There is an article about the TWC switch to Comcast in the Commercial Appeal today. The article is also on the CA web site at:

Commercial Appeal (http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/business/article/0,1426,MCA_440_3731902,00.html)

You may have to register to see the page, but is free. In fact here is the "anonymous" u/p I got off of bugmenot.com u: myo@beeswax.com p:beeswax

Also, the article does mention that RoadRunner customers will have to change their email addresses if they want to continue to use the service. So, I guess it will also be affecting RR too. Their prices are higher than TWC's too. I don't use TWC cable, but I do have RR, and it looks like they have a higher "non-cable" subscriber rate for high-speed internet. That ticks me off!

Come on D*, get those sats up.

Yes, that would be nice, D*. Local HD over sat...would be great! Hurry up!

BTW, anyone know when we do eventually get local HD through D*, how they will handle the multicast issue? Will they only be required to carry the main feed...i.e. 3-1, but not 3-2?

Originally posted by mollerup
BTW, anyone know when we do eventually get local HD through D*, how they will handle the multicast issue? Will they only be required to carry the main feed...i.e. 3-1, but not 3-2?

There's a bunch of speculation but nothing concreate tho. Personally I would like to see no multicasting on the sats, and for it to go away completely. I'm sure David would respectfully agree. :D To be honest, if WREG did multicast like WMC and not screw up the main channel's pq, I'd be ok with it. But what WREG does is in-humane. Obviously they don't care. *jumped off soapbox*

Even if they did allow multicasting, since -4 has better compression, would WREG screw their 3-1 channel up even more?

So if rates do go up for RR, which would blow, I wonder what type of deals DSL would have for customers switching? Personally, a couple dollar increase would turn me to DSL.

I agree, but I would hesitate to switch to DSL because it would mess up all that cheese I've been saving by using Vonage for my phone service. Hopefully Comcast will keep broadband prices reasonable.

Yay! Smallville was in HD last night! When did that happen?

I thought once it moved back to its normal time slot after college basketball it has been in HD. I've flipped thru a couple of times and it was in HD. I sure hope they are in HD considering I am saving all of them to my Tivo to watch once HDNet is done with the 3rd season.

If Comcast raises rates I'll be looking at DSL also. Along with dropping basic cable. I would rather stay with RR because from what I've seen it's a little faster than DSL. Not much but was noticable.

Along with D* getting their sats up and running, I would like to see Bellsouth get on the ball of running fiber optics to the house and offering TV services like Verizon is starting to do now.

Originally posted by Cheep
Yay! Smallville was in HD last night! When did that happen?

mx6bfast was correct again (Man I'm glad your on this board.)

Local WB has no way of recording HD for replaying later.
If they show it at the same time they receive, then it's HD.
If it's preemted like basketball season then no HD.
I called them, and asked if they wanted to borrow a D-VHS recorder
but I had no takers.

lo

Originally posted by mollerup
Their prices are higher than TWC's too. I don't use TWC cable, but I do have RR, and it looks like they have a higher "non-cable" subscriber rate for high-speed internet. That ticks me off!


Time Warner's Road Runner rates are $40/45. From that CA link, Comcast's Nashvile rates are $42.95/57.95.
I guess when they switch I'll have to try EarthLink internet cable or (gasp) AOL.

Originally posted by locomo
Time Warner's Road Runner rates are $40/45. From that CA link, Comcast's Nashvile rates are $42.95/57.95.

And from what I can gather, Comcast's rates do *not* include the cable modem like TWC does. You either have to buy your own or lease one from them at an additional charge.

Timbeaux.

Lobby your local congressman (yeah right)

Local government can regulate cable rates (at least for the basic tier)

As of tomorrow, E* is picking up 10 of the VoOM Originals in HD. All 21 will be added in early 2006. E* also has a special now for new subs. Guess I stumbled into the right choice.:)

Did anyone have any issues with picking up 5-1 last night during Leno? The signal was sporadic in between 20-55% last night. It might've been my stb, I was too lazy to get up and check the tv in my LR. Of course this morning it's stuck at 100.

Also, watching HDTivo this morning, I noticed 30-1 was testing some cc, I guess. FF'd thru commercials I saw some cc pop up on the screen.

Off to clean the house. I hope there are some interesting programs on PBS or HDNet.

mx, Those cc's have been on the commercials for about a week now. I dunno what's going on, though.
Actually, I think at one point on Monday during WB programming, they ran cc's during the shows themselves.

BTW, I had terrible reception too during Leno and Conan last night. It had been PERFECT the night before.

DARN! Wife left VCR on and 24 didn't record last night. I'll be glad when E* gets here to hook my TIVO up. You guys seem to really enjoy yours. Oh well, I guess I'll have to be content to read the episode guide at the 24 website.

I have been to busy lately to watch Conan. Has NBC done a good job with Conan. I am going to try and catch it tonight.

Smallville and Gilmore Girls were both in SD this week. Sucks. Wonder why?

Originally posted by Jeffrey T
I have been to busy lately to watch Conan. Has NBC done a good job with Conan. I am going to try and catch it tonight.

I caught a little bit of it last week. The beginning scenes pixelate very badly. I have posted on the Conan thread to see if anyone sees it and only 1 person has responded. Other than that its good.

Originally posted by Cheep
Smallville and Gilmore Girls were both in SD this week. Sucks. Wonder why?

That does suck. I do know last night during Kevin Hill at the beginning the DT channel was all funky, and then after the commercial break it came back fine, and I stopped watching it.

Originally posted by mx6bfast
Did anyone have any issues with picking up 5-1 last night during Leno?

For several weeks I've been having big-time problems picking up both WMC-DT and WREG-DT in my bedroom. Ironically, the bedroom is attached to the attic antenna (a found relic from the 60s and 70s). That's on my E86 receiver.

My AV room TV can pick up WMC and WREG fine, and it is just attached to a little SilverSensor antenna in the room. It's running on the newer HTL-HD receiver.

The thing is, this current setup unchanged worked just fine for months and months. Perhaps I need to reset the E86. But when I monitor the E86 signal levels for 3-1 and 5-1 they erratically jump between 20% and 50%.

I'm located in the heart of Memphis, so I can't imagine that distance is a problem. I get the other local DTs just fine (except of course 13-1).

I had to replace my E86 after it acted this way. Finally it stopped working.

Originally posted by rp3
For several weeks I've been having big-time problems picking up both WMC-DT and WREG-DT in my bedroom. Ironically, the bedroom is attached to the attic antenna (a found relic from the 60s and 70s). That's on my E86 receiver.

The thing is, this current setup unchanged worked just fine for months and months. Perhaps I need to reset the E86. But when I monitor the E86 signal levels for 3-1 and 5-1 they erratically jump between 20% and 50%.

Wow that's an old antenna! But apparently it's good enough to get HD signals. If the signal levels are that erratic constantly, then you might need to reposition the antenna. I know you said it hasn't moved but maybe something is in it's path ever so slightly. See if you can get 3-1 fine, and then 5-1 fine, and then try both. At a friends house we had to move the antenna down to the floor of the attic because it was getting erratic signals jumps when it was on a box of clothes 5 feet off the ground.

Well, apparently the problem for me is the antenna. Actually, tonight is the first night in a while that I've been getting 5-1. But when I attached the SilverSensor to the E86 instead of the antique attic antenna, they all came in loud & clear.

I suppose I need to go read the antenna topic, long as it is. Is there some place here in Memphis to get a good new attic antenna that I can split onto both receivers? I'm wondering if that's even a good idea or whether it's better to stay with the SilverSensor for the A/V room, which works well most of the time.

Curiouser and curiouser. I went up and moved the attic antenna by about 2 inches, and now all of sudden everything works. Maybe it gathered too much dust. Or maybe it's just voodoo.

rp, I have my antenna going into a 5x8 multiswitch and don't have problems going to 4 different stb's. I did at first but it tirned out to be the antenna was not in a good spot. Once I moved it I was getting all channels near 100%, with the farthest tower being 6 miles away.

WPTY was having trouble with their HD feed audio feed tonight. When they went HD during Hope & Faith all we got was the laugh track. Maybe testing 5.1 a little early?

What's up with HD here in Memphis the past week. WMC messes up ER for the first 10 minutes, the WB not in HD earlier this week, H&F no sound, and still not HD for the Wb.

Originally posted by mx6bfast


WPTY was having trouble with their HD feed audio feed tonight. When they went HD during Hope & Faith all we got was the laugh track. Maybe testing 5.1 a little early?

What's up with HD here in Memphis the past week. WMC messes up ER for the first 10 minutes, the WB not in HD earlier this week, H&F no sound, and still not HD for the Wb.

And I seem to still get major audio synch problems on 5-1. That is the only OTA HD channel I ever have trouble with audio synch. I am using the HDTivo, and have heard it may be a problem with that, but why then is it not happening on all the channels? Does anyone else have the audio synch problems on 5-1?

Yes, bad audio synch problems on 5-1 with the HDTivo. Very annoying.

What type of audio problems are yall having? I haven't seen it, but then again I only watch ER, Revelations & Scrubs from 5. Goes back to the no Hd days which hooked me on other stations.

It's that thing where the audio is way ahead of the video. Drives me crazy in dialogue scenes.

Is anyone with Dish experiencing a problem getting program guide info on the digital channels? I only get it for WMCT. All the others just say "Digital Service". I have the new 942 receiver/DVR combo STB. Boy, I love that DVR!

Well we saw our first problem with the subchannel on WMC. Other people have posted no pixelation during the Kentucky Derby, where we had plenty of it.

Yeah, WMC looked pretty bad during the Derby. Medium looked terrible last night, too.

I also had problems last night on the Leno show. Did anyone else have problems?

I've been having problems off and on. At the end of the Kentucky Derby I completely lost signal for a little bit after it was massively microblocking from the signal coming and going.

I did not have any problems last night. (through Conan)

I am presently getting OTA program guide info only for channel 5. Does anyone know whether or not the other stations are sending out PSIP information? I am making an assumption that the PSIP is the reason that I am not getting it for these stations. EngDave, is this a proper assumption? Are you transmitting PSIP?

I get OTA program guides for all the local SD and HD channels on "D" thru my HD Tivo reciever.

Originally posted by jimsim
I get OTA program guides for all the local SD and HD channels on "D" thru my HD Tivo reciever.

dogpoobob...same here get all ota guides no prob.

I think this is a E* problem. It seems to be happening to a lot of folks around the country. I was wondering if the PSIP was the cause of the problem.

Gilmore Girls finale not in HD this week. I wish UPN/WB would make its mind up about whether it wants to do GG and Smallville in HD. It's a surprise every week.

Yeah I noticed that last night too. I ended up deleting my season pass for Smallville because my HDTivo has gotten so full of new episodes recently, it knocked off about 2 months of Smallville's I had saved. Oh well. I emailed HDNet to see if they were going to show season 4 and at that time they said no. Then 2 weeks later there is a thread here saying they will show season 4 starting in the fall. Hooray!!

Sorry to hear that some folks are having problems receiving our OTA signal. We have had no problems on our end with the signal. We will of course monitor it closely.
When it comes to PSIP here is what I think may be happening. PSIP is required for all OTA broadcasters at this point. PSIP is part of our 'Transport Stream" which contains all the information for your receiver to decode the stream. It also contains the program guide information that lets you know what is coming up. Most cable companies are taking individual streams and broadcasting them. So the program guide does not necessarily get sent along with the signal. There is another piece of software and hardware that they need to purchase to pass through the PSIP info. I have talked to TW and they have the equipment to pass through that information. I do not know if E* or DTv have that equipment though I think they may just plug that information directly into the program guides that they provide. I have asked TW to send me an HD box so we can monitor our HD Signal on TW. I should have that box next week and I will look into the PSIP questions more then.

David E
WMC

I got a new antenna for the attic from AntennasDirect. Now I am getting great signals on all the local DT stations. The E86 shows all but WMC-DT at 100% and the HTL-HD shows all but WMC-DT at nearly a full bar. It is amazing how much quicker (esp. the E86) tunes in the stations when switching channels.

WMC-DT is not as strong as the others, although for now it seems to be strong enough. I believe I read on this thread that WMC and WREG transmit from the same tower, so location would not seem to be the reason it isn't as strong.

Does anyone else see a similar pattern w/ WMC-DT?

I'm in midtown Memphis.

Yes WMC is broadcasting at a lower power than others. WMC/WPTY/WLMT are all on the same tower out in Brunswick.

rp3 - What antenna did you install? I'm also in Midtown and use a RadioShack double bowtie, but I'm interested in other optiions.

I got the DB2 from Antennas Direct. It is standing in my attic facing east.

Dave:
Thanks for the response. Seems that E* is looking for TSID (transport stream ID) information instead of PSIP. Not sure of the effect of that, but as I said in previous post. I get all WMC program guide info, but nothing for any of the other channels.

What's up with WREG? Took them 10 minutes to go HD last night and Still Standing isn't HD, then it took them 5 minutes to go HD tonight during CSI, but even longer to go DD5.1. Luckily I Tivo'd CSI upstairs.

There's been some activity in the antenna thread today about a supposed deadline of 7/1/05 for the major network locals to be at full power for their DTV. Does anyone have any idea how this may affect WHBQ-DT?

I spoke with the engineer there some time back (~4-6 months ago) and he stated that date as a deadline. If they were not "fully implemented" they had to relinquish the channels/bandwidth (I can't remember which he said). He was "sure" they would be up at full strength by then.

I guess we can hope....

I've got an email from him on my work pc. I'm off this week but I will vpn into it tomorrow and see what my most recent email says about it. It's probably the same as duffus

Don't they have to move their antenna? I read that somewhere. Do you think that they will go to full power before they move the antenna?

What's up with WREG? Took them 10 minutes to go HD last night and Still Standing isn't HD, then it took them 5 minutes to go HD tonight during CSI, but even longer to go DD5.1. Luckily I Tivo'd CSI upstairs.

I have been noticing problems lately too. Hopefully they'll get it resolved soon!

But on the other hand, most of the shows I watch are ending now. This will be my first summer with HD. Is there usually anything worthwhile on in HD during the Summer months?

There's been some activity in the antenna thread today about a supposed deadline of 7/1/05 for the major network locals to be at full power for their DTV. Does anyone have any idea how this may affect WHBQ-DT?

As a D* customer, I'm able to get the Fox East national feed right now. It's been very reliable and PQ is pretty decent. I'm sure I'll have to give it up once they go "full power" (and then deal with all the trouble that all the locals seem to have on a regular basis).

Will their antenna be in the same relative location as the others? Right now, I'm able to pull in all the locals from one antenna orientation, so I'm hoping theirs will be similar.

As a D* customer, I'm able to get the Fox East national feed right now. It's been very reliable and PQ is pretty decent. I'm sure I'll have to give it up once they go "full power" (and then deal with all the trouble that all the locals seem to have on a regular basis).

Will their antenna be in the same relative location as the others? Right now, I'm able to pull in all the locals from one antenna orientation, so I'm hoping there's will be similar.
This also answers rp3's question:
WMC, WPTY, WLMT are all on the same tower in Brunswick roughly 5 miles from Wolfchase. PAX is by Brother. WKNO and WREG's towers are just off 40 between Whitten and Appling. The new tower for WHBQ is at Raleigh-LaGrange Rd and I-40.

I too would rather keep the D* feed because it's reliable.

Getting the Fox-NY HD feed is not contingent on anything WHBQ does. We get it because it's an O&O, and as long as Fox owns it, we will still get the national feed.

That said, if WHBQ doesn't do multicasting, their bitrate should be higher, so we would WANT to watch the local channel.

That said, if WHBQ doesn't do multicasting, their bitrate should be higher, so we would WANT to watch the local channel.
You are correct as long as they don't multicast, but even if they do with 720p it wouldn't be as bad as say WREG. But, the reason I trust the D* feed more is because the WHBQ tower isn't up yet, and it was supposed to be up last summer. So the chances are high they will go thru some growng pains at first. But if WHBQ's PQ is better then I will change all my SP's and my quick channels.

Can anyone confirm if WHBQ-DT is still broadcasting from their little antenna on Highland? That's less than 5 miles from me, so I would have thought I could at least see the occasional flicker of a signal on my signal meter. But so far I have never seen anything there but blank nothingness.

Can anyone confirm if WHBQ-DT is still broadcasting from their little antenna on Highland? That's less than 5 miles from me, so I would have thought I could at least see the occasional flicker of a signal on my signal meter. But so far I have never seen anything there but blank nothingness.

I've never seen anything either with a rooftop antenna and probably only about a mile away. I think you can only pick up a signal in their parking lot. :)

You might have to actually be on the antenna to get a signal. I checked my email from February and it still looked like it was going to be another 5 - 7 months, at the earliest, but I sent him an email anyways.

Greetings everyone. Just recently got a second HD set (a Sony 30XS955, which has amazing PQ), this time with a built-in ATSC tuner. I'm up in Brighton (Tipton County), and this is the first time I've watched HD. I've really enjoyed the quality of the local broadcasts (for the most part). It was annoying to find out that most local stations aren't passing DD 5.1, though I know WREG did for at least one show I've seen. Oh well, maybe one day.

Did anyone here watch the Spurs game on WPTY tonight (Monday, May 30)? The video looked a bit blue to me, though all the other local HD channels looked correct. Perhaps it was just the lighting. The TV is calibrated, so I know it's not the TV. Still, it looked great!

Welcome voodoogamer. Nice to have another Tiptonite on the forum. Can't help you on the game, but maybe someone here can. How are you getting your signal, OTA only or do you have a dish or cable?

Thanks for the welcome. My wife and I have lived up here for about 4 years. Don't miss those Memphis city taxes at all.

Right now, I'm just using OTA (antenna in the attic). I have DirecTV SD too, but plan on upgrading once the new satellites are launched. I'm really waiting for the price of the HD TiVO box to drop a lot more too. Can't give up TiVo!

Are there actually any HD cable providers in T-County? I'm just outside of Munford, and all I can get here is Millington Cable. I don't expect them to be offering HD anytime soon.

Don't know about HD offerings on MCC. I'm over about 6 miles west of Munford and we have no cable access. I was on VOOM before their demise and have gone with Dish. They are offering 10 of the VOOM HD channels with the promise of the other 11 by year end. Not really a great package, but better than nothing. They offer their HD DVR for lease, even though it's a $250 upgrade charge. Better than a grand, I guess. If you get interested in Dish, I can give you a gift card number that will get you Free activation, Free install, Free standard DVR, and a $49.99 credit on you first bill. PM me if you are interested.

I think I saw the "blue" problem on the Suns-Spurs game last night. It's caused by the humongous scoreboard they have over the floor in Phoenix. Most of the time it gives everything a real bluish tint, but if you sit and watch for a minute it'll change and suddenly everything looks kind of yellow. Not a broadcast or TV problem, but just an accurate reflection (pun intended) of what you see in the Phoenix arena.

Hey ENG Dave, what happened on Leno last night? It was shown in the 16:9 format but was definitely not in HD. Did anyone else notice this?

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I watched weather plus for about 10 seconds yesterday, for the first time in many many weeks.

:)

Well, were you thrilled speechless? What a waste of bandwidth! I don't know why anyone would pay to advertise there.

Well, were you thrilled speechless? What a waste of bandwidth!


Well, I didn't expect to see weather for Alabama and not Memphis from a local channel.
I'd say it ranks behind News Anytime.

I just need verification on this, has anyone else noticed CC on during the WB shows on 30-1?

I've been catching up on Smallville eps (some in HD, some not) and I've noticed intermittent CC, but only during commercials. Weird.

Yep, I see CC on 30.1 quite often. It will stop for a minute and then start back up again. It just seems to rarely be in sync. Weird indeed.

We don't watch 30-1 much, but it seems that every time I've tuned 'em in lately, that distracting CC is there.

Yeah I flipped thru and saw it on Gilmore Girls last night. I was thinking, they already talk fast enough, how can you read that fast?

Anyways, I emailed the guy at 24 about it. I don't think they knew about it.

Did anyone notice that audio sync was bad tonight on (TWC)WMC-HD? I was flipping around and one of the many Law & Order's was on but the audio sync was way off. This is not the first time I have seen this happen with (TWC) WMC-HD. It only seems to happen on this channel.

I wasn't watching WMC last night. But the Eagles Farewell Tour 1 they aired last week had audio sync problems using OTA.

Sorry to hear that several folks have had problems with lip-sync on our HD programming. I will contact NBC and try and find out if they can help us run down the problem. I will also have my evening engineer monitor it here at the studio. He can make adjustments or call NBC immediately if he sees a problem. Thanks for the heads up and I will continue to monitor the forum for future problems/suggestions/complaints or even the occaisional compliment. :)

David E
WMC

Anyone else notice the new 5.2 channel..."The Tube"? Is this going to be full-time? Gotta love the classic music videos. I saw more music videos today than I have all year on MTV. heh

Anyone else notice the new 5.2 channel..."The Tube"? Is this going to be full-time? Gotta love the classic music videos. I saw more music videos today than I have all year on MTV. heh

No, I didn't notice, but it sure explains why WMC had the most crappy pixellated picture (even on SD shows) I've ever seen tonight. If this is the picture quality they're going to deliver, I can just delete all my season passes for all NBC shows, as it was almost unwatchable.

I have never seen WMC OTA as all I have is the HD feed from Time Warner Cable, but I can say without a doubt that WMC has the worst HD picture out of all of the HD channels Time Warner carries. Leno pixelates so bad that I usually just watch the SD broadcast. I am going to call Time Warner tomorrow and see if they can send someone out to check my signals. I haven't said anything yet because WMC was the last channel to be added and I thought maybe they just didn't have something adjusted right, etc. I'll let you guys know if my signal was bad. May take them a week or two to get someone out here though.

tscallions,

It's not just TWC. I've notice the pixelation on Leno since the sub channels got added a while back. It's not real bad but is noticeable. The only time I notice it is when they are panning around the studio like at the beginning of the show.

But last night (Thursday) "Hit Me Baby One More Time" looked awful with all the pixelation going on. That's was the worst I've seen it. I gave up trying to watch it. I think we know the reason now. Another sub channel added.

tscallions,
But last night WMC looked awful with all the pixelation going on. I think we know the reason now. Another sub channel added.
It's a shame, but this is what digital TV is all about. More channels of revenue for the broadcasters. It's not about HDTV, nor better quality, it's hoped that broadcasters can bring in more money from advertisers if they have more channels on the air.

I'm not very confident that HDTV will even survive the transition to digital TV. After all HDTV eats up too much bandwidth, when broadcasters could be delivering five or six channels of low quality TV. I believe that is why WMC and others are testing multi-cast possiblities.

Sorry to hear that several folks have had problems with lip-sync on our HD programming. I will contact NBC and try and find out if they can help us run down the problem. I will also have my evening engineer monitor it here at the studio. He can make adjustments or call NBC immediately if he sees a problem. Thanks for the heads up and I will continue to monitor the forum for future problems/suggestions/complaints or even the occaisional compliment. :)

David E
WMC

Hi Dave,

Last time we spoke (a month or two ago now if I recall correctly) you had indicated that a fiber connection was in the works between WMC and TWC. Has that been implemented yet?

If it has been implemented and TWC is receiving WMC over fiber, I am further curious if the full HD bandwidth allocation is available for 5.1 as you send it to TWC; or is the bandwidth still reduced by whatever amount the 5.2 (TheTube) and 5.3 (Weather PLUS) subchannels require just like it is for OTA?

Thanks...BillG

Was the Tube on today? I have checked and haven't see it on.

I'm seeing the lip sync issues on NBC tonight also. Only seeing it during HD shows.

Was the Tube on today? I have checked and haven't see it on.

It was on about 5:30 PM... Havn't looked since

It's a shame, but this is what digital TV is all about. More channels of revenue for the broadcasters. It's not about HDTV, nor better quality, it's hoped that broadcasters can bring in more money from advertisers if they have more channels on the air.

I'm not very confident that HDTV will even survive the transition to digital TV. After all HDTV eats up too much bandwidth, when broadcasters could be delivering five or six channels of low quality TV. I believe that is why WMC and others are testing multi-cast possiblities.

You might be right. It is starting to look that way. Oh well, if quanity wins over quality, I'll go back to not watching broadcast tv. I only started watching broadcast tv again when they started airing HDTV shows. Found a couple shows I like. But if the PQ keeps looking as bad I'll stop watching them. Well, at least channel 24 doesn't have any sub channels, yet.

It's doubful, but I'm wishing that the HD-DVD/Blue-Ray war doesn't last too long. Then I could tell D* and broadcast tv to stick their HD-Lite channels.

This is the response I got about the CC on 30-1:

On WLMT-DT CH30-1, during WB, we broadcast the WB West Coast HD feed live which has a slightly different format than WLMT-TV CH30. However, during the WB HD broadcast, WLMT-DT CH30-1's encoder continues to receive CC data from WLMT-TV CH30. So there are 2 sets of CC data being transmitted. Bottom line, we intend to install CH30 CC mute during WB. We hope to get this in next week or so.

Has anyone see the tube recently? I have tried different channels and haven't seen it yet.

I watch it just about everyday. I just turned on the TV now (love telecommuting!) and it's on. It's channel 5.2.

I'll try that again today. Does it go off at a certain time?

If you've got an HD-Tivo, you need to rescan off-air channels. But no need to bother, unless you want to watch SD music videos with a lot of pixellization (I think they listened to our complaints about the main channel PQ and reduced the bandwith of the subchannels, and for that I thank WMC).

If you've got an HD-Tivo, you need to rescan off-air channels. But no need to bother, unless you want to watch SD music videos with a lot of pixellization
I did a rescan and found it. And OH MY GOD you were right, the blocking was awful. My wife even commented "Well I'm glad they added this channel. I can't even tell whats on the screen." The only thing I have seen that bad in 3-1 during any sports. And that's not a compliment.

Yeah, there is definitely a high level of compression. It doesn't bother me very much since I would prefer they keep more bandwidth for the main station. And I'm not sure if it's on 24/7. I know it stays on until at least midnight.

Of course, I'd rather watch pixelated music videos than just about anything they show on MTV these days. At least The Tube has actual music!

Yes I have lowered the bandwidth on "The Tube" to try and maintain the quality of 5.1 (WMC main channel) I understand some will not be happy with this solution but it is only temporary. We are going to be installing a Stat Mux in the near future. I don't have an exact time frame but will make it happen as soon as possible. This will allow us to hopefully have our cake and eat it to. We also have gotten some optimized settings from our encoder manufacturer which may help even sooner with the pixelization you are seeing on The Tube. Please be patient we have not officially launched The Tube yet which means what you see now is just our testing the signal.

David E
WMC

Do you give the Tube and Weather+ the same amount of bandwidth? I wouldn't think Weather+ would need really much at all.

EngDave,

Just want to let you know how much we appreciate your taking the time to participate in this forum. The two way communication tells me you are interested in your audience. And your making adjustments in response to the desires of individuals on the forum, is well...., just great. Too many in the broadcast business seem to think whatever they broadcast must be what the people want.

Let me echo what Neil Laffoon said above, THANKS for listening and THANKS for responding to suggestions.

Now can you share some of your experiences with your collegues in town? They NEED your help.

Again, thanks for listening, responding and interacting with this group.

Ron

I live in Hernando MS and have had hdtv through directv since October of last year. I live in a new subdivision and recently lost my signal for the locals in HD. I'm pretty sure this was caused by a new two story home that was built next to me that's blocking the signal. Directv wants to charge me $97.50 to relocate the dish but can't guarantee that will solve the problem. I was wondering if anybody here had run into this problem and could provide me with some alternative solutions.

Thanks,
HogRyder

Directv wants to charge me $97.50 to relocate the dish ...

I have Directv, but I don't get local HD channels with the dish. I receive them with a separate UHF antenna in my attic. You must be receiving yours in the same way, since HD locals are not yet available over the satellite. You should find out where/what your antenna is.

Yeah, I have an off air antenna attached to my satellite.

I doubt those OTA antennas that attach to a dish have very much gain. The ones I've seen look basically like just a dipole or loop. You'd do much better with a larger multi-element antenna, even if you had to mount it in your attic.

I suggest reading the (sticky) antenna thread in this area. Also visit antennaweb.org to find out the best type of antenna for your location.

I'd do a combo of the last 2 posts. Go to the website and see how far you are from the towers, then choose your antenna that way. Some places in Memphis will install your antenna for you, for a price. Depending on the distance, you might be better off mounting it yourself. It will take time, but you'll enjoy the self gratification. Or you will hate yourself for trying. :) More than likely A

I noticed for the first time tonight that 30-1 is showing the EPG past 10 pm. Cool.

Dave,
Since NASCAR is now going to NBC, are you going to try to pass 5.1? Also, will you give more bw to the main channel during the race?

I noticed for the first time tonight that 30-1 is showing the EPG past 10 pm. Cool.

I wish 10-1 showed the EPG for 10-1 rather then being a copy the one for 10-3. Does anyone else see this problem? Does anyone know someone over there?

I wish 10-1 showed the EPG for 10-1 rather then being a copy the one for 10-3. Does anyone else see this problem? Does anyone know someone over there?
Yeah I've noticed this, and would rather see the EPG for 10-1 there. Shoot, I was just happy that they finally started passing it for 10-3. If you fill out the viewer feedback link Russ Abernathy will respond. His email is rabernathy@wkno.org.

Off topic, my dog just had a litter of 9 pure bred border collies, 5 male 4 females. If anyone is interested send me a pm or an email. I can give you further details as far as price, shots and stuff (don't want to clutter up this board) pics are at www.sugarplumgals.com/puppies.htm

Hmm, 10-1 looks correct to me. It's different than 10-3 via OTA.

mx6...love your rank title! That has to be one of the funniest standup routines I've ever seen. "Cake or death?" "Uhh, cake please." "I'm sorry, we're all out of cake." I must get that DVD. Izzard is hilarious.

I'm getting 10-3 EPG for 10-1.

I've got all the Eddie Izzard stand ups on DVD. Dressed to Kill is definately the best. I've seen the DVD/early tape from HBO, seriously, like 50 times. I can almost quote the whole standup while watching it. My wife's favorite part is "Do you have a flag?" I do agree also, is one of the top standups I've ever seen.

Yeah I've noticed this, and would rather see the EPG for 10-1 there. Shoot, I was just happy that they finally started passing it for 10-3. If you fill out the viewer feedback link Russ Abernathy will respond.

I wrote to Russ Abernathy and got this response:

Mr. Patterson. Thanks for your e-mail. I have looked in to the program guide issues that you experience. In looking at our off-air signal through both a Samsung T-165 and an LG 4200 receiver the program guide is correct, displaying both the 10-1 and the 10-3 schedules. Additionally the individual program information data is correct. Based on this I can only assume that it has something to do with the direct TV receiver but I really can't confirm that. I talking with my counterparts across the country, the standard response to viewers with receiver problems is when all else fails "hard Boot" the receiver, that is un plug it from the ac power supply for several minutes then re-start it. In some cases after it re-acquires the data stream and PSIP data it works properly. This is caused by corrupted data in the receiver memory that the "hard boot" clears. I am not sure that this is your problem or that it will help. In fact you have already have tried this. At the end of the day every manufacturer implemented the ATSC standards is slightly different ways, and as a result I don't think we will really resolve problems like this. Only very tight standards imposed on both the broadcaster/Satellite TV/Cable TV operator and the TV/VCR/DVR manufacturer will result is a 100% system.

Let me know if you are able to resolve your problem and don't hesitate to contact me again. Thanks

Can anyone comment on this response? I have both an E86 and an HTL-HD, and both of them exhibit the problem. I'm thinking maybe it's an incompatibility with D* receivers. But of course I don't see the problem with the other DTV stations. (Of course, none of the others have a meaningful EPG except for the main channel.)

I looked last night on my E86 and I was still getting the EPG for 10-3 on 10-1. I have an E86 upstairs thats unplugged that I will plug back in and check out and let you know. I'll check out my HDTivo also.

A possible issue may be that D* receivers get their EPG info from D* rather than ota. This is only speculation, but it seems likely since I have EPG for 13-1 and don't get any ota signal at all from 13-1. The problem could be communication between D* and WKNO.

I'm pretty sure it comes from OTA

I'm pretty sure it comes from OTA

I'm not disputing you, because I really have no idea, but if it does come OTA, then why, like another person mentioned, do we get the guide for 13-1 when they don't send out an OTA signal?

E86 got it's data from D*. I do not know if it was even able to process PSIP other than station name correctly.

HDTiVo seems to be somewhat odd......a combination of both, perhaps to keep the unit from working perfectly without being on an active D* account. The E86 was designed to work standalone OTA and even cable without having to be on an active D* account.

HDTiVo seems to be somewhat odd......a combination of both

So which EPG does the HDTivo show for 10-1?

I am not for sure, but I would say satellite.........as 13-1 WHBQ-DT shows up in the EPG and we all know that is wrong. The ATSC in the TiVo behaves different than the E86 I used to use.

E86 you could tune the actual channel, and then it would jump to the virtual channel. HDTiVo will not tune in the actual channel, except for 31-1, which for some reason it sees as a seperate channel, which carries no PSIP data..........no channel name or programing guide. KAIT-DT, an ABC station out of Jonesboro I am sure was not in D* guide data, and when I was using the E86 I had the channel name KAIT-DT, but no programing data.

Any more word on Fox-13 transmitting their signal at a level someone can actually recieve it? Thanks, Kevin

So which EPG does the HDTivo show for 10-1?
the EPG for 10-3

Well, I've gotta say I am un-impressed with the PQ of tonight's race. There is pixelation when the camera pans around, cars drive by stills look blocky, and I even saw it during the pre-race on the grass. This looks absolutely nothing like last years Daytona 500 did.
This is a good example of what a subchannel will do to the main feed.

My HD TIVO shows EPG for 10-3 on 10-1 as well. I haven't checked the Toshiba 3000, so I can't say about the older models.

I agree about the race last night, any camera pan would cause a significant "fade" effect. What was up with the cut to letterbox when the lottery numbers were shown? Can't they be scrolled on the bottom without a cut away?

Also, noted numerous other letterbox cut aways about the time the lottery numbers appeared, seemed to just keep switching back and forth for no good reason.

The PQ was very poor overall. I guess this is the new norm for HD. Pretty exciting, huh?!?

Here is a followup message I got from Russ Abernathy. It doesn't seem he fully understood what I was saying about the EPG, which means nothing will be done about it. I'd be interested to know what any HD E* customers see for the EPG on 10-1 and 10-3.

All local broadcasters in Memphis except WKNO broadcast the same programs on their analog channel (this is also what Direct TV gets) and their Digital HD channel. I know that in the case of WKNO, both Time Warner and the Dish Network get their program guide data from a company called Tribune media. Tribune supplies data to newspapers as well. WKNO-HD is a different set of programs, not what we broadcast on 10-1. It is easy to see that if Direct TV's program guide has WKNO listed it would not be the same as our HD offerings. In our case since the programs are different and they only get our SD program offers, I can see how confusing this would be to the viewer. If and when the Satellite operators offer our HD service then the confusion should end. In the case of WHBQ-TV, they operate at extremely low power, but are on Time Warner cable in HD.

hmmm, I guess that WREG and WMC don't use Tribune media, because they have the correct EPF gor their subchannels.

I am one tee'd off vet!!! On WMCtv tonight, the 4th of July spectacular(5-1) has been pre-empted by weather warnings (and is the only major affiliate still pre-empting main signal at this time istead of showing a script), while the sub-channels 'Tube' (5-2), AND would you believe 'Weather Now' (5-3) are not pre-empted for this tornado warning? I can understand breaking into the the main channel (5-1) to say there is a warning and to tune to sub-channel (5-3) for more info. But not this!!!!!!

Jerry

Edit...

What is the purpose of Weather Now? WHen I tuned into it it was showing weather for Ohio!!!!... Not the Tornado warning.... what a joke.

I feel your pain. I just came inside to watch the fireworks after watching our neighbors shoot them. And what do we get, WMC with the ONLY channel breaking into normal programming with rain report. I guess I wont see the fireworks afterall. I'm sure they'd all be horribly pixelated anyways. I wonder if we were in a drought there wouldn't be a report. :D

But yeah, since there is a channel dedicated to weather NOW, what use is it? I mentioned months ago that I put it on that channel and it took a minute or so to see local weather.

I'm in Bartlett and haven't lost the D* signal yet, nice. And it's raining pretty hard out here.

We were out of town this weekend, so when we got home I watched the race on HDTiVo.

I must agree with the comments on the lack of PQ. Shots with out much motion looked really good, but throw the fence or the grass in blocks, blocks, blocks. Looks like one of the next generation of DVD's will be the only hope for real PQ.

I'd be interested to know what any HD E* customers see for the EPG on 10-1 and 10-3.
E* is a joke right now on EPG info, at least for the HD DVR customers. First, you must subscribe to locals to even get the PG info, but even then, it doesn't show up on the OTA channels, like it is supposed to. All my PG shows for any OTA channel is "Digital Service". Even when they get it working (always next software update) they will NOT include anything other than the main channel, so I am assuming that 10-3 is a no-show.

I tivo'd the fireworks on 10-3 last night and watched them this morning. Not bad. The actual fireworks weren't as good as others I had seen, but I did not see any pixelation at all. Of course that could be because the camera shots were so far from the fireworks. Of course when it was over a commercial came on and showed a car driving down and road and I think there were trees in teh background. I couldn't tell because of the motion and blockiness

I was fairly impressed with the fireworks on 10-3. One shot in particualr was quite detailed. One of the fireworks exploded once, and then the ends exploded into tiny starbursts. I could see the individual trails on the starbursts, instead of just the blob seen in SD. I didn't realize fireworks could look this good on video.

Love the HDTV!

Has anyone besides me noticed that WKNO-DT is transmitting almost no signal? The last two nights I could barely see a flicker on the signal strength meter. And, of course, no picture or sound at all.

I haven't watched WKNO-DT the past couple of days but they were having trouble Monday night during the second airing of A Capital Fourth, it went out a few times with the "We are experiencing Technical Difficulties" screen.


On another topic does any one else see consistant drop outs from WMC-DT? I am getting OTA and have no problems with the other stations (other than fox of course).

On another topic does any one else see consistant drop outs from WMC-DT? I am getting OTA and have no problems with the other stations (other than fox of course).
I used to have trouble with WMC, and I live 3 miles from their tower. I finally got it fixed with a new antenna, but I spent months on that channel. Still I am rarely getting a signal strength over 80%. I don't know if they upped their power yet. But WMC seemed to be the hardest with the people I helped get setup.

Has anyonce checked out 3-2 lately. My wife was flipping thru the channels and I told her to go back for a second. I wont tell you what it is, but someone at WREG must really like Weather Plus.

dtivomem;
I'm getting WMC-DT right now at 22.5dB. By comparison WREG is showing about 28-30dB. So while I'm getting a watchable signal from WMC it is not as strong as the other Memphis stations. But I'm 70 miles from the tower. But, I havn't been watching enough lately to notice any drop outs or other problems.

mx6bfast;
Don't know what you saw on 3-2, but I don't see anything unusual there right now.

Don't know what you saw on 3-2, but I don't see anything unusual there right now.
I saw it last night at 10:30 after the news and at 7 am this morning after the news. I guess it's not on the entire time, which would make it even more worthless.

Are any D* subs having trouble with signal strength right now? It's a little cloudy, but nothing terrible. I'm getting less than 50% on both 101 and 110. (119 is fine.) I noticed the same problem a couple of days ago but then it went away. Of course, I've changed nothing.

I suppose I can call D*, but they are gonna want to charge me to send out an installer, and this feels like totally not my fault. So I'm curious if anyone else sees it.

Just a heads-up to anyone in the area looking for an HD DirecTivo for cheap. Best Buy on Winchester honored the 50% off any Tivo product this morning, no questions asked. I walked out of there with my new receiver for $350 plus tax. The coupons are available on Ebay and some people at the Tivo Community are just giving them away (that's where I got mine).

-Robert

Did WMC ever go HD for the race today? I was gonna watch it and then cut the yard, but since it wasn't in HD, I decided to do yardwork.

They "fipped the switch" about 1.5 hours into the race...............

C'mon WMC-DT.........let's get it together for the rest of the season. We had this trouble last week as well.

Lots of motion artifacts this week as well.......I think we can lay most of that on NBC though, at least that was the thought last week in the national thread.

Anybody receving 5-1(2)(3)... it seems like they died about when the storm it..

Jerry

I'm getting it right now. I was out driving in the rain :)

Has anyone noticed video pauses on 24-1 recently? I first noticed it Sat during the British Open and then later that day watching the Outdoor games. Then it reappeared Sunday during the open. This has happened to me on 2 different tv's. The video is fine

Yeah, it's just like last year, when they were having trouble with their equipment. But then they switched WPTY and WLMT equipment, and everything was fine. So I'm thinking they had a problem and had to switch back to the old equipment. I hope they work it out soon.

I remember that last year. Watching that channel this weekend brought back bad memories. I haven't watched WPTY since then so I don't know if it is still happening or not.

Still happening, but less often. Just had a stutter during Regis & Kelly.

Anyone know what is going on with WKNO? I am showing three additional sub channels but none of them are showing anything, one is listed 10-2, another one is 10-4 with a strange symbol and the other one is 10-5 with the description of "Apg", I noticed them last night. Still up today just not showing anything.

Does anyone know if our UPN affiliate is an O&O station?? It seems Directv and Viacom just signed a deal that will among other things give D* the rights to carry UPN and CBS E/W feeds for customers in O&O areas like they do know with Fox.

I'd be much more interested in the WB shows... Smallville and Gilmore Girls are both great in HD (when they're actually shown in HD). WLMT shows UPN and WB shows... so I don't think they're O&O by UPN.

I believe ABC 24, UPN 30 and WB on 24 are all Clear Channel stations so I don't think we will see satellite HD until LIL rolls out.

I believe ABC 24, UPN 30 and WB on 24 are all Clear Channel stations so I don't think we will see satellite HD until LIL rolls out.

What is LIL? Thanks

Local (channels) into Local (areas). Here is Memphis, and the surrounding area, we have local Memphis channels up on D*. If we were in a much smaller DMA, in the middle of nowhere, chances are we would not have local channels.

When D* starts transmitting from the Spaceways, they will have the capacity for 1500 HD channels. That's national, everyone gets them like HDNet, HBO, and also LIL HD channels. So when Memphis is up and running on the new birds, we will be provided local HD networks from the satellite dish, not thru an antenna. Of course we won't be able to get locals for say Chicago.

There isn't a definate word on if channels like UPN, WB, and PBS will be up at first. But we should be able to get WREG, WMC, WHBQ, and WPTY once live. And there is no info as to if D* will carry sub-channels. But the good thing is the new -4 stb's do have OTA tuners.

5-1 passing DD5.1 on ER tonight. Commercials are fine, but the show sounds like it is in a tunnel.

WMC turned on the 5.1 during Wheel of Fortune and started running tests, with the normal audio also sent out. So Pat Sajak is coming from the center channel, and voices saying "Left surround channel" and "Right channel" are bouncing around the other channels. Then during Joey, they were sending the audio both in 5.1 and in stereo (hence the tunnel effect, since the two audio streams weren't in perfect synch). While the tunnel effect isn't pleasant, I do find it superior to the WREG habit of sending no center channel for the first ten to forty minutes of 5.1 shows. And once their testing is complete and they turn off the stereo audio, WMC should sound much better.

After watching Veronica Mars on WREG tonight, I'd have to say WLMT BLOWS AWAY WREG in PQ hands down. Screen changes caused blocking as usual.

I am not looking forward to college and NFL on WREG this season, again. They aren't doing anything to make the PQ look better.

I finally had a chance to watch TV again, and you all weren't kidding about the "tunnel" effect on WMC. I couldn't listen to that for very long. Instead, caught the Heart concert on PBS-HD. Apart from some of the camera ops having problems chasing focus, it was decent. It would have been better in 5.1 though. I've been spoiled by the DTS mix on their "Alive in Seatle" DVD.

It would have been better in 5.1 though.
WKNO supposedly has the 5.1 equipment, I don't know why they aren't testing or passing it.

Anyone notice that the Tube is now in HD? At least the EPG says so. :)

Real bad storms and lightning in Bartlett. Probably explains why WMC, WPTY, and WLMT aren't on right now.

WMC 5-1 doesn't sound 'hollow' anymore... thank god!!

Anyone notice that the Tube is now in HD? At least the EPG says so. :)

Real bad storms and lightning in Bartlett. Probably explains why WMC, WPTY, and WLMT aren't on right now.

I am getting them now...

I just got my HD (Sony A10) two days ago. I have Time Warner Cable, not digital and not cable card, but I get the local HD's through the HD tuner on my tv. I get NBC, ABC, UPN, and Fox in HD but I don't get CBS/WREG. It is supposed to be channel 803 but it says there is no signal. Does anyone know what the deal is with WREG/CBS HD???

I am getting them now...
We lost power about 30 minutes after I posted that until just after 9, and all 3 channels were back on.

I'm picking WREG/CBS up fine on channel 3.1.
Sounds like an issue with Timewarner.

The Tube is not HD. The guide says it is but the pic is total crapola!

Anyone know why WREG is not broadcasting the PGA championship in HD? CBS is broadcasting today and tomorrow in HD. WREG is not.

Did anyone else have voice sync problems during law and order last night? (NBC)

Anyone know why WREG is not broadcasting the PGA championship in HD? CBS is broadcasting today and tomorrow in HD. WREG is not.
So did they ever broadcast it in HD? I was watching it all weekend long on a 21 inch hospital tv that was fuzzy and could barely make out the scores on the screen.

It was HD when I turned it on Sunday afternoon, and again for the finish Monday morning.

So what did everyone think about the HD broadcasts this weekend? This is my take:

WREG: NFL game looked exceptionally good. Very little to no blocking. It looked more like it used to before the picture went to crap. I saw most of the blocking when the CBS or NFL graphic would fly in. I am going to wait to judge whether or not WREG has improved their PQ for 3-1 until I see a few more games with that good of PQ. I'm hoping it didn't look that good just because CBS was using their "A" truck.
I just wish they would pick a sound scheme and stick with it. It's kinda annoying when the sound goes from 2.0 to 5.1 and then back a few minutes later.

WMC: Action Sports looked pretty good also. Little to no blocking. I'm not sure if that was because the cameras were so far away. Hopefully they are fixing the 5.1 issue, especially with the new season starting soon.
I wonder if changing the Tube to 4:3 would minimize the blocking. Or would changing the ratio need more bandwidth?

WLMT: I actually saw a lot of blocking during the movie Friday night. I don't remember the name of it. But some dude had a red jacket and was doing some kung fu type stuff and it was just a big red blob. Very unexpected.

I caught part of the Jets/Vikings game on CBS. That was the first football game I've seen in HD, and I was blown away. Too bad NBC wasn't showing the Titans game in HD, since that's the game I really wanted to watch.

Can't wait for the season to start now!

I caught part of the Jets/Vikings game on CBS. That was the first football game I've seen in HD, and I was blown away.
That's what the PQ used to look like from WREG during both NFL and SEC games. But then they did something to the PQ and every game last season was full of blocks. Everytime I sent them an email about it the responses were pretty much "we don't care". I sure hope they fixed whatever it was.

What's up with WMC tonight? No HD on anything.

Hello, I'm new to the forums and was wondering about the OTA HD channels. I live in a small town called Walnut Ridge about 30 minutes N-NW of Jonesboro. Would I be able to get Memphis locals in HD? If so what kind of antenna would I need.

Welcome.

It depends on how many miles you are from the towers. I know Jonesboro is pretty far away. You can go to antennaweb.org and type in your address and you can get a good idea of what you would be able to get.
You could also send an im to dirk1843 who lives in northeast Arkansas, he might be a good resource.
Post how far you are roughly from the river. Then add about 19 miles to get the furthest tower.

Hello Cameron........welcome to the forums!!

I am in Trumman by way of Bay orginally...........I have been getting OTA from Memphis for quite some time. I am afraid you may have to work at it, but it should be possible. I do not know how much the ridge will intefere with you, as I belive it lies between you and Memphis.

I am using a Radio Shack VU190.........their larges combo anteanna on a 30 foot push up mast. I would think that you may have to go to 50.........and with an anteanna that large, maybe even need a tower.

I have freinds in Jonesboro who are getting OTA........but they are pretty high up. Their is another member here from NE Arkanasas who is in Paragould who is getting OTA, but I do not know how high he is.

Once again..........welcome........it is good to see another person from 'round here!!

Welcome aboard Cameron,

My best guess would be you are about 85 miles from the Memphis towers. How is your reception of analog channels? That is a good indicator for HDTV, because the coverage area for digital is about the same as for analog. My guess would be you will need as much antenna gain as possible, and probably a pre-amp as well. Since Walnut Ridge is flat, all you will need to be concerned with is getting your antenna above any obstructions (trees, building, etc.). You won't be able to put your antenna high enough to get line of sight. That would require...what?...a four or five hundred foot tower. You will have to rely of atmospheric, and troposheric conditions to bend and reflect the signal for you to get it anyway.
Their is another member here from NE Arkanasas who is in Paragould who is getting OTA, but I do not know how high he is.That would be me. :D My house is on the ridge, but in a slight valley, with a ~20ft hill in the direction of Memphis. I don't think my antenna is quite high enough to clear the top of that hill. I'm 69.5-73 miles from the towers. WKNO is farthest away. Anyway, I get good reception much of the time. But not always. Tonight all Memphis channels are coming in fine. This time of year is best, because of the high humidity which tends to bend the signal.

Hey, thanks for the help. I have a dish network satellite and I'm getting a HDTV and receiver pretty soon and trying to figure all of this stuff out. I'm a rookie when it comes to this. I'm looking at this antenna but don't know for sure if it's what I need or if it comes with everything I need. It's a Model: VU-190 XR from radioshack. I would put the link so you could look but it won't let me. If you guys would check it out and tell me what else I would need or if I need a different one I would appreciate it. Thanks again.

That is a good antenna choice. There are better antenna for both UHF and VHF (seperate antenna for each), but not available locally. You can probably return the VU-190 to Radio Shack if it doesn't work for you. Right now a UHF only antenna would likely give you the best reception from Memphis. As all the digital stations are on the UHF band. KAIT is VHF though. And in a few years WMC will most likely go back to channel 5, which a UFO only antenna just won't pick up. I think the other Memphis stations are planning to stay with their UFO frequencies.

That is a good antenna choice. There are better antenna for both UHF and VHF (seperate antenna for each), but not available locally. You can probably return the VU-190 to Radio Shack if it doesn't work for you. Right now a UHF only antenna would likely give you the best reception from Memphis. As all the digital stations are on the UHF band. KAIT is VHF though. And in a few years WMC will most likely go back to channel 5, which a UFO only antenna just won't pick up. I think the other Memphis stations are planning to stay with their UFO frequencies.

Why do you think that in a few years WMC will go back to VHF? Just curiuos since all I have right now is a rooftop 8-bay bowtie antenna. Right now isn't WMC on channel 51 digital, but shows up as 5-1? Just curious where you got the info. Thanks.

Back in February of this year the FFC conducted their first round of channel elections and the results were posted on "FFC Form 382". That form shows that WMC elected channel 5, as we knew they would have to. Channels above 50 (I think it is) will not be available to TV after 12/31/2008. Which also means WHBQ will have to go back to 13, exactly what they choose on Form 382 also BTW. The rest elected to stay with the UHF DTV channels they are using now.

Of course, this was just the first round elections, indicating what the stations would like to do. The FCC will have to approve, and nothing is set in stone yet.

I was told by another member that KAIT had made channel 8 it's first choice. I would be willing to bet that ALL of our locals request their old NTSC designation, as many of them have marketing campaings built around them..........

Cameron,

On your anteanna........that is the same one I have. It comes with only the anteanna, a blaun and the hardware to attach it to the mast. You will have to supply the mast, cable, guy wires, grounding for your antenna mast, and static discharge block. I do not know what is available in the high end, and as Neil metioned, you probably won't find in around here anyway.......but a couple of years ago Sound & Vision did a comparison of anteannas for ATSC........they used either the 190 or one step below it, and their testing in New York showed better reception of the UHF band with the combo that with a larger dedicated UHF unit. YMMV.

Channels above 50 (I think it is) will not be available to TV after 12/31/2008. Which also means WHBQ will have to go back to 13,
Meaning we will never get 53, just 13. :D

fyi...I recieved this email a couple of weeks ago asking if we would see any HD football on WHBQ OTA,
"We're doing the building construction now, and the transmitter and antenna have been built. We still have to complete moving the NTSC equipment, add more air conditioning, build up the electrical feed, modify the tower and mount the antenna. All and all, it's coming along pretty well. Right now, I'm trying to figure how to get the antenna truck up our access road with its tight corner and no turnaround!"

Meaning we will never get 53, just 13. :DYeah, probably!

For what it's worth I called the DTV retention dept and got a HD-TiVO for $299 with 100 Mail in Rebate. Being installed Monday afternoon. I know MPEG 4 is coming but it will be a while!!!

BTW, they pretty much are giving this offer to anyone who calls.

Is anyone else getting lots of pixelation on WPTY?

Is anyone else getting lots of pixelation on WPTY?


Nope.. just checked it at 4:50pm and it looks fine coming in with 92 signal strenght.

Nope.. just checked it at 4:50pm and it looks fine coming in with 92 signal strenght.
Yeah it fixed itself about 30 minutes ago. Supposedly this game is HD.

Does anyone locally have an OTA stb they want to sell? I bought one off ebay SIR-T150, and it is acting up. I'm getting really sick of dealing with this guy I bought it from.

Dude, what's up with OTA today.

WREG: Game not in HD. Called but no one in the control room. Chick on the phone will look into it in a few minutes. Hopefully will turn on soon.
WMC: Can only see half of the screen due to green color taking up the top half
WPTY: Issues mentioned earlier. Movie tonight not in HD.

edit: Game is now in HD

Dude, what's up with OTA today.

WREG: Game not in HD. Called but no one in the control room. Chick on the phone will look into it in a few minutes. Hopefully will turn on soon.
WMC: Can only see half of the screen due to green color taking up the top half
WPTY: Issues mentioned earlier. Movie tonight not in HD.

edit: Game is now in HD


Same problems here. WMC is really strange with only half of screen showing during HD...

Does anyone locally have an OTA stb they want to sell? I bought one off ebay SIR-T150, and it is acting up. I'm getting really sick of dealing with this guy I bought it from.


Hey MX I picked up a Voom receiver from Ebay last week for around $30 plus 19 shipping. After about 5 minutes to hook up the cables and stuff I had HD in the bedroom. Of course it only works with HD OTA and there is no guide data but I like it better than spending $200+ on a new box.

Yeah I was trying to get one of those but they were selling for more than I wanted to spend. I ended up winning an E86 for $50. I tried to split the cable with one going to the HD box and the other going to the TV so I could get the FOX analog station decent. That wasn't working and since I knew the E86 can pick up both, I just went with that.

Anyone see Letterman in HD last night? I still cant get CBS OTA, so I was wondering if it went well.

It was ok. I thought Conan did a much better job making fun of HD. But WREG didn't miss starting it in HD.

I am not getting any signal at all from WMC 5-1 today. Everything else seems okay (all other OTA's working fine), so don't think it's my OTA antenna. Are they not broadcasting right now? Anyone else picking it up?

They went off the air last night during the high winds, so I'm thinking the transmitter was damaged somehow. WREG also went out late last night, but they were back this morning.

FWIW: I haven't been getting reliable reception of WKNO for at least a couple of weeks.

Looks like Time Warner (soon to be Comcast) pushed new firmware to my SA8300HD DVR last night. The code is 1.87.16. The HD channels look WAY better in my opinion. I always though WMC-HD was the worst looking HD and I was finally impressed while watching Leno last night. There was also a new HD channel added but there is no guide information yet. Looks like Universal-HD to me. It's listed as UNIHD so I am assuming that's it. Haven't noticed any other new features yet but if I do, I'll post them.

Have you noticed any difference in SD channels?

Anyone see Letterman in HD last night? I still cant get CBS OTA, so I was wondering if it went well.

I thought the picture quality was excellent. It was cool to see the detail in the old theater (the columns, etc).

The show was pretty lame, but then that's DAVE...

I thought the picture quality was excellent. It was cool to see the detail in the old theater (the columns, etc).

The show was pretty lame, but then that's DAVE...


Well, I tried to watch DAVE last night (Wed.) on 3-1 ota, but it didn't look HD at all and wasn't wide screen. Was it?

Also did anyone else have trouble with the sound on 24-1 Lost at 8pm. I had no center channel when I played it back through the HDTivo. I didn't watch it live, so don't know if it was a problem with playback or if it was happening live too.

WREG forgot to throw the switch for the first three minutes (didn't give them long, did you?) . It was in HD and widescreen after that.

I just tuned into 24-1 for a few minutes last night, but I noticed there was no center channel. In fact, since I'm currently down-mixing to stereo, I thought there was no sound at all until I turned the volume way up.

I'm probably the only one, but if you lost Fox HD on D* this week, it's part of the post-SHEVRA clean up. The rule used to be that you could get Fox HD here in Memphis if you subscribed to locals OR the HD Package. The new rule drops the HD package from qualifying, so since I didn't have locals, I lost channel 88.

So now it costs $3 more per month to get Fox HD. Oh, well.

That isn't cool.........

Alright, so I havent gotten WREG in HD in months now, so I decided to try and fix this thing today. I finally got my TV to show the signal strength for 3-1, and its at NEARLY FULL. It's jumping between the 2 of the highest marks. What gives? How can I have a signal THAT strong, and no picture? Could it be a false reading?

Alright, so I havent gotten WREG in HD in months now, so I decided to try and fix this thing today. I finally got my TV to show the signal strength for 3-1, and its at NEARLY FULL. It's jumping between the 2 of the highest marks. What gives? How can I have a signal THAT strong, and no picture? Could it be a false reading?

Have you tried to do a rescan of your locals?

I've been set up for a few weeks now using the built in tuner on the Mits xx725 and an indoor antenna. Reception had been acceptable until last night (primetime) when I stopped being able to tune to any of the digital stations.
Each time I would get a gray screen and a message saying the channel is either not available or off the air. I tried a rescan of the channels (probably a mistake) and lost all the memorized digital channels and their mappings. I've tried tuning to the channel directly and still get the same result. I tried again this morning to rescan and still no luck finding or tuning them.
Since there wasn't any other mention of this in the thread, it doesn't seem likely that all of the local stations have dropped the OTA broadcast. I'm posting here to make sure that's the case. I'm considering trying to swap out the antenna, but I can still get 24 and 30 analog so it doesn't seem to be a total shutdown on UHF channels.
My biggest concern is there is something wrong with the tuner or setup, but I don't have any ATSC source or other tuner to compare it to.

All of the DTV channels except for 5-2 The Tube is working for me. I don't why 5-2 says "No Signal"... it has been that way for a couple of days... dosn't bother me though.

Jerry

All of the DTV channels except for 5-2 The Tube is working for me. I don't why 5-2 says "No Signal"... it has been that way for a couple of days... dosn't bother me though.

Jerry

5-2 The Tube has been off for me too, but is broadcasting a "no signal" on the screen. It has been off ever since the storm came through last week.

I also agree that it doesn't bother me. I rarely if ever watch it.

Thanks for the info on the reception. It ended up being something that a reset of the TV would take care of. On the plus side, I had been missing all the WMC stations on all my previous scans and was able to pick it up after the reset.

The Tube is moving to a different satellite, so WMC has to move to their dish. Apparently the PQ of the tube will be better. I guess that is going on now. Not that I miss the channel either.

ravma, do you get your locals thru your tv, or from an stb? I have no idea why you are not getting a picture with that high a signal strength. Have you emailed WREG about it?

I did a rescan, which I have done many, many times before, and somehow it finally worked! I'm so irked though. WREG is running a Telethon on 3-1, and tennis on 3-2. Why dont they just SWITCH THEM? We'd get Tennis in HD on 3-1, and the Telethon on 3-2! Ugh...
Well, at least I have it back again. Now I can invest in that long cable from my house to WHBQ.

ok well I've called WPTY about 20 minutes ago about turning on the HD feed. Looks like they wont.

edit: just did

Speaking of tennis on WREG, I notice alot of blocking, especially when changing to certain camera angles. It usually clears up over about a second. Does anyone know if this a WREG problem or a national feed problem?

Speaking of tennis on WREG, I notice alot of blocking, especially when changing to certain camera angles. It usually clears up over about a second. Does anyone know if this a WREG problem or a national feed problem?
More than likely local. WREG multicasts which litters screen changes and movement with blocking. You can also notice it on shows like CSI, for example, when they cut to another scene. And of course football. During the Jets/whoever game last week, when the Jets coach was walking around, I saw blocking in and around his white shirt!!!

For those with the D* locals, and the HD pack feed(including FOX HD), we will get 6 different football games Sunday

More than likely local. WREG multicasts which litters screen changes and movement with blocking. You can also notice it on shows like CSI, for example, when they cut to another scene. And of course football. During the Jets/whoever game last week, when the Jets coach was walking around, I saw blocking in and around his white shirt!!!

For what it's worth, I also notice a big difference when comparing picture quality when viewing something OTA versus through my Time Warner Box. Most of the locals, and especially WMC for some reason, look much better over my OTA antenna than they do through my Time Warner Box. It may be that I'm using cables and not HDMI on my cable box...I'm not sure. But sporting events like NASCAR look a lot better IMHO over the air.

Anyone else with Time Warner HD have audio sync issues with WMC-HD (channel 805)? It's been like this for months. Just checking to see if I am the only one. I would like to get whatever needs to be fixed before the fall season starts.

I have sync issues all the time with WMC-HD via OTA. Must not be a Time Warner problem. It drives my wife nuts.

I have sync issues all the time with WMC-HD via OTA. Must not be a Time Warner problem. It drives my wife nuts.

I also have it OTA, the delay is so bad, it often makesme turn the channel. I wonder if this is a national problem with NBC or just a local?

Of course they always try to blame it on the user's equipment, but with so many experiencing it on different equipment I doubt that's the case.

For what it's worth, I also notice a big difference when comparing picture quality when viewing something OTA versus through my Time Warner Box. Most of the locals, and especially WMC for some reason, look much better over my OTA antenna than they do through my Time Warner Box. It may be that I'm using cables and not HDMI on my cable box...I'm not sure. But sporting events like NASCAR look a lot better IMHO over the air.

Sounds like they are using some kind of extra compression...........that is the name of the game from the top all the way down........."just a little more compression to fit on one more sub-channel of infomericals or another shopping channel". For everything there is a season, or so they say, I will be happy when things turn from QUANITY TO QUALITY.

Geezz, First Titans game of the season and CBS hasnt turned on the HD!!!!!!!!!! But I love seeing the logo that it is being broadcast in HD! ARGHHH!!!!!

this game IS supposed to be in HD, whats the number to WREG? Someone needs to call them and tell them flip the switch. They even have the DD on, but no HD!

I calle WREG to ask them to turn the HD on. They said it's not in HD today. I asked if they were sure and she said yes. So I then asked why are other cities getting it in HD and it says so on the website. She still said it wasn't. So, it looks like we wont get any HD football till at the earliest the 2nd game of the doubleheader next weekend. The Titans game isn't in HD. http://cbs.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl
I take it TW customers aren't getting the game in HD either?

543-2111, ask for engineering

sorry it took me so long for my post. I called at like 12:30, but then had to feed my newborn, and am typing with 1 hand. It took me 3o minutes to post. Everyone needs to call and complain.

just called and got the same thing, except with attitude this time. She snapped at me and told me "Im telling you, its not in HD". WHat a jerk!

just called and got the same thing, except with attitude this time. She snapped at me and told me "Im telling you, its not in HD". WHat a jerk!
Yeah, I've gotten that from her a couple time sbefore. I'm gonna email ron.walter@wreg.com tomorrow. I think everyone who is upset the game wasn't in Hd should.

Were the games broadcast nationally in HD? If so, did the engineering give any reason it wasn't being broadcast locally in HD?

Yeah it was, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6175070#post6175070. The reason they gave was it wasn't in HD.

I sent an email to WMC-TV about the audio sync problems. Hopefully I'll get a response.

It was definatly broadcast in HD because I watched highlights from the game on ESPN HD, and the highlights were all in HD. Go figure.

You are right. We goofed, and I am sorry. We are implementing a procedure
that will guard against such errors in the future. Thanks for bringing
this to our attention, and I appreciate your watching News Channel

09/11/2005 12:12 Subject: Football Not HDTV
To: "ron.walter wreg

Hi, what a disappointment. First, I have to watch the titans play, which is
bad enough, but what is worse is no HDTV, when the other games in other CBS
markets are, thanks,

Well, at least he admitted it.
A procedure? Like, looking at the HD feed to see if it's in HD? Or perhaps just leaving it spliced to the digital feed?

Well, at least he admitted it.
A procedure? Like, looking at the HD feed to see if it's in HD? Or perhaps just leaving it spliced to the digital feed?
I got the exact same response. Cut/paste :D Did anyone watch the US Open? Did they at least show that in HD?

Ummm, is 7573916 your phone number?

I got the exact same response. Cut/paste :D Did anyone watch the US Open? Did they at least show that in HD?

Ummm, is 7573916 your phone number?

Yes, I watched most of it. It was indeed in HD from the very beginning. Also broadcast Dolby Digital so the sound was pretty cool...sounded like you were in the stadium with the surround.

I also got the same response from Mr. Walter, however he ignored my suggestion that he monitor this forum for info on how to better serve his viewing public.

Ugh, what was up with WPTY last night during Monday Night Football? It would switch to 4:3 SD about every 10 minutes, and then go back to 16:9 HD, right in the middle of a shot (not replays or other inserts). Also, even though the game was advertised as being in DD 5.1, I only got a 2.0 mix from OTA. *sigh*

Yeah I saw that happening last night too. I didn't know if it was a local or national problem. Guess I need to read up on that thread. It still had the ABC bug in the HD spot when it did go 4:3, in addition to the bug in the SD spot.

edit-looks like it was a national problem

WPTY hasn't installed the dolby encoder equipment yet. It was delayed and they are expecting mid this month. I'm ready to hear NFL and LOST in 5.1.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 5.1 for the season premiere of Lost!

Ugh, What's up with ABC24/UPN30 recently? The WB shows arent in HD tonight. :( Weird considering I flipped through and saw UPN shows in HD earlier.
They BETTER have this fixed by next Thursday. I gotta have my HD Smallville.

I tuned into see Supernatural last night and was upset it wasn't in HD either. (Of course I'll have to watch it tonight because my wife doesn't like watching scary stuff late at night.) I too hope it's in HD by Friday night.


I also got the same response from Mr. Walter, however he ignored my suggestion that he monitor this forum for info on how to better serve his viewing public.
Yeah I've told him about it a couple of times too. I mentioned that WPTY and WMC have reps here, but he didn't seem to care. Of course I mentioned it to WKNO and WHBQ also.

Yup, I'm pretty p'd that the WB shows weren't in HD last night. Gilmore Girls is soooo much better in HD. And Smallville too... really hate watching that in SD. It's weird, they finally got the ep guide all straight on the digital OTA channel, and now the shows aren't HD!

At least we get to see the entire widescreen frame, since The WB has been letterboxing a lot of their shows.

Cheep - I caught the last couple of minutes of GG. What happened for them to split?

Does anyone remember if the WB shows were in HD Monday night?

Dunno. I Tivo'd it last night, and checked it for quality this morning, but didn't watch it yet.

I emailed "programming" for WLMT this morning, who knows if I'll get a response.

ooops, maybe i shoulda put that with spoiler tags.

Ugh... Thanks mx6, I hadn't watched my tape yet.

Edit: LOL, Well I thought what you said meant something else.. It was such a vague spoiler. I'm glad I was wrong.

We got the WB in HD last night.

Looks like Time Warner pulled the Universal HD channel. I don't even see it in the guide info anymore. I do however see a channel call MRDVR which probably stands for Multi-Room DVR. I called TW about this, but of course they were clueless as always. I doubt we will see very many changes from Time Warner until after the switch to Comcast is complete. Maybe Universal HD is a channel offering from Comcast and they can't legally turn it on until the switch.

*I never heard back from WMCTV 5 about the audio-sync issues. I'll wait another day and then I am going to send them another email.

I never heard back from WMCTV 5 about the audio-sync issues. I'll wait another day and then I am going to send them another email.
I was in the same boat you were with WMC. I didn't get a response after a couple of emails asking about it, so I emailed the station manager. Later that day I recieved an email back.

I was in the same boat you were with WMC. I didn't get a response after a couple of emails asking about it, so I emailed the station manager. Later that day I recieved an email back.

So what is the problem with NBC audio synch?

I originally thought it might have somehting to do with my hr10-240 HDTivo, but now I have it using a built in tuner on my new Samsung tv and same thing is happening, not going through any type of DVR.

My wife says it doesn't bother her, but I can't stand having the sound out of synch. I rarely even watch any shows on NBC HD anymore because of this.