Over the next five to seven days we will be performing work on the KOIN-DT digital transmitter that will require that it be off the air during much of the day. While an effort will be made to avoid primetime as much as possible it is likely that the evening hours will be impacted as well.

The work being performed involves the replacement of the five year old transmitter tubes and the installation of a third tube transmitter section. This work is being done to meet an FCC imposed deadline of July 1, 2005 to be transmitting at the FCC allowed maximum power of 1,000 kilowatts (our current power has been 839 kilowatts).

Originally posted by TheJory
> After we dropped D*, the guide switched from going out 4 days, to 7 days.

R. Is your Sony receiver still connected to the DirecTV Dish? If it is it is still getting guide data from DirecTV. You don't need to be a subscriber for the receiver to access the guide data.

Originally posted by Lee Wood
Is your Sony receiver still connected to the DirecTV Dish? If it is it is still getting guide data from DirecTV. You don't need to be a subscriber for the receiver to access the guide data. This has been enlightening. I was always under the impression that if you had D* shut off your service, the guide data from D* would cease as well. I just figured it would be the whole grid showing "regular programing". Good to know that if I ever get layed off or fired I'll still be able to see what's on while I'm sitting on the couch not working :). Thanks for the heads up on the service disruption Lee.

ron

Originally posted by Lee Wood
While an effort will be made to avoid primetime as much as possible it is likely that the evening hours will be impacted as well. During sweep weeks?!?

Oh I forgot.... we HDTV viewers aren't counted in the ratings. :)

>Is your Sony receiver still connected to the DirecTV Dish? If it is it is still getting guide data from DirecTV. You don't need to be a subscriber for the receiver to access the guide data.

Ah-HA! question answered!! Yes, the dish is still hooked up, since there is no reason to disconnect it. Thank you Lee.

R.

Originally posted by scowl
During sweep weeks?!?

Oh I forgot.... we HDTV viewers aren't counted in the ratings. :) Welllll, we're not thrilled either. But the FCC only set the July 1 deadline last Novermber. Harris couldn't deliver the third transmitter cabinet until this week and the installer is available now and not again until August (after the deadline).

As for the ratings, soon HDTV viewers will be counted. We'll be installing Nielsen data encoders in the digital programs in the next month or so. When Nielsen DOES start counting we'll be ready.

...and HDTV programming will go through the roof? Well, one can always hope.

Hi Scott, I tried to send you a private email but the forum wouldn't let me. I'd like to talk with you about your experiences with the new Mini ITX motherboard system. Would you please send me a quick email?

Thank you,
Al Rovner
Vancouver, WA
k7ar@arrl.net

Anyone having issues with 34.1? I lost it about 10 days ago. I checked my antenna, did a rescan but no luck. I show the same signal strengh as before I lost it but just "searching for signal"

Threads merged.

kdenham, the moderator moved you to the wrong thread, you may get a better response in the Eugene, OR (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5311774#post5311774)thread.

Thanks KGW!!!
The Conan rerun shown at 3:00am was in HD!!

Has anyone in Portland been able to get a waiver from KOIN to get the CBS HD feed from Dish Network?

Any word on when KWBP will be back in the land of HDTV?

Originally posted by earletp
Thanks KGW!!!
The Conan rerun shown at 3:00am was in HD!!Wow, how long's Conan been in HD? I knew it was supposed to come last month, but didn't make it. I hadn't checked in since then. On the suggestion of your post, though, I checked it out this evening, and even the movie clip was in HD! GG, NBC New York!

Originally posted by poweda
Has anyone in Portland been able to get a waiver from KOIN to get the CBS HD feed from Dish Network? I've had a waiver all along, from both KOIN and KGW, ever since the laws changed back on April 15th, 2001. Prior to that, I had every national network waived under class-B white area rules, but when those went away… I thought that KOIN and KGW just granted blanket waivers (I never had to apply), but that might have been for just those of us who qualified before, just at that time. KATU and KPDX refused afterward, but it mattered little as I upgraded to HD shortly thereafter, and my reception ability improved rather greatly. Still, it's handy to have that CBS-East feed.

Still, it's handy to have that CBS-East feed.


That's exactly why I want it. That, and I want to hedge my bet on my OTA HD signal. Thanks for your input. I'll contact KOIN and see if I can get the waiver.

The only waiver I can get is from NBC. If you look at what KOIN is doing with Comcast, I doubt you will be able to get a waiver form them.

I just got my dish network installed today. I am trying to hook up an in-door antenna I got from Radioshack ($49.99) to pick up some OTA HD signal. I can only get KGW and some weird channel 22-1,2,3,4. Occasionally, if I move the antenna around, I may pick KOPB HD (signal strength about 70%).

I live in the Bauer woods neighborhood north of HWY 26. Is it normal for a bad OTA reception in this area. I am wondering whether the outdoor antenna sold by Radioshack will help (made by TERK, $79.99). Any insight will be greatly appreciated

It might help to know which indoor antenna you got. Based on the fact that you're receiving VHF frequencies (22.x is actually broadcast on channel 4), you either got this one (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1880) or that one (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1872), as they're the only ones that match the price. I can't say with certainty, as I've never heard a thing about either one of those antennae (other than "Terk sucks!"), but we've all heard pretty good things about the Silver Sensor's (http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=49&id=131), so if you can find one you might give it a try.

Of course, AntennaWeb (http://www.antennaweb.org) should be able to give you a better idea of what type of antenna you'll need in your area. Just plug in your address, and voila! Nice, color-coded listing of each channel you can receive, and a legend for what antenna-type each of those colors represent.

you need a UHF antenna. most (if not all) of the statoinsin PDX use UHF. The Silver Sensor works awesome for me in two different house.

Moorebid,

I have the first one you mentioned.. Radioshack part# 15-1880. I will give silver sensor a try... which store can I find this product? Bestuy or Circuitcity? Thx

Not sure where you are but we are In Bauer Woods Estates at the top of Hartford and get Nothing from a small indoor antenna. It is small, but I am afraid we are too close to the 1 hill in the way.

QUOTE]Originally posted by dishtivo
I just got my dish network installed today. I am trying to hook up an in-door antenna I got from Radioshack ($49.99) to pick up some OTA HD signal. I can only get KGW and some weird channel 22-1,2,3,4. Occasionally, if I move the antenna around, I may pick KOPB HD (signal strength about 70%).

I live in the Bauer woods neighborhood north of HWY 26. Is it normal for a bad OTA reception in this area. I am wondering whether the outdoor antenna sold by Radioshack will help (made by TERK, $79.99). Any insight will be greatly appreciated [/QUOTE]

hello, neighbor! I am the bottom of Hartford... I won't hold my hope high from your experience.

Originally posted by mpsan
Not sure where you are but we are In Bauer Woods Estates at the top of Hartford and get Nothing from a small indoor antenna. It is small, but I am afraid we are too close to the 1 hill in the way.

QUOTE]Originally posted by dishtivo
I just got my dish network installed today. I am trying to hook up an in-door antenna I got from Radioshack ($49.99) to pick up some OTA HD signal. I can only get KGW and some weird channel 22-1,2,3,4. Occasionally, if I move the antenna around, I may pick KOPB HD (signal strength about 70%).

I live in the Bauer woods neighborhood north of HWY 26. Is it normal for a bad OTA reception in this area. I am wondering whether the outdoor antenna sold by Radioshack will help (made by TERK, $79.99). Any insight will be greatly appreciated [/QUOTE]

Sorry! We are at 123rd Place, off of Hartford! Just got Comcast to install Digital Classic last Sunday and now have two 6412's! I saw your Sub Woofer post and we have some of the same stuff. Rotel, and B&W. Once we get the stand for our new TV you will have to walk up here!!

P.S. I wonder when we will get all the info about Verizon FTTP (FIOS)?


Originally posted by dishtivo
hello, neighbor! I am the bottom of Hartford... I won't hold my hope high from your experience.

[/B][/QUOTE]

cool! I always take a long loop walk from Hartford thru the ironwood neighborhood... don't know how many times you were tweaking your system when I walked by:)

as far as Verizon goes, the latest update I heard was the Precision Fiber contractors cut off my neighbor's sprinkler system. that was last week.

Originally posted by mpsan
Sorry! We are at 123rd Place, off of Hartford! Just got Comcast to install Digital Classic last Sunday and now have two 6412's! I saw your Sub Woofer post and we have some of the same stuff. Rotel, and B&W. Once we get the stand for our new TV you will have to walk up here!!

P.S. I wonder when we will get all the info about Verizon FTTP (FIOS)?


[/B][/QUOTE]

Well, I believe the fiber is in now. Anyway, we are before Ironwood on 123rd Pl on right side of Hartford. Actually it is funny as I am from Hartford, CT!

Anyway, if you got the neighborhood guide today we are the last "R". :D

Dave

Originally posted by dishtivo
cool! I always take a long loop walk from Hartford thru the ironwood neighborhood... don't know how many times you were tweaking your system when I walked by:)

as far as Verizon goes, the latest update I heard was the Precision Fiber contractors cut off my neighbor's sprinkler system. that was last week.

[/B][/QUOTE]

KOIN is off the air right now. I called and the receptionist couldn't find any one to answer the phone. I go tthe feeling she also could care less too. Lee, fix it!

After listening to the suggestion from other members on this forum, I went ahead and bought a Zenith Silver Sensor in-door antenna. Sears in Washington square is OOS, so I had to drive all the way to Fry's to get one.. plug in.. I scanned in 6 channels immediately (no KPTV, KOIN, KNMT).. From the post upstairs, KOIN is off the air right now... Anyway, I am amazed by the fact that even a simple thing like antenna can be so dramatically different from one to another... I am equally amazed how many retail stores carry only the big rip-off TERK, instead of this Zenith jewel... Thank you all for your help.

BTW, I thought SS is UHF only antenna, I am not sure why I am getting 4 channels from KPXG Channel 22.1, which was broadcasting on VHF. Maybe this channel has such a strong signal that my TV picks it up by itself.

I wonder if you being just far enough down the street from me is why you can get these stations?


Originally posted by dishtivo
After listening to the suggestion from other members on this forum, I went ahead and bought a Zenith Silver Sensor in-door antenna. Sears in Washington square is OOS, so I had to drive all the way to Fry's to get one.. plug in.. I scanned in 6 channels immediately (no KPTV, KOIN, KNMT).. From the post upstairs, KOIN is off the air right now... Anyway, I am amazed by the fact that even a simple thing like antenna can be so dramatically different from one to another... I am equally amazed how many retail stores carry only the big rip-off TERK, instead of this Zenith jewel... Thank you all for your help.

BTW, I thought SS is UHF only antenna, I am not sure why I am getting 4 channels from KPXG Channel 22.1, which was broadcasting on VHF. Maybe this channel has such a strong signal that my TV picks it up by itself.

Maybe.. But I can't see those towers from my house either.. One of my friends lives in Bauer Highlands (Legend home) area.. He is able to pull all the channels from an in door antenna (I don't know which one he is using).

Not sure whether you have tried SS in your house before. For me, I saw a huge difference after ditching the Radioshack amplified antenna. BTW, I saw a lot of returned SS on Fry's shelf.. so it cannot play the trick under every circumstance.

Did you connect the antenna to your dish receiver? I had comcast HD DVR before.. it does not have a coaxial port for OTA connetion.

Originally posted by mpsan
I wonder if you being just far enough down the street from me is why you can get these stations?

No, I do not have a dish. I have Comcast and two 6412's. However, all 3 of our HDTV's have ATSC/QAM tuners. I just tried a very small loop. I know better, being a Ham Radio guy, but tried anyway! :D



Originally posted by dishtivo
Maybe.. But I can't see those towers from my house either.. One of my friends lives in Bauer Highlands (Legend home) area.. He is able to pull all the channels from an in door antenna (I don't know which one he is using).

Not sure whether you have tried SS in your house before. For me, I saw a huge difference after ditching the Radioshack amplified antenna. BTW, I saw a lot of returned SS on Fry's shelf.. so it cannot play the trick under every circumstance.

Did you connect the antenna to your dish receiver? I had comcast HD DVR before.. it does not have a coaxial port for OTA connetion.

Originally posted by dishtivo
After listening to the suggestion from other members on this forum, I went ahead and bought a Zenith Silver Sensor in-door antenna. Sears in Washington square is OOS, so I had to drive all the way to Fry's to get one.. plug in.. I scanned in 6 channels immediately (no KPTV, KOIN, KNMT).. From the post upstairs, KOIN is off the air right now...It's been awhile since I checked, but I don't believe KNMT is actually on the air, it says "Pending" or something to the effect on AntennaWeb (http://www.antennaweb.org). I can't get their map engine to pull up right now, looks like one of their servers may be down, but I'm pretty sure that status hasn't changed.

So really, KPTV is your only trouble spot (KOIN shouldn't pose a problem, as they're down to upgrade their transmitter to full-power). I'm curious, have you tried manually adding the channel (30)? If so, does it detect any signal at all, even if erratic? Or nothing whatsoever? Theoretically, if you're getting everything else so well, you shouldn't have trouble with just the one as they're all broadcast from the same location (more or less).

Originally posted by mpsan
I just tried a very small loop. I know better, being a Ham Radio guy, but tried anyway! :D My Dad lives in the flats of Milwaukie (just on the other side of the Johnson Creek cliff from the towers), and he's pulling in excellent (though rather prone to seasonal variance) signal with a simple loop, on an old Dish 6000 receiver, and has been for 3½ years now. I'm flabbergasted, as I'm only about 3 miles due South from him, and I don't even get as good a signal with a roof-top, with almost line of sight! *shrug*

Well, I could try a gain antenna, but I would only get 1 more HD (ch 6) so it is not worth it for me. Still, I just wanted to try it. :D

Originally posted by Moorebid
It's been awhile since I checked, but I don't believe KNMT is actually on the air, it says "Pending" or something to the effect on AntennaWeb (http://www.antennaweb.org). I can't get their map engine to pull up right now, looks like one of their servers may be down, but I'm pretty sure that status hasn't changed.

So really, KPTV is your only trouble spot (KOIN shouldn't pose a problem, as they're down to upgrade their transmitter to full-power). I'm curious, have you tried manually adding the channel (30)? If so, does it detect any signal at all, even if erratic? Or nothing whatsoever? Theoretically, if you're getting everything else so well, you shouldn't have trouble with just the one as they're all broadcast from the same location (more or less).

My Dad lives in the flats of Milwaukie (just on the other side of the Johnson Creek cliff from the towers), and he's pulling in excellent (though rather prone to seasonal variance) signal with a simple loop, on an old Dish 6000 receiver, and has been for 3½ years now. I'm flabbergasted, as I'm only about 3 miles due South from him, and I don't even get as good a signal with a roof-top, with almost line of sight! *shrug*

KOIN is off the air right now. I called and the receptionist couldn't find any one to answer the phone. I go tthe feeling she also could care less too. Lee, fix it!

If you look upthread, you'd have seen that Lee is hard at work goosing up the transmitter. He also said there would be some downtime.

Originally posted by Moorebid

So really, KPTV is your only trouble spot (KOIN shouldn't pose a problem, as they're down to upgrade their transmitter to full-power). I'm curious, have you tried manually adding the channel (30)? If so, does it detect any signal at all, even if erratic? Or nothing whatsoever? Theoretically, if you're getting everything else so well, you shouldn't have trouble with just the one as they're all broadcast from the same location (more or less).


I haven't tried to manual add channel yet.. Should I add 30 or 12? I completely have no idea the difference between channel and frequency assignment..

[Quick Update], I added channel 30 manually, got KPTV immediately with 82% signal strength.. Moorebid, thanks a lot for your help..

Originally posted by mpsan
Well, I could try a gain antenna, but I would only get 1 more HD (ch 6) so it is not worth it for me. Still, I just wanted to try it. :DThere's also UPN… even though Enterprise is cancelled, it looks like Veronica Mars got picked up for another season (http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3125583&st=0), which is great news as it wasn't a spectacularly-viewed show, but very well reviewed. Kevin Hill is "on the bubble" (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/11/DDGUGCMDTV1.DTL), but I have a feeling it'll get picked up as well, if not entirely in the same form. Then there might be the odd sitcom in HD (though whether KPDX opts to air it in HD is another matter), but otherwise… *shrug* yeah, not a lot of HD there. But Veronica Mars is very much worth the effort… I just pray to God they don't mess with it.

Originally posted by dishtivo
I haven't tried to manual add channel yet.. Should I add 30 or 12? I completely have no idea the difference between channel and frequency assignment..Keep in mind, the analog frequencies are still in use, so 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 32 and 49 are all taken. In order to put a digital channel on the air, the broadcasters had to be assigned a different frequency to use. However, to prevent confusion amongst the less-than-knowledgable, the stations "remap" their channel number, so that it appears to be the same as their analog counterpart. KPTV-DT might appear as "12-1" on your guide, but its actual frequency assignment is channel 30. The frequencies you see listed on AntennaWeb (http://www.antennaweb.org) are their actual frequencies, those are the ones you'd want to add manually if need be.

Quick aside: I finally got AntennaWeb (http://www.antennaweb.org) to work for me again. Apparantly, it doesn't like Opera anymore, I had to use IE. Of course, now the only DT channel is says I can receive is KPXG! Not a single other DT channel is listed. :D I wonder if I can use this as leverage to get some waivers.

...also the first post in this thread gives our OTA HD channel #'s in Portland.

Hi All,

Kinda OT, please indulge me.

I have a Pioneer RPTV, the PRO-510HD. About a year ago the power supply went out, and Sharper Video did a nice job in diagnosing and servicing it.

At the same time I asked them to do ISF calibration. But I wasn't very happy with the results. And now my colors have really drifted and I need another calibration done.

So has anyone had any ISF calibration done locally on a Pioneer RPTV? Were you happy with the results? Please let me know, I want to get my RPTV looking good again.

I've seen some threads where ISF certified people "tour" various regions of the country. They may even breeze thru here once in a while. I wouldn't mind that, but I'd like to go with a local business if at all possible.

Thanks

Originally posted by Moorebid
There's also UPN… even though Enterprise is cancelled, it looks like Veronica Mars got picked up for another season (http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3125583&st=0), which is great news as it wasn't a spectacularly-viewed show, but very well reviewed. I'm still amazed at how cleverly written and well-acted this show was. The last episode was brilliant -- fooling you into thinking you finally knew who had killed Lilly's before the credits even ran only to find out you were fooled like so many characters on the show. I don't know how they're going to pull this off next season. The whole Twin Peaks main-character-already-dead idea was a great plot device.

Oh, and the show looked fantastic.

So did KWBP just up and decide that HD broadcasting wasn't worth the effort?

Apparently so. They've been having troubles getting a decent HD feed from the WB. If you don't get HDNet, forget about seeing Smallville in HD.

I wonder if we can get Comcast to replace KWBP with KPDX since they occasionally have HD programming.

KGW-DT is now carrying NBC Weather Plus on 8-2.

Originally posted by Lee Wood
KGW-DT is now carrying NBC Weather Plus on 8-2.

In addition 8-3 will be carrying 24 hour news at some point in the future.

As a side note 8-1 didn't lose any bandwidth when 8-3 was added. 8-2 was split in two.

As I mentioned late last month, we are struggling with closed caption issues related to the WB feed of HD programming. For some reason, the network is unable to deliver cc data in the standard format for HD and the solution in the past has always been that we extracted the cc from the SD feed and fed it into the HD encoder through a serial port. However, with the different equipment configuration used in Seattle to feed our signal down here, that setup resulted in the cc text on screen lagging 12 to 16 seconds behind the video making it totally unwatchable for our hearing impaired viewers. That affected all programming throughout the day. That is why we have continued to upconvert the SD during WB's primetime.

We have been dealing daily with manufacturers on getting this issue resolved and the latest is that we are now waiting for new software that might fix the problem. It seems like everytime we get a promised delivery date for something, they don't make that date and it puts us behind again. I'm not holding my breath but I hope it gets resolved soon.

Pat

"Welcome to the future of broadcasting!"

Oops. Not yet.

At the risk of offending hearing-impaired viewers and possibly trampling on well-trod ground, why don't you just leave the HD feed as is? The hearing impaired can always view the SD feed until you get the problem fixed, which would be not much different than what they're viewing now (because you're feeding SD on the HD channel). And those who don't need CC would still get to see HD while you're working on the problem.

Closed Captions are required on digital broadcasts by the FCC.

So someone musta ratted KWBP to the Feds! ;)

Why the heck aren't networks sending closed captioning in their HD feeds? Why are they still making their affiliates decode the captions from their SD feeds? I've tried to find out how EIA-708B captioning works but I've never been able to find a (free) document that describes how it works.

Originally posted by Lee Wood
Closed Captions are required on digital broadcasts by the FCC.
Does the FCC require the captions to be in "real time?" Again, not meaning to dis the hearing-impaired, but this sounds like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The problem of delayed captions is a real one that needs to be addressed. But can't they leave the HD signal with delayed captions on the air while they work out the problem? The correctly timed captions are still available on the SD channel.

I confess to not knowing the details of the law in this matter, or who's pushing the station to completely replace the HD feed. And I'll shut up about it after this. It just seems that there might be a more creative temporary solution available than not broadcasting HD video.

Hello All! Quick questions about KGW. I read that there is now
a channel 8.3. Is that active yet? I can't pull it in. Also...

>As a side note, 8-1 didn't lose any bandwidth when 8-3 was added. 8-2 was split in two. In addition 8-3 will be carrying 24 hour news at some point in the future.<

Does that mean Channel 2 will revive their 24 hr. newschannel on 2.2 to compete?

Thanx.

Originally posted by scowl
So someone musta ratted KWBP to the Feds! ;)

Why the heck aren't networks sending closed captioning in their HD feeds? Why are they still making their affiliates decode the captions from their SD feeds? I've tried to find out how EIA-708B captioning works but I've never been able to find a (free) document that describes how it works. You are correct. The EIA-708B Digital Televison Closed Caption Standard is not available anyplace for free. You have to purchase it. However, here are some background information sources:

Implementing DTV Closed Captions and Video Description
http://ncam.wgbh.org/dtv/overview/nab2000paper.html

Encoding closed captions for digital television
http://bg.broadcastengineering.com/ar/broadcasting_encoding_closed_captions/

Delivering Captions In DTV
http://www.broadcastpapers.com/data/NCAMDTVCaption.pdf

Most HDTV encoders in use were designed before a means to distribute closed captions was developed and even now there is no commonly accepted standard for transmitting closed captions from networks to affiliates. CBS tried to distribute DTV closed captions for The Final Four and it caused their satellite receivers to seize up. They are still working on the fix for that. The CBS method requires a separate $7,000 box to extract the captions from the HDTV program stream so that they can be inserted into the HDTV encoder as a serial data stream.

Also, DTV stations must transmit BOTH 608 captions for backwards compatibility with older TVs and VCRs AND 708 captions to provide access to newly implementeed features (font, size, color, etc.)

Nothing comes easy in digital television.

It's job security for you Lee :). BTW, any chance whoever becomes your new owner will spring for a nice, shiny DD5.1 setup?

ron

I can see the headline now:

"CLOSED-CAPTIONING BRINGS DOWN THE HDTV INDUSTRY! - FCC says they are sorry they started this whole mess and returns to NTSC standard"

Originally posted by Lee Wood
You are correct. The EIA-708B Digital Televison Closed Caption Standard is not available anyplace for free. You have to purchase it. Shoot. That means some nerd is going to have to reverse-engineer them. And I'm sure they didn't make it easy. The subtitles on DVD's were supposed to be simple GIF patterns but for some reason they have to go through a bunch of bit operations that no one can explain. The EIA-608 closed captions are really easy. They're practically ASCII.

I just got a Direct TV HD DVR and am having trouble with setting up an antenna for OTA reception. This is my first HD reciever, so I have nothing to compare it to. I am in the Cedar Mill area (Lost Park) which is close to all the broadcast towers (antennaweb shows 1.9 - 3.0 miles at 92 - 96 degrees orientation).

I started by trying a cheap rabbit ear antenna indoors and I get a signal on all the stations, but they often break up and pixellate. Signal strength shows in the 60 - 80 range on most of the channels, but some of them fluctuate a lot. I tried setting up a large antenna (radio shack - model unknown) on the roof and pointing it in the general direction of the towers. I checked an it gets channel 49 on analog perfectly, but no signal or fluctuating from 0 -20 on all the digital channels. I haven't tried rotating it, but I am wondering if it is too directional. antennaweb says I need a medium directional antenna.

Any suggestions on a good antenna for my location? Or is it worth trying to use the radio shack that I have? Is the direction I point it that much more critical for the digital signals that the analog? The fact that it works on 49 analog, but gets next to nothing on the digital channels makes me wonder if it is just the wrong antenna for digital. Thanks for your help.

Most HDTV encoders in use were designed before a means to distribute closed captions was developed and even now there is no commonly accepted standard for transmitting closed captions from networks to affiliates. CBS tried to distribute DTV closed captions for The Final Four and it caused their satellite receivers to seize up. They are still working on the fix for that. The CBS method requires a separate $7,000 box to extract the captions from the HDTV program stream so that they can be inserted into the HDTV encoder as a serial data stream.

This is exactly what gave us our struggle to get captions correct but I think we finally soved it with a custom satellite receiver provided by Sencore. We started HD last Friday and with just a few glitches, we have been running it since then.

At the risk of offending hearing-impaired viewers and possibly trampling on well-trod ground, why don't you just leave the HD feed as is? The hearing impaired can always view the SD feed until you get the problem fixed, which would be not much different than what they're viewing now (because you're feeding SD on the HD channel). And those who don't need CC would still get to see HD while you're working on the problem.

What you fail to understand here is that we only receive a single stream from our Regional Operating Center in Seattle. That is 1080i MPEG encoded video and audio. From that single feed, we center cut and downconvert to get our analog. If the caption data is delayed in the single feed we receive, it will be delayed in our analog as well.

It was not a matter of the feds getting on us about captioning, it was a decision we had to make concerning what was best for our audience. With SD upconverted to HD, we received a few complaints about the lack of true HD. When the CC was delayed, we received well over a hundred complaints from the hearing impaired audience. Since delayed CC made the shows unwatchable for those that depend on it and SD vs HD only affects the quailty of the video, the decision was based on what would serve the public better.

I'm sorry that those of you who enjoy the HD shows feel slighted but try watching a show with the sound off while reading the captions that are delayed 15 seconds. I tried it myself and so I stand behind our decision to provide the correct CC to those that need it.

Anyway, we are back to HD broadcasting except when the satellite receiver acts up and throws the captioning away instead of putting it out the serial port where it belongs. Hopefully, things will settle in and we'll again have dependable HD and captions on a consistent basis.

Pat

Pat,

Thanks much for the information. I did not understand how it worked. Now that I do, I totally agree with the decision you made. Closed captioning for those who need it is much more important than HD for me. But I'm also very happy that HD is back on line.

oregonman,
Several people, including myself have had good luck with the Silver Sensor indoor antenna and as close as you are it could be your answer. You are also close enough that you may need to try to put an attenuator on your setup.
Most digital receivers aren't measuring signal strength but rather signal quality and if you have a problem with multipath that can really screw you up. An attenuator can help with that.

The antenna used for digital is the same as the one used for analog, anything to the contrary is marketing hype. Just make sure it is a UHF antenna as all of our stations except for PAX are UHF.

Since you already have a roof antenna installed and it's receiving channel 49, if it were me, I would try getting the direction set accurately and then putting an attenuator on and seeing if that helps. They are cheap fix if it works.

Here's a link to a Radio Shack variable attenuator (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?MSCSProfile=745D84CBF04D14A48AA6FF9C89D722C0BA68 C1B04FE384678A5285FCD6E056B17AF21627FDABE316B90B3C038D68EBD6 B7F9F3BD1712EAA9951ACB2590A05C6517EFE46941FEFDD1985D4EFD6321 F5E70B4DE9B6C1D45512DCD9FB3DBCACB947ACB8F87D01287C925FC17DDE 12C80666E734C2DC81FDD8D16DF5E4320ACE9AC29E9D98D031340007&cookie%5Ftest=1&catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=15-678).

Good luck and welcome to HD!! :)

Earl

What you fail to understand here is that we only receive a single stream from our Regional Operating Center in Seattle. That is 1080i MPEG encoded video and audio. From that single feed, we center cut and downconvert to get our analog.
I must be overlooking something here. WB has several programs that are letterboxed on analog stations. How can you center cut the HD feed to get letterboxed SD for your analog channel?

oregonman,
Several people, including myself have had good luck with the Silver Sensor indoor antenna and as close as you are it could be your answer. You are also close enough that you may need to try to put an attenuator on your setup.
Most digital receivers aren't measuring signal strength but rather signal quality and if you have a problem with multipath that can really screw you up. An attenuator can help with that.

The antenna used for digital is the same as the one used for analog, anything to the contrary is marketing hype. Just make sure it is a UHF antenna as all of our stations except for PAX are UHF.

Since you already have a roof antenna installed and it's receiving channel 49, if it were me, I would try getting the direction set accurately and then putting an attenuator on and seeing if that helps. They are cheap fix if it works.

Here's a link to a Radio Shack attenuator.

Good luck and welcome to HD!! :)

Earl

Thanks. Since I can't really work on aiming the roof antenna until I get some help this weekend, I decided to try the Slver Sensor and the attenuator. The Silver sensor behaves about the same as the cheap rabbit ears. There is some sensitivity to the direction it is pointed to, but it I can't really get a stable signal on most channels in any orientation. When I add the attenuator, I really can't see much difference as I vary the attenuation from min to max, though it is difficult to tell when the signal is fluctuating from no signal to 80. I'll try aiming the roof antenna this weekend with and without the attenuator, but I am wondering if the reciever I got has a faulty tuner. It was an open box unit, so it could have been returned for this very problem. Unfortunately because it was an open box unit, I may have trouble getting a replacement.

When I had a problem of signals is fluctuating like that (80-90 to really low), it was due to multipath off of large slow-moving vehicles that were perfectly lined up between the towers and my antenna. If you're getting generally strong signals, getting a stable signal will be a matter of fighting multipath interference.

When you are trying to tweak your Silver Sensor, make sure you not only rotate it for aim, but move it around the room too, even if you need to get a longer piece of coax. With mine a change in position of about 2 feet makes a huge difference in reception.

Thanks. Since I can't really work on aiming the roof antenna until I get some help this weekend, I decided to try the Slver Sensor and the attenuator. The Silver sensor behaves about the same as the cheap rabbit ears. There is some sensitivity to the direction it is pointed to, but it I can't really get a stable signal on most channels in any orientation. When I add the attenuator, I really can't see much difference as I vary the attenuation from min to max, though it is difficult to tell when the signal is fluctuating from no signal to 80. I'll try aiming the roof antenna this weekend with and without the attenuator, but I am wondering if the reciever I got has a faulty tuner. It was an open box unit, so it could have been returned for this very problem. Unfortunately because it was an open box unit, I may have trouble getting a replacement.

You are so close to the towers you may need two (or three!) attenuators in series. Sounds like you have the HD TiVo. That is very sensitive to overload.

I just got a Direct TV HD DVR

What does the HD DVR cost from Direct TV?

What does the HD DVR cost from Direct TV?
It is $699 at Best Buy. $50 rebate for new customers. DirectTV has been giving credits for existing customers - I got $200 credit with a 1 year service commitment.

KWBP is apparently back to square one. Last night Smallville started out with the usual over-pixelated HD we've seen in the past but dropped back to the letterboxed SD feed about half way through the show. I have to say that zooming in the SD feed gave me a better picture than the HD feed.

The season 4 DVD set wil be released on September 13th.

Hi everyone,
I just got a Dish 942 HD DVR unit installed in my house and am having OTA reception problems. I live in Tannesbourne and have a large antenna (it's in my attic and the direct line of sight is blocked by my neighbor's 2 story house). My signal strength goes from 85 down to a full loss of video/audio and then back up to 85 again (all within 2-3 minutes).

Do the locals just have broadcast issues or is this a problem with my setup? Is this a symptom of multipath interference? I used to get 99 signal strength before my neighbors 2nd story was added (previous HD was with a Fusion II HD card). Thanks...

So after reading a bit it seems like a possible multipath issue. Any tips on eliminating this problem?

Greg_R

I have the same basic setup as you, 942 and a 6000 with R5000 Mod and an antenna in the attic. Also have a MyHD 130 card. I'm out a little further. About 216th and Baseline. Are you having the same issues with all the locals or just some? Like KATU?? They have been horrible the last month or so for me. Not sure if it's me or them. I've had multipath issue for quite some time. Have you tried moving your attic antenna around at all. Sometimes if you point it in the complete wrong directions it seems to work better for various stations. At least for me it has. You might try a variable attenuator from Radio Shack. About $10. It helped me to just cut down the signal with that. For the most part, I get all pretty good with the exception of KATU lately. You might try a small Silver Sensor antenna either alone or with your attic antenna. Good luck.

Steve

KATU sucks for me because they are only broadcasting at half the power as all the other stations!

I was getting good OTA reception (85 to 94) on the local channels with the directional TERK indoor antenna I have. But lately (2 or 3 weeks+) my KATU reception has been terrible - repeated pixelation and drop outs several times a minute even when I adjust the antenna as best I can. The other channels still work fine for me. Anybody else having trouble with KATU?

I guess my question was answered as I was writing it.... I wasn't having this problem with KATU a month ago though. It used to work fine for me.

I have just installed an HP Z555 Digital Entertainment Center. It contains two NTSC tuners and one ATSC tuner. Recorded CBS OTA HD broadcasts from KOIN display ramdom jagged edges around objects that seem to be associated with movement in the scene. I haven't been able to watch "live" to see if the jagged edges are present then.

HD broadcasts from other stations/networks do not have the jagged edges.

Is this caused by something in my system or is anyone else seeing this?

utahbuck, this is a symptom of low signal strength. I'm having similar issues (with different equipment) but I get full-on drop outs. Read the last few pages of this thread... it seems that some local stations stink and others can be improved with antenna movement. Good luck!

Greg,

Thanks for the quick response. I wonder why KOIN wants to be so difficult to be seen.?
Their NTSC signal where I live (Bethany area) is poor and I have to use an FM trap to strip off the FM radio station that clobbers KOIN's signal. (Due to code restrictions, I have to keep my antenna in the attic.)

I am getting such good DV results on all of the other locals and was hoping to do the same with KOIN. It seems that the few programs I like to watch are CBS programs. I guess I could be worse off with full drop outs like you experience.

Do the locals just have broadcast issues or is this a problem with my setup? Is this a symptom of multipath interference? I used to get 99 signal strength before my neighbors 2nd story was added (previous HD was with a Fusion II HD card). Thanks...
This is a toughie. I'm receiving two stations that are going straight through a 14 story concrete building. Pointing the antenna straight at the building gave me terrible random reception with lots of dropouts. Aiming the antenna a few degrees to one side of the building gave me perfect reception, not as strong as the line of sight stations but no drop outs.

If that doesn't work, you might try getting your antenna higher up if that's possible.

Recorded CBS OTA HD broadcasts from KOIN display ramdom jagged edges around objects that seem to be associated with movement in the scene.
Like this?

http://home.pacifier.com/~scowl/hdtv/CSI3.jpg

Re-read this for an explaination of why DTV reception has changed in the last month or so...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3667051&highlight=spring#post3667051


BTW: KATU-DT is operating at full power, they are not at half power any longer.

Greg_R

I have the same basic setup as you, 942 and a 6000 with R5000 Mod and an antenna in the attic. Also have a MyHD 130 card. I'm out a little further. About 216th and Baseline. Are you having the same issues with all the locals or just some? Like KATU?? They have been horrible the last month or so for me. Not sure if it's me or them. I've had multipath issue for quite some time........

Steve

If possible, try to get that antenna out of the attic and up on the roof. I am at about 202nd and Baseline and getting excellent digital reception on all channels. I have a MyHD 130 card like you, but I am using a Channel Master VHF/UHF antenna mounted on a mast on the N side of my house. I also have a 91XG UHF antenna on the S side of my house to feed the bedroom. The difference between the outdoor antennas and my retired attic antenna is like night/day.

(Oh, and I'm pulling the signal through a bunch of giant fir trees that are between me and the west hills.)

thanks Lee for the heads up on KATU!

Kind of like those but not exactly. I'll record some KOIN programming and see if I can get a snapshot of a scene with the jaggies and post here.

Utahbuck, I am not a lawyer but it is my understanding that it is illegal to prohibit the installation of commercially available analog and digital antennas. Check the following link for more information.

http://www.axrn.com/FCC%20OTARD%20RULES.pdf

Of course I understand if you might not want to upset the neighbors.

discwog,

Thanks for the OTARD rules document. I had heard something about the ruling but hadn't found anything official to print and submit to the homeowners association.

I may get a lawyer's take on this along with our CC&Rs and present to the association the same day I move my antenna outside.

Starting about two weeks ago (maybe three) KATU has been dropping out for a few seconds at a time for me. These happen about every minute. All had been fine before. I came online here and see that a few others have the same issue. Did something change a few weeks ago (a power increase)? Is this the multipath issue I'm experiencing? I guess I'll give an attenuator a try when I get a chance.

I think I have been recieving HDTV for two or three years now. It's surprising how techy it still is and how very frustrating it can still be.

Erik

utahbuck,

Don't waste your time and money dealing with your homeowner's association. You do not have to present anything to them, you don't need to notify them, and you certainly don't need a lawyer. I live under covenants. I just ignored them. My antenna has been up since November 2004.

Go to the FCC's website, search OTARD, then click on the link titled "FCC Fact Sheet on Placement of Antennas". Try to read all of the cases brought to the FCC by homeowners associations at the end of the Fact Sheet. You'll see that homeowners associations never win. Bottom line, you can place your antenna just about anywhere you want to as long as its on your property, subject to a few common sense rules involving safety, such as securing masts that are higher than 12 feet over your roofline.

milehighmike,

Thanks for the suggestions. I will do as you suggest and to to the FCC site and look as the cases.

I will also put up my antenna and wait for someone to squawk.

Post #1 has been updated to include each station's post-transition channel selection as well as current operating power and a few other notes.

Thanks for the update, Lee. One quick question:

KPTV (12, FOX) DTV 30 - Operating at full power (741 kW) from the KPTV site with an omnidirectional antenna.

Why doesn't KPTV broadcast at 1,000 kW like the 3 other majors? By "Full Power" do you mean at full AUTHORIZED power? I was under the impression that they were going to have to bump their output to 1,000 kW's also.

I hope they do soon as it's the only one of the 4 I have trouble with.

Did anybody else notice 2-1 down this morning? I flipped in to catch their weather before work and got the dreaded black screen. Hope it was just a momentary glitch since the NBA Finals start up tomorrow night...

ron

The antenna situation is going to get complicated when some of these DT stations switch back to VHF in 2012 or 2020 or whatever the planned date is this week.

Thanks for the update, Lee. One quick question:



Why doesn't KPTV broadcast at 1,000 kW like the 3 other majors? By "Full Power" do you mean at full AUTHORIZED power? I was under the impression that they were going to have to bump their output to 1,000 kW's also.

I hope they do soon as it's the only one of the 4 I have trouble with.

Yes, 'Full Power' means the FCC authorized power. Increases to 1,000 kw are optional and expensive. It is costing KOIN about $450,000 to go from 839 kw to 1,000 kw by the July 1, 2005 deadline.

Since DTV channel 30 will eventually be used for KPDX they are not likely to make any changes in it. Also, the difference between 741 kw and 1,000 kw is less than 1 db. You will loose much more than that with a bad F-connector on your end. You're going to have to look elsewhere to improve your situation with channel 30 reception.

I lost KGW for about an hour last night on 8-1, it was fine this morning.

Yes, 'Full Power' means the FCC authorized power. Increases to 1,000 kw are optional and expensive. It is costing KOIN about $450,000 to go from 839 kw to 1,000 kw by the July 1, 2005 deadline.


Lee, I've been a bit confused by this ever since you originally posted how KOIN was going ahead with the power increase and you told of the outage required to do it. If it's optional to make the increase, how does a deadline come into play? Do you mean that there are no more power increases allowed after 7/1/05? If so, I don't understand that logic. Will new stations not be allowed to ramp up incrementally, i.e. 1,000kw or nothing?
:confused:

Bob

I lost my channels about an hour ago. Looks like they are all gone. Hopefully it's not my Dish 921!

Karl,

2-1, 6-1, 12-1, 22-1,2.3.4 and 32-1 are fine for me. 8-1, 10-1,2 and 49-1 have been very intermittent since the spring growth started. In the winter all of them work just fine.

nater

Thanks for checking Nate.

It's weird, I tried scanning Digitals and it found all of them, but then didn't display any of the channel ID's or numbers for me to save onto the guide. So I tried adding one manually ( 40), and even though it locked on with a 103 signal strength (which is typically what I get) it still didn't show me the channel. It's almost like the signal is there but they aren't transmitting any data for the receiver to go on. I thought it might be my 921, but then my 6000 is doing the same thing. I'll wait 'till later and scan again to see if I have any luck.

KGW missed the boat by not making arrangements to broadcast the Rose Festival Parade in HD, even if they had to borrow the camera(s) from KING (their sister station) in Seattle.

KGW missed the boat by not making arrangements to broadcast the Rose Festival Parade in HD, even if they had to borrow the camera(s) from KING (their sister station) in Seattle.

Ya, had they done that (and announced it beforehand) they could have garnered two additional viewers, you and me..... well actually considering you apparently watched it, that would be one additional viewer,... me. Does having ME watch the parade justify the expense of borrowing (renting) the camera?

It's like when DVD's first came out, and I bitched because the majority were not animorphic wide screen. After a couple years, here we are today where almost all are. Same thing with HDTV.... give it tiime

Maybe two additional viewers. I scanned the telecast, noticed it wasn't in HD, and took a pass. If it were in HD, I might have watched a while.

Was it KING who produced the Starlight Parade in HD a few years back? KGW-DT used that for a long time in their HD loop when network HD was unavailable. You'd think that would have set a precedent for continued HD coverage by one of them. Ah, the mysteries of life!

I think KGW is more like the step-sister station. :D

Yes, I agree it is hard to figure out why they would not produce it in HD. The loop was one of the items that lured me into spending the time and money to recieve that kind of programming.

OH well I hope kallred is correct and it gets better.

nater

Hi Lee,
I saw your 6-7-05 update on the status of DTV transmitters in the Portland area. I recently (2 months ago) made the move to HDTV. I subscribe to Dish so had to add an OTA antenna (4 bay Channel Master) for local HDTV signals. I live in Lake Oswego and everything works fine except for KOPB. I was amazed to see that they're at full power in your update. I figured that they might be at less than full, thereby explaining my problem. I'm trying to decide whether to try a 8 bay, theorizing that I've got some side signal interference coming in from some of the low hills surrounding the area I live in. I'm wondering if you have any thoughts about this approach. Thanks.

Lee, I've been a bit confused by this ever since you originally posted how KOIN was going ahead with the power increase and you told of the outage required to do it. If it's optional to make the increase, how does a deadline come into play? Do you mean that there are no more power increases allowed after 7/1/05? If so, I don't understand that logic. Will new stations not be allowed to ramp up incrementally, i.e. 1,000kw or nothing?
:confused:

BobShort answer: the FCC says so.

In their Second Periodic Review released on September 7, 2004 the FCC enacted a 'use it or lose it' approach to DTV transmission power.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-192A1.pdf

78. We take seriously our mandate to speed the transition and to ensure that the spectrum is used efficiently. At the same time, we have attempted to accomplish these objectives without imposing undue cost and delay on broadcasters. After careful consideration of the comments, we will adopt the following use-it-or-lose-it replication and maximization deadlines:

• July 1, 2005 – Use-it-or-lose-it deadline for DTV licensees affiliated with the top-four networks (i.e., ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) in markets 1-100. Those licensees that receive a tentative DTV channel designation in the channel election process on their current digital channel must construct full, authorized facilities. Those licensees that receive a tentative DTV channel designation on a channel that is not their current DTV channel must serve at least 100 percent of the number of viewers served by the 1997 facility on which their replication coverage was based.
• July 1, 2006 – Use-it-or-lose-it deadline for all other commercial DTV licensees as well as noncommercial DTV licensees. Those licensees that receive a tentative DTV channel designation in the channel election process on their current digital channel must construct full, authorized DTV facilities. Those licensees that receive a tentative DTV channel designation on a channel that is not their current DTV channel must serve at least 80 percent of the number of viewers served by the 1997 facility on which their replication coverage was based.

The Portland major network affiliates (KATU, KOIN, KGW, KPTV) fall under the first deadline to reach maximum power by July 1, 2005 or lose the ability to increase power. All other Portland stations (KOPB, KNMT, KPXG, KPDX) must reach maximum power by July 1, 2006 or be frozen at their then current power. The only exceptions are stations (KGW, KOPB, KPTV, KPDX) that are going to change DTV channels in the transition and they must reach at least 80% of the 1997 population figures the FCC used in allocating channels. KPDX seems to be the only station that will not have a maximized transmitter power since they have applied for the 741 kW of KPTV's existing DTV facility on channel 30 for their final power.

What's the deal with KATU? They seem to have the most unreliable transmission of any of our locals. Had hoped to watch the game in HD.

Well that obviously is not going to happen!

Well, misery loves company. I'm glad it's not my system that's keeping me from seeing the NBA finals in HD.

COME ON KATU!

I had a KATU signal for a few seconds just now, so hopefully it'll be back before halftime.

KGW missed the boat by not making arrangements to broadcast the Rose Festival Parade in HD, even if they had to borrow the camera(s) from KING (their sister station) in Seattle.


The Grand Floral Parade is produced by Mira Mobile using their production truck. KGW just supplied Tracy, Joe and Stephanie. (This is an arrangement made by the Rose Festival.)

To do a remote with a HD truck would add another $5,000 or more to the production of any event. I think the going rate for a HD truck is upwards of $10,000 dollars a day. Not including the crew. And you need a HD production truck to produce a HD event not just borrowing some cameras.

Only took them 2 hours.

I'm sure KATU got a few calls last night. They got one from me about 6:20 or so as soon as I got home from work and turned on the TV. At least they got it back up in time to see Detroit finally come to life.

ron

How is the DTV OTA recpetion in the Portland metro area? I will be moving there and am sort of spoiled comeing from the san francisco bay area....

Is a rotar needed there in portland (tigard/sherwood) Are all the major networks transmiting from the same tower?

Are the major network channels Owned and Operated there....

Any input is helpful

THX

No O&O here in PDX. Rotor not necessary, all the channels are on the same hill.

Welcome Paradox,

For me DTV reception is great, and while there's occasionally someone with issues, for the most part they seem to be able to overcome them. The most common problems seem to be terrain and trees. So don't move into a hole. :)

While not from the same tower, all the towers are located in close proximity to each other so there's a good chance you can hit a sweet spot that gives good reception from a fixed aim with your antenna.

All the networks, sans PAX, broadcast HD (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, UPN and WB) though none are O&O. ABC and FOX also send out DD5.1.

There are several members that live in that general area, and from previous experience, will be more than helpful at answering specifics for you.

If you know the address of where you're moving to, http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx , will give you a base picture of what you can expect. If you don't have an address, 97223 is a Tigard zipcode that would give you an idea at least.

How is the DTV OTA recpetion in the Portland metro area? I will be moving there and am sort of spoiled comeing from the san francisco bay area....

Is a rotar needed there in portland (tigard/sherwood)
THX

I use DTV for my SD needs, so HD is mostly a hobby for me.

Parts of Tigard are considerably closer to the towers than Sherwood is. I live in Tualatin, sort of between the two. About 11 miles to the cluster of towers. Depending on where you move to, you may need an attic or outdoor antenna. I don't think an interior antenna in your family room would do the trick. But if you're asking about rotors, maybe you're prepared for that.

Here's my situation. I've got LOS visibility of towers from 2nd floor of house. However, 1st floor has trees, neighbor house, a number of interior walls, etc.

Nevertheless, I usually get OK reception using Silver Sensor on 1st floor. Tuner is LG-4200A. Some days I get all HD channels, other days some are NO SIGNAL.

It's hard to know if my problem is multipath or signal strength, since signal strength display on LG is pathetic. I'd bet on some combination of the two.

As football season approaches I will need to make a decision of :

a) replacing Silver Sensor with Antennas Direct DB2 inside garage.
This should improve antenna gain by about 5 dB. Plus the garage bypasses a few interior walls.

or b) going with basic cable for HD.
Local CBS station is owned by morons at Emmis, so no HD over cable. They also didn't allow DTV to get the channel until the law finally forced them to. Pinheads. But Fox and ABC should be enough for my HD football fix. Fortunately Fox has 2006 Superbowl.

I have no desire for an external or attic antenna, mostly because of the logistics of running the coax. But my multiswitch is in my garage, so that's why putting OTA antenna there is a possibility.

Plus, weighing HD versus TiVo (even non-HD) I'd choose TiVo as about 10x more useful. So, that opens the Pandora's box of what HD DVR to get to timeshift. I can't stand to watch commercials any more, so HD without TiVo isn't much of a priority. I can't use current DTV HD TiVo because trees in my back yard only give me a view of 101 satellite, and HD is on others. Also HD DTV TiVo is an obsolete product with no announced successor.


HD is a work in progress, whether OTA or from DTV. Even Comcast isn't ideal, since they don't carry CBS and also they don't carry all the additonal HD subchannels.

Do some reading on Portland Comcast thread, not just the OTA thread.

About a month ago it was reported that Emmis is looking to divest itself of it's broadcast TV stations so the lack of CBS on Comcast may finally come to an end in the not too distant future.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/search/article_display.jsp?schema=&vnu_content_id=1000913443

ron

Despite all of the stations being on nearly the same hill and all running at about the same power, it seems like almost everyone has one station that causes them trouble for some reason. All of the stations blast in at 85%-97% at my house but KATU will only hit 75% on a good day.

Ya know, KGW should really just give up the idea of broadcasting an SD NBC subchannel. After adding the blurry "NBC Weather PLUS" subchannel on 46.4, there is so little bandwidth left over that 46.5 is little more than 16 pixel by 16 pixel blocks. There is no reason that anyone would choose to watch it.

I didn't know KGW was still broadcasting a SD channel. My 3100a only locks in the main channel and weather plus which is labeled KGW-SD. From my end it looks like weather plus replaced the SD feed. For me, both the SD feed and weather plus are a waste of bandwidth anyway.

I didn't know KGW was still broadcasting a SD channel. My 3100a only locks in the main channel and weather plus which is labeled KGW-SD. From my end it looks like weather plus replaced the SD feed. For me, both the SD feed and weather plus are a waste of bandwidth anyway.

Weatherplus is definitely a waste of bandwidth -- who cares what Denver or Boston weather is. By the time it cycles round to Portland I can look it up on the web.

I think they purposely don't show the local info often so you will tune in at 5 or 11 for the news.

I didn't know KGW was still broadcasting a SD channel. My 3100a only locks in the main channel and weather plus which is labeled KGW-SD. From my end it looks like weather plus replaced the SD feed. I don't think KGW updated their PSIP info when they added Weather Plus so you won't be able to see it unless you can specifiy KGW's subchannel (3 is HD, 4 is Weather Plus, 5 is blurry blocks).

Come on, local stations. Stop pretending that people actually watch your SD subchannels. You're not fooling us!

My stb (Zenith 420) will only let me acquire 46-1(HD) and 46-2 (WeatherPlus) for KGW. Those translate down to 8-1 and 8-2. So I don't know where you are seeing the higher order of subs. I just tried each of those and got "no signal".

It's possible that since the third subchannel isn't in their PSIP data, your STB doesn't know it's there.

Actually 46-1 is the third subchannel in the transport stream but it's mapped to the first (this change was made around the beginning of the year).

Behold, glorious KGW-SD:

http://home.pacifier.com/~scowl/hdtv/nbc-sd.jpg

Bah-hahaha! The future of television right here, folks… go go hard-deadline!

KWBP-DT is operating at 50% power until I get a new tube from the factory and install it. Anyone want to donate $30,000 to the cause?

While performing some routine maintenance on the transmitter this afternoon, we experienced a crowbar which is essentially a great big surge where the high voltage power supply gets shorted to ground. Crowbar circuits are designed to protect the tubes from arcing which will destroy the tube. Instead, the crowbar evidently caused the tube to short grid to cathode so now I have to replace the tube. OUCH! So much for the concept of *free* tv.

I sent an e-mail to the manufacturer in MA and tomorrow morning I will find out how soon I will have a replacement.

My DTV receiver at home and the 4 I checked at work don't seem to notice the difference in power. Anybody else having problems with the reduction in power?

Pat

The signal seems to be more "shifty" than usual, cycling from 65% to 85% every few seconds but my receiver doesn't seem to be having any problems with it.

Same thing here, I can tell by looking at the signal meter. I wouldn't have notice if you hadn't mentioned it. I am only about 6 miles from the towers though.

KGW, if you're listening, Please brush the dust off the DD5.1 for when NBC takes over NASCAR in a couple of weeks. :)

post

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sorry, but I need 5 posts prior to posting a URL.....

I picked up This Antenna (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=15-1838) and it seems to work great. I live in Keizer and only needed it for HD CBS (with Comcast limited basic I get HD ABC, NBC, WB & Fox), but it picks up the others as well.

Crowbar circuits are designed to protect the tubes from arcing which will destroy the tube. Instead, the crowbar evidently caused the tube to short grid to cathode so now I have to replace the tube. At least the crowbar circuit prevented the tube from arcing. :(

Gee Pat, The Tribune Co. had revenues totalling $5.7 billion last year, and you're asking us for $30k? Nice try.
Pump the Chicago mafia.

BTW, I live in Salem... you know... the "home city" of KWBP!!!
(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!)

I'm sorry... I had to wipe the tears from my eyes...

I forgot the question.

Oh yeah, you asked if I have had trouble receiving your DTV signal recently?
No. It's only at about 60%, but at least it's not dropping out all the time like it did during your last crisis.

I want you to know that everyone in Salem is really proud of our station. Thanks for all your community service here in Marion County.
(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!)

I think KGW is more like the step-sister station. :D

<Lurk Mode Off>

You mean Red Headed Step Sister.

</Lurk Mode On>

NBC is sending out NASCAR with DD5.1 audio this year, no such luck from KGW though.
I know it's been mentioned KGW "had" the capability, though I've not seen it, but does anyone know if they still do or not?

Earl

I think NBC has broadcasted only had a few TV episodes and a few rare events in 5.1. I don't think I've ever seen KGW pass 5.1 audio on.

The 2002 Winter Olympics were broadcast with DD5.1, which KGW did pass through… which was fun whenever KGW needed to insert their own local content; the front channels would contain their audio, while the rears would still be on the Olympics. So you'd hear the crowd cheering for Tracy Barry and Joe Donlon praising their HD coverage of the Olympics (which was really HDNet's). :) And often times, when they switched back to the Olympics, they'd forget to switch the audio along with it, leaving the front channels dead. :rolleyes:

Yeah, we've come so far since then…

Between KGW and KOPB we had some cool HD fireworks on tonight!!! :)

Between KGW and KOPB we had some cool HD fireworks on tonight!!! :)

Earl,

KOPB's July 4th show was great. I was pleasantly surprised with the surround sound quality as well. My 24th year of watching "A Capitol Fourth" and delighted to see it in glorious HD.

HZ

KOPB's July 4th show was great. I was pleasantly surprised with the surround sound quality as well. HZ

Agreed! Except I didn't know KOPB was able to do 5.1:confused: ? My receiver lights up PL for KOPB.

NBC's coverage of the Macy's show was great, too, once the prelims ended. I kept expecting them to break into the fireworks display for commercials. So I was pleasantly surprised there were no breaks.

KGW's coverage of the Vancouver show was good, too, except I kept getting distracted by the huge, white "8" in their bug. Also, for me, fireworks viewed from the air leaves a bit to be desired. So do the zooms that focus on the center of a blast.

I think all the fireworks productions could have saved money by employing just one, fixed-position camera. Put me in the best viewing position and I'm a happy camper, but YMMV. ;)

My receiver lights up PL for KOPB.
As does mine.

I'm a bit envious of the programming threads where someone talks about how great the 5.1 was on whatever, when the whatever is not on ABC or FOX.

I thought the production was better on KOPB, but KGW was a real treat since TitanTV listed it as SD, so the HD was a nice surprise.

KGW actually did a local HD production? That is surprising. Maybe they're getting ready to make another HD promo loop :D.

ron

KGW actually did a local HD production? That is surprising. Maybe they're getting ready to make another HD promo loop :D.

ron

I think he meant the Macy's show being in HD. The KGW coverage from Vancouver certainly was not HD.

Unfortunately, the KGW production wasn't in HD. It would have looked pretty awesome if it was, especially because the director was a lot better than the director for the network fireworks show in New York.

I think he meant the Macy's show being in HD

Yes, sorry for the confusion. (at least I knew what I was talking about) :o

Yup, we are going to have our neighbors over tonight to see the PBS-HD show and I did notice that my Proc also shows ProLogic II...not 5.1!

Yup, we are going to have our neighbors over tonight to see the PBS-HD show and I did notice that my Proc also shows ProLogic II...not 5.1!

I stand corrected. Apparently My dvd+receiver uses the same display symbol to light up both PLII and DD surround formats. I should have noticed the extra blue "halo" around the tray was there to indicate the presence of DD. It was not during OPB's July 4th concert.

While we're on the subject of NBC and KGW, should we be in suspense again for their NASCAR screw up?! At least twice during the latter part of the Daytona race, KGW decided to abruptly break into local commercial and then promptly return to the race in 4x3 SD format, and then switch to HD a few minutes later. Is this the proverbial "sleeping at the switch" phenomenon or something else ? I recall last year we constantly had to call them to turn their 16x9 mode ON at the beginning of their NASCAR coverage. Well, at least they started in HD this year, and that is a significant improvement over last year's coverage. :)

HZ

I am with DISH, using their 811, receiving OTA HD signal for CH 6, CBS, of around 90 - - - last night, with that signal strength, there was NO HD picture at all - only sound. There was a picture - same broadcast on their OTA Digital feed. Has Emmis now cut the cord on ALL HD broadcasting or what?

PS - - - Jay Leno was almost unwatchable last night due to Lip Synch so bad you could hardly watch him speak.

Laters, Michael

I watched most (from (9:05 to 9:45) of CSI last night OTA with no noticeable problems. I have an outboard Zenith (420) tuner. Might have been a Dish problem?

FYI, although I am on Comcast, Dateline in HD had very bad LipSync issues last night, however, SD was fine. When did this start? I feel like I am back in the early days of ColorTV again!

FYI, although I am on Comcast, Dateline in HD had very bad LipSync issues last night, however, SD was fine. When did this start? I feel like I am back in the early days of ColorTV again!

I have noticed severe lip sync problems on KGW-DT during the network evening news (not an HD broadcast) the past few nights. Tonight, I switched from Comcast to OTA and there was no difference. Tuning to analog Ch 8 cured the lip sync.

The local news on KGW is in sync on digital Comcast 708 and OTA on 8-1. Seems there must be a problem at the source at NBC from where ever they send off the digital/HD signals (LA?). I did not test the other networks so my research is incomplete, in favor of dinner.

But you have to keep reminding yourself that you are still in the infancy of HD broadcasting; you're an early adopter, Qualia notwithstanding. ;)

I've noticed lots of A/V sync problems on Leno and Conan. One time on Friday they were almost two seconds off! But since I use a homebrew HTPC that I'm constantly making changes to, I assume it's probably my fault and simply adjust it myself.

I guess if this were the early days of color TV, I'd have the back of the set off all the time. Good thing I can't electrocute myself with software!

Thanks, I just wanted to be sure it was not me. :D

I like the stuff I see on the Qualia...just still have a non Qualia issue with the 6412 in that I get ProLogic and not PLII. My replaytv gives PLII and my input on my Proc is set the same for the 6412 as the replay. In fact our neighbors were over Thursday Night and we played PBS-HD 4th special with HD. Picture was great but I was surprised that a music show was NOT in 5.1.

I sure like the Qualia for DVD's as well. We saw The Pacifier last night on DVD and the upconverting player/Qualia was GREAT!

I have noticed severe lip sync problems on KGW-DT during the network evening news (not an HD broadcast) the past few nights. Tonight, I switched from Comcast to OTA and there was no difference. Tuning to analog Ch 8 cured the lip sync.

The local news on KGW is in sync on digital Comcast 708 and OTA on 8-1. Seems there must be a problem at the source at NBC from where ever they send off the digital/HD signals (LA?). I did not test the other networks so my research is incomplete, in favor of dinner.

But you have to keep reminding yourself that you are still in the infancy of HD broadcasting; you're an early adopter, Qualia notwithstanding. ;)

You know, I have many extra PC's around and was thinking about HTPC. However, I need them to be quiet and 2nd, I wish Linux would stop being bloated. I remember when Linux ran VERY well on a 486! Now I tried them all and believe Debian seems the fastest...this week!

I've noticed lots of A/V sync problems on Leno and Conan. One time on Friday they were almost two seconds off! But since I use a homebrew HTPC that I'm constantly making changes to, I assume it's probably my fault and simply adjust it myself.

I guess if this were the early days of color TV, I'd have the back of the set off all the time. Good thing I can't electrocute myself with software!

Dude, you ain't gonna get HD with a 486 no matter what OS you're using! :)

I know, but was wondering what happened to Linux? It used to be that any distro was FAST. Now RH and Mandrake seem as slow as Windows. I guess I could try Solaris!

Anyway, any further would be way OT.
:D


Dude, you ain't gonna get HD with a 486 no matter what OS you're using! :)

your going to need at least a 3 ghz cpu no matter how fast or what operating system your using to run HD in a HTPC

I know, but was wondering what happened to Linux? It used to be that any distro was FAST. Now RH and Mandrake seem as slow as Windows. I guess I could try Solaris!:D
I think that's the fault of... companies like the one I work for. The early simple Linux kernels worked great for desktops because it's easy to support one user and it's not that big of a deal if the system freezes for a second or two every once in a while if it runs fast the rest of the time. Those kernels assumed they had the resources for everything. When they didn't, they didn't handle things very well. Everything stopped until resources freed up.

We found that those simple kernels were nightmares for systems with a few hundred users. If the system freezes for a few seconds you have a hundred people panicking wanting to know if the system has crashed. Eventually they made the kernel more resilient and those changes tend to slow down the average desktop users somewhat. Some of this has to do with the Intel architecture.

We're now working on a Linux system that should support two thousand users with four 3.6 Ghz CPUs and maybe 64GB of RAM on a standard Linux kernel. We're hoping for maybe three thousand users in a year or two if this works out.

BTW, you can do HD on a 1.8 Ghz system if you have a video card that supports MPEG acceleration. It will completely hog your system to the point that moving the mouse will cause it to drop frames, but it will work.

...not to mention a slot for a great video card!

your going to need at least a 3 ghz cpu no matter how fast or what operating system your using to run HD in a HTPC

Thanks...may be a good use for my 3.3GHZ P4 when I upgrade. I even have it in a quiet Sonata case. At that point I can try the company I work for OS! :D

I have been thinking of doing that anyway and dual booting.


I think that's the fault of... companies like the one I work for. The early simple Linux kernels worked great for desktops because it's easy to support one user and it's not that big of a deal if the system freezes for a second or two every once in a while if it runs fast the rest of the time. Those kernels assumed they had the resources for everything. When they didn't, they didn't handle things very well. Everything stopped until resources freed up.

We found that those simple kernels were nightmares for systems with a few hundred users. If the system freezes for a few seconds you have a hundred people panicking wanting to know if the system has crashed. Eventually they made the kernel more resilient and those changes tend to slow down the average desktop users somewhat. Some of this has to do with the Intel architecture.

We're now working on a Linux system that should support two thousand users with four 3.6 Ghz CPUs and maybe 64GB of RAM on a standard Linux kernel. We're hoping for maybe three thousand users in a year or two if this works out.

BTW, you can do HD on a 1.8 Ghz system if you have a video card that supports MPEG acceleration. It will completely hog your system to the point that moving the mouse will cause it to drop frames, but it will work.

The Leno late night re-run was in HD tonight AND the audio was in sync.

edited to add...
the audio on Conan was in sync until they went to commercial at 3:30, when they came back from break the out of sync audio was back.

I saw something even stranger a few nights ago. I believe it was Dateline. Audio was way out, but commercials and some news footage was OK!

The Leno late night re-run was in HD tonight AND the audio was in sync.

edited to add...
the audio on Conan was in sync until they went to commercial at 3:30, when they came back from break the out of sync audio was back.

I have almost never missed Leno, and ever since he is back from his vacation on July 5, EVERYNIGHT is always out of sync, by more than 2 sec (that is the max fix I can apply to my HTPC, I believe the out of sync was more like 3 sec).

Anybody from NBC monitor this forum? or does anybody know where to file a complaint.

I have 2 HTPC at home with 2 different HDTV Tuner, and both of them acted the same way everytime LENO is on at 11:30.

Anybody else get the same thing?

Anybody from NBC monitor this forum? or does anybody know where to file a complaint.

Since there aren't numerous threads in the programming section about the out of sync audio it's most likely a local (KGW) issue rather than an NBC issue.
Being optomistic, I'm hoping the audio problems on KGW are related to getting their DD5.1 dusted off and up and running. :)

earletp: Wish I could share your optimism. I have an email in to Eric Dausman who's the KGW engineer about the lip sync issue. I sent it over the weekend and got an out-of-office reply. He's supposed to be back today.

BTW, each local station has a "contact us" link at their respective web site that anyone can use to communicate about the problems we experience. I encourage you all on this thread to use them when you notice these kinds of problems. Unless they hear from us, I doubt they have any idea how many people may be impacted.

Great idea. I'm in!...OH, this is not Fatwallet! :D
Anyway, I sent KGW-TV an email.

I remember years ago I lived in a neighborhood where everyone complained to me about TV. I called the station and said all 100 neighbors were complaining. It went on the record as one person called. It is important that everyone lets KGW know on their own.


earletp: Wish I could share your optimism. I have an email in to Eric Dausman who's the KGW engineer about the lip sync issue. I sent it over the weekend and got an out-of-office reply. He's supposed to be back today.

BTW, each local station has a "contact us" link at their respective web site that anyone can use to communicate about the problems we experience. I encourage you all on this thread to use them when you notice these kinds of problems. Unless they hear from us, I doubt they have any idea how many people may be impacted.

Hello All,
Newbe here. I need to post a question to the Portland group. I live in Stayton, about 54 miles to the Portland antennas. I have 2 hd tv's, a Sony 34xbr960 and a HD monitor connected to a DTV HR 10-250 TIVO which has a OTA HD Tuner. I recently installed a Winguard P8200 UHF/VHF antenna 40ft above ground level along with a 20-30 db preamp ( with Belden RG-6). I get now 2.1 @ 90-95, 6.1 @ 88-92, 8.1 @ 90-98, and 12.1 @ 70-80 ( rare dropouts). My problem is 10.1 and 10.2 which suffer frequent dropouts and come in @ 40-65 on both units. I thought adding the pre amp would help, and it did raise all the other stations about 10-15 points but did not help OPB although KGW is supposedly on the same antenna. Could it be my signal is too strong, requiring an antenuator? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rich

My first guess is that maybe your antenna setup is having trouble with the lower UHF band. KOPB 10 is channel 27. Notice that KPTV 12 is channel 30 and you're getting dropouts from it? Can you get KWBP 32 on channel 33 at all?

But, wow, 54 miles away and you're getting most of the stations as good as I'm getting them... and I can see the towers blinking through my front window!

I have almost never missed Leno, and ever since he is back from his vacation on July 5, EVERYNIGHT is always out of sync, by more than 2 sec (that is the max fix I can apply to my HTPC, I believe the out of sync was more like 3 sec).
For those of you keeping track, the sound is 520 ms behind the video tonight. It's easy to measure when Leno claps while a guest comes out.

Thanks for thr reply scowl. I get 32.1 KWPB at 78-83.
Rich

Yes, another lag last night.

I called KGW yesterday and get into an answering machine. I think the name of the person is Eric but I am not certain.

Anyhow, he called me back saying that KGW is aware of the situation and a couple of people called in already and they are working to fix the problem.

your going to need at least a 3 ghz cpu no matter how fast or what operating system your using to run HD in a HTPC

Depends on your HD device. I have a MyHD 120 in a P3 1GHz, with a TNT2 video card. I watch it on a TV, not on an overlay, and it records/plays back/works just fine.

Rob

Yes, another lag last night.

I called KGW yesterday and get into an answering machine. I think the name of the person is Eric but I am not certain.

Anyhow, he called me back saying that KGW is aware of the situation and a couple of people called in already and they are working to fix the problem.

That would be Eric Dausman who is their Director of Engineering. He replied to my email, saying:

"Thanks for the note. We have been working with NBC to try to resolve the
issue. For some reason, their feeds come in way out of sync more often than
not. We do not have a way to adjust this at our studio."

So we cannot expect our dependable local folks to correct this one. I will say that there was no lag during the showing of BSG last Sat. Not sure if I've seen NBC network shows since then.

Yup, I got the same note from him as well.


That would be Eric Dausman who is their Director of Engineering. He replied to my email, saying:

"Thanks for the note. We have been working with NBC to try to resolve the
issue. For some reason, their feeds come in way out of sync more often than
not. We do not have a way to adjust this at our studio."

So we cannot expect our dependable local folks to correct this one. I will say that there was no lag during the showing of BSG last Sat. Not sure if I've seen NBC network shows since then.

So we cannot expect our dependable local folks to correct this one. I will say that there was no lag during the showing of BSG last Sat. Not sure if I've seen NBC network shows since then.
Yes there was absolutely no lag in the BSG special. Leno goes through extra steps in production since it's taped, I guess I mean recorded, in L.A. and sent to NBC via phone line before it gets broadcasted.

I decided to record tonight's episode of Smallville (which, it turns out, I don't even remember missing the first time it aired), and was rather aghast at how bad the picture quality was. For the entire 60 minutes of the recording, it averaged about 14mbps, but there were times when it looked like a bad SD upconvert. *shrug*

One of the things I noticed was that they don't appear to be employing 3:2 encoding. Stepping through frame by frame, it's obvious that every 4th frame is encoded in duplicate. If they'd switch the 3:2 flag on, they could achieve quality comparable to the likes of HBO, Showtime and Starz… not perfect, but noticably better than what they're currently achieving. Their encoder is new enough, surely it must have a setting for that built in.

It seems I only ever post when I have something about which to complain. *sigh* Ah well, I guess it's fortunate I'm not watching much television lately.

Regarding KGW audio/video sync,

On Seattle's KING-DT, sister station to Portland's KGW, I am not having problems with audio/video sync on Leno or Conan programs. I don't watch every night, but about 2-3 times per week.

I wonder what would be different between KGW and KING that results in problems in Portland and not in Seattle?

I wonder what would be different between KGW and KING that results in problems in Portland and not in Seattle?

The equipment your station has, you guys have DD5.1 and local HD that we don't have too.

I decided to record tonight's episode of Smallville (which, it turns out, I don't even remember missing the first time it aired), and was rather aghast at how bad the picture quality was. For the entire 60 minutes of the recording, it averaged about 14mbps, but there were times when it looked like a bad SD upconvert. *shrug*
Smallville is a very soft looking show. They use tons of filters and the HD versions don't look that much better than the DVD's.

One of the things I noticed was that they don't appear to be employing 3:2 encoding. Stepping through frame by frame, it's obvious that every 4th frame is encoded in duplicate. If they'd switch the 3:2 flag on, they could achieve quality comparable to the likes of HBO, Showtime and Starz… not perfect, but noticably better than what they're currently achieving. Their encoder is new enough, surely it must have a setting for that built in.
KOIN is the only OTA station I've seen use the MPEG flags correctly. All the rest send complete duplicate frames for no reason. You would think at least FOX wouldn't be doing this but they are.

LOL, see what happens when everyone writes in to complain about the out of sync audio on HD, they turn it off and give us SD instead. hahaha!!! :D

Smallville is a very soft looking show. They use tons of filters and the HD versions don't look that much better than the DVD's.I would agree to a certain extent, but this was looking worse than usual (as if I'm qualified to classify what "usual" is… :rolleyes: ), and certainly worse than what HDNet provides. It can look good; this most definitely did not.

Smallville is a very soft looking show. They use tons of filters and the HD versions don't look that much better than the DVD's.


KOIN is the only OTA station I've seen use the MPEG flags correctly. All the rest send complete duplicate frames for no reason. You would think at least FOX wouldn't be doing this but they are.
I'm using Microsoft Media Center Editiion and I've noticed that HD shows recorded on KOIN are considerably smaller than those recorded on KGW or KATU (5.5GB vs 8.5GB). I wonder if that comes from KOINs more appropriate use of the MPEG flags as you state? Makes sense...

I would agree to a certain extent, but this was looking worse than usual (as if I'm qualified to classify what "usual" is… :rolleyes: ), and certainly worse than what HDNet provides.
Oh, you're talking about the episode "Scare", aren't you? Glen Winter said that they shot all of the "nightmare" scenes on 16mm to give them a "more than usual" unreal appearance. The last one with Lana "discovering" Clark is Superman was ridiculously underexposed on purpose. That's why it looks so grainy.

I've seen episodes on HDNet and other than the WB's trademark pixelization, I haven't noticed any significant difference. This is not the show where you would see much difference!

I should point out that KWBP has solved all of their recent problems. The 13 Mbps bitrate is, well, what is was before (just adequate) and the wacky black bar on the right is gone.

Yes there was absolutely no lag in the BSG special. Leno goes through extra steps in production since it's taped, I guess I mean recorded, in L.A. and sent to NBC via phone line before it gets broadcasted.


NBC nor any of the networks have used phone lines for transmission for ten or fifteen years. Everything is on satellite. (NBC uses AMC 1)

NBC nor any of the networks have used phone lines for transmission for ten or fifteen years. Everything is on satellite. (NBC uses AMC 1)
The version of the Leno show that NBC receives isn't intended for transmission until after NBC has added commercials and their bits to it. Many studios use high speed data lines these days which mostly go through satellites anyway. The landline costs have dropped to where it's a lot cheaper than renting time on a satellite.

The WB was feeding some of its affiliates via phone line, at least for a while. That's why KWBP looked so terrible for a while.

Anyone know how to get ahold of someone at KATU (ABC) at this hour. Two weeks in a row the Disney movie that is available in HD is being show in SD by KATU. Anyone know what the deal is?

Thanks

If I feel the need to contact them after hours I call the news tip number and ask them to please forward a message to the control room. Sometimes they are friendly and sometimes, well, they're not. :)

well, the audio is in sync on KGW tonight... :rolleyes:

I just got HD setup this week with my HDTV Wonder and can get reception in an apartment in Tanasbourne on all the networks as long as I adjust the antenna for certain channels, but I have a couple of questions that hopefully someone can answer.

1)I have a green vertical line on the far right of the screen only on KATU. Is this part of their signal or can I get rid of it somehow?

2)If I got a better ampified indoor antenna than the one that came with the HDTV wonder, can I avoid having to adjust the antenna to get the different towers? I can get good reception(70+) on each channel, it's just that it would be nice to know if it's even possible to avoid having to keep adjusting the antenna.

Was PBS 10 KOPB-Digital down all weekend??

I put up a new antenna on Friday and afterwards all my channels were stronger signal but I couldn't pick up 27-1 or 27-2 at all. This morning I was surfing and saw a very week KOPB on 27-1.

Are they doing something with their transmitter??

1)I have a green vertical line on the far right of the screen only on KATU. Is this part of their signal or can I get rid of it somehow?
KATU sends that green line. ABC often makes the line thicker. KOPB sends a similar yellow line on the other side. Overscan on normal HDTV's usually chop it off.

2)If I got a better ampified indoor antenna than the one that came with the HDTV wonder, can I avoid having to adjust the antenna to get the different towers? I can get good reception(70+) on each channel, it's just that it would be nice to know if it's even possible to avoid having to keep adjusting the antenna.
Maybe, maybe not. You don't say what kind of antenna you got. Go to antennaweb.org and it will tell you what kind of antenna you need.

KATU sends that green line. ABC often makes the line thicker. KOPB sends a similar yellow line on the other side. Overscan on normal HDTV's usually chop it off.

Thanks, I was able to fix this last night by adjusting the aspect ratio setting in the HDTV wonder software. It was set to strictly 16:9 and I changed it to auto. This fixed it and everything looked great last night.


Maybe, maybe not. You don't say what kind of antenna you got. Go to antennaweb.org and it will tell you what kind of antenna you need.

The antenna I have came with the HDTV wonder. It looks exactly like the silver sensor. It works great in my apartment when I point it in the right direction for specific channels. I'm hoping that there is an antenna for me that I don't have to adjust for different channels.

I'm hoping that there is an antenna for me that I don't have to adjust for different channels.
Like I said, go to antennaweb.org, enter your location and the web site will tell you what antenna you need.

I sent an e-mail to Eric Dausman at KGW two weeks ago, inquiring about DD5.1 audio and KGW, and have yet to receive a response.
Has anyone else made the same inquiry and received an answer?

Earl

No, but Eric was very responsive to the complaints about the lip sync issue a couple weeks ago. Although, the reply was a canned one that several of us received, it seemed.

What are you asking about 5.1? KGW is not the only digital that doesn't have it here. I can appreciate the expense to the stations who need to upgrade their equipment after being early providers of the HD experience. Sooner or later (probably later) the digitial viewership will justify the expense.

I know, after watching NASCAR on FOX ("crank it up!") the KGW experience is just not quite the same.

What are you asking about 5.1? KGW is not the only digital that doesn't have it here.

I asked because even though I have never seen KGW send out DD5.1 there have been several people in this thread that have said they do have the capability. In fact the master list of stations broadcasting in HD at the top of this forum even lists it.

So I wanted to know, do they or don't they, and I knew of no better way to find out. :)

Hi- I am new to AVSforum. Building an HTPC currently with MCE 2005.

I live in Dallas, Oregon, west of Salem on the way to the coast. Any Signal tips for my area? HDTV and Analog... I just cancelled dishnetwork. Don't want Charter until they can offer internet too.

I just ordered a Winegard GS-2000 that was recommended to me by TitanTV with the idea that if it didn't work well I could sell it to my friend who is moving to Tualatin from Hillsboro.

That antenna might not be quite directional enough for the Portland channels but its worth a try. I live out toward the coastals farther north than you (37 miles from most of the transmitters) and went with a ChannelMaster multi-segment bowtie design with a mast amp for the UHF part because of the distance and because of minor aiming differences even at this distance. I also have a traditional 11 segment with a Yagi for the VHF side of things. The HD comes in good now and the SD is decent for the distance (I mostly rely on DirecTV for the SD side of things).

Hi- I am new to AVSforum. Building an HTPC currently with MCE 2005.

I live in Dallas, Oregon, west of Salem on the way to the coast. Any Signal tips for my area? HDTV and Analog... I just cancelled dishnetwork. Don't want Charter until they can offer internet too.

I just ordered a Winegard GS-2000 that was recommended to me by TitanTV with the idea that if it didn't work well I could sell it to my friend who is moving to Tualatin from Hillsboro.
Welcome to the forum, Conan. I helped a buddy of mine install an antenna in Dallas and he received most signals OK. I think the only one he had problems with was Fox back before they switched channel assignments. He used a 121" combo VHF/UHF/FM Rat Shack with a Dish 6000. If you point toward Eugene, you should also be able to pick up some of their stations.

UPS notification tells me that my antenna will show up on Aug 10th. So I will try the little one then and post the results here for other Dallas people. If it doesn't work well I will probably get the PR 7015A and an amp, which was my other recommendation from TitanTV- except that it said it would be good reception if I mount it indoors - not going to do that.

UPS notification tells me that my antenna will show up on Aug 10th. So I will try the little one then and post the results here for other Dallas people. If it doesn't work well I will probably get the PR 7015A and an amp, which was my other recommendation from TitanTV- except that it said it would be good reception if I mount it indoors - not going to do that.

You might check www.antennaweb.org for your address and see the sorts of antennas it suggests for your address..

I installed an OTA antenna last fall when Voom was a good idea. We tried a variety of items starting inside, moving to the attic and eventually ended up with a large Channel Master antenna on the gable end extending about 8 feet above the roof line. On this pole I have the large CM 3620 and a CM 4228 with CM 7777 amp on only the 4228.

This did work all winter until about April, as the stuff got greener the channels faded into the ether. At one time all of the local channels worked. Today PBS does not work and NBC is marginal, UPN is worse than NBC. ABC, CBS and FOX are OK, WB is good enough.

I think I am close but not close enough to function well.

Does anyone know of a Vancouver or Portland based OTA installer who could install something taller or bigger? I have plenty of room but the appearance may be a WAF discussion item.

nater

this is actually an addiction, maybe treatment would be cheaper :rolleyes:

I installed an OTA antenna last fall when Voom was a good idea. We tried a variety of items starting inside, moving to the attic and eventually ended up with a large Channel Master antenna on the gable end extending about 8 feet above the roof line. On this pole I have the large CM 3620 and a CM 4228 with CM 7777 amp on only the 4228.

This did work all winter until about April, as the stuff got greener the channels faded into the ether. At one time all of the local channels worked. Today PBS does not work and NBC is marginal, UPN is worse than NBC. ABC, CBS and FOX are OK, WB is good enough.

I think I am close but not close enough to function well.

Does anyone know of a Vancouver or Portland based OTA installer who could install something taller or bigger? I have plenty of room but the appearance may be a WAF discussion item.

nater

this is actually an addiction, maybe treatment would be cheaper :rolleyes:
With those big antennas and amps, you may be suffering from too much signal. (And / or multipath from the second antenna?) I don't know what receiver you're using but with my MyHD card, too much signal has a similar effect as too little. The 'signal strength' meter on the MyHD isn't really based on 'signal strength' but rather error rates. Anyways, I ended up removing the amps from my large RS Yagi and adding about 12db of attenuation and my 'signal strength' improved dramatically. At least in my case, less really was more.

Dave

Has anyone else lost KPDX?

yeah, i've lost UPN too (KPDX?) -> but then I'm using my VOOM box as an OTA receiver, and it only tunes to Channel 49 - and from the first page of this thread, it appears that UPN has moved to Channel 48 - unless thats a typo.

-Y

I just did a rescan on my Voom box and it did not change from 49 to 48, it's still trying to pull in 49.

I was barely getting any signal from KPDX last night. It would flash a pixelated picture every few seconds.

I dropped Ed at KPTV/KPDX an e-mail and it seems they had a piece of encoding gear die. He hopes to have a new box and have KPDX-DT back up by tomorrow.

it appears that UPN has moved to Channel 48 - unless thats a typo.
KPDX has been on 48 remapped to 49, so nothing's changed there.

Sorry for not dropping a line earlier folks, it's been a wierd week and it's only Tuesday...

We lost an ATSC stream multiplexer in the KPTV digital air chain at the studio early, early Sunday morning. My staff engineers worked the problem all day with the mux's manufacturer and couldn't solve the problem, as it appears to be a hard failure of the ASI input hardware in the box. Since this unit is the box that converts the ASI stream in to SMPTE-310 to send to the transmitter, as well as inserting 95% of the PSIP data, there is no present work-around to bypass it.

Late Sunday afternoon, we opted to use the KPDX/UPN mux to get KPTV/FOX back up and running. KPTV-DT is by far the more popular digital station of the two and I frankly didn't want the phone calls from the hoards of DTV viewers who would miss their Fox HD shows if we left KPTV-DT off. The mux is prior to the Comcast fiber feed, so the cable HD viewers were out of luck at that point too.

The KPDX-DT transmitter was shut down at about 6:00 PM Sunday evening after we had KPTV-DT's signal and PSIP reestablished on the borrowed mux.

The manufacturer finally has a new box ready to go today, so we should have KPDX-DT back up and flying tomorrow (Wednesday 8/10) late morning.

Thanks for everyone's patience. Backup systems WILL be installed next fiscal year - well before the forecasted analog shutoff date of 1/1/09.

Ed

Thanks for everyone's patience. Backup systems WILL be installed next fiscal year - well before the forecasted analog shutoff date of 1/1/09.Wow! An actual redundant ATSC system coming to PDX in the near future. That'll definitely be a first and very much welcomed. I guess there is DTV progress being made after all, even if it is slowly and in baby steps. Thanks for the update Ed.

ron

Thank you Ed - it is wonderful to have people like you, the horses mouths as it were, on here with the rest of us :)

-Y

[Warning: newbie ignoramus seeking free advice]

Anyone know if it's possible to get OTA reception in Hillside neighborhood in NW Portland (Westover/Cumberland area). antennaweb,org says a MD antenna should do the job, but last time I tried (in the pre-HD days) I had trouble raising even the analog channels.

If the answer is no, then I assume the only option for getting network channels in HD is by subscribing to Comcast, right?

Thanks in advance!

[Warning: newbie ignoramus seeking free advice]

If the answer is no, then I assume the only option for getting network channels in HD is by subscribing to Comcast, right?

Thanks in advance!

Management pinheads at Emmis, which owns KOIN channel 6, are arguing with Comcast. Therefore no HD until resolved.

The aforementioned pinheads also want to sell their TV stations in order to concentrate on radio. Here's the high quality radio entertainment they currently provide:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/northamerica/article_1040082.php/New_York_puts_smackdown_on_smackfest

Lead paragraphs from the above URL:

NEW YORK, NY, United States (UPI) -- New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer says the parent company of a popular hip-hip radio station will pay $240,000 for staging "Smackfest."

The competition at the studio of WQHT-FM, or Hot 97, involved young women slapping each other. The woman who slapped the loudest, was declared the winner, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

[Warning: newbie ignoramus seeking free advice]

Anyone know if it's possible to get OTA reception in Hillside neighborhood in NW Portland (Westover/Cumberland area). antennaweb,org says a MD antenna should do the job, but last time I tried (in the pre-HD days) I had trouble raising even the analog channels.

If the answer is no, then I assume the only option for getting network channels in HD is by subscribing to Comcast, right?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome Baju,
From the reports I've seen, antennaweb tends to be on the conservative side, so the odds are in your favor. That said, every house is a little different. Trees, terrain, placement of your antenna, your neighbors house, can all effect your signal. The only way to know for sure is to give it a try. (unless you can see the blinking lights on the towers from where you are, heh!!)
There are a lot of knowledgeable people here that can offer good advice at tweaking problem signals.

Other than an occasional cable fan, I doubt you'll find anyone posting here that will tell you it's not worth the effort to find out. :)

Welcome also Baju,
I get the ota digital all the way down in Stayton (54 miles from towers). Signal strength on my Sony HDTV is in the high 80's, low 90's on 2.1, 6.1&2, 8.1 etc. Some break up on 12.1 and can't get 10.1 or 10.2. If I can from here I can't imagine you can't from there. Right antenna, good wire, proper height, and I use a preamp because of splitters and cable length run, are the keys to success. Suggest you call on some neighbors with rooftop antennas to see how they fare for advice.
Rich

Wow! An actual redundant ATSC system coming to PDX in the near future. That'll definitely be a first and very much welcomed. I guess there is DTV progress being made after all, even if it is slowly and in baby steps. Thanks for the update Ed.

ron

We have already spent thousands of dollars on redundancy to keep our DTV signal flowing. I'm just finishing up my capital equipment budget for 2006 and DTV redundancy is high on the list. A couple of weeks ago, my microwave system feeding the DTV signal from the studio to the transmitter site had a failure and I had to rob parts from another system to get it back while we were off the air for about 4 1/2 hours. That microwave system will become fully redundant next year. I am also buying a redundant exciter for the transmitter. We still have plans to install a generator and UPS system this year to keep the DTV transmitter on the air during power outages. Between 2005, 2006 and 2007 we will spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $600K on our DTV site upgrades - all for NO additional income, so you see, broadcasters are taking the transition to digital only broadcasting very seriously.

By the way, we're still at 1/2 power with our DTV transmitter. We have been having lengthy discussions with manufacturers about our short tube life and we are taking our time to make the most cost effective long-term decision about which option to choose. One of the options would cost us in excess of $500K to upgrade the transmitter to more energy efficient tubes but with the relatively low electrical rates we enjoy in the PNW, it doesn't seem to have economic benefits for us. I'll post on here when we do finally go back to full power. In the meantime, for those "legal eagles", yes, I have filed with the FCC for an STA (Special Temporary Authority) to let me continue operating at reduced power :)

Pat Shearer, CSTE
Chief Engineer
KWBP

...all for NO additional income...

Ahh, but our appreciation and gratitude is priceless... :)

Ahh, but our appreciation and gratitude is priceless... :)

Yeah, all ten people that receive HD OTA in the local area thank you. :)

Just kidding, but that's the bottom line. Management will always (and rightly so) be reluctant to spend money on things like redundancy while the number of digital viewers is so low.

Anyone want to venture a guess? I'll guess that ATSC viewers, whether cable or OTA, are about 1% of a station's total viewers. That's a purely made up value. Anyone have any hard numbers?

We have already spent thousands of dollars on redundancy to keep our DTV signal flowing. I'm just finishing up my capital equipment budget for 2006 and DTV redundancy is high on the list. A couple of weeks ago, my microwave system feeding the DTV signal from the studio to the transmitter site had a failure and I had to rob parts from another system to get it back while we were off the air for about 4 1/2 hours. That microwave system will become fully redundant next year. I am also buying a redundant exciter for the transmitter. We still have plans to install a generator and UPS system this year to keep the DTV transmitter on the air during power outages. Between 2005, 2006 and 2007 we will spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $600K on our DTV site upgrades - all for NO additional income, so you see, broadcasters are taking the transition to digital only broadcasting very seriously.

By the way, we're still at 1/2 power with our DTV transmitter. We have been having lengthy discussions with manufacturers about our short tube life and we are taking our time to make the most cost effective long-term decision about which option to choose. One of the options would cost us in excess of $500K to upgrade the transmitter to more energy efficient tubes but with the relatively low electrical rates we enjoy in the PNW, it doesn't seem to have economic benefits for us. I'll post on here when we do finally go back to full power. In the meantime, for those "legal eagles", yes, I have filed with the FCC for an STA (Special Temporary Authority) to let me continue operating at reduced power :)

Pat Shearer, CSTE
Chief Engineer
KWBPHey Pat, thank you for the info too! While it sounds like the KWBP has been spending some money to increase their DTV uptime, your further comments go to show that you're still a ways from what I could consider a redundant system :). No offense intended at all and your efforts are definitely appreciated out here. My original statement in the other post was not meant to be facetious either, as I understand the current situation. I was genuinely happy to hear of further progress in this area is all.

As one of the earlier DTV viewers in the PDX area, I simply look forward to the day when DTV is TV and we once again have basically problem free service. You guys are your own worst enemy. We have become spoiled by your outstanding levels of NTSC delivery uptime so the bar has been set pretty high (is my nose getting a bit brown now? :D). The last four years have taken me back to the "primitive" days of TV I remember growing up with frequent "service temporarily interrupted" banners across the screen instead of programming (well, a bit worse than that actually but who's counting ;)). As a backpacker I can appreciate the pioneering feel and "getting by with the basics" mindset. But you know, when I go packing it's always nice to get back to all the creature comforts of home again :). Keep up the good work!

ron

The only way to know for sure is to give it a try. (unless you can see the blinking lights on the towers from where you are, heh!!)
And while that's a guarantee that you will be able to get good signals, that doesn't mean you won't have to solve multipath problems first. I see those lights through my front window but the signal strength made things more difficult for me.

Search this thread for "Tri-Met" for more information. :(

For Ed Williams: Why don't we get the HD feed from the Bay Area's coverage of the Raiders/49ers game tonight? I was in the Bay Area last week and saw all the promos for the game to be carried in HD there. If local UPN is participating as the "home of the Raiders", I thought we should be included in their HD transmissions. Wassup! ;)

Are any stations outside of the Bay Area showing it in HD? The HD feed might not be on a satellite.

I think I've sorted out what happened with the 49ers/Raiders game. It was on NFL HD channel. Comcast put the HD broadcast (along with with the NFL channel logo) on the InHD2 channel in markets that didn't have the game broadcasted locally. Of course that excluded us for cable. KPDX coudln't rebroadcast the NFL HD channel due to technical or legal constraints so they had to do with the SD version.

I'm just getting into HD here in Portland. I'm using Microsoft Media Center and am having a few problems. After working through the problems in the MS newsgroups I'm starting to wonder if any of them are simple quality problems with the digital transmission in Portland.

The two biggest issues I have are a stutter problem and an audio sync issue.

The stutter happens during playback maybe 4 or 5 times during a 30min show and is very brief (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 second). I can replay back over the same spot and get the same stutter. Unfortunately I have no way to watch the live feed so I can't tell if it is the souce or a problem with my setup recording it.

The audio sync issue has just happened twice, once last night. On CBS the audio was about 1/2 second behind the video.

Are there quality problems in general here in Portland? Are any channels better or worse than others?

-Brett-

I saw the delay problem on CBS last night watching Two and a half men. I noticed the same thing on NBC a few weeks back. Apparently this is a recurring issue in this area.

Welcome to the wonderful world of not-quite-ready-for-prime-time-yet DTV in PDX Brett ;). KOIN 6-1 was definitely having lip sync issues last night.


ron

I don't have OTA HD, but when I was watching the end of the golf tournament yesterday on regular KOIN on the cable, there seemed to be lip sync issues there too, noticeable during the interviews. Could this be a general KOIN problem yesterday not specific to HD?

I suppose it is possible, but many of the stations have had lip sync issues in the past.

I've seen A/V sync issues on just about every station at one time or another. I don't bother complaining. I just adjust it on my end.

Is anyone else trying to watch American on KOPB Soundstage?

Haven't seen this problem before, the audio stays as well as does the OPB HDTV logo, but the picture keeps flashing on and off.
I'm getting a steady 95% on my signal meter too.

THere have been a few audio dropouts too now, but the OPB HDTV logo is solid, not even a flicker from it.

Yes Earl, I happened to flip into 10-1 during that show and got the exact same thing. Quite strange behavior alright. Steady, high "signal strength" and mostly OK audio but completely hosed video. Since the logo seemed unaffected and the audio was not as bad, perhaps it was a network feed issue. I checked 10-2 also and it was perfectly fine so I'd think that would seem to point in the same direction?

ron

Hi Ron, yeah I thought it maybe a network issue too, then I checked the programming forum and of the two people that commented on the concert, there was mention of how good the video looked. This morning there are three east coast posters and one west coast, and still no mention of the trouble we saw here, so I'm thinking now it must have been a local issue.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=571255

Which ever it turns out to be, I hope they get it fixed, it sure made it hard to watch. In fact, after about twenty minutes or so I finally just had to change channels.

That's interesting. Definitely some weirdness going on at KOPB then. I can't believe you actually were able to watch that for 20 minutes :D. I wasn't planning on staying with it anyway so it didn't really matter to me, but on my set it seemed like the picture was practically flashing on and off every few seconds...

ron

It was flashing like that here too, so I guess "listening" would be more accurate. :D

I just kept hoping that it would get fixed as the music was good and I left it on for background since everything else was reruns anyway.

Well, some good news is that the preseason Football game looked great on KOIN today!

That it did!!
Thanks Lee Wood for shutting down 6-2 for the game.

How many more hours do you all think KATU's SD encoder has to live? It had some shifty problems every few minutes during the WNBA game today and now it's spraying red, green and blue dots and chewing up the screen almost every minute. It's even completely frozen up for a minute a few times.

At least the HD looked good tonight.

KATU News going all digital...

August 11, 2005) – Panasonic Broadcast announced today that Seattle-based Fisher Communications, Inc. has purchased DVCPRO P2 series solid-state memory format products for news operations at ABC affiliate KATU (Portland, OR) and CBS affiliate KVAL-TV (Eugene, OR) in a sale valued at more than $850,000. Fisher operates 10 television and 27 radio stations throughout the Northwest.

In total, KATU and KVAL-TV are currently taking delivery of 29 fully-equipped AJ-SPX800 P2 cameras, 29 AJ-PCS060 P2 Store drives, seven AJ-SDP850 decks with built-in DVD recorders , 17 AJ-PCD10 drives and a large number of 4GB P2 cards.

Kelly Alford, Director of Engineering, Fisher Communications, said, “At KATU and KVAL, we were faced with an immediate need to replacing aging analog gear, and the decision to go tape-less was driven by the desire to move closer to more IT-related systems, in keeping with Fisher’s overall file-based infrastructure.”

He continued, “We chose P2 based on its total absence of any moving parts and its ability to treat everything as a file. The format’s extremely file transfer rate is a huge competitive advantage—it’s all about getting stories on the air faster.

“P2 likewise provides seamless integration with our existing BitCentral media asset management system, which also features Canopus editing tools. With P2, we can file transfer directly into the BitCentral system, and either play out to air or even move news content in a file format across our network of stations. Ultimately, we view these P2 installations at KATU and KVAL as trial balloons gauging our ability to transition to IT/file-based news operations at all our stations.”

Commenting on the purchase of ultra-rugged AJ-PCS060 portable 60GB drives, Alford said, “The introduction of the P2 Store drive allayed any concerns we had about moving files off the cameras in the field. Equipped with the rugged drive, an ENG crew can clean out its camera , move on to the next story and continue shooting.”

Read the rest of the story here...
http://www.dtvprofessional.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=34054&afterinter=true


Jory

... now it's spraying red, green and blue dots and chewing up the screen almost every minute. It's even completely frozen up for a minute a few times.
At least the HD looked good tonight.
Yeah, this has been driving me crazy for the last several days. I see the same issue over the Comcast cable HD feed also. My Mits DLP TV tuner doesn't handle it too well OTA; almost locks up and refuses to handle commands from the remote or front panel. At least over the comcast cable box, I don't get audio cutout.

Anything "national" seems to look good, but anything local looks terrible. The MNF game, NFL and other nation ads looked fine, but you could definitely tell when it switched over to something local.

When is this going to be fixed? Does KATU know about it?

MNF did look fine, but there were some red dots on the pre game diddy the had on.

Do you guys know if Comcast scrables their HDTV channels?
I played with HD OTA receiver for a few weeks and figured that there isn't much of HDTV broadcast to watch (at least for me). I was receiving channels 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 22, 32, 49 on a little directional non-amplified antenna in SE Portland.

Do you guys know if Comcast scrables their HDTV channels?
I played with HD OTA receiver for a few weeks and figured that there isn't much of HDTV broadcast to watch (at least for me). I was receiving channels 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 22, 32, 49 on a little directional non-amplified antenna in SE Portland.
Here's the link for the Portland Comcast thread...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=339961&goto=newpost

but in answer to your question, yes, they encrypt all but the local's.
So if you are thinking about getting a basic package and using a QAM tuner then what you'd end up getting is they same as you have now minus 6 and 49 as Comcast doesn't carry the HD versions of those channels. If you go with a digital package and receiver from them you'd add INHD, INHD2, ESPNHD, and the HD version of any premium channel you subscribe to. (HBO, Showtime, ect.)

thanks a lot for the info.

In case you were curious (we did get a few calls on this) KPTV-DT lost all primary MPEG / PMT table data last night (Monday 9/22/05) at about 6:55 pm and began transmitting nothing but null packets (a.k.a. - no pictures, no sound.)

The problem - after an inordinant amount of time spent headscratchin' and chin rubbin' - turned out to be a new config file that had been loaded earlier Monday morning that told the multiplexer to go to an invalid source for primary stream data when the tables refreshed the next time around - which happened to be about 6:55 pm ...

We corrected the erroneous source setting and in the process discovered that the correct source wasn't sending all the correct data necessary and fixed that as well. KPTV-DT regained a valid bitstream at about 8:16 pm.

Theoretically, you should see no differences in your receiver performance, tuning time, program guide depth or other paramters, but let us know if something seems funky as we have made some fairly fundamental changes in the MPEG primary data as well as the PSIP data.

Thanks,
Ed


ps - I almost long for The Age of Steam Powered Television when putting pictues on the air didn't involve multiple computers and servers talking to one another ;)

My Dish 811 receiver is choking on channel 2 (KATU - Digital 43) as of Monday 8/22. The TV alternates between black and the signal every few seconds, and supposedly this has to do with incorrect or incompatible PSIP information.

So, does anyone know whether PSIP information got changed on Monday on KATU?

If so, any chance of 'fixing' it :)

Yoyogi

YoYo,

I have also been having trouble receiving KATU ATSC since Monday. I tune OTA via a Hitachi 57S700 ATSC tuner. This morning, KATU digital looked ok. I'm wondering if there is a problem when KATU switches over to Prime Time HDTV.

I contacted KATU engineering and just received a quick response:

Response:

Batdorf, Alan [ABatdorf@katu.com]

Something was broken and it did get fixed. Network will not be feeding its affiliates HD until Saturday.

-----Original Message-----
From: ........
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 12:06 PM
To: Batdorf, Alan
Subject: E-mail from KATU.com visitor


This message is from the KATU website.

Message: I have not been able to tune in KATU digital off-the-air since
Monday. Other members of the AVScience forum have also been having
trouble. This morning things looked just fine. Is something broken?
Did it get fixed? I'll have to try to tune in tonight to see if the
problem has been fixed or if the switch-over the Prime Time HDTV still
has a problem. I just wanted to make you aware of the problems people
are having in case you didn't know.