridge is 3 or 4 miles north of downtown Knoxville. One of those antenna related web sites like Titantv or 100,000 watts.com should have the exact cooordinates or you can point your antenna in a generally due East direction. Since mine is in the attic of an old house with a tile roof I'm using a deep fringe UHF antenna. The newer UHF antenna say compatible with HDTV on the box. I bought mine from Shield's electronics in Knoxville.
I live in a very bad location for reception of any analog TV from Sharp's Ridge. It was impossible to get a good picture with any of the analog stations, but I'm getting a perfect HDTV picture on Channel 26-1 WATE-DT and channel 31-1 WBIR-DT. Unfortunately my STB doesn't have a signal strength meter for OTA so I don't know what my signal strength is, but it seems to be enough.
Larry

Hi Eddie,

WBIR and WATE are currently just transmitting at half power (and only during prime time). I seriously doubt you will be able to pick the stations up in Crossville while they are at half power. At the end of the year when they are supposed to go to full power, you may be able to receive them.

Sean Dudley

eGrady,

You say you were not impressed with the CBS signal from TWC. You may want to consider getting a UHF antenna and picking up all the local digital channels that way. You will be amazed at the difference. The OTA digital signal is at least 10 times more crisp and clear than the TWC feed you are watching, due mostly to compression of the cable signal. You don't need to spend a fortune on an antenna either (although I know some do). I spent about 35 bucks on the antenna and about the same amount on hardware to strap it on to my chimney and run the cable down to my STB.

eGrady,

You say you were not impressed with the CBS signal from TWC. You may want to consider getting a UHF antenna and picking up all the local digital channels that way. You will be amazed at the difference. The OTA digital signal is at least 10 times more crisp and clear than the TWC feed you are watching, due mostly to compression of the cable signal. You don't need to spend a fortune on an antenna either (although I know some do). I spent about 35 bucks on the antenna and about the same amount on hardware to strap it on to my chimney and run the cable down to my STB.

Oops! Sorry about the double post.

For the record, the streaming PSIP from KENS is coming in fine. I have program info now for KENS and KMOL. Have to wait until prime time to check KSAT.

What happened to the weather radar depiction on 5-2? It was great to have during the rain storms we had - heck, having the ol' UHF antenna and watching the local channels during the storm was great, since the signal was not coming through on the SAT during that time.

Deltoid,

I'm getting very tempeted to do what you suggest. If TWC doesn't improve the signal I'll have no choice.

To further complicate this mess last night I watched a few minutes of King of Queens. It looked marginal at best. But, when they showed a CBS commercial advertising their hdtv programming it looked wonderful. I wonder if King of Queens is upconverted ntsc?

The TWC signal won't get better. They compress the heck out of the signal, and that's the way it will always be. You will be much happier with the antenna.

The commercial you see on CBS looks so awesome because the commercial was filmed using a High Def camera, not because of some sort of conversion or any other manipulation. It was simply shot with hi-def equipment. Just like the shows you watch on HDNet (if that is even available on TWC). The HD Net shows are all shot with hd gear.... very impressive!

A couple of nights ago I noticed that Jay Leno was broadcast on WBIR-DT in 4X3 standard resolution. I wondered if someone had forgotten to throw a switch at the local station or if they had decided to stop passing through the HDTV signal.
Larry

I have a Princeton Graphics AR3.2T and hooked up a Samsung T-150 last night. The version on the Samsung is 2.0 so I don't need to upgrade. I managed to find a RS double bow tie antenna and plugged it in. Right away I got 4-1 and 4-2 on the guide. I get a great picture on 4-1 but 'no signal' on 4-2. Later in the evening (while watching Jay Leno in HDTV WOW!)I could find 12-1 on the guide but 'no signal' came in. Everyone else that posted here has gotten KENS channel 5-1 just fine. I can't figure what's going on. It doesn't even show on the guide. What is on that channel and should I be seeing something there? Thanks for any help.

Well, you may want to try looking for 55-1 and 55-2 - these are the other places that KENS can be found. I don't know a thing about your STB, but I suggest that during the the hours of 8-11 p.m. you search for 4-1, 5-1, 5-2, and 12-1 since these are the times you are most likely to see the stations turn on their digital signals.

Hey, REALTHOGUE, if you are out there...... why is it that KENS has dropped all programming for 5-2? Also, why is it that of all 3 networks, KENS is the only one that consistently breaks-up during a digital broadcast? I watch Leno all the time and it never breaks up; KSAT never breaks up either. But once again, during CSI (Love that show!) the program breaks up/stops multiple times. I have a signal strength of over 85% for all three stations! Any ideas?

Anyone else notice this? Anyone? Bueller?

KENS is broadcasting at a lower power than the other two but I don't know if that's your problem since you get a high signal strength. Maybe you're getting a multipath from somewhere that cancels the signal occasionally.

I'm at Culebra outside of 410 and I get a weak signal from KENS but as long as it's over 50 it doesn't drop out.

JohnR

No drop out at all? Amazing....

Like I said, I have well over 85% all the time on the meter. CSI (or whatever is on KENS) consistently breaks up - I'd say about 4 to 7 times per hour. Drop out of voice with a frozen picture, picture freeze with continuing voice, and freeze-up of picture and voice are the three conditions I experience, but only while watching KENS. Who knows, maybe I am getting some whacky interference. I tend to doubt it though - I have a LARGE UHF antenna on the roof with terrific line-of-site to the south where the antenna farm is. I live east of I-35, north of 1604, just off FM 3009 (Natural Bridge Caverns Road = FM 3009).

Hmmm....

Deltoid..The Samsung 150 STB has a "Guide" feature that automatically searches for stations in your area. It found 4-1, 4-2 and 12-1. It didn't find 5-1 or 5-2. When I manually key in 58 (for channel 4) it automatically shows me 4-1 and 4-2. But when I key in 55 it doesn't show me anything.
I am about 32 miles from the towers, how far do you thing you are? I am getting 4-1 just fine but have terrible breakups on 12-1 in addition to it locking up the STB. I'm guessing that these are broadcaster problems but what do I do if that is the case? Thanks for any info.

Does your STB have a way for you to see the signal strength, perhaps somewhere in the setup menu? You may want to check the strength of your signal. Remember, with digital, you either have the signal or you don't - no "snow" like analogue.

All three networks are broadcasting from the same antenna farm down in Elmendorf. I am 28 miles north of it, give or take. Since KENS has lower output, that may explain why you are not picking it up. Maybe the bow-tie arrangement you are using is not able to catch the signals. I would say that 32 miles is pushing the limits of a bow-tie. Not bad-mouthing bow-ties, but a normal UHF antenna (the old-fashioned, roof-top ones) are terrific. Good for up to 60 miles, plus they have "gain" which helps.

Good luck!

Deltoid,

The STB has a bar graph that shows signal strength. The only channel I can check is channel 4-1 because channel 12-1 locks the STB and I can't use any of the keys. I am getting six bars on 4-1 and from all I read on the forums, this is very good reception for the Samsung. Other people in the forums say that with that strength they are getting all the channels. Today I hooked the STB to the hugh antennea I have in the attic. I got the same signal strength. I'm wondering if channel 5-1 broadcasts can be picked up on the Samsung.

Sandy... Since I don't have the Samsung, I really do not know its capabilities. Perhaps Realthogue can shed some light on this....

Realthogue,

I read your post of 16 July about KENS and PSIP. I'm wondering if this is my problem. I am using a Samsung 150 STB and as soon as I hooked it up to the RS double bow tie antenna, it mapped 4-1,4-1 and 12-1. I have no trouble whatsoever with 4-1. But my STB does not find CBS. It doesn't show 5-1 or 5-2 and manually inputting 55 does nothing. Do you have any ideas? Also, about 12-1. I get the picture and sound really good but there is a drop out about every 18 seconds and then it is back on. A strange thing about this that it will LOCK UP the STB solid. No buttons on the remote work nor will powering down or unplugging. I have discovered a work around for this is the power down and in the few seconds before it locks of the 12-1 signals I repeatedly press the channel up on the remote. If I do this really fast, I can switch channels before the STB locks and I'm frozen again. Interesting huh? Do you have any thoughts on these problems?

Its 10:00AM on Sunday 11 August, I was getting channel 4-1 just fine until yesterday and now there is no data on the guide and no signal when I tune to that channel. Anyone else in San Antonio getting channel 4-1 right now or is it my receiver? Please tell me the station is not broadcasting.

Well, if it is any consolation, I have no signal for NBC either. KENS is 100%, and KSAT is also off the air (digital, that is, which is normal for them since they only seem to turn it on during the evening).

Thank you Deltoid!!! I have been fiddling with the antenna all morning. Thanks a lot...now I know it is the station. Really appreciate your posts.

Just installed by Hughes HDTV receiver. Now for an off the air antenna. For those of you that live in Knoxville what do you use/recommend. I live in Farragut about 17 miles from Sharp's Ridge. I can put it in my attic and if necessary use a signal amp. Thanks in advance.

You will need a directional antenna. Point it directly at Sharp's Ridge. Keep in mind that ABC-DT and NBC-DT (the only digital stations on the air locally right now) are at half power until the end of the year. I live about 5 miles closer to the towers than you do, and had to raise my antenna an additional 10 feet or so to get a good signal. (I think my neighbors house was in the way, so I had to get over his house.) You may need to mount the antenna fairly high to get a good signal depending on your surroundings since they are at half power.

Good luck!

Sean Dudley

I use a standard Jensen HD antenna from Sears. Its sells for under $20 and I get both HD channels currently in Knoxville at 97% and 100% signal. Its about the size of a standard book with two extending antennas you can direct towards Sharps ridge.

Hey Sean Please post as soon as you start getting a CBS or FOX HD feed. I assume CBS is still slated for Nov 1st? How about FOX?
Fox will be channel?
CBS will be channel 30 right?

I hope CBS gets going because its a good chance some UT football games will be in HD like the Flordia game was last year.

Originally posted by Troytn
Hey Sean Please post as soon as you start getting a CBS or FOX HD feed. I assume CBS is still slated for Nov 1st? How about FOX?
Fox will be channel?
CBS will be channel 30 right?

I hope CBS gets going because its a good chance some UT football games will be in HD like the Flordia game was last year.

Hi Troy,

The channel numbers and current "live" dates are:

CBS-DT (WVLT) - Channel 30 - Oct. 28th
FOX-DT (WTNZ) - Channel 34 - Aug. 30th

Sean

Anybody out there in the San Antonio area have a Samsung T-150 set top box? I was just wondering if you are having any problems receiving the big three stations. And, do you have an indoor or outdoor antenna?

Deltoid,

I live out 1 1/2 miles outside 410 along Vance Jackson. I've had breakups on 5-1 since day one as you describe. Both before and after I installed a larger antenna. Very good signal strength doesn't seem to matter. Never any breakups on the other digitals. The problem could be in their feed from CBS.

I've had a Sony XBR 450 set for over a year now and I want to see the HD off the air. Right now I'm living on a hilltop in West Hills in an apartment. If I went ahead and got a tuner box could I pick up ABC & NBC with just rabbit ears. BTW, I'm on the bottom floor.

I'm moving into a condo on a lane off Ginn Road, which is off Alcoa Hi-way, near Southgate Shopping Center, about the end of October. Then I'll really be serious about OTA reception. I'm worried about reception there. I won't be right next to any of those big ridges along the river, but they are between me and Sharp's Ridge. I won't be on a high spot. I'll be able to get an outdoor antenae but I'm worried that the woods behind my place, between me and Sharp's Ridge will cause a problem. I've been reading HDTV subjects here on the forum for several hours straight, and it seems that trees can interfere...?

I have no idea what tuner I'll get but I'm leaning towards getting DirecTV for SD satelite and watching HD off the air for now. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!:)

Hi Rachael,

I doubt you'd get very good reception on the bottom floor with rabbit ears. The digital towers are broadcasting at half power until the end of the year, and they are in the UHF spectrum. UHF signals are line of sight, so if anything is in the way you won't get the signal. I am about 10 miles further away from the towers than you are, and already had an antenna on the top of my house, but had to raise it about another 10 feet to get good solid reception.

I doubt the ridges along the river will be a problem since Sharp's Ridge is so high. The fact that they are broadcasting half power may make it difficult to get a good signal in Alcoa until after the end of the year, though.

Regarding the trees, they can certainly cause a problem with UHF. It's best if you can get your antenna above the trees. Don't know how feasable that is at your upcoming location, though.

I am not positive how the DirecTV system works in terms of tuning off-air signals. I have a Dish 6000 (from Dish Network) with an 8VSB tuner cartridge that plugs into it so I am able to tune the local channels through it. I would assume you can do something similar with the DirecTV stuff.

Good luck!

Sean Dudley

Thanks for the reply Sean! I won't be living in Alcoa, just right off Alcoa Hi-way in Knoxville, about 2 miles past U.T. Hospital. You must have driven there? Remember how big those hills are...? I'll actually be in the city because of strip annexation right along the hi-way. I am worried about those ridges. They are almost as high as Sharp's Ridge. I'll go look at the trees behind my rising structure. I am on a little rise and the trees are downhill from my the site of my soon to be back porch. I read the FCC reg's last night and I can have an antenae 12 feet above my roofline before the homeowners association has any grounds to protest it.

I'm considering getting a Samsung OTA tuner or a DirecTV hi-def box. I'll be reading the several HDTV forums more closely till move-in day comes. It ain't easy getting an HDTV signal. I do know one thing, I've had enough of "Crumcast's" crappy service and high prices. I'm divourcing Crumcast! :) Best wishes!

SFMartin,

Thanks for the info. I suspect they have a low power output here at KENS. Time for a phone call....

D

Hooked everything up and received my first OTA television program, Speed2, Alias and The Practice on ABC. I am using Directv as my satellite service with a Hughes HD Receiver. I have a Silver Sensor antenna in my attic (3rd level) and got a signal level of 100. Must admit that the picture from the HDNET channel on Directv is much clearer and sharper than the HD OTA picture from ABC. Wonder if this is because ABC is 720p while CBS & NBC are 1080i? I am going to try Jay Leno this evening.

Deltoid and SFMartin,
we have been looking into the occasional breakup in our HD service since day one, as you describe; the symptom we see here on a somewhat more sophisticated receiver is a total loss of RF signal for a second or so, then restoration to normal. I have personally observed a complete lockup of the video and loss of audio, however, without losing the RF. We are patiently awaiting a software upgrade from the manufacturer, but I can't be sure that alone will fix the issue. We are continuing to examine the problem, but so far the cause has not been something obvious.

Also Deltoid, we have put up the KENS SuperDoppler Radar on 5-2, with regular KENS audio. We put that on about a month ago, if memory serves - but in light of the breakup problems the 5-2 content has been a pretty minor issue.

Thanks for the info! I shall continue to be patient!

Strange thing..all this week my Sony HD100 is picking up 2 nbc hd channels. they are mapped as 10.1 and 10.2..10.1 is the standard 1080i prgram on NBC and 10.2 is the local NBC news and live at five replayed in 480i but its being transmitted on the digital signal.
Anyone getting this?
I am watching both a replay of Live at Five from 9pm to 10pm tonight d the regular 1080i NBC shows.
I guess they have means to broadcast two programs simultaniously...At first I thought 10.2 was cbs or fox..I'm Still waiting for them to go digital...

I get my first HDTV tomorrow (Hitachi 57SWX5720B). I live off Louisville road in Alcoa (near the SuperWalmart). I thought I would start getting ready for OTR broadcasts. Could some of you knowledgeable and experienced HDTV people recommend the best approach. I am pretty confused on both minimal antenna requirements and most versatile HDTV box for the future. I am about 12 to 15 miles from Sharp's Ridge. Should I wait until they are broadcasting in full power? Any advice would greatly be appreciated!

Steve

Regarding the antenna, just a regular directional antenna pointed towards Sharp's Ridge should do fine. No need to get a real fancy, expensive antenna. I'm not sure how good of signal strength you will get with the towers at half power. I am close to Cedar Bluff and get a good signal (about 70%).

Originally posted by Troytn
Strange thing..all this week my Sony HD100 is picking up 2 nbc hd channels. they are mapped as 10.1 and 10.2..10.1 is the standard 1080i prgram on NBC and 10.2 is the local NBC news and live at five replayed in 480i but its being transmitted on the digital signal.
Anyone getting this?
I am watching both a replay of Live at Five from 9pm to 10pm tonight d the regular 1080i NBC shows.
I guess they have means to broadcast two programs simultaniously...At first I thought 10.2 was cbs or fox..I'm Still waiting for them to go digital...

NBC is multicasting, huh? I hadn't noticed this yet (haven't watched the Tonight Show in several days). I can only hope that they are not multicasting when they have HD content on 10.1, but from your message it sounds like they are. If they are, it will hurt the picture of the HD signal. I'll have to check this out tonight.

Just curious if I am the only one not getting KMOL 58 mapping to 04-01 on my 6000 model. KSAT 48 maps to 12-01 and KENS 55 maps to 05-01 and 05-02, but 58 remains 58. Appears that the rest of you see it on 04.

I watched the Tonight Show tonight and did notice that it isn't quite as crisp and clear now that WBIR is multicasting the news at 10-2. I do wish they would not multicast when they have HD material on 10-1. I sent them an email asking them to consider not multicasting when HD material is on, and can only hope they may implement this policy.

I stumbled across this thread today and its some of the best news I've read at AVS Forum.

Does anyone know the range of the DTV transmitters? I live in Madisonville and plan on putting up a 100" antenna up on the roof if that's what it takes. According to the data submitted to the FCC WATE-DT is supposed to have the strongest transmitter in the Knoxville area.

I sure hope NBC doesn't start multicasting, if so you can forget about a true HDTV picture. For 1080i broadcast you need the full 20 MB/s bandwidth. I think you can squeeze in one 480i broadcast with the 720p format though. It sounds like they are doing what FOX has done in other markets and transmitting (4) 480p signals which is basically progressive scan DVD quality.

I also found out today that PBS digital channel 17 is scheduled to begin transmission in May of 2003.

Hi Jamie,

I'm not quite sure how far Madisonville is, but I doubt you'll be able to pick them up well until the end of the year. I live close to Cedar Bluff which is about 15 or 20 miles away, and my signal is rather marginal. Most of the time I can get ABC & NBC fine, but sometimes if the atmospheric conditions aren't right, my signal lowers and I get some dropouts and pixilation. This happened to me some yesterday. The reason is that they are only broadcasting half power until the end of the year. So, I doubt you'll be able to pick them up well until the end of the year.

Regarding the multicasting, it is a bummer that they are multicasting during an HD broadcast. Certainly degrades the perfect picture I had on Leno before. Still looks good, but certainly not as good as it did, and I want the best darn HD picture I can get! I sent an email to WBIR in hopes that they will stop multicasting when an HD program is on.

I replaced my Radio Shack double bow-tie with a Channel Master 4221 antenna and I am now getting all three San Antonio digitals with my Samsung T-150. (KENS is about half the signal strength as the other two). I live just above Sea World a few blocks outside Loop 1604. I also notice the breakups on KENS but they don't seem to be as frequent in recent days. I appreciate all the help the forum and Realthogue have provided. It is soooo cool to watch the primetime HDTV shows. Thanks all.

Thank you for answering so soon Sean.

Madisonville is about 50 to 55 miles away "as the crow flys" from the transmitters on Sharps Ridge.

I am curious to know what type of antenna you are using and where it is mounted. Like I said before, I am planning to install a 100" Antennacraft AC9 antenna close to the roof of my house which is about 25 foot high.

Also you might want to check out titantv.com. You have to login, but that is used to determine your location. They have a digital TV guide and information about our area's digital tv that I found to be very helpful.

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

My guess is that you'll be able to pick up the stations good once they go to full power but not before.

My antenna is mounted on my roof, and the mast is about 12 feet tall, so my antenna is about 25 feet off the ground or so. I use just a standard directional antenna and have it pointed straight at sharps ridge.

Thanks for the info about TitanTV. I already use that site, though. :)

Sean Dudley

Anybody have any idea whether WVLT-DT is on schedule for going on the air in Octbober or November this year. It would be great to be able to get the CBS primetime schedule, college football, and possible one or two UT football games in HDTV. I don't see any more antenna construction occuring on Sharp's Ridge so I'm naturally curious. I watched the new antenna go up that I assume WATE-DT is using. Does anyone know if WVLT is going to be using one of the existing antennas already on Sharp's Ridge or if there is supposed to be more construction going on.
The antennaweb.org site now shows the same compass heading for WVLT from my location (11degrees) as it does for WATE-DT whereas earlier it showed 15 or 16 degrees which is a little east of the new tower which just went up. This position slightly east of the WATE-DT transmitter is I assumed about where the present WVLT transmitter is located. I thought that WBIR-DT and WATE-DT were broadcasting from the same tower, but it shows different compass headings for them (11 degrees for WATE-DT and 16 degrees for WBIR-DT). I guess I'm just confused and curious.
Larry

Bump

Hey MY Sony HD100 is picking up OTA digital channel 23. It routed it to channel 54.1 on my Guide. The Channel is PAX, and its in 480i but on digital OTA channel 23. Can anyone explain this one? I was oping it was CBS or Fox. But still no CBS..Any news on CBS channel 30?
Yes NBC is still multicasting every night...
Is PBS still scheduled for next year channel 17?
All we need is CBS, Fox and PBS and KNoxville will be full HD!!!!

Looking forward to CBS more than all of them...

Anyone have any updates on these channels or explain the digital channel 23 for me?

Thanks - Troy

I noticed that Jay Leno Tonight Show is 4X3 SD and not HDTV. At least it was that way tonight. Is it going to be that way every night? Is it because someone forgot to throw a switch or it it because they are multicasting?
Larry

Called Directv and was told NO FREE trial period to see the locals.

Does anyone know why NBC dropped their alias of 10-1 and 10-2? I am still getting NBC HD but at 32-1 and 32-2 but liked the alias since it paired with DirecTV and analog OTA locals.

Oh by the way, the DirecTV locals for Knoxville suck. They a not sharp. Heck, they are down right blurry. When projected on a 100" screen, it is even more noticable. Anyone else notice this or are my eyes going back:)

Since calling directv and told no free trial period I will just save the $5 and stay with my outside ant. getting the NY locals on sat

I'm grateful to find this thread on AVS, since it clears up my questions about the lack of signal on the local OTA digital broadcasts (Thanks Larry R.). I just discovered that the local channels are now being transmitted via DirecTV, so I called today to get connected. That still needs to be done correctly, but while I was on the phone with the DirecTV rep, I queried her about the possibility that I could pick up the HD broadcasts from the local channels when I was receiving them via DirecTV rather than via an OTA antenna. She assured me (twice) that if the local channels were broadcasting HD signals, and I had an HD receiver, I would indeed get the HD broadcast. Remains to be seen...anyone else have any input. I don't remember seeing this discussed...

Larry

I have the SonyHD-100 HDTV receiver and am getting chn6 and 10 in HD when they are broadcasting it. WATE is only feeding the regular ABC feed on there HD channel IT IS NOT in HD.

I will not pay Directv for the sat feed it is low quality from what I have seen at a friends house and It wis not in HD.

A couple of days ago I lost my signal for the ABC digial signal on 6-1. Has this happened to anyone else or do I have some other problem? I get NBC 31-1 fine. Thanks,

I can assure you that DirecTV is not broadcasting Knoxville locals in HD. As Toddytime and I both said, the locals are low quality; well I said they suck. With all of this rain, my digital signals have gone from marginal to not watchable. Still getting 6-1 ABC pretty consistantly but 10-1 NBC is unwatchable for more than a few seconds. My wife gets all bent when the video pixelates and the sound drops. So I am forced back to those low quality DirecTV locals. What I am going to have to do? Do I get a UHF antenna or an amplifier or both. I hate to spend more money if they are only broadcasting at half strength. Frustrated!

Toddytime am I understanding correctly. My E86 is shifting the picture to HDTV aspect when HDTV programs are on. That makes be believe that I am seeing a HDTV signal and it look much to good to be analog only. Where did you get that information.

I also am using an E86. I get 31-1 in HD and it does shift the aspect ratio for HD. You will notice that commercials revert to non-HD aspect ratio. Somehow I lost channel 6-1 (ABC) when Directv added the locals including ABC on channel 6. My signal strength is 100 on channel 26 (ABC), but when I scan the channels when ABC is surposed to be sending a HDTV signal it will not pick up 6-1 (ABC), only 31-1 (NBC). I am wondering if the installation of Directv local ABC on channel 6 has something to do with this.

For good HDTV information, go to http://www.titantv.com/ttv/home/home.asp

You can edit the screens to show what HD programs are on what channels and when the new ones (CBS, FOX, etc) will go on the air.

Now back to my missing 6-1 problem. Maybe I will have Directv cancel my locals for a day and see if my 6-1 returns. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

richardt,

That happened to me also. Something to try. On pages 4-4 and 4-5 of the E86 manual, Local Providers, I followed the instructions and put in the local zip. This seemed to do the trick. Can't remember if I did another scan after that or not. However, 6-1, 10-1 and 54-1 reappeared plus still kept 31-1 and 32-1 and the Directv locals as well. Give it a try.

It worked. Loaded in zip code and then did another scan and it picked up all of the digital channels. Thanks. Do you get dolby digial with any of the digital stations. So far I have not. Pre-amp stays on Pro-logic. I am using an optical cable from the E86 to my pre-amp and keep the E86 set on Dolby Digial. Never have gotten a DD signal. I emailed the WATE to see if they send a DD signal.

Thanks again.....

No I have never notice getting DD on any of the local HD locals. I will look the next time a movie is on one of the digital channels. I have been told certain Showtime and HBO movies are broadcast in DD and I have seen DD on PPV.

Maybe we will get DD on locals when they go to full power. For most of the content they show, there is really no need for DD. So I can see why they might not broadcast it unless they are showing a movie. That is if you can stand to watch one with all the commericals. Anyway, glad I could help.

I emailed WVLT the local CBS affiliate in Knoxville asking when they will be transmitting an HD signal. It looks like no HD for CBS in Knoxville intil January 2003. Here is the response:

"We are waiting on the completion of a community tower which will house our HD transmitter, antenna, etc. It is a better location than the other guys, and will provide an even better signal, especially to out lying areas. It is taking a little longer to complete, but we felt it was best in the long run. We aticipate being on within the next 90 days 100 days if all goes well. Thanks for your patience, I think you will be happy with the result. Thanks for caring enough to write"!
Chris Baker WVLT-tv

Anyone have news on Fox or PBS yet for Knoxville in HD?

Troy

The following NBC programs are now being broadcast in HD:

American Dreams
Boomtown
Crossing Jordan
Ed
ER
Frasier
Hidden Hills
In-Laws
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Thanks for the heads up Greg. Say, I was unable to pick up WOAI-DT last night at all. Was there something wrong on your end or was it me? I was getting my normal signal strength on the meter but when I tuned to the channel I got a"weak signal" message. I'm using a DTC-100.

Thanks
JohnR

According to Chris Baker of WVLT-TV their new community antenna will be located on Sharp's Ridge just west of Sharp's Gap where I-275 cuts through the ridge. He says they have begun construction of the tower as we speak. I talked with someone who works at one of the other stations today, and he says that WVLT has had lots of problems with the company that's erecting the tower which has caused all sorts of delays. It will be interesting to watch the tower go up.
Larry

I've just installed UHF antenna and waiting on Samsung SIR-T165 to start getting some HDTV (hopefully). I had a question about normal UHF channels and quality of reception. I live in Alcoa and aimed my antenna toward Sharp's ridge to get best reception for HDTV , and I noticed channel 20 (analog) comes in almost perfect even though it should be coming from another direction. Channel 43 (analog) comes in pretty good (with some snow). In general, Will the HDTV channels be easier to receive than the analog channels?

Thanks for any response. I can't wait for that 165; it seems like forever!

Steve
.

John: I spoke w/ our Engineers. They are unaware of any DT issues from Tuesday night. Please send me an e-mail letting me know where you live (neighborhood or street is good enough); that could help us diagnose any potential signal issues.

Send e-mail to gregderkowski@woai.com

Thanks!

I am currently using a Hughes E86 in the San Antonio Area. Last Night I was unable to get Channel 5-1 or 5-2. MY signal strength was 100. I tried rebooting the unit and rescanning the channels, no help. Anyone had these problems or know what is wrong??? Thanks....

I had a similar experience yesterday evening. KENS 5 kept mapping between 55 and 5. Same was true for 58 and 4 (must have been coincidence). Anyway, later in the evening, both settled down to 5 and 4 respectively. BTW, it was the first time that WOAI mapped to 4 on my 6000 unit.

HMMM....Still no 5-1,5-2 this morning....I'm getting 4 and 12 though

Well, It's 10 October, and no CSI for me on KENS! In fact, no anything! I get the program information, and my signal strength is 80 or better, but no picture on 5-1, 5-2, 5-1, or 55-2. I have a Hughes 86 also.

My KMOL is also gone - it used to be on 4-1 but is went back to 48-1 (or is it 58-1 - I forgot); same story witht he ABC station (not on 12-1 anymore...)
Hmmm....:confused:

Just got back from a week out of town and cannot get 5-1 or 5-2 anymore on my Hughes receiver. I was getting 55-1 ok until I remapped this morning to see if that would fix the problem. Now I get no KENS-DT at all on 55 or 5. Get the program guide on 5-1/2 though. Also, WOAI-DT now maps correctly on 4-1 while it didn't before the remap this morning.

Mine is still out also on my E86.....Hughes sent me another one because my modem on it went out.....I still can't get KENS either with the one they sent...

Just moved my UHF from attic to roof. Using a Dish 6000 I get 85 - 90 on WOAI (04-1) and KVDA (60-1). KWEX (39-1) shows a 50 - 55. No sign of KSAT (12-1 or 48-1) or KENS (05-1 or 55-1).

I'm in Fair Oaks Ranch. Has anyone else out here ever logged KENS? I really would like to get CBS.

UPDATE:
Rescanned last night and got KSAT (12-1) at a strength of 47. Lots of dropouts though. Looked like they powered down the DT after the news.

KENS showed up at 05-1 but I never got a picture.

Well........ still no KENSD on my Hughes 86. I guess it is safe to say I have not seen 5-1 or any of its other forms in 2 weeks now...... Still have a good signal stength and the program info, but no picture. How's it lookin' everywhere else (all 10-or-less of us who watch this stuff!)?:confused: :confused:

Deltoid,

I'm using a Samsung T-150 and I'm getting 5-1,5-2, 4-1,12-1 and 60-1 just fine. One night last week 12-1 had a full signal but no picture. Then the next day it was fine and then it happened again last night. I live above SeaWorld a few blocks outside of 1604 and have a CM 4421 antenna sitting in the corner of the living room :-). It must be something with the Hughes STB????

Deltoid,

I'm in the same boat as you are I guess...Hughes E86 and I haven't had any of KENS for about 2 weeks.....

For what it's worth, I was flipping through the channels on comcast 10/15/02 pm. I came across new channels: 301 HBOHD, 339 SHOWTIMEHD, 181 WBIRHD. The sound was there but the picture was black. I called their office and was told they would be rolling out HD service ( boxes) in about one month. Lets see if it's any good....hope!!!!!!!

Hey all:

NBC will provide live coverage of "The Breeders Cup" in HD on Saturday 10/26 from 12 Noon - 5pm.

Happy viewing.

Thanks Greg. I'll be watching.

JohnR

Originally posted by KyleB
Just got back from a week out of town and cannot get 5-1 or 5-2 anymore on my Hughes receiver. I was getting 55-1 ok until I remapped this morning to see if that would fix the problem. Now I get no KENS-DT at all on 55 or 5. Get the program guide on 5-1/2 though. Also, WOAI-DT now maps correctly on 4-1 while it didn't before the remap this morning.

Well Kyle, you, Deltoid and Wizard are among several viewers who have lost KENS-DT since we suffered a fatal crash of our PSIP computer on October 4. We're working on it with the manufacturer to restore full service as soon as we can. We are puzzled over how the guide information comes through but no picture. I understand how annoying that is, believe me.

The problem started with a loss of audio that Friday morning, and accelerated to a complete loss of control over the broadcast. It was midafternoon before we were back up with a partial operating program, but we didn't realize we had lost so many viewers with the Hughes E-86 and its family. Hopefully, we'll have your service back early this week.

Originally posted by Deltoid
Well........ still no KENSD on my Hughes 86. I guess it is safe to say I have not seen 5-1 or any of its other forms in 2 weeks now...... Still have a good signal stength and the program info, but no picture. How's it lookin' everywhere else (all 10-or-less of us who watch this stuff!)?:confused: :confused:

Deltoid and others, today I think we restored your DTV - but I'll need you to let me know one way or another. We made a subtle change to our PSIP again that should have enabled all the Hughes-style chipset receivers/STB's. Unfortunately, even though we're pretty sure the code is correct, and it works on a Hughes receiver in Quincy, Illinois, I can't verify it here without your help.

Happy viewing. Tonight is JAG/The Guardian?Judging Amy on the HD side. I hope all is well for you, Wizard, KyleB and all the others!

Realthogue,

Got home from work today, and checked. Everything is working great here with my Hughes STB. Thanks for your support and help.

KyleB

I'm in Fair Oaks with a Dish 6000 and have kept the KSAT signal...just can't get a good lock. I'm getting WOAI (004-01) at 85 - 90 and have a rock solid lock. KSAT (012-01) runs 45 - 50 and rarely gets a lock.

Aren't the two transmitters close...if not on the same tower...and at roughly the same power? I'm running a large UHF on the roof along with a good line amp.

Any ideas why there is so much of a difference?

Thanks

Abner:

WOAI, KENS, and KSAT all broadcast from an "antenna farm" near Calaveras Lake. Tower heights are practically identical. The biggest variable between the stations is transmission power.

I certainly appreciate the feedback that is offered in this forum. It's a learning process for us all!

Peace...

I am about to buy a RCA F3810. I currently have TW cable. In reading all the previous post I have come to the conclusion that I need is a good UHF antenna, a hunk of cable, mountings etc and I should be able to start watching and listening (5.1?) to HDTV. I live in Live Oak and should have a straight shot at the Elmendorf antenna farm. Good guidance is urgently reqested!

Realthogue,

Mine is working as well, thank you for your help.

Jerry,

I'm a TWC customer and enjoy KENS-HD on channel 155. I have the 3100HD digital cable box. The US Open tennis and SEC football are fantastic. But, I have a continuing problem with dropouts during your prime time programing. TWC confirmed my signal strength is good and they replaced the box, but the dropouts continue. Sometimes they are very obnoxious and at other times nearly non-existent. What is really strange is I get no dropouts on 380, HBO-HD. Once again, only during prime time. TWC tells me they aren't getting complaints from other customers but I'm not sure how reliable that is.

Any comment? If they can't fix it I'll be forced to get an outdoor antenna and a HD Receiver.

Greg
I was wrong about getting 5.1 sound..no output from the 38310. Is or will any 5.1 DD in the SAT area? IS the 38310 the best/quickest way into HDTV?

Anybody in SanAntonio want to watch HDTV or help me out? One million plus people and no one reads this ?????

Paul,

The F38310 will pass dolby digital 5.1 through its optical digital audio output. You'll need a dolby digital ready audio/video receiver with surround speakers and a powered subwoofer to really enjoy it.

Unfortunately, most of the HDTV you get over the air is only going to be DD 2.0. The only OTA audio that was 5.1, that I can think of, was the Olympics back in Feb. on NBC. (Disclaimer -- in Austin we only have 4 DTV channels, only two of which, NBC and CBS, are capable of broadcasting HD.)

DirecTV channels will have DD 5.1 where available (on digital cable, I get DD 5.1 for some -- not all, even on the Showtime and HBO High Definition channels -- movies on Showtime, HBO, and Encore).

You might want to check out the "directview CRT" forum for more info on the F38310.

Take care,

Joe

Originally posted by paulbehnke
I am about to buy a RCA F3810. I currently have TW cable. In reading all the previous post I have come to the conclusion that I need is a good UHF antenna, a hunk of cable, mountings etc and I should be able to start watching and listening (5.1?) to HDTV. I live in Live Oak and should have a straight shot at the Elmendorf antenna farm. Good guidance is urgently reqested!

Paul,

From Live Oak to the TV towers down near Elmendorf should be about 30 miles. You will point your antenna almost straight south to get most of these channels. Try www.antennaweb.org or www.titantv.com for a map of where the local broadcast channels are.

The receiver in the RCA F3810 is an internal version of the old RCA DTC-100. This was one of the first HDTV receivers, but it has been consistently one of the highest quality receivers out there. You should not have too much trouble with reception at your range. I live a little north of Lackland AFB, just west of 410 and Potranco. I've been able to get perfectly acceptable reception of all of the local stations with just an indoor Radioshack double bowtie antenna. Radioshack discontinued this model, but it's worth looking around for it on close out. Otherwise, Channelmaster makes a clone of this same antenna and Circuit City carries the Zenith version of the Silver Sensor UHF antenna. Either of these alternatives should offer excellent, low hassle indoor reception.

If you really want to do things right, you can't go wrong with too much antenna. I have a Channelmaster 4248 yagi and Channelmaster preamp mounted on my chimney. It gives me more signal strength than the indoor antenna, but the picture quality is identical. I am this close to getting acceptable reception of Austin's WB station. With your closer proximity to Austin, you may be able to get a couple of the Austin stations with an outdoor antenna and a rotator. You may not, due to a small ridge around San Marcos.

The local Sinclair owned Fox and WB stations are supposed to go on air with pretty low power and only 480i sometime next month. PBS is slated to go on air with modest power on VHF channel 8 on May 1st, 2003. I don't know whether you'll need an outdoor VHF antenna or if you'll be able to get by with rabbit ears once KLRN goes on the air.

Don't know whether you have cable or satellite, but both have HDTV to offer. Assuming you have Time Warner Cable of San Antonio, TWC offers HBO HD, Showtime HD and KENS-DT. You can get the HDTV box for free if you're a digital cable customer, so that might be worth pursuing. Likewise, the RCA F3810 has a built in HDTV DirecTV receiver, so you could go with DirecTV for HBO HD, Showtime HD and the always popular HDnet from Mark Cuban. With either option, you could still use your HD receiver and over the air antenna to get all of the local stations.

Hope this helped you out. If you have any more questions, just ask.

Jim

DrJoe & JimboG Thanks a lot! You'all have given me enoufg info to keep me busy for months...didn't see the little Toslink output...lucky I 3 inputs but it willcost$ to get a 10ft cable...major problem just now is that I had to return the set to CC for screwed up aspect ratios via component input, Not sure if I wantit or switch to a Sony 40XBR 800. Will find out today

HI All, According to TitanTV.com Fox and WB are supposed to come on line in San Antonio on 1 Nov 2002. Anyone seeing anything yet or have any knowledge of when they will begin to broadcast DTV.

They will go on-air at low power in November. They will both be 480i This is what Sinclair sent me on Oct. 22:

Both KABB and KRRT are scheduled to be "on-the-air" with DTV in November. The biggest current obstacle is available installation man-power form the trained and skilled staff of our suppliers. The initial "on-the-air" powers will be ~6-7kW. This lower power is required while the full power construction continues. The efforts underway at this time are strictly "FCC "compliance" in nature, and do not represent the final configuration. Unfortunately, because of the FCC mandate to be on at this time, we had no recourse but to offer a low power solution. While this is not optimal, it is NOT the end of the line for this market.

We will be upconverting our studio quality video/audio and converting to digital in a simple and FCC compliant way. It will take some time for the additional work to progress, and we hope to offer a better estimate of the full power schedule after the current flurry of activity settles down. This work is going on at a large number of our stations across the country. The investment and product acquisition for the FOX Widescreen product (and other network enhanced offerings for KRRT) will come at some point in the future, but is not the present priority. The priority is the build out the high power facilities, and then work on network specific quality enhancements.


Edit 11/14: I have since found out that "dtv@sbgi.net ", the sender of the email, is the same Mark A. Aitken, Director, Advanced Technology, Sinclair Broadcast Group, who is "MisterDTV" here on the AVS Forum -- who mentions the words "high definition" later in this thread. It wasn't clear to me who "dtv@sbgi.net" was when I received the email.

Joe

From Joe's contact at Sinclair
This work is going on at a large number of our stations across the country. The investment and product acquisition for the FOX Widescreen product (and other network enhanced offerings for KRRT) will come at some point in the future, but is not the present priority. The priority is the build out the high power facilities, and then work on network specific quality enhancements.


"Network enhanced offerings for KRRT"? Why not call a spade a spade? What they're trying to hint at is the fact that the WB offers HD programming. I can't understand why Mark cannot bring himself to utter the words high definition.:confused:

I managed to pick up KRRT-DT this evening. It is in a completely different direction from all of the other digital stations in San Antonio. It seems to be fairly low power, but I was able to get a lock on the signal and have had only moderate dropouts. Since they're still playing around setting everything up, I hold out hope that things will get better. The picture quality looks a little better than KRRT over Dish network. Knowing how heavily Dish compresses the San Antonio locals, one would hope for more of an improvement even for 480i. It looks like they're converting a composite analog signal to SDTV instead of 601 digital NTSC to SDTV.

Has anyone in the San Antonio area been able to receive KABB-DT? I get occasional flickers of signal, so I know they're trying to transmit something. It seems like the signal stays mainly at zero but will jump up to 50-something percent for a fraction of a second. I think the problem may be that they're running channel 30 as an N+1 channel from analog channel 29. Because the power for KABB analog is a couple orders of magnitude greater than KABB-DT it seems like the digital channel is getting overwhelmed. It's possible that a strong signal or out of channel noise from KABB-TV is overwhelming my Channelmaster 7777 preamp. I can't get the faintest whiff out of KABB-DT when I don't use my preamp. Has anyone been able to lock onto channel 30???

Jim

P.S. Everyone needs to call Pax and UPN and ask them when they plan to join the party. They're only 6 months late for the deadline for all full power commercial stations nationwide to get on the air. Even Sinclair is joining in!:p

UMM.... By UPN I assume you mean KBEJ out of Fredericksburg...


They aren't joining the party.... They never applied for a digital CP....

They are planning on broadcasting in analog until analog goes away at which time they will switch to digital.



Joe

JIMBOG....Can you tell if they are broadcasting 24 hours a day or just prime time like KSAT?

Originally posted by sandy1202
JIMBOG....Can you tell if they are broadcasting 24 hours a day or just prime time like KSAT?

Sandy,

Dunno, I'll go take a look. I'll report my results in a little bit.

Jim

As of 3:00 PM this afternoon, KABB-DT is still trying to transmit something. Unfortunately the signal strength is rapidly fluctuating from 0 to a high of maybe 58 on my Dish 6000. I know stations are required to provide coverage to their city of license. KRRT-DT is going all the way from Kerrville to my house. Sure there are occasional breakups, but they may go away as the station's engineers tweak things.

In the case of KABB-DT, I just can't get a lock on their signal. When a station has to provide digital coverage of their city of license, does that mean the entire city? I can imagine that someone on the south side or near city hall may be able to get a signal lock while someone on the west side of town but still within city limits may not be able to get a lock. Does anyone have a spectrum analyzer to see whether out of channel noise from KABB analog channel 29 is hosing the digital station? I wonder whether anyone will actually succeed in getting this channel, or if it is going to be like KTBC in Austin.

Jim

Jimbo,

Isn't KABB going to just be 480i for the foreseeable future anyway?

JohnR

I'm at Culebra 1.5 miles outside 410 but I haven't tried picking it up yet. I need to get my antenna on a mast.

John,

Yes, KABB-DT and KRRT-DT are going to just be 480i for the immediate future. In another thread a local Sinclair engineer in Raleigh, NC said that SBGI is going to standardize on one set of components for HD and then deploy it group-wide. While this may take longer, it may allow them to automate most signal switching and avoid many of the problems that have plagued other DTV stations. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. If we're still wondering when Sinclair will show HDTV 10 or 12 months from now, I may not be so happy.

In the meantime, I'm interested in seeing if I can get a reliable signal from KABB. Hopefully it will look better than the heavily compressed NTSC signal from Dish network.

Jim

If you have a UHF antenna (and I'm sure you do) and you're anywhere in San Antonio then 29 should come in very well and give you a good picture. I'm not sure the digital channel will be any better.

JohnR

John,

I guess it's kind of like fishing; I know there's a DTV signal out there on channel 30, I'm just trying to catch it. If KABB-DT is anything like KRRT-DT, the picture quality may not be much improved compared to analog. On KRRT-DT yesterday afternoon I observed a rolling horizontal bar, probably due to AC hum. This was also visible on analog channel 35, so it looks like this bit of analog noise is in KRRT's plant before they encode the signal to ATSC. It also looks like they're just upconverting the composite signal to SDTV. Definitely not as clean or as colorful of a signal as SDTV on the local ABC, NBC and CBS stations. It does seem to be an improvement over KRRT on Dish Network.

I think I may have found a couple problems on channel 30. I tuned in channel 30 with an NTSC receiver and used my antenna rotator to turn the full 360° in the local area. At one point I was clearly able to see visible interference from KHCE, the TBN station on channel 23. This would seem like a classic case of UHF N+7 channel interference. Likewise I was able to hear the audio subcarrier from K31EX, the local over the air Home Shopping Network station. It seems odd that having K31EX one channel off doesn't keep me from getting DTV channel 32 but may keep me from getting DTV channel 30. I don't think having a strong signal on channel 29 and a moderately strong signal on analog channel 32 helps me any when I'm trying to lock onto channel 31. Hopefully this won't still be a problem when KABB-DT increases power in the future.

All in all, it seems like there's some junk out there that is making it that much harder to pick up KABB-DT's admittedly weak signal. I don't know whether I'm getting reflections in my RG-6 cable or perhaps if one or more of the local stations is causing trouble for my Channelmaster 7777 preamp. I can't get so much as a peep out of KABB-DT without the preamp. I would really be interested in looking at a spectrum analyzer to see whether K31EX is sending their audio signal out of band or if any of the other local stations are sending spurious noise that is hosing KABB-DT. I know "spurious noise" is kind of a dirty word to the FCC, so let's just say "unintended impairment" of channel 30. Anyone out there have the expertise and the technical resources to see just what's going on in the range of channels 29-32? Any station engineers or ham radio/antenna/home theater geeks willing to take a crack a suggesting a better way to lock onto KABB-DT? Any success stories yet from people who've been able to lock onto KABB-DT?

Jim

P.S. I've got a Dish 6000 receiver with 8VSB module and 8PSK module and a Channelmaster 4248 and Channelmaster 7777 preamp mounted on my chimney. I'm in Heritage, just west of IH-410 and Potranco. I'm getting a strong 80ish% signal on KRRT-DT and >95% signal on all of the other local (H)DTV stations.

Just an update for the Knoxville HD thread. Fox is broadcasting an HD signal in Knoxville on Channel 34. So that leaves CBS (Jan 1 2003 est) and PBS and Knoxville will be full HD OTA. Here are the High Definition OTA channel lineup for the Knoxville area:

Channel Station

17 PBS Not transmitting yet? Date??
23 PAX No clue why I get an HD signal?
26 ABC Active during primetime
30 CBS Not transmitting yet. 1/1/03start
31 NBC Active during Primetime
34 Fox Active as of NOV 2002

Anyone else has any updates please post em..

Troy

Are these Stations broadcasting at full power? Should I be able to recieve any of them in Crossville. Some 55 miles away...
Tks.

Boy h boy, I go out of town for a while and look at all the neat stuff now happening!

1. Realthogue - Thanks for bringing KENS back from the dead for us Hughes E-86 folks. Once again enjoying the digital experience from your station (man, does CSI rock or what?!).


2. JimboG - since I have an extraordinary amount of free time on my hands these days, I shall attempt to lock on to the mysterious Channel 30 and/or 29 from my place out in Cibolo. My ChannelMaster on the roof is pointed in just about the right spot, so I'll let you know if it can pick up anything. I doubt it, since you say the power output is fairly low, but I'll give it a try just the same.

3. Can hardly wait for December - three more HDNet stations (allegedly) from HDNet / DirecTV!!

Deltoid

I just noticed today that the first section of their new antenna is up. Since the beam of the tower appears to be considerably wider than the other tower that went up recently I guess it's going to be much taller. That will be good for you guys who live a distance away.

I think but I'm not sure that WBIR-DT and WATE-DT are broadcasting at reduced power temporarily. I seem to have no difficulty getting a good picture. Although I am only 7 miles away we've never been able to get a good picture with analog reception due to severe multipath distortion.
Larry

Originally posted by JimboG
I can't understand why Mark cannot bring himself to utter the words high definition.:confused:


"High Definition" There, I said it. Happy now? :rolleyes:

Can some one help me understand something? I live in Maryville and have a large VHF/UHF RS antenna on my chimney in the back of the house. I have a good line of sight to the north. Now the question. I get WATE-DT at 100 % strength on my E86 digital receiver. But, I get WBIR-DT at 18 to at best 41% with constant breakup of picture. It was my understanding the WATE-DT and WBIR-DT were on the same tower. What is the deal? How can I have the antenna point at the tower and not get both at 100%. I cannot get a stable picture on any DT station except WATE. I am very confused.

Originally posted by MisterDTV
"High Definition" There, I said it. Happy now? :rolleyes:

Reasonably happy.:) I'll be even happier to see HD from WB and 480p widescreen from Fox. I know there are a lot of issues to iron out between local commercial insertion, upconvertors, digital microwave gear for the STL, possible 601 upgrades the local plant infrastructure, etc etc etc. Take the time to get it right, just don't take too much time. ;)

Deltoid, have you or any other consumers in the San Antonio area been able to receive KABB-DT? I've been able to get KRRT-DT just fine, but I'm missing out on either sync lock or EQ lock with KABB-DT. The guys at the KABB studio have been able to get it all right. The engineers at KENS 5's studio downtown have also reported reception of KABB-DT. I'm just out of luck on the west side of town.

Jim

I'm not sure what the answer to that is. Do you have a rotor so that you could try reorientation of the antenna? I've heard that this digital reception is a hit or miss situation. Maybe WBIR-DT has a much reduced power level. If I were in your situation I would possibly consider a separate deep fringe digital UHF only antenna. The salesman at Shield's Electronic Supply where I bought my antenna told me that the older design UHF antennas were not optimized for HDTV for whatever that's worth.
The box that my UHF only antenna came in said that it was specifically optimized for HDTV. I hope that helps.
Larry

Sigh. Ok, here goes:

I think I've researched everything I can about HDTV and the options available here in S.A., but I'm having difficulty beating information out of Time Warner about the channels they offer and the quality of such. I really didn't want to play the antenna game again (left that behind in the 70's, I thought), so I had high hopes for TW.

My understanding is they offer one HBO, one Showtime, and currently offer the CBS feed. But previous posts indicated that the signal is not the full 1080i feed, but a compressed version? Does anyone here have a set-up with them that can comment?

Any feedback would be greatly appriciated.

Mr Smith,

I have Dish Network instead of TWC, so take my comments with a grain of salt. Time Warner Cable San Antonio has HBO, Showtime, and KENS-DT. Until recently, KENS-DT was running a radar loop on a subchannel of their digital signal. This means that they were sending out a little less than the full data payload that they could dedicate to the 1080i signal. I'm not sure if they were using statistical multiplexing or a fixed division of bandwidth. If it is the former, there (theoretically) should be no degradation in video quality. I've seen both the local CBS HD channel as well as the New York CBS feed. Ever since KENS 5 fixed a local microwave relay issue, the picture quality has been indistinguishable. If TWC is passing through everything that KENS-DT, HBO and Showtime give them, you should be quite happy.

I haven't heard how negotiations are going for cable carriage of the local NBC and ABC station. As you might know, the local Fox, WB, Telemundo and Univision stations are broadcasting an SDTV version of their 480i 4:3 programming. If Grande Communications and Time Warner Cable San Antonio get these stations over a fibre link there would be little reason for them to carry the ATSC channel instead of (or in addition to) the current NTSC feed. KABB and KRRT have some infrastructure issues that have delayed the pass through of 480p widescreen and 1080i. It could be possible for KABB and KRRT to provide HDTV and EDTV to cable before they fix all of the issues for over the air pass through. I haven't talked to anyone at those stations who seemed too enthusiastic about such a solution though.

Finally, if you are already a local cable subscriber who gets HBO and Showtime, the incremental cost of upgrading to an HDTV cable box should be small. Go for it, you can always switch to satellite later if you want to.

Jim

Originally posted by M.A. Smith
Sigh. Ok, here goes:

I think I've researched everything I can about HDTV and the options available here in S.A., but I'm having difficulty beating information out of Time Warner about the channels they offer and the quality of such. I really didn't want to play the antenna game again (left that behind in the 70's, I thought), so I had high hopes for TW.

My understanding is they offer one HBO, one Showtime, and currently offer the CBS feed. But previous posts indicated that the signal is not the full 1080i feed, but a compressed version? Does anyone here have a set-up with them that can comment?

Any feedback would be greatly appriciated.

I understand your sigh. and your frustration with TWC here in SA.

See this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=187534 for some of the frustration I've had on getting HONEST information from them.

I have DirecTV and an antenna. I was having trouble getting KENS and the thought of going with TWC and dumping the dishes and antenna on the side of my house was appealing. But I feel TWC has not been honest with me and it's left a bad taste in my mouth. They've claimed that they have NBC and ABC in HiDef and they've claimed that local NBC and ABC don't even broadcast in HiDef. Neither of those are true. They've basically guaranteed they will have NFL Sunday Ticket next season.

Right now, I'm sticking with what I have. I may check back with them some time next spring, maybe about the time ESPN-HD comes online. I currently get the HD offerings of HBO-HD, HDNet, KENS (CBS), WOAI (NBC) and KSAT (ABC). I could get SHO-HD too, but I haven't bothered to subscribe to it. I haven't made much of an effort to scan for KRRT and KABB's digital offerings yet. I solved my KENS reception issue by removing a couple of pieces of "flat coax" that I was using to pass my antenna feed through a window and plantation shutters.

Larry,

Can you give the brand name and number of the UHF antenna you purchased at Shields? Thanks

Digital signals are strange. I too had 100% on NBC and 40% on ABC. I just turned my antenna a little and now get 100% both channels. On my Sony HD100 it has a signal strenth meter. I can turn my antenna while my wife reads me the sinal strength. Thats the only way to get it exact. Its very touchy. So play around with it until you get a full signal. Of course you have to do this between the hours of 8pm and 11pm when they are transmitting.

By the way I use a $20 Jensen UHF/VHF antenna from Sears that they sell for all their HD sets to get OTA. Works great. I have it located in my attic.

Can't wait for CBS to get online.

Troy

Many thanks joealtus and JimboG, that is *exactly* the information I was looking for. I have no idea how I missed that other Time Warner thread in my search. I'm afraid it is exactly as I feared - there are around three people at TWSA who know what's going on with HD, and they keep that information to themselves. Everyone else gets a "fact sheet" and will make up answers to questions not addressed on that sheet. In addition, they're going to take the cheapest route to HD that will still enable them to fill in that "we offer HD" checkbox.

Most unfortunate.

Now that most SA stations have some type of HD, I am now seriously considering making the plunge. With so many different sets, 16x9, 4x3, projection, plasma, standard CRT, STB's....I really don't know what to do! I do not want the set to take over my den. I saw a 42" projection set at Costco for about $1200. Nice picture but I am not sure that the screen is big enough.

I know this is a very open-ended questions, but what's the most cost effective way to dive-in to HD?

I am in the west end of Oak Ridge (about 20-25 miles from Sharps Ridge) and have a Channelmaster 3000A omnidirectional amplified antenna in my attic. I get WATEDT at >80% and WBIRDT closer to 60% with occasional dropouts.

Does anyone know if WBIRDT has something funny with their PSIP info? It doesn't map into 10.1 on my program guide (I have a SONY HD200 Directv+OTA receiver). WATEDT maps into 6.1 just fine. WBIR stays at 31.1 and 31.2 which is a pain since there is no program guide info attached to it. The program guide has a slot for PAXDT but there is no signal there - anyone know what channel they are on and if they are really up. I don't see FOX Digital either.

Thom

LightBulb,

The absolutely most cost effective way to dive into HDTV is to get either an HDTV tuner card for your computer for $300-400 or get an open box (demo or returned) HDTV set top box from Best Buy or Circuit City for anywhere between $150 and perhaps $350 or $400. You can then use the VGA output from a receiver like the RCA DTC-100 or the Dish 6000 to connect to a <$400 21" or 19" computer monitor. You'll have to use the vertical size control to squish the picture down for proper geometry on a 16:9 image, but you should have an excellent picture on the cheap. A decent quality computer monitor will look as good or better than most CRT rear projection televisions. For local over the air HDTV reception, get a Radioshack double bowtie on closeout for ~$5 or you can get the Zenith Silver Sensor from Circuit City for $30. If you want a good low cost outdoor antenna, try the Channelmaster 4221 for about $25. Lowe's is supposed to have Channelmaster antennae and you may be able to find them at Home Depot. Not sure about Home Depot.

The gear that I mention above is about the cheapest way to get into HDTV. It will also give you a decent idea of what HDTV looks like and what kind of reception you're likely to get at your location. If pleased with watching HDTV on your computer monitor, you may wish to purchase a decent sized HDTV. There are a ton of threads on this forum about 16:9 versus 4:3. Do a search if you want lots of opinions on the subject. Personally, I think it is better to have your highest quality image (HDTV and DVD) take up the largest amount of your viewing area. Since these high quality sources are 16:9 anyway, I'd recommend going with a 16:9 TV. If you think you will spend more than 50% of your time watching legacy 4:3 cable channels, you may want to go with a 4:3 HDTV. Just be aware that most folks who buy an HDTV find themselves watching a lot more HD programming than they may have originally planned on.

Your budget, decor, spousal approval and lighting control will determine which type of HDTV is right for you. Unfortunately, there is a big difference between 16:9 and 4:3 direct view (glass tube) TVs. The RCA 38" direct view TV is a steal at closeout prices of $1200-$1400. It also includes a built in RCA HDTV receiver. Other than that model, most of the Sony and Toshiba 34" 16:9 HDTVs are horrifically overpriced. You can get a 50" or larger rear projection HDTV for the price of a direct view 34" Sony or Toshiba. Not a good value unless space is really at a premium in your home.

Hmm, where to get the best deal on that new HDTV? If you don't know a lot about HDTV and you want a place that will do a competent installation of all your gear, your best bet would be to go to Bjorn's. If you know what you want (or are willing to spend a little time learning about it) you could try traditional brick and mortar retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City, Conn's or Sears. Finally, if you want a very good price and are willing to buy off the internet, some of the best web-based retailers include amazon.com and oncall.com . I managed to buy a Toshiba 57H82 from Amazon for $2100 delivered. Not too shabby, since Best Buy wants $2500 plus tax and delivery for the exact same model. Look around and you can find a good deal. Just make sure that any internet retailer you consider is reliable. Places like Crazy Eddies don't quite have a spotless reputation. Look around on places like AVS Forum and www.hometheaterspot.com and you'll do all right.

Best of luck with your new purchase!

Jim

I have been really impressed by Siegfried Riedel of Bjorn's. He is a GREAT resource for San Antonio HD enthusiasts. Check out www.isfcalibration.com. Siegfried has performed above and beyond the call of duty for me.

I have an F38310, RCA directview CRT which had several pixels out (blocked with garbage in the screen). The problem was cosmetic as you couldn't tell from viewing distance, but it was nagging knowing it was there. I checked around Austin and didn't find anyone I could trust to look at it.

Siegfried arranged with an RCA shop to perform the CRT replacement under warranty "because I'd like to do the calibration on your set". He made an initial "evaluation" visit to call in the problem to RCA. Getting a good tube took two tries -- there was even more garbage in the mask of the second tube than the first. After the tube replacement he performed the ISF calibration on my set. Siegfried has made three visits, with one final one for final calibration coming soon.

Siegfried has been great -- four trips to Austin total. He hasn't charged me extra for travel time. He seems to really know his stuff -- he had never worked on an F38310 before but he seemd to have no problems at all. Even if you don't buy from Bjorn's think about calling in Siegfried for a set calibration.

I love what he has done for my set -- and am looking forward to the final tweaks.

Joe

JimboG and all -


After much searching at various times of the day and night, I cannot get a digital signal for Fox / KABB. I was, however, stunned with the clarity of the digital signal from our two local Spanish channels!

Oh well....

Deltoid

Deltoid,

Far be it from me to suggest that KABB's commitment to (H)DTV is weak just because Univision and Telemundo have a stronger, better signal.:rolleyes:

Jim

P.S. Anybody else try for KABB-DT?

The other day, I scanned for digital 30 and acquired it! Mapped to 29-1. Trying to view it, signal strength was "Poor". I would occasionally see a fractured picture and bursts of sound, but nothing usable. I'm 1 1/2 miles outside 410 along Vance Jackson. RS vu-190 antenna on rotator.

I've searched a number of times, but never been able to acquire KABB. When I scan channel 30 on my HD200, it takes it a long time to decide there's nothing there, which makes me think it's seeing something, but it's not strong enough to get excited about.

Originally posted by sfmartin
The other day, I scanned for digital 30 and acquired it! Mapped to 29-1. Trying to view it, signal strength was "Poor". I would occasionally see a fractured picture and bursts of sound, but nothing usable. I'm 1 1/2 miles outside 410 along Vance Jackson. RS vu-190 antenna on rotator.

sfmartin,

You're doing a lot better than I am. I have been able to see some signal on my receiver, but it rapidly flashes back to zero, suggesting a lack of sync lock or equalizer lock. I think my preamp may be getting overloaded by KHCE (which is kind of near my house) or even by KABB's analog signal. Who knows. I'm able to get every other digital signal in San Antonio. Hell, I've even been able to lock on onto one of the Austin stations and get the same brief pictures and snippets of sound that you're getting on KABB. This suggests that it's not just my setup that's wrong. KABB is doing entirely too half-assed of an effort around here.

Just so I can try to troubleshoot my reception issues, which receiver are you using? Do you have a preamp attached to your antenna or not?

Jim

WBIR-DT doesn't map onto 10 anymore. It used to, but now it maps onto 31-1 and 31-2. There is no program information listed in the guide anyway. At least that's the way it is on my Panasonic TU-HDS20. Also for some reason WATE-DT maps several places and not just on 6-1 for some reason.
Larry

Zenith DTV-1080. No preamp. Signal split 2 ways. Maybe sending the whole signal to the Zenith would help. I'll give it a try sometime.

I finally got some HDTV. My Samsung 165 receiver finally arrived after 3 months of waiting. During that time, I installed a Channel Master Model 4228 8-Bay bowtie antenna and Channel Master 7775 UHF preamp on the mast. I live in Alcoa near the SuperWalmart, and the reception is excellent on all channels, even analog WBXX from Crossville (about 70 miles away and a different direction than Sharp's Ridge that it is pointed at). This arrangement works very well. The tonight show is outstanding. Thanks everyone here and in the other HDTV forums for all the help to get to this point.

Steve

Can I ask where you bought your Channel Master 4228 and 7775 preamp?

Can anyone report what Power the Stations are broacasting at? It is my understanding that they will need to be at 100% before I can recieve them here in Crossville.

Sharpie 2000

I purchased the Channel Master 4228 and 7775 by phone from Stark Wholesale Electronics , Inc.(508-756-7136 or http:/www.starkelectronic.com). The antenna was $50.68 with an additional $27.37 for shipping (it is shipped in rather large box), and the amp was $58.19 with $6.86 shipping. With a coupon for purchasing Samsung 165 and any HDTV antenna, I will get rebate of $50 (cost of antenna - up to maximum of $50) from Samsung for purchasing the antenna. Sorry that I was slow in responding, but Thanksgiving and things made it hectic recently. I hope this info helps.

Steve

There is an article in today's New Sentinel that Comcast has launched HDTV via cable in Knoxville. The article says that customers may now receive HDTV from WBIR (NBC), WATE (ABC), HBO, Showtime, and soon WVLT (CBS). The article says that it is available now at no extra charge other than the regular charge for a digital STB. This differs from the last article about this which said that this would be delayed until several years in the future because new contracts with the local stations had to be signed when they came up for renewal.
Larry Raulston

I picked up the motorola 5100 hdtv stb from the Asheville Highway Comcast location this afternoon. They were unsure at first whether I had to schedule an installation but let me have it over the counter after finding one in back. I spent a little while checking out A.I. on HBO this afternoon, it looked really good. You have to set the box to 1080i from 480i in the setup menu, which is accessed by pressing the menu button while the box is off. Right now they are charging the same price as for digital cable-$9.95 just for box rental or $14.95 to get the digital music channels and a few others. I signed up for HBO as well but was receiving Showtime this afternoon also. I haven't had time to watch much but it looks like the local channels so far are WBIR and WATE.
Van

FYI, Forum readers, KENS-DT have begun upgrading the HD service. No, we have not increased power. (Don't I wish we could!) We are testing some new approaches and we'd like your feedback. We also believe we have finally discovered the random "hiccup" that causes momentary macroblocking of your picture as well as an audio void; final fixes should be in place early next week, but over the weekend we would like to know if you see a perceptible difference.

I'll check in several times each day to check for posts; I'd sure appreciate hearing from anyone who notices a difference in KENS-DT. Thanks and best regards,

Thanks for the info Jerry.....I noticed that last night i was receiving 5-2, it appeared to be the same as 5-1....I used to get nothing on 5-2

Using hughes E-86/signal 100%

Jerry,

I'll be checking out KENS-DT tonight and tomorrow and will post any findings.

I have one other question. When Letterman goes HD will you guys have any way of timeshifting the HD to start at 11PM? If not, have you considered sending the HD on through at 10:30? I would suppose that barring one of these two things we will not be getting Letterman at all in HD. Correct?

Thanks
JohnR

Jerry,

Whatever you guys did it worked great. I watched the SEC Championship game today and The District after that and never had one glitch the whole time. Normally I would get one every couple of minutes or so.

Thanks for whatever you changed!

JohnR

Jerry,

I'm using a Samsung T150 and I'm just above Sea World don't get a strong signal but it has been rock solid all weekend. Looks like you have hit on whatever it was that has been causing the hiccups for the past couple of weeks.....thanks for all your efforts and for your great communications to the group.

Sandy1202

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JohnRichmond
[B]Jerry,

When Letterman goes HD will you guys have any way of timeshifting the HD to start at 11PM? If not, have you considered sending the HD on through at 10:30? I would suppose that barring one of these two things we will not be getting Letterman at all in HD. Correct?

Thanks for your comment, John. You probably know that we have no hardware (yet) to time shift Letterman when that show becomes HD; We could easily broadcast Letterman when it runs at 10:35, but CBS may have other options available for HDTV affiliates. I have not heard of any plans about any HDTV rollout of the Letterman show to date.

Maybe by the time Letterman IS HDTV, we will have HDVTR's to place programming where we want it. Stay tuned.

[Originally posted by Wizard [/i]
I noticed that last night i was receiving 5-2, it appeared to be the same as 5-1....I used to get nothing on 5-2. Using hughes E-86/signal 100%

Wizard, you should not be receiving anything on 5-2; we have discontinued that channel for the moment. All available bandwidth is devoted to the 5-1 HD channel. It is interesting how different receiver types interpret the PSIP tables; Samsungs and RCA get the data ok, but our RCA skipped the time ahead an hour until I switched it off and back on again. The Samsungs (masquerading as Harris ARX-H200's) picked off the correct data and time right away.

Thanks for the feedback on reception, though. We should have a permanent fix in place shortly.

To John R, Sandy and Wizard, thanks for the feedback on KENS-DT reception over the weekend. We believe a damaged time-base reference card was the culprit for the earlier dropouts and macroblocking. I have a new one in place now, on the GPS reference, and we'll se how well that works. Full PSIP with program descriptions should be on the way soon as we Beta-test some new PSIP software.

Stay tuned.

I didn't notice any change in KENS-DT. I get very infrequent dropouts, maybe once per hour at the most and still got that. I did get a steady dose of blockiness sunday evening. I don't recall what was being broadcast.

One thing I did notice was that the sound was pretty much in L-R stereo the whole time. My processor showed it was a Dolby Digital signal, but I only got sound out of left and right channels. Other digital stations were fine (5.1 on HBO and DD Pro Logic on HDNet).

BTW, like Wizard, I am getting 5.2 which is exactly the same as my 5.1. Receiver is a Sony SATHD200.

Does anyone here know if Fox/KRRT is tranmitting digital or not?

Wizard,

Technically KABB-DT has a digital signal on the air. They are upconverting their analog 4:3 signal instead of providing pass through of Fox's "High Resolution Widescreen" 480p 16:9 signal. I'm not sure they're even meeting the reduced FCC standard of providing a minimum signal to their entire city of license.

Last night was the first time that I was successfully able to get a signal lock on channel 30. I was able to get a frozen, broken picture and no sound on KABB-DT. Keep in mind, this inadequate reception was with a Channelmaster 4248 yagi mounted on my chimney along with a Channelmaster 7777 preamp, RG-6 cabling and Dish 6000 receiver. I get perfectly acceptable reception from Univision and Telemundo. I have even gotten moving picture and working sound from KNVA-DT, the WB affiliate in Austin. That is of course more than I can say for KABB-DT.:rolleyes:

It's kind of funny to see representatives of Sinclair Broadcasting talk about their strong commitment to digital TV. They even went so far as to petition the FCC for minimum reception standards for DTV receivers. Hmm, how about doing more than the absolute minimum on the TRANSMISSION side? My HDTV receiver has worked fine on all available local DTV signals (with the exception of Sinclair-owned stations) without the need for government tuner performance standards. Every other station in San Antonio passes along the maximum video and audio quality that their networks make available to them. Meanwhile, there's no HD from our WB affiliate and not even an adequate signal from our 4:3 Fox affiliate.

Jim

P.S. I'm on the west side of town, between Marbach and Potranco and just outside of Loop 410. I'm about ~25 miles from the KABB broadcast tower and considerably closer to KRRT-DT and KHCE-TV. It's entirely possible that my preamp is getting cooked by a strong signal from TBN station KHCE. I can't get even a whisper of KABB-DT without the preamp. Your mileage may vary. Best of luck trying to get KABB-DT!

Hey Jim, where'd you get your Channelmaster yagi and preamp?

Joe,

I got the preamp online from Stark Electronics. I bought the 4248 from an electronics shop in Shreveport back when I lived in Louisiana. There are several antenna suppliers listed in the San Antonio yellow pages. Additionally, I've head that Lowe's (and possibly Home Depot?) carries a wide range of Channelmaster products.

For a little less money, you could always try a Radioshack outdoor antenna. Radioshack has an excellent return policy. I wouldn't recommend their preamps though. Those are supposed to be pretty bad.

Jim

Just noticed that Time Warner isn San Antonio now offers ABC HD starting today on channel 112. Finally!! I hope NBC and Fox will soon follow!

khall,

Sweet! The Time Warner Cable option keeps getting better and better. No expensive receiver to buy, no fiddling around with over air antennae, and they actually provide the East and West Coast feeds of HBO and Showtime. If TWC would offer WOAI-DT and Discovery HD Theatre (or the new HDnet channels) they would really be the option to beat!

Who knows, it may be possible that we'll see Fox 480p widescreen or WB hi def from Time Warner before we see it over the air. I asked some Sinclair employees earlier whether sending digital TV programming over a fibre link to the cable headend would be cheaper or more feasible than initially upgrading the STL (studio to transmitter link) microwave to handle digital. They really didn't seem too enthusiastic about sending HD/EDTV over cable or over the air.:rolleyes:

Jim

I posted this about 1 week ago on another thread, seems like a good time to post it here:

I, once again, attempted to correspond with TWC about HDTV. The initial response was the Nancy Roger's canned message that basically says we are negotiating and expect resolution within the next 3-5 months.

However, I also received the following correspondence from Jeff Henry:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have good progress on ABC and Discovery. Should have solid launch dates established within the next 30 days.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




It looks like Discovery HD is next in line. That will be awesome.

I'm retiring my RS double-bowtie antenna in the attic this weekend and will mount a CM 4221 on my roof. I live in SW Austin so the main reason to do this will be to pull in the Austin digital stations better than I do now with my RS double-bowtie.

While I am up on the roof, I'd like to try to see if I can get KSAT in San Antonio. I know there is probably only a slight chance that I can get it, but what the heck, while I'm up there I may as well try. It would be worth another trip up to the roof on Superbowl Sunday to point the antenna toward San Antonio if I can get it.

From reading this thread it appears that KSAT only broadcasts it's digital signal part-time. I've seen references to "prime time". Does that rule out Saturday during the day time? Will I be wasting my time trying to get a signal on a Saturday? I really don't want to be up on my roof maneuvering my antenna in the dark.

thanks,

Murray

Oh, I forgot, I also will try experimenting with a CM 7775 pre-amp to see if that helps with the KSAT reception.

Anyone in San Antonio know about Saturday afternoon on KSAT? I'd really like to know if I'm wasting my time or not trying to pull it in during the day time.

thanks,
Murray

So far KSAT has not bothered to power up their transmitter on Saturday afternoon. I wish they would so I could watch the football games on the digital channel.

They should have it on by 7:00 pm at the latest though.

JohnR

Thanks John...although I was hoping that would not be the answer :(

I guess I'll have to try it at night...do they start the digital broadcast every night at 7PM?

Murray

I'm not sure about that Murray. It may be earlier but I know they're on by 7 for sure. I tried to check them out last saturday because I wanted to catch the prime-time football game. I didn't get any digital all evening so I figured something was wrong on my end and rescanned the tuner. That brought them back in. Didn't think of that until after the game though.

So to sum up, I've never actually noticed the exact time they fire up the transmitter.

JohnR

MurrayW,

Hopefully you were able to get KSAT-DT this afternoon. If not, I think KSAT-DT is usually on around 6 PM on Sunday evenings.

Jim

Hi! I have a few questions. I live in Bulverde, about 10 minutes North of 1604 on 281. I JUST bought a Mitsubishi WS-55511 on Saturday. It is a 1080i integrated set. I have Time Warner with an Explorer 8000 PVR (no hd version available as of yet). I have an explorer 2000 box in the bedroom. I am not certain of the reception out here. Doesn't TWC offer the network stuff unscrambled without a box? Here are my wild thoughts.

#1
Put the 8000 in the bedroom & pick up an explorer HD box for the HDTV?
TWC said it would take 30 days to get an HD box "installed", even though they let me pick up the 8000 at the service center (Losers).

#2
Run a cable from the wall directly to the DTV input on the HDTV?

#3
Rabbit ears, or roof top antenna

#4
Use a splitter at the wall, running one cable to the 8000 box & another to the DTV input on the HDTV.

THANKS!

I am CHOMPING AT THE BIT to get some HDTV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi, Patrick. I'll try to help you out. Other Forum watchers will be along to give their advice as well. First, "...put the 8000 in the bedroom & pick up an explorer HD box for the HDTV?" That's your best bet. Only the HD boxes decode the Time-Warner HD turnaround.

Your second idea, "...Run a cable from the wall directly to the DTV input on the HDTV?" won't help much because I don't think that model Mitsu, although integrated, has a digital cable demod. If you did connect it directly to the cable outlet, you'll receive the analog cable channels but not the digital.

"...Rabbit ears, or roof top antenna?" Well, in Bulverde, I don't think you'll see anything on rabbit ears, and we at KENS have not heard many success stories from there even using a rooftop antenna. BUT if you live on fairly high ground and there are no obstriuctions like hills or buildings between you rooftop and the San Antonio Skyline, there's a chance you might see the on-air DTV from WOAI, KENS and KSAT. If you're a Forum reader you'll know that WOAI-DT is on 24/7, KENS-DT is on air from 0500 to 2300 and KSAT-DT runs in Prime time only, from 7 to 10 pm or so. A good UHF antenna such as a Channel Master 4228 with preamplifier may suffice to bring in enough HD signal for your set to receive, but before you go to all that trouble be sure you have a clear shot. Do you already receive off-the air analog signals from KABB, KSAT, KENS and WOAI? If analog off-air reception is marginal, you probably won't have much luck with the HD service, so save your effort and resources, and wait for the TWC HD box.

"...Use a splitter at the wall, running one cable to the 8000 box & another to the DTV input on the HDTV..." This still won't get you HD, for reasons mentioned at the top.

Now, those are my opinions, but other Forum watchers may have different advice. Good Luck, and let us know how you fare.

Thanks Jerry! I tried the cable to the wall, bypassing the box. For whatever reason, I was able to pick up some HBO stuff. Nothing else. I had a recoton set top antenna in the garage that I dusted off & tried. NOTHING. It looks like I'll have to get the damn HD box after all. What are the HD channel #'s for the non cable netwoks? Is KENS still 5 in HD?

Patrick,

sorry you had no luck with cable or antenna so far. I didn't think you would have much luck with the set-top antenna. When you receive your HD cable box, KENS-DT is available on TW 155. KSAT-DT is on TW 112, when they're broadcasting during prime time hours.

I'm surprised all you received from your cable port was HBO. I thought you would see all the regular analog channels, up through 79 or so. Just goes to show there's something new to be learned every day.

Good luck!

Patrick,

I have both the 8000 and 3100HD boxes from San Antonio TWC. First, throw away the antenna, it won't work until you get HDTV set top box from Bjorn's or Best Buy for $500-$600. The Mits WS-65869 already has a built in tuner, your Mits WS-55511 needs this set top box. Never fear - the 3100HD will get HDTV just fine. Unlike satelite set top HD boxes, there is no support for an over the air HDTV antenna.

I have both boxes on the same TV. I split the cable from the wall into both boxes. The 3100HD then goes to component Video 1 and the 8000 goes to s-Video 2. My bedroom TV without any box (cable straight into the back) gets all analog channels 2-99 including one HBO. Our local TWC has HBO, CBS and ABC in HD but more channels are promised.

We watch the using the 8000 90% of the time because of two reasons. First, as an 8000 owner yourself knows, time shifting on the 8000 is real cool. (We call the box "Steveo" after it's famous cousin TiVo). Second, as you will soon find out, CBS and ABC don't have all their programs in HD. When we watch an HBOHD movie or CSI on CBS we flip to the 3100HD box. Why not watch all the from the 3100HD? When an non HD show is on the 3100HD it sends 1080i signal to the TV that includes two black bars on each side. I like the way my Pioneer Elite fills the screen on non-HD signals. I can't fill the screen since it is getting an 1080i signal.

Later,

JimboG, Jerry, et all:

Happy Holidays to everyone and thanks so much for all the good info and help this year.

Jerry - whatever you did down there at KENS works! My Hughes E86 is showing KENS fine now, with almost no drop-outs at all. Much improved!

Some day I'll track down that darn elusive KABB..... in digital, that is!

Deltoid

Nothin' better than having the only roof-mounted antenna on the block!

Not much activity on this thread for awhile. It looks like work has slowed down on the community tower that will house the WVLT-DT transmitter (CBS). It looks like it is about 1/2 to 2/3 of its eventual height.

Did anyone notice last night that part of the ABC Sunday Night Movie that was supposed to be in HDTV was 4X3 480P. I happened to switch back near the end of the movie and it was full 16X9.

Also on NBC WBIR-DT Boomtown that was advertised at the beginning of the show to be simulcast in HDTV had black bars at the top and bottom of the picture and grey bars at the sides of the picture resulting in a very small picture.

I guess the people in the control rooms at the stations in Knoxville are forgetting to throw the switch as they are famous for in other cities, or they are just manned by skeleton crews over the holidays and they don't know how to pass through the HDTV from the network.

It could be embarrasing if we have people over for a Superbowl party on the big screen and they forget to throw the switch in Knoxville.


Larry

Sound of Music switched to 4:3 SDTV for one interval between ads. It swtched back after the next commercial break. Very annoying, especially because the WATE upconversion seems very low quality - compared to the network upconversion. It was quite evident during the commercial breaks when things swtiched from network to locally upconverted SDTV.

Well, I have my explorer HD box being delivered on Saturday, Jan 25th. I'm HOPING that the Super Bowl will be broadcast in HD. Any ideas?
As far as any antennas go, It looks like almost all the OTA transmitters are in Elmendorf. I'm 40 miles N of Elmendorf, with PLENTY of hills, not to mention Downtown seperating us. Looks like I'm going to have to sit on my hands until the 25th WAITING for TWC to deliver my HD box. Funny, they let me pick up the MUCH HYPED Explorer 8000 PVR in person.

Quote
The Mits WS-65869 already has a built in tuner, your Mits WS-55511 needs this set top box.

Lurker, the ws-55511 has an integrated 1080i tuner, like last years 859' series.

Anyone have info as to when CBS is actually going to start broadcasting in HD since the tower is still not finished?

Aye, ABC will be sending out the Superbowl in HD. Here's a link (http://www.jonasjensen.com/multi.htm) to the production crew that will be doing it. I would imagine that the KSAT feed here will pick it up.

I also think that most of the AFC playoffs will be in HD.

Watching the super bowl in HD is sort of a wierd little dream of mine - here's to hoping everything works out... :)

I have a Sony Direct TV sat receiver. When I tune in Austin's local HD channel (KXAN), I choose channel 36.1 - 36.3, but when I want to check the signal strength, I use channel "21". Can someone explain to me what these differences are? (Does this make me a newbie?) Also, what channels would I use to look for signal from SA's HDTV broadcasters? What channels do I use to watch the shows...if I can get a signal?

The actual channels KXAN-DT is broadcast on is 21-1, 21-2, and 21-3. They have it set up to be remapped to the same position as the analog channel, which is channel 36. So it appears in the lineup as 36 (analog), 36-1 (digital HD), 36-2 (digital SD weather), and 36-3 (digital SD doppler radar).

FYI -- SD = standard defintion aka 480i
HD= high definition aka 1080i

Apparently, your STB is detecting the signal strength on the unmapped channel, but when you are tuning, your STB has remapped it. Why it would do it this way I have no clue.

Yes, I think it fair to call you a relative newby :)

One important question -- what is your location? That will determine whether you get Austin or San Antonio stations best. If you can get something on KXAN, you will have a better shot of getting the more powerful KNVA, on "real" channel 49 -- it remaps to 54-1. It is the highest power in the Austin market -- it is SD now but they are supposed to install HD equipment this week.

A full list of the "real" digital channels in the Austin and San Antonio markets can be found at The Austin/San Antonio/Waco Summary thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=157013); the action on that thread is mostly Austin related, but there is info on all the un-remapped local DTV stations status.

Good Luck,

Joe

Excellent. With a little atenna fiddling I can get 85 or better on 21 and 49.

I live smack dab in the middle of Austin (Airport and I-35). I'm about to reset my dish and add an external antenna that I'm hoping can grab a signal from one of the SA stations. (I'm not a big Leno fan. So, my HD watchin is limited to HBO and HD.Net...)

So, what are the real and mapped numbers for the SA broadcasters?

etrigand,

Here's a link to all of the real channel numbers, both analog and digital, in San Antonio: http://www.100000watts.com/tv/SAT.html :)

Also, to make things easier, here's a quick list:

Real Mapped Affiliation
30 29.1 Fox
32 35.1 WB
38 60.1 Telemundo
39 41.1 Univision
48 12.1 ABC
55 5.1 CBS
58 4.1,4.2 NBC

It's important to note that Univision and ABC aren't on all day long. ABC should be on almost any time the ABC network has something on in HD. Univision is on in the evenings. CBS may shut off in the wee hours of the morning, but I haven't been up late enough to know. Fox and WB have pitifully low-powered signals. I cannot get Fox and I can only marginally get WB. There's basically no chance you could get these stations in Austin.

Oh, as a quick credit to DrJoe, you may want to check out his list of central Texas DTV stations: http://home.austin.rr.com/doctorjoe/Central%20Texas%20DTV%20Summary.html

Good luck getting ABC in time for the Superbowl! :)

Jim

DrJoe,

A couple suggestions to update your list of Central Texas DTV stations:

1) KRRT does have a signal on the air. I've been able to get a solid signal lock, though for me it is the second-weakest digital signal in San Antonio. This channel is a 480i digitized version of their analog signal. There is a rolling hum bar in the video and the audio sounds significantly worse than both the NTSC over air signal and the downgraded/compressed signal from Dish Network. Unfortunately they do not broadcast any of the WB's 1080i programming as of yet. This channel has the video artifacts of a poor analog studio plant and the reception difficulties of a very low power DTV signal.

2) Time Warner Cable in San Antonio now has the local ABC affiliate, KSAT-DT. No word on how talks are going with the NBC, Telemundo, Univision, WB or Fox affiliates.

Jim

Hello all,

Am moving to Fair Oaks Ranch. Does anyone know how OTA HD reception is in this area? What kind of antenna am I going to need.

There's no Time-Warner Cable in this area. So, I guess I'm going to try to keep CBS-HD from Dish Network. Is there going to be an issue with the local CBS stations?

tsts,

I just checked on Mapquest and it shows you'll be about 43 miles from most of the broadcast antennae in San Antonio. You'll be quite a good deal closer to KRRT-DT, the local WB affiliate. That low powered station should still come in all right for you.

If I had to venture a guess, you'll probably be fine with ABC and NBC. CBS may give you a little bit of a problem, but will probably be obtainable. Keep WCBS-DT just in case, ok?:D I don't know if you're interested in Telemundo and Univision, but I think you'll be able to get them fine too. Frankly, it would be extraordinarily unlikely that you'll be able to get KABB-DT, the Sinclair-owned local Fox affiliate. I can't get this station from 28 miles away over pretty flat terrain.

Ok, you probably want to know what gear will give you the best chance of receiving all of the local DTV stations. Go to www.antennaweb.org , www.100000watts.com and www.titantv.com to get a broad picture of where the local broadcast towers are. You can pretty much ignore the antenna recommendation that antennaweb gives you. What you really want is a highly direction yagi antenna mounted outside and up high. The Channelmaster 4248 or the Televes DAT 75 should work wonderfully. You are kind of close to the UPN, TBN and WB affiliates, but not so close that you shouldn't be able to use a good quality antenna preamp like the Channelmaster 7777.

All of the DTV stations in San Antonio are currently on UHF stations. PBS is scheduled to begin service on VHF channel 8 with an 8.2kW signal at ~800' above ground level. VHF signals travel better over terrain than UHF signals, but still... Getting PBS may be a bit of a stretch from your new home. I would add a cut to channel antenna for channel 8 to your UHF antenna mast once PBS goes on the air. You may even want to hold off until there are some reception reports from other people in San Antonio before buying a high band VHF antenna for this one digital channel.

Best of luck with DTV reception and I hope you enjoy your new home!

Jim

It would have been nice to see the NFL playoffs in HD on CBS this month since it will be in HD on CBS on the weekend of the 12th and 19th. Oh well not in Knoxville this year. My guess is they won't be broadcasting until March/April at the earliest.

Anyone hear more on PBS in HD for KNoxville?

Troy

Originally posted by JimboG
DrJoe,

A couple suggestions to update your list of Central Texas DTV stations


Thanks, Jim, I made the changes on the AVS Forum thread I referenced; will make them on my Road Runner homepage over lunchtime at work on Monday -- the source for the page is on my PC at work.

If you see anything else that needs to be updated, please let me know.

Take care,

Joe

If any of you fringe guys need a huge outdoor antenna I've got an extra Radio Shack VU-210XR for sale cheap which is new in the box. It's the biggest antenna Radio shack sold. 190" long when assembled. The box is about 10 feet long so it would need to be picked up here in west San Antonio.

Email me at grjr@satx.rr.com

jr

Thanks for the info, JimboG. Any local store selling the Channelmaster?

Lowe's carries Channelmaster producted. Otherwise, www.starkelectronic.com and Warren Electronics are both online retailers with excellent reputations.

Jim