David Brant -- Local audio for the 9:00 PM news was not correctly synced. The preceding episode of 24 was fine.
Chase

The lip sync appears to be normal now, but I've heard of this happening before (from my General Manager!). Are you using over-the-air or Time-Warner cable? The previous reports were on cable, but it could be either or both.

The lip sync appears to be normal now, but I've heard of this happening before (from my General Manager!). Are you using over-the-air or Time-Warner cable? The previous reports were on cable, but it could be either or both.

I'm using OTA. It's the first time I've noticed any type of sync issue on WHBQ, but I don't watch the local feed very much. (I don't watch any of the local feeds very much.) As I said before, the episode of 24 that aired directly before the local feed spliced in was synced just fine.

Chase

BigMike, have you tried a Zenith Silver Sensor? It's indoor, but there are countless success stories with it, including me. It's cheap too-- I've seen it for $20 online. I can pick up all the local channels with it.

By the way, your symptoms with 30-1 are definitely multipath interference, or your signal being actually too strong. A change in aiming or an attenuator would fix that.

My recent problem with 13-1 was fixed by repositioning the antenna. The attenuator didn't do much to help me. The signal on 13-1 ranges from 92-98.

ARGHH!!! I need help. I am new to this ota digital tv thing. I have an antenna in my attic and have a 10db amp. At night, everything comes through fine except channel 30 and it comes through and then drops and comes through and drops and so on. During the day, I get channel 3 and 24 and that's about it. I have tried rotating the antenna with little success. I live in the vicinity of Austin Peay Hwy and Old Covington Pike. Would I be better off buying another antenna? I have tried the indoor jobs and I didn't like any of them. Does anyone have a recommendation for a multi-directional antenna and where to pick it up at.

Thanks in advance,

Mike
Judging by your location, I would guess that you have an aiming problem. Go to www.antennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org) and get the directions. Channel 5, 24 and 50 are all coming from the big antenna at Brunswick, 13 comes from over on Whitten Road and 3 comes from their downtown location (I think) you may have a problem aiming for all the stations without a rotor or multiple antennae. I live just off Austin Peay at Atoka-Idaville Road and I get all the stations here.

Is there anyone in town that carries the Zenith Silver Sensor? I tried the Phillips Silver Sensor and it was terrible. What I am trying to do is pull in all the signals without moving the antenna around. I want to be able to tivo shows when I am not at home and right now my ota is not reliable enuff. I tried the antennaweb site. I point the antenna the direction where I should get like three stations and only get two. It's a frustrating as picking out my television. That took me a month of headaches.

I have an antenna in my attic and have a 10db amp.Have you tried without the amp? I can't imagine that you would need an amp. As close as you are, the amp may be causing your problems. Also, a simple dipole is the closest thing to omni-directional, and may be all you would need. Or you might try pointing the antenna up. I know it sound stupid, but it makes the antenna less directional, and some have had success doing that when they are so close to the transmitters.

Yeah, I actually have my Silver Sensor pointing up, which has given me the best reception I've had so far.

And bigmike-- I think the Zenith SS is the same as the Phillips SS. I got mine at Sears. I paid more, but I got it immediately.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

5.1 is ONLINE on WPTY!

It doesn't sound like it's correct though.

BigMikeMac
I am using the Winegard GS-2000 without a powerpack. It is directional, but I get channel 3, the farthest from me, at 100%. As I said all channels come in great. Caveat... I don't think that you will ever have acceptable signal from the attic. Mine is mounted on the eave of the first floor, but I am on a hill.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

5.1 is ONLINE on WPTY!

It doesn't sound like it's correct though.
Bout dang fricken time.

Why did it not sound right to you? I heard alot in the center speakers, but I didn't go around and check the others. I don't know if it was supposed to sound like that. It did appear to have a lot of bass. I just wish they would up the sound to make it level with the other stations.

I've noticed WLMT's sound is real low like WPTY's.

While it showed up as 5.1 on my decoder, there was NOTHING coming from the satellite speakers, and NOTHING was separated in the front channels.
I checked during during multiple shows, including Invasion. It's DEFINATELY not right.

While it showed up as 5.1 on my decoder, there was NOTHING coming from the satellite speakers, and NOTHING was separated in the front channels.
I checked during during multiple shows, including Invasion. It's DEFINATELY not right.

I checked out Lost shortly after reading your post. The bitstream was 3/2/.1 at DN 25, but the L/R seemed to be mono and there was nothing in the center or surrounds.

I didn't stick around long enough to catch any other shows.

Chase

Yep, that's exactly what I heard.

I'll send an email to them later today. Hopefully, we can straighten this out quickly. (Although, we've been trying for months now to get WMC's online.... so I dunno.. :-/)

The lip sync appears to be normal now, but I've heard of this happening before (from my General Manager!). Are you using over-the-air or Time-Warner cable? The previous reports were on cable, but it could be either or both.

Hey Dave,
I'm using Time Warner SciAtl 8300 HD-DVR box. I've had a lip sync problem for about a month now. I watch "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office." Some weeks its not as noticable, but it seems to get to a 1 second or more difference sometimes. (Like right now!) Is this a hardware issue with the box, or the signal?

I'm using Time Warner SciAtl 8300 HD-DVR box. I've had a lip sync problem for about a month now. I watch "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office." Some weeks its not as noticable, but it seems to get to a 1 second or more difference sometimes. (Like right now!) Is this a hardware issue with the box, or the signal?
I noticed it too before the first commercial break of Earl, OTA. Once back it was gone.

So no one watches CSI? Or are we just too used to local screwups, so no one complained about the lack of 5.1 and center channel audio (little things like DIALOG) on WREG last night for the first 15 minutes AND last 15 minutes? I mean, if they turn it on, why the heck would they turn it back off?

Thank goodness for closed captioning (maybe this is why the FCC insists on DTV captions).

I have it on Tivo, but woulda said something about it. Luckily I have an SD Tivo upstairs which I will be bringing downstairs to watch it. Did it also happen during Without A Trace? Thanks for the heads up.

Did it also happen during Without A Trace?

Interestingly, this screwup demonstrated that Without a Trace is NOT broadcast in DD5.1, because it was fine.

Hey Dave,
I'm using Time Warner SciAtl 8300 HD-DVR box. I've had a lip sync problem for about a month now. I watch "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office." Some weeks its not as noticable, but it seems to get to a 1 second or more difference sometimes. (Like right now!) Is this a hardware issue with the box, or the signal?
"Earl" and "Office" are the other Dave's shows (ENG Dave).

By the way, WHBQ-DT had engineers from their transmitter manufacturer in for the past two days, and they straightened out all of the problems with the transmitter. The trickiest one was a sensor that was set way to tight, and was dumping one cabinet when the air conditioner blew cold air on its transmission line. It changed the physical dimensions of the line enough to trigger the mis-adjusted sensor every time it came on.

It should be pretty stable from here on out.

So no one watches CSI? Or are we just too used to local screwups, so no one complained about the lack of 5.1 and center channel audio (little things like DIALOG) on WREG last night for the first 15 minutes AND last 15 minutes? I mean, if they turn it on, why the heck would they turn it back off?

Thank goodness for closed captioning (maybe this is why the FCC insists on DTV captions).

Yes to your second question. I actually got out the phone book and called WREG, it took a few times until I got a person. I was then transferred to an answering machine so I just turned it off when it dropped out again.

I noticed last night that it also also happened during CSI:NY. Was in 5.1 and then off.

I noticed last night that it also also happened during CSI:NY. Was in 5.1 and then off.

What I don't get is what is all the fuss about 5.1! Yes I want it too, but I think some of the problems might be the sound encoding of the stream itself.

I am sure all of us know of a few dvd's that are 5.1 and sound like crap. Heck I have a few that Neo 6, or Dolby proII sound better as a 2.1 going to 5.1. Then you have all the comericals in 2.1, and on my receiver I hear a click, every time it happens.

You almost have to have two streams side by side to make sure its the stations fault, and not the bad sound encoding. But I must agree, if your receiver is telling you its 5.1 and you only hear it as 2.1 or no satellite's then yes something is wrong.

But you never know, the source might only be 2.1 and they are upconverting it to 5.1 and doing a bad job at that. I am more concerned about PQ and hdlite then the sound. I take PQ anyday, sound I can work around but still don't cheat the little guy if a station says it's got it then make it work.

Rthoreau

Hey. I'm new. Just a short note. This thread rocks. Its great to have lots of local people to ask questions to. I don't know much about HD, but I bought a Samsung 61" DLP which arrived yesterday. Reading this thread lead me to 'try' a Silver Sensor antenna with my fingers crossed. I wasn't happy until I realized I needed to tune to the -1 channels. lol. I told you I don't know much. I learn fast though.

So far so good. The TV comes with that TVguide on screen thing. I haven't been able to get the WKNO-HD channel listings. I guess I can get them from their website.

Anyway, so far I am happy. Thanks for posting all your messages and I'm sure I'll be back with questions.

Looking forward to the Superbowl in HD tommorrow and the Olympics.

Now I need to figure out how I'm gonna get an HD-TIVO. LOL.

but still don't cheat the little guy if a station says it's got it then make it work.
With the exception of 2 people, that's what the others in Memphis are doing.

As far as if it's a national vs local issue, if it's local, there will be a thread about it in the programming area.

Memphis Bill - welcome. If you can tune to 29-3 or 10-3, WKNO might still be sending it's EPG on that channel.

I've watched a little bit of the hockey game on WMC today, and it's still littered with motion blocking. Dave, any word on the subchannels?

Welcome Memphis Bill...............

As far as HDTiVo goes..........I have one, and I love everything about it, except for the Directv part!! :D

Being in Memphis, and having pretty good coverage from cable companies, there are pretty solid rumors about TiVo releasing a cablecard TiVo series 3 sometime this year.......I think I would wait for that.........it should be the holy grail of DVR's for cable customers with some quality programing.

If anyone's interested in firewire:
It took four boxes, but finally got a SA8300 DVR from Time Warner with working firewire(IEEE 1394) ports.
With a Digital VCR(available on eBay), you can dump previously recorded programs, from the 8300's hard drive to D-VHS tape.
You obviously have more room on your DVR, and an HD program, like the Super Bowl, on a tape that should last until BlueRay or HD DVD recordable becomes economically feasible.

On Friday, they still had a few at Mendenhall/Winchester, but none in Germantown or Poplar.

Can it be? I think WPTY just found the right switch for 5.1! HP and the Sorcerer's Stone jumped to the correct channel format mid-broadcast!

Right in time for the Super Bowl, too. Life is good...

Chase

Can it be? I think WPTY just found the right switch for 5.1! HP and the Sorcerer's Stone jumped to the correct channel format mid-broadcast!

Right in time for the Super Bowl, too. Life is good...
I turned it on a little bit before your post and was checking out all the speakers. I was able to hear the l/r front/rears so I thought it was fixed. Your post confirms that.

Just hooked up my tv a couple days ago and I can't even figure out all the hardware specs and now I see that reception is a whole separate ball game. Just a wonder...Are there any out of town stations receivable either OTA or through digital coaxal.

Ah, its that time of the year again. With the Super Bowl, come the newbies. ;)
Welcome to everyone! Glad to have more people on the forum!

Afroteddy: I wish.. Where are you located?

We need to ask WPTY what they did, and get EngDave to do the same.

With regards to whether or not they are upconverting 2.1 to 5.1, the shows we've been using to check (Lost, Law and Order(s), CSI(s)) are ALL in 5.1. That's confirmed. (And yeah, Without a Trace is NOT 5.1) So, there SHOULD be a proper 5.1 stream coming from CBS, NBC and ABC. Only thing I could guess is that its a local issue.

Glad to see WPTY may have fixed it though.

Welcome to everyone! Glad to have more people on the forum!You said it. Welcome everyone!

We need to ask WPTY what they did, and get EngDave to do the same.Definitely. Is Scott P. the guy to e-mail?

With regards to whether or not they are upconverting 2.1 to 5.1, the shows we've been using to check (Lost, Law and Order(s), CSI(s)) are ALL in 5.1. That's confirmed.Correct. A quick clarification about 2.1 and "upconverting" to 5.1. While it is possible to create a 2.1-channel sound mix (2 front channels, 1 dedicated low frequency channel), it is rarely -- if ever -- done. (I have personally never heard of one.) Two-channel sound mixes like the ones broadcast over DTV are either stereo (official designation "2.0") or 4:2:4 matrixed surround (official designation "2.0 Surround"). A consumer A/V controller with subwoofer crossovers can generate a subwoofer feed from a 2.0 or 2.0 Surround (or any) mix, but it is not called "2.1."

Unlike video, where SD images are scaled to HD prior to broadcast, 2.0 and 2.0 Surround sound mixes cannot be "upconverted" to 5.1. Broadcasters can transmit a 2.0 or 2.0 Surround mix as the L/R channels of a 5.1 stream, but it is incorrect to do so. Matrix decoding (such as Dolby ProLogic IIx and DTS Neo:6) in A/V controllers cannot be activated by the user unless the incoming stream is designated 2.0 or 2.0 Surround. Without matrix decoding, the playback systems would all be forced to faux stereo. Someone with a stereo system wouldn't notice, but anyone with a multi-channel media or home theater system could tell a huge difference.

Glad to see WPTY may have fixed it though.It certainly appeared to be fixed last night. Let's hope it stays that way. Do we know for sure that ABC is doing 5.1 for the Super Bowl? I haven't looked...time.

Chase

Yeah, I don't know why I said 2.1.... I know better. :P
Ah, I know why. I was replying to him, it was late, and I wasn't thinking.
Posting after staying up 16 hours = Bad Idea.

I've never heard

I'm sure ABC's doing 5.1. Why wouldn't they?! They did 5.1 on Monday Night Football, didn't they?

You should probably email Scott P. and ask about it.

I hope they do the superbowl in 5.1, the movie was awesome last night when they finally turned it on but right now the nba game is not 5.1, I hope they turn it on real soon.

We've got 5.1! And it sounds correct!!!

We've got 5.1! And it sounds correct!!!

Whoo-hoo! I'm about to go turn it on...

BTW, I was commenting on the original "2.1" post, as were you. ;)

Chase

Holy crap, this sounds TERRIBLE. The satellites are lagging behind the L/R/C and its causing the music to be off-beat.

Maybe not, I'm not sure. But something definately sounded bad a minute ago during Joss Stone's performance. It's not as bad now.

This is so impressive. Most every commercial's in HD.
Why can't they do this all the time?

Wow! 250 posts. That's nuts.

I thought that the game looked pretty good. I didn't see any blocking at all, which I used to see when the logos came flying in. 5.1 seemed to be mixed well. When we were upstairs playing pool, the sounds in the rears kinda sounded like rain. Overall, WPTY did a great job I think. Funny but I think the commercials looked better than the game at times.

Holy crap, this sounds TERRIBLE. The satellites are lagging behind the L/R/C and its causing the music to be off-beat.

Maybe not, I'm not sure. But something definately sounded bad a minute ago during Joss Stone's performance. It's not as bad now.

Yeah, audio production had some issues tonight. They missed a couple of key mic cues, and the mix was inconsistant. The music performances in particular were totally squashed with compression. I notice that frequently during live events like the Super Bowl.

On the bright side, everything appeared to go smoothly at the local level, and I was pleased to see so many HD commercials.

Chase

Funny but I think the commercials looked better than the game at times.I agree.

Chase

I was overall pleased with the broadcast, and my friends who'd never seen a game in HD were extremely impressed, so I'd say they did a very good job. I didn't really pay attention to the sound as there was lot of talking going on around me, but the picture quality was crystal clear, and there was only one interruption in my signal, and that was when a plane flew overhead after the game.

When the commercials were in SD, did anyone have problems with the sound? The volume was extremely low and sometimes sounded like it was in a barrel. The game and HD commercials seemed fine.

My guests noticed the same thing.

I thought it sounded good. Still quite a few notches below the other channels. Just good to finally have 5.1 on 24-1

The Olympics start Friday, are the subchannels going to be turned off? I tivo'd the NHL game and watched some of it this morning, and if what we get for the Olympics is anything like what we are for hockey, it will be very bad picture quality.

I was impressed with the 5.1 mix for the game. My guests liked the fact that they could here people clapping and talking and whistling from behind their listening position. Cool effect.

All I have to say is....

LOST in 5.1

:D

All I have to say is....

LOST in 5.1
WPTY needs to re-air the pilot episode with the plane crash

Go buy Season 1 on DVD and listen to that crash in 5.1... :) Yeah, it's that awesome.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I found a silver sensor and overpaid at dilday but I got it immediately. The Silver Sensor will do. I still can't get all channels all the time with it pointed in one direction. So my tivo is kinda useless with the local digitals, but I'll deal. Everyone thanks again

WPTY needs to re-air the pilot episode with the plane crash
My gosh! They do so many repeats you can't keep up with the story line now. There are at least 2 reruns for each new episode. :mad:

I thought that the game looked pretty good. I didn't see any blocking at all, which I used to see when the logos came flying in. 5.1 seemed to be mixed well. When we were upstairs playing pool, the sounds in the rears kinda sounded like rain. Overall, WPTY did a great job I think. Funny but I think the commercials looked better than the game at times.
I also thought it sounded like rain!
...and the HD commercials were cool.

I also thought it sounded like rain!
...and the HD commercials were cool.
I kept looking out my window when I was near them.

Any updates on when is COMCAST going to take over from TW? Any idea if COMCAST will encrypt the our local HD/digital channels that we currently get with basic analog cable?

Any updates on when is COMCAST going to take over from TW?
Ravma posted 1 or 2 pages back that it might be in April. I was looking thru the press release and it said they would change over in 9 to 12 months of the release, and that came out in April last year. So it looks like they are cutting it close.

Yeah, currently, it's scheduled for April, but NO ONE knows what's going on, and even if they did, they can't talk because they've had to sign NDAs.

Wow, Lost is in 5.1 tonight. That's so awesome. Glad this is a permanent setup.

Cause so much of the show's impact is (wait for it.... ;)) Lost, without 5.1.


Although, UPN's getting preempted yet AGAIN..

Wow, Lost is in 5.1 tonight. That's so awesome. Glad this is a permanent setup.

Cause so much of the show's impact is (wait for it.... ;)) Lost, without 5.1.

Although, UPN's getting preempted yet AGAIN..
Please be sure to let us know when your next appearance is. :D
I'll be watching it soon. Was the show that much better with 5.1?

I think they are preempting with college b-ball. I haven't checked it tonight, which means no HD.

I know that HD doesn't like strobe lights, but dear lord did WREG look BAD. I'm sure the multicasting didn't do it any favors. My wife, who doesn't have the best eyesight, was in the kitchen, nearly 25 feet away, and asked why Madonna looked so blocky for like 10 seconds.

Thanks, I'll be here all week (at 19mbs mind you!)

Yeah, it's college b-ball tonight. I'm gonna be so happy when the CW thing happens. Hopefully less Veronica Mars preempting (and hopefully by then, tape delayed HD.)

I flipped on WREG for a minute or two, and it was HORRIFIC. Absolutely terrible.

And yeah, the show was SO much better with 5.1. It makes it more like a movie than a series.

Invasion in 5.1 was also very nice. Those offscreen bumps and crashes make me look at my bookcases. :D

LOL, Yeah. Probably should have mentioned Invasion too. ;) It doesn't get enough credit.

Well, 1 hour until the Olympics and both subchannels are still on.

The subchannels will stay on during the Olympics but we put the HD channel up to 16MBits and took both subchannels down even further. We will monitor it closely to see if there is anything else we can do but we have squeezed both of the SD channels down to almost nothing. We are seeing 5.1 audio here in our Master Control it sounds pretty good here.

Also we put in an HD Frame sync that allowed us to put in 5 frames of video delay! The lip sync looks perfect here in my office. Please give me some feedback.

I will monitor the AVS site over the weekend.

Enjoy the Olympics!

David E
WMC

Well, I'm watching Arrested Development anyway. ;)
And you should be too!!

Thanks for doing what you can, Dave. I can't check the 5.1 though. Can anyone verify the status?

It's 5.1 here!. Lib sync looks good too. Picture is very nice.

Yeah it's 5.1. Lots of blocking during the scenes with the people dancing around in red. Also getting bad blocking with all those people running out on the stage and jumping around, changing colors from red to yellow to white.

Did anyone else have to knock the snow off your dish today?

Is it correct 5.1?!

Knocking snow off the dish is fun. I should build a snow c-band dish. ;)

5.1 sounds good here! Lip Sync also looks fine.

Thanks for doing what you can about the sub-channels. Hopefully the squeeze will be permanent. You should always devote as much as possible to the main HD feed.

I too had to knock snow off of the dish. Luckily, I didn't have to get off the ladder to knock it down. My neighbor had to crawl all over his snow-covered roof!

I have to go knock snow off my dish again with the residual snow we got. arg!

As far as the sound, I've been reading the master thread and there is something going on with the sound nationally. When I heard it from teh speakers olny on my LCD, no surround sound, Costas sounded like he was in a well.

I continue to see a lot of blocking when the countries are coming out and the people are walking around. Even worse when they are waiving their little flags. If this continues then my Olympic viewing will change drastically for the worse.

Ugh, WREG spliced back to SD about a minute or so before the end of Numb3rs tonight...
I thought they fixed it!

I'm in Memphis, just south of Audubon Park.


Ah, its that time of the year again. With the Super Bowl, come the newbies. ;)
Welcome to everyone! Glad to have more people on the forum!

Afroteddy: I wish.. Where are you located?

We need to ask WPTY what they did, and get EngDave to do the same.

With regards to whether or not they are upconverting 2.1 to 5.1, the shows we've been using to check (Lost, Law and Order(s), CSI(s)) are ALL in 5.1. That's confirmed. (And yeah, Without a Trace is NOT 5.1) So, there SHOULD be a proper 5.1 stream coming from CBS, NBC and ABC. Only thing I could guess is that its a local issue.

Glad to see WPTY may have fixed it though.

I didn't see any blocking, but I thought the 5.1 was non-existent. Sounded very weak to me. I went to my rear speakers and just had minimal sound there. I was really expecting a BIG Olympic theme. :(

I was able to see a lot of the blocking last night, and the sound was odd.

Oh dang, It's pretty bad today...

OTA Olympics look and sound good to me this afternoon. True 5.1 at last on WMC. Signal strength is constant- this is always my issue with WMC. Does reducing the bandwidth to the sub SD channels affect the signal strength? Or just The PQ? Anyway something has caused it to be rock solid this afternoon.

Something did go haywire on WREG sound earlier in the week- Lost the front and center sound on CSI- got none of the dialog. Guess this was well documented

Yep, WREG's sound was dropping out on my friend's TV too, and they didn't even have a 5.1 setup.

Hey Dave, here's a question that's been asked before, but..
Why can't WMC pass the full bandwidth through to Time Warner?

OTA Olympics look and sound good to me this afternoon. True 5.1 at last on WMC. Signal strength is constant- this is always my issue with WMC. Does reducing the bandwidth to the sub SD channels affect the signal strength? Or just The PQ? Anyway something has caused it to be rock solid this afternoon.
Just the PQ

Was anyone having problems with ABC or Fox today? I don't have a signal on Fox and ABC is in and out. The Olympics were great.

Was anyone having problems with ABC or Fox today? I don't have a signal on Fox and ABC is in and out. The Olympics were great.
Just Checked:
FOX (13.1 OTA is terrible, no audio and constant video break-up and blocking). ABC (24.1 OTA is OK current is only SDV

Yeah I am getting breakups with WHBQ also. I watched the signal strength for about 30 seconds and it hit 50 only once, but it was usually between 0 - 20. I'm just gonna guess, crowbar issue? It's been that the last couple of times. Didn't see anything with WPTY.

I watched a couple of minutes of the Olympics tonight, just after 7. During the women's moguls there was a lot of blocking when they were jumping off the ramps. Also saw a lot during the men's luge. Most notably at the beginning of the run when the camera was at the beginning when they were going back and forth before they actually took off.

Is anyone having stuttering on WMC-DT? My friend is having problems via TWC. It keeps going black. Is this happening to anyone else either OTA or Cable?

Is anyone having stuttering on WMC-DT? My friend is having problems via TWC. It keeps going black. Is this happening to anyone else either OTA or Cable?
I was seeing that between 7-10p Saturday on WMC-DT via TWC. Both through the SA 8300HD as well as cable direct to the TV. (Don't have an OTA antenna).

Thought it might be low signal strength, but WREG-DT (Bond) is coming in clear as a bell.

Wonder if it's in the downlink?

Is anyone having stuttering on WMC-DT? My friend is having problems via TWC. It keeps going black. Is this happening to anyone else either OTA or Cable?
It's been happening OTA also. Checking my signal and it's steady at 93%. Probably a national problem.

edit: it is. From the main thread:
To repeat: This came through the NBC messaging system.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TV21CHIEF
I was just informed by my master control operator that weather problems in NY are causing the dropouts across the country.


Man, I hope the Grizz can keep the lead they have right now. For those with D*, the game is in HD on channel 95 right now.

edit edit: Edited my post same time as jawill posted

The breakups during the Olympics was because of weather problems in NY (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7114283&&#post7114283).

Jerry

I had problems both OTA and through TW with the Olympics tonight.

Still having probloems with WHBQ.

NASCAR on WMC, the first 10 minutes were SD, then HD for the next 15, then back to SD for 10. Now it's back in HD, but in 2.0. :confused: PQ looks better than at the tail end of the season last year, but still seeing blocking in the turns. Of course that is with just one car on the track at a time. Add 40 other cars..... Not too much depth in the picture. Doesn't look as good as before they were multicasting.

WMC went back to SD for a few minutes, and back to HD with 2.0. I guess I'll watch until the FedEx car qualifies and change the channel. I'm not missing the commentary tho.

Just Checked:
FOX (13.1 OTA is terrible, no audio and constant video break-up and blocking). ABC (24.1 OTA is OK current is only SDV

Yeah, I'm not getting any solid signal from Fox 13-1 OTA today at all.

Yet another reason I can't wait for the D* local HD's. Just so I can have consistency. Of course, I still use the D* Fox East national feed for all my Tivoing since I know it is reliable.

EngDave,
I appreciate you going to bat for us, but even at 16 mbs, the PQ isn't really that much better. Once the Olympics were back on, I tuned in for a couple of minutes to see if the audio issues were resolved. They were, but I made the mistake of watching during the men's luge and men's cross country. During the men's cross country when it showed a group of the guys skiing and such, it looked about as good as the Tube does (which I tuned in for the first time in months to see how much worse that channel looked). And I saw the same blocking as I mentioned above during the luge.

Like I said NASCAR looked a little better, but of course there was only one car at a time.

Yeah I am getting breakups with WHBQ also. I watched the signal strength for about 30 seconds and it hit 50 only once, but it was usually between 0 - 20. I'm just gonna guess, crowbar issue?
Word has it that the WHBQ-DT transmitter was gushing water from one of the tube assemblies on Saturday, and they are down to half power until the issue is resolved. Not clear at this point if it is a transmitter issue or a failure in the tube itself. Reception is pretty crappy everywhere.

From TheDigitalBits.com

'We've got some interesting stuff for you DVD-wise today, but first... a brief rant.

I've gotta tell you, I love watching the Winter Olympics. Maybe it's because I come from a cold weather climate myself, and maybe it's because the winter sports are just so extreme. Luge? That's a sport invented by the insane, for the insane. I'm addicted and it's all the better in high-def. I must say, however, that what NBC calls high-def leaves something to be desired. It's 1080i, sure. But talk about digital compression! If you want to know what extreme examples of compression artifacting look like, watch NBC's Winter Olympics coverage. You'll see it just about any time something large moves too fast, or when you get a ton of little somethings moving all at once. When everything's still, the image looks great. But when it gets busy... it's a blocky, UG-LY mess. NBC take note. Broadcasters are just WAY over-compressing their HD signals these days, and it's a real shame.'

From TheDigitalBits.com

'We've got some interesting stuff for you DVD-wise today, but first... a brief rant.

I've gotta tell you, I love watching the Winter Olympics. Maybe it's because I come from a cold weather climate myself, and maybe it's because the winter sports are just so extreme. Luge? That's a sport invented by the insane, for the insane. I'm addicted and it's all the better in high-def. I must say, however, that what NBC calls high-def leaves something to be desired. It's 1080i, sure. But talk about digital compression! If you want to know what extreme examples of compression artifacting look like, watch NBC's Winter Olympics coverage. You'll see it just about any time something large moves too fast, or when you get a ton of little somethings moving all at once. When everything's still, the image looks great. But when it gets busy... it's a blocky, UG-LY mess. NBC take note. Broadcasters are just WAY over-compressing their HD signals these days, and it's a real shame.'

So true. :(

I wonder if when HD-DVD or BlueRay comes out, people will see the difference and start complaining a bit more that they want their TV shows to look that good.

From TheDigitalBits.com

'We've got some interesting stuff for you DVD-wise today, but first... a brief rant.

I've gotta tell you, I love watching the Winter Olympics. Maybe it's because I come from a cold weather climate myself, and maybe it's because the winter sports are just so extreme. Luge? That's a sport invented by the insane, for the insane. I'm addicted and it's all the better in high-def. I must say, however, that what NBC calls high-def leaves something to be desired. It's 1080i, sure. But talk about digital compression! If you want to know what extreme examples of compression artifacting look like, watch NBC's Winter Olympics coverage. You'll see it just about any time something large moves too fast, or when you get a ton of little somethings moving all at once. When everything's still, the image looks great. But when it gets busy... it's a blocky, UG-LY mess. NBC take note. Broadcasters are just WAY over-compressing their HD signals these days, and it's a real shame.'
Is that your rant? Kinda looks like something you would write.

From TheDigitalBits.com

'We've got some interesting stuff for you DVD-wise today, but first... a brief rant.

I've gotta tell you, I love watching the Winter Olympics. Maybe it's because I come from a cold weather climate myself, and maybe it's because the winter sports are just so extreme. Luge? That's a sport invented by the insane, for the insane. I'm addicted and it's all the better in high-def. I must say, however, that what NBC calls high-def leaves something to be desired. It's 1080i, sure. But talk about digital compression! If you want to know what extreme examples of compression artifacting look like, watch NBC's Winter Olympics coverage. You'll see it just about any time something large moves too fast, or when you get a ton of little somethings moving all at once. When everything's still, the image looks great. But when it gets busy... it's a blocky, UG-LY mess. NBC take note. Broadcasters are just WAY over-compressing their HD signals these days, and it's a real shame.'
compound that with multicasting and what do you get? An even worse picture. I too have watched bits and pieces of the games, and have been put off by the amount of artifacts on the screen.

The short time I watched yesterday, I thought the Luge runs I saw looked fair, I didn't see too much blockiness. But, I saw a couple of snow board runs, and wow!, I couldn't believe how bad it looked. Makes me think, different camera, different location, different equipment, etc., is what is making some broadcasts look worse than others. Apparently, the bad PQ is not entirely the fault of our local affiliates.

Man! I only got 18 minutes of 24 tonight. I haven't watched any this season, I'v got it all stored up to watch after I finish season 2 on A&E. I wish I had read Dave's post about their problem before tonight. I'll call them in the morning to see if they are going to replay it anytime for those of us that lost it. Did anyone get it that can copy it to a dvd? I'd pay for it. (hope, hope, hope)

I watched a few minutes of the Olympics tonight and thought the picture looked great. I didn't see any compression artifacts. Maybe the problem was in the feed.

The lady in programming tells me that unless the network tells them too, they cannot repeat an episode of 24. Sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Anyone have an email address for the GM at WHBQ?

EDITED: Never mind. I found it in an earlier post. :p

I have really enjoyed this thread. It has provided a lot of helpful information. I do have a couple of questions that I am hoping someone can help with.

I am currently using an indoor antenna, but on a couple of stations my signal is in the mid to high 80's and on those stations the SNR is in the high 20's.

Do I need the SNR in the low to mid 30's? Are there any ways I can improve either the signal or the SNR?

What is an SNR?

If you are getting signals in the 80's, then you should be ok (not knowing how SNR effects it). Once it gets down in the lower 50's then you might start seeing issues. I think breakups start appearing in the mid 40's?

Last night the Grizz game was on NBATV HD, but since FSS decide to air the game also, we got blacked out of the HD game, and channel 601. Sucked last night. But they won again.

Hey any update on Fox? I guess you know it is pretty much unwatchable OTA. Missing all of the great Spring shows in HDTV. Tell them to Fed Ex any parts, thanks

Hey any update on Fox? I guess you know it is pretty much unwatchable OTA. Missing all of the great Spring shows in HDTV. Tell them to Fed Ex any parts, thanks

Got an email from Dave indicating that they should be back on the air by the weekend. The tube they lost was a biggun. 3 feet tall and really heavy.

I am currently using an indoor antenna, but on a couple of stations my signal is in the mid to high 80's and on those stations the SNR is in the high 20's.

Do I need the SNR in the low to mid 30's? Are there any ways I can improve either the signal or the SNR?SNR? Meaning signal-to-noise-ratio?
From what I've read this may be more important than signal strength. By what means are you getting your current readings? I think most receivers show a readout that is a combination of signal strength, SNR, and other signal quality parameters, resulting in a pretty meaningless number.

Anyway, if you get solid reception, there is nothing that will improve on that. You're already there. Just ignore the numbers. A reading of 100 won't look any better than a reading of 80, if 80 produces a good picture. On my MyHD card, most any steady signal over 35 (scale is 0 - 100) is fine. A higher reading doesn't look any better.

mx6bfast
SNR is the Signal to Noise Ratio

Neil

I am getting these readings from my Diagnostics screen on my Sony. From my understanding the best overall pictures had SNR of low to mid 30's.

The picture looks really good with the exception of Fox. I am still having some problems with ABC but nothing earth shattering.

The PQ for NBC has been good on my end. I have really enjoyed the Olympics,

NCIS is in SD... What's up with our affilia... oh wait, we live in Memphis.
All that snow got me confused..

Hey any update on Fox? I guess you know it is pretty much unwatchable OTA. Missing all of the great Spring shows in HDTV. Tell them to Fed Ex any parts, thanks

I'm a pretty patient guy and I figured this issue would clear itself up.

I don't get it though. If it were football season or if the World Series were on FOX or if FOX had the Olympics you can bet it would have been fixed pronto.

This is bordering on rediculous. I think its time to start writing to the companies who advertise on FOX and on WHBQ. I certainly am not going to watch 24 on SD when I can watch the Olympics on WMC in HD.

I thought the wife was gonna kill someone last night because she couldn't watch American Idol in HD... LMAO!

Come on 13! Get your act together!

I've already gone thru and reset all of my Tivo's back to the D* FOX feed.

NCIS is in SD... What's up with our affilia... oh wait, we live in Memphis.
All that snow got me confused..
Mulitcasting ruining PQ, not switching to HD, not sending entire feed, I guess it could be worse. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7135799&&#post7135799

Well I see Fox 13 must have dones SOMETHING. I watched most of American Idol tonight.. it was breaking up, but only every minute or so. I normally get no breakups at all so I guess the signal strength isn't maxed yet.

Glad to be able to see SOMETHING though. :)

They must not have gotten enough duct tape. :D

Hey, whats up with the story that Comcast is taking over TW? I wonder what kind of goodies they might offer to steal me away from DTV? lol

We don't know, unfortunately. People are concerned that HDNet will actually get dropped since Comcast doesn't have a deal with them yet.

From what I heard from one of my friends who works at TW, this will mostly be a name change in the beginning.

I live in the 38135 zip code and according to antennaweb, I'm no farther than 6 or 7 miles from any of the local digital broadcast towers.

I had an old Rat Shack boom antenna (80") in my attic and was having problems picking up WMC and CBS, PBS, etc. without having to reposition the antenna - I know that those towers are in opposite directions.

I bought one of the Silver Sensor antennas yesterday hoping that it would help but it didn't. Now, I'm considering one of the DB4 antennas since they claim to help in picking up signals from different directions.

Do you guys think I should be having these problems considering I'm so close to the towers? Does anybody else in Bartlett have these problems or a suggestion for good reception?

If I get a low signal, blocking, freezing, etc, is there any way to know whether it's my antenna or the broadcast strength/quality or the weather or something else? When things go wrong I'd like to know whether it's something I can adjust or something someone else is controlling.

One last question - DTV hooked up my antenna to my receiver. Would I be better off - signal strength wise - to hook my antenna directly into my TV?

Thanks for the help!

WHBQ-DT is still operating at half power, but the screwed up data stream should be fixed. The signal that the exciters use to automatically correct for transmission errors was too low to trigger the correction circuits. That level was increased, and the distortions to the signal were corrected. The loss in power may still result in receivers being affected by the adjacent channel 52 signal, even though it technically should be enough to cover Shelby and surrounding counties.

That's an example of how a high signal level doesn't mean a good picture. When monitoring the signal right out of the transmitter (about as high a signal as you can get), the decoders wouldn't stay locked because of the bad SNR. We want to see an SNR into the 30's, but it was running in the low 20's (when it would lock up enough to read it).

The replacement tube is on its way (it costs $50,000 and has to be lifted with a chain hoist). Good thing that it's still under warranty!

Sorry about the crappy signal. We're still learning how to troubleshoot this new transmitter. The more we learn, be better we'll be able to fix these things quickly in the future.

Thanks for the info, Dave! Here's hoping it's stable enough come Monday for 24!

tech turd - Sometimes, distance doesn't matter. Heck, you used to need to be in the parking lot of Fox 13 to get it. ;) Is there heavy tree cover in your area?

Make sure all the cable is good, Any kind of tears in the cable could be causing problems.

mx lives in Bartlett. He could probably help more than I could. I'd try hooking the antenna up through the TV anyway, just to try it out.

We don't know, unfortunately. People are concerned that HDNet will actually get dropped since Comcast doesn't have a deal with them yet.

From what I heard from one of my friends who works at TW, this will mostly be a name change in the beginning.
Does TW do anything to the HD signals, or pass them thru as they get them?

tech turd, I live in the same zip off G-town and am using a Samsung Axession antenna, http://cgi.*********/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5814689390&category=73383. I tried using a RS 90 miles antenna up in the attic, and was able to get everthing but WMC very strong before WHBQ-DT went live. I haven't hooked it up since the middle of the year. I would suggest getting something that is omni or bi-directional, and play with it. After WHBQ-DT went live, I had to monkey around with it but finally was able to get all the channels fairly strong. It sucks living where we do.

the link above didn't come thru correctly, try using this link, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Samsung+Axession+Antenna or go to ebay and enter in item # 5814689390

The replacement tube is on its way (it costs $50,000 and has to be lifted with a chain hoist). Good thing that it's still under warranty!

Sorry about the crappy signal. We're still learning how to troubleshoot this new transmitter. The more we learn, be better we'll be able to fix these things quickly in the future.

That is one expensive tube !!! Thanks for the update on what's going on.

On another note, Lost sounded awesome last night. The PQ was excellent and the sound was incredible. Did anyone else see it. I especially like the scenes in the beginning in Iraq when the choppers and trucks are rolling past, they literally sounded like they were right outside my house with the 5.1 on.

The replacement tube is on its way (it costs $50,000 and has to be lifted with a chain hoist). Good thing that it's still under warranty!

Hey Dave,

Is that a D2130 or D2100?

Thanks for the updated Dave! You Rock.

Tech Turd,

I live 14.5 miles from some of the towers... just a mile north of Riverdale Nonchonna exit. I get the signals flawlessly with a Silver Sensor sitting right next to my TV on the ground floor.

Hey Dave,

Is that a D2130 or D2100?
It's an E2V ESCIOT5130W. It's pricey, but pretty efficient. I'm waiting on the first full month's power bill to find out just how efficient it is. I understand that it tunes just like a VHF tetrode, so maybe tuning the new one won't be so bad. We'll see!

It's an E2V ESCIOT5130W. It's pricey, but pretty efficient. I'm waiting on the first full month's power bill to find out just how efficient it is. I understand that it tunes just like a VHF tetrode, so maybe tuning the new one won't be so bad. We'll see!

Is that a depressed collector? We run D2130, straight IOT.

I was watching men's figure skating last night and was still able to see the blocking. Even when the camera was close and the person it focused on moved, there would be blocks everywhere.

I watched my signal strength last night on WHBQ and I was getting 100 with no breakups.

Has anyone else noticed:
that WREG got rid of the crawl at the bottom of their screen during the news? Not if they gave a schnikes about their PQ then they would be back in business. Their PQ has really been even more in the crapper for the past couple of months.

WMC has a WMC-HD bug that they pop up on the screen for about 10 seconds during the Olympics. I last saw it earlier this week, when was the last time I watched them. I'm getting Olympic fix from ESPN and the web since the PQ on WMC has a lot of artifacts during any movement.

The PQ on WLMT has seemed to decreased even more recently? I saw tons of bloacking during Everyone Hates Chris last night when the mother was moving around on the couch. Made me remember why I don't watch that channel any more.

On another note, Lost sounded awesome last night. The PQ was excellent and the sound was incredible. Did anyone else see it. I especially like the scenes in the beginning in Iraq when the choppers and trucks are rolling past, they literally sounded like they were right outside my house with the 5.1 on.
It did sound amazing. When they were talking to Sayid and there were bombs going off in the background, made me happy.

Hi Guys,

This is off topic, but please indulge me. Has anyone come across a local movie theater/cinema thread on AVSF? I looked but didn't find anything.

Since readers of this thread are pretty much all local, would you be interested in a thread dedicated to technical experiences/technology at Memphis Metro Area cinemas?

Let me know.

Chase

Is that a depressed collector? We run D2130, straight IOT.
It is. Normally I wouldn't want to spend the extra money for a MSDC tube in a transmitter that we will only have for three years. But when we finish with it, it will go to another station in our group that is staying on UHF. It will save them a lot in electricity in the long run, even though it won't be here long enough to save us enough to make it worth it.

For you non-TV tech guys, the MSDC is a Multi-Stage Depressed-Collector tube. It is more efficient than a Klystron or an IOT (Inductive Output Tube), taking in less power for the same output power. Each of our two tubes can put out 30 KW, but we run them at just over 20 KW each per our FCC requirements. Where our analog transmitter costs around $2,000 per month in electricity, the UHF transmitter could cost us up to $10,000 a month. We're hoping that the MSDC tube will result in a lower cost. We'll see.

It is. Normally I wouldn't want to spend the extra money for a MSDC tube in a transmitter that we will only have for three years.

That is what I thought. Ours will be doing the same thing. Jim will apprecate you keeping his power bill down after the shutoff. ;)

DTV Dave and foxeng,

Isn't it true that it will take less power for the same coverage with digital vs. analog on the same frequency? Just something I've been wondering.

Also DTV Dave, I'm looking forward to you guys moving the digital signal down to VHF. That will not only save the station money on electricity, but I should be able to receive the signal better. Those VHF waves bend much better than high UHF! Any chance you will make the change before the FCC forces it? I understand you can make that change whenever you see fit. Isn't that right?

I've set my friend up with a 5.1 system, but their TWC cable box is a really, really old HD box. It doesn't have DVI or SP/DIF outputs. Does anyone know how I'd go about switching it out for another box?

I put it on WMC a little early for the NASCAR race, and I was surprised at how bad the PQ was for the hockey game. I haven't watched more than a couple of minutes of the Olympics in a few days because of the PQ we are getting.

I'm almost scared to see what we will get for the NASCAR race. :( Good thing it iced and I had to cancel having people over for it.

About the only good thing is we aren't getting the closing info on the DT channel during the Olympics.

Hi Guys,

This is off topic, but please indulge me. Has anyone come across a local movie theater/cinema thread on AVSF? I looked but didn't find anything.

Since readers of this thread are pretty much all local, would you be interested in a thread dedicated to technical experiences/technology at Memphis Metro Area cinemas?
I would be interested in seeing what type of equipment they have and such. With an infant I haven't had much time at all to get to the movies recently, even tho I can go see whatever I want to for free.

I've watched most of the Olympics. I think the PQ has been outstanding. I think it was outstanding for the race today too.

DTV Dave and foxeng,

Isn't it true that it will take less power for the same coverage with digital vs. analog on the same frequency?
Any chance you will make the change before the FCC forces it? I understand you can make that change whenever you see fit. Isn't that right?
It does take less power for the same coverage in digital vs. analog. Plus, VHF takes a lot less power than UHF due to atmospheric losses. We could change as soon as the number of digital viewers got high enough to offset the loss of the remaining analog viewers, but there are some adjacent channel interference issues that will probably force us to wait until everyone else changes in February 2009.

High-band VHF should be a good band for digital. We'll see! By the way, foxeng, which hypothetical station would you with if you were hypothetically with one?

By the way, foxeng, which hypothetical station would you with if you were hypothetically with one?


LOL!! :p

I'm personally looking forward to the mass panic and outcry on the Analog cutoff day. :)

We'll see! By the way, foxeng, which hypothetical station would you with if you were hypothetically with one?

Let's say I like my Landmark very well and yes, Ross and I agree, VHF high band is the place to be in the future!

I've watched most of the Olympics. I think the PQ has been outstanding.

I have seen motion blocking during some of the HD events, like figure skating and hockey. Pretty bad. Watching from an LCD.

WMC is now multicasting a new channel.




Weather Plus is available on WMCTV.com now. ;)

Let's say I like my Landmark very well and yes, Ross and I agree, VHF high band is the place to be in the future!

Just curious why most seem to think VHF is better, aside from the power requirements put on the station? (especially after I've got my antenna installed on the roof with a rotator and get great signal (finally!!!) from all the stations)). :confused:

But sersiously if it is better that is fine, but just wondering why it is better.

Thanks.

WMC is now multicasting a new channel.




Weather Plus is available on WMCTV.com now. ;)
I also see the multicasting when i turn my head slightly to the right to look outside the window, but it doesn't mess up the views from other windows. Just for the heck of it, I added 5-3 back into my channel lineup just to see what was on during the "February Freeze" and I saw conditions from all other cities. It took much longer than expected to get the local Memphis weather. Even then it doesn't really show anything, other than hi/low/condition for what 3 days? Not too handy if you ask me.

About the PQ for the race, although it was mostly overcast and kinda messed up the picture, during the Bon Jovi concert there was blocking all around him as he was moving around. Again I was sitting at my usual place and I could see the blocking then. And also when the NASCAR on NBC thing came flying in there were artifacts all over the screen. The PQ did look a little better than last years race, but I am looking forward to seeing it on FOX now.

Just curious why most seem to think VHF is better, aside from the power requirements put on the station?Maybe one of the engineers will give you the real answer, but... For my situation, if you look to the left, at my profile, you see I'm on the fringe for reception. UHF, especially high UHF, needs a lot of help from the troposphere for the signal to get to me. So I just don't get anything most of the time during the day. I usually have to wait until after sundown before the signal will reach my antenna.

The longer the wavelength, the better the signal bends around the curve of the earth, and along with other factors it can be received at greater distances. But then lower VHF (channels 2-6) have other issues that make them less desirable for DTV. Leaving us with upper VHF (channels 7-13) as the frequencies that allow good signal to noise, wider coverage area, lower power requirements, etc.

All this seems true in my case. Channel 13 (analog) has always been the clearest channel for me, from Memphis. Channel 10 is a close second. Channels 3 and 5 probably deliver the strongest signal to me, but they include so much noise that I don't get a clear picture much of the time.

Maybe one of the engineers will give you the real answer, but... For my situation, if you look to the left, at my profile, you see I'm on the fringe for reception. UHF, especially high UHF, needs a lot of help from the troposphere for the signal to get to me. So I just don't get anything most of the time during the day. I usually have to wait until after sundown before the signal will reach my antenna.

The longer the wavelength, the better the signal bends around the curve of the earth, and along with other factors it can be received at greater distances. But then lower VHF (channels 2-6) have other issues that make them less desirable for DTV. Leaving us with upper VHF (channels 7-13) as the frequencies that allow good signal to noise, wider coverage area, lower power requirements, etc.

All this seems true in my case. Channel 13 (analog) has always been the clearest channel for me, from Memphis. Channel 10 is a close second. Channels 3 and 5 probably deliver the strongest signal to me, but they include so much noise that I don't get a clear picture much of the time.

Interestingly enough, this is a complete reversal from the situation when TV first came on the scene, back in the 50s. UHF made a stab in a few markets, 17 in Little Rock was the ABC station then merged with 7 because of signal problems. And I remember that when I lived in Nashville channel 8 made a "for money" swap with the PBS station for channel 2 to increase their coverage.

mx6, take a look at this thread about the PQ of TNTHD on DirecTV:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=647333

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think the macroblocking is horrible on that channel, at least during basketball- even worse than our locals.

And I remember that when I lived in Nashville channel 8 made a "for money" swap with the PBS station for channel 2 to increase their coverage.
I worked for Channel 2 in Nashville in the 1980's. Back in the late '60s, the engineers at GE (who owned the station at that time) decided that since TV tuners were more sensitive on lower VHF channels than high VHF (due to the difficulty in amplifying higher frequencies), that it would be much better to be a Channel 2 than a Channel 8. They swapped channels with the educational channel in exchange for buying them equipment and agreeing to be responsible for their transmitter for 100 years (including buying new ones).

About that time, technology improved to the point that high-band and low-band VHF tuner performance was identical, and man-made electrical noise (which is worse at lower frequencies) increased. They ended up worse off as far as reception, but still had to keep the deal with the educational station.

There are lots of advantages for high-band VHF over UHF. The frequencies for UHF are much higher than the channel numbers would indicate (Channel 13 is at 211 MHz., where Channel 14 is at 471 MHz.), so attenuation by the atmosphere and by trees, walls etc. is greater. Reflections also seem to be worse at UHF, probably because of the shorter wavelengths. VHF also tends to bend around hills, where UHF is shadowed.

A VHF antenna is only slightly longer than a UHF since you don't need as much gain to make up for the losses. A simple Yagi antenna could be mounted with your existing UHF antenna and combined with it. There may even be enough signal on Channel 13 from your UHF antenna to use it (even though it isn't tuned for that frequency, the loss is less). You could try using your UHF antenna on Channel 13 analog to get an idea how well it will work.

mx6, take a look at this thread about the PQ of TNTHD on DirecTV:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=647333

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think the macroblocking is horrible on that channel, at least during basketball- even worse than our locals.
I posted on it and I do agree, it does look worse than WREG & WLMT, just barely. I can't compare b-ball on WMC since they don't have it, but I think I know what it would look like.

This is sort of off-topic, but it is Memphis...

I'm sure this info is out there somewhere but I'm not sure how to search for it.

In a nutshell, where does the OTA guide data come from for Memphis locals (for an HD-TIVO)?

The real question is this... if my dad brought his HDTIVO up while on vacation, would he get the OTA guide data for the local-locals? Or would he just get the ones from his home city? Or could he just change the zip code in setup and get them?

Since we are talking about reception and UHF vs VHF and have a couple of engineers here as well................just for kicks, why do I get rock solid ATSC reception across the board from Memphis, but aside from 24 and 30 sometimes, NTSC OTA is a wash.

My reason for asking isn't to improve NTSC, but to feel out wheter or not I may loose some ATSC stations when they migrate from UHF back down to VHF.

I am in Northeast Arkansas.........about 60 miles from the towers, using a Radio Shack VU-190 about 30 feet up.

BTW.......there are a couple of lower power Memphis FM stations I would like to get. I am using a dedicated FM antenna about 20 feet up the same mast as my TV antenna. Talking strictly about line of sight, how high would I need to be to get relialbe reception there?? I have thought about going higher with the FM antenna, but if I can't get physically high enough, there is no need.

Thanks again.............

Is Fox in Memphis broadcasting digital at full power yet? I received the digital signals for a while but now they are very sporadic.

The real question is this... if my dad brought his HDTIVO up while on vacation, would he get the OTA guide data for the local-locals? Or would he just get the ones from his home city? Or could he just change the zip code in setup and get them?
If he changes the zip code to a Memphis zip code he would get the EPG for Memphis. The other locals should disappear.

When/if he comes up, have him compare his locals to our locals. Maybe have him show you a couple of tivo'd shows.

If he changes the zip code to a Memphis zip code he would get the EPG for Memphis. The other locals should disappear.

When/if he comes up, have him compare his locals to our locals. Maybe have him show you a couple of tivo'd shows.


He'll be up next month. We'll give it a shot. Thanks.

Since we are talking about reception and UHF vs VHF and have a couple of engineers here as well................just for kicks, why do I get rock solid ATSC reception across the board from Memphis, but aside from 24 and 30 sometimes, NTSC OTA is a wash.

My reason for asking isn't to improve NTSC, but to feel out wheter or not I may loose some ATSC stations when they migrate from UHF back down to VHF.

I am in Northeast Arkansas.........about 60 miles from the towers, using a Radio Shack VU-190 about 30 feet up.

BTW.......there are a couple of lower power Memphis FM stations I would like to get. I am using a dedicated FM antenna about 20 feet up the same mast as my TV antenna. Talking strictly about line of sight, how high would I need to be to get relialbe reception there?? I have thought about going higher with the FM antenna, but if I can't get physically high enough, there is no need.

At 60 miles away, you're past the radio horizon for most FM stations, and low-power makes it even worse. You'd probably have to go at least 100' up to get reliable reception, and even then you may pick up co-channel and adjacent channel interference from high-power stations.

DTV seems to carry further than originally planned, so if you can see UHF DTV stations reliably, you should have no problem with those who go back to VHF, even though their NTSC signals are iffy. By the way, I hear that WHBQ-DT has the replacement tube in the transmitter running on "black heat". Next week they should be able to start tuning it and place it back on the air at full power. Until then, they are still operating at half power.

Hi Dave,
I've noticed that WHBQ is now cutting to the SD feed around 8:59. Is this going to be normal?

I am in Northeast Arkansas.........about 60 miles from the towers, using a Radio Shack VU-190 about 30 feet up.Are you sure you are 60 miles out? Have you done GPS distance calculations? It is about 64 miles from the center of Jonesboro to the antenna farm, and aren't you 14 or 15 miles closer than Jonesboro? Not trying to be smart, just curious.

Your Location (http://www.geocode.com/modules.php?name=TestDrive_Eagle)

Distance (http://www.indo.com/distance/)

I thought I had the Lat & Long for the antenna farms but can't seem to locate it presently. Anyone else have them?

N 35 10 29.00 W 89 50 42.00 - for WHBQ anyway. Location for any station can be found on the FCC website (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html).

Which puts me 74 miles from WHBQ! Hmmm...may have to change my Location in my profile.

It seems that the digital high def schedule for WKNO is different from the standard schedule. This makes it difficult to figure out what is on because the schedule in the newspaper gives the standard broadcast information. Also, WKNO doesn't seem to broadcast program information. So, watching WKNO high def is a crap shoot. Does anybody know what's up with PBS in Memphis?

WKNO-HD schedule is on their website.

It seems that the digital high def schedule for WKNO is different from the standard schedule. This makes it difficult to figure out what is on because the schedule in the newspaper gives the standard broadcast information. Also, WKNO doesn't seem to broadcast program information. So, watching WKNO high def is a crap shoot. Does anybody know what's up with PBS in Memphis?
WKNO did used to have a lot of problems with their EPG. At one time they sent the EPG for 10-3 on channel 10-1, and on 10-3 just showed regular programming.

I'll check when I get home but I think I was getting the correct EPG for both 10-1 & 10-2. If you are getting the incorrect info maybe do a re-scan. Let us know if that works.

The TWC program guide says that the Grizzlies game is on in HD on 856 (GrizHD channel), but the channel is blank. Called TWC customer service and they haven't a clue.

The TWC program guide says that the Grizzlies game is on in HD on 856 (GrizHD channel), but the channel is blank. Called TWC customer service and they haven't a clue.
I was watching the game on D* last night and don't remember seeing anything about the game being in HD.

Did anyone notice that last night the FOX bug was on the entire time, not the WHBQ bug?

Also, when AI cut to SD early Wednesday night, the D* national feed didn't cut to SD until the news actually started.

Are you sure you are 60 miles out? Have you done GPS distance calculations? It is about 64 miles from the center of Jonesboro to the antenna farm, and aren't you 14 or 15 miles closer than Jonesboro? Not trying to be smart, just curious.


Looks like antennaweb averages me about 51 miles out. I think I got the 60 mile figure from antennaweb when I first got into HD, but I may have read it wrong or hit a wrong key on zip.

That's more like where I was thinking you would be. Which means you are in a fairly good location, not really in the earth's radio "shadow" that much.

Well, it seems that Fox13 reran the two episodes of 24 that were lost in their digital malfunction, even though they said that they couldn't. Whattayaknow!

Is that what that was?

I have both episodes TIVOed (SD on another TIVO) and wondered what that was Friday night... lol.

Today, the Olympics, NBA, and college BB have all been in SD. :mad:

Well, it seems that Fox13 reran the two episodes of 24 that were lost in their digital malfunction, even though they said that they couldn't. Whattayaknow!

That was a network feed. They went out nationwide.

If anyone gets the chance to run by the Wachovia bank on Hacks Cross across from the FedEx headquarters, I think I saw one of the new D* dishes installed on that building.

That was a network feed. They went out nationwide.
I wonder what their reasoning was. It was sure good timing for Memphis, even though a friend took care of me. :D

Is that the national network feed?

Is that the national network feed?
27.5. Is that showing up as an OTA station?

27.5. Is that showing up as an OTA station?

27.5 is showing up on my guide, but I am not receiving a signal... also I am not receiving a signal on 13.1. Is 13.1 dead?

Jerry

Here's something that should interest you guys:

Tivo CEO talk (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2006-02/tivos-ceo-video-interview/)

Particularly interesting is the "zap" software upgrade to Comcast DVRs to make them Tivos. Assuming Memphis TW switches over to Comcast soon, this may make me dump DirecTV. Tired of all the downrezzing and compression artifacts. The only thing that keeps me is the HD Tivo.

I'd really like to have Tivo cable over the SA boxes.

Here's something that should interest you guys:

Tivo CEO talk (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2006-02/tivos-ceo-video-interview/)

Particularly interesting is the "zap" software upgrade to Comcast DVRs to make them Tivos. Assuming Memphis TW switches over to Comcast soon, this may make me dump DirecTV. Tired of all the downrezzing and compression artifacts. The only thing that keeps me is the HD Tivo.

I would think about switching from DirecTV also if they got TIVO. Definitely going to keep my eye on this.

Is 13.1 dead?
WHBQ-DT was coming and going last night. It cut off finally around 7:30 last night and wasn't back up when I left to come to work this morning.

I would think about switching from DirecTV also if they got TIVO. Definitely going to keep my eye on this.
Me too. I just hope that the prices aren't outrageous for Comcast. If I do go to Comcast, the one thing that might pull my back to D* is the HMC, I think it's called, where you can house your recorded shows but any client box around the house can watch from teh main server. If Comcast or Tivo can come up with something like that it would be nice.

I haven't kept up with Comcast's future HD plans. Does anyone know about them or a thread I can look at?

Unfortunately, NFL Sunday Ticket = DTV :(

Me too. I just hope that the prices aren't outrageous for Comcast. If I do go to Comcast, the one thing that might pull my back to D* is the HMC, I think it's called, where you can house your recorded shows but any client box around the house can watch from teh main server. If Comcast or Tivo can come up with something like that it would be nice.

I haven't kept up with Comcast's future HD plans. Does anyone know about them or a thread I can look at?

No one has heard any HMC talk from D* for a while now......the last I heard was from CES last year. It would be a nice setup........perhaps too nice for D* to provide to the unwashed masses!! :)

Me too. I just hope that the prices aren't outrageous for Comcast. If I do go to Comcast, the one thing that might pull my back to D* is the HMC, I think it's called, where you can house your recorded shows but any client box around the house can watch from teh main server. If Comcast or Tivo can come up with something like that it would be nice.

I haven't kept up with Comcast's future HD plans. Does anyone know about them or a thread I can look at?

I bet once Comcast takes over the prices will probably go up again. If it goes up to much that would stop me from switching. Also, I would like to see better PQ on the SD channels then what TWC has now. I'm talking about the analog channels.

Doesn't the stand alone TIVOs already do networking? If so, hopefully Comcast would support this. And if the stand alone do this, D* could in their HD-TIVO but chose not to.

Since the new D* HD-DVR is not going to be available for a few more months, I got a feeling it will probably be next year on the HMC. But the HMC would be nice to have.

It starting to look like we are going to have a few choices in the couple of years. D* & E* going to MPEG 4 and adding new (hopefully national) channels in the next couple of years. Comcast taking over TWC and adding TIVO. Maybe BellSouth will finally get into the video game with Verizon and SBC. It's going to be interesting.

I bet once Comcast takes over the prices will probably go up again. If it goes up to much that would stop me from switching. Also, I would like to see better PQ on the SD channels then what TWC has now. I'm talking about the analog channels.
How do the analog channels look? Are they worse than D*?

Is Comcast also taking over RoadRunner?

Since the new D* HD-DVR is not going to be available for a few more months, I got a feeling it will probably be next year on the HMC. But the HMC would be nice to have.
Your probably right. I guess the only good thing about it taking a while for these is Memphis isn't ready for -4 yet.

27.5. Is that showing up as an OTA station?
Someone I work with said he was getting 27.5 on his tv the other day for a little bit. I wonder what would've caused this?

How do the analog channels look? Are they worse than D*?

Is Comcast also taking over RoadRunner?


Your probably right. I guess the only good thing about it taking a while for these is Memphis isn't ready for -4 yet.

Last November when I tried TWC again the analog channels looked awful. They were very grainy. D* overcompressed SD channels looked a whole lot better to me. Some of the digital channels on TWC were worst than D*. And some were better. But TWCs HD channels looked a whole lot better. However, at that time most of my tv viewing was of the analog channels. Now it's more of the local OTA channels.

I haven't heard what Comcast plans are for RoadRunner. I would rather they keep it. I've had it a long time.

What is everyone's impressions on the Olympics on 5-1? I'm talking about strictly picture wise?

I'd give 5-1 a C. I saw an awful lot of blocking during a lot of programs.

I didn't see any blocking. I thought the picture was outstanding.

What is everyone's impressions on the Olympics on 5-1? I'm talking about strictly picture wise?

I'd give 5-1 a C. I saw an awful lot of blocking during a lot of programs.
I can agree with that. I understand that some of the blocking was the networks fault, but at the same time when we are getting a starved signal of it and thus it caused more blocking than normal. Really disappointing. The Tube looks so bad why even have the channel on if you can't tell what's on?

I can rate them by how much of the Olympics I watched. I planned on watching at least 1 - 2 hours a day. Due to the artifact filled picture we got here, I saw probably total 3 hours.

On a side note, everyone please be sure to fill out the OTA WHBQ-DT stuff and new overall questions on the poll. Link below.

Did anyone notice that WMC-DT had a signal but no video for most of the day yesterday? SNL wasn't in HD either. I wonder if the shows tonight will be in HD.

Did anyone notice that WMC-DT had a signal but no video for most of the day yesterday? SNL wasn't in HD either. I wonder if the shows tonight will be in HD.I'm out town, but my dad called to complain that he couldn't watch the PGA because WMC-DT was down.

Chase

The last 15 minutes or so of SNL weren't HD, but the rest of it was. I didn't try to watch WMC the rest of the day.

The last 15 minutes or so of SNL weren't HD, but the rest of it was. I didn't try to watch WMC the rest of the day.
I turned it on at 11 when Mad TV was over and it wasn't HD.

Program alert.

Next 3 Grizz games, tonight, Wednesday, Friday are in HD.

Tonight and Wednesday, FSN-HD for D* subs channel between 94 - 96. http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD#FSSouth
(Tonight's game is also on NBAHD TV. That feed will probably be blacked out since we will be getting it on FSN.)

Also showing Friday's game on NBAHD TV. I hope that doesn't get blacked out since FSS is also doing that game.

Did anyone see if 24 ever turned on the HD feed for the Oscars? Both of the pre-shows and the Oscars themselves were showing up in the DirecTV guides as HD but they didn't seem to flip the switch at ABC 24. The picture was so dark I had to switch back to TIVO.

**Rant** It's great to invite a group of people over to show HD and it never come on. Really makes people want to invest in this stuff. **OK Rant Over**

Yeah, both the pre-show and the show were in HD for me on 24-1 OTA. Decent picture.

**Rant** It's great to invite a group of people over to show HD and it never come on. Really makes people want to invest in this stuff. **OK Rant Over**
*chuckle*

You must have been on the wrong channel 24 (I deleted the Directv feed of the analog channels from my channel guide because I was making that same mistake sometimes).

The preshow and Oscars were in glorious HD on 25-1 (which is where the unremapped 24-1 really is). All the film clips were in HD. It was fantastic, some of the best HD ever. Sorry you missed it.

Are TW customers getting the Grizz game tonight? Is it in HD? It's in SD on channel 95 on D*.

D* is blacking out the Grizz HD game by FSS. WTH? I called D* and spoke with their tech support to tell them it shouldn't be blacked out. They couldn't get it fixed and have to now get in touch with FSN. Riduculous.

At least this time the game WAS in HD. The pregame was, but the PQ was dreadful. When the announcers were sitting down moving their heads you could see the blocking in their faces. ugh.

Again, are any TW customers getting this game on the Grizz HD channel?

Did anyone else catch "The Unit" on WREG on Tuesday? The 5.1 was really great! The program was good too. A little hokey at the end, but still a good show.

A question for Eng Dave, for several days the SD feeds on 5-1, and especially the 10:00 news broadcasts have a very noticeable sound delay although the HD broadcasts have been ok. Hope it is not just me.

This question is for any board member that can assist. I live in Cordova and cannot get any of the Channel 10 stations thru my attic antennae. Anyone else have this problem in this area or any solutions. I get 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 channel guides but no signal. Also why so many different channels? They all show up when I scan for channels with my D HD Tivo reciever. Thanks for any help.

This question is for any board member that can assist. I live in Cordova and cannot get any of the Channel 10 stations thru my attic antennae. Anyone else have this problem in this area or any solutions. I get 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 channel guides but no signal. Also why so many different channels? They all show up when I scan for channels with my D HD Tivo reciever. Thanks for any help.
If you are in Cordova then the tower for WKNO is to the left of WHBQ, which would be the closest tower to WKNO. Are you having any trouble picking up 13-1 or 3-1? Those 2 towers would be pretty much in the same direction so maybe a small turn of your antenna could fix it. The WKNO antenna is off of Macon just past the Whitten intersection.

WKNO used to have the HD feed on 10-3, but then moved it to 10-1, and moved their SD programming from 10-1 to 10-2. When they moved the SD programming they discontinued simulcasting their analog feed and changed it to another PBS type channel. I'm still getting the EPG for 10-3 also. We are probably getting the EPG for 10-3 because they might still be sending it out.

As far as why they show up and you can't get a signal, I don't know exactly how that works. I do know it has to do with your zip code in the stb, but not sure how it pulls the info. For example, my E86's display the EPG for WMAV, which is in Oxford but I can't get a blip of a signal form them.

After last years NCAA fiasco with WREG (starting here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5342251&&#post5342251) I advise everyone to email ron.walter@wreg.com and tell him you hope that they are more on the ball this season with the HD games. While you are at it ask him to dial down the bw on 3-2 to 0 mb’s so we can get an HD picture that isn’t filled with artifacts. :D

I need advice!

I have been using a little Silver Sensor with my TV. Been great. So this week I finally hook up the HD TIVO. I know from reading that the tuners in the HD TIVO aren't as great as in the TVs, but damn...

I get breakup (blocking?) on FOX13 almost constantly now that I'm using the HDTIVO tuner. Like FOXs signal isn't strong enough. A little on WMC. ABC and CBS seem fine.

I finally put the Silver Sensor up in my attic - higher now - and connected it to the TIVO with a couple brand new diplexers.. I don't notice much difference at all.

So then I go to Radio Shack and buy a UHF antenna this afternoon. I only live 7-9 miles from the towers. I figure putting this antenna in my attic will give me a much stronger signal than that Silver Sensor.. after all its 40" long.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103088&cp=&kw=uhf+antenna&parentPage=search
http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2265531w345.jpg

You know I didn't notice a single bit of difference. In fact I brought the Silver Sensor down and hooked it to the TV tuner (bypassing the HD TIVO) to watch FOX. DAMIT!

Now I don't know what to do. Geeze I'm only 7-9.5 miles from the towers.. what's a brotha gotta do to get a strong OTA signal to play on my HD TIVO??

Recommendations??

I know I can run a line WITHOUT the diplexers.. but its a huge pain in the butt. I'd do it if I knew it would solve the problem but I don't want to go through all that if I don't have to. It seems like OTHERS are getting their channels!

Would I get better results with a different antenna? I only tried the RS figuring I could return it if it didn't work (it doesn't). If I buy one online and it doesn't work I'm stuck with it.

IWANTMY FOX13!!!!

Bill, when you hook up your antenna directly to your tv are you able to get WHBQ & WMC fine without any breakups? If so, can you hook up your SS into the HDTivo from there instead of going up to the attic to install it?

Not quite having to do with HD, but I just looked at the various websites for the local affiliates here, just looking at the news stories, and by far WHBQ has the worst website. They were redesigning it for like the a year, but the older one was much better. There is just so much not there compaired to the others I'd be ashamed if I was the webmaster. Not only that, the weather info is from Tuesday, and half of the links either point to the wrong website or don't link at all.

Memphis Bill,

I am using the same Radio Shack UHF antenna in my attic and get all of the Memphis DTV stations no problems. Also Avellino's Pizza in Southaven is using the same antenna no problems to receive the HD programming no problem either.

IMO your problem is one of two things:

1. To strong of a signal.

2. Multipath in your attic.

I would first try to get This Attenuator (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062022&cp=&kw=attenuator&parentPage=search) and set it at -20DB (maximum attenuation) and see if all of your DTV stations come in. If not slowly turn it till you do.

A signal attenuator solved my reception problem (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=653481)

If the above does not work then You will probably have to put the antenna on your roof to deal multipath problems.

Jerry

Bill, when you hook up your antenna directly to your tv are you able to get WHBQ & WMC fine without any breakups? If so, can you hook up your SS into the HDTivo from there instead of going up to the attic to install it?

For the most part, yes.. the SS on my TV tuner works pretty good.. no breakups.

Hooking the SS to the HDTIVO tuners causes the breakups on the Fox13.. see my information (HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7283630&post7283630)) about signal strength issues. Maybe this antennuator thing could help. For 10 bucks I could try it.. RS will take it back I guess unless I have to open one of those 'sealed up in plastic' packages that make you dystroy the packing when you open it. :(

Anyone having trouble getting 813, 805, and 841 on Time Warner. I cannot get them today or yesterday. Fox, NBC and Showtime West. All else seems to be doing ok. Just wondering if it was just me. Also seems like Fox and NBC come and go ALOT. I just subbed to Showtime so I am not sure about that one.
Thx

I don't know if its related, but I haven't been able to get more than a 06 signal on 13-1 since that I know of 10:30 last night. Also noticed that SNL wasn't in HD for the second straight week.

Did anyone catch the Tigers game or any other games in HD on WREG? The PQ was ok, but not anything great. Closeup and a lot of the scenes from closer cameras showed a lot of blocking. I turned off the channel after that once I saw the first minute of the next game. The sound was strange, you could barely even hear the announcers. Usually I wouldn't care to hear them, but I wanted to hear what they were saying about Memphis. MEmphis hsould get a #1 seed.

Also Avellino's Pizza in Southaven I think I know what I want for lunch! :D

-Robert

I thought the picture was quite good. I did see the blocking you are talking about with one or maybe two specific cameras (I think I noticed it on the sideline cameras during closeups), but overall quite good. The sound was not 5.1, but I didn't hear anything "strange" on enhanced surround. What were you hearing?

I thought the picture was quite good. I did see the blocking you are talking about with one or maybe two specific cameras (I think I noticed it on the sideline cameras during closeups), but overall quite good. The sound was not 5.1, but I didn't hear anything "strange" on enhanced surround. What were you hearing?
It's like they had the announcers volume turned way down and the crowd turned up. I could barely hear the announcers.

It looks likw 13-1 is back up and running... it was pixellating heavily all weekend. I wished it was working for the Nascar race yesterday.

Also according to this CBS College Basketball Schedule (http://cbs.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/collegebasketball), the first round Memphis game should be in HD... I hope so. :D

Jerry

CBS changed that page... they are no longer all in HD...The tigers won't be in HD :mad:

Oh well, I was hoping to see the Memphis Tigers in HD.

Jerry

Oh well, I was hoping to see the Memphis Tigers in HD.
We will starting in the sweet 16 till the Final 4. :D

We will starting in the sweet 16 till the Final 4. :D

I am hoping for a rematch of Duke and Memphis... and for Memphis to win!!

Jerry

Ditto. So far no one is giving any love to Memphis.

In case anyone wants to join:

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/group?groupID=86094&password=grizzlies

Game Front: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage

Group: Tigers #1

Password: grizzlies

Has anyone sent an email to WREG and gotten a response about the NCAA tournament? All I got was an out of office response starting Thursday or Friday.

Ditto. So far no one is giving any love to Memphis.

In case anyone wants to join:

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/group?groupID=86094&password=grizzlies

Game Front: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage

Group: Tigers #1

Password: grizzlies

I joined and put my bracket in. I am Williams 1.

Jerry

cool

Is anyone at home watching the games yet? Is it being shown in HD?

They are showing the Oklahoma game... so it is not in HD

They are showing the Oklahoma game... so it is not in HD
Call them and tell them to turn the HD game on, and let us know if they did.

Call them and tell them to turn the HD game on, and let us know if they did.

The game was almost over... They are havig the Tenn game in HD though.

The game was almost over... They are havig the Tenn game in HD though.
Yeah getting that one in HD is a given. I wonder what they will do for the later games?

Called WREG and asked to turn the HD feed on. The lady said she would look into it. I encourage everyone to call 543-2111 if you want to watch HD. If not we will be stuck with SD all night.

A buddy of mine called after he called me and the lady told him the next game would be in HD. That doesn't explain why they aren't showing another HD game right now. Stupid

I last tuned in to WREG about 9:20 when they were showing the Duke game in SD, which was supposed to be in HD. I changed the channel and watched the rest of the evening on the net. Did they ever flip the switch?

I last tuned in to WREG about 9:20 when they were showing the Duke game in SD, which was supposed to be in HD. I changed the channel and watched the rest of the evening on the net. Did they ever flip the switch?

Yes they did... my wife had to call WREG... and they insisted that the game was not supposed to start until 11PM ??? A few seconds later it switched to HD.

Jerry

Greetings All,

I've been out in the SF Bay Area for the last month, so I'm trying to catch up on the latest here in Memphis. What's the general consensus -- are we getting HD feeds of the BB games OTA or not? I don't want to have all my friends over to watch SD...

BTW, I ran into a very knowledgable broadcast engineer at the recent Nashville ISF training. He gave me some inside info on the challenges broadcasters are facing. It made me a little more understanding of the issue we have locally. Nice guy. Very sympathetic.

We also got to see a production sample of the new Toshiba HD-DVD player in action...

Chase

I called WREG to get the Pittsburgh vs. Kent State in HD... lets see if it works...

It is now in HD...

Jerry

After commercial it went back to SD :mad: I am calling them back...

Called back WREG and they don't want to turn the HD switch in Auburn Hills... Pittsburgh VS Kent... Please call.. 543-2111 and tell them to turn on the HD switch.

Never mind they went to NC St. VS Cal. not in HD.

With all due respect WREG SUCKS!!!!

Jerry

Now they have the UCONN game on... it is supposed to be HD... NOT on WREG... I am done calling... they do not respond.

Jerry

Sorry about that one post (about WREG)... I just wanted to rant about not getting HD when we are supposed to.

Go Tigers Go!!!!!!

Jerry

Sorry about that one post (about WREG)... I just wanted to rant about not getting HD when we are supposed to.
No reason to be sorry, WREG does suck. I just called since I got home from dinner and asked to speak with engineering. They weren't answering and the lady asked if she could help. I asked her to tell them to turn the HD feed on. She said she will check if it is supposed to be in HD and I told her this game IS in HD. She said she will look into it.

I feel the same way you do. I sent a nasty email to my WREG contacts blasting them for how they are handling the games this season. They did the same damn thing last season. Apparently not enough people complained and they think they can get away with it again this season. And they are. People, I don't care if you don't watch college basketball at all, call and ask, complain, send an email to ron.walter@wreg.com. If we let them run their station like a 3rd rate station, we will get 3rd rate treatment.

They have shown 1 freaking game in HD, ONE. How many have been in HD? 2 per session.

Greetings All,

I've been out in the SF Bay Area for the last month, so I'm trying to catch up on the latest here in Memphis. What's the general consensus -- are we getting HD feeds of the BB games OTA or not? I don't want to have all my friends over to watch SD...

BTW, I ran into a very knowledgable broadcast engineer at the recent Nashville ISF training. He gave me some inside info on the challenges broadcasters are facing. It made me a little more understanding of the issue we have locally. Nice guy. Very sympathetic.

We also got to see a production sample of the new Toshiba HD-DVD player in action...

Chase
If I were you I'd go back to SF. I'm sure you can tell by mine and jawill's posts how WREG is screwing us around. Don't invite your friends over to watch HD college basketball, you wont get it.

Broadcasters may be facing challenges, but there are many many other CBS affiliates doing it. No reason ours can't. Oh wait, we have a clown as an engineer at WREG.

fwiw..my email last night.

Hi,
Just as expected I would be sending an email complaining about how your station is handling the NCAA tournament HD games. Last year I was told by an engineer that the game would only be in HD if we called and asked for the HD feed to be switched, and that was for a game that was also on the analog station. At least this year there has been an HD game shown, but when I got home from work and called and asked for the HD game to be shown the lady said they will only show the next game in HD.

It appears that WREG has taken a major step backwards in the digital realm. I don't know if you know how many customers you screwed out of watching HD games today. I had quite a few of my friends call and ask where was the HD game? I said WREG dropped the ball again and wont show one. You have the chance to be a leader in Memphis in the HD world, but clearly you don't care. This station is far superior (meant to say inferrior), I'd say bush league, compared to other stations around the city and country. I can't tell you how many times I read about local affiliates who show one game on the analog station and a separate HD feed game on their digital station. Those stations have it going on, and have people who work there that probably care. This one not so much.

I'm going to be home tomorrow afternoon early, so I expect to be calling asking why we aren't getting an HD feed separate of the analog feed game. And I'll be home Saturday by myself and I'll expect to be calling again. If you aren't going to utilize the digital channel, why not turn it off? I can't even comment on how bad the PQ would be, but that's always a given.

But I would like to say thank you for something tonight. I was able to turn off WREG and watch other shows on other channels, but mostly utilize the MMOD from the CBS website.

Amazing, I change over from the Grizz game, and the game on WREG is in HD. OMG!!! I can't believe they actually threw the switch. Let's all give them a round of applause. :rolleyes:

Amazing, I change over from the Grizz game, and the game on WREG is in HD. OMG!!! I can't believe they actually threw the switch. Let's all give them a round of applause. :rolleyes:

They must of thrown the switch by accident, as we all know they couldn't do it on purpose. I still think that getting a hold of local businesses will be the best bet at making them change their tune. Since I don't watch them much anymore, I really do not know which local company does the most advertising.

Rthoreau

Well they don't have the HD feed switched yet. Even though the games haven't started, the sound is 2.0 and there aren't any CBS Sports bars on the sides.

I jst called WREG... let see how long it takes...

I was told "they are working on trying to fix the signal, it should be a few minutes."

I jst called WREG... let see how long it takes...

I just called too at 12:22. They said they were trying to figure out what was going on with the signal and they'd get it on as soon as they could.

Jeez, it's not like this was a total surprise was it? I mean they've KNOWN it was going to be on at this time and they still can't make sure they flip their switch at the proper time?!?

Unbelievable! :mad:

Finally

2.0 audio

Only fifteen minutes late...

Here's a thought. If we're all upset with WREG (and I think it's obvious we are), why don't we all pick a time, go down there, and tour their broadcast suite? If we get lucky, we might even get to watch an HD feed coming off the satellite from CBS. We can also express our concerns to the engineers in person. The impact of a (hopefully) large group visit will be much more significant than individual e-mails and calls every now and then. Regardless of the effect we have, we could at least find "the switch", so we can tell them exactly what to do when we call!

I know a guy at WREG pretty well. He's not an engineer, but he has arranged studio tours before. I'll ask him if there's any chance of setting one up for us. Anyone interested?

BTW, two things the broadcast engineer said at ISF training. First, he assured us that he can send an artifact-free 1080i image at 16Mbps. His station multi-casts, but he is unwilling to compromise the PQ of the main channel. Second, he said that he sees artifacts in the network feed all the time. His station is an NBC affiliate (former ABC affiliate), and their network feed was terrible during the Olympics.

Chase

Tour would be cool HTMan.

Also, funny we are not getting any of the commentators voices on the Duke game (finally in HD) just the background sound. It's almost like they are just carrying the surround sound feed for main sound.

Jeez, it's not like this was a total surprise was it? I mean they've KNOWN it was going to be on at this time and they still can't make sure they flip their switch at the proper time?!?

Unbelievable! :mad:
That was a point I made in my email last night to them. It's not like this tournament just decided to pop up all the sudden.

Here's a thought. If we're all upset with WREG (and I think it's obvious we are), why don't we all pick a time, go down there, and tour their broadcast suite? If we get lucky, we might even get to watch an HD feed coming off the satellite from CBS. We can also express our concerns to the engineers in person. The impact of a (hopefully) large group visit will be much more significant than individual e-mails and calls every now and then. Regardless of the effect we have, we could at least find "the switch", so we can tell them exactly what to do when we call!

I know a guy at WREG pretty well. He's not an engineer, but he has arranged studio tours before. I'll ask him if there's any chance of setting one up for us. Anyone interested?

BTW, two things the broadcast engineer said at ISF training. First, he assured us that he can send an artifact-free 1080i image at 16Mbps. His station multi-casts, but he is unwilling to compromise the PQ of the main channel. Second, he said that he sees artifacts in the network feed all the time. His station is an NBC affiliate (former ABC affiliate), and their network feed was terrible during the Olympics.

Chase
I'd be interested in going on the tour. I'd want to know why its so hard for them to flip the switch to HD when WPTY did it with me on the phone. in a matter of 2 seconds. Maybe David from WMC can help explain. Dave from WHBQ has it a little easier.

As far as the 16 mbs, I wonder what WREG is sending their main feed at? It's got to be less than 16 mbs because I always see blocking on their broadcasts, even now. The game is pretty bad. WLMT is sent at 15 mbs and looks better than WREG. I don't think WREG is using their entire allotment.

5.1 came on right before halftime