Everytime there is alot of movement or alot of the color red on the screen, there are red 'ghosts' all over the place.

Never noticed it. Unfortunately, I already erased the recording from disk so I'll have to keep an eye out for it next week.

Larry,

I've wondered if it may somehow be partially equipment related/dependant because I've posted about it several times in the past in threads and haven't seen anybody else mention it until today. For me it shows up most when the camera pans across brightly colored objects (florescent red first-down markers, yellow Packers helmets etc). It creates a kind of flashing or strobing tracer-like effect on my set that is very annoying. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that they are creating a progressive signal from an interlaced feed (and that my TV is further doubling that to 1080i). What ever it is, it's highly distracting on my setup.

ron

Originally posted by R11
Larry,

I've wondered if it may somehow be partially equipment related/dependant because I've posted about it several times in the past in threads and haven't seen anybody else mention it until today. For me it shows up most when the camera pans across brightly colored objects (florescent red first-down markers, yellow Packers helmets etc). ron

I'm pretty sure I've seen this with those yellow first-down lines.
As the camera pans to, say, the right, I see an additional red first-down line
offset from the yellow one to right (I think). Of course, it goes away
when the camera panning stops.

R11....you described what I'm seeing EXACTLY. It isn't always the case....I think the last widescreen Packer's game was fine. This weeks Atlanta game was unwatchable. What receiver are you running? I've got an E*6000 running to a Panny 47WX49. If you are running different equipment, we could probably rule out a home-hardware problem.

TM, I'm using the Mitsubishi D* box to a Sony XBR direct view set. I watched some of a Billboard Music award show on Fox last night and it was very evident on that too. It was kinda strange because it was really severe at first and when I tuned back in later and was watching the picture suddenly cleaned up a fair amount. Like somebody threw a switch or something. I wonder if it may have some thing to do with settings on the upconverter at the local Fox site maybe?

ron

Was The Tonight Show only in SD last night?

Wow! What was with the PSIP generator tonight? Or was it just my 6000 spazzing out? Watching CSI about 45 minutes in when it was showing the two guys soaring really high, my 6000 went blank, kept the audio, went to 40-01 but no picture. I hit the Guide button and there was like 78 sub channels. By the time I scrolled down to 40-01 and hit enter, about 5 seconds later it switched back to 6-01. Anyone else see this?

Also, lip synch was pretty bad tonight. I tried switching channels several times and it didn't help. I also checked lip synch on my PVR 501 and it was off by about as much, but then, Dish usually is off on almost all of their channels, it drives me crazy.

BTW, the noise line problem I had awhile back, it was just in need of a slight vertical adjustment, it's gone now.

Lee, if you read this, the Dish KOIN signal still blanks out periodically.

Didn't see that. My 6000 did black out during Survivor for a couple minutes - had to reaquire signal.

I got one good drop out on KOIN last night too but it popped right back like usual without all the extra strangeness you experienced with the 6000. Didn't have any lipsync problems with KOIN last night but there does seem to have been a big increase of it lately for some reason. Especially with KGW for me. Usually no problem resyncing though with a channel change and letting it sit on the other channel for a few seconds before flipping back. Damn, it sure will be nice when all the equipment and delivery systems are robust and stable won't it?

ron

Edit: From the looks of this thread here (www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=200686) we're not the only ones having drop out problems with CBS. Sounds like some of these people are just complaining about compression artifacts but some of them are describing the same symptoms we see here (to varying degrees). Maybe it has something to do with the network feed itself and not just the local stream?

KATU is black right now. Anybody else? Hope it comes back for the movie at 8:00.

Yes, KATU is black for me also.

Speaking of KATU, does anyone know why their 720p broadcast has a chroma delay in the green channel? For those that can defeat the overscan on their TVs, it's quite easy to see on the right edge of the image as a bright green line. Who can I contact to inform them of this apparent error?

Originally posted by TMBUTCH
KATU is black right now. Anybody else? I had two new channels (2-2, 2-3) with no signal for most of Saturday, then 2-1 went away. Looks like they're up to something!

BB

I hope your right (assuming you're talking 'upgrade'). My KATU (2-1) is still black. It came back for the second half of Armagedon last night, but has only been on spotty since. Signal strength (on E*6K) is high, so its definitely not a reception problem. If you showed some sub-channels appear, they may be upgrading....sounds promising.

KATU was back out for Alias last night, bummer.

RE: FOX. What is up with the PQ? I know this has been hammered to death, but I brought home an InFocus DLP projector to watch some bigscreen HDTV this weekend and the Green Bay game was so bad I ended up watching it on my 27" NTSC set.

What I was seeing was the color bleeding that Ron mentioned earlier as well as what looked like vertical scan lines. Any horizontal motion produced these vertical scan lines. I tried viewing in 720p & 1080i and the picture was absolutely horrid.

The close up shots looked pretty decent but the wide field shots from up above looked really bad. Is this normal for FAUX widescreen or is KPTV just worse?

Bob, it's nice to see you on our forum. The InFocus projector I'm using is the LP650. The rainbow effect and eye fatigue is pretty bad on this machine. Is it because it's a lower end unit? I have been holding out on buying a DLP projector till they evolve a bit more, but after watching this, I'm not sure if DLP is the route I wish to go. Any thoughts? Thanks.

If you showed some sub-channels appear, they may be upgrading....sounds promising.KATU has had periodic equipment problems that have necessitated ATSC transmission shutdown for extended periods. No offense but what good do you see coming from having sub channels? Multicasting, reduced bandwidth and PQ? Although since KATU is 720p I would imagine it would probably be less of an issue than on the 1080i stations. Even so, sub channels are evil :D. Hey, maybe if we're lucky they'll put up a traffic cam. Which leads me to.....

.... Anybody check out the Florida/Maryland BB game on KOIN Sat afternoon? It looked great.... when they were standing still :(. Lee I hate to be a continual griper but I noticed the traffic cam was up during the game. I figure you guys have your reasons for even having it at all but could you at least have them shut it down during sports presentations? I believe you have done that in the past if I'm not mistaken. That little extra slice of bandwidth makes a considerable improvement in the HD feed. I was even getting some macro blocking during the game which I don't recall ever seeing from KOIN previously. Anything you could do would be appreciated. Thanks.

I tried to watch some of the R&B retrospective/tribute thing on OPB this weekend too and the lip sync was so bad I just couldn't stay with it. All in I'd have to say some what less than a stellar weekend for PDX DTV I guess.

ron

Originally posted by Dean Prestholt
I noticed last night that Fox was showing Boston public on their 30-2 channel, at 5:00 pm no less, obviously a east coast feed This has been occurring on Fox for some time now. I watch a lot more Fox now because of this! I hope they continue it.

Until DTV time-shifting is common, there's going to be a potential market simply from broadcasting prime-time programming in off-hours - though I have to wonder how many broadcasters will actually tap this market.

BB

Originally posted by R11
.... Anybody check out the Florida/Maryland BB game on KOIN Sat afternoon? It looked great.... when they were standing still :(. Lee I hate to be a continual griper but I noticed the traffic cam was up during the game. I figure you guys have your reasons for even having it at all but could you at least have them shut it down during sports presentations? I believe you have done that in the past if I'm not mistaken. That little extra slice of bandwidth makes a considerable improvement in the HD feed. I was even getting some macro blocking during the game which I don't recall ever seeing from KOIN previously. Anything you could do would be appreciated. Thanks.


I don't think the traffic cams eat up much BW. 6-2 is probably the biggest culprit; as I've noted before, when 6-1 needs extra BW for high-motion stuff, then so does 6-2. It doesn't help that directors of popular series such as CSI tend to use alot of "flashes" these days. These always pixelate.

As for KATU, I had relatives over last night, fans of "The Practice". I told them, "wait until you see it in HDTV". So much for that idea! The industry's sure not making it easy for us to try to win over other viewers!

RE: FOX. What is up with the PQ? I know this has been hammered to death, but I brought home an InFocus DLP projector to watch some bigscreen HDTV this weekend and the Green Bay game was so bad I ended up watching it on my 27" NTSC set.

What I was seeing was the color bleeding that Ron mentioned earlier as well as what looked like vertical scan lines. Any horizontal motion produced these vertical scan lines. I tried viewing in 720p & 1080i and the picture was absolutely horrid.

I concur except for the color bleeding part which I could not see.

This FOX game was much worse than last week's and I think it is partly due to excessive edge enhancment at the source combined with perhaps a poor encoder at the local level along with multicasting-related bit rate starvation.

I wish I could set the size of the picture appropriate for the quality. Standard def (or FOX widescreen) is simply not designed to be watched from the same distance as HDTV but, alas, my couch is not motorized.

I know it has been asked before, but does anyone have a heads up on Comcasts plans to intriduce HD locally. Had lunch today with 4 people who have HD capable sets and they are in a quandry as to whether to go the DTV STB route or wait for cable. You would think Comcast is aware of this and would at least give some idea of timetables. Calling them is useless as the people you speak to don,t know the difference between HDTV and HGTV.
Lee, any industry rumors on this topic.
Thanks

I don't think the traffic cams eat up much BW. 6-2 is probably the biggest culprit; as I've noted before, when 6-1 needs extra BW for high-motion stuff, then so does 6-2. It doesn't help that directors of popular series such as CSI tend to use alot of "flashes" these days. These always pixelate.I have to agree wholeheartedly about 6-2 Barry. My plea was more along the lines of a "if nothing else, at least" kind of a thing. Though from experience with games last year when they shut down 6-3 for the NCAAs it is surprising how much even a little extra bandwidth can help. Still far from HDNet-type quality but an improvement none the less. Sat was by far the worst HD basketball I've seen on KOIN.

Michael, I haven't heard anything specific about Comcasts' plans for PDX but would be interested to know as well. All indications are that they are being fairly agressive in their HD rollout. I think I heard Seattle was already scheduled?

ron

As far as me being excited about subs....it is not due to allocation of bandwidth....if KATU is adding sub channels, I assume that they would allocate enough bandwidth to the HD stream that it would not hamper PQ.

The good news is that it would explain the blackouts, and perhaps....maybe...hope beyond hope...they would experiment with some content on the HD stream during non-primetime (ala KGW). It would be nice to have alternative content to show off the quality to visitors during non-primetime hours.

Now what's up with KGW? Crossing Jordan was not HD last night. I rarely get to watch live TV so it's a real bummer when I sit down to watch and it's not HD.

Originally posted by R11
.... Anybody check out the Florida/Maryland BB game on KOIN Sat afternoon? It looked great.... when they were standing still :(. Lee I hate to be a continual griper but I noticed the traffic cam was up during the game. I figure you guys have your reasons for even having it at all but could you at least have them shut it down during sports presentations? I believe you have done that in the past if I'm not mistaken. That little extra slice of bandwidth makes a considerable improvement in the HD feed. I was even getting some macro blocking during the game which I don't recall ever seeing from KOIN previously. Anything you could do would be appreciated. Thanks. Sorry, folks. The game should have had all of the bandwidth. We're training some new people and they forgot to change encoder modes (it's a manual function).

Hello All,
I am new to this thread and since it is kind of long, I did not have the time to read through all the posts but quickly skimmed over some. I have some questions I hope you can help me with.

I have a HTPC setup with an accessDTV card (WinXP latest Beta drivers) and I am able to get one channel with good reception using the Radio Shack double bow-tie antenna mounted near the bedroom window in level three at Colonnade townhomes in Hillsboro (Cornell-John Olsen). There are some tall trees and no buildings (for several hunder feet) in this direction but I do have to point the antenna up 80 degress to horizontal. I am getting tired of watching the light-house and parade in Channel 46 KGW (the only one I can get now).

What are my options to get more HD channels ?
My tuner has only one digital input that is connected to the bow-tie antenna. I tried several other antennas (Terk, Silver Sensor..) and finally settled with the bow-tie. Can two inputs be combined to one signal as I have only one input ?
Thanks in advance,
-Jai

Jai,

Those cards aren't known for getting the best reception. You may have to use an outdoor antenna, if your townhome association lets you. For starters, its certainly worth trying to take that antenna outside. If that doesn't do it, a real outdoor 4-bay bowtie (Channelmaster 4221 gets good reviews) might be needed. You can mount that on a wall (its four inches deep); you can even paint it to match. I just don't know where you can pick one up in this area; Frey's didn't have them when I was there last.

BB

BB

Jai,

If you are stuck using an indoor antenna you should try to get ahold of a Zenith 'Silver Sensor' antenna. It is very directional, but from Hillsboro that should not be a problem. It is a great unit for slicing through multipath. (You can check multipath by looking at analog channel 24. Adjust the antenna for the least amount of ghosting.) You may also need to add an antenna pre-amplifier, though that is not likely.

Lee

Has anyone been able to find out what KATU's problem is?

Last night it was completely screwed up ranging from a choppy non-HD picture to no picture at all.

bdb and Lee, Thanks for your inputs. I guess you are right about the cards not having good reception.... are there any satellite HD channels that can be received by using some equipment in conjunction with this card. I don't want to buy a satellite receiver, since I already have this card. Once one of the providers like AT&T come up with HD channels thru regular cable, I won't have a problem. How far are we from this ? Lee, I already tried the silver sensor antenna.
Thanks,
-Jai

So, is anybody else seeing the SD KOIN channel (6-2) now? Went to watch the Survivor finale last night and no signal... Flipped over to HD 6-1 and it was up as well as the traffic cam on 6-3. Checked again this morning and it was still out. Never seen them shut down the SD feed and only run the HD before so wondering if it's an intentional thing and they are experimenting or if someone just missed a switch or if they're having equipment problems maybe?

ron

6-2 being blank was a problem at the station. Our routing switcher controller crashed Thursday afternoon putting odd things all over the place. This one got missed in the recovery process. It is fixed now.

Lee

Why wasn't the Indiana/Kentucky game in HD?

Hi others in Portland,

please forgive me if I might be cluttering things up here with a message about the obvious. But I haven't been able to figure out if this is me or KATU or when things will be corrected.

Last night my KATU HDTV reception was horribly inaudible duing the Saturday Night Fever movie. Continuous squirrly, jittery, splittery, garbled sound. This has been happending to me for HD material from KATU for maybe a week or two. SD material is 95% okay - but still with some pops in the audio.

I use the Samsung SIR-T150 connected optically to a Sony receiver. All the other HDTV broadcasts are just fine.

Any chance tonight's shows will be up and running? (Alias in particular?) And what about the Super Bowl in January.

Erik

SNF was the same for me on my Dish 6000. Must be the local network. KATU has been doing some fiddling around lately.

Naegu - I also experienced audio problems on KATU last night during Saturday Night Fever as well as the previous night. I also have a Samsung SIR-T150, which is new as of Friday. I was wondering if it might have been my unit or my reception, but if other folks on Dish are having the same problem it looks like that can't be it.

All other stations receive great. I am very impressed with HDTV.

At any rate, I hope KATU can fix their feed soon!

Jeff

Originally posted by somervi
At any rate, I hope KATU can fix their feed soon!If this doesn't clear up consistenly in the next couple weeks, some of us are going to have to worry if our Super Bowl parties are going to be a bust.

BB

"The Practice" screwed up yet again. No sound tonight. Beginning to look like Wes was the only competent person at that station; he's retired now I hear. More probably, the folks currently at the station have demonstrated by their collective actions that they don't care enough about their DTV to transmit a useable signal -- if they did, these problems simply wouldn't be happening.

'anyone want to send a complaint letter the the FCC? What's the point in allocating free spectrum to Fisher Broadcasting, if this is what they're going to do with it?

Hi,

I e-mailed KATU about this last night and received a quick reply with some hopefully good news. I let them know that I could share with the AVS Forum. So here's what they said...

Our HD encoder has a failed audio board. We have had nothing but problems since the encoder had been "upgraded" by Tiernan, the manufacturer. We should have audio back by Tuesday. We currently have no redundancy for our HD system.


Erik

bdb, I'm with you. I would hate to think of the disappointment of the 30 people I have coming over for the Superbowl in HD when we have to watch it on Dish locals.

I had a very strong signal on KATU last night but had no picture again (about 8:30 pm). I have almost given up watching Alias in HDTV now.

On another note, as of late I have not been able to get either Fox channel (30-1 or 30-2) the past few days that I've tried. Anyone else recently having problems? I show 0 signal strength all of a sudden with no changes to antenna aim or equipment configs. It used to be fine with just the occasional sound dropouts or picture breakup and 60-70% signal (Sir-t151). Now I have nothing.

Question for 6000 owners: Some time ago I lost the ability to pick up PAX 22 & WB 32 Analog. Just for kicks I hooked up my antenna directly to the TV last night and tuned them in just fine. I went back to my 6000 and tried doing an autoscan for Analog and placing them in manually but my 6000 will not see these stations. Anyone else experiencing this?

WB32 analog comes in fine for me through my 6000. I pick mine up over channel 4 though.

Cris

Thanks, Cris, I did get a channel 4 on Autoscan but I didn't know it was WB.

Originally posted by poweda
bdb, I'm with you. I would hate to think of the disappointment of the 30 people I have coming over for the Superbowl in HD when we have to watch it on Dish locals.

I had a very strong signal on KATU last night but had no picture again (about 8:30 pm). I have almost given up watching Alias in HDTV now. Well, at least this is happening in late December instead of late January, and it seems like they know what the problem is. They're probably leery enough to not touch anything before the SB.

On another note, as of late I have not been able to get either Fox channel (30-1 or 30-2) the past few days that I've tried. Anyone else recently having problems? I show 0 signal strength all of a sudden with no changes to antenna aim or equipment configs. It used to be fine with just the occasional sound dropouts or picture breakup and 60-70% signal (Sir-t151). Now I have nothing. When I lost KATU yesterday, it reverted back to the base channel 30. So I had a 30-1 that was FOX and a 30-1 that was KATU. You might have been watching KATU thinking it was FOX. 30-2 was working for me yesterday.

BB

Isn't KATU 27?

Originally posted by Marissadad
Isn't KATU 27? No, that's PBS. But you're right that KATU isn't 30 - its 43. I just assumed it was the base channel. Maybe they were broadcasting on the wrong channel yesterday? Its really odd that I was seeing ABC at 30-1.

BB

KOIN black during CSI tonight...anyone else?

I just check at 10:36pm. Wasn't watching because its a repeat. 40-1 looks OK for me.

Cris

Hey all Portlanders -

I still have no sound on KATU. I assume this means their repairs on tuesday either didn't happen or failed to fix the problem. Any news about this out there?

Also, I spent 2 hours tweaking my antenna setup and I'm still unable to restore my FOX stations, 30-1 and 30-2. Has anybody else stopped receiving them or is it just me? Has anyone that still tunes them in noticed a drop in signal strength?

I'm still getting Fox with a strong signal. No news on KATU, though.

BB

bdb - Do you have to change your antenna position to tune FOX or do you leave it pointed in the same direction regardless of the station you're tuning?

Originally posted by poweda
bdb - Do you have to change your antenna position to tune FOX or do you leave it pointed in the same direction regardless of the station you're tuning? Its always in the same position. The two towers are within a few degrees for me, so I just point my Silver Sensor about halfway in between and it picks up everything quite well.

BB

Anybody got the latest on KATU? Hope they get this resolved by the Superbowl. Its a shame I'll have to miss 'The Sound of Music' tonight'.

TMBUTCH

I got the following message off of Lee Wood's HDTV Forum last night:

Fri, 27 Dec 2002 11:28:55 -0800

The audio board within our HD encoder has failed. Another encoder has been shipped out to us and I am awaiting it's arrival. As soon as it comes through the door, it will be placed immediately into service.

Sorry about the signal and thank you for your feedback.

Alan
alanb@katu.com


Sounds like it will be fixed in the next day or two.

Steve


:) :)

Thanks xsrsmithx! Good news!

Hey guys, I am moving from Keizer to Woodburn and am wondering if one of those fancy 4 bay bowtie type antennas will work? I currently use a 121" combo Rat Shack antenna and it works great, but I'd rather not have to mount that sucker again if I can get away with it.

I am moving on the 1st and just pulled down my antenna, no OTA TV for 3 days. :(

Thanks,

Darrell

Whoo hoo! KATU is back up!!

ThankS Alan @ KATU, It sure is nice to hear 2-1 again!

Hey Darrell,

I would think if you are getting the DTV channels in Keizer then Woodburn should be even easier.

I live in Salem and was getting pretty good reception with a RS double bow tie antenna. I've since put up a larger antenna but the signal strength with the RS antenna was pretty good.

The 4bay bowtie antenna should be more than sufficient.

Good luck,
Dean

That is good news about KATU. I have people comming over for the Superbowl in glorious HD. I was starting to think I was going to have to quickly develop my sports casting abilities, of which I have none!! Of course after a few beers and a couple of margaritas I'd probably get pretty darn good. ;)

Thanks, Dean, I'll give it a shot.

Marissadad,

I live in Woodburn and receive all of the DTV channels with a ChannelMaster double bow tie in my attic. Signal strength with a Dish 6000 is low to upper 90's.

Was anyone else getting breakups last night during the CSIs? I seemed to be getting a strong full strength signal but with periodic losses. Not like the old dropouts which seem to be good now except for the hiccups when switching in from commercial breaks, but just big drops in signal strength here and there. It was raining pretty hard and blowing the trees about but it appeared to be happening even during some of the calm spells too. I watched the Missing Persons show for about the 2nd time (wasn't too bad by the way) and things seemed to be pretty smooth by then.

ron

Ron, I was experimenting with an indoor UHF antenna last night and had some dropouts, but I thought they were the antenna. I can't believe the reception I am getting off an indoor antenna I picked up at Wal Mart to try out.

Where can I get a double bow tie? Rat Shack doesn't offer them anymore. Anyone local? Local being the Portland Metro area.

Thanks,

Darrell

Hello,

I'm new to the area (and digital tv stations).
I noticed the same drop-outs on CSI with some complete loss of signal for several seconds. I also noticed it across a number of the OTA digital stations.

Despite my idyllic belief, I suppose when it's calm in West Linn it's not necessarily calm other places in Portland.

Is it possible that such problems can be "downlink" related (ie. transmission from the network to the local station)?

-Keith

Anybody know if 'Chefs A-Field' is playing locally on PBS? If so, when?

Woohoo! KATU was rock solid for Willy Wonka and Alias last night. All that on a funky little Wal Mart indoor antenna. I really need to get my hurking Yagi put back up, I have to tweak the indoor antenna everytime I change channels.

Originally posted by Marissadad
Woohoo! KATU was rock solid for Willy Wonka and Alias last night.
You actually watched Willy Wonka? :rolleyes:

However, I agree about Alias, it was terrific (5.1 sound, crisp HD). It really beats watching it via VHS tape delay :D It'll be a great day when all the shows I watch look that good.

All that on a funky little Wal Mart indoor antenna. I really need to get my hurking Yagi put back up, I have to tweak the indoor antenna everytime I change channels.
I have a VHF/UHF Radio Shack antenna in the attic that works great for HD without needing to move it around when I tune different channels. It receives a fairly poor non-digital signal, but who cares? :p

I live west of Washington Square, and the antenna is pointed at about 19 degrees. I just returned an antenna I thought I'd need to replace my old antenna with, but I just consulted http://antennaweb.org to discover my old antenna was, literally, misdirected.

You actually watched Willy Wonka?
Let's just say it was on the screen and leave it at that.;)

Seriously, I've been moving the last 5 days and I've not had a chance to put my antenna up yet. I opened it up in the Theatre room and had great signal strength but I didn't feel like standing there holding it all night while I watch TV, that's why I bought the cheapo at Wal Mart; to get me by till I can get everything put back together.

Plus, the guy I bought the house from had Dish but he only had one receiver wired, so I have to string another wire from the existing Dish and put up my 24" dish for 61.5 and wire it in with the OTA antenna. Fun, fun, fun. :D

Originally posted by Marissadad
Woohoo! KATU was rock solid for Willy Wonka and Alias last night.

Oh no! It wasn't for me. Audio was still horribly messed up - really bad. I'm using the Samsung SIR-T150 with v1.8 firmware.

Shoot. Now what do I do? I guess I'll try writing them about it.

Erik

Erik,

Wow, now I don't know what to think. Willy Wonka's sound was fine. The second it ended and Alias began the sound dropped completely out. I also have a SIR-T150 and am receiving the signal OTA. I do not have sound troubles on any station other than 2-1. I thought for sure my problem was KATU's problem with the sound decoder, but now what to think? How can I find my firmware version? Can it be updated? I can find that my unit was born Dec 2000 - pretty old...

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

You can get the firmware rev by pressing Display while the pointer is on the Help/On button (make sure Help is On). It is upgradable. You can find the code at www.samsung.com I believe. Unfortunately you need to make or buy a special cable. A comment says the upgrade isn't necessary if you have rev 1.8. (Mine came with 1.8).

Right now as I type, KATU (ch 2.1) audio is working for me. Not an HDTV broadcast though. Oddly, for about 1/4 - 1/2 second after first switching to the channel, it is garbled just like Willy Wonka was entirely. Then it clears up.

Also right now ch 8.1 (KGW?) has no audio - it is showing the HDTV demo loop as I type.

The other channels are being received just great.

Erik

Erik,

That's exactly what I have right now, too. Wheel of Fortune is on 2-1 with perfect sound. The Golf demo loop is on 8-1 with no sound. Everything else is great.

My firmware version is 1.13, but it doesn't sound like upgrading would buy me any sound. :cool:

I'll look around for the updates on www.samsung.com...

Jeff

Right now, at 7:45 pm, KATU audio is garbled for me again (didn't notice when it exactly went bad). I tried repeatedly switching channels, back and forth, to see if it's a random thing. But it stayed garbled.

(Argh, I'm probably pestering other readers by giving this up-to-the minute update. Sorry. Maybe someone will find it informative. I've emailed KATU.)

Erik

Well, my KATU stayed perfect until precisely the moment Any Given
Sunday began. My receiver switched from stereo (Wheel of Fortune/commercials) to 5.1 (Any Given...) and then the audio started breaking up. It was in 5.1, though (my first time hearing 5.1 over OTA). Thanks for emailing KATU... it will be interesting to see their reply.
I have emailed Samsung as I wasn't able to locate any firmware upgrades on their site.

Jeff

I've noticed some of your problems on my Dish 6K. No audio at times on 8-1 and drop - outs on ABC. I am also having problems with signal strength on PBS. Gee.....I thought that when the weather was clear, it was supposed to HELP reception issues. No clouds to bounce the signal off of?

A little Goggle search and I found this. I don't think it is exactly the same problem. But it is interesting reading:

http://pub1.ezboard.com/fdigitaltelevisionhdtvforumdigitaltelevisionhdtvtechnicalfor um.showMessage?topicID=126.topic

And here is the firmware upgrade:

http://www.samsungusa.com/images/dced_upgrade/bulletin/sirt150_upgrade/sirt150_upgrade.html

It's a pain to try w/o a cable - so I'm not going to right now.

Erik

I've been having trouble locking in OPB at times and no audio on KGW HD loop w/Dish 6K. I had no glitches with Alias.

I watched a little of Any Given Sunday last night while I was waiting for CSI to come on and the audio was fine for me. I was having some reception breakups at first but after rotating the antenna a bit it was ok. I don't recall having to move my antenna last year after finding the sweet spot for all the channels. This winter I'm having to tweak it now and then to keep a good signal lock when the wind is blowing. Sometimes it amazes me I get reception at all as the antenna is inside my attic and there's a big cedar tree directly behind my house which the antenna basically points right through.....

ron

I had no audio on KGW 8.1 also but I've had no problems on KATU 2.1 since the repair. I did not watch Willy Wonka or Any Given Sunday though. Alias was fine for me (Samsung 151).

I am still having sound and picture breakups on FOX (30-1, 30-2), even with signal strength as strong as the other stations that I have no problem with. Is anybody else getting breakups consistently on FOX?.

I wondered if OPB was having a problem yesterday; on several occasions I received dropouts, but my signal strength was always good. "Desert Speaks" looked to be a fantastic show (and the first part was beautiful), but it dropped out and eventually I lost the signal completely.

"Oregon Naturally" was supposed to be on at 10:00, so I missed at least two good HD shows yesterday. :( Oh well, OPB-DT is pretty good about re-running shows.

BB

I watched Malcom in the Middle Sunday night and it was perfect for me. Also watched Boomtown on 8-1 Sunday night and both picture and sound were fine. If you guys are having the audio probs with just the demo tape I wouldn't worry about it. The sound on that thing has been messed up forever. I just wish they'd do away with it entirely and run HD/upconverts of their regular programming full time like KOIN and KATU instead.

ron

Originally posted by bdb
I wondered if OPB was having a problem yesterday; on several occasions I received dropouts, but my signal strength was always good. "Desert Speaks" looked to be a fantastic show (and the first part was beautiful), but it dropped out and eventually I lost the signal completely.

"Oregon Naturally" was supposed to be on at 10:00, so I missed at least two good HD shows yesterday. :( Oh well, OPB-DT is pretty good about re-running shows.

BB

I was so pumped that just redirecting my antenna allowed me to pick up 10-1 (OPB), and then I encountered audio drop-outs and picture hiccups about every 30 seconds yesterday (Monday Jan 6 about 10PM) just after I said to my wife, "Hey, lookee here at this real nice HDTV picture". After two minutes of being bothered by the sound and picture hiccups she gave up :(

So maybe it wasn't my antenna? It was OPB? The signal strength meter was the same as my nice and shiny KATU-DT reception.

I sent an e-mail to OPB asking if they have problems, I'll post something when I get a response.

BB

Did anyone watch the show on Spies last night on OPB? Was it HD? I am currently restricted to just watching off Dish till I get my antenna back up. Some scenes like the flying insects looked darn good like they could have come from an HD source. The program was also presented in widescreen format.

Thanks.

Hi,

I lived in Portland/Hillsboro area (SKyline & Cornell Rd to be specific). Looking for an antennae that would help me get HDTV signals. I'm using a TOSHIBA HD DSS. I can get weak KGW and OPB DT signals with the Channel Master Stealth antennae but looking to get KATU also.

I can't find the Radio Shack double bowtie antennae anywhere. A friend of mine showed me this antennae and I could get 90+ signal strength at my house.

I also can't locate the Allegro UHF 4149 double bowtie.

Could anyone tell me what I need? Really want to watch the superbowl in HD

thanks

HIeu

hieule91:

Don't know if this is what you are looking for, but.....I bought a big 'ol Channel Master VHF/UHF from Fry's in Wilsonville for $49. The prongs slope down and out from the center-shaft so I was able to mount it on the peak of my roof on a 1.5' mast and all of the off-shoots hug the slope of the roof on either side (does that make sense?). The result was a big, huge antenna on my roof that is NOT visible from the street or my backyard. You would never know its there unless you climbed onto the roof. I get very good reception of all of the local digital stations.

Originally posted by hieule91
Hi,

I lived in Portland/Hillsboro area (SKyline & Cornell Rd to be specific). Looking for an antennae that would help me get HDTV signals.You're very close to the towers, which can present unique problems. First off, you're getting your signals from different directions. Also, you can get some pretty strong multipath interference.

Antennaweb shows the digital stations in red - a medium directional. I find this rather surprising, given your distance and the fact that the signals come from between 119° and 150°.

I'm a few miles further away (same zip code), and the towers are within a couple degrees of each other (according to antennaweb). I first tried that Stealthtenna; what a piece of junk. I was going to put it in the attic but I got a fairly strong signal in the house (couldn't get KATU). I replaced it with a much smaller Silver Sensor from Circuit City. The signal was much stronger, and KATU came in great.

I would recommend a Silver Sensor to just about anyone who isn't too far away and doesn't need multi-directional. CC is good about returns so there's little risk. Its a highly directional antenna, which might help some with the interference - but it makes a difference which way you point it. Best is probably between 120° & 130°, and hope for the best with KPDX & KPTV (137° & 150°). Point it out a window for best results; don't just aim it at a wall!

If you have a strong signal but dropouts, you may be experiencing multipath and need to get an attenuator.

BB

Originally posted by Marissadad
Did anyone watch the show on Spies last night on OPB? Was it HD?IIRC, it wasn't HD. I've been having so many problems getting OPB-DT reliably the past few days (seems others have as well), that I haven't been watching it except to check in from time to time to see if its better.

BB

Oh my... KATU (ABC) 2.1's HDTV video and audio is coming in great tonight on my SIR-T150. First time I've been able to watch KATU in about a month. DD5.1 is being received great!

Erik

Well, all was good until the Bachelorette came on. Then the audio went back to the garbled, unintelligible mess.

Oh, well.

Erik

(And yes, my OPB video is very choppy too.)

thanks BDB & TMBUTCH,

I'll try looking at those suggested antennae's. Hopefully, I can get this resolved by Super Bowl Time.

Hieu

Is anyone getting good signals from OPB-DT? Its been cutting out for several days now.

Thanks,
BB

GOT SIGNALS with SILVER SENSOR ANTENNAE
OK, finally pick up the Silver Sensor Antennae from Circuit City. Good signals with KGW-DT and OBP-DT (fluctuate between 50-100 probably because of the wind? but get 100! for some moments). Even get KPTV-DT and KPDX-DT if I move it around carefully. However, I only get 60 for KATU-DT and < 20 for KOIN-DT. What can I do to increase the signals? A powered amplifier? Which one?


BTW, I had to point my antennae at about 100 degrees CCW from where I get good KGW-DT signal in order to get KATU-DT. Weird, considering the locations indicated by "antennaeweb" aren't that far apart.

Anyhow, I guess I just need to go find an signal amplifier now

Thanks ahead for any more tips

Hieu

Originally posted by hieule91
GOT SIGNALS with SILVER SENSOR ANTENNAE
OK, finally pick up the Silver Sensor Antennae from Circuit City. Good signals with KGW-DT and OBP-DT (fluctuate between 50-100 probably because of the wind? but get 100! for some moments). Even get KPTV-DT and KPDX-DT if I move it around carefully. However, I only get 60 for KATU-DT and < 20 for KOIN-DT. What can I do to increase the signals? A powered amplifier? Which one? It sounds like you are buried in the trees. That would explain the wild fluctuations. You probably also don't have very good line of sight. Use UHF analog 24 and 49 as aiming aids for KOIN/KATU and KPTV/KPDX respectively. Adjust the antenna for the least amount of ghosting. KGW and KOPB should be in between the two.

Only if the analog stations are VERY snowy, indicating low signal levels, would an amplifier help, otherwise it will most likely hurt your reception.

Lee
I had to call KOIN master control this afternoon because they hadn't switched modes to give all the bandwidth to the HD feed on the football game. They got it fixed, but she was surprised that it wasn't right. Don't they have monitors to look at the different sub-channels and see for themselves that things are not right?
Thanks for giving us the best HD signal possible.

Thanks for making that call!

I noticed the picture was lousy with pixelation at the start but then got much much better. I thought it was Lee calling in but I guess it was you, foelker.

So how much range does one feel that a Silver Sensor is good for? 20-30miles more, less?

Originally posted by foelker
Lee
I had to call KOIN master control this afternoon because they hadn't switched modes to give all the bandwidth to the HD feed on the football game. They got it fixed, but she was surprised that it wasn't right. Don't they have monitors to look at the different sub-channels and see for themselves that things are not right?
Thanks for giving us the best HD signal possible. AS I posted in the CBS AFC Playoff thread... The button was pushed, but the switch-over didn't happen due to a software problem.

The monitoring Master Control has is two NTSC monitors fed by DTC-100s with 6-1 and 6-2 and a larger HD professional monitor (out of line of sight) on 6-1 or previewing the incoming network feed. When transmission modes are switched sometimes the DTC-100's drop back to 6-1 (which is what the standard says should happen) or the 6-2 tuner will just freeze up. None of this is 100% effective, but it is the 'best' technology available.

The ATSC Encoder control software isn't much better. It is two year old 'beta' software that cannot be upgraded because they have changed the hardware and it would be a six-figure cost to upgrade our hardware (original cost $350,000) so we could use newer software. So we are pretty much stuck with what we have for some time. Once Master Control got a hold of me (I was not at home for the start of the game) we walked through re-starting the control program several times until the mode switch took.

Originally posted by normang
So how much range does one feel that a Silver Sensor is good for? 20-30miles more, less? This is difficult to answer because it depends a lot on what the antenna is shooting through. Since it is an indoor antenna it has the signal loss of at least one wall, maybe more, at roughly 10 db per wall, more walls, more dbs lost. Then it is likely to be below nearby obstructions that roof-top antennas would see over. Under 'normal' indoor circumstances I would expect the Silver Sensor to work very well from 2 to 10 miles out, dependant on obstruction attenuation from 10 to 20 miles out, and in need of a good amplifier beyond 20 miles unless it is high up with clear line of sight. Your results WILL vary.

Hey Lee, caught the end of the Sat game (so I missed the bandwidth snafu) and all of yesterday's game. Just wanted to say thanks for all the work you guys do holding the patchwork equipment set up together for us. I for one, really appreciate it. It would be nice if you guys could swing for a new set up but understand the economic realities of the situation. Raiders/Jets yesterday was truely a thing of beauty.

Now for the bad part (not you Lee ;)). Is everyone else still seeing the horrible strobing on the Fox widescreen games? After reading the Fox thread in the HD forum it seems that it must be way worse here than in other places since many said their feed was good. It's so bad for me I just have to watch the SD feed. It's a drag having to go to 4:3 but at least it's solid and it's not like the PQ is a huge drop off from the ED. I was thinking of getting ahold of Ed but wanted to check with others to make sure it's not just me before bugging him. On my set up it's terrible... What are you guys seeing?

ron

Hello all,

I'm new to the area and just got my HD200 and 50" plasma up and running a couple of weeks ago.

I watched all the playoff games over the weekend with my girlfriend and have to say that the CBS feeds were TREMENDOUS - especially the Raider game as the light changed and you could the stadium lights take effect on the players/field.

I didn't see any significant strobing on the Fox feeds, but my girlfriend (completely unaware of the differences) commented that the Raider game "looked so much clearer" than the 49er game.

I'm very impressed that Lee pays attention to this thread...I'm even more of a loyal fan of KOIN as a result.

Thank you all for a great thread with valuable reading!

- Keith

OPB seems to be behaving better, at least last night during the Antarctica Ice program. Anyone see this? It was incredible. There were still a few breakups but all in all pretty solid. It shows again 8PM Thursday.

Also, does anyone know if the "River of Iron" show Tuesday night is in HD?

Thanks.

R11 -

Yes, the strobing on FOX widescreen is still just as apparent for me - makes it unwatchable. I have to switch to 30-1 and stretch it. It must be a local issue. Also, seems to me that at the beginning of this season, it wasn't there. I thought I can recall watching a FOX widescreen game earlier this year and noting that the PQ was relatively nice (yet still garbage next to CBS HD).

I have to agree, that Antarctica (Nature) program was awesome! I remember thinking to myself how glad I was that OPB was working during that (most of the time). I did notice a few dropouts, and I noticed that the OBP logo didn't go away during the dropouts - kind of rules out a reception problem!

The Fox games looked OK to me also. I get Fox really well over here in the Bethany area. I know the station's only a couple of miles away, but the transmitters are on the same towers are other channels, so I dunno.

BB

R11, FOX is so bad, I watch it on my 27" TV downconverted NTSC. I can't stand crappy looking TV. I did the same thing for the CBS game on Saturday because the pixelation was so bad. I must not have noticed it got better or I would have switched back to the big screen.

Oh, well, Sunday was much better.

Hmmmm, now I'm not sure what to think then. I wonder if it may be compatibility issues with certain setups making it look even worse maybe? If anybody had to watch what I've been seeing (and TMBUTCH as well from the sound of it), there's no way they'd call it "OK". It's worse than crappy ;). I think I will drop Ed a line and see if he's got any feedback from others in the area.

ron

When I can tune in FOX, it looks fine. My problem is I suffer from severe video and audio drop outs which make it unwatchable. My signal strength with FOX is as strong as all other stations but will just drop to 0 and then come right back and be perfect. Couldn't watch either football game. CBS was GREAT. Thnx Lee!

Has anyone else had problems timeshifting KOIN HD programming. I was unable to record either AFC playoff game this weekend and last night my recorder showed an error message relating to copy protection. I am using a Samsung T165 and a Mits HS-HD2000U connected via firewire. I am aware of several issues with the T165 but, I don't seem to have the same problems recording other OTA network programming.

R11
I think you're probably right about an equipment related problem. I have a Toshiba receiver and I haven't EVER noticed a problem with FOX. Last weekend's games were definitely better than SD with sharp details.

R11 - we may have discussed this earlier, but I am getting HD through a Dish 6000. FOX is the ONLY channel that has this strobing/bleeding effect. It must have something to do with their "enhanced definition" signal and how my hardward converts it.

R11 - we may have discussed this earlier, but I am getting HD through a Dish 6000. FOX is the ONLY channel that has this strobing/bleeding effect. It must have something to do with their "enhanced definition" signal and how my hardward converts it.

Originally posted by R11
Hey Lee, caught the end of the Sat game (so I missed the bandwidth snafu) and all of yesterday's game. Just wanted to say thanks for all the work you guys do holding the patchwork equipment set up together for us. I for one, really appreciate it. It would be nice if you guys could swing for a new set up but understand the economic realities of the situation. Raiders/Jets yesterday was truely a thing of beauty.


My wife's Pittsburghian family was over on Saturday to see the Pittsburgh/Titans game. They'd never seen HDTV and were thrilled to see it on my new Sony KP57WV700. (And I was relieved that my investment wasn't deemed "stupid" :o )
I see an HDTV in their future.

Thanks, Lee and KOIN for all your efforts on behalf of HDTV!
Too bad the Steelers lost, though :mad:

Originally posted by Lipout
Has anyone else had problems timeshifting KOIN HD programming. I was unable to record either AFC playoff game this weekend and last night my recorder showed an error message relating to copy protection. I am using a Samsung T165 and a Mits HS-HD2000U connected via firewire. I am aware of several issues with the T165 but, I don't seem to have the same problems recording other OTA network programming. The 'problem' is real. For some reason the Samsung 165 is blocking the Firewire output on KOIN HD programming (anything on 6-1) only. It has been determined that the source of the problem is something in the PSIP data stream, but the 'why' is still unknown. It is not intentional. The PSIP system vendor is looking into the problem. We don't know when there will be a solution though.

Maybe the 6000 doesn't quite know how to handle a 480p signal since it doesn't have all of the Zoom/Stretch options available, all it will do is Full or Normal like a SD channel.

I've emailed Dish on this before but have never received an answer. Maybe all of us 6000 owners need to hit them at once about the strobing and stretch issues with Fox.

Guys, I'm using a Mitsubishi receiver (Hughes E86) so it's not just the 6000. And I don't think it's a flat 480p problem either because the film based EDTV comes through just fine for me. I've only seen it on the football games and the one awards show that I'm assuming must have been taped as well. And even on the football games the picture itself is basically clear and as sharp as can be expected for 480. It's just the strobing as they pan across things. You'd think it must be related to the deinterlacing that's done at KPTV somehow interacting with the upconversion done by either the receiver or TV or some combination of all three. My XBR should not be trying to do anything with signals that it sees coming in as 1080i or 480p. Same thing with the receiver. So I'm at a loss as to what the cause is unless the receiver is not actually seeing the signal as 480p for some reason and it is upconverting it as if it were 480i?

ron

Edit: I just sent Ed Williams an email about it. Let's see if he has any info to enlighten us with about it.

Hi all,

I'm still confused and perplexed and I wanted some help understanding which receivers are having problems with KATU.

I have friends at work who are receiving KATU's HDTV transmissions just fine. For instance, they are able to consistently watch Alias on Sunday nights. They have an integrated TV/receiver (I need to ask what brand again.)

But for the last month I haven't once been able to receive the audio for Alias nor most any other KATU HDTV transmissions - I get totally garbled or missing audio. I'm on the Samsung T150. All the other stations are received great.

Would you mind letting me know your KATU reception quality and hardware. I'll then post the results. You can message me privately or use the e-mail address below.

Thanks so much for your help,

Erik


naegu (at) attbi (dot) com

Quote:
The 'problem' is real. For some reason the Samsung 165 is blocking the Firewire output on KOIN HD programming (anything on 6-1) only. It has been determined that the source of the problem is something in the PSIP data stream, but the 'why' is still unknown. It is not intentional. The PSIP system vendor is looking into the problem. We don't know when there will be a solution though.

Lee, Thanks for the information. I was about to start boxing things up and returning my latest purchases. I can only hope the fix is something easy and quick. CBS and KOIN HD programming are the main reasons I purchased the T165 and recorder. Please tell me the solution will be in place by "Masters" time. Thanks again for your efforts!

I don't know about you guys but I've about had it with my Samsung 150. Last night I tuned in CSI Miami and the audio and video were all garbled- same on the other channels. So, I went through the exercise of actually unplugging the unit ( not just turning it off ) and on the third try it worked and everything was great again on all channels. All things considered for the Portland area ,which would be my best bet for OTA reception - a combo satellite/ota stb is ok just that the majority of my hd viewing would be ota. I'm very leery of trying one on the newer Samsung boxes.

Dave, all the newer units should be a bit better, but still have their problems. I've had a fair amount of success with the Zenith HDV420.

Everything was coming in great until the past couple of weeks, when I started losing OPB completely. I moved my indoor antenna to several places within the room to see if I could improve the situation. The best place turned out to be in a CORNER, near the sliding glass doors (not pointing directly out). The signal strength is still good, but the dropouts are just occasional blips, not total loss. This crazy digital stuff!

BB

OPB is still spazzing out. I tried watching the program on the bomber last night and could not lock a clean signal for more than a couple of minutes.

As far as KATU goes, I have a Dish 6000 and have not had any audio issues for a couple of weeks now and I do watch Alias every week.

I don't typically watch a lot of KATU but I do flip by it frequently and like Marissadad it has seemed fine for me (with the hughes clone) ever since they got the equipment problem sorted out 2-3 weeks ago.

I got an email back from Ed at KPTV and he gave me a pretty frank answer regarding the tape based widescreen feed problems. To paraphrase him he thinks it stinks most of the time and he sounded dismayed and dejected about it (must be from fielding all the hate mail and phone calls ;)). At any rate he said he really had no idea what the actual cause is but he did say that they have several different off-air receivers there at the studio and that the artifacting does show up differently and to varying degrees on the different units. He said he thinks the type of compression that Fox uses for the football games "is messing with certain receivers and not others". So, there it is. Doesn't sound encouraging. Looks like those of us with the "less compatible" receivers may just have to deal with it until the day comes that Fox decides to just give us the real thing. :(

ron

Originally posted by Naegu
I'm still confused and perplexed and I wanted some help understanding which receivers are having problems with KATU.


My Samsung SIR-T165 receives KATU (Alias) and KOIN (Football) HDTV just fine.
I'm near Hiteon Elementary school in SW Beaverton.
On the other hand, KOPB-DT breaks up a lot.

Lee, with all the threads about CBS DD 5.1 coming soon over in HD programming, what's the word on KOIN? Are you currently able to pass it through when it's available?

Thanks.

From what I can gather, the KATU audio problems (horribly garbled sound) are only with the Samsung T150.

I've found two of us on this thread have the problem. The bad audio is present about most of the time on KATU. News and games shows can occasionally come in fine. But HD has been mostly inaudible.

Although suspicious, I really cannot for sure tell if the problem is with the Samsung T150. All the other broadcaster's audio is received fine. KATU's audio was fine before the December'ish timeframe. Although people on other receivers also report of KATU audio problems in December, it sounds like everyone except Samsung T150 owners are okay now.

Anyone have a contact at KATU and/or Samsung that you think would be interested in this issue?

Erik

OPB is still spazzing out. I tried watching the program on the bomber last night and could not lock a clean signal for more than a couple of minutes.

Same thing for me.

Would you mind letting me know your KATU reception quality and hardware. I'll then post the results. You can message me privately or use the e-mail address below.

I had big time KATU reception issues with MyHD up until about 1.5 months ago. I sent MIT a sample transport stream from KATU which they analyzed and produced a new driver that fixed the issue. I have a AccessDTV and a MyHD and I'm in the Aloha area.

Dave

Originally posted by Marissadad
Lee, with all the threads about CBS DD 5.1 coming soon over in HD programming, what's the word on KOIN? Are you currently able to pass it through when it's available?

Thanks. Well, since the first I heard about it was when I found the press release while posting the DTV Newslinks this morning I don't have any good answers. I emailed CBS Engineering this morning and have gotten no response. I'm guessing KOIN is not on CBS's list of 25 stations to receive the DD5.1 feed.

It would be nice if CBS would let the affiliates in on things like this ahead of time, but then again CBS did exactly the same thing when they broadcast the Grammys as their first stereo broadcast.

In theory KOIN could pass it through, but we might lose all local audio doing so, or we could possibly set up an alternative audio service for DD5.1. We just don't know for sure having not had a network signal to pass along.

Erik,

I have a Sir-T151 and I have audio problems only with KATU. Sometimes have to change channels back and forth or even turn my unit off and on to receive the dd5.1 feed.

At times the sound is fine and then they go to commercial and when the dd5.1 HDTV show comes back on I have no sound until I cycle channels or power. I wonder if the garbled sound you get is related to my sound outage, just handled differently by the tuner. Have you tried power cycling your unit when this happens and if so did it help?

David

REMINDER
For those of you who missed it, the Nature: Under Antarctica Ice feature is on OPB-DT tonight at 8pm. Assuming you're getting OPB-DT OK, that is :rolleyes:.

This is a really beautiful documentary, and a "must-watch" IMHO.

BB

Under Antartica looked absolutely FANTASTIC. HD cameras filming in water as clear as crystal. Also....no drop outs or pixelation. Has OPB got their act back together?

dbd, thanks for the heads up! The family watched Antarctica last night and it was great! What guide are you looking at that tipped you off to this telecast?

Living on the downhill side of West Linn my reception of HD is pretty good.
KPTV is the only station I can't get. (With the occasional KPDX breakup.)

I think this is due to the antenna I'm using. (Channel Master 4228, 8 bay bow tie pointed up about 10 degrees.)

Has anyone had success with antenna stacking? Do antennas have to be on the same plane or can they be in different locations as long as the feed cables are of the same length?

Can anyone recommend a different antenna/s that are better for the frequencies in Portland?

Also I have the Dish 6000 receiver, would a different receiver work better?

Thanks for Any input.

Scott

I was going to mention something else in my last post and forgot. I had also asked Ed at KPTV about 30-2 and whether the widescreen stuff was going to stay there and the fact that there's no guide data for that channel. He said at least for the time being it would remain there and that some time probably around August they will start encoding PSIP and then it will show up as 12-2 with the guide data in place.

ron

Originally posted by Dave Waymire
dbd, thanks for the heads up! The family watched Antarctica last night and it was great! What guide are you looking at that tipped you off to this telecast?
You can go directly to the website here (http://www.opb.org/schedule/dtv/) or you can:
Send an email to dtv@opb.org and request to be put on their weekly mailer. Here is this week's list:

OPB's DTV Schedule for January 10-18, 2003

Thinks it's cold here, how about under the Antarctic ice?

* NATURE - Under Antarctic Ice
Sunday, January 12 at 5pm and 8pm
Thursday, January 16 at 8pm

Then to the windy city, Chicago:

* American Experience Chicago: City of the Century
Part I - Monday, January 13 at 9pm and
Thursday, January 16 at 9pm

Part II - Tuesday, January 14 at 9pm and
Friday, January 17 at 8pm

Part III - Wednesday, January 15 at 9pm and
Saturday, January 18 at 9pm

* Chicago by 'L': Touring the Neighborhoods
Saturday, January 18 at 10:30pm

----------------------------------------------
January 10 Friday

5 PM Washington Week (CC)

5:30 Wall $treet Week with Fortune (CC)

6:00 This Old House (CC)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre Wives and Daughters - Part 4.
Mr. Preston finally returns Cynthia's letters to go-between Molly,
who little suspects she is the subject of scurrilous town rumors.
(CC-DVS-R-Repeats Sat. at 8 p.m.)

9:30 Desert Speaks Argentina's Upside-Down Desert - Part 2. THE
DESERT SPEAKS continues the search for the highest and driest
part of Argentina, beginning in the colonial city of Salta. (R)

10:00 Now with Bill Moyers (CC)

----------------------------------------------
January 11 Saturday

5 PM Nature (CC-R)

6:00 Austin City Limits

7:00 America Welcomes The World! Cultural Olympiad Concert (R)

8:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre Wives and Daughters - Part 4.
Mr. Preston finally returns Cynthia's letters to go-between Molly,
who little suspects she is the subject of scurrilous town rumors.
(CC-DVS-R)

9:30 Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm Winner of the Nobel Peace
Prize and considered by many to be one of the most effective
secretary generals of the United Nations, Kofi Annan is the
focus of a new documentary. (CC-R)

----------------------------------------------
January 12 Sunday

5 PM Nature Under Antarctic Ice. Filmmaker Norbert Wu and his
team make the 2,400-mile journey from Christchurch, New Zealand,
to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to make the first high-definition
film of life hidden under the Antarctic ice. (CC-DVS-Repeats Thu.
at 8 p.m.)

5:59 Oregon Art Beat

6:30 Oregon Field Guide Winter Feeding/Salamander/Gooseman. Winter
feeding - there was a time when marauding herds of elk caused a lot
of damage to ranches in eastern oregon. But now, thanks to a winter
feeding program, the problem is under control.Salamander pond -
underwater cameras reveal a life-and-death struggle that has been
raging for millions of years. Gooseman - spend some time with the
'gooseman', a man who knows all there is to know about migrating
canadian geese.

7:00 Antiques Roadshow Albuquerque, Nm - Part 1. From Albuquerque,
New Mexico, this program kicks off its winter 2003 season of
dramatic new discoveries. Host Dan Elias makes his own discoveries
while cruising The Turquoise Trail. (CC-R)

8:00 Nature Under Antarctic Ice. Filmmaker Norbert Wu and his
team make the 2,400-mile journey from Christchurch, New Zealand,
to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to make the first high-definition
film of life hidden under the Antarctic ice. (CC-DVS-Repeats Thu.
at 8 p.m.)

9:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre My Uncle Silas II. Albert
Finney returns as rustic rapscallion Uncle Silas in five new
sketches from the charming country tales of H. E. Bates.
(CC-DVS-Repeats Sat. at 7 p.m.)

----------------------------------------------
January 13 Monday

5 PM Antiques Roadshow (CC)

6:00 Outdoor Idaho (CC-Repeats Wed. at 10:30 p.m.)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Nova Spies That Fly. In newly declassified footage, NOVA
reveals the exploits of America s secret weapon in the air war
over Afghanistan: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV (CC-DVS-R)

9:00 American Experience Chicago: City of the Century - Part I:
MudHole to Metropolis. Chicago's location at the end of a canal
that links the Mississippi to New York makes it attractive to
Yankee speculators as well as Irish canal diggers.
(CC-DVS-Repeats Thu. at 9 p.m.)

10:30 Outdoor Idaho - Down on the Farm. What's it like to be a
farmer these days? And how does a farm family maintain its
optimism at a time when farming faces so many challenges?
Outdoor Idaho profiles a third generation farm family, the
Jensens, as they use every tool at their disposal to make a
go of it on northern Idaho's wheat growing region of the Palouse.
(CC-Repeats Wed. at 10:30 p.m.)

----------------------------------------------
January 14 Tuesday

5 PM Nova (CC-DVS-Repeats Mon. at 8 p.m.)

6:00 Desert Speaks (Rerun-Repeats Thu. at 10:30 p.m.)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Nova Last Flight of Bomber 31. A U.S. military team discovers
the wreckage of a World War II bomber on the edge of a volcano in
the remote wilderness of Kamchatka, Russia. Nearby are the remains
of several, but not all, of its crew.
(CC-DVS-Repeats Mon. at 8 p.m.)

9:00 American Experience Chicago: City of the Century - Part II:
The Revolution Has Begun. From the railroads to Marshall
Field's department store to Cyrus McCormick's reaper factory
to the stockyards, workers struggle for their share of a
new industrial capitalism.
(CC-DVS-Repeats Fri. at 8 p.m.)

10:30 River of Iron: Dreams of the Grand Canyon Railroad Follow
a group of modern-day adventurers on a raft trip down the
Colorado River into the heart of the Grand Canyon as they
retrace the historical adventures of Robert Brewster Stanton,
an engineer/ explorer who in 1889 set out to investigate the
possibilities of building a railroad through the extreme terrain
of the Grand Canyon.
(Repeats Fri. at 9:30 p.m.)

----------------------------------------------
January 15 Wednesday

5 PM Secrets of the Dead (CC)

6:00 Smart Travels -- Europe with Rudy Maxa (Rerun)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Secrets of the Dead Tragedy at the Pole. This episode tells
the tragic story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his British
team who, in November 1911, began a trek across the ice of
Antarctica, striving to be the first to reach the South Pole.
(CC)

9:00 American Experience Chicago: City of the Century - Part III:
Battle for Chicago. Chicago develops the world's first skyscraper
downtown, with a unique American architectural style.
(CC-DVS-Repeats Sat. at 9 p.m.)

10:30 Outdoor Idaho Down on the Farm. What's it like to be a
farmer these days? And how does a farm family maintain its
optimism at a time when farming faces so many challenges?
Outdoor Idaho profiles a third generation farm family, the
Jensens, as they use every tool at their disposal to make a
go of it on northern Idaho's wheat growing region of the Palouse.
(CC-R-Repeats Mon. at 6 p.m.)

----------------------------------------------
January 16 Thursday

5 PM Outdoor Idaho (CC-R)

6:00 Red Green Show (CC-Rerun)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Nature Under Antarctic Ice. Filmmaker Norbert Wu and his
team make the 2,400-mile journey from Christchurch, New Zealand,
to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to make the first high-definition
film of life hidden under the Antarctic ice.
(CC-DVS-R-Repeats Sat. at 5 p.m.)

9:00 American Experience Chicago: City of the Century - Part I:
MudHole to Metropolis. Chicago's location at the end of a canal
that links the Mississippi to New York makes it attractive to
Yankee speculators as well as Irish canal diggers.
(CC-DVS-R)

10:30 Desert Speaks Faces of the Argentine Desert. The
continuation of life in the face of death is a daily battle
for the Argentine people. Viewers learn how the Earth's
natural resources can provide for life, even in the desert.
(R)

----------------------------------------------
January 17 Friday

5 PM Washington Week (CC)

5:30 Wall $treet Week with Fortune (CC)

6:00 This Old House (CC)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 American Experience Chicago: City of the Century - Part II:
The Revolution Has Begun. From the railroads to Marshall
Field's department store to Cyrus McCormick's reaper factory
to the stockyards, workers struggle for their share of a
new industrial capitalism.
(CC-DVS-R)

9:30 River of Iron: Dreams of the Grand Canyon Railroad Follow
a group of modern-day adventurers on a raft trip down the
Colorado River into the heart of the Grand Canyon as they
retrace the historical adventures of Robert Brewster Stanton,
an engineer/ explorer who in 1889 set out to investigate
the possibilities of building a railroad through the extreme
terrain of the Grand Canyon.
(R)

10:00 Now with Bill Moyers (CC)

----------------------------------------------
January 18 Saturday

5 PM Nature (CC-DVS-R)

6:00 Austin City Limits (CC)

7:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre (CC-DVS-R)

9:00 American Experience Chicago: City of the Century - Part III:
Battle for Chicago. Chicago develops the world's first skyscraper
downtown, with a unique American architectural style.
(CC-DVS-R)

10:30 Chicago By 'L' Chicago by 'L': Touring the Neighborhoods
takes a look at Chicago's ethnic diversity from on- board the 'L'
and provides a unique, elevated glimpse into the cultural life,
architectural features and hidden treasures of a number of
Chicago's neighborhoods and close-in suburbs.
(CC-Repeats Wed. at 9 p.m.)

----------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, please reply to this email with the word
"unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Oregon Public Broadcasting

Is anyone else having problems receiving CSI on KOIN 6-1 tonight? I get nothing but black space on either of my two recievers

Same here. Black on black...........

Steve

same here black screen i hope they fix it before the game

Originally posted by Lipout
Is anyone else having problems receiving CSI on KOIN 6-1 tonight? I get nothing but black space on either of my two recievers The CBS HD satellite receiver locked up requiring a trip to the satellite earth station to reset it.

Originally posted by scottcorinna
Living on the downhill side of West Linn my reception of HD is pretty good.
KPTV is the only station I can't get. (With the occasional KPDX breakup.)

I think this is due to the antenna I'm using. (Channel Master 4228, 8 bay bow tie pointed up about 10 degrees.)

Has anyone had success with antenna stacking? Do antennas have to be on the same plane or can they be in different locations as long as the feed cables are of the same length?

Can anyone recommend a different antenna/s that are better for the frequencies in Portland?

Also I have the Dish 6000 receiver, would a different receiver work better?

Thanks for Any input.

Scott Scott,

Stacking antennas is usually not worth the effort. It only give you a 3 db gain in signal level. A good quality preamplifier will do much better. You might try moving the antenna around. Even small changes in location have a big affect at UHF frequencies.

Rr you may want to try a second antenna, more directional, yagi antenna to pick up KPTV. Another West Linn viewer who was just over the bluff had to add a second antenna for KGW-DT.

Your Dish 6000 is fine in that it uses the NxtWave 2000 chip set for DTV reception which is one of the better second generation ones.

Your problem is most likely multipath (ghosts) which you can check on by looking at the analog UHF stations. Furtherest east from you is KNMT-24 analog is on the Sylvan (digitals there are KOIN, KATU, KNMT and eventually KWBP) site and furtherest west is KPDX-49 analog is at the KPDX site (KPDX-DT) with KPTV (KPTV-DT) and the Skyline Tower (KGW-DT, KOPB-DT and eventually KPXG-DT) in the middle of the two. Try to minimize the ghosting on 24 and 49 and see if it helps. If those signal are very snowy, indicating low signal level, then you should consider an antenna preamplifier (Channel Master 7775 or similar).

I haven't seen any mention of the OPB airing of "River of Iron". It was awesome. One of the few nights that I could watch OPB during the entire show without major breakups. If you missed it, it was about a guy who envisioned building a railroad through the Grand Canyon in the late 1800's.

Tonight on OPB digital:
5PM Nova, don't know what it is or if it's HD.
6PM Smart Travels.
8 PM Nova Ancient Creature of the Deep.
9PM Journey of Man.

Should be a good night for OPB if their signal is stable.

Hello,

I am trying to join the HD club in the Portland area. I live in the shadow of a hill near Tigard off Taylor Ferry Road and have no line-of-sight to the towers.

I have a MyHD card installed in my PC and purchased a Channel Master 4221. I bolted the antenna to a 6' mast and just leaned it against a shrub at the side of my house facing in the general direction of the towers.

Much to my surprise KGW locked on immediately. I got a "no signal" messasge for all other stations. That was Monday afternoon. A fairly clear day. Last night I planned on watching Jay Leno-----nothing. Assuming KGW-DT was broadcasting last night is it normal to have good reception one time and nothing another time?

I realize I shouldn't expect too much with my antenna haphazardly propped up by a Camelia bush. Hopefully I will be able to do a proper installation with a rotator this coming weekend or next.

OPB was disappointing last night, only Smart Travels was HD, but Thursday night "River of Iron" is on at 9:30. This show is for certain in HD, I saw it earlier in the week and it is spectacular.

tibia, you'd be surprised how much difference a very small amount of change in antenna positioning can make when it comes to acquiring the digital signals and keeping them locked in. Have you had some one else slowly rotate your antenna set up while you watch the TV tuned to different channels to see what comes up? I'd think once you have the rotator and antenna sturdily set up you will have much better luck.

Marissadad, I may just have to watch that River of Iron show since you keep plugging it :).

ron

Ron, I think I made a Booboo, the River of Iron is being shown on the normal OPB channel but not on the DTV channel tonight.

Here's tonight's listing: Unfortunately the Octopus and Creatures of the deep are not HD. they are Letterboxed upconverts (at least they were last time they aired).

The Chicago by 'L' is in HD and is an interesting story about the evolution of the rail system in Chicago.

8:00 Nature The Octopus Show.
No skeleton, but the brains and brawn of a top predator, the ability to change color and shape, and eight arms with suction cups that can taste what they feel. The talents of an octopus place it center stage in a new era of ocean exploration. (R-Repeats Sat. at 5 p.m.)

9:00 Nova Ancient Creature of the Deep.
The most famous "living fossil" is the Coelacanth (see-la-kanth), a huge primitive fish once thought to have died out before the dinosaurs. NOVA tells the amazing story of its rediscovery in 1938. (CC-R-Repeats Mon. at 8 p.m.)

10:00 Chicago By 'L'
Chicago by 'L': Touring the Neighborhoods takes a look at Chicago's ethnic diversity from on- board the 'L' and provides a unique, elevated glimpse into the cultural life, architectural eatures and hidden treasures of a number of Chicago's neighborhoods and close-in suburbs. (CC-R)

Originally posted by Marissadad
Ron, I think I made a Booboo, the River of Iron is being shown on the normal OPB channel but not on the DTV channel tonight. I don't think it was a mistake; I checked the schedule earlier today, and it showed River of Iron at 10:30. Now it doesn't show anything!

BB

The DTV schedule does not show River of Iron but it is on the Analog OPB.

See this (http://www.opb.org/schedule/tv/daily.php?d=2003-01-23) listing and now it shows 10:30, what the heck is going on? On TV they are saying 9:30.

On the OPB Digital listing here. (http://www.opb.org/schedule/dtv/) they don't show it at all.

Anyone else catch what happened on KGW last night? I was watching the Blazer game (one helluva game, BTW with double overtime, Blazer's won) on 8-01 when they cut back to the HD Demo loop. I switched over to 8-02 and finished the game. KGW ran a scrolling text message that ED would be shown Saturday due to the game going overtime. After the game, I went back to 8-01 and Ed was on in HD. How cool is that? I guess this is a good case for multicasting.

Yes, I experienced the same thing. KGW is so scatter shot when it comes to how they handle their DTV programming I never know what to expect. For quite some time they were showing everything upconverted on 8-1 which is pretty decent for Blazer games. Then it seemed they went away from that and they were only on 8-2 which is why I first flipped that on when I got home from work last night. It was severely pixelated so I thought they maybe had the game on 8-1 so I flipped over there and sure enough it was. Then the flip/flop with the channels. I really wish they'd just get rid of that demo loop and run their regular programming (HD or upconverted) full time on 8-1 like KOIN does.

PS: Yes it was a great game. Weird but good. Imagine a double overtime game where there's hardly any fan noise (the stands were pretty sparse to begin with and many left early so by the end they were almost empty). Kind of surreal.

ron

Lee,
I was surprised to learn in your recent post that KOIN and KATU are on the same site. My experience in West Linn with multipath is that KOIN is extremely sensitive to wind related breakups but KATU is probably my steadiest signal, even in high winds. Is the apparent difference in multipath sensitivity related to UHF frequency or something else? Are the antennas on the same tower? Is one higher than the other? I'm always hoping for a calm day when CBS has a big HD event.
Thanks

So...who's hosting a Superbowl party? I'm having about 10 people over (all the seating my basement theater has room for). Serving up a huge bowl of home-made buffalo wings, teriyaki wings, assorted chips and dips and a boatload of other stuff that guests are bringing. Oh, and did I mention beverages? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Bridgeport IPA, Portland Brewign Honey Beer, a Woodward Canyon cabernet (at $30 a bottle, hopefully not too much of it - may have to lock the cellar), and whatever hard liquor concoctions my guests can conjur up from what's in the bar.

Originally posted by foelker
Lee,
I was surprised to learn in your recent post that KOIN and KATU are on the same site. My experience in West Linn with multipath is that KOIN is extremely sensitive to wind related breakups but KATU is probably my steadiest signal, even in high winds. Is the apparent difference in multipath sensitivity related to UHF frequency or something else? Are the antennas on the same tower? Is one higher than the other? I'm always hoping for a calm day when CBS has a big HD event.
Thanks KOIN and KATU (and eventually KWBP) share the same antenna located at the top of the new tower on the Sylvan (KOIN) Tower site. Differences in reception are probably due to differences in the multipath for the two different frequencies even though they are close (KOIN channel 40 626-632 MHz and KATU channel 43 644-650 MHz) the wavelengths are so short that the reflections can be completely different. A very slight change in antenna position may resolve the sensitivity issue.

Originally posted by Lee Wood
KOIN and KATU (and eventually KWBP) share the same antenna located at the top of the new tower on the Sylvan (KOIN) Tower site.

Really! The same antenna and not just the same tower?

Is the antenna super broadband or is it somehow tuned to the different channels?

Originally posted by Larry Hutchinson
Really! The same antenna and not just the same tower?

Is the antenna super broadband or is it somehow tuned to the different channels? Yep, the same antenna. It is a broadband panel design (16 panels high / five around). It is also split into four levels, each fed by a separate transmission line, providing a very high degree of redundancy and lots of power handling capacity so all three stations can operate at the maximum allocated power with some room to spare.

Lee,

I am among those regularly watch CBS's prime time HD. I notice that KOIN simulcast an HD channel together with 1 or 2 SD subchannels during shows like CSI Miami and The District. The bit rate of the HD channel is often set to a low 10.75Mbps. The picture looks great when the scene is relatively static. At this low bit rate the blocks are very pronounce during rapid scene movements or flash cuts (most challenging for MPEG encoding). Why does KOIN multicasts the SD subchannels no one watch? Do CBS affiliates in other cities also multicast?

My understanding is CBS transmits the program to the affiliates at bit rate higher than ATSC 19.4Mpbs maximum. The affiliates like KOIN then re-compress for ATSC broadcast based on the bit rate allocation need.

OPB weekly listings now showing how programs are being presented, check it out:

OPB's DTV Schedule for January 31-February 8, 2003

Many of the programs are now marked as either Letter-box,
Widescreen, or HD. Check the end of the program descriptions
for these labels.

This week on OPB DTV:

* Reptiles - Alligators and Crocodiles
First episode of this series examines these ancient
predators. Widescreen
Sunday, February 2 at 5pm and 8pm
Thursday, February 6 at 8pm

* Nova - Battle of the X-Planes
Two aerospace giants compete to build the next hi-tech
fighter planes for the military. Letterbox
Tuesday, February 4 at 5pm and 8pm
Thursday, February 6 at 9pm

* American Experience - A Brilliant Madness
The story of John Nash, the brilliant mathematician diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia.
Tuesday, February 4 at 10pm
Thursday, February 6 at 5pm
Saturday, February 8 at 7pm

----------------------------------------------
January 31 Friday

5 PM Washington Week (CC)

5:30 Wall $treet Week with Fortune (CC)

6:00 This Old House (CC)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre - Me and Mrs. Jones.
Robson Green stars as Liam Marple, alias tabloid columnist "Mrs.
Jones." Assigned to get the dirt on Prime Minister Laura Blowden.
(CC-DVS-R-Repeats Sat. at 9 p.m.)

10:00 Now with Bill Moyers (CC)

----------------------------------------------
February 1 Saturday

5 PM Nature (R)

6:00 Austin City Limits (Rerun)

7:00 American Masters (CC-R)

9:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre - Me and Mrs. Jones.
Robson Green stars as Liam Marple, alias tabloid columnist "Mrs.
Jones." Assigned to get the dirt on Prime Minister Laura Blowden.
(CC-DVS-R)

----------------------------------------------
February 2 Sunday

5 PM Reptiles Alligators and Crocodiles.
The first episode covers the ultimate predators at the margins of
the water and the land.
Widescreen (CC-DVS-Repeats Thu. at 8 p.m.)

6:00 Oregon Art Beat
Terry Hutchinson - Meet Tigard potter Terry Hutchinson whose work
looks metallic, something that only a few people in the country are
doing. Jim Denney - Jim Denney paints bleak futuristic landscapes of
how life would look after environmental damage has taken its toll.
Peanut Butter Conspiracy - This barbershop quartet formed when they
were in college together.

6:30 Oregon Field Guide
Raptorman, Wallowa Mountain Fossils. Raptorman--Jim Anderson, a man
who has devoted his life to Oregon birds of prey, takes us to his
secret sites. Wallowa Mountain Fossils-- A look at the fossils
turning up in the mountains of Northeast Oregon.

7:00 Antiques Roadshow - Seattle, Wa - Part 1.
Host Dan Elias welcomes viewers to Seattle, Washington, from
architect Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project-a totally
interactive museum-before taking off on a whirlwind tour of the
city center. (CC-R)

8:00 Reptiles Alligators and Crocodiles. The first episode covers
the ultimate predators at the margins of the water and the land.
Widescreen (CC-DVS-Repeats Thu. at 8 p.m.)

9:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre - Foyle's War: The German Woman.
May 1940. Britain is newly at war and Detective Chief Inspector
Christopher Foyle is assigned to fight crime in the south coast-the
prime landing area for the anticipated German invasion.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-Repeats Fri. at 8 p.m.)

10:30 Smart Travels -- Europe with Rudy Maxa Florence.
Rudy visits the great museums - the Uffizi, Bargello, and Accademia,
as well as other the landmarks of the Renaissance. - the Duomo,
Bapistery and Giotto's Tower. An excursion outside of town leads to
a Medici villa, featuring a museum with inventions by Leonardo da
Vinci. HD (Rerun)

----------------------------------------------
February 3 Monday

5 PM Antiques Roadshow (CC)

6:00 American Experience A Brilliant Madness.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-Rerun-Repeats Tue. at 10 p.m.)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Over Alaska
This program presents a journey by land and by air over some of
the breathtaking landscapes and habitats that define Alaska.
HD (CC-R)

9:00 American Masters - Juilliard.
In an unprecedented arrangement with this prestigious conservatory,
American Masters was granted the exclusive and unrestricted rights
to spend a full year filming within its guarded walls.
Widescreen (CC-R)

----------------------------------------------
February 4 Tuesday

5 PM Nova Battle of the X-Planes.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-Repeats Thu. at 9 p.m.)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Nova - Battle of the X-Planes.
They called it the "Great Fighter War" -- the world's two aerospace
titans battling for the most lucrative contract in military history.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-Repeats Thu. at 9 p.m.)

10:00 American Experience - A Brilliant Madness.
At the age of 30, John Nash, a stunningly original and famously
eccentric MIT mathematician, suddenly began claiming that aliens were
communicating with him and that he was a special messenger. Diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia, Nash spent the next 30 years in and out
of mental hospitals.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-R-Repeats Thu. at 5 p.m.)

----------------------------------------------
February 5 Wednesday

5 PM American Masters - Ralph Ellison: An American Journey
Widescreen (Rerun-Repeats Sat. at 8 p.m.)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 American Masters - Ralph Ellison: An American Journey.
Ralph Ellison's stature and respect emanate from a single novel so
powerful that it and he effectively changed forever the way
Americans -- and people around the world -- think about race. The
novel is " Invisible Man."
Widescreen (Rerun-Repeats Sat. at 8 p.m.)

9:30 Outdoor Idaho - Owyhee Canyonlands. It may be the most remote
region in the lower forty-eight states. The Owyhee Canyonlands are a
magical place filled with sagebrush, volcanic rock and rugged
canyons. Here cowboys still ride the range and rafters navigate
lonely rivers.This is a big country, but some wonder if it's big
enough for all the competing interests.
Widescreen (CC-Repeats Fri. at 9:30 p.m.)

10:00 Oregon Naturally
This new locally produced special presents a visually stunning high-
definition look at the splendors of the state set to inspiring music.
HD (Rerun)

----------------------------------------------
February 6 Thursday

5 PM American Experience A Brilliant Madness.
Letter-box(CC-DVS-R-Repeats Sat. at 7 p.m.)

6:00 Red Green Show (CC-Rerun)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Reptiles Alligators and Crocodiles.
The first episode covers the ultimate predators at the margins of
the water and the land.
Widescreen (CC-DVS-R-Repeats Sat. at 5 p.m.)

9:00 Nova - Battle of the X-Planes.
They called it the "Great Fighter War" -- the world's two aerospace
titans battling for the most lucrative contract in military history.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-R-Repeats Mon. at 8 p.m.)

----------------------------------------------
February 7 Friday

5 PM Washington Week (CC)

5:30 Wall $treet Week with Fortune (CC)

6:00 This Old House (CC)

6:30 Nightly Business Report (CC)

7:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer (CC)

8:00 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre - Foyle's War: The German Woman.
May 1940. Britain is newly at war and Detective Chief Inspector
Christopher Foyle is assigned to fight crime in the south coast-the
prime landing area for the anticipated German invasion.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-R-Repeats Sat. at 9:30 p.m.)

9:30 Outdoor Idaho Owyhee Canyonlands.
It may be the most remote region in the lower forty-eight states.
The Owyhee Canyonlands are a magical place filled with sagebrush,
volcanic rock and rugged canyons. Here cowboys still ride the range
and rafters navigate lonely rivers.This is a big country, but some
wonder if it's big enough for all the competing interests.
Widescreen (CC-R-Repeats Wed. at 6 p.m.)

10:00 Now with Bill Moyers (CC)

----------------------------------------------
February 8 Saturday

5 PM Reptiles Alligators and Crocodiles. Widescreen (CC-DVS-R)

6:00 Austin City Limits (Rerun)

7:00 American Experience A Brilliant Madness.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-R)

8:00 American Masters - Ralph Ellison: An American Journey. Ralph
Ellison's stature and respect emanate from a single novel so powerful
that it and he effectively changed forever the way Americans -- and
people around the world -- think about race. The novel is "
Invisible Man."
Widescreen (R)

9:30 Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre - Foyle's War: The German Woman.
May 1940. Britain is newly at war and Detective Chief Inspector
Christopher Foyle is assigned to fight crime in the south coast-the
prime landing area for the anticipated German invasion.
Letter-box (CC-DVS-R)

Interestingly enough, the OPB schedule shows "Over Alaska" as being in HD, where it didn't last Thursday (when the current web schedule starts). I've seen this twice - once letterboxed (yuck!), once widescreen but obviously non-HD. It'll be interesting to see what they do next. I seem to recall them saying they didn't get an HD version from whoever they get that from.

BB

Are there any other Samsung stb owners out there having trouble with the audio on 2-1? Mine starting breaking up at halftime of the Superbowl and ever since then, if I want to watch 2-1, I have to unplug my box 5-6 times to get the audio to clear up. The other channnels are fine at all times. After finally clearing up. it's OK for a little while- 20 minutes to an hour or so, and then it's bad again. Do you think this is an equipment, broadcast, or reception problem?

Chefs A'Field coming to OPB in HD! I asked why it hasn't been airing yet as it has in other markets. Here's the response to my e-mail:

CHEFS A'FIELD begins its broadcast on our analog side on 2/22. It will
air Saturdays at 12:30pm. We have a limited schedule on digital, as we
only it from 5-11pm (for cost reasons), but CHEFS is scheduled for
digital. The first episode airs on 2/10 at 6pm. The second airs on 2/17
at 6pm.

Thank you for your email.

OPB Audience Services
503 293-1982
1-888-293-1982

Originally posted by Dave Waymire
Are there any other Samsung stb owners out there having trouble with the audio on 2-1?

Yes. As far as I can tell all the Samsung T150s have serious audio problems with 2-1, KATU.

I've had my T150 for over a year - everything was perfect until December - when I believe KATU upgraded their equipment. It isn't clear if it is the Samsung model or not. But since all other STB models and brands seem okay, I suppose it probably is. All the other Portland stations are received by the Samsung okay. One thing I believe I noticed (but not 100% sure) is that the problem might be related to Digital Dolby - and more frequently with DD5.1. I don't believe I've seen the other Portland stations use DD yet.

An annoying work around is to cycle power on the Samsung a few times while it is on 2-1. From 2 to 10 power cycles seems to clear it up for a little while (usually to the next commercial break or so.) This is annoying because it takes many seconds to power-cycle and acquire signal.

I'm at a loss as to what else we can do - other than purchasing a new receiver. I'm trying to hold out for the Dish 921 due later this year.

Erik

Erik & Dave,

I have the Samsung T-151 and I have a similar problem - just not as bad. When watching a DD 5.1 show I lose sound when the show comes back on after commercial when the commercial was not in DD 5.1. I can get the sound back simply by changing channels and then changing right back. I thought it was related to my receiver being on auto input and auto format decode but it is only on ABC. (I never have a problem on other DD 5.1 programs when watching Dish Network.)

David

Erik, I checked my firmware and I have version 1.13. Do you know if upgrading the firmware take care of this problem? Which version do you have?
Dave

Originally posted by Dave Waymire
Erik, I checked my firmware and I have version 1.13. Do you know if upgrading the firmware take care of this problem? Which version do you have?
Dave

Dave,

I have version 1.8 (Sep 25, 2001). On the Samsung firmware update page, they say those with 1.8 don't need to upgrade. (Oddly, the Samsung firmware update page doesn't say what version you're getting - but I suppose maybe it's 1.8.)

David,

That appears to be what I see too: that going through a non-DD 5.1 commercial break is the point where I'll often (not always) loose audio.

I don't watch much KATU because of this problem, but I did get through all of Alias last night after an initial 2-power cycles.

Erik

Erik, I went through all the old posts on Home Theater Spot last night on the Samsung page. Evidently there is a 2.0 firmware out there but I don't know what it addresses. I'm going to try to call Samsung today and see if they know anything.
Dave

Originally posted by Dave Waymire
Are there any other Samsung stb owners out there having trouble with the audio on 2-1?

No audio breakups with my SIR-T165 on Alias (ever!).
Nor with non-5.1 audio on KATU-DT.
I am now officially knocking on wood :-)

I spoke with Steve @ Samsung (1-800-SAMSUNG....menu hit 2,1.3,4 to get to the right dept.) and here's the deal. The stb's are made to conform to the broadcast standards but the local broadcasters sometimes tweak things a bit causing certain boxes to have glitches. He suspects that KATU probably changed something, maybe without even realizing it. In any case, I am ordering a SIRT150 upgrade kit which includes the cable you need to download it into the stb and it also comes with 1.8 firmware on a disc (ordered from JJ Int'l @ 1-800-627-4368 ...$24.50). Steve has also emailed me the 2.0 firmware. He said to try both to see if it clears it up although he personally likes the 1.8 firmware a little better (not because it addresses any audio glitches better). I'll let you guys know in a week or so how it turns out. I get the feeling that KATU is not going to be very sympathetic to our problem since they are not experiencing it on their own stb, an RCA. When I called down there they said "Samsungs have alot of problems, try unplugging it". As opposed to the help we got from Lee Wood at KGW when I was having problems with my stb "locking "on 6-2 and getting stuck there. He was able to tweak something in the broadcast that completely took care of it .
Dave

Have you guys contacted Alan at KATU and asked him if he is aware of the problem?

Dave,

Lets hope Lee's bosses at KOIN don't read your post and find out he's been moonlighting at the competition :).

It's interesting you mention about the problem you had with your stb locking on a station because just last week I had that very same thing happen with 2-1. Twice in fact. Never had it happen before. Black screen. Couldn't change channels. Couldn't even use the remote to shut it down. The first time I finally unplugged the box and the second time I believe it just rebooted itself after 5-10 seconds. Everything seemed to work fine after the reboots and no problems since.

ron

Dave,
You may be interested in this thread,
AVS Forum>HDTV>HDTV Hardware>Samsung SIR-T150 Firmware 2.0

Rob

Ron, my mistake. Obviously Lee is at KOIN not KGW. I wish he would moonlight at the other channels!!

Originally posted by Marissadad
Have you guys contacted Alan at KATU and asked him if he is aware of the problem?


Do you have a email address , or last name /phone # for him? Tryig to get through to the right person can be a real struggle, especially at night .
I was channel surfing last night , just in case NYPD cleared up, and noticed although the audio was still screwed up on NYPD, it was clear during the commercials. It's just so bad during the feature show, I didn't wait around to notice that it was clear on the commercial breaks before.

I've noticed in the past that if an email address has been posted, it was changed by the forum moderators, so if anyone wants Alan's email address, please send me a PM and I will sent it to you.

Is anybody in the Portland/Salem area having trouble with a weak signal from KOIN lately? Last week KOIN, KATU and KGW came in great for me but now KOIN jumps from no signal to a very weak signal and back. Two weeks ago KGW was unreliable but it's stable now. KATU has been rock solid for me for three weeks (since I got all my new HD equipment).

I suspect it may be my antenna but I can't figure out how KATU can be strong and KOIN weak if they originate from the same antenna on the same tower. I'm in Salem and I have a Channel Master 4228 mounted on my roof.

Lee Wood at KOIN has been a tremendous help. He is working with Samsung to determine why we can't record the KOIN HD feed running through the Samsung 165 to the JVC 30K. I hope they find a solution soon.

Anybody else notice any changes to the KOIN signal lately? If not, it's back up to the roof.

I'm in Woodburn, just moved from Keizer and I've had no problem with KOIN. I have noticed that KATU is off slightly from KOIN. When I first moved, I used an indoor FM/Rabbit ears antenna temporarily and I always had to move it to lock in KATU and I could get all other stations from the other position.

Now that I have my outdoor antenna back up, I have no issues, all stations are high signal strength and rock solid.

HD alert!! OPB is airing Chef's Afield Monday February 10th:

6:00 Chefs A' Field: Culinary Adventures That Begin On The Farm
HD

Well, I have a friend in Keizer and he had the same problems I have with getting a good KOIN signal at the expense of the KATU and KGW feeds. He ended up connecting two antennas (pointing in different directions) to a "combiner" and he gets all the stations great now.

It's time to back up on the roof and mess around with my antenna again.

I believe those 4228's are more directional than a typical Yagi type antenna. I use the biggest UHF Yagi type that Rat Shack sells and have never had a problem with direction.

Yeehaw!!

I added a Channel Master 7775 amp and now I have 9 bars (on my Samsung 165) for all channels except OPB channel 10. I'm not sure why I don't get 10 but I'll worry about that later. My main concern was getting a strong signal for KOIN CBS since they have 80% of the HDTV programming that I want to see.

Now if I could just record KOIN HD on my JVC 30K using my Samsung 165....

Hey!
Pretty new to the forum and the world of HDTV. So far I am having a ball with it. I too have noticed the loss of audio on KATU using my Samsung tuner. It seems pretty obvious to me that the loss of sound happens when they switch from a national feed to local content in the form of a news promo or local (regional) commercial. Somehow the tuner loses the audio. I usually can get it back by changing channels and then returning to KATU, but that's a hassle. Hopefully, over time they will find a way to do this that is compatible with all tuners (I don't want to have to buy another one until the new Dishnetwork pvr is out--and affordable).

I guess I will have to accept my fate that if I want to watch OTA HD it will only be KGW. A few weeks ago I mentioned I propped up an antenna against a Camelia bush outside my house and pointed in the general direction of the towers. I got KGW but nothing else. That was a surprise since I live in the shadow of a hillside blocking anything remotely close to line of sight to the towers.

Since then I bought wall mount brackets, rotor, preamp, more RG6, another 5' mast and installed it all on one the highest places on my house. Everything seems to work fine. KGW now comes in much stronger and with far fewer dropouts. The other stations? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm bummed out. I spent nearly $200 on antenna stuff and all I can do is watch Jay Leno.

Regards,

Dennis,

That's too bad. It seems really strange that you can pull in KGW reliably yet not even get a sniff of KOIN and KATU. I can understand you not getting KPTV and OPB since they are in a different spot or much lower powered. Look on the bright side, in addition to Jay you also get this:

NBC - broadcasting 1080i
This year brought us The Peacock Network unfurling its feathers in HDTV. Previously NBC offered only two regularly scheduled programs in HDTV, The Tonight Show w/Jay Leno and Crossing Jordan, by far the least of the ‘Big 3’ networks. For the 2002-2003 TV season, NBC announced they would be introducing four new filmed episodic shows in HDTV; In-Laws, American Dreams, Boomtown and Hidden Hills, along with two existing programs; Frasier & Ed. To really get things into gear, ER and the three tier Law & Order franchise were recently made available in HDTV. The HDTV Insider, Gary Merson, reported here that NBC will also add Late Night w/Conan O’Brien, due to arrive early in 2003. In sports, NBC teamed up with HDNet and carried the Winter Olympics and the Triple Crown of Horse Racing in HDTV. All in all, major HDTV additions, with even more to come as the 4 NBC midseason replacement programs will all be in HDTV. Mr. Sterling is on Friday nights, Kingpin premiered on 2/2/03, and A.U.S.A. 2/4/03. The Jake Effect has not been assigned a timeslot as yet -

I'd say you may want to keep those fingers crossed and start making weekly calls/emails to the local cable co to add HD.

ron

tibia : Are you using Dishnetwork? If so, I believe that if you get a letter from KOIN verifying you don't recieve their signal, and Dish will give it to you via the Satellite.

Any body else getting KOIN? At least for me I noticed it was down last night when I went to check the weather on the late news. Same this morning.

ron

It was out last night. I was getting a good signal of around 96% on all 3 channels but just a black screen and no audio.

When I tried to watch CSI Miami last night my Mitsubishi set top box would not produce any picture or sound even though I also had a very strong signal. My Samsung T165 sharing the same Rat Shack double bow tie ant had no problems producing both picture and sound. Very strange!

I haven't been able to get KOIN with my Dish 6000 for several days but am able to get it with my HTPC with a MYHD card and a Radio Shack bow-tie antenna. Was able to record CSI Miami last night. What gives with that?

Also having problems getting KATU to come in with the Dish 6000 but again can get it with the HTPC. Anybody else experiencing problems with KATU?

Steve

No Picture with my Toshi 3000 Monday night. Ok Tues.

Get great reception with the Silver Sensor. I'm located on the North side of Mt. Scott. New to HDTV. Starting to limit what I watch now. Feeling spoiled by the great picture

R11 and TMBUTCH,

It is encouraging that NBC will be offering more HD programming. I am just a little nevous waiting for my wife to find out I spent nearly $200 to attach an ugly thing, the antenna, rotor, and all, to the side of our house and it only works for one channel!!

I don't have DishNetwork. Actually I really don't watch that much TV. I would much rather watch a movie from my dvd collection. Upscaling dvd film based movies to 720p@48 look real good.

Regards,

It is interesting that when KOIN was out for some receivers it was still coming through fine with different boxes. Make you wonder if Lee is maybe doing some more "silent" experimenting again and we're his guinea pigs :).

ron

Question for Lee: Do you know if CBS has any plans to start mirroring the HD shows on CBS in a widescreen format on the SD/Analog channels like NBC does? This is really nice because I have many conflicts in programming and use my Dish PVR for recording the normal broadcast shows that are sent in widescreen. I really detest having to watch anything in fullscreen 4:3 anymore.

Thanks.

No KOIN on my Dish 6000 Monday night, but signal was coming in fine.

'haven't had any problems on KATU, other than the usual breakup when they switch between network and local feeds, and vice versa.

Has anyone,who's using the SIRT150, upgraded to firmware 2.0 yet, and if so has it helped with the sound problems on KATU? If it has helped...has there been any problems manifesting themselves with any of the other digital channels as a result of the upgrade?

I'd love to be able to watch KATU again....but it is extremely frustrating having to power down and power up every time they go from 5.1 digital sound to local stereo.

I've searched the forum...but can't seem to find if the upgrade has helped anyone with the KATU sound issue.

Can't help you with the sammy upgrade because I have a mits box but I was reading a thread in the HD forum and it makes me think KATU may just be leaving their audio stream encoded to 5.1 all the time. Seems like whenever they go to commercials I only get sound from left/right which I think is what happens when the encoder is set to 5.1 but the stream actually only contains standard stereo. Since it's only receiving two channels the receiver defaults to DPL but because the stream is flagged as 5.1 it screws up the DPL matrixing. From the sound of things (no pun intended :)), I guess I should consider myself lucky I even get the left/right compared to some of you other guys. Not sure if this is really the case or not but it sounds plausible. If so, if they could just set their encoder to switch to stereo for commercials if it would probably help eveybody. I'm guessing that maybe their encoder doesn't support auto switching for the audio format.

ron

Has anyone,who's using the SIRT150, upgraded to firmware 2.0 yet, and if so has it helped with the sound problems on KATU? If it has helped...has there been any problems manifesting themselves with any of the other digital channels as a result of the upgrade

I upgraded to firmware 2.0 from 1.8 a couple of weeks ago, and the sound problems on KATU did improve. Instead of having to power down I can just change the channel and get the sound back. The frequency of sound problems has decreased, and the response time for the Channel Guide is much faster even though KOIN is the only station using it.

I have not noticed any problems with other stations after upgrading to ver 2.0. If you do a search for "SIR-T150 Firmware 2.0" on HDTV Hardware forum using the search title only option you can find the information you need for the 2.0 upgrade.

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'll give the upgrade a shot then, it doesn't sound like it will hurt.

I'll let you know if I run into anything weird :)

So....any news on WB's HD being setup? I've heard great things about the PQ of Smallville.

Charlie... where did you get the cable for the 2.0 upgrade? Good news to hear that it may help with the KATU sound problems. As KATU is the reason I bought the HDTV decoder, it'd be nice to reduce the problem.

Jeff

Charlie... where did you get the cable for the 2.0 upgrade?

I was able to splice a DB9 female connector to a 3.5mm mini stereo plug that I already had around the house. I believe you can order one from Samsung for firmware upgrades.

Pin 5 - Sleeve
Pin 3 - Ring
Pin 2 - Tip

The search ("SIR-T150 Firmware 2.0" on HDTV Hardware forum using the search title only option) will bring up a lot of good information on the upgrade. That is where I found the information.

Originally posted by TMBUTCH
So....any news on WB's HD being setup? I've heard great things about the PQ of Smallville.
TitanTV shows a live date of 1 July 2003 but I don't know about it going HD. I've invited Pat from WB to join in this forum to keep us informed and answer our questions, I hope he shows up.

Does any cable company or Dish network offer "Discovery HD" here in Beaverton, OR ?
Thanks,
-Jai

Dish offers it for $7.99/month. You need their model 6000 receiver and a dish pointed at 61.5 or 148. No other programming required if you pay a $5 no program fee. The new 6000's come equipped with the 8psk modulator required for Discovery HD.

Thanks, Mdad.
I currently have access DTV PCI tuner card. I am stronly considering Dish Network's top 50 with the model 6000 reciever and just the Discovery HD channel. Does anyone know for OTA reception which of the two ADTV tuner or the model 6000 would be better for the beaverton area ? Should I just stick to access DTV ? For PVR features, is it easy to integrate the model 6000 with a computer ? One advantage of the ADTV card is that for analog programs I get to use the VGA cable with color stream conversion rather than an S-video cable from the tuner to the TV. SInce I am considering replacing the TV with a sony HS-10 projector, I am not sure how all this is going to intergrate and work. If anyone can throw some light into this, I would be grateful.
Thanks,
-Jai

More details to get you thinking....


My current DTV setup consists of
1) AccessDTV card (ADTV)
2) Radio Shack double bow-tie antenna
3) Altinex DA1917SX (modified to autoswitch ADTV signal) and
4) Bettercables VGA and component video silver serpent cables (loop back cable for ADTV card is not used because of loss of quality)
5) Audio Authority VGA and component video transcoder

This setup gives the best picture quality but it is about a year old and the best available technology at that time. I have the setup connected to a 4:3 55" Toshiba TV. I am planning to move to a front projector and since I am moving into a home I am also planning to get Dish network. Dish has a model 6000 receiver and for programs like Discovery HD, this receiver is required with additional hardware. Dish also talks about a HD-VCR for PVR features. Now here are my questions.

1) Will a model 6000 give better reception and picture quality than the ADTV card ? I believe it will give more programs because it offers Discovery HD ($8/month) and also captures OTA broadcasts. But is it possible to intergrate this to a HTPC to do PVR (Personal video recording) ?

2) For NTSC programs, will the ADTV analog be better or will the model 6000s Standard Definition (SD) program be better in quality ? Note that the ADTV will be using VGA-Alitnex-AA-component video interface, while the 6000 will be using a single cable but inferior S-video ?

3) WIll dish be able to capture the same OTA programs like what one could with a roof top antenna and ADTV card ?

In short, can one replace the other or used in combination ? What other comparable products are there to the model 6000.

Thanks,
-Jai

Jai,

I don't know about the ADTV card specifically, but I think in general that the PC cards provide inferior ATSC reception to the stand-alone set top boxes. With the 6000 you should receive all the same OTA stations within range that the card picks up. Keep in mind that you would still need an antenna hooked up to it to receive the OTA broadcasts. Never really heard anything about the NTSC reception capabilities of the PC cards but I've found that the analog reception from my DirectTV STB is lousy and have heard similar things from many others including, I think, the Dish boxes. The NTSC receivers in both my TV and VCR are far better than what is in my D* box. I think the NTSC tuners in the DSS combination boxes are thrown in pretty much as an after thought because most people will use the ATSC tuner/DSS locals because of the far better clarity than what they get via analog OTA. The only time I watch any analog TV anymore is when I have to record something with the VCR while I'm watching something else off the STB (they only support one live output at a time).

I would say that you could just replace the tuner card with the STB or use them in combination if you find the need. With Dish, the 6000 is the only HD choice at the moment. The other alternative is DirecTV where there are a number of STB to choose from but D* does not currently carry Discovery HD. D* also does not offer ala carte programming either so even if they added it to their line up, you would need to sub to their minimum package before you could start adding anything else.

ron

We have the Dish 6000, w/8VSB card. We live in Milwaukie, OR. We get excellent reception of all local OTA D and HDTV channels, most in the 90% plus range. We use the Dish 6000 stretch mode for D broadcast in 4:3 aspect, as our Mits 46809 does not do stretch expand on the HDTV 1080i component input. Also, the 6000 stretch is far better than that on the Mits, I'm not sure how they do their stretch, but I see very little distortion, no people with extra fat asses (like mine in real life), even at the outside of screen. We basically watch everything via 6000 HD mode via component connection, PQ for Satellite SD and OTA Network D channels is good to very good, Satellite HD (HBO-E, Showtime-E, don't subscribe to Discovery HD) and OTA Network HD, are outstanding. If we change to Dish 6000 SD mode, via s-vid, for whatever reason, the Satellite and OTA NTSC PQ is OK to good.

We are desperately waiting for the release of the Dish 921 HD/PVR (expecting it in June or July), we will be standing in line the minute it's available. We are totally hooked on D and HD, now add HDPVR, a dream machine as far as I'm concerned.

I basically know nothing about HTPC's, and really don't care to, I spend enough time in front of this thing all day, don't care to incorporate it into my television viewing.

Aaaarrrrg! Where's the HD for the Grammy's?!!

Damnit KOIN!

Whats up with this!

Somebody better flip the switch soon!

Originally posted by TMBUTCH
Aaaarrrrg! Where's the HD for the Grammy's?!!

It's on now. Now all I need to do is get my blood pressure back down.

After all the hype, I was getting ready to send Lee the worst nastygram I've sent anyone in a long time.....

Boy he PQ for the first musical number was total crap. WIth KOIN's limited bandwidth and all those flashing lights, the pixellation was awful.

'looks like we're not going to getting the "stunning" pictures the rest of the country is raving about, due to KOIN's failed, long-term multicasting attempt. It's been getting very irritating during CSI, but this was real, real, bad.

Barry,

Yep, that was pretty dismal alright. Pixelation out the gazoo. By far the worst I've ever seen on KOIN. They even had the traffic cam up :rolleyes:. And I can only agree about the regular shows as well. Maybe it's about time we started a formal complaint campaign regarding the multicasting. For all the good work Lee has done it's ludicrous for them to continue to split their bandwidth and give their viewers sub standard quality. WAKE UP KOIN!!! This stinks....

ron

Count me as another being really disappointed with the broadcast last night. I finally turned it off.

Did anyone else experience a lot of video audio drop-out problems? I walked away from my set for a few minutes and came back to no audio...I had to tune-away and back again to get it back.

Keith

Ditto!

First was very bummed about no HD for Simon and Garfunkel and then the No Doubt performance was horrible - not them just the picture. As far as dropouts are concerned, I lost picture and sound, accompanied by a loud POP! on return all through the broadcast. Perhaps 2 dozen times or more and it was NOT a reception issue. On the up side, at least I knew how light the traffic was in case I wanted to drive downtown on a Sunday night! LOL!

I'm another viewer that's really disappointed with the heavy pixelization created by KOIN's limited bandwidth for HDTV.

I switched to the analog channel (on my antenna!) during the No Doubt "performance" to improve the picture (and then was sorry I had). Too bad it didn't improve the performance :rolleyes: Yeesh. (Okay, so I'm old)

I got just a few minor dropouts in west PDX. Every time there was a performance with sudden flashing lights (particularly No Doubt), there was a lot of pixellation.

In general it looked and sounded fantastic, though!

BB

Anybody having trouble with KOIN tonight? My Dish 6K can't get it. Tried to switch to it at 0060-1 and the D6K did the 'ol erase. Re-scanned the digital stations and tried to tune KOIN in at 040-1. Get an 89% signal strength, but its black.

I have the Samsung 165 and I noticed 6-1 was gone yesterday. I tuned 40-1 and Koin was there. I don't know if it was the STB or KOIN.

My Samsung T165 also switched to 40-1 when I tried to tune 6-1 last night. I didn't notice any video or audio issues. I decided to see if I could record CSI Miami via firewire and IT WORKED!! Perhaps Lee has found a solution to this problem. With March Madness and the Masters coming up I'm looking for a deal on D-VHS tapes.

My Samsung T151 did the same thing. Lost 6-1 from my favorites but was able to manually tune 40-1 with no problem and re-add to favorites. It must be related to the psip encoding? Picture and sound was perfect on 40-1

My Zenith also lost 6-x and found them at 40-x.

BB

Originally posted by Lipout
My Samsung T165 also switched to 40-1 when I tried to tune 6-1 last night. I didn't notice any video or audio issues. I decided to see if I could record CSI Miami via firewire and IT WORKED!! Perhaps Lee has found a solution to this problem...
And did everyone notice that the multi-casting was gone?

Perhaps Lee/KOIN are responding to our disappointment with bandwidth sharing induced pixelization!

I caught the premiere of "My Big Fat Greek Life" on KOIN in HDTV last night, and it was great! Thanks KOIN!

I didn't check 40-2, was it not active last night when KOIN was using 40-1? If not and they are ditching multi-casting, I for one would heartily yell "YIPPEE" or some other forum friendly expletive free verbal celebration!!!

And did everyone notice that the multi-casting was gone? Perhaps Lee/KOIN are responding to our disappointment with bandwidth sharing induced pixelization!Wow! If that really is the case (knocking on wood and keeping fingers crossed here) I too would have to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to Lee/KOIN as well. I pried myself away from the TV last night and went to see Big Head Todd and the Monsters at the Crystal Ballroom so I didn't notice any goings-on. KOIN-SD was still coming through on 6-2 when I was watching Entertainment Tonight between 7:00-7:30 before I left to go downtown. Have to check it out when I get home from work tonight.

ron

Hello from Beaverton...

I'm usually in the CRT forum, never been in here until today.
I'm here because there's a accessdtv I'm thinking of purchasing, which I'll have to act quick on or I'll miss out, but I've been advised I may need a roof top antenna to get much in this area.

I hate to have to ask dumb questions, I do apologise, but I may not have time to do the research myself or I could miss out on the deal...

That type of antenna is out of the question, looking at apartment living for a while. I'm looking to see if there are alternatives to the roof antennae, or if reception problems have been overstated. (I'd like to read all the posts in this thread but with nearly 500 that's totally impossible.)

I have one of those amplified antenna's for SD, the kind from rca that you used to get with dish network... Will that help at all?

My fear is after buying the thing I'll only get one channel with Jay leno's big head in HD and that's it, and if that's the case I'll wait for newer technology cards...

Any opinions welcome.
Troy

Lipout-

My Samsung T165 also switched to 40-1 when I tried to tune 6-1 last night. I didn't notice any video or audio issues. I decided to see if I could record CSI Miami via firewire and IT WORKED!! Perhaps Lee has found a solution to this problem. With March Madness and the Masters coming up I'm looking for a deal on D-VHS tapes.

Dang! I ended up taking my JVC 30K back because I was worried it would fail and I couldn't record KOIN. Are you still able to record KOIN via Firewire? I assume you are using the Samsung 165. What D-VHS deck are you using? If I can record KOIN I may have to go pick up the Mitsubishi D-VHS.

pcCinema,

If you're in Beaverton, you're probably quite close to the towers (which are on the Sylvan hill). Locate them (its not hard!), then drive around and get a good idea if there are major obstacles (e.g. HILLS) between you and them. If not, a good indoor UHF antenna should do the trick. I'm NW of Beaverton and don't have complete line of sight, but I get a fine signal with a Silver Sensor. Then again, I have an STB, not a PC card.

BB

Any one get poor sound on CBS during Jag. (breaking up)

Thanks

bertschb,
I am sad to report that tonight 6-1 has returned (with some audio problems) and that I once again I am unable to record KOIN with the T165 and Mits DVHS. Hopefully KOIN is working on the issues. It seems strange that there has been no input from Lee ?

Originally posted by Lipout
bertschb,
I am sad to report that tonight 6-1 has returned (with some audio problems) and that I once again I am unable to record KOIN with the T165 and Mits DVHS. Hopefully KOIN is working on the issues. It seems strange that there has been no input from Lee ?
Yep, and now the sound is the worst I've ever heard on KOIN: constant breakups, about every 1.5 seconds.

I just tuned to KATU-DT, where the 5.1 sound is breath-taking, to verify it's not my SIR-T165.

This is very depressing.

Yeah, I checked when I got home yesterday and had the "full compliment" of 6-1, 6-2 and 6-3. I knew it was too good to be true :(. Sound seemed fine with the mits box although I only checked briefly and didn't watch any CBS shows last night. I feel for you sammy owners....

ron

Lipout-

I am sad to report that tonight 6-1 has returned (with some audio problems) and that I once again I am unable to record KOIN with the T165 and Mits DVHS. Hopefully KOIN is working on the issues. It seems strange that there has been no input from Lee ?

Thanks for checking again. I really appreciate it. I had a feeling when KOIN switched back to 6-1 that you might lose the ability to record once again. The good news is I suspect Lee follows this thread and saw that you were able to record when KOIN was on 40-1. Perhaps that information will help them troubleshoot the problem. BTW, where did you get your Mits DVHS deck?

Bdb,

Thanks...

I've managed to read a few pages of this thread, and while HD sounds appealing at first it sounds more frustrating than anything after reading this thread. I am going to forget about it for now, I just don't need the headaches. Maybe when the broadcasters get their stuff together, but I'd want to go postal on them if I had half the things I hear about here going on.

Sounds like they should be paying you guys to troubleshoot their problems, your HD gear should all be free, sounds like you are paying to alpha test.

Troy

Originally posted by pcCinema
I've managed to read a few pages of this thread, and while HD sounds appealing at first it sounds more frustrating than anything after reading this thread.Keep in mind that people tend to post when something's going wrong. No one's going to post "wow, everything worked great today" because that's typically the case.

I find it hard to imagine why anyone would spend all the money to buy a big screen and NOT spend a few hundred more to get OTA HD. Its the most spectacular programming I've ever seen, and the only decent signal besides DVD. Even SD looks better than cable.

BB

I'd have to second that. Unless you're the type that's very easily frustrated, the benefits far outweigh the problems and inconveniences that come from being an early adopter at this point. Just don't buy one of those Samsung set top boxes ;). I've only been watching HD for about a year and a half now but I'm completely spoiled and wouldn't want to do without. And that's on a 36" 4:3 set. I couldn't even imagine having to watch analog/cable SD on a decent sized big screen....

ron

Originally posted by R11
...Just don't buy one of those Samsung set top boxes ;). ...
ron

How true. Saw 6 customer returns of the Samsung STB on the shelf at the Beaverton Best Buy.

As for the other comments on the HDTV experience: this Portland thread has been very useful to me, as I recently picked up a demo 57XBR2 from the Beaverton Magnolia Hi-Fi a month ago to replace my intermittent 53XBR35.

After initial frustration of "non-reception", and other system adjustments, I finally got reception on all the channels broadcast here in the Portland area. Though I am on a hilltop in SW Beaverton, I unfortunately have a nice water storage tank in my line of sight to the west hills. I have terrible multi-path problems. With the help of a rooftop rotator and simple antenna, I can receive 2, 6, 8, 10, and 12 HD broadcasts at one antenna direction, and 49/UPN from another. The multi-path problems make it a critical adjustment for me.

I've enjoyed reading the posts here, and the comments can best be summarized as "not ready for the average consumer". Unbelievable that reception could be so complex. It will be interesting when government mandate sets in, in a few years where all TVs must include provisions for HDTV tuners. Hopefully cable and satellite will sort things out by then.

Last, I am a TiVo home with 2 DTiVo and 1 standalone, relegating the HD experience to the rare occasions when we watch TV in real-time, or view a DVD. Most viewing is in non-realtime, slightly behind... Can't wait for the HD TiVo (if it ever appears).

So why did I get the Sony 57XBR2? Couldn't resist - great price for a replacement TV with built-in HD tuner: $2500. Had the set delivered, with a later follow-up by a tech from Sharper Video Service to make a few tweaks. Resulted in a nice discussion with the tech about service experiences in the local market. Fortunately for me, I do not have the "flicker problem" exhibited by many Sony sets, even though my set is in the vulnerable serial number range. I did get the extended service contract from Magnolia.

Mike

Thanks for the input...

Being a CRT projector guy I sure am sick to death of just how bad SD is blown up to 8' wide, even through my HTPC with dscaler and every filter worth running. I guess what I'll do is go the Best Buy route to try a receiver out and see just what I can and can't get with an indoor antenna. (Of course I'll take it back either way, being that I ultimately want a pc card, but shhhh don't tell BB.)
:)
I do understand about people mostly posting when things go wrong, but a lot of these issues really sounded incredibly frustrating. Hopefully they are limited to the STB you mention and not all the PC cards.

I have plenty of patience, being an electronics and computer tech you have too, but just not for incompatabilities and poor setup by the broadcasters.

Well, I'll cross my fingers, and this way I won't be out anything if it only gives me one channel.
(I'm in Beaverton technically, but on the edge of Hillsburrito in a valley.)

Thanks guys
Troy

I sure am glad I live further South of Portland out in the Valley where it's nice and flat, even my OTA Analog channels are crystal clear. I never have any problems at all with the Digital channels unless the studio themselves are having a problem.

Hello,
I just bought the Samsung 165 stb, and a day later I find this thread. For those of you who have this stb, are you happy with it? I could not find anyplace that carried the 165 locally, so I had to order one over the internet. Did I just make a huge mistake?

Thanks
Kenny

It was the Samsung SIR-T151 That was sitting on the returns shelf at Beaverton Best Buy.

Mike

What's going on with KOIN?
I have lost mostly all signal strength for KOIN 6-1 (40-1). I re scanned, reset my DST 3000, and still nothing. I used to get ~95% SS on KOIN, and I am currently getting all other digital channels (2-1, 8-1, 10-1, 12-1, and 49-1) with SS on the 90's.
Anyone else having this issue?

I watched Survivor and CSI last night with no reception problems but did notice that their audio level seems to have dropped down somewhat. There were also periodic dropouts but not like the previous problems they had. These were very short in duration more like a flash instead of the 2-3 second interruptions before. During programming and commercials as well. I think Lee may still be experimenting.

ron

OPB HD heads-up for you lucky people who can be home by 5 PM:

March 3 Monday

5:00 Chefs A' Field: Culinary Adventures That Begin On The Farm.

Serving 95% organic, 100% locally produced cuisine at his Portland restaurant, Wildwood, Chef Cory Schreiber has his hands and his heart in the soil of the Pacific Northwest. Chef Schreiber's obsession with all things local and seasonal takes us in search of the perfect summer berry at West Union Gardens, on the urban fringe of Hillsboro, OR.

(Rerun) HD

Bruce Springsteen on KOIN-DT pixilated badly and was pretty much ruined for me, much like the Grammys. Data rates were reported as 10.75Mb/S for the HD, 3.8Mb/S for the SD, and 2 Mb/s for the traffic cam (which I fail to see the point of). KGW encodes about 15Mb/S to HD and only 3.2 for SD. KATU delivers 18Mb/S (@720p) and doesn’t multicast. Having some experience with 30 and 50Mb/S transport steams, I think 18-19 ain’t really enough but 10.75? For 1080i?

Also had AV dropouts (brief blips) and the audio varied from soft to loud, it seemed like it would hit a certain loudness and then rapidly drop down and then slowly creep back up. I have good signal strength and don’t suffer from multipath.

Did anybody else catch this and not see these problems?

Please KOIN, (if anybody’s listening) drop your traffic cam, drop your data rate down to 3.2 for SD (if you must multicast) (and eliminated it altogether for special programming like Bruce and the Grammys) and pass the national DD 5.1 AC3 audio. Does anyone complain when you don’t multicast the traffic cam? Or the SD for that matter.

Dave

I didn't experience any dropouts on KOIN during the Springsteen concert, but of course we all had the horrible pixellation. The audio sounded more like an old cassette than anything digital. I only watched about 5 minutes of it; it really wasn't worth watching because of the quality problems.

Even though the Grammys weren't 5.1, I thought it sounded really good. It had heavy pixellation whenever there was a flash of lights, but nothing nearly as bad as the Springsteen concert.

KOIN's HD channel always seems to have serious problems during special events. I hope they do something to remedy this. I'm all for getting rid of the traffic cam if that'll help. We should be letting KOIN know that we're not happy with the way this is working; just posting comments here won't accomplish much.

BB

5:00 Chefs A' Field: Culinary Adventures That Begin On The Farm.

Actually, there are a number of Chefs coming up. See http://www.opb.org/schedule/dtv/

Did anybody else have mis-directed audio on ABC for Alias last night? The center channel dialog was coming from my left surround speaker. This is the second time I've noticed this in the past week (maybe only listened to 2 DD 5.1 shows on ABC in that time). DD 2.0 programming is fine (of course). I had to switch my receiver to 2ch stereo so I could watch but it was still annoying as all the dialog then came out of the l/f speaker.

Anybody else?

Originally posted by poweda
Did anybody else have mis-directed audio on ABC for Alias last night? The center channel dialog was coming from my left surround speaker. This is the second time I've noticed this in the past week (maybe only listened to 2 DD 5.1 shows on ABC in that time). DD 2.0 programming is fine (of course). I had to switch my receiver to 2ch stereo so I could watch but it was still annoying as all the dialog then came out of the l/f speaker.

Anybody else?

I did!! it was REALLY annoying! I hope they get it fixed. Does anyone know if KATU is aware of the problem?

did anyone read the Comcast article in the paper this weekend? It said that Comcast is planning on having HD available this summer.

Poweda and Steinfoot,

Yep. Flipped by KATU several time last night and immediately noticed the strangeness of the center channel audio coming from over my left shoulder :(. Very weird.

Steinfoot,

And it (Comcast) also is negotiating contracts with local broadcasters to provide their high-definition television programs. Henninger (Comcast Senior VP for Oregon and SW Washington) hopes to offer HDTV by summer.Yes, I even brought in the copy just to post that for those that had been asking. I have heard that they announced similar up in some areas of Washington a while back and they are still waiting though....

I was watching the Blazer game on ESPN but I flipped over and checked out a couple minutes toward the end of the Springsteen show and yes, it looked pretty bad. Didn't stick around to watch the rest. It's ridiculous. I agree BB that posting complaints here is probably pretty much worthless. Should we start a formal petition or just start barraging them with phone calls and emails? I think we should go ahead and do KGW as well as long as we're at it.

Since I already have OTA and D* I probably wouldn't switch to cable unless they come up with additional channels that D* doesn't carry. However I think it's great for HD in the area and have hoped that when cable came calling for the local stations' HD signals they would be forced to begin putting out something of decent quality. Maybe if we pressure them now along with the upcoming HD cable exposure we can get them to start doing things the right way. Personally, if I worked at any of these local stations I'd be embarrassed by the pitiful quality of the signals that they are providing now (video or audio).

ron

I cant wait for cable HD, my signal is VERY borderline. if its windy out I cant watch the HD feed. cable is just the best solution for me. I hear comcast is pretty good about not compressing the signals too much too.

Does anyone complain when you don’t multicast the traffic cam?
I don't even have 6-02 & 6-03 in my guide, I created a Favorites list and leave them out. I agree, why even use them, it makes no sense.

As far as the ABC audio goes, I noticed it Saturday night on Patch Adams also.

RE: KATU audio; I emailed Alan and he is looking into it.

Anymore news on the video dropouts on KOIN? Watched the four scripted sitcoms and it was consistent throughout. It's definitely not signal breakup due to a reception issue but a broadcast issue. Anyone heard from Lee lately?

I just spoke with a sales rep at Comcast; she said they're really excited about HDTV but don't have any firm plans as of yet. She expects there'll be an initial offering "sometime in the next year or so".

Well, at least she knew what HDTV was, and I didn't even have to mention that I wasn't talking about digital cable. That's a step forward!

BB