Does anyone know when ON Demand is coming to Spokane? I heard in March or April from a CSR, but I didn't expect anything, then I read in the S-R that it would happen by this summer in the echostar/comcast article recently. Any info on when TNT-HD or KAYU Fox 28 HD might be broadcasting here (on Comcast)?

Has anyone had a problem with KXLY 13.1 & 13.2 remapping down to channel 4 in the last couple days? I don't think it's on my end but maybe.

{Kind of off topic but my be of interest to some.}

I was able to get a good lock on E* - Rainbow1, 61.5 here in N. Idaho in the land of monster pine trees and a 14 degree elevation "look". It took some real work as the LOS was VERY narrow, thought it would be Impossible but I am now Vooming!

CustM

Can I get a couple of recommendations for someone to run wire for a 7.1 setup in the CDA/Hayden area??

I've used Reliable Electric in Hayden in the past for general electrical work. They can be reached at: (208) 772-2490.

I also found this listing, but don't know anything about them: CutthroatCabling@adelphia.net. They also are in Hayden.

You don't mention what kind of wiring---if it's 110, then the previous post is probably ok. if it's speaker/audio video/network cabling, that i kind doubt an electrician is the best option---but maybe.

I would get on the CEDIA or ISF web site and see who is available in this area. Spokane is only 25 miles or so from Hayden and i am sure a lot of HT installers come to CDA/Hayden--they just charge a few more $$ for the trip.

Monaco Enterprises comes to mind---they have been around for years. Ask for Vinny.... 509 926 6277.

hth,
ron

Thanks for the info. I will need AV/speaker wire run up into attic & back down for rear/surround channels. Should be cheaper than that Yamaha yst-1 40 driver speaker!

Any new word on the Fox in Spokane going HD???

Any new word on the Fox in Spokane going HD???
"Later this summer" was the response that I received, but when I further inquired, they also told me that they were required to do a power upgrade by July 1st and to look for KAYU in HD around then. You can get more info by e-mailing KAYU general comments and questions at www.kayutv.com

Update 5/24:
I checked in with the engineer at KAYU:

"We have been working on HD since December 7th. It may be completed by the middle to end of July."

"Later this summer" was the response that I received, but when I further inquired, they also told me that they were required to do a power upgrade by July 1st and to look for KAYU in HD around then. You can get more info by e-mailing KAYU general comments and questions at www.kayutv.com

Update 5/24:
I checked in with the engineer at KAYU:

"We have been working on HD since December 7th. It may be completed by the middle to end of July."

As long as they are ready for football season & Adelphia adds them to the HD lineup!!

Also, anyone have experience using Steinleys in Hayden for AV/HT work????

Does anybody know when ON Demand will be available in Spokane?

Does anybody know when ON Demand will be available in Spokane?
December '04 :rolleyes:

December '04 :rolleyes:

I actually saw a story on News4 at 6:00 tonight that said VOD was in the testing phase and is scheduled for launch in August. I am not holding my breath! :rolleyes:

I'm on the south hill about 5 miles away from the broadcast towers and the only channels I can get are KREM and KXLY. I'm getting 86% on KXLY and only 54%-63% on KREM. I have an outdoor VHF antenna with a Rat Shack 40" UHF antenna at the top of the mast. My receiver is a D* H10. I don't have any amps on the antenna, and I have quad shield RG6 coming off the antenna. Can anyone explain why I'm not getting the other channels? What am I doing wrong?

A VHF antenna? If that is a VHF-only antenna, it could be part of your problem. As I recall, only KSPS-DT and KXLY-DT are on the VHF band...everyone else is UHF.

I have both antennas on the same mast. I don't know any other way to pick up KXLY without the VHF antenna.

Latest email from KAYU:

Robert,

We are shooting for late this summer to get Fox HD on the air.

Once on the air we will being the process of getting the satellite
and local cable companies to carry our HD content. And to tell you
the truth, I just don't know how long _that_ will take.

As you may know we have a digital signal on the air now on channel 28-
1 (ch 30) and while it's not HD it will provide picture and sound
superior to analog television.

Thank you for contacting KAYU Fox 28.

At your service ...

Randall Jones
Information Services
Northwest Broadcasting, Inc.
KAYU Fox 28 (Spokane)
KCYU Fox 41 (Yakima)
KFFX Fox 11 (Tri-Cities)
Randall.Jones@kayutv.com
Phone: 509.448.2828
Fax: 509.448.0926
KC7GKX

As of 8/8/2005, the KAYU engineer says, "At this time we are 60 to 90 days out on HD delivery. We are actually in the final stages. The project began December 7th last year.

Have a super day."

Does anyone know if Adelphia Cable in Coeur d'Alene will be adding any new HD channels anytime soon? I know they'll be adding KAYU-HD once its out in October but thats all i know.

thanks! :cool:

Monday night pre season Football on KXLY.

KREM did a great job on flipping the switch for the first night
of David Letterman in HD 1080 and they passed it along in Dolby 5.1.

My Hat is off to KREM!

Now if KAYU would start pumping a little more power even before they
make the HD change, which I doubt, I would be a real happy camper.

CustM

As of 9/1/05, the KAYU engineer says, "
Probably 60+ days. We continue waiting on a digital microwave system. The
microwave manufactures have been backed up significantly for quite some time
now due to a nationwide frequency shift. We're right around the corner now.
Have a super day."

I've been lurking for quite some time. I've become obsessed with getting OTA HDTV. I paid the extra 2-3 hundred to get the built in tuner on my hitachi 65 inch tv 2 years ago. I want to be disapointed by the Seahawks with the best picture I can get. I'm also prepping to pull the Adelphia plug, as I'm tired of the kids being glued to Nick and every other craptastic cartoon channel they offer.

FYI - For any other poor souls trying to get OTA HDTV in Coeur d' Alene. I'm right under Canfield mountain, and have a CM 4228 in the attic of a single story home. I'm getting ABC, CBS, NBC, WB (22), PBS CDA (26), and I think FOX (28-1) (Was getting it last night, but signal is stuck at 0 now, can anyone confirm it's down?)

I was using just the UHF part of an old antenna that was broken during a move to the new house. Every time a truck drove by on 15th street, the signal would drop. After reading that CustM had success with the channel master, I commited to ordering.

The CM4228 arrived yesterday afternoon :D , (ordered from solid signal on Monday.) and I did the happy dance on the porch when the UPS man dropped it off. My wife was ready to put me in the penalty box for a night.

I had the beast mounted on the edge of the roof, but was already getting nasty looks from the neighbors. I was prepared for the home owners association to inform me that I couldn't have an antenna mounted on the roof. I had printed out a few copies of the OTARD FCC ruling, and was ready to hand those out.

None the less, after fighting in the hot attic for a day, I now am getting better reception than out on the roof. Go figure.

Now to start bugging the KAYU engineers, and figure out when they're going to flip the HDTV switch.

welcome kirkjcda ---good ur up and running. if ur going to drop Adelphia, how will u watch ESPNHD? DirecTV now has the duece in HD--fwiw.

and a question or 2. from the pq of yesterdays ABC games on 4.1, there is no question they were all SD, but my Sony HD300 (DirecTV & OTA) info said it was HD, whereas the menu said it was not. Clearly the pix on 4.1 was wider than 4.2, and the ABC logo was oval--but not the full 16:9. I'm really disappointed ABC is not broadcasting the national game in HD. I'd eamil KXLY, but in the past i never got a reply--so i don't waste my time.

The early Tennis match on KREM also was in SD, but the info said it was HD. The middle match and the women's final was in HD.

Has anyone else noticed this?
ron

Got writing back from Randall Jones that KAYU had indeed bumped up their transmitter power, to the ~300 Kw. It quit brodcasting Saturday morning due to a small fire at the brodcast tower. No word on when it will be back up.

Still saying 60 days for HDTV. (Again, waiting for microwave equipment to send the hdtv signal from their offices up to the transmitter tower. If they pushed it up via IP, I have some radios sitting here at work that will hold 56 megabit at several miles :D

Rondi,
None of the Saturday ball games were in High Def off ABC - I was climbing around in the attic for most the day. The later Tennis matches off CBS were high def.

My set doesn't offer much of a clue, other than the info revealing 1080i or 720p, regardless if they're upsampling a standard brodcast. What I caught of Fox on Friday was 480i, but it still looked much better than what Adelphia offers, "digital" or analog.

PQ wise, it makes a heck of a difference, between anything versus a true High Def signal.

I've been having trouble lately getting a good OTA signal for KXLY 4.1 on channel 13. At the moment, it's showing at the bottom side of "Normal." Usually, it just booms here in CDA.

I was having problems with 4 not holding an acceptable signal for a few days. Seems to be working as normal again.

i have problems with 4.1, 7.1, 7.2 and now 28.1 dropping out, but i kinda expect that since i live 15 miles west of Sandpoint...

i think it depends on the weather, or planes or ?? there are times on MNF that i get dropouts a few times a minute for maybe 5 minutes--and then it's back to no dropouts. KSPS just drops the audiom with a line or 2 of pixelations. 28.1 just goes away for a minute then comes back and is usually good for 15 mintues before it does it again. i never get dropouts on 2.1. yea i know--get that antenna up on the roof---

AND has anyone noticed how high the volume is on 28.1?? it's way too loud. 28 is just fine. i'm gonna email em, now that i'm in the mood to watch baseball....

ron

i have problems with 4.1, 7.1, 7.2 and now 28.1 dropping out, but i kinda expect that since i live 15 miles west of Sandpoint...

i think it depends on the weather, or planes or ?? there are times on MNF that i get dropouts a few times a minute for maybe 5 minutes--and then it's back to no dropouts. KSPS just drops the audiom with a line or 2 of pixelations. 28.1 just goes away for a minute then comes back and is usually good for 15 mintues before it does it again. i never get dropouts on 2.1. yea i know--get that antenna up on the roof---

AND has anyone noticed how high the volume is on 28.1?? it's way too loud. 28 is just fine. i'm gonna email em, now that i'm in the mood to watch baseball....

ron


I just noticed KXLY-DT (monday night football) is breaking up like crazy. I get it over the air (I live in Liberty Lake) and on our cable TV - both look bad. Other channels seem OK. KHQ was going black a couple of weeks ago - it was ok last week (recording ER).

Art

I just noticed KXLY-DT (monday night football) is breaking up like crazy. I get it over the air (I live in Liberty Lake) and on our cable TV - both look bad. Other channels seem OK. KHQ was going black a couple of weeks ago - it was ok last week (recording ER).

Art


Hi Art:

Yes, MNF on KXLY 4-1 & 4-2 have been bad for the last 2 weeks, it would not lock at all early tonight. Have 2 different STB's and both were the same, I guess you having cable confirms it is on KXLY's end.
Right now it seems fine!


Did you use to have a store in CDA?

CustM

yup--i had problems too. last night while watching MLB on 28.1, i clicked on 4.1 & 4.2. Both were breaking up badly--just like Mon nite. my signal strength is about 80%, but it occasionly drops to 10% now. in my case, a high signal strength does not equate to a clean pix in the case of kxly-dt. so something else is going on.... i'll send em an email.

I also sent an email to 28.1 about the digital audio level. the analog out of my stb is the same as other stations, but the DD is at least 10db higher.

ron

Superbowl is on ABC this year? (gleaned from local newspaper) And I've been having the same problems with 4.1 as mentioned above. Clear now, but frustrating. Would be nice if Channel 4 actually responded to emails.

Tried to record Boston Legal this week - crapped out after the first few minutes. KXLY used to be the most reliable digital channel - and they were the first. What's gone wrong?? They used to respond to emails too!

Art

PS "Store in CdA?" Not me!

I haven't completely plunged into the world of HD yet, as I still haven't bought a true HDTV. Currently I'm with Adelphia, using the Motorola 6412 DVR. The HD channels I can get through Adelphia (aside from premium stuff like HBO) are CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, Discovery, HDNet and ESPN (and hopefully FOX soon). Do Direct TV or Dish Network offer more than this, or is it best to stick with Adelphia since I love the 6412 DVR and I use their high speed internet service too? I heard that Direct TV may add MTV and National Geographic to their HD lineup next year. Anybody know if Adelphia is expanding their lineup soon? Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

The HD offerings from DirecTV are: ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, UniversalHD, DiscoveryHD, HDNet Movies, HDNet. Some folks who can not receive local channels can subscribe to the network HD channels, but as i recall that option is going away 1/1/06, and beside i doubt anyone in this area could qualify... I have not heard about any new channels, and geez--i hope they don't waste bandwidth on MTV-HD. Mike Jackson in HD---barf!! sorry i can't help you with dish, but i think they are the same except no ESPN2HD but they have either TNT or TBS in HD.

And i will say, 28.1 is a pretty darn good pix of MLB.

After seeing HD---mab---there is NO going back. I dread watching college football on KXLY when i could watch USC squeak by in glorous HD. speaking of which---back to ESPN/2 HD!!

hth,
ron

On Adelphia CDA, ABC HD (ch 704) went out for me on Sunday. Anyone else???? Had to watch DH in SD (yuck!!!). Are they having transmission problems to Adelphia antennas??

Also, the motorola 6412 boxes now have HDMI instead of DVI!!!

UPDATE:
ABC ch 704 is back in time for MNF!

On Adelphia CDA, ABC HD (ch 704) went out for me on Sunday. Anyone else???? Had to watch DH in SD (yuck!!!). Are they having transmission problems to Adelphia antennas??

Hi Rob:

Welcome to CDA. KXLY OTA was out all day Sunday and they flipped the switch about 5pm tonight, sounds like it is cable and OTA both with problems. The
game tonight was just fine, took them a couple weeks to get everything worked out.

Art:

PS "Store in CdA?" Not me!

CDA use to have a TV repair shop called Art's TV, just thought it might be you.

Kirk:

I was using just the UHF part of an old antenna that was broken during a move to the new house. Every time a truck drove by on 15th street, the signal would drop. After reading that CustM had success with the channel master, I commited to ordering.

Welcome to the thread, glad the Cm-4228 worked out for you!

Ron:

i think it depends on the weather, or planes or ?? there are times on MNF that i get dropouts a few times a minute for maybe 5 minutes--and then it's back to no dropouts. KSPS just drops the audiom with a line or 2 of pixelations. 28.1 just goes away for a minute then comes back and is usually good for 15 mintues before it does it again. i never get dropouts on 2.1. yea i know--get that antenna up on the roof---

Need to work on that WAF.............. :rolleyes:

CustM

CustM,
i FINALLY bought a tripod and put the antenna on the roof peak--2 stories plus a 5 in 12 pitch, so i'm up in the air. after moving from the bottom floor side of the haus, the only channel i get more signal strength (ss) on is 28.1. in fact i lost some on 4.1. i tweaked while my wife looked at the ss meter, and then switched channels etc... i am getting breakups on all channels except 6.1. i need to go back up and try tilting to see if that makes a difference. a lot going on right now, so it'll have to wait till next week. and yea--as expected--she hates it, but i tell her she'll get used to and she'll never notice it in a month...

i had no dropouts from 4.1 last night for MNF, and very few on 28.1...

ron

Hi Rob:

Welcome to CDA. KXLY OTA was out all day Sunday and they flipped the switch about 5pm tonight, sounds like it is cable and OTA both with problems. The
game tonight was just fine, took them a couple weeks to get everything worked out.

CustM
Supposedly the local cable operators receive the local network HD channels OTA just like everyone else with an antenna!! Thus, if OTA is out, then cable HD is out.

Any word yet on FOX 28 going HD yet? It supposed to be this month.

Just curious.

late...............

I'm really hoping KAYU gets HD up and running soon, especially considering that the World Series is about to start and it would be nice to watch Seahawks games in HD! (spare me the "Sea-chickens" jokes, I beg you)

Anyone else notice that the audio and video on KSKN-DT are out of synch? I noticed it on "Gilmore Girls" and "Related" the last couple of weeks.

My wife and I noticed that the Gilmore Girls audio/video sync was off recently, but oddly enough we were watching re-runs on ABC Family. The downside is that the audio was coming later than the video, even with the audio delay feature on my Denon receiver set to 0. It's only a useful feature when the audio is coming sooner than the video. Today I was watching the Seahawks game on Fox (good old analog) and I had to delay the audio about 8ms to sync it properly. Are these problems with audio/video sync coming from Adelphia , my Motorola 6412 DVR, or the TV networks themselves? It seems as if there's no rhyme or reason to it - some shows are perfect, others are not. Do you guys know of anything that can delay the video slightly in millisecond increments for the times when the audio is coming in late?

This message regards ABC HD received over Comcast. As far as I can tell, this is the only Spokane HD thread, so if it's intended only for over the air, I apologize for posting in the wrong spot. Regardless, it would be good to know if anyone saw the same problem in the over the air broadcast. Thanks.

Was anyone else's audio screwed up tonight? We were watching it timeshifted at about 9:45. Every 20 seconds or so would be a very loud blast of static that would last for 5 seconds. It was definately cyclic. After watching it with my wife for about 2 minutes, we couldn't take it anymore. I fast-forwarded into it about 20 minutes and it was still doing it. I will be interested to find out if this audio problem occured on the west side as well or if I should pin the blame on our local head-end.

I'm losing my faith in Comcast HDTV since two weeks ago Desperate Housewives didn't record at all because our ABC HD was totally out here in Spokane for two days. Also, our local HD feeds always seem to have the audio slightly off from the video. I can accept the occasional technical glitch, but it's a lot harder for my wife to accept. To her, it should just work. I'm starting to agree considering the incredible amount of money we pay Comcast every month for two HD DVR's and high-speed internet. Our bill is about $140 and we don't have any premium channels. I know if I call them tomorrow, they will give me a days worth of credit, but I'm getting tired of the problems.

I just had my Motorola DCT-6412 switched out today for a new one (old one broke) and I got a chance to ask the Adelphia tech about Fox HD. He said there's no timetable on when Fox will be in HD through Adelphia. The downside is that Adelphia is in the middle of this Time-Warner acquisition so they aren't putting money into any new services. Basically from what he said those of us with Adelphia shouldn't expect anything new, including Fox HD, until 2Q next year! I'm just hoping he was over-exaggerating and we'll see Fox HD sooner than that. Have any of you guys heard any news from KAYU about when they're going to be broadcasting in HD? If it's going to be soon, it looks like I'm going to be buying my first OTA antenna/receiver. The combination I'm looking at is the LG LST-4200A for the OTA HD receiver and a CM 4228 for the antenna. Are any of you guys in Spokane/Cd'A using either of these pieces of equipment? Any thoughts on this setup? As you can see on my information I live in Hayden. Thanks in advance.

This message regards ABC HD received over Comcast. As far as I can tell, this is the only Spokane HD thread, so if it's intended only for over the air, I apologize for posting in the wrong spot. Regardless, it would be good to know if anyone saw the same problem in the over the air broadcast. Thanks.

I say all is welcome if it is about HD in the area!

I'm losing my faith in Comcast HDTV since two weeks ago Desperate Housewives didn't record at all because our ABC HD was totally out here in Spokane for two days. Also, our local HD feeds always seem to have the audio slightly off from the video. I can accept the occasional technical glitch, but it's a lot harder for my wife to accept. To her, it should just work. I'm starting to agree considering the incredible amount of money we pay Comcast every month for two HD DVR's and high-speed internet. Our bill is about $140 and we don't have any premium channels. I know if I call them tomorrow, they will give me a days worth of credit, but I'm getting tired of the problems.

See my post above.
If cable HD local network has a problem than the OTA folks are probably experiencing the same problem. We had the same problem in CDA area with Adelphia regarding DH. Thus, the cable companies are actually not at fault (for a change!!). Remember, that DH tends to rebroadcast on Sat, night!!! Also, if the HD is out, then the analog channels are probably STILL working both OTA & via cable/satellite.

I just had my Motorola DCT-6412 switched out today for a new one (old one broke) and I got a chance to ask the Adelphia tech about Fox HD. He said there's no timetable on when Fox will be in HD through Adelphia. The downside is that Adelphia is in the middle of this Time-Warner acquisition so they aren't putting money into any new services. Basically from what he said those of us with Adelphia shouldn't expect anything new, including Fox HD, until 2Q next year! I'm just hoping he was over-exaggerating and we'll see Fox HD sooner than that. Have any of you guys heard any news from KAYU about when they're going to be broadcasting in HD? If it's going to be soon, it looks like I'm going to be buying my first OTA antenna/receiver. The combination I'm looking at is the LG LST-4200A for the OTA HD receiver and a CM 4228 for the antenna. Are any of you guys in Spokane/Cd'A using either of these pieces of equipment? Any thoughts on this setup? As you can see on my information I live in Hayden. Thanks in advance.

Of interesting note, I had to switch out the same 6412 DVR recently. They have changed from a DVI out to HDMI out.

I have had a CM 4228 in the past when I lived near DC (lived 65 miles from towers & had a mountain ridge in the way). It is a great antenna but very directional. If the towers in Spokane are more than 30 degrees apart, consider a rotor. It has a high gain & should work well with this distance. All OTA antennas are LINE OF SITE. So if you have major buildings or eograpy blocking you, than signal my be bad. Elevation is the key both at the house & by geography

As for a setop box, almost any newer one will work fine!!

Remember, that DH tends to rebroadcast on Sat, night!!! Also, if the HD is out, then the analog channels are probably STILL working both OTA & via cable/satellite.

Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one having the problems. I have an email into KXLY to find out if it was an ABC or Comcast problem last night. I also searched for DH and it looks like they're not rebroadcasting it this Saturday night. The problem for us when this happens is that we never watch live TV. We noticed this on the HD recording at about 9:45 so switching over to SD was not really an option. This is the second time in 3 weeks we've had a problem so I'm going to setup a backup SD recording on one of our old ReplayTV's.

Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one having the problems. I have an email into KXLY to find out if it was an ABC or Comcast problem last night. I also searched for DH and it looks like they're not rebroadcasting it this Saturday night. The problem for us when this happens is that we never watch live TV. We noticed this on the HD recording at about 9:45 so switching over to SD was not really an option. This is the second time in 3 weeks we've had a problem so I'm going to setup a backup SD recording on one of our old ReplayTV's.

We do the same thing. Everything time delayed. I have not checked last nights recording!!! Hopefully Adelphia was OK. But looks like I need to start recording the SD channel as well.

I'm using a CM 4228 and I am down in Moscow. I am roughly 60 miles from the towers and pick up 2.1, 6.1, 6.2, and 28.1 . It is a great antenna and it is not even mounted outside.

Mark

Just watched DH from Sun. The audio was HORRIBLE. It had an annoying distortion every 20-30sec. At least the video was good!
I do not know if it was a Sponkae ABC issue or national ABC issue.

If the towers in Spokane are more than 30 degrees apart, consider a rotor.
I guess that begs the question: are the towers in Spokane more than 30 degrees apart? Do I need to consider a rotor to be able to change the direction of the antenna, or will pointing it in one direction work fine? I live in Hayden out on the prairie so there are no geographical obstructions or big buildings between my house and Spokane. Thanks again for any advice.

Of interesting note, I had to switch out the same 6412 DVR recently. They have changed from a DVI out to HDMI out.
Another interesting note about the new Phase 3 Motorola 6412 DVR our local Adelphia office is using is that it has the latest firmware, 12.22. This may mean nothing to you guys, but FYI firmware 12.22 solved a major audio bug related to the HDMI output that people around the country have been experiencing. As far as I know, we're one of the first markets to have 12.22 so I just wanted to give a shout out to all my Adelphia peeps for keepin' it real! (that's my best gang impression)

As of 11/16/05 Ron at KAYU says there HD signal will be here soon.
"We're literally counting the minutes. I thought we we're going to have it
done Friday, but we're still working with a couple of manufactures on final
equipment settings."
It looks like they are getting close, so the Seahawks are going to be in HD soon.

How exciting! The big question for me is: do I wait for Adelphia to add Fox HD to their lineup, or do I buy an OTA receiver/antenna? Like I mentioned earlier, one of the Adelphia techs said that they weren't adding anything new because of the Time-Warner acquisition, but I would imagine the demand for Fox in HD may change their minds.

I guess that begs the question: are the towers in Spokane more than 30 degrees apart? Do I need to consider a rotor to be able to change the direction of the antenna, or will pointing it in one direction work fine? I live in Hayden out on the prairie so there are no geographical obstructions or big buildings between my house and Spokane. Thanks again for any advice.
Check out this site:
http://www.2150.com/broadcast/

It is the BEST OTA locator site. Make sure you goto the other 2 small links to get your appropriate longitude & latitude as well as magnetic declination for the form. Note, that you might need to use the "-" sign for the longitude fill in.
Also, click a check on "include expired" in case the Spokane stations are not updated but not to miss any. Also click on the "by direction". This will give the degree marks (compass headings) from your house to towers. It also the correct setting for rotor.

OK, so I ran the numbers for where I live in Hayden. It looks like the direction I would point the antenna for CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, and WB is between 227 and 230 degrees. ABC is showing that I would need to point the antenna to 292 degrees to pick up their station. FYI I'm completely unfamiliar with using a compass and what exactly those degree measurements mean. Maybe someone can explain that to me, but it seems to me, regardless of my lack of knowledge, that I need 2 different antennas or something to pick up all of our local OTA HD signals. Can someone please confirm this or explain to me how it works? Thanks you guys.

Here is my list for Hayden near Avondale/Hayden Lake golf courses.
If I had an OTA, I might not need a rotor if the spread from the majority towers & ABC is cancelled out by strength of signal. I might need a rotor to get the first PBS listing, but close proximity may override as well.

Digital Television Stations (including Special Temporary Authority)

KCDT-DT
PBS
App: 676357
Fac: 62424
8/11/2004 45 (26) Licensed
Expires 10/1/2006 Licensed
LICEN COEUR D'ALENE, ID STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, STATE OF IDAHO 146° 3.26 mi 38 kW
1526 ft

KSPS-DT
PBS
App: 657855
Fac: 61956
8 (7) Licensed
Expires 2/1/2007 Licensed
LICEN SPOKANE, WA SPOKANE SCHOOL DISTRICT #81 226.7° 28.96 mi 21.6 kW
1831 ft

KQUP-DT
App: 998648
Fac: 78921
24 (24) Application
LICEN PULLMAN, WA PULLMAN BROADCASTING, INC. 226.9° 28.73 mi 1000 kW
1867 ft

KAYU-DT
FOX
App: 1082513
Fac: 58684
10/18/2005 30 (28) Licensed
Expires 2/1/2007 Licensed
LICEN SPOKANE, WA MOUNTAIN LICENSES, L.P. 226.9° 28.73 mi 335 kW
1850 ft

KHQ-DT
NBC
App: 618697
Fac: 34537
11/19/2002 15 (6) Temporary Authority
Expires 2/1/2007 Licensed
LICEN SPOKANE, WA KHQ, INCORPORATED 227.2° 28.66 mi 423 kW
1759 ft

KREM-DT
CBS
App: 699450
Fac: 34868
11/6/2003 20 (2) Temporary Authority
Expires 2/1/2007 Construction Permit
LICEN SPOKANE, WA KING BROADCASTING COMPANY 228.9° 28.3 mi 53.6 kW
2103 ft

KSKN-DT
WB
App: 1039909
Fac: 35606
3/15/2005 36 (22) Licensed
Expires 2/1/2007 Licensed
LICEN SPOKANE, WA KSKN TELEVISION, INC. 228.9° 28.3 mi 250 kW
2041 ft

KGPX
PAX
App: 1049127
Fac: 81694
43 (34) Application
LICEN SPOKANE, WA PAXSON SPOKANE LICENSE, INC. 229.7° 28.11 mi 664 kW
1476 ft

KXLY-DT
ABC
App: 421545
Fac: 61978
4/17/2000 13 (4) Licensed
Expires 2/1/2007 Licensed
LICEN SPOKANE, WA SPOKANE TELEVISION, INC. 286.2° 19.51 mi 23.3 kW
3071 ft

OK, so I ran the numbers for where I live in Hayden. It looks like the direction I would point the antenna for CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, and WB is between 227 and 230 degrees. ABC is showing that I would need to point the antenna to 292 degrees to pick up their station. FYI I'm completely unfamiliar with using a compass and what exactly those degree measurements mean. Maybe someone can explain that to me, but it seems to me, regardless of my lack of knowledge, that I need 2 different antennas or something to pick up all of our local OTA HD signals. Can someone please confirm this or explain to me how it works? Thanks you guys.
See post above.
You can definitely get the first set w/o a rotor. The question has to do with ABC.
Remember 270 deg is due WEST, thus the first group is W/SW of you. ABC is W/NW of you & PBS CDA is S/SE (S is 180 deg).
Your first best choice is get a tabletop antenna from radio shack & see if that does the trick with one direction before installing on roof.
You could have even a roof antenna pointed to ~260 deg (half way btw group & ABC) & pick up all. It depends on signal strength, distance & LOS.
All of these stations are <30 miles which is GREAT. When I lived near DC, I picked most stations that were >65miles away with a mtn ridge in the way (I was ~800ft higher at house location though).
Rotors require forethought before installing with antenna. It also requires running the rotor power line (connects to small box near TV) along with coax from antenna to TV location.

Hi Guys,

What I did to solve the KXLY problem was use a VHF-LO, VHF-HI and UHF combiner
"all one unit" that is not passive. I have my CM-4228 with a 777 preamp on a rotor to pick up everything from the south hill. Have a set of rabbit ears feeding the VHF-HI input for KXLY-DT, they put out so much power a preamp over drives there signal big time and this way I do not need to swing the rotor to Mt. Spokane.

Being there is a preamp on the 4228 for UHF the non passive splitter lets the VHF-HI input work w/o the preamp UHF passing to the rabbit ears. It works well.

As far as KCDT 45/26 you can just about pick that up with a coat hanger.

Apple, if you are out on the Prarie you should not have much of a problem unless
you have some close trees in your line-of-sight. Think you will like the bandwith of OTA. I have three E* dishes here and I do not subscribe to the local package.

CustM

I just noticed that KXLY is a VHF station!!!!
That sucks with regard to a one antenna solution since the usual combo antennas are monsters!!! The solution by CustM looks good to minimize the WAF (wife acceptance factor) with regrad to a roof antenna!!
Where is the combiner in relation to line runs??? Before or after the powered indoor part of the preamp??

Robert,

The combiner is between the power inserter and the STB.

The power inserter feeds the UHF input of the combiner,
the rabbit ears feed the VHF-HI input, then the out goes to the STB.

The combiner is RS part # 15-1236 but I am afraid they are long gone.
Channel master or someone might make a combiner that would work.

CustM

I was at Best Buy last night, and a salesman I know said his manager told him KAYU would be broadcasting in HD this week. I haven't checked in this thread for awhile, so I thought I'd see if the status was posted here. I saw the recent comments, but nothing definitive. I'm sure most of you know by now, but I turned on the Bucs / Lions game, and it's in HD! Finally! Last years Super Bowl was bummer with a big screen TV in SD.

Lewey

I was at Best Buy last night, and a salesman I know said his manager told him KAYU would be broadcasting in HD this week. I haven't checked in this thread for awhile, so I thought I'd see if the status was posted here. I saw the recent comments, but nothing definitive. I'm sure most of you know by now, but I turned on the Bucs / Lions game, and it's in HD! Finally! Last years Super Bowl was bummer with a big screen TV in SD.

Lewey
Now I need Adelphia in NI to contract to add it to the HD locals lineup!!!!!!!!!!

Fox is indeed in HD. 720p. Beautiful picture. Looks like they bumped up their brodcast strength, as it's jumped from mid 30's to mid 40's on my channel strength indicator.

Nice.

Now I need Adelphia in NI to contract to add it to the HD locals lineup!!!!!!!!!!

We also need Comcast to add it in the Spokane area. Last time I contacted Fox about this, they basically said that they have no idea when Comcast would start carrying the HD feed. Apparently they have to negotiate this kind of thing and I'm sure there are technical issues as well. We should all call our cable companies and tell them we want them to pick up the HD feed now that it is available.

Now I need Adelphia in NI to contract to add it to the HD locals lineup!!!!!!!!!!
Let's just hope Adelphia is at least on top of things enough to know that KAYU Fox is broadcasting in HD now! I mentioned in an earlier post that the Adelphia tech that came to my house recently to switch out a broken Moto 6412 DVR told me that Adelphia wouldn't be adding anything new because of the Time Warner acquistion. I'm really hoping they haven't totally stopped caring about improving services to their customers, because it would be really frustrating if the only reason those of us with Adelphia in North Idaho don't get to enjoy Fox in HD is "laziness" on Adelphia's part.

Just unpacked my new "Sceptre 37" LCD HDTV" tonight. I have the "Dish network", but want to use an antenna for HDTV. KXLY-DT is 292 deg and 20 miles; KCDT-DT is 75 deg and less than 2 mi; most of the rest of the Spokane stations are around 230 deg and 27 mi. Any antenna/equipment suggestions would be welcome.

Navret,

I have the Dish 911 HDTV DVR and I just bought the $49.95 HDTV Indoor antenna (It's the one that you plug in to power it and it has a set of rabbit ears for VHF reception and a circular antenna for the UHF channels) from Radio Shack. It works great. I live in Post Falls so I'm not much closer to towers than you are. Hope that helps.

Pilot305,
Thank you for the info. One thing about Radio Shack is that they do take things back when they don't work out. I do have a complication besides being farther from Spokane than you. My HDTV is ia our basement rec room and I am not too sure that I would get a signal except for KCTV-DT on Canfield (I can see the ant from my house) Could you tell me which stations broadcast HDTV? Tahoerob put up a listing a couple of weeks ago, but I don't know if they are all broadcasting in HDTV

The only problem that i seemed to have with the reception (before i figured it out) wasn't because of any wall that was in the way but a mirror that was within a few feet of the antenna gave me a signal problem! Strange but true! So i think your signal should be okay. The following channels are the only ones with true HDTV: 2 (2.1), 4 (4.1), 6 (6.1), 7 (7.1), 26 (7.4?? I think) and NOW channel 28 (28.1) All the rest that you can pick up are either analog or just digital (but even having digital channels is nice too). KHQ just came out with digital channel 6.2 that is all local weather (Weather Plus). Very cool.

2.1, 4.1, 6.1, 7.1, 22.1 (?), 28.1 all from Spokane, but only when their network feeds them HD. 7.1 (and maybe other PBS stations) does record HD material to be broadcast later. there maybe others in your area.

Get it all set up for tomorrow. ALL 3 college fb games will be in HD on 4.1.

as you have probably found out already, you may just need a piece of wire for KCTV. AND maybe an 8 bay bowtie antenna will work for your Spokane stations. I'm located between Sandpoint and Priest River east of US2, and i get the above stations with an 8 bay bowtie and an amp. 2.1 being the one with the most dropouts.

hth,
ron

If I am understanding the situation correctly it sounds like I will need a good high gain VHF/UHF combo style antenna and perhaps an amp, if I want to watch HDTV directly? I do get 4, 6, 7 and 28, poorly, with rabbit ears. 2 is not usable.

navret-- yes you will need an antenna. what type however is unclear. don't go by what you get with analog tv reception though. i can't see anything on ch2--just snow, but 2.1 comes in pretty good at times, and at others i get dropouts. but for sure try to get the above posted digital (this includes HD) channels with your rabbit ears. i doubt you will have a reliable signal--but it's worth a try. digital tv is either there or it is not--there is no snow--it's a clear pix or no pix.

go to www.solidsignal.com and look for a Channel Master 4228 8 bay bowtie. these are about 3 ft sq and 5" thick. they mount on a mast and really don't look too bad. a Channel Master 777 preamp is as good of an amp as you'll find, if you need an amp.

read previous posts from CustM about his experiences. he lives in Post Falls.

as i mentioned before--i live west of Sandpoint. i had my 4228 mounted on the sw corner of the house about 10' from the ground. we have some trees which are getting close to blocking the signal. a few months ago i finally convinced my wife to put the 4228 on the peak of the roof with a tripod bolted into the roof. i moved it maybe 15-20 higher. i was hoping to be get a more reliable signal from 2.1. it is no better than it was on the corner of the house. so try different things--some of which can be just laying or standing the antenna on the deck, or outside an upstairs bedroom window, maybe even in the attic. the problem with the attic, if you get much snow, you will for sure loose your signal . hth, ron

I'm down in Moscow and I get CBS, NBC, and FOX with a CM 4228 and no preamp. It is indoors upstairs next to window.

Navret,

I live on 15th street, just south of Canfield school, so we could probably throw rocks at each others houses... I've got the same channel master (8 bay) in my attic, and I'm getting 2.1, 4.1, 6.1, 22.1, 26.1-5 (off canfield), and 28.1. 28 seems to be the only iffy station. It's aimed at the south spokane stations, and 4.1 is picked up without any other aiming.

Thanks to all three of you. I followed the link to Solid Signal and note that the 4228 Ant is a UHF antenna???? Aren't chs. 2.1, 4.1 & 6.1 VHF Channels?? Does 26.1-5 broadcast in HDTV?

I will be watching out for those rocks kirkjcda! I'm on Mt Carrol.

i'm pretty sure 4.1 is the only VHF signal, the rest are UHF. the digital channel # (2.1) has nothing to do with the frequency as did the analog channels #.

i don't get 26 OTA, but i would bet, IF 26 broadcasts any HD, it would be on 26.1 only. i say this only because 7.1 is HD, whereas 7.2 is not and just a digital transmission of analog channel 7. that could change in the future though.

there is another forum on this web site--- HDTV Hardware where the 4228 has been discussed for many moons. avail yourself to this WHOLE web site--you won't find another like it. the 4228 is also pretty good at receiving the high VHF channels.

Thanks for the education on frequency assignments, rondi. Guess I'm behind the curve on this stuff. I am gratefull for this web site. There is so much miss info around. I went to one of our local radio shacks for rabbit ears and was told by the manager to forget it because we don't get HDTV in CdA and we don't have line of sight to Spokane.

I will check out what folks have written up about the 4228 ant and I did read what CustM had to say.

I was wondering what channels broadcast in 5.1 surround sound? I am getting a home theatre ready.

A Channel Master 4228, a 777 preamp and a Rotor are on order. KCDT-DT is coming in good off rabbit ears in the basement and I have even had a little success getting KREM-DT. I wanted to use RG-11 for my hookup, but have not located a local source. The "Dalton Report" will be forth coming.

A Channel Master 4228, a 777 preamp and a Rotor are on order. KCDT-DT is coming in good off rabbit ears in the basement and I have even had a little success getting KREM-DT. I wanted to use RG-11 for my hookup, but have not located a local source. The "Dalton Report" will be forth coming.

Congrats,

You will love that setup. The 4228 can be a bit directional and although the rotor costs a little more and is some extra work, you will be happy to have it in the long run.The RG-11 is probably overkill unless you have a very-very long run, good RG-6 will work just fine.

With winter being here, cold & snow, the signals will come in much better than in the summer. I would really recomend not doing a final mount untill spring/summer.
Besides, there is a lot of snow on the roof right now........lol

The 777 will come with two switches inside, set them to "combined" and FM trap "in". The 4228 is a UHF unit but you will find it to do a good job with Hi Band VHF. Look forward to see how it does in Dalton.

CustM

I recently jumped on the DirecTV Tivo HD-10-250 deals that are going on. I have a new Hitachi 57" to go with it.

I am in Liberty Lake and OTA for the tower mountain channels have always been challenging. I spent this weekend setting up a Radio Shack yagi UHF antenna that I had. I am able to lock all the Spokane channels except KAYU for some reason. I get 60-75% strength on tower mountain channels, and KXLY is 85-90% (never a problem in Liberty Lake). KAYU however cannot lock and is only 10-15%.

Anyone have any updates on KAYU? Are they operating at full power? Seems strange I can get the other channels ok and not KAYU.

I have had the same problems with KAYU. I watched the 49ers Seahawk game and it was doing fine. My signal strength was around 70 which is where it stays, but after the game it has been around 8-10. I don't know whats up either.

KAYU DT 28.1 has either been low power or off the air the last few days.

It came back full power this afternoon, KREM 2.1 was also down for a short
period today.

CustM

KAYU is back up and they added a sub-channel 28.2. It shows the same stuff as 28.1,but is SD material only.

Comcast in Spokane is digitally simulcasting now. Many of the channels look much better, and they take up much less space on the DVR. Now if we can just have Comcast add KAYU Fox 28 HD!

Now if we can just have Comcast add KAYU Fox 28 HD!
Ditto for Adelphia over in Cd'A!

When asked if Fox 28 HD would be added to Cocmast, Ron at KAYU says, "It could go either way, but it's possible we could be on Comcast in 3 or so
weeks. Our DTV signal is available over-the-air right now on 28-1."
As of 12/20/05.

When asked if Fox 28 HD would be added to Cocmast, Ron at KAYU says, "It could go either way, but it's possible we could be on Comcast in 3 or so
weeks. Our DTV signal is available over-the-air right now on 28-1."
As of 12/20/05.
Thanks for checking into that - did he mention anything about Adelphia in Cd'A?

Thanks for checking into that - did he mention anything about Adelphia in Cd'A?

He didn't mention anything about Adelphia, but you can send him an e-mail,
rons@kayutv.com

I just recieved a message on my Comcast DVR that said they would start broadcasting KAYU Fox 28 in HD on channel 103 on 12/23.

I just recieved a message on my Comcast DVR that said they would start broadcasting KAYU Fox 28 in HD on channel 103 on 12/23.


I got the same message and the channel is already up! Too bad the Seahawks play on CBS this weekend.

KAYU is back up and they added a sub-channel 28.2. It shows the same stuff as 28.1,but is SD material only.

Well if they are back up and full power I don't notice it. Still cannot lock KAYU.

Also, for some reason KSPS PBS (7-1) has tanked on me. I was getting 60% and locking very good. Now it dropped to 10-14%. All my other channels haven't changed and are the same strength. Strange.

The Dalton Report as promised #330
Thanks for the input "CUSTM"(#331). Everything was on back order for three weeks, but the rotor and 4228 Ant arrived Saturday. The pre amp is still on its way. Sans Pre amp, I am getting everything on tahoerod's list in #307. I did go with an attic mount pointed through the front on the garage and not through the roof, so maybe snow will not be a factor. My trees are all conifers so I hope they will not change much during the summer. Perhaps the addition of the preamp will make up for signal degradation in the summer. Thanks for the heads up on the switch positions.

I was wondering if anyone is getting full 5.1 surround on Fox 28. My receiver shows it being 5.1,but on my receiver there is never anything coming from the sub.

The Dalton Report as promised #330
Thanks for the input "CUSTM"(#331). Everything was on back order for three weeks, but the rotor and 4228 Ant arrived Saturday. The pre amp is still on its way. Sans Pre amp, I am getting everything on tahoerod's list in #307. I did go with an attic mount pointed through the front on the garage and not through the roof, so maybe snow will not be a factor. My trees are all conifers so I hope they will not change much during the summer. Perhaps the addition of the preamp will make up for signal degradation in the summer. Thanks for the heads up on the switch positions.

Keep in mind that sometimes a pre-amp can actually degrade the signal if it was good to begin with. Experiment. You may not need it at this distance. When I lived near DC, I was ~65 miles from towers & pre-amp was a must. If any of your signals are less than 80% than a pre-map may assure always captured. I found that signals less than 80% are more likely to drop or pixelate.

I got the same message and the channel is already up! Too bad the Seahawks play on CBS this weekend.
Normally I would be upset because this weekend's Seahawks/Redskins playoff game is on Fox, and Adelphia still hasn't added Fox yet in HD. However, I'll be AT THE GAME so I don't need it! Take that, Adelphia!! (that was my pathetic attempt at "stickin it to the man")

BELOW IS LATEST INFO VIA EMAIL FROM FOX 28:


Robert,

We are currently in negoiations with Adelphia. Have been for a couple
of weeks now. And to tell you the truth ... I don't know how much
longer it will take.

You might be well served to install an off-air antenna on the roof
and see if you can get our HD signal that way. We have coverage in
Cd'A, but because of terrain issues it's not covered completely.

Adelphia gets our signal off-air and sends it down your cable. If
they can get it you might be able to as well. Just a suggestion.

Thank you for contacting KAYU Fox 28.

At your service ...

Randall Jones
IT Engineer
Northwest Broadcasting
KAYU Fox 28 (Spokane)
KCYU Fox 41 (Yakima)
KFFX Fox 11 (Tri-Cities)
Randall.Jones@kayutv.com
509.448.2828 (voice)
509.448.0926 (fax)

Thanks for the update!

KHQD HD (Ch 706) on Adelphia has been out since last night :(
Is it also out OTA??? Comcast??
I called CSR & they got several calls already & will pass on info to local techs.

KHQ-DT was apparently offline last night via Comcast. Settled in last night to watch ER, which the DVR said it dutifully recorded, to find a blank screen. It was still offline when I went to be about midnight.

I believe KHQ-TV 6-1 & 6-2 have been down since Wednesday. I use an "over-the-air" antenna with my Dish DVR-HDTV tuner. Anyone else notice this??

Most cable companies actually use OTA antennas to capture the digital signals then re-transmit via the cable line. So if the OTA is down, the cable HD channels will be down. In some metro areas, the cable co can receive the signal via fiber but with Adelphia...no way! Also, if Comcast channel is also down, then they are using an OTA antenna too.

From KHQ's web-site:

"SPOKANE, WA... - KHQ's digital signal is currently off the air. The signals affected are the KHQ Digital signal on channels 6-1 and 6-2, KHQ's WeatherPlus signal on Comcast digital cable, and KHQ's High-Definition signal.

Workers were unable to reach a bad portion of transmission line on Wednesday, due to ice on the tower. They tried again on Thursday, but ice continued to fall, creating extremely dangerous working conditions.

KHQ's digital signal will be back on the air as soon as possible."

They have a picture of the ice on the tower at

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10808978/from/RL.5/

I guess it'll be back when it's back... Now I need to call back my cable company and undo my complaint...

Art

Good thing they do not have NFL rights!!

Had A C M E integration install an HD antenna. I live in the Spokane valley so their O.T.A.
antenna is actually two, integrated so that I receive excellent reception from Mt. Spokane and the South Hill. For about a week now, I am not getting any signal from 6.1 or 6.2.
What is the problem ? Any one else in the area having the same glitch?
Oops, when this message posted, it took me to page 12 which has the answer
I was seeking. Thank you : ]

Good thing they do not have NFL rights!!

Yeah, but they do have the golden globes which my wife wants to watch... :(

Does Anybody Know If You Can Get Just The Hd Network Stations From Comcast And Nothing Else, Or Do I Have To Subscribe To The Basic Package And Get The Hd Stations In Addition? I Currently Have Directv And Can't Get The Networks In Hd Over The Sat Or By Ota Antenna.

Does Anybody Know If You Can Get Just The Hd Network Stations From Comcast And Nothing Else, Or Do I Have To Subscribe To The Basic Package And Get The Hd Stations In Addition? I Currently Have Directv And Can't Get The Networks In Hd Over The Sat Or By Ota Antenna.

It looks like you're stuck getting the Basic package at $46.49/month plus $5/month for the HDTV converter box ($10 if you also want the HD DVR). This is one of the reasons that consumer groups are pushing so hard for cable a la carte channel availability instead of having to pay for a bunch of channels in a package that you will never watch.

Do you have to get the HD converter with Comcast to view HD content? The last place I lived I was able to pull it off the cable without a converter.

Do you have to get the HD converter with Comcast to view HD content? The last place I lived I was able to pull it off the cable without a converter.
Really? I didn't know that was possible. I know you can receive OTA HD signals with the right antenna if your TV is "HD-ready", but I didn't know you could do the same through a cable line with no HD cable box. So just to clarify, you had no cable box and you just plugged the coax cable into the back of your tv and you got some HD channels?

Do you have to get the HD converter with Comcast to view HD content? The last place I lived I was able to pull it off the cable without a converter.
Only the LOCAL HD channels will be unscrambled to be viewed via a direct coax connection to your TV. However, you will lose out on DD 5.1 unless your TV outputs that (which I think none do). Audio will be via the TV set only.
If you want any HD tiered channels including ESPN HD, Discovery HD, etc or movie channels such as HBO HD, then you will need an HD converter box. Most cable companies now have all their HD boxes as DVRs.

Only the LOCAL HD channels will be unscrambled to be viewed via a direct coax connection to your TV. However, you will lose out on DD 5.1 unless your TV outputs that (which I think none do). Audio will be via the TV set only.
If you want any HD tiered channels including ESPN HD, Discovery HD, etc or movie channels such as HBO HD, then you will need an HD converter box. Most cable companies now have all their HD boxes as DVRs.

Thanks for the info! As far as DD 5.1 My JVC does out have an output for that in the Dig optical format, It's pretty cool.

Only the LOCAL HD channels will be unscrambled to be viewed via a direct coax connection to your TV. However, you will lose out on DD 5.1 unless your TV outputs that (which I think none do). Audio will be via the TV set only.
If you want any HD tiered channels including ESPN HD, Discovery HD, etc or movie channels such as HBO HD, then you will need an HD converter box. Most cable companies now have all their HD boxes as DVRs.

In order for this to work, you would have to have an HD TV with built-in digital tuner, not an HD ready TV (like many of us have) that only have built-in analog tuners. Even then, I'm curious if this would even work without it being decoded by the cable box? Has anyone who has a TV with built in digital tuner tried this?

Any new news on HD channel 6?

Any new news on HD channel 6?

Still down as of last night. I just emailed them via their MSNBC site.
Hopefully before next Thurs. "Earl"!!

PBS on Adelphia OUT OF SYNC AUDIO:

Here is email back from ID PTV:

Mr. Robert Ancker,

Thank you very much for notifying us that our digital HD video and audio on Adelphia cable (KCDT-45, Adelphia Ch. 712) is out of sync. I just looked at a return signal from our digital transmitter in Coeur d’ Alene (located on Canfield Butte Mountain) and everything looked fine. I then called Adelphia cable and their technician confirmed that the video and audio were out of sync due to problems with their equipment and that they would correct it. They pick up our digital transmission off air, so unfortunately we have no control of its quality once it enters their system and they put it on cable. But feel free to email or call us at anytime if you have further problems, so we can expeditiously track down where the problem actually is and get it corrected. Our main offices are in Boise, but I work out of an office at the U of I campus in Moscow. Our toll free number is (800) 424-1226. We do not have anyone answering the phones after hours (5 PM) or on the weekends, but we do have an answering machine to take any messages. Your first recourse during our after hours should be to call Adelphia Cable to see if they can correct the problem.

Again, thank you for emailing us about the sync problem on KCDT-45. If you have any further problems or questions don’t hesitate to contact us.

Michael Cramblit
Television Field Engineer
Idaho Public TV

Still down as of last night. I just emailed them via their MSNBC site.
Hopefully before next Thurs. "Earl"!!

It looks like Comcast is rebroadcasting on channel 106, but it looks like it is the standard definition feed. I assume they'll switch back over once things are fixed on KHQ's end. I'm happy that "The Office", "What About Earl", and "Four Kings" recorded last night, even if it isn't HD.

Some months ago I bought a Sony HDtv w/ built in digital receiver and was
amazed that when I set it to auto tune on limited comcast cable ($14.99 per mo.)
I received all but abc's 4.1 and yes right out of the TV's rear output to a fairly inexpensive 5.1 panasonic system, I got true 5.1 surround sound. BUT... in my overwelming
excitement, I posted on page 10 this experience and have since pulled the post because within a week, I lost all stations (HD) but 7.1, 81.1 (2.1), 81.2 (22.1).
I can still get KHQ in digital (non HQ) till it's back up on 6.1. Won't post how I'm getting it...sorry. Long story short...I ended up having to purchase an integrated
antenna that picks up all but the 26. stuff. That's my story and I'm sticken to it.
P.S. 4.1 is filling the wide screen up more with it's commercials even, has anyone else noticed this ( I generally don't turn the tube on till 8 P.M.) and also I herd
that because so many people are disappointed with the clarity of non HD channels viewed on their HD sets, that Comcast is actually going to improve
picture quality on their non HD stations ? ! Some time in the near future. :)

also I herd
that because so many people are disappointed with the clarity of non HD channels viewed on their HD sets, that Comcast is actually going to improve
picture quality on their non HD stations ? ! Some time in the near future. :)

Channels 2-99 in Spokane on Comcast have been digitally simulcast to improve on the analog picture, you must have a digital cable box to receive the digital feeds of these channels. They do look much better!

It looks like Comcast will be adding TNT-HD to all the Washington markets on Monday 1/23! :)
This articles says to look for it on channel 662 tomorrow!
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060120/sff039.html?.v=32

and also I herd
that because so many people are disappointed with the clarity of non HD channels viewed on their HD sets, that Comcast is actually going to improve
picture quality on their non HD stations ? ! Some time in the near future.

It's been that way for the last 4 to 6 weeks or so. The picture quality is much better and shows take up much less space on the DVR compared to their analog equivelent. When their DVR's only have 120MB of storage and recording HD is common, it doesn't go very far, so every MB saved counts.

It looks like Comcast will be adding TNT-HD to all the Washington markets on Monday 1/23! :)
This articles says to look for it on channel 662 tomorrow!
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060120/sff039.html?.v=32
Once again Adelphia in Cd'A sucks! We aren't getting TNT-HD (as far as I know) and we don't even have Fox HD yet!! Aaaaaagggghhhhh!

KHQ 6.1 & 6.2 were finally back on last night!! An OTA antenna is the only way to go. There are so many different types of outdoor antennas on the market. How do you know which one is the best? I would like to get one that can pick up stations from 100+ miles away (i live in Post Falls now). Is that possible? I remember, as a kid, i lived in Sacramento and in the summertime, i was able to pick up tv stations FROM Spokane!! It had something to do with the thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada mountains i think. Very strange!! And it was with just rabbit ears on a 13in TV!! Right now i just have an amplified indoor antenna that works ok but i would like to get a stronger signal. There are so many links to websites on this forum, its overwhelming. Any suggestions is appreciated.

Once again Adelphia in Cd'A sucks! We aren't getting TNT-HD (as far as I know) and we don't even have Fox HD yet!! Aaaaaagggghhhhh!

Supposedly for TNT, we have to wait until the Time Warner take over. As for Fox, active negotiations are ongoing. See posts above.

FYI, before I moved out here in Aug., the Adelphia in Virginia had TNT, Cinemax HD, ESPN HD 2, as well as NFL HD. So all of these are possible!!!

KHQ 6.1 & 6.2 were finally back on last night!! An OTA antenna is the only way to go. There are so many different types of outdoor antennas on the market. How do you know which one is the best? I would like to get one that can pick up stations from 100+ miles away (i live in Post Falls now). Is that possible? I remember, as a kid, i lived in Sacramento and in the summertime, i was able to pick up tv stations FROM Spokane!! It had something to do with the thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada mountains i think. Very strange!! And it was with just rabbit ears on a 13in TV!! Right now i just have an amplified indoor antenna that works ok but i would like to get a stronger signal. There are so many links to websites on this forum, its overwhelming. Any suggestions is appreciated.

Gain (measured in dB) is EVERYTHING!!
A pre-amp is a must for distance channels.
What is needed next is whether channels are all UHF or a few VHF. A lot of HD antennas are UHF only & may not pickup VHF. Thus, a combo unit might be better but are bulkier.
The other important parameter id LINE OF SITE for digital channels. If you have too many mountains in the way...too bad. Also, your elevation realtive to the broadcast towers is a factor. Thus, if you are elevated, this may compensate for any mountain ridges in the way.

Check out Channel Master or Winegard for brand choices. The CM 4228 & Winegard 9095HD have the highest UHF gains.

Use this site to check out available channels:
http://www.2150.com/broadcast/
You need to follow the 2 smaller links to get your long. & lat. as well as magnetic declination for where you live. Long. is expressed as a negative ex. -116.021254
Also, I believe that the magnetic declination is 15 or 16 (positive). Also make sure to click the box for "Include expired records" to get all teh actually available stations. If the stations are not in a clustered direction form you or very close (Canfield Mtn. for PBS), then a rotor is needed to turn antenna to source for better signal capture.

With all that said, it comes to trial & error with placing an outside, rooftop antenna to get the strongest signals!!

KHQ is indeed back up however their signal strength seems very weak. I was getting 65% at Liberty Lake and now only get 25-30% with several dropouts. Something seems to have changed. Anyone else verify?

Update: I decided to call KHQ engineering to ask about the lower power. They confirmed that they are running a band-aid fix right now at only 600W output. They normally operate at 20,000W. They said it may be weeks to months before they are able to completely fix their problem on the tower because of ice/snow and bad weather. Not the answer I wanted to hear before the Olympics! Real bummer.

Living in Post Falls down by the river (South end of Ross Pt. Road). Do I have a prayer in picking up the Superbowl (ABC) in HiDef with OTA? Isn't the ABC tower up on Mt. Spokane or that area?
I have Dish Network HD but the locals are not coming in HD until later in the year.

Living in Post Falls down by the river (South end of Ross Pt. Road). Do I have a prayer in picking up the Superbowl (ABC) in HiDef with OTA? Isn't the ABC tower up on Mt. Spokane or that area?
I have Dish Network HD but the locals are not coming in HD until later in the year.

distance wise OK.

Line Of Site ????

Start with a table top antenna from Radio Shack (returnable) first & see. If it comes in....great. If not, goto the roof!!

I tried a standard Radio Shack VHF, UHF and HDTV Indoor TV Antenna but I was only able to get a local PBS station or two.
I was thinking of trying the Terk HDTV-S next. It has some very positive reviews online. Best Buy has them in stock, so again, I could return if necessary. I've been tring to go through my Dish installer but they seem very reluctant to talk antennas...

I tried a standard Radio Shack VHF, UHF and HDTV Indoor TV Antenna but I was only able to get a local PBS station or two.
I was thinking of trying the Terk HDTV-S next. It has some very positive reviews online. Best Buy has them in stock, so again, I could return if necessary. I've been tring to go through my Dish installer but they seem very reluctant to talk antennas...
See post 376.

2 big factors
1. reception gain of antenna
2. LOS with antenna & tower

thus may need rooftop install. Attic might work as well.

Question for emtownsend. Where did you hear that Dish Network was going to have local HDTV channels for the Spokane stations later this year? I'm getting excited about it now. It won't be in that MPEG-4 format is it? I just got in a 18 month lease with my HD-DVR (MPEG-2) and i know the newest HD channels won't work on it.

At the latest CES Spokane was one of the markets announced for local HD's. I also belong to the forums over at satelliteguys.us . They are more of an authority than myself, that is for sure! It was mentioned over there that Spokane falls into a catagory of "WTF?"; or rather, nobody really knows when Spokane will roll out but it is slated for this year according to Dishnetwork. One thing is certain though, we are not part of the 10 cities that Dish just announced will be able to view the Superbowl in HD. :-(

I am not an advocate of any one forum, but if you are a Dish customer that likes to track the latest happenings, I would visit both this (AVS) and SatelliteGuys.US.

Here is the list of the 10 lucky cities:
The 10 cities are Chicago (Ch. 250); Flint, Mich. (Ch. 240); Fresno, Calif. (Ch. 250); Houston (Ch. 250); Los Angeles (Ch. 250); New York (Ch. 240); Philadelphia (Ch. 240); Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (Ch. 240); San Francisco (Ch. 250) and Toledo, Ohio (Ch. 240).

At the latest CES Spokane was one of the markets announced for local HD's. I also belong to the forums over at satelliteguys.us . They are more of an authority than myself, that is for sure! It was mentioned over there that Spokane falls into a catagory of "WTF?"; or rather, nobody really knows when Spokane will roll out but it is slated for this year according to Dishnetwork. One thing is certain though, we are not part of the 10 cities that Dish just announced will be able to view the Superbowl in HD. :-(

I am not an advocate of any one forum, but if you are a Dish customer that likes to track the latest happenings, I would visit both this (AVS) and SatelliteGuys.US.

Here is the list of the 10 lucky cities:
The 10 cities are Chicago (Ch. 250); Flint, Mich. (Ch. 240); Fresno, Calif. (Ch. 250); Houston (Ch. 250); Los Angeles (Ch. 250); New York (Ch. 240); Philadelphia (Ch. 240); Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (Ch. 240); San Francisco (Ch. 250) and Toledo, Ohio (Ch. 240).

The above mentioned cities are because they are O & O (owned & operated) by the ABC network itself & not owned by another company. This is how they also offer CBS HD currently to white area reception if you live near an O & O CBS station.

YES, Spokane is on the rollout list (~first 50). Spokane is market #80, but there must be a good logistic reason to rollout before others. It is dependant on the successful launch of Dish satellite X.

You will definitely need a MPEG4 receiver such as newer ViP 622. They are offering trade-ups for under $100.

Thanks for the info guys!!

Living in Post Falls down by the river (South end of Ross Pt. Road). Do I have a prayer in picking up the Superbowl (ABC) in HiDef with OTA? Isn't the ABC tower up on Mt. Spokane or that area?
I have Dish Network HD but the locals are not coming in HD until later in the year.

I am close to your neck of the woods. The real problem here is all the trees.
You will not have much trouble getting KXLY-DT 4.1 & 4.2 off Mt. Spokane, but you will need a really high gain UHF unit mounted as high as you can to shoot the South Hill transmitters. Forget the Terk, it's a lost cause.

As posted above, E* has the HD locals in the works but at this point it is just that.
The trade up to Mpeg 4 is $50 if you have an existing HD box to swap, that kind of sucks in my book. Get the locals OTA and un-compressed you will love it!

CustM

I did the Dish upgrade today. I upgraded my 508 for a HD 622. The cost was $299 + $49 install, which was mandatory. I am now on another 18 month lease too. Not a problem though. I have been with Dish since 1998.
My wife cringes when I mention another antenna on the house so I guess I will wait for the locals to go HD. Too bad an attic mount won't work (at least I highly doubt it) based on what CustM says.
Anyway, supposed to come "install" my Dish 622 on Feb 12th, which is a Sunday. Last time I had a Sunday appointment, they rescheduled on me. Here's to hoping!

I did the Dish upgrade today. I upgraded my 508 for a HD 622. The cost was $299 + $49 install, which was mandatory. I am now on another 18 month lease too. Not a problem though. I have been with Dish since 1998.
My wife cringes when I mention another antenna on the house so I guess I will wait for the locals to go HD. Too bad an attic mount won't work (at least I highly doubt it) based on what CustM says.
Anyway, supposed to come "install" my Dish 622 on Feb 12th, which is a Sunday. Last time I had a Sunday appointment, they rescheduled on me. Here's to hoping!
You may already know....... Dish added UniversalHD, ESPN2 HD & 5 more Voom HD channels yesterday!!!
I was a Dish customer prior to moving here in August last year & was one of the original 921 receiver users. I am going to stay w/ Adelphia until this fall & let Dish & Directv duke it out with adding HD this year!! Also, by then Adelphia may finally change to Time Warner & probably up its HD & VOD offerings. So let the HD games begin!!!

KHQ is indeed back up however their signal strength seems very weak. I was getting 65% at Liberty Lake and now only get 25-30% with several dropouts. Something seems to have changed. Anyone else verify?

Update: I decided to call KHQ engineering to ask about the lower power. They confirmed that they are running a band-aid fix right now at only 600W output. They normally operate at 20,000W. They said it may be weeks to months before they are able to completely fix their problem on the tower because of ice/snow and bad weather. Not the answer I wanted to hear before the Olympics! Real bummer.

Thanks for the information. Now I will quit climbing on my roof to adjust my antenna for that last channel. I am in CDA with a very good line of sight off my roof to the towers. I am picking up 2.1, 4.1, 7.1, 26.1, 26.5 off air with a Turk HDTVS. The low power from KHQ explains why I cant pick up the last channel (6.1).

Thanks for the information. Now I will quit climbing on my roof to adjust my antenna for that last channel. I am in CDA with a very good line of sight off my roof to the towers. I am picking up 2.1, 4.1, 7.1, 26.1, 26.5 off air with a Turk HDTVS. The low power from KHQ explains why I cant pick up the last channel (6.1).


Hi A Jay,

You should also be able to pick up WB 22.1 & FOX 28.1, 28.2.
WB is pretty easy to get but Fox is a bit harder.

CustM

I'm thinking of installing an OTA antenna on the roof (maybe the 4228) and I was wondering if you guys have any recommendations of places that install antennas in the Spokane/Cd'A area. I would like the higher quality of an uncompressed HD signal and also I'm tired of waiting for Adelphia to add Fox HD and WB HD to their lineup.

Try calling Acme Integration at 208-666-1112. If they don't the actual antenna installation, they should be able to refer you to someone who does.

Thanks! I called them and they do install antennas. Now if I can just come up with the cash! :rolleyes:

Hi A Jay,

You should also be able to pick up WB 22.1 & FOX 28.1, 28.2.
WB is pretty easy to get but Fox is a bit harder.

CustM

I had been trying to get those stations as well, but nothing was working. I received this email from KAYU and it did the trick at receiving all my missing Fox channels including 6.1 & 6.2. Although I have a hissing noise overlapping normal audio on the 28.1 channel for some reason. I will keep you posted if I find how this problem is solved.

KAYU
__________________
"The KAYU DTV signal is a high power signal designed to serve viewers 65+ miles in all directions from the broadcast tower; thus I suspect another problem.

Let me suggest turning your DTV receiver off, then UN-Plug the electrical power for 30 seconds, plug back in turn on and rescan your channels.

Secondly, try manually entering channel 30.

These are suggestions TV stations are finding correct similar problems viewers have.
"

I'm not sure if it's NBC's national feed, our local KHQ feed, or Adelphia in North Idaho but there's been a few problems with the Olympic broadcast so far. The first was macroblocking (where it looks like giant pixelation) happening during the opening cermonies. I use a front projector setup so it was maybe more noticable with the larger picture. The second issue is that there's no DD5.1 sound even though the Olympics keep saying there is. The third issue is some major ghosting last night where every object on the screen had a "ghost" to it's right in various colors. It wasn't the entire time but maybe 30 minutes of last night's broadcast. Anyone else experiencing any of this?

We watched the Opening Fri nite and everything looked great. we had close to 80% signal Strength, but Sat it was about 30-40& No watching 6.1. 6 is so snowy i had to subscribe to DirecTV local channels. i guess $1.75 won't break me--i'll unsubscribe after the Olympics. DirecTV has sent a waiver to KHQ asking for me to be ok'd to get DirecTV NBCHD LA, and maybe all the HD stations.

Here is an email from KHQ:
"Although KHQ DT is on the air we are only
broadcasting at 5% normal power. Part of our transmit antenna had to be
shipped in for repair. It is scheduled to arrive back in Spokane Friday and
we have a crew scheduled to install it that same day. So we hope to be back
to full power by Friday evening."

Maybe the moon was shinning just right on my antenna Fri nite, we never saw a pixelation and we have a FP also..

My OTA signal was not in 5.1 either.
hth, ron

The first was macroblocking (where it looks like giant pixelation) happening during the opening cermonies... The second issue is that there's no DD5.1 sound even though the Olympics keep saying there is. The third issue is some major ghosting last night where every object on the screen had a "ghost" to it's right in various colors. It wasn't the entire time but maybe 30 minutes of last night's broadcast. Anyone else experiencing any of this?


I had all these problems as well and still don't have 5.1. My receiver thinks there is 5.1 because it switched to 5.1 on KHQ but no special audio other than stereo with center channel and sub.

Just so you know, there won't always be surround material for 5.1 sound. If your receiver is switching over to Dolby Digital 5.1 then you're getting the digital signal. If you're not getting any sound through the rears it simply means NBC isn't mixing in any surround effects for their Olympic sound feed. What I mean is that I'm still only getting standard audio that my receiver is converting to Dolby Pro Logic II. It's not that big of a deal because it sounds fine, it's more annoying than anything because for some reason Adelphia isn't passing on the DD5.1 sound. Other than that the other Olympic issues have improved over the last few days. I no longer see macroblocking and there's no dropouts or ghosting anymore.

I recently bought a Sony HD TV. We don't want cable, so I'm interested in a good antennae. I put up a homeade dipole on the roof to see what kind of reception I might get from an antennae and can get 2.1 and 7.1 if I adjust the direction of the antennae. I live on the south hill in Spokane. Most broadcast antennaes are east of me, but Fox is northwest. I have a lot of trees around me, especially between me and KHQ and they are not leafed out. I'm concerned that I will spend a bunch of money on a big, ugly antennae with a rotator and still will have problems due to the trees.

Can I do this without cable?

Spokanite -
I think you may have FOX and ABC mixed up. Did you try your address in antennaweb.org? I don't think the leaves will hurt too much. I think you would also be picking up KHQ on your dipole except that they are still at low power :(

I think you would be happier with a setup that didn't involve a rotor. A four-bay uhf antenna like the Channel Master 3021 or Winegard PR-4400 should work fine, and they are relatively small. You might try it in the attic first at such a short distance. Then, you could use a splitter and mix in a VHF antenna if you are having trouble picking up ABC or PBS. But, several people have reported that they can tune in the upper VHF band on a UHF multi-bay, so there is a good chance you would not need anything else.

Good luck!

I have a couple questions that I hope someone can answer.

Is KHQ still operating in low power?

Is there any reason why I would have trouble getting KAYU when I can get KREM perfectly fine? Both are in the same relative location and both are in the UHF band?

I ask because I just installed my rooftop antenna and can pick up CBS (KREM) now fine (in the 80s). I got a quality medium range antenna (DB4) and I would of thought that if I get a steady KREM signal I should be getting something better than very spotty and unreliable KAYU signals.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I just got a new TV yesterday which has both analog and digital.......i have the cable box through Comcast however i hooked the cable directly up to the tv to see if there were any digital channels available...........on channel 100.4 and another that i forget the number to...i recieved some movies that were not on the schedule....also after one of the movies during the credits it changed right to another movie already in progress, then a few min later the screen just went black and nothing displayed..........am i picking up pay per view channels or other people watching on demand or what? can anyone explain this to me? Also is there a listing for these type of channels?

Also, I got the local digital channels...but they were not on the channels you all have been talking about....they were on channels like 79.1 and 80.8 and stuff like that.......any listings for all of these?

PS I have tried to look up the listings on links already provided in previous posts.

Thanks!

I have just purchased a high end 8-bay UHF antennae for HD OTA reception. There are 3 local channels within 120 and 122 degrees compass; CBS, FOX, & NBC. Their respective signal strengths are 85-86, 88-89, and 79-80, and all three 'lock' on when adding local DTV channels through the 811 menu. Both CBS and FOX downloaded their local channel number and designation when tuning to the appropriate tranmission frequency. The reception is flawless.

However, with NBC (KHQ 6.1 & 6.2) the downloaded OTA channel is the same channel number as the transmission frequency (i.e. 15). When I view the 'guide', I see the appropriate programming information under this channel number (i.e. 15). But when I attempt to select the channel, the 811 unit 'loses its brains' and conducts a powered-on reboot, or reinitialization of the whole system including transponder stepping & programming information download. This has occurred every time I attempt to access the OTA NBC channel.

Any thoughts or ideas???

hii am not able to get the local channels in hd the only one i get is nbc. Directv had me send a letter somewhere but only nbc turned on the hd... does anyone know how to get around this problem?? p.s i live in colville so i dont think an antenna will work... THANK YOU... reply to Trevor at mastersprinting dott com

thanks again

Heard Dish would be rolling out HD locals in the Spokane area before year’s end. Any idea when?

According to Dish it will be the 2nd quater, which would be in the next month or two, but that could change.

Thanks

On Tuesday, KHQ HD finally locked in and I watched a little bit of it. Does anyone know if they incresing power a little bit? I was getting it the low 70s and now in the low 60s, so there are a few drop outs.

Are any of you over the air folks able to receive KSPS-DT (Spokane PBS station on physical channel 8) aka 7-1 or 7-2? It's been off my cable for a couple of days now... Thanks! Art

I spoke to KHQ engineering this morning. They are running at 25% strength. They plan more upgrades as soon as the weather improves to bring up to 100%. In Liberty Lake, I get KHQ at 55-60% strength. I am looking forward to their upgrade for even better results.

I also have KSPS 7-1, 7-2 at 70% strength. I haven't noticed any downtime with KSPS lately.

I noticed KAYU is now showing TheTube music video channel on 28-2. No audio yet though. Picture only.

I also noticed TheTube channel. I have never heard of it. Wonder when audio will appear.

..................

However, with NBC (KHQ 6.1 & 6.2) the downloaded OTA channel is the same channel number as the transmission frequency (i.e. 15). When I view the 'guide', I see the appropriate programming information under this channel number (i.e. 15). But when I attempt to select the channel, the 811 unit 'loses its brains' and conducts a powered-on reboot, or reinitialization of the whole system including transponder stepping & programming information download. This has occurred every time I attempt to access the OTA NBC channel.

Any thoughts or ideas???
Welcome to Dish STB hell!!! I had a 921 for 2 years & it was a fight. The 942 & 611 are supposed to be better.
The 811 software is supposed to a bit better than the terrible 921.
Try deleting the channel, REBOOT, & & try again adding it. Sometimes the local HD OTA channels monkey around with the broadcast info on the signal & you get a lock on the digital number instead of converting to the x.1 number.
Good luck!

Just heard from a satellite installation shop in Airway Heights Dish will start offering the HD locals in the Spokane area on 4 May 06.

Man I hope you are right! That would earn Dish a double 'Woot' from me!
Thanks for the info/hope!

Just heard from a satellite installation shop in Airway Heights Dish will start offering the HD locals in the Spokane area on 4 May 06.

We shall see. Dish is not very good with deadlines!!
If true, I am glad to hear it since & can't wait to get rid of Adelphia cable. They are way too expensive for the product delivered!

I hope so too because I scheduled an installation for the 8th of May. The owner at Affordable Satellite is so positive about this, he's roasting a pig at the shop on the 4th to celebrate the event (stop feeding the Comcast pig).

Mick

May 4th for Spokane HD locals on Dish!! Great!! I just got my VIP622 with my DISH 1000 installed last week in anticipation for this. I also noticed that Channel 24 KQUP will be moved to the main satellite (110 or 119) soon so we'll be able to see it through only one dish.

We shall see. Dish is not very good with deadlines!!
If true, I am glad to hear it since & can't wait to get rid of Adelphia cable. They are way too expensive for the product delivered!
I'm with you! As soon as Dish has HD locals I'm jumping ship too. I just hope their DVR is as nice as the Motorola 6412 I'm currently using from Adelphia. For those of you in North Idaho, I went down to Adelphia's office last week and they told me that there will be NOTHING NEW added to the current service/channel lineup (including Fox HD) until the Time Warner acquisition goes through. I asked the CSR for a timeline and she said it could be sometime during the summer but she sounded very "iffy" about the whole thing. About 6 months ago I asked an Adelphia tech when Fox HD would be added to their lineup and he said it could be 2-3 years. I thought he was joking or exaggerating but I'm starting to think he was actually right! I can't stand another season of Seahawks football in standard definition!

The new DISH VIP622 (HD-DVR), so far, works great. You can record up to 3 shows at once while watching a recorded show. Lot's of HD programming too.

The new DISH VIP622 (HD-DVR), so far, works great. You can record up to 3 shows at once while watching a recorded show. Lot's of HD programming too.
Let us know as soon as Dish adds the Spokane HD locals! I'm definitely switching over to Dish once that happens, but I want to be sure it actually does happen first! Did you have to pay the $300 for the VIP622 or was there some special going on? That's the only downside I can see to switching over from Adelphia to Dish once the HD locals come online. Also, I'm wondering if our Spokane KSKN/WB affiliate will be offered as part of the Dish HD locals as well as CBS, FOX, ABC, and NBC. It would be nice to see Mariners games in HD!

Let us know as soon as Dish adds the Spokane HD locals! I'm definitely switching over to Dish once that happens, but I want to be sure it actually does happen first! Did you have to pay the $300 for the VIP622 or was there some special going on? That's the only downside I can see to switching over from Adelphia to Dish once the HD locals come online. Also, I'm wondering if our Spokane KSKN/WB affiliate will be offered as part of the Dish HD locals as well as CBS, FOX, ABC, and NBC. It would be nice to see Mariners games in HD!

I actually upgraded my HD-DVR 942 to the new VIP622. It has the new MPEG-4 HD as opposed to just MPEG-2. I had to pay $299 up front and then i will get a $200 upgrade rebate on my account to return the 942. Yes, i will notify everyone on this thread when they get the local HD.

Just FYI...

KQUP Channel 24 is now on the same satellite as the other local Spokane channels on Dish Network so you don't need a 2nd dish for that channel.

:cool:

Does anybody know what is planned for KHQ 6-3? Right now, it's just a screen with KHQ DT 6-3 Spokane and the audio from 6-1.

I called Affordable Satellite today since it was the projected date that Dish Network HD locals were supposed to be available. They said that they haven't come available yet, but that May 11th is the "new" projected date. I just hope that I can get Fox in HD (other than OTA) by the time the NFL season starts.

Well, we are almost there! The channels have been set but no signal yet.

Spokane - 20s40
6432 KXLY
6433 KREM
6434 KHQ
6435 KAYU

Looks like Fox (KAYU) is in the mix! Here's to constant hoping.....

Well, we are almost there! The channels have been set but no signal yet.

Spokane - 20s40
6432 KXLY
6433 KREM
6434 KHQ
6435 KAYU

Looks like Fox (KAYU) is in the mix! Here's to constant hoping.....
On one hand that's great news! On the other hand it's unfortunate that PBS and the WB aren't in the mix. There's great HD programs on both of those channels.

Yeah, I wonder if/when we will see more local HD channels added... I bet there isn't much incentive to add PBS channels until mandated. I wish they would though.

I will be attending Whitworth college next year and I was wondering if anyone knew about the reception quality there. I checked antennaweb and it said I would need a medium directional antenna. I am afraid this is impossible for me to have because I am going to be in the dorms. Any ideas?

On one hand that's great news! On the other hand it's unfortunate that PBS and the WB aren't in the mix. There's great HD programs on both of those channels.

Great news about the potential for Dish local HD. At least I can get PBS here in N. I. easily via OTA. I can probably even use a tabletop Radio Shack antenna!!

I was just looking today about how to drop Adelphia services to save money!

Also, satellite guys web site stated Dish to add Starz HD & HGTV HD by end of May!! :)

From: http://www.dishchannelchart.com/

HDTV KXLY DT (ABC/UPN) Spokane, WA KXLY 6432 20s40 110° E*10
HDTV KREM DT (CBS) Spokane, WA KREM 6433 20s40 110° E*10
HDTV KHQ DT (NBC) Spokane, WA KHQ 6434 20s40 110° E*10
HDTV KAYU DT (Fox) Spokane, WA KAYU 6435 20s40 110° E*10

From same source:

# HI DEF ABC CBS NBC AND FOX LOCAL CHANNELS ARE NOW UPLINKED FOR THE FOLLOWING MARKETS (not available to subscribers):

* Dallas -- 6383-6386 on tp 31 spot 21 at 110°
* Houston -- 6389-6392 on tp 4 spot 16 at 110°
* Sacramento -- 6395-9398 on tp 18 spot 43 at 110°. Also the WB affiliate is uplinked to channel 6399 on tp 14 at 129°
* Miami -- 6401-6404 on tp 12 spot 1 at 110°
* San Diego -- 6407-6410 on tp 29 spot 39 at 110°
* Seattle -- 6414-6417 on tp 4 spot 45 at 110°
* Portland, OR -- 6420-6423 on tp 29 spot 44 at 110°
* San Antonio -- 6426-6429 on to 25 apot 22 at 110°
* Spokane -- 6432-6435 on tp 20 spot 40 at 110°
* San Francisco -- 6438-6441 on tp 7 spot 4 at 119°, Also KICU DT and KRON are uplinked to channels 6444 and 6445 on tp 14 at 129°
* Phoenix -- 6446-6449 on tp 18 spot 35 at 110°

From: http://www.dishchannelchart.com/

HDTV KXLY DT (ABC/UPN) Spokane, WA KXLY 6432 20s40 110° E*10
HDTV KREM DT (CBS) Spokane, WA KREM 6433 20s40 110° E*10
HDTV KHQ DT (NBC) Spokane, WA KHQ 6434 20s40 110° E*10
HDTV KAYU DT (Fox) Spokane, WA KAYU 6435 20s40 110° E*10

Woot!

The Dish Spokane HD local channels are supposed to be LIVE!!
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=65538

Anyone with Dish & HD & Spokane locals please check..............

Channels 6432-6435 (KAYU, KHQ, KREM, and KXLY)

How exciting! So I have 2 questions:
First, pilot305, how do you like the VIP622? I'm thinking of getting one when I sign up for Dish but I wanted to get a few opinions before taking the plunge.
Second, have any of you recently switched from cable to Dish? If so, how does the HD quality compare? Most of what I've read suggests it's a little "softer" with satellite.

Dish order placed with DishHD Platinum & 622.
Verizon DSL order placed.
Adelphia soon GONE!
Anyone using 622 TV2 mode???

Tahoe,
How much is Verizon DSL per month? What are the up/down speeds?

I just switched from cable to Dish last Monday and find the Dish HD locals picture quality just as good or better than Comcast. No "softness" perceived here.

How exciting! So I have 2 questions:
First, pilot305, how do you like the VIP622? I'm thinking of getting one when I sign up for Dish but I wanted to get a few opinions before taking the plunge.
Second, have any of you recently switched from cable to Dish? If so, how does the HD quality compare? Most of what I've read suggests it's a little "softer" with satellite.


When i converted from the 942 HD-DVR (mpeg2) to the 622 HD-DVR (mpeg4) it was kinda rough. I had to have a replacement sent because of a tuner problem. I then got the replacement and it seems to be just fine. There are a couple of glitches every once in awhile (software problem that alot of people have, but to be fixed soon according to their tech support). Even with that, it is still worth it. The picture is incredible with HD and with the regular digital channels, much better then Adelphia's digital (especially on a big screen). I just got on the forum this morning (at work--shhhhh!!) so i haven't noticed if the HD locals are on. I will double check tonight and let you all know.

According to suriel they are online already!
Any recommendations as to what Dish satellite retailer I should work with to get things going? I don't care if it's in Spokane or North Idaho, I'm mostly concerned about getting the VIP622 as soon as possible and also I want to work with a place that does a nice job on their installs. Thanks in advance.

Nevermind about the recommendations - I just got off the phone with affordable satellite in Airway Heights and they're coming out to install my VIP622 and new dish on MONDAY!!! This is fantastic - I'll be able to watch the soccer UEFA Champions League final on ESPN2HD, the soccer world cup games on ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD, and now (finally) all the Seahawks games next season on FOX-HD!

Nevermind about the recommendations - I just got off the phone with affordable satellite in Airway Heights and they're coming out to install my VIP622 and new dish on MONDAY!!! This is fantastic - I'll be able to watch the soccer UEFA Champions League final on ESPN2HD, the soccer world cup games on ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD, and now (finally) all the Seahawks games next season on FOX-HD!


Get ready for a whole new experience. I love Dish HD!!! I can't wait to watch the locals on HD through Dish themselves. No more OTA reception problems!! :)

Tahoe,
How much is Verizon DSL per month? What are the up/down speeds?



Max Connection Speed Month1 Months2-3 Months 4-12
1 yr commit Upto 3 Mbps/768 Kbps FREE $21.95 $29.95
1 yr com Upto 768 Kbps/128 Kbps FREE $14.95 $14.95
Mth-to-Mth Upto 3 Mbps/768 Kbps FREE $37.95 $37.95

Nevermind about the recommendations - I just got off the phone with affordable satellite in Airway Heights and they're coming out to install my VIP622 and new dish on MONDAY!!! This is fantastic - I'll be able to watch the soccer UEFA Champions League final on ESPN2HD, the soccer world cup games on ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD, and now (finally) all the Seahawks games next season on FOX-HD!

I went through the Dish 800# & have an install date not until 5/21!!!!
This is actually OK since I need time to get Verizon DSL setup since I use Adelphia HSI now.
Current offers w/ Dish:
Credit back $49.99 activation fee off first bill (if 18 mth commit)
Credit $10 per mth for 10 months ($100). Need to send rebate form. Thus, $299 fee for 622 becomes $199 w/ free activation. (that $11/mth for lease over 18 mths compared to ~$15/mth for Adelphia equipment w/o OTA tuner)

Will, the HD locals are indeed on!!! And it looks to me you CAN theoritically record 3 hi-def shows at once:

1) TV Tuner1 Example: Channel 002-00

2) OTA Tuner Example: Channel 004-01 (If you keep the option of having your antenna still hooked into your receiver. I know i decided to keep my rabbit ears)

3) TV Tuner2 Example: Any other of the HD Channels that your not already recording from.

I'm gonna test it out this weekend to make sure this is possible. I don't see why not.

Hi Pilot,

How does the PQ of the new local HD channels compare to the OTA broadcast?
And how do they look compared to Discovery HD?

I don't know if I can get a line of site to the new bird the 1000 uses, I have been
able to shoot 61.5 for Voom channels here at a very low elevation of 14.

It rubs me the wrong way to think I would have to spend $300 to get a 622, I have
a 6000 ($475) and they will not upgrade me with any type of deal.

CustM

Hi Pilot,

How does the PQ of the new local HD channels compare to the OTA broadcast?
And how do they look compared to Discovery HD?

I don't know if I can get a line of site to the new bird the 1000 uses, I have been
able to shoot 61.5 for Voom channels here at a very low elevation of 14.

It rubs me the wrong way to think I would have to spend $300 to get a 622, I have
a 6000 ($475) and they will not upgrade me with any type of deal.

CustM

Check Ebay for going prices of 6000s being sold.
It looks like still being sold for over $300. This is good considering it is ~4 generations old!!
Some other post report however that they are used by hackers to get free satellite??!!

Hi Pilot,

How does the PQ of the new local HD channels compare to the OTA broadcast?
And how do they look compared to Discovery HD?

I don't know if I can get a line of site to the new bird the 1000 uses, I have been
able to shoot 61.5 for Voom channels here at a very low elevation of 14.

It rubs me the wrong way to think I would have to spend $300 to get a 622, I have
a 6000 ($475) and they will not upgrade me with any type of deal.

CustM


The PQ seems to be the same (as long as you have a somewhat of a strong signal with your OTA. I've had a few occasions where the screen will go blank on the DISH locals (004-00, 006-00, etc..) but i then just go to channel 004-001 for example and its fine. I think they still have some issues to work out. Any shows that i've taped on the DISH locals, they've come out just fine. No problems.

Im actually warming up to the VOOM channels. The HD News channel is now the only national news i'll watch. The Equator channel is great too.

DISH definitely knows how to make money from us thats for sure. Damn new technology!! My only suggestion is, for future reference, don't buy any new receivers from ANY satellite company. Lease only!

Affordable Satellite came out and installed my Dish 1000/VIP622 HD-DVR on Monday. So far I love the setup - the 622 is a FAR FAR better HD-DVR than the Motorola 6412 I was using from Adelphia! The only downside for me is that some of the HD locals are not nearly as good of PQ as Adelphia's HD locals are. Fox actually seemed to be the best PQ of the 4 networks, which is convenient since Adelphia doesn't have Fox HD at all. However, CBS and NBC are CLEARLY better from Adelphia than from Dish Network.

I have both HD-DVR's currently and so I can quickly switch back and forth between them using a Denon receiver (everything running over componenet video cables). Watching David Letterman (CBS) or Jay Leno (NBC) was much better through Adelphia than Dish unfortunately. In fact, it's so much better that I'm keeping my Adelphia HD-DVR after all, and I've downgraded my service to "Broadacast Basic", which means I'm basically just using it for the HD locals, specifically CBS and NBC. I haven't watched anything in HD on ABC over Dish yet and haven't done a side-by-side comparison so I can't comment on that.

So for now I'm getting the best of both worlds with Dish Network (98% usage) AND Adelphia (2% usage). I'm thinking of installing an OTA intenna because the VIP622 has an input for one, and you can integrate the OTA channels in with their satellite lineup in the guide which is really neat. On the other hand I may stick with both Adelphia and Dish for now to avoid having an ugly antenna on the roof.

I will be able to compare come installation Sunday. I have a plasma with HDMI. I found that in even with Adelphia, HMDI on a Pioneer 50 plasma was BETTER PQ than component on Sony 50in LCD RPTV (yes I have 2 HDTVs)!!

I will be able to compare come installation Sunday. I have a plasma with HDMI. I found that in even with Adelphia, HMDI on a Pioneer 50 plasma was BETTER PQ than component on Sony 50in LCD RPTV (yes I have 2 HDTVs)!!
You gotta ditch those plasmas and get a projector, man! Technically since I can fit almost 4 50in plasmas within my 96" projection screen, I have 4 HDTV's!! So my opinions count the most. :p Anyways, moving on...after doing more comparisons, I will say that the difference is most evident on "live" programs like Letterman, Leno, or news broadcasts than on regular TV shows like 24 or Lost. There is still a noticeable differenc in PQ between Dish and Adelphia HD locals on TV shows, but I wouldn't be thinking the Dish HD locals were subpar unless I had the Adelphia HD locals to compare them to. However, without any comparison I couldn't stand the PQ on Dish HD locals for Letterman, Leno, or news broadcasts. I think it has to do with the frame rates the shows use. "Live" shows use a higher framerate than regular TV shows, and it seems like the Dish HD local feed "can't keep up" with it. For example, when there's lots of movement, like when Letterman walks out on stage or on the news when there's a traffic report and a car drives by, it doesn't look smooth. It looks like frames are missing or something. If you watch mostly regular TV shows you may not notice a big difference. If you watch a lot of live stuff and have been used to a high quality OTA HD broadcast or high quality HD locals through a cable company, you may notice a big difference in PQ with the Dish HD locals. I'm still thrilled that I switched over - there's about 20 more HD channels with Dish than I had with Adelphia!

Good info.

I will give feedback tomorrow night after install.
Are you using the TV2 output of the 622????

Good info.

I will give feedback tomorrow night after install.
Are you using the TV2 output of the 622????
No, I'm using the TV1 output since my projector is the only thing I have the 622 hooked up to. The TV2 output is only SD as well, which means it will probably never get used. I don't plan on owning an SDTV ever again! Cheers.

For Dish Network FYI!!!!!

National Geographic HD is now uplinked to channel 9429 on tp 22 at 129°
Starz HD is now uplinked to channel 9435 on tp 10 at 129°
Home & Garden TV HD is now uplinked to channel 9461 on tp 22 at 129°

For Dish Network FYI!!!!!

National Geographic HD is now uplinked to channel 9429 on tp 22 at 129°
Starz HD is now uplinked to channel 9435 on tp 10 at 129°
Home & Garden TV HD is now uplinked to channel 9461 on tp 22 at 129°
This is my first time using satellite so forgive me for my ignorance. I tried to go those channels (9429, 9435, and 9461) but none of them worked. Am I missing something?

Hello Wa and Idaho ppls. Curious, anyone out there in Coeur D'Alene able to pick up any Spokane OTA digital stations? Or should I not even bother with this?

Thanks.

This is my first time using satellite so forgive me for my ignorance. I tried to go those channels (9429, 9435, and 9461) but none of them worked. Am I missing something?
These are the uplinked status to satellites info that is reported BEFORE actual channels appear!!!
http://www.dishchannelchart.com/
Same way we knew the Spokane HD locals were soon available.
The current word on other forums is end of May or first week of June for "live" to customers.

Hello Wa and Idaho ppls. Curious, anyone out there in Coeur D'Alene able to pick up any Spokane OTA digital stations? Or should I not even bother with this?

Thanks.

You should be able to w/o a problem. I had Dish Net installed yesterday. I only needed to get local PBS HD since Dish now has Spokane locals HD (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) via sat now. I used a TABLETOP INDOOR Radio Shack picture frame UHF antenna. I live in the Hayden area near Avondale Lake.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062080&cp=&origkw=picture+frame+antenna&kw=picture+frame+antenna&parentPage=search
I was able to get PBS (Idaho), KREM (CBS), & KAYU (FOX) w/o even trying or turning antenna from in the middle of the house.
If you have a rooftop antenna, you should be able to get all of them.

I get Fox,Nbc, and cbs down in moscow with a $50 that is indoors.

You should be able to w/o a problem. I had Dish Net installed yesterday. I only needed to get local PBS HD since Dish now has Spokane locals HD (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) via sat now. I used a TABLETOP INDOOR Radio Shack picture frame UHF antenna. I live in the Hayden area near Avondale Lake.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062080&cp=&origkw=picture+frame+antenna&kw=picture+frame+antenna&parentPage=search
I was able to get PBS (Idaho), KREM (CBS), & KAYU (FOX) w/o even trying or turning antenna from in the middle of the house.
If you have a rooftop antenna, you should be able to get all of them.
Tahoerob, have you compared the Dish Network HD locals with the OTA HD locals you're picking up with your radio shack antenna?

Tahoerob, have you compared the Dish Network HD locals with the OTA HD locals you're picking up with your radio shack antenna?
THey seem equal!
THe 622 remaps the HD locals to locals in locals numbers ex Ch 004.00 along side the OTA 004.01

UPDATE: Local Dish install last Sun.
Went very well. Installer had a dickens of a time finding a LOS for the satellites on my roof. He found a spot that seemed to work but sat @ 129deg did not come in. The 110 & 119 were strong. ONE tree got in the way. He ended up placing a separate Dish 500 dish just for 129 (this is where all HD is located!!!) further along the roof line. At least they are on the backside of house!
He also had to run all new lines in roof crawlspace. The cable line to house distribution from outside cable box were older wrong type for 622 install. He was able drop a new line from the dishes to the plasma area & then tie into other internal lines at wall outlet that were OK.
This enables the 622 to backfeed into the internal cable lines to TV2. At TV2, a line out of existing cable outlet to second TV links to 622. You can independently changes channels from 622 via RF remote & best yet set timers & view DVR recordings w/o an additional box. However, all TV2 input is downgraded to SD. It still looked decent. Also, you are stuck with TV speakers instead of DD 5.1.

FYI:
Dish now has MORE HD channels. I am glad I ditched Adelphia after the Spokane HD locals came on line. New are in RED.

High-Definition Channels

Showtime HD
Starz HDTV
HBO HD
Animania HD
Family Room HD
GamePlay HD
Discovery HD Theater
Equator HD
National Geographic Channel HD
DISH Network PPV in HD
Film Fest HD
HDNet Movies
Kung Fu HD
Monsters HD
World Cinema HD
HDNews
Rave HD
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
NFL Network HD
Rush HD
WorldSport HD
Gallery HD
HDNet
HGTV HD
TNT HD
Treasure HD
Ultra HD
Universal HD

Well I am loving Dish network so far. All the HD stuff is great! The ViP 622 has been almost flawless so far with only a couple minor glitches. It is a HUGE improvement over the Motorola 6412 I was using from Adelphia!

I actually ended buying an OTA antenna, the Antennas Direct DB4, because I got too annoyed with the quality of the Dish HD locals on some programming. On most stuff OTA HD looks about the same as the Dish HD locals, but on certain programs there's a noticable quality difference, to my eyes at least. Late night "live" shows are the best example of this (Letterman, Conan, Leno). With movement especially the Dish HD locals don't look as smooth, and since I'm now able to A/B the OTA HD locals with the Dish HD locals it is even more noticable.

The nice thing is the ViP 622 integrates with an OTA antenna really easily so it's an easy fix. The OTA HD channels map right next to the Dish HD locals on the channel lineup. For example, the Dish HD local for CBS is 002-00. The OTA HD local for CBS is 002-01. I can actually record 3 programs at the same time now (2 satellite, 1 OTA) and watch a previously recorded program at the same time!

Thanks, tahoerob, for the Dish HD lineup update. I wouldn't have known about the new HD channels coming online otherwise!

Thanks, tahoerob, for the Dish HD lineup update. I wouldn't have known about the new HD channels coming online otherwise!
U R Welcome!
I get info from scanning some other forums.
www.satelliteguys.us
www.dbstalk.com

they have exensive forums related to Dish or Directv programming & equipment. They also post good inside info. As well as nice recaps of Dish's Charlie Chats & Tech Chats.

Gawd dang i love getting all these HDTV channels for FREE and not having to pay THE ONLY CABLE company in my area $30 or so dollars per month for crap load of channels that show crap when alls i want is my local channels in HD and i get them OTA using a 5 year old amp UHF/VHF antenna that cost $30 bucks at the most and the funny thing is for awhile i was using a SD TV and putting the output on my HDTV reciever to 520p so i just had a clear picture without any fuzz but i just finnaly upgraded and got a Samsung 32" HDTV from Sears it was a display model for $489 bucks.....damn i'm in heaven!!!

Now i do have a question here.....to get my HD stations i have to move the antenna around some in the correct direction to pick up the signal which isn't bad but when the local stations pump up their broadcast power to 100% will i just be able to get them or still have to fiddle with the direction of my antenna???

p.s. i'm watching The Tube 30-2 right now which is killer it's playing old school music videos like old MTV used to be like....this is awesome!!!!!!!!!!! I wonder if any other cool extra stations will be added??

............................

Now i do have a question here.....to get my HD stations i have to move the antenna around some in the correct direction to pick up the signal which isn't bad but when the local stations pump up their broadcast power to 100% will i just be able to get them or still have to fiddle with the direction of my antenna???
.......................... I wonder if any other cool extra stations will be added??
If power is increased, you "might" get them w/o moving antenna. It all depends on where you live in relation to towers and your line of site. It also depends on the type of transmission the towers output as to how directional your antenna needs to be.
Is the antenna inside or outside on roof???
As for other channels, technically they could. Currently the nets add a weather radar subchannel. The Fox one is a good addition. PBS stations across the nation tend to use 5 subchannels.
An example I heard about is ABC using a subchannel to broadcast ESPN programming. Thus, in near future, you might get ESPN HD games via OTA w/o needing cable/satellite!!!
Also the new CW network might be a subchannel in HD on the station (?) that has local control now.
REMEMBER, the more subchannels, the less bandwidth per channel & potential less sharp picture.

My antenna is a cheapy indoor one that i used for regular ota and i heard that you can use it with HDTV and sure enough when i first hooked it up i could get pbs and abc without messing with it much. Now that i got a true HDTV i switched the output to 1080i and tried moving the UHF part around sure enough i started getting all channels with a little fine tuning. So beautiful to get stations for free instead of paying for a bunch of stuff i don't want. Now IF the cable companies offered something where i could just get HDTV channels for a low price and then purchase channel ala'carte then i'd do that and pick a few but still i fell $30-$40 bucks per month is highway robbery because for that you are paying $400 to $500 per year and don't get me started on how much that is in ten years. Just seems way over priced for what you get if you ask me!

HI,

I've just purchased a JVC 52G787 tonight at BestBuy replacing the 20+ yrs CRT :D I plan to buy an antena to receive HD feed...

I live in Ponderosa, will the DB2 antenna sufficient to recieve all HD channels? If not, what will you recommmend?

HI,

I've just purchased a JVC 52G787 tonight at BestBuy replacing the 20+ yrs CRT :D I plan to buy an antena to receive HD feed...

I live in Ponderosa, will the DB2 antenna sufficient to recieve all HD channels? If not, what will you recommmend?
I live out on the prairie in North Idaho and I receive all the HD locals from Spokane with a DB4. You might be able to get them all with a DB2 but the price isn't that much different to get a DB4 so I would recommend spending a little extra.

Tks for the input, I'll look into it.

I live out on the prairie in North Idaho and I receive all the HD locals from Spokane with a DB4. You might be able to get them all with a DB2 but the price isn't that much different to get a DB4 so I would recommend spending a little extra.

I live on the south hill in Spokane near Cannon Hill Park. Will the DB4 work in this area? Do I need anything else? I've got a fairly new Sony HDTV and I can get 2, 4 and 7 sometimes. I can barely get FOX. I've got some tall trees between me and Brown Mountain, but am clear toward Mt. Spokane.

You can try Antennaweb to find out your home in relation to the towers. http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

I found that all stations are within 15 miles from my home hence I went ahead & bought DB2. Intalled Saturday, with trees directly blocking to the south, I still receive 2,4,6,7, 28 and the Tube (and all of their sub-stations where applicable).

Other than D-KSPS signal strenght at ~70%, all other channels are in the 90% strength. Note that although KSPS has the weakest reception strength it gives me THE BEST PQ among all, probably their feed has the highest resolution / quality among all.

Somehow NONE of the analog stations are at all acceptable .. may be DB2 is strickly spec'ed for HD reception ... but with HD/DT receptions I don't care much for the analog channels anymore. HD is .... additive, no turning back to SD right after I had a taste of it (just last Staurday) :D

I purchased the DB2 from PCalchemy.com, recieved the items in 3 days, great communication -- 3 e-mails, 1 for order ocnfirmation, 1 for ship status, 1 for tracking # .. just like bang bang bang & the items is at my door step. If you're unsure of DB2 vs DB4, suggest to phone them up to make sure you can return the item without restocking fee (I didn;t clarify this point with them).

Happy shopping.


I live on the south hill in Spokane near Cannon Hill Park. Will the DB4 work in this area? Do I need anything else? I've got a fairly new Sony HDTV and I can get 2, 4 and 7 sometimes. I can barely get FOX. I've got some tall trees between me and Brown Mountain, but am clear toward Mt. Spokane.

Somehow NONE of the analog stations are at all acceptable .. may be DB2 is strickly spec'ed for HD reception ...
The DB2, DB4, and DB8 are all UHF only antennas, which is why you aren't receiving analog channels, which are broadcast over VHF frequencies . If you want to receive digital and analog stations you need a separate UHF and VHF antenna or an all in one UHF/VHF antenna. Like you mentioned, however, once you can receive the digital HD station what's the point of using analog?

:D True true !

. Like you mentioned, however, once you can receive the digital HD station what's the point of using analog?

For those of you using UHF only antennas in the Spokane area for OTA reception, you might want to consider that KDPS-DT (analog channel 7) and KXLY-DT (analog channel 4) are actually on VHF (lower frequency) channels. KXLY-DT is on physical channel 13 (the highest frequency VHF channel), and KSPS-DT is on physical channel 8. This will no doubt change over time as analog channels disappear. All the rest of the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene digital channels are UHF.

This may partially explain the lower signal strength someone reported recently on KSPS-DT using a UHF only antenna. It's also something to think about for those of you fairly distant from the transmitters - you may want a broad band antenna.

For those of you using UHF only antennas in the Spokane area for OTA reception, you might want to consider that KDPS-DT (analog channel 7) and KXLY-DT (analog channel 4) are actually on VHF (lower frequency) channels. KXLY-DT is on physical channel 13 (the highest frequency VHF channel), and KSPS-DT is on physical channel 8. This will no doubt change over time as analog channels disappear. All the rest of the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene digital channels are UHF.

This may partially explain the lower signal strength someone reported recently on KSPS-DT using a UHF only antenna. It's also something to think about for those of you fairly distant from the transmitters - you may want a broad band antenna.
So I guess you can pick up VHF stations on a "UHF only" antenna. I get signal strength of about 85 on KXLY-DT out on the prairie in North Idaho using my DB4.

So I guess you can pick up VHF stations on a "UHF only" antenna. I get signal strength of about 85 on KXLY-DT out on the prairie in North Idaho using my DB4.
It will work if you are close enough & have good LOS to stations.

Bottomline: try it & turn it!!!

Whatever works is the right one!!
Try this site: http://www.2150.com/broadcast/

Make sure you check the 2 other small links to get the correct long/lat for your house & magnetic decline.
Also check the Include expired records to get all the stations.
This site allows for both distance & directional lists as well as relative output of tower antennas. It is more info than antennaweb.

Does FOX in Spokane broadcast in HD? I'm thinking of attempting to pick it up from the Tri-Cities with a deep fringe directional antenna. The local fox station here broadcasts low power from ~65 miles away, non-HDTV, and the quality is questionable at best. How is FOX in Spokane? I'm also considering trying to pick up CBS in HD from Spokane since our local CBS affiliate is still broadcasting in SD.

Does FOX in Spokane broadcast in HD? I'm thinking of attempting to pick it up from the Tri-Cities with a deep fringe directional antenna. The local fox station here broadcasts low power from ~65 miles away, non-HDTV, and the quality is questionable at best. How is FOX in Spokane? I'm also considering trying to pick up CBS in HD from Spokane since our local CBS affiliate is still broadcasting in SD.
Both FOX and CBS broadcast in HD from Spokane. Both stations also broadcast from the same place on the South Hill so if you get your antenna pointed correctly
you should be able to pick up both stations. The quality of both channels is outstanding. I watched the All Star Game last night on FOX HD using an OTA antenna and it looked awesome. I live in North Idaho (Hayden area) and over here CBS comes in the strongest of all the networks.

I'm new to these posts but have a few questions. I just got a Sony 50 inch SXRD projection tv about 3 weeks ago and found out about the digital OTA channels (nice!).

I'm using the best antenna combination I've came across for picking up OTA channels, a 10 year old straight element UHF/VHF $35 Radio Shack antenna in my attic, and some amplified rabbit ears with a pass through swith. The rabbit ears are for receiving 20.3 (KREM 2) and 26.1-26.5 (CDA PBS). I think the tv said I'm getting 16 digital channels. I've tried a DB8 and the largest UHF/VHF antenna Radio Shack has and I still can't get all the local digital channels without adjusting the direction (in fact that old antenna works better). I'm in a low spot in Hayden about a mile from Honeysuckle beach. My view to the west is of trees and houses.

I've read on here that other's were picking up all the Spokane channels digitally, but I still only receive an analog channel 34 (PAX). Are they broadcasting digitally?

The Tube on 28-2 has a problem with the audio and video being out of sync a lot on my tv. Is that a problem with the transmitter in Spokane or their feed? Anyone know if it will be fixed soon? All my other channels pick up fine so I assume it's not my TV.

I also get channels 53 and 58 along with several translators for the Spokane channels. Will those all go digital? My parents live north of Priest River and only get 4.1 digitally and their other stations are recieved from translators. Are there plans for all the translators to be upgraded for the digital channels or will they lose all the other channels?

Thanks for the info.

The DB2, DB4, and DB8 are all UHF only antennas, which is why you aren't receiving analog channels, which are broadcast over VHF frequencies . If you want to receive digital and analog stations you need a separate UHF and VHF antenna or an all in one UHF/VHF antenna. Like you mentioned, however, once you can receive the digital HD station what's the point of using analog?
I purchased the DB2 and got a much improved signal. I still get dropouts of the digital 7 channels and digital 4 is not very good at all. I have it pointed at Browne Mountain, so have given up on 4. I suspect it is the dense canopy of London Plane trees around my house. There's no way to get high enough to get over the trees.

Should I consider something to boost my gain/signal strength? Can I run two DB2's simultaeously with one pointed at Mt Spokane and one at Browne Mountain?

Should I consider something to boost my gain/signal strength? Can I run two DB2's simultaeously with one pointed at Mt Spokane and one at Browne Mountain?
I don't know a ton yet about antennas and such, but I do know that using 2 simultaneously can be problematic. An amplifier should only be installed at the antenna to reduce signal loss in the cabling from the antenna to your receiver, not to boost what the antenna itself is receiving. Try searching these forums and the internet (Google/Yahoo search) for more information. Another option you may not have considered is a rotor. Then you can just rotate the antenna from inside your house, depending on what channel you need to receive. Also, a DB8 should help improve your signal over the DB2, but not necessarily enough to receive all the channels you're having issues with. Here's a couple places to check for more antenna related info:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/basics.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=546066

Good Luck!

Is WB currently broadcasting a digital signal on 22.1 (36 Analog)? I wasn't able to pick it up out at Diamond Lake this weekend, but I was able to pick up all the others.

Also, did KHQ (NBC) go off the air on Sunday? I could get a great signal on all the other stations from that direction but KHQ showed 0 signal.

Is WB currently broadcasting a digital signal on 22.1 (36 Analog)? I wasn't able to pick it up out at Diamond Lake this weekend, but I was able to pick up all the others.

Also, did KHQ (NBC) go off the air on Sunday? I could get a great signal on all the other stations from that direction but KHQ showed 0 signal.
Yes, WB is broadcasting a digital HD channel on 22.1. I'm not sure about the KHQ outage - I wasn't watching TV that night. Usually a 0 signal would indicate an outage, however, assuming all the channels you're used to receiving are still coming in fine.

Yes, WB is broadcasting a digital HD channel on 22.1. I'm not sure about the KHQ outage - I wasn't watching TV that night. Usually a 0 signal would indicate an outage, however, assuming all the channels you're used to receiving are still coming in fine.

myapplebuddy, your profile indicates you are located in North Idaho. Are you able to receive 22.1? If so, where in Idaho are you and what type of setup are you using? Antenna model, pre-amp, amp, etc.

Thanks!

FYI: TimeWarner Cable is currently sending out letters to Adelphia customers regarding the upcoming handover.
It will be interesting to see if & when they add more HD serivces.
I recently switched back to Dish after the recent increase in channels & better HD DVR.

myapplebuddy, your profile indicates you are located in North Idaho. Are you able to receive 22.1? If so, where in Idaho are you and what type of setup are you using? Antenna model, pre-amp, amp, etc.
Snyder, I live out on the prairie in the Hayden area. I receive 22.1 really well since there are no trees or other major obstructions between the South Hill in Spokane and my house. The equipment I'm using is a ViP622 DVR from Dish Network that has an OTA HD tuner (ATSC) built into it, and an Antennas Direct DB4 antenna. The cable that runs between the antenna and the receiver is a 65' Belden 1694A coax cable that I bought from www.bluejeanscable.com. It is very low loss cable so I avoid having to use an amplifier at the antenna location. ABC-HD (4.1) seems to be the weakest signal for me, but that's mainly because they broadcast from Mt. Spokane instead of the South Hill like all the other stations. I never have dropouts or anything, but the signal is usually around 88 where the other channels are usually above 95. 100 is a "full strength" signal.

FYI: TimeWarner Cable is currently sending out letters to Adelphia customers regarding the upcoming handover.
It will be interesting to see if & when they add more HD serivces.
I recently switched back to Dish after the recent increase in channels & better HD DVR.
Unless Time Warner comes out with a far better DVR than their current one, which I believe is the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD, I'm sticking with DISH simply because of the ViP622. It is an incredible DVR to say the least.

Unless Time Warner comes out with a far better DVR than their current one, which I believe is the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD, I'm sticking with DISH simply because of the ViP622. It is an incredible DVR to say the least.
I agree. I switched from Adelphia w/ the Motorola DVR to the Dish 622......much better. The Dish even extends sports events timers automatically for longer in case of longer game time. The Motorola was touchy. It did however make it faster to setup future event timers when watching a current live event, ie. schedule future recording for a series. Dish requires going thru menus unless you just want to record the show currently on.

I was dissapointed that not all the preseason games were in HD especially for big networks. Even on NFL HD, I had to scan thru the schedule to find the HD versions of games. They had both SD & HD intermixed on the schedule. I was glad to watch my hometown Saints actually win in HD (of course they do well in preseason & tank in regular!!)

I was wondering if NBC is broadcasting in 5.1 surround and does anyone know if The CW is going to be in HD or not. Thanks for the info.

My antenna has been down all summer and I am just starting to get it back in shape. Are NBC (6.1, 6.2) & FOX (28.1, 28.2) running full power right now?

I can't get a lock on either and both seem weak.

Any change in any of the sub channels over the summer?

Tnx.

Hey guys I'm the originator of this thread for Spokane, haven't been on here in awhile. I've been living on the Rathdrum prairie for 15 years. Got into HD in 2002, I've slowly watched all of the locals get their acts together over the years and have been enjoying Local HD content with the Dish 6000 and an OTA. We moved to South of Post Falls up on the mountain last week. I've got the ViP622 coming for a Sunday install. I've heard the locals aren't as good as the OTA, is this true? I guess I'll have to live with it since an OTA ain't gonna work where I'm going.

Hey guys I'm the originator of this thread for Spokane, haven't been on here in awhile. I've been living on the Rathdrum prairie for 15 years. Got into HD in 2002, I've slowly watched all of the locals get their acts together over the years and have been enjoying Local HD content with the Dish 6000 and an OTA. We moved to South of Post Falls up on the mountain last week. I've got the ViP622 coming for a Sunday install. I've heard the locals aren't as good as the OTA, is this true? I guess I'll have to live with it since an OTA ain't gonna work where I'm going.
The Dish HD locals are going to be technically a little compressed compared to OTA. Also, they had some video/sound sync issues but this seems better now after 622 software updates. Still try a scan for OTA. It picked up 3 channels (Fox, ABC, PBS) from a tabletop picture frame antenna in Hayden in the woods!!!

Practically speaking it is just fine!!! Unless you are watching a 50 in screen from 6 inches away, it will look like HD compared to SD!!!
I also noticed that if you press say channel 3 you get the HD channel instead of having to press the 6xxx channel number. Another nice feature of the 622 is when you press the guide button it rotates through "all subs", "all channels", and "HD". Thus, you can go directly to the HD only guide items w/o building your own guide set.

Another little trick to remember w/ HD sets is if your TV is set to Full, then HD channels are "normal" aspect. However, SD channels are side boxed. THis is a pain for all those SD programs in LB format, so you get a view of all sides boxed!!! ie. SD Discovery, History, History Intnal..... Remember to use the small "format" button near the bottom of the Dish remote. It will change the aspect via the Dish box instead of a complicated use of the TV. The "partial zoom" works well to fill the WS SD show on the screen.

Note: you will have to setup the Dish 622 menu, 6, 8 to select TV type & 16x9 first and then leave it!

PS: I have had the 622 for a few months & can help better & faster than the CSR!! This receiver is FAR superior than the crappy 921 that came out a couple of years ago as the first HD DVR. It will be a blessing compared to the archaic 6000. If you own the 6000, sell it on Ebay. You can still get a few hundred $$.

Thanks tahoerob for the info. I'm sure it will be useful. I'll holler if I have any more questions once the install is done. Years ago I was on the bleeding edge of HD, now with technological advancements I'm almost back down to newbie status. I'll try to sell the 600 on ebay I'm sure I'll get more than the $10 Dish Network offered. I told Dish I'd rather like to see it on a shelf and tell people I paid $600 for it then sell it to them for $10.

I've also upgraded to the VIP622 from the 942 Dish Network HD-DVR and i must say it's great! I get channels 2.1,4.1, 4.2, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 22.1, 26.1-2-3-4-5, & 28.1, 28.2 with great signal strength with the OTA tuner. I just use rabbit ears! I live in the north end of Post Falls. I also pay for the local channels through dish so i can record 2 prime-time shows while watching another. Very slick.

Thanks tahoerob for the info. I'm sure it will be useful. I'll holler if I have any more questions once the install is done. Years ago I was on the bleeding edge of HD, now with technological advancements I'm almost back down to newbie status. I'll try to sell the 600 on ebay I'm sure I'll get more than the $10 Dish Network offered. I told Dish I'd rather like to see it on a shelf and tell people I paid $600 for it then sell it to them for $10.
See current EBay listings for "Dish 6000 receiver".
Also search the "Completed" listings using the options on the left. Most seem to sell between $300-400!!

I have seen on other forums that they are still in demand by hackers!! I chose to let the buyer worry about his morality!!

Well I've had the ViP622 for a few weeks now. Enjoying the programing and the advanced features like recoding two programs at once, etc., very nice. One problem though, that I thought was related to my old Dish 6000. Audio problems that I thought were on all HD channels but have now discovered only exist on KXLY; ocassional audio drop outs with a noticeable "dirty sound". When I investigated this problem years ago I was told that the ota modules' contacts on my 6000 needed cleaning. Obviously it has been a problem on KXLY all along. You'd think they would have had their audio problems worked out by now being as though they've been doing HD in this area longer than all the rest.