I've heard a lot of good things about KBMT in Beaumont, which is doing NBC and ABC in HD on one signal. I'm not sure what gear they have, but it's one of the success stories I've heard about, versus some of the other dual HD stations I've heard less than happy things about.

- Trip

I live in the Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas DMA and I have to say that the PQ on KBMT-DT is quite good. They do a good job. Like Trip, I am not sure what equipment they are using, but it does the trick, and they are down-converting NBC programming to 720 from 1080.

As a side note, the owner of KBMT has entered into an agreement with a local low power digital station (KUIL-LD) (a former FOX affiliate) to program the LD station(s) and provide the sales staff for the station(s) by way of a LMA.

I am speculating that they are going to move the NBC programming over to the two LD stations (one on the air and one with a CP) and use it to provide NBC at full 1080 and possibly a SD sub and then use the .2 sub on KBMT for a different 720 network. But that is pure conjecture at this time...

Hey, Ralph. Is any of the new equipment that WGXA is adding likely to help the problems with audio that I continue to have with FOX programming via DTV? Back in February, I recall that you related the problem to the Rodhe & Schwartz exciter, and that it (the problem) cleared up while the Harris exciter was being used.

I have recently watched our programming on cable and did not notice a problem. But I am not quick to dismiss a viewer complaint. However, we thought we had addressed all issues. Please refresh my memory. The only difference between air and cable as far as our operation is concerned is the microwave and transmitter. Our signal is delivered to the COX cable company by fiber optic cable. Please tell me what show(s) you are noticing a problem, and the time and day. We are getting new microwave gear and that will rectify a weak link in our air chain, our current equipment was installed in 1982. we have had problems when it drifted off frequency which it is inclined to do every now and then. The Rodhe and Schwartz exciter has not been modified, but it works OK when fed a signal it likes, and we have done so.

Ralph here is your posts back from Dec. 24, 2008 and Jan. 2 & 5 & 6 of 2009 where you were talking about the problem on Directv which did clear up for awhile but is back in full force now during Fox primetime programming.

Hope that this help in tracking down the current cause to the audio problem with Directv.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15373089&postcount=1154

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15439428&postcount=1164

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15466862&postcount=1173

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15477324&postcount=1179

For Ralph Carson: When watching (either in real-time or playback) FOX primetime programming via Directv using either an HR-20 or HR-21 high definition DVR, the audio will occasionally drop out causing a "brap," "burp," or buzzing type sound that is quite annoying. I can't detect the problem when watching the same programming over the air. Shows that my family and I watch that I know are affected are: Bones, House, Fringe, and Glee. There are probably others. Initially, the problem was worse because it included video stalls as well as the current audio drop outs. The links provided by maverick240 pretty well summarize the issue.

CBHPI:
Judging by what you told me, it sounds like the problem is with Direct TV. We don't monitor Direct TV at this time. Maverick, do you receive our signal from Direct TV also? Of course it could be our old nemisis, PCR Jitter, but best we can tell, it is not excessive now. With all the new gear, we will be getting new Tektronix stream monitoring gear, so hopefully we can keep better track of our tolerences. It could also be excessive bitrate compression done by the sat operator, if so, the new encoding system might help with that. It is getting very busy around here, the new racks have arrived, and we are outfitting them for the new gear. I am afraid we won't have much time for troubleshooting problems that are possibly in other people's plants. But remind me at the end of the year, and I will certainly look into it. We want to correct the problem, not pass the buck.

WGXA sounds good to me OTA.

Sounds like you're pretty busy right now, Ralph. When you get a chance, though, look at mavrick240's links, which should jog your memory. All I know is that when you replaced the Rodhe & Schwartz exciter with the other exciter (which I think was a Harris) and went to less than full power, the problem was fixed. When you returned to the Rodhe & Schwartz, which I'm assuming you did, the problem returned (albeit minus the video stalls). I haven't complained until now because I don't watch a lot of network television in the summer, so it wasn't affecting me. Hopefully, your new set up will cure the problem. If it doesn't, I'll let you know either by telephone or by posting on this website. By the way, I'm the same person that you had to run some code for to get my Panasonic HD TV to receive your signal two or three years ago. Remember that?

Yes Ralph I receive your signal through Directv also and that is wear the problem is for I can also watch you ota on one Tv in my bedroom and the signal is fine but on any of the directv feeds the audio is stuttering.

well now, according to wikipedia and WGXA's "Job Opening's and Internships" listing.

our new "ABC Station" will be going by the name "ABC16"

ironicly referencing WGXA's physical DTV channel (on channel 16) as well as Cox Cable channel 16 (where C-Span is, which might get re-positioned on a new channel)

heh, and all the while i thought they was going to use "ABC24" as the name.

I get audio dropouts on many DirecTV HD channels...I doubt the problem is at WGXA. I suspect it's a software issue with the receivers.

The only local channel I get audio drop outs on via Directv is 24, FOX. However, I would like to report to Ralph Carson that I did not hear any audio "braps" on Bones Thursday night, and on Glee, Wednesday night, the only "braps" I heard occurred during commercials. If you changed something, it appears to be working! What about you, Mavrick240, have you noticed a change for the better? Also, last night (Friday), I watched Fringe, which I had recorded Wednesday night via Dtv. I didn't hear any "braps," but noticed one video stall accompanied by a silent audio dropout towards the end of the show. Whether or not it happened OTA, I don't know.

cbhpi I agree the only audio drops I was gettin via directv were on fox 24 but as with you it seems to have stopped over the last few days. So Ralph if you have done something it seems to be working.

hey Ralph i was reading some of the comments on Macon.com about WGXA's new channel for ABC and someone mentioned that they were trying to use a separate channel number in the signal to ID it as channel 16 (like as if they were operating 2 separate stations) instead of using 24.2 for ABC.

anyway, this is what they said in detail:
"not only does a station's cable channel number have nothing to do with its over-the-air broadcast channel number, but since the switch to digital TV, most stations no longer broadcast on the channel that corresponds to their logos. So that they won't have to rebrand, stations can use a digital trick called a virtual channel to make your TV display a different channel number than the one it's really receiving when using an antenna. WGXA Fox 24 is really broadcasting on digital channel 16. Since it sounds like WGXA is going to try and operate both the Fox and ABC affiliations as different stations for the most part, I assume they will program their equipment to display the ABC programming as channel 16 (the actual channel number) and continue to show the Fox programming as channel 24 (the virtual channel) when receiving the broadcast using an antenna. That's why they are calling it ABC-16"

is this really true that you can program the PSIP to show 2 different channel numbers on the same signal to correspond with the 2 network brandings "Fox24" and "ABC16" for digital receivers?

and BTW, the owner of chennel 58 is kinda at war with Cox over his current cable channel 6 spot, saying they Cox has no rights of removing him to keep ABC programming there.
http://www.macon.com/local/story/943521.html?pageNum=2&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

is this really true that you can program the PSIP to show 2 different channel numbers on the same signal to correspond with the 2 network brandings "Fox24" and "ABC16" for digital receivers?

Yes. There are a number of stations which do things like this. WBOC, KBAK, KESQ are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

- Trip

Y'all have no idea how busy it's gotten around here!

Ralph Carson
WGXA

Y'all have no idea how busy it's gotten around here!

Ralph Carson
WGXA

Oh, I can imagine... and only 3 weeks to go.

One request... if you could find the time, could you let us all know when the 2nd channel is added, even if it's blank or just has test material on it, so we can all do a re-scan without having to try to navigate menus in the midst of our New Year's Eve... umm... revelry?

Y'all have no idea how busy it's gotten around here!

Ralph Carson
WGXA

I hope the HD is perfect for channel 24-2 come Jan. 7th. My favorite team Alabama plays Texas for the national championship that night on ABC. I hope everythings goes smooth with two HD feeds on the same channel.

Roll Tide!

Ralph, I know you have your hands full right now, so I'm just reporting this to you as an observation, not as a complaint. Via Directv, "Glee" had problems with audio braps this week and "Fringe" had what appeared to be a total signal loss at about 15 minutes into the show that lasted several minutes.

Jedi Master, I'm with you. Roll Tide!

Jedi Master, I'm with you. Roll Tide!

Thank you. Its been a great year for Alabama. SEC Champs and now we have our first Heisman winner in Mark Ingram. Roll Tide! :D

Any update on whether DirecTV will have the new ABC16 when WPGA ends ABC broadcasting?

13wmaz.com is redirecting to Network Solutions from some locations.

Any update on whether DirecTV will have the new ABC16 when WPGA ends ABC broadcasting?

Probably have to ask DirecTV, considering we're mid-cycle on retrans consent/must-carry. And then there's the whole question about whether ABC-16 qualifies for must-carry anyway, as a secondary signal.

I just came across this:

http://wpga58.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1930&Itemid=167

looks like January 4th is the day the change takes place for WPGA?

Edit:
And they are showing "News" @ 6 & 11...?????
something they don't do now..........

I also heard that WPGA was going to be took off Cox channel 6. Then Channel 50 and 58 will just be OTA. Lowell Register is going to be an unhappy man.

What I DON'T SEE on their website, is information on how to use an antenna to get the station.

Why don't they show some drawings of how to connect a basic antenna, and how to incorporate an antenna with your existing Cable TV and satellite reception? Include some antenna recommendations for various areas.
Also, make people aware of the fact that OTA is a good backup for Cable and satellite in an emergency, anyway.
And, they should be working toward adding a sub-channel or two, to encourage people to use OTA.

A year ago I replaced cable with OTA and DVDs. Lowell Register needs to get rid of that cheap low powered analog channel 50 that has never worked right and add RTN to subchannel 58-2. I'm 8 miles from channel 50 and it has so much static in it I can hardly see it. Also the sound has been messed up from day one.

Hey guys. I live in Bolingbroke and before the changeover, I purchased a Winegard 7695 (http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=HD7695P&d=Winegard-HD-7695P-High-Definition-VHFUHF-HD769-Series-TV-Antenna-%28HD7695P%29&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=615798398460) and put it up on a 25' mount. Picks up Macon kinda ok except for 41 which is weak.
I was hoping to upgrade to something to get some of Atl too. My first thought was a Winegard 7698 (http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=HD7698P&d=Winegard-HD-7698P-High-Definition-VHFUHF-HD769-Series-TV-Antenna-%28HD7698P%29&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=615798398606) but this thing is 14' long and I would need a rotator with it. Then I noticed that a C4-ClearStream4 (http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=C4r&d=Antennas-Direct-C4-ClearStream4-Outdoor-Digital-HD-TV-Antenna-%28C4%29-Remanufactured&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=853748001347) has the same range listed as the 7698. Can this antenna be that good? How about a DB8? (http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=AD-DB8&d=Antennas-Direct-DB8-UHF-HDTV-TV-Antenna-%28DB8%29&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=853748001088) I would be putting a amp on anything I choose and have the ability to go up another 20'.
The one thing I liked about the smaller antennas is I might be able to get Macon off of the back signal since Atl and Macon are 200 degrees opposite of each other. This might kill the need for a rotator. I'm 18 miles from Macon and high 60's from Atl by looking at tvfool (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d7b0e4db5b11b7b). Am I dreaming or do I have a shot here? If you know of something better that would work in my situation let me know.
Thanks, Dave

Dave do you have an amplifier for your Winegard 7695? If not I would recommend this one:
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=HDA-200&d=Winegard-HDA-200-24dB-Distribution-Amplifier-(HDA200)&c=Amplifiers&sku=615798396657
I'm assuming your 7695 has a terminal board in it, if not I would try this one:
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=CB-1469&d=Winegard-CB-1469-CAHD-UHF-Terminal-Board-and-Housing-(CB1469)&c=Pre-Amplifiers&sku=615798300630
What I'm saying is, if you don't have some kind of amplification, I would try an amplifier before changing antenna's....
Also, I think you should get a rotor, it won't hurt and it can certainly help.
Good Luck!

I live on the south side of US 80, half way between Lizella and Roberta, and do real good with a Winegard 8200 and the HDA-200 amplifier mentioned above. My antenna is about 35' up and I'm fortunate enough to be on a low hill with no obstructions between me and Atlanta or Macon. I do have a huge Black Gum tree that may cause problems for Columbus at times? I'm quite satisfied with my set-up. And I use a Channel Master rotor (with remote), I'm lazy.......

I'm picking up WGXA programming on channel 16.3, OTA. When I scan for new channels, my Sony won't find it, but when I manually enter 16.3, I see whatever show is on 24.1.

I'm picking up WGXA programming on channel 16.3, OTA. When I scan for new channels, my Sony won't find it, but when I manually enter 16.3, I see whatever show is on 24.1.really??

i did a re-scan around 11:30pm and i didnt see any extra channels appear on my TV

well i guess Lowell Register got the law makers to step in and make Cox keep his station on the channel lineup

sounds like he's a bit concerned that he may go out of business if he loses cable access with the viewers.

so it seems like we're going to be seeing the soon to be Ind. WPGA on channel 6 a little bit longer and the new ABC16 on another channel comes January 1, 2010.

http://www.macon.com/local/story/962889.html

WPGA-TV Macon, GA facing cable exile (12-11-09)
http://www.rbr.com/tv-cable/19258.html

WPGA-TV Macon gets cable injunction (12-22-09)
http://www.rbr.com/tv-cable/19530.html

D. Shadow - My t.v. won't find it (16.3) with a rescan, but when I just enter the numbers manually with my remote, I get a signal with the same shows that are on 24.1.

My Insignia TV no longer sees WGXA.

Oh, it finds 24.1 when scanning, but displays a blank screen when tuned to it.

My Dish Network 722K receiver (with OTA module) sees 24.1 and I can watch it with that receiver.

Sounds like it's time to do the "Double Re-Scan"......
1. Disconnect your antenna.
2. Scan the box/DTV set, so it finds no stations, and actually deletes all the existing ones from it's memory. Do not select "Add Stations", if you set has that option. You want to clear out the memory.
3. The FCC suggests you now unplug the set/box for a few minutes, to remove the power. This may or may not be necessary.
4. Plug the antenna back in, plug the power back in, and re-scan...just like a brand new box.

Some sets handle name-of-channel changes, and sub-channel additions/deletions better than others...some automatically, some need help.
And, an occasional re-scan is the only way you'll ever find new stations (new RF channels).

Sounds like it's time to do the "Double Re-Scan"......
1. Disconnect your antenna.
2. Scan the box/DTV set, so it finds no stations, and actually deletes all the existing ones from it's memory. Do not select "Add Stations", if you set has that option. You want to clear out the memory.
3. The FCC suggests you now unplug the set/box for a few minutes, to remove the power. This may or may not be necessary.
4. Plug the antenna back in, plug the power back in, and re-scan...just like a brand new box.

Some sets handle name-of-channel changes, and sub-channel additions/deletions better than others...some automatically, some need help.
And, an occasional re-scan is the only way you'll ever find new stations (new RF channels).
Went through the double rescan on both the Insignia and the Dish 722K (got rid of that pesky 13-6 it'd displayed for a while where it was supposed to be 13-3... gotta love it when people screw around with PSIP tables when you're doing a scan)

The Insignia DTV does not see anything on 16 (WGXA) when scanning. If I manually enter 16-1, it takes a while, and sometimes will pick up the stream, but more often, doesn't.. even displaying "No signal" periodically. Signal strength currently showing 0 to 1... Entering 16-2 or 16-3 gets the set to display Channel 24-1, WGXA-DT, as does entering 16-1, but again, no video.

The 722K sees 24-1 on 16, and picks the stream up quickly. Shows signal strength around 73.

I should mention that both are connected to the same antenna, and the Insignia sees everybody else fine, including WRBL/Columbus.

I would imagine the learning curve is pretty steep for Richard, Ralph and company at GXA, so there's still time. For us, at least, there's nothing we care to watch on Fox for the rest of the year, and even if there was, the 722K receives it, so there's no skin off our noses. I'm sure they'll get it straightened out shortly.

Does anyone know what type of filter you need to receive COX's Clear QAM signals? I currently have high speed internet service with them and would like to know if I could split the signal and receive Clear QAM channels?

Does anyone know what type of filter you need to receive COX's Clear QAM signals? I currently have high speed internet service with them and would like to know if I could split the signal and receive Clear QAM channels?

That's not legal - if you want cable TV, ya gotta pay for it.

Whats not legal? Is Clear QAM not free? Thought i read in this thread about a filter.

Whats not legal? Is Clear QAM not free? Thought i read in this thread about a filter.

No, it's not free... you'd need to subscribe to cable TV service in addition to your cable modem service.

Plug your analog TV in to the line and see if you get most all of the analog channels that your system offers. If so, they have not trapped out the entire Cable TV services. Then, try scanning for QAM channels.

If they are not expecting you to pay for the TV service, they may not really care....you are not getting "Digital Cable" anyway.
But, most Cable companies require you to subscribe to a "minimum service" which includes basic TV, before you get any advanced services like phone or internet, so they probably just assume you are watching anyway. In that case, your TV is included, but they might be trapping out the Digital channels....the key word is "might", so you'd have to just try it. No filter that you put in will make a difference, though.

Hey Y'all:
We have received all our shiny new gear now, the encoders arrived Christmas eve. We should have something up to look at soon. While we aren't working Christmas day, we will work Christmas weekend. It's been hectic around the studio, and I am writing this from home on Christmas morning. The Router/Master control systems are installed, and I installed the encoders yesterday, but they are not turned on yet. I still have to install the preselectors for the analog tape machines, and upconverters. EAS is proving to be a challenge, as they sent the gear, but we're having trouble getting it to work. We had some trouble with the timing, but we believe have that straight now. Harris will come in and install the server upgrades leaving me free to do other work. The video server upgrades will give us a high def recording capacity. That may be used for syndicated programming, giving us an expanded high def lineup. Also, some non fox/abc commercials may appear in high def. there are lots of minor details to tend to, such as GPI's and GPO's, but we expect to have it all whipped into shape before the end of the year. Some of the work, like microwave upgrades will wait until after the first, since the old gear is capable of carrying the extra payload. That's all for now.

Ralph Carson
ACE
WGXA TV24/16 FOX/ABC

I noticed this morning that Titan TV has upgraded and now has listing for WGXA 16.2 (ABC) on my guide. All it has is ABC programming to begin on January 1st. No other programming is listed. It still list WGXA 24.1 (Fox).
Also with Titan TV, they have yet to list WMGT 41.2 (MyTV) or WPGA-LP (RTV). I manually entered WPGA-LP and it works (sort of), but it still shows the old TBN programming.

Dish Network has "mapped" WPGA to channel 16. The channel 58 mapping is now from another channel:

Channel Package Flag Changes:
7883(58) - WPGA [MPEG2 SD] - EchoStar10 110W TP 18 Spotbeam 06 changed to Available (H)(Perry, GA-ABC)

Channel Mapdown Changes:
7877 - WPGA EchoStar10 110W TP 18 Spotbeam 06 mapdown changed from 58 to 16 (A) (H)(Perry, GA-ABC)

This looks like they will switch their local receiver when WGXA picks up ABC, and keep 7883 as WPGA.

And WPGA just ran a promo claiming they're "partnering" with Dish Network to "bring you continuous family oriented programming."

Dish Network has "mapped" WPGA to channel 16. The channel 58 mapping is now from another channel:

Channel Package Flag Changes:
7883(58) - WPGA [MPEG2 SD] - EchoStar10 110W TP 18 Spotbeam 06 changed to Available (H)(Perry, GA-ABC)

Channel Mapdown Changes:
7877 - WPGA EchoStar10 110W TP 18 Spotbeam 06 mapdown changed from 58 to 16 (A) (H)(Perry, GA-ABC)

This looks like they will switch their local receiver when WGXA picks up ABC, and keep 7883 as WPGA.oh yea, im seeing this now on my mom's satellite system (she has Dish Network BTW) where they mirrored WPGA-TV to channel 16, so now i have 16 and 58 running the same signal; plus i wonder when the guys at WGXA are going to open up sub-channel 24-2.

Does anyone know what type of filter you need to receive COX's Clear QAM signals? I currently have high speed internet service with them and would like to know if I could split the signal and receive Clear QAM channels?

You need to subscribe to at least Limited Basic to receive them. I lost those stations when I dropped that package (after they jacked up the price 33% last year). No filter is needed.

Hey Y'all:
Due to the fact that our Dolby encoders have not arrived, there will be no surround on ABC or FOX after the cutover. This is unfortunate, and will be remedied as soon as possible. All else is still on. We apologize for this.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Ralph, do you know the situation with Directv in connection with the cutover? Is Dtv going to continue to carry ABC? If so, on what channel? Also, via antenna, what channel should a viewer tune to in order to receive ABC content - 24.2, 16.2? Thanks.

Hey everybody. I just called WGXA and the receptionist answered my questions. She says that FOX will continue to be 24.1 OTA and 24 on Directv. ABC will be 16.2 OTA and channel 25 on Directv. Anyone else who was interested in this, there you go.

Hey Y'all:
I don't know about the sat services, but we will be 15 on Cox cable for the time being, for ABC. That would be the downconverted NTSC. Look for us in high def where all of the other cable high def channels will be. We will try to get a color bar pattern on the air tomorrow, but we're having switcher problems. Better now than after the new year. I have seen the encoders perform, good so far. If you have done scans for over the air, there hasn't been anything up yet, so it won't find anything. Once we're up, rescan, and we'll probably be there. Today is the 29th, try tomorrow.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Came home for lunch and scanned. Nothing yet.

Hey Y'all:
As of 1:50 today we have been broadcasting color bars and an ID for the ABC channel. This will come down later. But we will leave it up for a good part of the afternoon. Today is 12,30,09.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Hey Y'all:
As of 1:50 today we have been broadcasting color bars and an ID for the ABC channel. This will come down later. But we will leave it up for a good part of the afternoon. Today is 12,30,09.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Dish Network 722k receiver has it as 24-2.

Insignia DTV insists there is no signal on 16-1 or 16-2.

Thanks Ralph..!!! My old Mits 73"er CRT is showing the Color Bars with Scroll (WGXA-ABC; MACON, GA on it) and it's reflecting it as channel 24.2, so I now have WGXA DT1 and WGXA DT2
My Pansat 9200HD satellite receiver shows it as WGXA DT2 on channel 24.2
I thought ya'll were going to have it show as 16.2?
What time will programming actually start?
Maybe just after midnight for the new year?
Is there somewhere to find a schedule for the new channel?
Thanks!
Al

I have just went to the wgxa web site. Wgxa will be on direc tv channel 25 that is a relive. Want I dont understand is want is going on with wpga tv in macon they are in it with directv and cox cable. THis is going to be interresting going foward. I wanted rtv on sat dont look like I am going to get it anytime soon.

I have just went to the wgxa web site. Wgxa will be on direc tv channel 25 that is a relive. Want I dont understand is want is going on with wpga tv in macon they are in it with directv and cox cable. THis is going to be interresting going foward. I wanted rtv on sat dont look like I am going to get it anytime soon.

Probably get it on Friday... if not on DirecTV, just hang a coat hanger outside, you should be able to get WPGA-DT over the air with no trouble.

OK! - I'm getting the bars and ID now on 24.2.

Probably get it on Friday... if not on DirecTV, just hang a coat hanger outside, you should be able to get WPGA-DT over the air with no trouble.

Well I got a old tv antenna I can get wpga at nite, during the day I cant main reason is because of my distance form station . I do like one show that is on wpga, the peoples court I will miss that show. Maybe another station will pick it in macon.

Well I got a old tv antenna I can get wpga at nite, during the day I cant main reason is because of my distance form station . I do like one show that is on wpga, the peoples court I will miss that show. Maybe another station will pick it in macon.

PGA is keeping their syndicated programming... People's Court isn't an ABC program.

OK! - I'm getting the bars and ID now on 24.2.

For a while, they had an ABC TV NEW YORK HD slate up.

Shows you how exciting things have been here at MY house today... heh.

Hey Y'all:
I've been very busy, I haven't had time to get the branding the way the management wants it. Besides, others have to make the change too for it to work. Not really worried about it, too much other stuff to do. The encoder tests today were encouraging, and we are on the new encoder system now, and we are still having problems with EAS. Grass Valley & Fed Ex did a great job of getting the router part to us, so we were able to fix the router and continue with the setup. Time is running out, but I do believe we will be ready to go when the rubber hits the road. (think: the last few minutes of Memphis Belle) Anyway, we worked late tonight to make sure. That's all for now,

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

You said it's going to map to 16-2, is there a technical reason to not map it to 16-1 instead?

- Trip

Hey Y'all:
I've been very busy, I haven't had time to get the branding the way the management wants it. Besides, others have to make the change too for it to work. Not really worried about it, too much other stuff to do. The encoder tests today were encouraging, and we are on the new encoder system now, and we are still having problems with EAS. Grass Valley & Fed Ex did a great job of getting the router part to us, so we were able to fix the router and continue with the setup. Time is running out, but I do believe we will be ready to go when the rubber hits the road. (think: the last few minutes of Memphis Belle) Anyway, we worked late tonight to make sure. That's all for now,

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

I'm sure the learning curve has been steep... and we all look forward to WGXA being the premiere dual-network, dual-HD station in the country, with other stations asking you how you do it...

There is some concern here about some brands of DTV sets not liking the current PSIP table... my only request at this point would be to double check everything, while acknowledging that you are seriously under the gun, and I know for a fact that ComSouth cable saw your test transmissions fine, as does my Dish Network 722k receiver.

I can imagine what Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on WPGA is going to be like. The countdown will start and go 5,4,3,2,1.... Then the screen will go black and WPGA will announce that ABC programming has ended on this station. :D

I can imagine what Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on WPGA is going to be like. The countdown will start and go 5,4,3,2,1.... Then the screen will go black and WPGA will announce that ABC programming has ended on this station. :D

Yeah, I'd hoped WGXA could clear at least the 11:35 EST segment... oh well, we'll have a set connected to TV2 and have another view of Times Square going, as well.

Hey Y'all:
After a very hectic day, it looks like we are ready to go. We will pass through the older FOX system and not switch from the new board, Same deal, Network in high def and local in upconverted NTSC. ABC will be much the same, as we do not have any local high def sources yet except the for game switcher and receiver. But when we get 'em, we can switch 'em. We had a PCR Jitter problem with a bad keyer, and we have eliminated it from the signal path, so hopefully the sat services are happy now. I doubt any else would have noticed, but they do. That's all for now, Happy New Year!

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Hey Y'all:
After a very hectic day, it looks like we are ready to go. We will pass through the older FOX system and not switch from the new board, Same deal, Network in high def and local in upconverted NTSC. ABC will be much the same, as we do not have any local high def sources yet except the for game switcher and receiver. But when we get 'em, we can switch 'em. We had a PCR Jitter problem with a bad keyer, and we have eliminated it from the signal path, so hopefully the sat services are happy now. I doubt any else would have noticed, but they do. That's all for now, Happy New Year!

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

PROPS!!!!!!

ABC HD is BEAUTIFUL... and PROPS for the IMMEDIATE switch...

so far, Fox HD and ABC HD are GORGEOUS

Channel 25 is up on DirecTV but right now it's just mirroring the programming on WPGA.

Channel 25 is up on DirecTV but right now it's just mirroring the programming on WPGA.

Yeah, Dish Network still has WPGA on "Channel 16."

OTA, I have to give props to the gang at WGXA... while Fox was in HD (they're done with New Year's stuff now), and ABC at the same time, it was BEAUTIFUL. There was some pixelization with strobes/flashes on the Fox feed toward the end.

Ralph and Richard have done a FINE job...

I was pissed that WPGA dropped ABC at the exact SECOND the ball dropped, but we had a TV tuned to 24.2, which took it to air at the exact same second, so we missed nothing.

The new ABC-16 is GORGEOUS so far.

Well..... since there is no programming on Fox Primetime that I care for, I rarely watch WGXA 24.1
But now with the addition of WGXA ABC 16, I'll now be watching about 6 hours of Primetime per week on WGXA
that's a plus for them.... Good for You WGXA on a job done well!

WPGA has lost those 6 hours I dedicated to them in Primetime, but it looks like I'll be watching WPGA on Saturday nights from 7pm till midnight
And now where I didn't watch WPGA at all in the daytime, I'll probably catch at least a couple of hours a day for some good ole RTV
In total hours per week, WPGA will fair better also, so I'll say a good job for them too!

Congratulations to both stations!
I wish you both the best!

Hey Y'all:
After missing my New Year's celebration, (I spent it at the studio) and all of the hard work we've done especially this last week non stop from Christmas on, You don't know what it means to me to read the kind words you write. We had a problem with our stat mux computer, it crashed 15 minutes before air time, fortunately there is a backup machine and it is now online. The programming was very busy visually, and that taxes the system. There were problems but I hope that will be minimal, and further revisions of software will improve on it. For the switcher operator, it is very crude and manual right now, on ABC, so if it's a little rough, keep that in mind. That will get better as they learn how to handle the new setup, As the new server equipment comes on line, it will become more automatic as the GPI's are connected up. I made sure they took it to air when the ball dropped, so that would be the first thing you saw. Thanks to all you loyal WGXA viewers, and welcome back ABC! For those of you who might not remember, WGXA started out as an ABC afilliate. Happy New Year!

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Fox HD and ABC HD are GORGEOUS! I'm looking forward to all the bowl games on both these channels. I'm glad everything is working good.

WPGA has lost those 6 hours I dedicated to them in Primetime, but it looks like I'll be watching WPGA on Saturday nights from 7pm till midnight
And now where I didn't watch WPGA at all in the daytime, I'll probably catch at least a couple of hours a day for some good ole RTV
In total hours per week, WPGA will fair better also, so I'll say a good job for them too!


I'll be tuning in to WPGA on Saturday Night for Battlestar Galactica. But I have the complete series of Buck Rogers on DVD. It costs only $20 now. Its one of my favorite shows.

I'm disappointed WPGA isn't going to show The Incredible Hulk and The A-Team on 58. Those are my two favorite shows on RTV and channel 50 is still unwatchable at my house. I think The A-Team would do much better than Kojak every weeknight at 9pm.

Looks great, Ralph. Congratulations to WGXA, you, and Richard. As reported by ToddUGA, Directv handled the cutover, and I will report that ABC content is now being shown on Directv channel 25. Channel 58/WPGA is no longer available through Directv, with a message that says to go to channel 25 for ABC. I was happy to read that you think you've discovered the cause of the audio brapping problem that I (and other Directv viewers) have been complaining about for some time. If I detect any new or old problems, I'll let you know. Maybe Mavrick240 and ToddUGA will help.

Dish Network took a little while to make the change:

Uplink Comparison Range: 01/01/2010 02:34A - 01/01/2010 02:44A

Channel Renames:
7877(16) - WPGA - EchoStar10 110W TP 18 Spotbeam 06 renamed to WGXAD (A) (H)(Perry, GA-ABC)

But ABC 16 is on Dish Network.

WPGA is, too.

This is probably not a WGXA problem, but Directv's program guide for channel 25 ABC is showing WGXA FOX programming instead of ABC programming.

Looks like 25 on DirecTV is finally showing ABC programming, as the Rose Parade is on at the moment. Picture looks good but I'm getting a weird problem. Occasionally, and this is especially noticeable on commercials, the frame rate drops considerably and the picture stutters. Anybody else noticed this or is it just me?

Looks like 25 on DirecTV is finally showing ABC programming, as the Rose Parade is on at the moment. Picture looks good but I'm getting a weird problem. Occasionally, and this is especially noticeable on commercials, the frame rate drops considerably and the picture stutters. Anybody else noticed this or is it just me?

Dish Network doesn't provide HD locals here, and their SD receiver seems stable.

However, both of my HD (Insignia DTV and Dish Network 722k) receivers are having a hard time keeping sync on the broadcast signal. Both receivers have no trouble with WMAZ, WMGT, WPGA, WGNM, WMUM or even WRBL out of Columbus.

WGXA was great last night, and again this morning, but during the Rose Parade, things started going down hill.

There could be some noise here around the house that's causing trouble on channel 16... I'm going to check the antenna itself to make sure there's not a broken twin lead between the antenna and amplifier, though I kind of doubt it since the other stations come booming in.

I may also hook up the converter box and see if it's able to hang on to the signal better.

This is probably not a WGXA problem, but Directv's program guide for channel 25 ABC is showing WGXA FOX programming instead of ABC programming.

Dish Network shows the correct programming info on channel 16 (and 7877).

Until the PSIP table gets sorted, the guide will continue to show "Digital Service" on the over-the-air channel (with Dish, the channel # and name - WGXAD - have to match for the receiver to display guide info for OTA channels).

Here's video of what's happening on the Insignia set... keep in mind that the "signal strength" is really a "signal quality" meter, an indicator of how well the set is able to decode the stream.

Note that when the meter shows 0, there is no "No Signal" display, which it does show when there's no RF at all... so the RF is there. The digital stream is there. It just can't cope with something in that stream, which could still be due to noise being produced locally or even in the amplifier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PglFz-VfkkI

hey wasn't ABC 16 supposed to be on 16.2 or 16.1?, on my converter box and flat screen its still registering as 24.2

but so far as good, the new ABC16 is looking pretty good.

Hey Y'all:
The channel ID thing hasn't been worked out yet, we have to coordinate that with the PSIP and data service or we won't get any channel guide info. In due time. We have bigger fish to fry. But right now, a little well deserved R&R. But I'll get back at it Monday. Thanks for all the kind words and I'll ask around about the Rose Bowl. Happy New Year!

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Looks like 25 on DirecTV is finally showing ABC programming, as the Rose Parade is on at the moment. Picture looks good but I'm getting a weird problem. Occasionally, and this is especially noticeable on commercials, the frame rate drops considerably and the picture stutters. Anybody else noticed this or is it just me?

It's happening for me too. It's only during commercials though.

Looks like 25 on DirecTV is finally showing ABC programming, as the Rose Parade is on at the moment. Picture looks good but I'm getting a weird problem. Occasionally, and this is especially noticeable on commercials, the frame rate drops considerably and the picture stutters. Anybody else noticed this or is it just me?

"Scrubs" and "Better Off Ted," as well as most commercials, exhibited picture stutter, especially via Directv. The quality is really not watchable via Directv, it's that bad. The problem I saw last night was different from the problem oldave posted on YouTube. In oldave's example, the video seemed to be dropping out totally for a while. Via Directv last night on Scrubs, Better Off Tedd, and most commercials the video quality was a lot like watching the news where the reporter is reporting via the internet. The video portion seemed like it was in slow motion or something.

Since my post of earlier today, I've watched a little Good Morning America, switching back and forth between Directv and OTA. Things have cleared up, commercials are good, too.

Hmmm, watching Cops now and the frame rate issues are still there during the commercials. I wonder if it is some sort of flagging issue, as any video-based program seems fine?

I watched a little of Good Morning America on ABC via Directv this morning. The show was good, but I did see some commercials that had that jerky, slow motion video effect. The Chantix commercial was pretty bad.

I was watching WGXA TV24 OTA for the NFL games today and I noticed the sound kept going out for a half a second from time to time today. Also the sound level needs to be turned up some on WGXA TV24. I was flipping back and forth to WMAZ 13 today and the sound level was much higher on channel 13.

I don't think WPGA has had any HD programming on since Jan. 1. No wonder Cox and DirecTV has took them off. Besides a few RTN shows on there the programming is still horrible and now its in SD. I have a feeling their ratings are in the toilet.

Its plain as day to what they should have done but didn't do it. They should have kept ABC on 58-1 and they should have added the Retro Television Network to subchannel 58-2. Cox and DirecTV would have probably added both to the line up. Neither are interested in a low powered analog channel that has the sound screwed up are an SD Independent. Doing it on the cheap is going to cost him in the long run.

That Chiller movie they had on Saturday night was one that Mystery Science Theater 3000 has on thier show but without Mike, Crow, and Tom Servo.

As of last night, anyway, the DirecTV guide still had no data for "channel 25" (not sure why they didn't use 16), and 24-2 hasn't yet been added to the guide either. So we can watch the programming, but can't know what it is we're watching! :) Not sure if that problem falls on WGXA, DirecTV, or the guide data provider, but I thought I'd mention it here at least. It's going to be an issue for DVRs once new shows start back up.

hopefully this is in the right spot, but has anyone else had a problem with recording shows on ABC 16? I have Cox and the HD channel is 715, but every time I set my DVR to record something on 715, it reverts to the SD channel 15. If I want to record a series, it doesn't give me the option of recording only on channel 715, but instead giving the option of only recording on channel 15.

Probably has something to do with how Cox is mapping the tables. Call them and see if you can explain it to a technical type. It may take you getting them to have a tech guy call you back to chat, though.

I haven't been able to record any ABC shows via Directv since the cutover. Even when I'm tuned to ABC on Directv channel 25, and press the record button on the remote, no dice.

Y'know... the guys at WGXA did an incredible job.

They had 8 weeks to build a TV station. A high definition TV station. From scratch.

But they didn't really have 8 weeks. With 8 weeks to go, they learned they had to make it happen (ok, they may have known a little bit before hand that it might happen, but until ink met paper on contracts, it wasn't certain).

So they placed orders for gear... and some of this stuff is pretty specialized and isn't sitting in a warehouse ready to ship... it's built on order. And some of it didn't arrive in time.

These guys patched together stuff in one hell of a great big hurry. They got a signal (test pattern) up with something like 36 hours to go.

They got ABC on the air as the ball dropped, seconds before WPGA switched off ABC, so we... the audience... didn't have to miss any bit of our New Year's Celebration.

So it's not perfect today. The PSIP tables haven't been sorted out yet, and guide data isn't showing up exactly right on our high tech, high def devices. Some of us can't record shows like we'd like, and it's a massive inconvenience.

But how about if we take a moment out of our frustration and think about the sacrifices these folks made, especially during Christmas and New Year's, doing their damnedest to bring us the shows we want to see. Don't you think their families would have liked to have them around for the celebrations? Wouldn't they have enjoyed spending time doing what they wanted for the holidays?

I'll bitch the loudest when things don't work quite right... But let's all take a moment and thank these folks for their efforts, and recognize that they did one hell of a job on exceptionally short notice... I'll bet you the first thought they had when they found out what needed to happen was "there's no way we can do that in the time available."

I've said before that I'm willing (spurred by the wife who has said "whatever it takes") to spend whatever I have to in order to get HD Fox and ABC, from out of market if necessary. And I will.

But I'm going to give Richard, Ralph and company some time to sort out the fine details. This was a MASSIVE undertaking, and the fact they got it going at all speaks volumes for their knowledge and their dedication. They did it for YOU and for ME.

Absolutely, let's let 'em know about glitches... there's far too wide a variety of equipment out here for them to be able to test on their own... so they need that feedback.

OK, I'm gonna climb down off my soapbox now... heh.

well lookie here...

seems Channel 50 (WPGA-LP) has an application go digital once again...

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=WPGA-LP

but at 0.2kw?? O_o

i thought 15kw was the usual power for LP stations?
and by the looks of the broadcast range, its very similar to its analog pattern...give or take 7 miles more for the DT signal.

lets see if the old man cashes in on it this time

well lookie here...

seems Channel 50 (WPGA-LP) has an application go digital once again...

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=WPGA-LP

but at 0.2kw?? O_o

i thought 15kw was the usual power for LP stations?
and by the looks of the broadcast range, its very similar to its analog pattern...give or take 7 miles more for the DT signal.

lets see if the old man cashes in on it this time

I hope Register finally does something right and lets Channel 50 go digital. He also needs to add some HD programming to channel 58. I was flipping through channels tonight and they were playing The Office inside a black box. Half of the screen was black because they were showing widescreen SD with black on both sides and the top and bottom. I don't watch The Office but if I did I would not watch it like this.

Hey Y'all:
We have had some problems which we are trying to address. I spent all day yesterday and will spend today trying to get EAS working. Richard spent a good part of yesterday afternoon working on encoder problems. Hopefully, that will help with some of these problems. We are aware of the problems and are dealing with them as they come. Keep letting me know what's going on and who is having problems with our signal, as in what satellite or cable provider. We will probably not address branding for awhile, due to the fact we have bigger issues to deal with. Well, I reckon i better get at it, Happy viewing,

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Keep up the good work, Ralph! I'm not in your viewing area, but everything I've heard says you're doing everything right. :)

- Trip

Richard spent a good part of yesterday afternoon working on encoder problems. Hopefully, that will help with some of these problems.
Ah, good... known encoder problems.

Until you guys think you've knocked those problems in the head, I'll presume the dropouts the Dish Network receiver is getting on 16 and the trouble the Insignia DTV has even finding a signal are encoder trouble.

Directv now has ABC programming for 24.2/16.2 (their channel 25) on the channel guide. I can record, too.

Thanks for all the hard work Ralph! We're all grateful for the hard work you're doing. :)

The frame rate problem is still pretty bad. Scrubs right now is practically unwatchable on DirecTV. Is this caused by the encoder problems?

I'm watching Scrubs, too. It's pretty bad, as are the commercials. Does it have anything to do with whether the show or commercial is shot with film as opposed to video tape?

I watched Georgia Tech get their buttux kicked last night, I had no issues with the Over the Air signal. On second thought, there seems to have been occasional blips with the audio, but nothing that particularly bothered me. Seems like Tech was the only problem to me????
All has been well with OTA for me, on both channels! The picture is certainly outstanding, at least when I've been tuned....
Thanks Ralph and WGXA!

I have noticed the audio drops as well. Kinda annoying but nothing to major. I'm usually not one to complain but I do have one issue. I have DirecTV and I had to manually reprogram all of my shows that I DVR on what use to be 58 to the new 25. It took several days for the program guide to actually show data.

It would have been nice if the box would have made these adjustments automatically.

I'm watching "The Middle" on ABC right how, toggling between Directv and OTA. Via Directv, the show suffers from the frame rate problem, but OTA, it doesn't, as far as I can tell. Commercials have the same results.

I have DirecTV and I had to manually reprogram all of my shows that I DVR on what use to be 58 to the new 25. It took several days for the program guide to actually show data.

It would have been nice if the box would have made these adjustments automatically.

That's something to take up with DirecTV :)

I can record on channel 715 on Cox now. Thanks to whomever fixed it I guess!

Also, the audio dropping out during the Orange Bowl has been a recurring issue with Fox and NFL games this season. Not sure if it's WGXA, Fox, or Cox, but it's been happening during football games all season. Not a huge deal however.

That's something to take up with DirecTV :)

Yeah I kinda figured that but wasn't completely sure if there might be prerequisites on the end of the station that had to be met.

I'm watching "Bones" right now via Directv. Bones is a FOX program and it's exhibiting the same frame rate problem that ABC programming has since the cutover. I have acquired a Directv HR-20 DVR that, unlike the HR-21 that I'm currently using, has OTA tuners. While WGXA irons out its problems, I'm switching to the HR-20 so that I can record directly from off-air, instead of Directv's feed, eliminating the dreaded frame rate anomaly on play back.

Well, first of all, I have to say the video on the BCS game was gorgeous.... as viewed on our Dish Network 722k (with OTA module)...

The Insignia DTV never was able to lock on to a signal (same antenna as the 722k).

Here's hoping any remaining troubles get dealt with before Tuesday!

The BCS game looked great on channel 24-2 OTA. Awesome picture!

The game looked outstanding. Unfortunately the frame rate problem still exists as the commercials exhibited some type of frame skipping. Anything not filmed on video has this problem. Hopefully Ralph can figure out what's wrong before Scrubs airs next week.

Now that's interesting... currently ACC Basketball on WPGA in HD, and on WMGT-2 in standard def. Same game, BC at Clemson.

No market exclusivity for this one, eh? Heh.

FOX on Directv's channel 24 has been dead all day - a black screen with no message.

I have to say, I'm impressed with the switching tonight on the ABC side. It's been smooth as silk as we watch Desperate Houswives.

Kudos to the operator!

To bad the shows aren't as good as the picture quality.

The audio drop-outs during "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers and Sisters" last night on WGXA 16 ABC (OTA) were quite annoying. It was probably the same as it was in the Orange Bowl (which was on the Fox side), but that didn't bother me. Last night did!
Picture still looks Awesome on both channels!

On another note, my antenna was pointed toward Atlanta, so that may have been my problem. But since it was audio only, I think not.......??

Audio dropouts are an early indication that your signal is not up to par. The antenna aiming can have a lot to do with it.

Since video is a fairly repetitive signal, frame-to-frame, the error correction in your receiver can mask a lot of problems. But audio, being totally random (no recurring frames) needs a better signal to prevent errors from showing up.
So, you'll begin noticing audio distortion, then dropouts, a bit before they become evident in the picture.

I get 10 out of 10 bars on my signal inicator and the audio dropouts were on Fox 24 during the NFL game Sunday OTA. The audio dropouts weren't there before adding ABC to channel 24-2.

So am I the only one getting the weird framerate issues on both stations via DirecTV? Does it manifest itself via OTA whenever film based material is shown? I no longer have my antenna installed so I can't test the OTA signal.

No, I have seen the framerate problem also. I don't find it that bad, especially compared to the analog hell of a few years ago. I think it's strange, though, that it shows up on DirecTV but not OTA. I would blame bandwidth, but with DirecTV dropping WPGA altogether, there shouldn't be any change there.

Hmmmm, might be time to contact someone over at DirecTV and see if they can help.

So am I the only one getting the weird framerate issues on both stations via DirecTV? Does it manifest itself via OTA whenever film based material is shown? I no longer have my antenna installed so I can't test the OTA signal.
No frame rate issues seen here, at least OTA. And as a Dish subscriber, I can't say whether there are any issues with Dish Network, as they only provide SD Macon locals, so I only watch OTA.

So am I the only one getting the weird framerate issues on both stations via DirecTV? Does it manifest itself via OTA whenever film based material is shown? I no longer have my antenna installed so I can't test the OTA signal.

You're not the only one. I am a Directv customer and I recently hooked up a Directv HR-20 DVR to my primary tv, a Sony that I bought last year. In the HR-20 are two OTA tuners and two Directv tuners. The Sony, of course, has its own tuner. I have an antenna that feeds both the Directv OTA tuners and the Sony tuner. When I watch WGXA programming (FOX or ABC) via the HR-20 Directv tuners (the signal beamed down from the satellite in the sky), the video has the frame-rate problem that we've been discussing. To me, it looks as if the video is too slow. Also, the audio drops out pretty regularly. It used to have a brapping sound associated with it, but it doesn't any more. It just drops out completely and then comes back on with a second or two.

Via the OTA tuners in the HR-20, the frame-rate problem for FOX and ABC does not occur. The "speed" of the video is natural looking. However, from time to time, the video will break up a little, but quickly recovers. The audio drops out, though, just as badly as via the Directv tuners. On channels 24.1 and 24.2, both OTA tuners in the HR-20 show a signal strength of between 95 and 100.

Via the tuner in the Sony tv, FOX and ABC video seem very good - no frame-rate problems that I can perceive, and no breaking up (at least not in the last couple of days). The audio dropouts, however, are as bad as those via the Directv OTA tuners and the Directv tuners. They're frequent enough to be very annoying. Signal strength for 24.1 and 24.2 is usually between 95 and 100 on this tuner, as well. Why the Sony tuner does better on the video portion than the Directv OTA tuners, I don't know. All tuners are fed by the same antenna. Go figure.

By the way, I think Ralph and Richard do a terrific job. I know from personal experience that Ralph will bend over backwards to help a viewer with problems, and not just pass it off as the viewer's error. But I do think they need to know the nature and description of the problems that various viewers are experiencing so that they can properly analyze, troubleshoot, and fix the problems. How will they know, if someone doesn't tell them?

Hey Y'all:
I just read your account of the problems y'all have been experiencing, and I will forward this info to my chief. We have already discussed the frame rate problem, and we will be looking into it. We just got our test gear, and we will have a Grass Valley rep here tomorrow, And you can bet I will bring it up. Thanks for your patience, guys, we have the Dolby encoders, but they are complicated, and we needed to get the test gear set up to make sure we assigned the channels properly. But that may be put off while more important things are dealt with. Thanks for the info, keep it coming.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Hey Y'all:
I just read your account of the problems y'all have been experiencing, and I will forward this info to my chief. We have already discussed the frame rate problem, and we will be looking into it. We just got our test gear, and we will have a Grass Valley rep here tomorrow, And you can bet I will bring it up. Thanks for your patience, guys, we have the Dolby encoders, but they are complicated, and we needed to get the test gear set up to make sure we assigned the channels properly. But that may be put off while more important things are dealt with. Thanks for the info, keep it coming.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16
Just an update... things have been better... but still not where I know you want them to be....

The Dish Network 722k with OTA receiver is now pretty rock solid decoding either 24.1 or 24.2... I can join the chorus on the audio dropouts getting to the point of annoying. Signal "quality" meter shows 84-85 all the time, and we are rarely getting the dreaded "Signal has been lost" yellow screen (though we did get it during the first 30 seconds of Idol tonight).

The Insignia DTV is still having trouble believing there's a signal there. It occasionally relents and decodes for a few minutes. When it does, the meter in this set shows 60-65.

For comparison, WRBL is on channel 15... and probably 120 degrees off from where the antenna's pointed (directly at the Macon towers... beamwidth should be enough to have no trouble with the little bit of spread)... and apparently in a minor lobe of this particular antenna...

The meters in both receivers show similar results for WRBL, but I don't see any issues at all on 3.1 or 3.2 (granted, they're only doing SD on 3.2).

As an additional data point, I just watched most of a break during Idol via the Dish Network satellite delivered channel (SD) and didn't notice any frame rate issues... and as I typed that, the Butler Toyota commercial had an odd moment with the motion of Leven Holliman's head... it wasn't pixelization, but made me think he was having a Max Headroom moment.

And now the video's lagging the audio a bit

On edit... though it might be Fox, as local was spot-on.

Last night, I watched American Idol via the Sony tuner and recorded the 9:00 p.m. showing of Modern Family via Directv sat tuner and Directv OTA tuner. Here is what I observed:
American Idol via the Sony tuner was very good. No perceived video problems, and only a couple of audio drop-outs that I recall happened during commercials. Via the Directv OTA tuners, I wasn't able to achieve any video or audio at all on channel 24.1 (FOX). This morning, it's back on. The Modern Family recording experiment yielded bad results. I thought if I recorded via both sources, I would get at least one good recording. Not so. The Directv SAT recording resulted in the frame-rate problem with some audio drop-outs. After switching to the Directv OTA recording, which I thought would be better, I was sorely disappointed. That recording had what I think is a PSIP problem with video breakup/pixelation issues every 30 seconds or so. Audio drop-outs were persistent throughout. It was so bad, I switched back to the SAT recording with the frame-rate problem to finish the program. I have read that the OTA tuners in the Directv HR-20 DVR are more sensitive to PSIP issues than the newer generation of tuners, but I don't know. I'm not an engineer.

Thanks for the analysis cbhpi. I wish I still had my antenna setup but I donated it to my grandfather who can no longer afford cable since my grandmother died. Glad to know Ralph is aware of the frame rate issues with DirecTV. Crossing my fingers that everything will be fixed by the time Lost comes back.

Me, too.

I'm hoping that Ralph Carson from WGXA in Macon still checks this forum. I apologize in advance that this is not an HDTV question, but it might be related to the switchover in channels.

I'm at my wits' end trying to help my parents, who live in Macon, by phone with a problem they're having since the ABC switch. They have a Tivo DVR and the online guide that it brings up does not match what is currently on.

ABC now airs on Cox Communications channel 15. However, Tivo's online guide does not reflect ABC programs. My dad, who's technologically challenged, has been calling Cox and Tivo for 2 weeks with no resolution. Is there anything that you can recommend for him to do to resolve this?

Just noticed that on my Directv box OTA tuner channel list I now have 58-2 I wonder if this is going to be what has been channel 50?

It is not finding a signal at this time but it is in the list of OTA channels and when I looked on the zap2it website they are listing 58-2 now also.

No, looks like they're adding This TV.

- Trip

Looks like we won't have to worry about NFL on Fox and NASCAR on ABC slugging it out for bandwidth in the stat mux... ABC will only carry 3 races this year, all on Saturday nights.

Just noticed that on my Directv box OTA tuner channel list I now have 58-2 I wonder if this is going to be what has been channel 50?

It is not finding a signal at this time but it is in the list of OTA channels and when I looked on the zap2it website they are listing 58-2 now also.

So now all the full-power stations in the Macon market have multiple channels... with only WMAZ not providing video on one of their secondary channels except during March Madness... and by not providing video, I'm not counting WMAZ's radar on 13.3.

Hey, Mavrick240. Just wondering if you have a Directv HR-20 DVR, with the built-in OTA tuners, and if so,whether you experience similar problems to the ones I described in my posts of January 13 at 4:47 p.m. and January 14th at 7:17 a.m?

In the past (in the days of JP/LFS) 24 carried the Saturday SEC games, and they Wed games were on one Fox Sports Net-South. 24 carried the football games, but I'm wondering about basketball. I noticed while at the gym that WPGA had the UGA game on Wed, but I have DirecTV at home, thus not WPGA. Are they the new Wed affiliate? Also, I've noticed that WGXA isn't listing the Sat games this week. Any idea where (or if) they'll be shown?

Thanks!

Also, is there really a way to use an OTA on the DirecTV HR21?

The Directv HR-21 does not have any OTA tuners in the box. However, Directv offers a separate box (AM-21) with two OTA tuners in it for use with the HR-21, HR-22, HR-23, and HR-21 Pro. Connects via USB. The HR-20 actually has two OTA tuners built in.

I've got an unused AM-21 just laying around macon_volfan if you're interested. I don't need it any longer since I took down my antenna.

Are the tuners any better in the AM-21 than in the HR-20? The OTA tuners in my HR-20 are just not as good as the tuners in my tv's. I think they have issues with handling multipath or something.

I never had an HR-20 so I can't say. But the AM21 didn't seem as good as the tuner in my television. Channels that the AM21 had trouble with were no problem for the Sony tuner.

Hey, Mavrick240. Just wondering if you have a Directv HR-20 DVR, with the built-in OTA tuners, and if so,whether you experience similar problems to the ones I described in my posts of January 13 at 4:47 p.m. and January 14th at 7:17 a.m?

I currently have an HR-21 with the OTA tuner add on which replaced my HR-20 a couple of years ago and I can tell you that the OTA tuners in the AM-21 addon are better than the ones in the HR-20 and I have not noticed the problems that you have described by in your posts through these tuners.

Thanks, Todd and Mavrick. Looks as if it's time to upgrade some Directv equipment.

Add me to the list of those having the frame rate problem. I just purchased my first HD tv a couple of weeks ago. I was a Dish Network customer, but after finding out that they only carry the locals in SD, I switched to DirecTV. I immediately noticed the frame rate problem on WGXA and FOX24. I thought the problem was with DirecTV and have talked with them several times with no solution. I wondered if maybe the problem was with my tv, but then noticed that the problem occurred on my SD tv in the bedroom. After much research, I stumbled onto this forum.

It's good to know that the problem is not on my end. The frame rate problem seems to come and go. It is always there during prime time. However, I was watching Good Morning America yesterday (Monday) morning and it looked perfect. During prime time, the shows are almost impossible to watch. I live in Forsyth, so OTA is not a possibility for me. Also, the covenants in my subdivision don't allow antennas.

I hope that they are able to get this fixed soon. Watching 24 last night was painful. If it was any other show I would have just changed to a different channel.

I live in Forsyth, so OTA is not a possibility for me. Also, the covenants in my subdivision don't allow antennas.
Everybody in Macon is making enough power that OTA actually is an option in Forsyth.

As for covenants... http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Since 1996, Federal law has trumped such covenants, and if you want to put up an antenna, you go right and ahead. If the homeowner's association complains, you can tell 'em to go pound sand... unless they'd like to fight with the FCC.

I hope that they are able to get this fixed soon. Watching 24 last night was painful. If it was any other show I would have just changed to a different channel.
We weren't able to watch Desperate Housewives on Sunday, but that was due to pretty consistent loss of lock by both the Dish Network OTA receiver and the receiver in the Insignia DTV... neither could stay synced for more than a few minutes.

Dish's OTA receiver is over at channel 41 in downtown, and it didn't seem to have as many problems, but there was still some pixelization/blocking.

The gang at WGXA are pretty sharp, and they've done a bang up job even getting things to work at all, with two channels in high def. There are a few problems, but they tend to be the ones that're harder to find and fix. Given time, they'll iron 'em out, I'm sure.

Hey Y'all:
As of Monday, the 18th, we have made adjustments to our encoders designed to alleviate the frame rate problems. I didn't get a chance to watch last night, but I will tonight. Please send any feedback you have. Thanks to all,

Ralph carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Frame rate problems appear to be gone via DirecTV. Woo hoo! Thanks again Ralph. :)

Frame rate problems appear to be gone via DirecTV. Woo hoo! Thanks again Ralph. :)

Heh... now if we can get a reliable signal down here in Perry... there should be plenty of RF, so something else has to be happening.

Everything looked great on Fox24 and WGXA. Thanks!

I didn't watch last night but Monday I had no problems with "Castle" (using OTA). And Sunday night I don't recall any problems with "Desperate Housewives" or "Brothers & Sisters", or from the other side with "Hard Target" of which I recorded and watched later.

And I'll add to that by saying I liked "Hard Target". I will probably actually start watching a regular show from Fox.... unbelievable!

Audio quality seems to have suffered a downgrade on my end on both ABC16 and FOX24. Just noticed it last night watching a recorded episode of Scrubs, and now it seems Human Target has the same problem. Watching on Cox. Doesn't make it unwatchable or anything, but it sounds like the treble has been reduced greatly.

Ralph or others? Just curious. I'd love to see those mid-week SEC games.

Last night watching "Hard Target" (OTA) there were several audio drops. The closer it got to the end, the worse it seemed to get. Overall it happened more than a half dozen times. Although it could have been weather related for me? Don't know when the rain started, but it got very hard towards midnight. So, if it was raining during "Hard Target" that might have been my problem? But, I think it's coming from WGXA or maybe the Network?

Ralph or others? Just curious. I'd love to see those mid-week SEC games.Wasn't it on channel 58 last night?

may have been. But I have DirecTV, so I can't get 58, plus I don't pull in any OTA where I live....

Last night watching "Hard Target" (OTA) there were several audio drops. The closer it got to the end, the worse it seemed to get. Overall it happened more than a half dozen times. Although it could have been weather related for me? Don't know when the rain started, but it got very hard towards midnight. So, if it was raining during "Hard Target" that might have been my problem? But, I think it's coming from WGXA or maybe the Network?

It was from WGXA. I've been getting the same audio drops OTA.

Is the EPG still supposed to be messed up on 24.1 and 24.2? I know there were problems before. My receivers epg guide is illegible on these two.

Dave

Am I the only one that noticed WMGT-41's improved picture quality? The blockiness is gone. Of course, there does seem to be a trade off as it occasionally blurs during scene transitions just like WMAZ. Still, at least it no longer looks like blown up internet video on my 52" screen.

Hey Y'all:
I take note of the audio problems. We have a new microwave system, but we haven't had a chance to install it. With the old system, audio was first affected. But it might not be that. We will look into this. I need to know if the video frame problem is resolved. Has anyone seen it since about Tuesday the 19th? Anyway, we're working hard here, pushing forward. Happy Viewing!

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

Last night, I watched the January 21st episodes of "Bones" and "Fringe" via playback from Directv's satellite signal. As far as I can tell, the frame rate problem has been solved. However, it seemed to me that, on "Bones," the dialog was not synchronized with the video. I would characterize the degree of dis-synchronization as slight, rather than pronounced. Same with "Fringe" until the problem was fixed following a brief audio dropout. I was out of town earlier this week and was tired when I watched "Bones." So, I'm going to watch it again just to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

Am I the only one that noticed WMGT-41's improved picture quality? The blockiness is gone. Of course, there does seem to be a trade off as it occasionally blurs during scene transitions just like WMAZ. Still, at least it no longer looks like blown up internet video on my 52" screen.

I watched SNL tonight and WMGT-41 looked much better. I wonder what they did to improve their picture quality. It has been blocky for years.

Last night, via Directv's satellite signal, I watched "House" on FOX. Video was good; no frame-rate problems that I could see and only a couple of brief audio dropouts. The intensity of the audio was well below most other channels, thus had to crank up the volume to hear the show.

Macon_volfan, you got mail.

ToddUGA, I might be interested in your AM-21 tuner if Macon_volfan is not.

Hey Y'all:
We discovered a problem with RF levels on our ABC sat feed. This caused rain fade during some storms. We have corrected that. We do not know to what extent that may have caused other problems on ABC only. Keep up the feedback. FOX was not affected by this problem.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/16

ToddUGA, I might be interested in your AM-21 tuner if Macon_volfan is not.

I PM'ed him but haven't heard back. I'll give him until Friday and then you're next.

Sounds good. Let me know.

Sounds good. Let me know.

Tried sending you a PM but for some reason I don't see the option. PM me and I'll give you the info.

I've enabled the PM feature. Try again when you get a chance. Thanks.

i've enabled the pm feature. Try again when you get a chance. Thanks.

ygm

To me, the picture quality on FOX and ABC is pretty good now. I haven't been able to detect any frame-rate problems for a while. I'm still getting audio dropouts, though, and wonder whether WGXA is going to have 5.1 audio like it had before the switch. If so, will it apply to both FOX and ABC? Ralph?

To me, the picture quality on FOX and ABC is pretty good now. I haven't been able to detect any frame-rate problems for a while. I'm still getting audio dropouts, though, and wonder whether WGXA is going to have 5.1 audio like it had before the switch. If so, will it apply to both FOX and ABC? Ralph?

Lots of audio dropouts.

Ralph had mentioned the 5.1 encoders hadn't arrived in time for the switch to the new gear, but that when they did arrive, they'd get them in line as quickly as they could.

My TV's tuner still insists nobody's home when tuned to (RF) channel 16.

Mine, too.

I'm sorry, but if northern people have HDTV in winter, this little snow we had today surely shouldn't keep us from HD. Come on.

Hey Y'all:
We will have surround sound. It takes a greater effort than one would suspect to get the encoders set up. I've about got it, but I have been restrained from interrupting air until ratings sweeps are over, so I can't deploy them. Tonight we are spending all our time deicing satellite dishes. Fox sent us a snow shield, but no heaters. Without heaters, it actually makes it worse. But except for an outage at the beginning of the storm on ABC, we have managed to keep it all working. It's interesting that the FOX receivers retained signal when ABC's didn't. Different brands. But we will get ABC's signal more reliable when we get the big dish at the transmitter refitted with digital receivers. This dish is left over from the time when we were an ABC afilliate before we switched to FOX in the early nineties, and it is HUGE! And there will be a new microwave link. So much to do, so little time. That's all for now, time to go and de- ice. Happy viewing!

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/16

Hey Ralph, i noticed that the Fox24 news anchors are doing their newscasts from the set where they do their Fox Files segment from...

are they re-working the old Fox24 News set for ABC16 News or what?

Hey Y'all:
Yeah, we're redoing the studio. Old sets get stale on the viewer.

Ralph Carson
WGXA

Ralph, I hope on March 1st you're going to surprise us with a local HD Newscast......

It would be quite a coup for WGXA.

Nice article in this morning's Macon Telegraph about it all:

http://www.macon.com/2010/03/01/1042150/wgxa-adds-new-features-today.html

If they're hiring, there's a great reporter in Atlanta, Ashley Hayes, looking for a new gig.

Obviously, "Newscentral" isn't HD... I caught the 7, not bad gang.

I've decided that my reception problems have to be due to something pretty local, since others aren't having any trouble... something has brought the noise floor up on channel 16. This weekend, the weather's looking good, so I'll probably remove the amplifier I've had on the antenna since 2003... needed it back then when everybody was at low power.

I watched 24 NewsCentral @ 5:30 and 16 NewsCentral @ 7. The news and weather were about the same, but their Flare Stories were different. I don't watch 24 News @ 10, cause I'm usually watching other programming. And I didn't watch 24 News in the past when it was on earlier (5:30 I think?). Anyway I missed the 11p.m. version of 16 NewsCentral last night, as I was watching a movie. I wish them all the best, as different news reportings is always a good idea (my opinion).

Hey Y'all:
Yeah, we had a deadline to get the new set ready for March 1. It came very close. I got food poisoning and was out of service on Thursday and Friday, and I had to come in on the weekend to make up for it. As it was, I was still wiring microphones in the last hour before the show. It was a cliff hanger! Anyway, no HD on the new studio set, yet. The new weather system is HD, but without a HD production control board, it has to be down converted to NTSC. But I tell you, it looks great at the studio! We still have a lot to do.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/16

P.S. Ken, we have been hiring. Ashley needs to submit her resume and tape to Alexia Ridley who is our news director. That is, if she wants to work for us. I don't know if all the slots have been filled, There are a lot of new people around here.

Last night, "House" was in standard def. Not good.

I just noticed that WMAZ 13.2 (usually dark/blank) is simulcasting CBS in SD. I guess they are ready for tomorrow's March Madness on CBS? I only hope that they show different games on the two channels and not the same game, as they seem to do in the past. Also, it would be nice if they could use the Doppler channel for a different game also?

After a second look, I notice the Doppler Radar is now "TITAN RADAR"

Hey Y'all:
Often these "radar" channels are restricted bandwidth. They wouldn't be suitable for a game. But I noticed that WMAZ was simulcasting their regular programming on two channels, plus radar. This is the hardest test for an encoding system, since both channels would need the same number of excess bits at the same time. They must be getting ready to add a second program. I wonder what it will be?

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

WMAZ had a second basketball game on 13-2 tonight. I wish they would do this with football season.

Just wish they could get it on DISH.

Nm

After a second look, I notice the Doppler Radar is now "TITAN RADAR"

Dunno what's up, but that's the KJGX feed... NWS radar at Jeffersonville.

I just found out some good news. WPGA channel 58-1 starting next week is replacing two of the RTN shows with The Rockford Files (at 2pm) and The A-Team (at 9pm) Monday through Friday. The A-Team is the show on RTN I want to watch the most and I'm going to get to watch it clear on my 50 inch plasma HDTV. Now if they will add The Incredible Hulk to channel 58-1 I would be set.

I just found out some good news. WPGA channel 58-1 starting next week is replacing two of the RTN shows with The Rockford Files (at 2pm) and The A-Team (at 9pm) Monday through Friday. The A-Team is the show on RTN I want to watch the most and I'm going to get to watch it clear on my 50 inch plasma HDTV. Now if they will add The Incredible Hulk to channel 58-1 I would be set.

In glorious standard def. Whee.

I typed in my info at TV Fool and it listed WPGA channel 50-1 as a digital channel. Does anybody know if channel 50 is going to go digital or is this a misprint? Its a darn shame we have a spanish speaking religious digital channel on 45-2 and the Retro Television Network is still analog and hard to watch with an old out of date static filled picture. Lowell Register is a cheap old miser.

I typed in my info at TV Fool and it listed WPGA channel 50-1 as a digital channel. Does anybody know if channel 50 is going to go digital or is this a misprint? Its a darn shame we have a spanish speaking religious digital channel on 45-2 and the Retro Television Network is still analog and hard to watch with an old out of date static filled picture. Lowell Register is a cheap old miser.

WPGA-LP has a construction permit to flash-cut to digital... in other words, the FCC has said they can turn off the analog transmitter and immediately put a digital transmitter on.

Lowell Register is many things... savvy businessman would not be on the list.

I guess I'm still not on-board as caring much whether RTN is ever aired... analog or digital. I get it via WRBL on 15-2 and when I take a minute to watch those shows... I wonder what ever moved me to think they were good shows.

But that's just me.

WPGA-LP has a construction permit to flash-cut to digital... in other words, the FCC has said they can turn off the analog transmitter and immediately put a digital transmitter on.

Lowell Register is many things... savvy businessman would not be on the list.

I guess I'm still not on-board as caring much whether RTN is ever aired... analog or digital. I get it via WRBL on 15-2 and when I take a minute to watch those shows... I wonder what ever moved me to think they were good shows.

But that's just me.

I think The A-Team, The Incredible Hulk, and Knight Rider are awesome. I'll take those shows over crap like American Idol or what ever lame reality show that is on these days.

Lowell Register not being a savvy businessman is true. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that if he upgraded RTN to a high power digital channel that more people OTA will watch it and Cox Cable would probably pick it up too. I don't think Cox is interested in adding any low power analog channels to their lineup. Take away the few RTN shows that he has on channel 58 and his lineup is worse than when he was with ABC.

Lowell has always been a savvy businessman, but much of his experience over several decades has been with the old world of "make money easily with broadcast stations".

Things are getting very tough in the business nowadays...radio stations are going dark, and TV stations are facing tons of unregulated competition, including FCC plans to possibly do away with over-the-air.

Much of what Lowell is doing is, trying to stay in business. And, some things (like dumping ABC), may also fall in to the category of "publicity stunt", too.
Ted Turner made a "stupid mistake" when he started his "Superstation". Maybe going independent will work out for WPGA...or, maybe it won't. It's still "taking a risk", or "trying".

If Lowell does well, maybe he can retire and buy what's left of Montana ;) .

Lowell has always been a savvy businessman, but much of his experience over several decades has been with the old world of "make money easily with broadcast stations".
Right... "I know everybody in town, they know me, they advertise on my radio station."

Things are getting very tough in the business nowadays...radio stations are going dark, and TV stations are facing tons of unregulated competition, including FCC plans to possibly do away with over-the-air.
And dollar-a-holler TV spots aren't going to pay the power bill at the transmitter.

Much of what Lowell is doing is, trying to stay in business. And, some things (like dumping ABC), may also fall in to the category of "publicity stunt", too.
Dumping ABC was about money. Whose is left to the imagination of the reader.

Ted Turner made a "stupid mistake" when he started his "Superstation". Maybe going independent will work out for WPGA...or, maybe it won't. It's still "taking a risk", or "trying".
The Macon market's not big enough. Atlanta is/was, and going Superstation got Ted the national agencies. Sure, it took time...

If Lowell does well, maybe he can retire and buy what's left of Montana ;) .

RDS is living on support contracts, radio is doing ok, TV is hurting big time. He might do better to head for Montana now.

Just noticed that 58.2 is "on the air"
This TV has arrived in Macon
hoorah..!!!!!!

Just noticed that 58.2 is "on the air"
This TV has arrived in Macon
hoorah..!!!!!!

I just noticed it myself. I hope channel 50 is the next channel that goes digital. We need a digital classic TV Show channel to go with our digital classic movie channel in This TV. Not paying for TV keeps getting better.

Has anyone noticed a signal strength or other change in WMAZ 13? They are suddenly gone from my OTA system, and I can't pick them up. Scanned and rescanned. No change on other Macon stations.

WMAZ 13 still comes in good where I live.

Ralph - Are you making any progress on the sound system? The audio dropouts on 24.1 are still present during prime-time programming, both via OTA and Directv. The problem was messing with my family and me pretty good last night during American Idol.

Maybe the system was dry heaving with that crappy program going through it. :D

OK.. testing EAS gear during a NASCAR race is pretty much over the unacceptable line... the only saving grace is that it was during a commercial.

The audio dropouts are so annoying. My wife fusses at me like I can do something about it.

OK.. testing EAS gear during a NASCAR race is pretty much over the unacceptable line... the only saving grace is that it was during a commercial.

Probably the last chance they had, to get in within the Broadcast week.

Probably the last chance they had, to get in within the Broadcast week.
It was odd... it started as a test, then bailed like somebody said "aww, crap, I shouldn't have done that now"

It was odd... it started as a test, then bailed like somebody said "aww, crap, I shouldn't have done that now"

I've done that before.:rolleyes:

When is Channel 58-2 going to fix the sound so we can start watching This TV.

Hey Y'all:
I know, we need to address the sound problem. We're still trying to get the new FOX master control console built. The FCC gave us a setback and said we had to go through the whole license process for our new microwave system. So we had to take it off the air and go back to the old system, and we've still not gotten the ABC reception system installed. (We're on temporary equipment now.) In the middle of this, we have all our normal engineering duties. But the ABC guy will be here today, and will at least get the gear installed, even if we have no return path for it. It's at the transmitter with the old ABC sat dishes. (They are huge!) Getting the FOX console installed will give us more monitoring capability, to monitor audio at various points in the signal chain. We will get to the audio problem, I promise.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

When is Channel 58-2 going to fix the sound so we can start watching This TV.I'm getting sound with my Pansat tuner, my Sony tuner, (both) my Mitsubishi tuners, my JVC tuner, my Panasonic tuner, and my DtvPal tuner. But not with my Dish Network VIP 722 tuner, don't know what the problem is????

I'm getting sound with my Pansat tuner, my Sony tuner, (both) my Mitsubishi tuners, my JVC tuner, my Panasonic tuner, and my DtvPal tuner. But not with my Dish Network VIP 722 tuner, don't know what the problem is????

I went over to my mom's house the other day and I found out that she is getting the sound on her DTVPal DVR tuner. I went back home and rescanned my channels on my Samsung DTB H260F HD Tuner and the sound is still messed up. It plays for a second then stays silent for 3 seconds. The sound on channel 58-1 sounds great and all the other channels sound good. I too am stumped at this problem.

I've had similar sound issues on some of the Salt Lake City channels, using the DTVPal.
It seems to be mostly on second-audio channels, but not always (sometimes on main audio as well).

I'm wondering if something about certain broadcasts is just a little bit too close to spec...within specifications, but near the limit. We (KSL) had some early issues with some PCR Clock timings, which were not coming around often enough for some receivers. Maybe those could be causing some audio sync issues?

I'm not sure. Channel 58-2 This TV was just added to our area a week ago and its unwatchable for me. Since it works on other TVs I wonder if it will ever get fixed.

I'm not sure. Channel 58-2 This TV was just added to our area a week ago and its unwatchable for me. Since it works on other TVs I wonder if it will ever get fixed.i was wondering if anyone else was having the same problem because i have a converter box and im unable to see channel 58.2 but on my flat screen TV i can see it...i wonder if they have an issue with the signal encoding for certain tuners.

Hey Y'all:
We have been working on our sound dropout problem. Please post here new reports if you detect a problem. Please note the time and the show.

Ralph Carson

I got WGXA-1 (Fox 24) and WGXA-2 (ABC 16) for a moment about a month and a half ago.

i just recently moved back to macon after 3 years away. i was very happy to have my surround system setup again until i started watching my favorite shows. im using cox cable, and it seems that i get dolby digital audio on practically every channel, but NOT on ANY of the locals. is there really no 5.1 audio for locals via cox?!

Scott

American Idol was 110% better last night. No drop outs. Thanks Ralph!

Hey Y'all:
I hope we have it now. Richbrew, We were in surround sound from the high def beginning up until the first of the year, when we installed a new master control system. We have the Dolby cards and we will be surround again, on Fox and ABC to the extent that they program in surround. Since most of our local content is still derived from NTSC, there will be no local surround for awhile. We wanted to get the audio dropout problem resolved before we proceeded with surround, and now we will have to wait until after the rating period when we will be allowed to tinker with the air signal again.

A note about surround:
I have been a surround enthusiast since the days of quadraphonic sound. I am a long standing member of quadraphonicquad.com which is all about surround. You can be assured that I want to get it right, and much planning and thought went into this subject.

Wow! I only recently got rid of my SQ Decoder. I wish I still had it and the (small) collection of SQ-encoded records I bought back in the mid seventies.

I also wish I hadn't dropped my Dual 701 turntable, but that's another story :( .

for what stations specifically is this the case? The ones i have noticed are below, are all of these affected the same way? im not seeing DD from ANY of them. the shows im interested are not local programming, but the network programming, like house, chuck, ncis, v, etc that are definately produced with 5.1. Also, wouldnt ratings be affected positively by presenting the content in the format in which it was produced? I know im not the only audiophile around, and i know im not the only one who will resort to other sources to get the content in a better format. If local stations continue to think that people will watch no matter what, because they dont have a choice, because there is nowhere else to get it, then they are sadly mistaken. there are far too many options (hulu, netflix, itunes, even good ole torrents) that make it exceptionally easy to find alternatives to the local stations. This stuff isnt rocket science, and its not even 'new' anymore, so why is it that stations in macon cant wake up to the fact that this is something that has become expected, not a novelty, and just get the crap right already.

702 - WGXADT
704 - WMAZDT
705 - WMGTDT
706 - WPGALP
715 - WGXADT2

p.s. ralph, my rant is in no way directed at you, i gather that your hands are tied, and definately appreciate the information.

Hey Y'all:
We have been working on our sound dropout problem. Please post here new reports if you detect a problem. Please note the time and the show.

Ralph Carson

Ralph, I've watched American Idol, House, Bones, Fringe, and Glee since you posted the above, and I didn't notice a single audio dropout. Thanks for the fix. Looking forward to the return of 5.1 on Fox and the addition of 5.1 on ABC. Too bad WMAZ and WMGT won't add it.

Ken English - Nice turntable. I still have my AR belt drive, but it's been in storage for a while, at least 15 years.

for what stations specifically is this the case? The ones i have noticed are below, are all of these affected the same way? im not seeing DD from ANY of them. the shows im interested are not local programming, but the network programming, like house, chuck, ncis, v, etc that are definately produced with 5.1. Also, wouldnt ratings be affected positively by presenting the content in the format in which it was produced? I know im not the only audiophile around, and i know im not the only one who will resort to other sources to get the content in a better format. If local stations continue to think that people will watch no matter what, because they dont have a choice, because there is nowhere else to get it, then they are sadly mistaken. there are far too many options (hulu, netflix, itunes, even good ole torrents) that make it exceptionally easy to find alternatives to the local stations. This stuff isnt rocket science, and its not even 'new' anymore, so why is it that stations in macon cant wake up to the fact that this is something that has become expected, not a novelty, and just get the crap right already.

702 - WGXADT
704 - WMAZDT
705 - WMGTDT
706 - WPGALP
715 - WGXADT2

p.s. ralph, my rant is in no way directed at you, i gather that your hands are tied, and definately appreciate the information.

You left out an option. You can get these channels in HD over the air for free with an antenna and a digital tuner. You are probably paying Cox $90 a month to watch them in HD. Then you can you can use that $90 a month to buy the DVDs.

Ralph, I've watched American Idol, House, Bones, Fringe, and Glee since you posted the above, and I didn't notice a single audio dropout. Thanks for the fix. Looking forward to the return of 5.1 on Fox and the addition of 5.1 on ABC. Too bad WMAZ and WMGT won't add it.

Ken English - Nice turntable. I still have my AR belt drive, but it's been in storage for a while, at least 15 years.

Ralph - Something was going on last night near the end of Bones. Pixelation, audio dropouts, and video stalls. This was around 8:55 p.m. I was watching via Directv, not OTA. At nine, I changed the channel, but I continued recording Fringe, so once I play it back, I'll be able to let you know if the problem persisted.

Hey Y'all:
Richbrew, I know how you feel. But if surroundphiles ruled the day, I would still be able to get my DVD Audio and SACD discs. Sadly, there is no longer any surround music being produced. But there will be surround movies and TV, because the immersive experience lends itself well to TV viewing, and ordinary people like it. It also lends itself to listening to music, but for most folks, listening to music is a background activity. Few people sit down to listen to music anymore if they ever did. Therefore there will be little or no surround music released. But don't worry, The rating period will end, and we will get it done. We still have not fully accepted that the audio dropout problem is gone although the reports are good. It is always possible to introduce new problems by changing the encoding. Broadcast stations live and die by the ratings, to us, it's a serious matter.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/16

Hey Kenglish:
Unless you had an Audionics Space and Image Composer or a Fosgate 101 Tate II system, you really wouldn't know the potential of SQ. However CD-4 is better now than it ever was. With microline styluses, the technical problems have been eliminated. If you want to talk quad, I'm "The Quadfather" on the quadraphonicquad.com website. It has a loyal following, and on Ebay, you can get just about everything that was ever recorded in quad, which was quite a lot. Interested?
Ralph Carson
WGXA

I think I'm beyond my quad-sound days, at least until I get a house with room for more speakers :D .

I gave away my SQ decoder years ago. Had a few surround DVDs and DVD-a, but I'm not sure where I stored them...I hope I still have them.
I used to have my eye on a set of professional SQ encoders and decoders that lived under the stairwell in the Mormon Tabernacle basement. They wouldn't give them away, but I heard they got trashed years ago :( (definitely worth a "frown-ie").

Did anybody here ever get inside Capricorn Studios? We built the Terry Kane control room for Quad sound back in 1972, before most people ever heard of it.

Hey Kenglish:
I went in there (Capricorn Studio) a number of years ago, Since Capricorn released several quadradiscs, I looked for 70's vintage quad mixing gear. What I saw was all modern digital stuff. This was not long before the shortwave radio station chased them away. They suffered massive audio interference every time that guy lit that thing up. The quad equipment could be in the basement I suppose, but I didn't have free range to explore. This town (Macon) has a few underground secrets apparently. Tunnels and such. The first one that comes to mind is the infamous Hay House tunnel to the river. Haven't seen the tunnel, but I have seen the house with the underground spring, and the spring itself. I hear there's an old pipe organ under the city auditorium, the real deal. It was once installed there.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

I doubt that Capricorn had much in the way of encoding equipment for SQ. There was a 4-track recorder (1/2" tape), so the masters could be sent out to a mastering house for final preparation and encoding.

The upstairs attic is huge. It was used for storage in later years...I saw the stolen-but-later-returned road cases from the Fillmore album cover photos, when I was home about ten years ago. They also had the mahogany MF horns from the old Westlake monitors up there. They wouldn't sell them to me, though ;) .

The basement actually went all the way out under the sidewalk. We had our shop down there, as well as the echo chambers and the building's only functional restroom.

There are photos and an interview at the GMHOF. I don't play or sing, so that's my only contribution there.

Too bad that whole block couldn't be made in to a Southern Music version of Opryland.

Nascar on WGXA got replaced with Matlock. Is the station having satellite signal problems with the Fox Network or have they dropped it to put ABC on the main channel? It's making me and possibly the viewers very mad.

Hey Y'all:
We were having problems with our splicer. We believe we will have it rectified by the time of the next event. We don't swap networks on the channels. They will stay the same.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/16

Hey Kenglish:
Capricorn wouldn't have a reason to have an SQ encoder unless they had experimented with SQ before deciding to go with CD-4. All their quadraphonic recordings were in CD-4 as far as I know, CD-4 would have to be encoded during the record cutting process, and the CD-4 modulator would have to be on location with the cutting lathe. That was also the standard procedure with SQ and QS, although it is possible to encode off site for matrix formats, that was not recommended, since differences in tape head alignment would skew the results. CD-4 was always cut at half speed or less, with the tape slowed down to fix the speed relationship. Thus requiring the modulator to be on site.

Ralph Carson
WGXA

From the Satellite Uplink Center
5280(16) - WGXAD [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-N/A)
5281(13) - WMAZ [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-CBS)
5282(41) - WMGT [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-NBC)
5283(24) - WGXA [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-FOX)

Not sure but I think this takes effect on June 3:):):):)

From the Satellite Uplink Center
5280(16) - WGXAD [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-N/A)
5281(13) - WMAZ [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-CBS)
5282(41) - WMGT [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-NBC)
5283(24) - WGXA [MPEG4 HD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 16 ConUS beam (NA)(Macon, GA-FOX)

Not sure but I think this takes effect on June 3:):):):)

Yeah, but many of us are on 129, we'll need a different dish.

On edit: Which it turns out, we will have to pay $95 to have installed.

Yeah, but many of us are on 129, we'll need a different dish.
On edit: Which it turns out, we will have to pay $95 to have installed.

You can get an OTA antenna for that much. And, get ALL the channels (FM Radio, too!).:D

You can get an OTA antenna for that much. And, get ALL the channels (FM Radio, too!).:D

I already have the OTA antenna... just not getting great signal from WGXA, and I've not had time to try to locate any source of noise on RF channel 16... I'd hoped to get HD locals from DISH.

It'll be fun, though, to watch all those 1000.2 installs (installers were insisting that Macon HD would go on 129... I begged them to put us on the eastern arc when we went to the HD receiver) wanting the Macon HD via satellite on DISH... they'll get to pay $95 for the 1000.4.

I'll pass. DISH will be cancelled, and I'm actually considering just using OTA. But with ABC only getting 3 NASCAR races this year, the wife will probably make me get *something* that lets us see TNT and ESPN.

Billybob's Cable does have all that, and in HD, along with the locals in HD. So that's an option. DirecTV does, too.

And, get ALL the channels (FM Radio, too!).:D
Oh... are FM radio stations still on?

I've had Sirius so long, I'm not sure any broadcast stations are still on around these parts.

Yes the broadcast radio stations are still on. I listen to Fox Sports 1670am all the time.

You shouldn't have trouble with Macon stations in perry. I get channel 29 in Cochran and its 30 miles away from me with the Terk TV5 indoor antenna. You can head over to the Techincal forum here at AVS and read about antennas. I'm OTA with both TV and radio.

Fox has a lot of Nascar on too. There is also alot of sports at ESPN360.com.

Speaking of "BillyBob Cable"....
It's always annoyed me that, when I come home, WSB has always had what looked like interference from the airport strobe lights in it. Are they still getting WSB and the other Atlanta stations (now digital) via an OTA feed? Are they doing it successfully?

I assume the pix freezing every few seconds on WMAZ-DT 13.1 is the station and not my equipment. Its not doing it on any other channel. Anybody else observing it? (Really bad the night of 27 May)

Yes the broadcast radio stations are still on. I listen to Fox Sports 1670am all the time.
That was sorta a (very small) joke... I know there are broadcast stations still :D I just listen to Sirius all the time when I'm in the truck.

You shouldn't have trouble with Macon stations in perry. I get channel 29 in Cochran and its 30 miles away from me with the Terk TV5 indoor antenna. You can head over to the Techincal forum here at AVS and read about antennas. I'm OTA with both TV and radio.
I don't have much trouble... I've got the deep fringe antenna outside, and it's got a Channel Master amp. In fact, that's probably a bit of the trouble with WGXA... the amp... it raises the noise floor, especially with Lowell's tower out at I-75 about 45 degrees off to the side (and only 5 miles or so distant), even though the FM trap is allegedly active.

I appreciate the suggestion to check out the tech forum, but antennas aren't a problem for me, except that I probably have too many... I'm one of those ham radio guys.

Fox has a lot of Nascar on too. There is also alot of sports at ESPN360.com.
Fox is done with NASCAR for this year after Sunday's race. The rest of the season, all the racing will be on TNT, Speed, ESPN and ESPN2, with the exception of 3 Cup races on ABC.

Speaking of "BillyBob Cable"....
It's always annoyed me that, when I come home, WSB has always had what looked like interference from the airport strobe lights in it. Are they still getting WSB and the other Atlanta stations (now digital) via an OTA feed? Are they doing it successfully?

ComSouth doesn't carry much WSB, I don't think. Haven't decided to pull the trigger and get TV from them... though I do have a cable modem. It wouldn't be ethical... or legal... to split that out and see what they're doing.

I assume the pix freezing every few seconds on WMAZ-DT 13.1 is the station and not my equipment. Its not doing it on any other channel. Anybody else observing it? (Really bad the night of 27 May)

Are you on an antenna or Cable (or, satellite)?

They are on channel 13, a high-band VHF channel, so that is a difference between them and the others.

We don't watch much network television... but today, the Indy 500 was on ABC, the Coke 600 was on Fox...

I have to give props to the engineering team at WGXA....

There was severe weather in the area.... a couple of times... and on both signals.. ABC and Fox... the graphics didn't force the picture to SD.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

And thanks to the management team that let you buy the gear necessary.

Hey Dave:
We have now implemented digital switching on FOX as well as ABC. That is why there is no longer a take down to SD when running an EAS alert.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/16

Hey Dave:
We have now implemented digital switching on FOX as well as ABC. That is why there is no longer a take down to SD when running an EAS alert.
Cool... now to get 'em to let you convert all the local stuff to HD!

Hey Y'all:
We're working on it. When the people who made our server came and set up the new addition to it, they kind of messed it all up. At the time I was involved in wiring up the router and master control for ABC, and could not supervise this operation. The trick is to fix it while it's busy serving up commercials. The idea is that we will use it to record shows and play them on air directly without tape. This will be in high def. But we still need to maintain standard def operation until we get a new production switcher. So everything, for complicated reasons, has to be exactly right before we implement it in high def. We can do it before we get a switcher, but everything has to be working right. Thank you all for your patience. Because of having to work around equipment being on air or needing to be available for air, it takes much longer to get something done than you would think. Oh, I haven't forgotten Dolby, but I have been under the weather for the past week or so.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/16

I hope you get everything working right in time for football season to start. That is when I'll start watching a lot of Fox and ABC.