Indianapolis / Terre Haute / Lafayette, IN - HDTV [Text View] - Page 17

justalurker

07-05-07, 02:07 AM

I thought the HD version of their Homezone receiver was the same hardware with different software. The non-HD Homezone is completely different hardware. I could be wrong though!Based on the pictures at Engadget HD (http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/05/23/atandts-new-hi-def-homezone-box/) it isn't the same, although that article is a year old.

The new ViP-622HZ receiver (manual available here (http://helpme.att.net/pdf/homezone/ATT_Homezone_HD_QIG_Apr07.pdf)) is similar to the E* ViP-622 ... the front panel is a lot different (the E* 622 has two mode lites then two lights for each TV, power and recording - the 622HZ has only four lights and the buttons behind the right panel are different).

If Engadget HD is right in their photos it looks like there was a complete design change. Their pictures have the same connections as the 622HZ ... just in different enough locations that it would affect the motherboard.

goldrich

07-05-07, 08:00 AM

Steve,

Per this thread there will be an HD feed of the Big Ten Network. Enjoy!!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=844925

Thanks for the info! The newspaper article didn't provide many details. Now if I only had DirecTV or U-verse........

jpasiczn

07-10-07, 11:58 PM

ANyone else getting tons of pixelation lately from BHN? I cant even watch an HD show lately without terrible pixelation. Its been happening on all channels, not just one in particular.

IndyJeff

07-11-07, 12:41 AM

I currently have Comcast with their Motorola HD/DVR box and all HD channels. I pay $160 a month for hardly ANY programming with high speed internet. I have no premium channels, and no expanded digital channels minus The Science Channel and the like. (channels 111-198 are not subscribed to). I've been looking a lot at DirecTV since they claim they will over over 150 HD channels "soon". I also have looked at Dish however they don't seem to have the channel lineup as the others.

FYI, Dish is adding 7 more national HD channels next month, including:

History Channel HD
Animal Planet HD
MHD (MTV)
Discovery Channel HD (different from Discovery HD Theater)
Science Channel HD
Learning Channel HD
Golf HD/Versus

This is on top of the 30+ HD channels they already have, and more are supposedly coming in September!

Dish HD Announcement (http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/100926-dish-network-retailer-chat-recap-july-10-2007-a.html)

HD junkies rejoice!

Jeff

mhowie

07-12-07, 12:35 AM

FYI, Dish is adding 7 more national HD channels next month, including:

History Channel HD
Animal Planet HD
MHD (MTV)
Discovery Channel HD (different from Discovery HD Theater)
Science Channel HD
Learning Channel HD
Golf HD/Versus

This is on top of the 30+ HD channels they already have, and more are supposedly coming in September!

Dish HD Announcement (http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/100926-dish-network-retailer-chat-recap-july-10-2007-a.html)

HD junkies rejoice!

Jeff

But when are they adding the local networks (sans Ch. 8) in HD? I am disappointed in Dish's treatment of Indy customers compared to DirecTV (locals in HD, Big 10 Network availability) and DirecTV will soon have capability to offer much more HD content than Dish as a result of satellite capacity.

Don't think I am a DirecTV shill, however, as I have been a Dish customer for over 11 years. That relationship is up for review this fall due to the items above.

justalurker

07-12-07, 02:03 AM

mhowie

07-12-07, 11:06 PM

Indy HD channels have not exactly been kind to E*. They had the channels uplinked for a while but getting stations to agree to have their signals carried is not easy. Many stations treat the public airwaves like it is property and sell their signals to providers. Some charge high prices. :(

While true, DirecTV has stepped up and make these channels available. I am growing tired of Charlie's (E* CEO) miserly ways. For many years, E* was truly a better value. That is not the case anymore. E* is very fortunate to have the 622/625 receivers (especially the former) as I understand DirecTV is struggling to deliver a reliable HDTV receiver-- although their latest iteration is apparently an improvement.

IndyJeff

07-13-07, 01:41 PM

While true, DirecTV has stepped up and make these channels available. I am growing tired of Charlie's (E* CEO) miserly ways. For many years, E* was truly a better value. That is not the case anymore. E* is very fortunate to have the 622/625 receivers (especially the former) as I understand DirecTV is struggling to deliver a reliable HDTV receiver-- although their latest iteration is apparently an improvement.

I agree with this. Since I'm in the city it's easy to just connect my antenna to the 622 DVR but it would still be nice to have the HD locals so I could record three local stations in HD at once. For now E* seems to be the best choice for HD (if you have an antenna!).

hoosierky

07-16-07, 08:33 AM

You are not alone; I've noticed the same thing. I get my digital TV over the air, exclusively.

A few weeks ago, I was watching the Stanley Cup playoffs on NBC and the play-by-play commentary was near unintelligible (probably something of a mixed blessing, I suppose.) But I had to strain my ear to hear the player's names and remarks of the commentators -- their audio was virtuallly wiped out by the level of the on-ice noise, from the skates and the crowd!!

I haven't contacted anyone about it, but it should be brought to WTHR's attention especially if others have noticed this, too. (BTW: 'Studio 60' is dark enough without straining to hear the audio!) Could Steve Goldrich or someone confirm this problem & advise the responsible parties?

I had this problem too. I changed the audio setting on my TV from Theater to another setting. I toggled between the settings til I found the right one.

Hope this helps.

KG9JW

07-18-07, 08:48 PM

Be aware that according to a recent article, Verizon has (in small print) the right to disconnect and remove the copper line to your house. This means that if you decide to dump FIOS at a later date, you will NOT have a line running to your house to return to regular phone service.
You have to specifically notify Verizon you DO NOT want the copper line removed from your premises.
I can't get FIOS and don't have anything against the service. Just thought everyone needed to know if they go the FIOS route.

kg9jw
dennis

ahoward1126

07-19-07, 02:15 PM

IndyJeff

07-19-07, 03:36 PM

I just got a sharp LCD43u 37 inch lcd tv, with dish ViP622 DVR. I am curious to know what people think of dish HD. I am back in forth on dish hd. Some channels look great, others looked a bit washed out. Want to know what you think and what I can do to get the best hd out of dish network. Thanks

Adam

You summed it up pretty well. The Voom channels and the HDNet channels don't look so great to me, but the rest look good. All the Voom channels are moving to MPEG-4 in mid-August, so hopefully their quality will improve. Which ones do you think look washed out?

ahoward1126

07-19-07, 04:49 PM

what are the voom channels?

ahoward1126

07-19-07, 05:21 PM

You summed it up pretty well. The Voom channels and the HDNet channels don't look so great to me, but the rest look good. All the Voom channels are moving to MPEG-4 in mid-August, so hopefully their quality will improve. Which ones do you think look washed out?

Indy Jeff,

I just did the online chat with dish, and they said all the voom channels already went to mpeg4 in June.

IndyJeff

07-19-07, 08:50 PM

Indy Jeff,

I just did the online chat with dish, and they said all the voom channels already went to mpeg4 in June.

Nope, that's not correct. When they move to MPEG-4, all the old HD receivers will no longer be able to get those channels (they are currently informing customers who have older HD receivers of this change). August 15th is the switch-over date.

Jeff

IndyJeff

07-19-07, 08:51 PM

what are the voom channels?

Have a look here:

http://www.voom.tv/

All of these channels are carried on Dish as part of their HD package.

tanglemac76

07-24-07, 01:33 PM

wrwine3

07-25-07, 11:18 AM

Can anyone living in Indianapolis in a Comcast serviced area confirm whether or not HD locals are available unencrypted when subscribing to just the "limited" or "limited local basic" package? The channel lineup on Comcast's website says the HD locals are included, but a CSR I talked to said I had to have at least a Digital Starter package to be able to add HD. I'm interested in only the local channels (WISH, WRTV, WTHR, etc).

I presume you mean analog when you say "limited". Muncie is a close mirror to Comcast in Indianapolis. On their analog service (50-60 channels), I receive unencrypted QAM HD local channels. The only one I haven't found is WNDY channel 23.

Comcast is mapping the virtual channel (80.1, 80.3 etc) to the stations regular channel numbers here. ABC is 6.1, CBS is 8.1, etc.

chibul

07-27-07, 12:17 PM

Does anyone have word on whether or not DirecTV will be broadcasting WISH-TVHD soon?

GLBright

07-27-07, 04:51 PM

Does anyone have word on whether or not DirecTV will be broadcasting WISH-TVHD soon?

Hey, Lots of us are still waiting for Dish to broadcast ANY Indy channels in HD. Sorry you're only out one. :)

Greg

mhowie

07-27-07, 10:55 PM

Hey, Lots of us are still waiting for Dish to broadcast ANY Indy channels in HD. Sorry you're only out one. :)

Greg

Well, I won't be waiting much longer. If Dish doesn't pick up the Big Ten Network, I will defect to DirecTV and get the locals (sans the idiots at Ch. 8) in Hi Def as well.

GLBright

07-29-07, 05:40 AM

Well, I won't be waiting much longer. If Dish doesn't pick up the Big Ten Network, I will defect to DirecTV and get the locals (sans the idiots at Ch. 8) in Hi Def as well.

I'd defect as well if the 622 wasn't such a sweet machine and that I get the locals in HD OTA.

goldrich

07-30-07, 02:38 PM

WTTV (WTTK) has recently been promoting the addition of Two And A Half Men to its weekday schedule starting September 10. Plus, the graphics include "in HD." I contacted Rick Poling and he replied that "we are anticipating airing 2 1/2 Men in HD." Thanks for the info, Rick.

I've also learned the new HD Master Control project at WTHR-DT is moving forward but at a slower pace than originally planned. Their lead engineer on the project is currently out on medical leave due to an accident (Wishing you a speedy recovery!). Some of the new goodies coming in include several P2 Panasonic HD field cameras.

AT&T's U-verse will be debuting the new Big Ten Network channel on Aug. 30 with the SD feed, but I've heard that AT&T is working to secure the HD feed of the channel ASAP.

Steve

Darth Martel

07-31-07, 08:03 AM

Darth Martel

07-31-07, 08:13 AM

ok well I guess I answered my own question. I called a different tech and he told me that that particular model doesn't have the HDMI enabled but, I could get one that does. I'd just have to take my receiver in and exchange it. It's just aggravating to have to call 4 or 5 times to get the information you need. Comcast really needs to hire better quality people.

uneverno

07-31-07, 10:05 AM

tanglemac76

08-01-07, 09:24 AM

hey guys

I'm wondering if there's anybody in here that has HD Comcast in Indianapolis that can help me. I'm wanting to use the HDMI out on my Motorola 6412 HD-DVR but, all I get on my tv is green static. I've went in and made sure all the setting are right but, I don't get anything but green static. I called the local Comcast office to find out what's up and to see if I could get a new receiver that has working HDMI. The guy I talked to say that they don't have any new model receivers even though I've had mine for like 2 years. He also said that they don't support HDMI out on the receivers at this point but, they will next year. I find it hard to believe that 1) in 2 years they haven't gotten any newer receivers and 2) a huge market like Indianapolis doesn't have HDMI out capability in their receivers. Can anybody verify this or contradict what the Comcast lackey told me???

thanks for your help

I'm in Indy with Comcast. I have the 6412 Phase III and am currently using HDMI without any trouble. Did you check the setup menu to make sure the resolution is set corrrectly? (Turn box off, press Menu on your remote to access this.) I have a friend also here in town with Comcast that has a 6416. I think the only difference is a larger hard drive in his, but I don't know that for sure.

dkgoalie

08-01-07, 10:55 AM

I am located in Anderson, IN, (Just moved) and I have a Insight cable subscription. I am wondering whether anybody can pick up HD locals which you can watch via a QAM tuner. I can see channel 13.1, but thats its. List of channel mapping would be great.
Thanks

In Greenwood channels are mapped to the correct channel number (4-1, 6-1, 8-1, 13-1 etc.). However, I have a 250'+ run from the pole to my house, so only 4-1 comes in clear, whereas the others come in, but are choppy at best.

Good luck...

- dk

Darth Martel

08-01-07, 02:56 PM

I'm in Indy with Comcast. I have the 6412 Phase III and am currently using HDMI without any trouble. Did you check the setup menu to make sure the resolution is set corrrectly? (Turn box off, press Menu on your remote to access this.) I have a friend also here in town with Comcast that has a 6416. I think the only difference is a larger hard drive in his, but I don't know that for sure.

Yes, I followed that procedure to get into the menu and switch from component 1080i to HDMI 1080i. For that I didn't even get a picture. The output didn't work period. I went back in and tried the DVI 1080i selection and that's what yielded the green static on my screen. I'm using an HDMI>DVI cable because my TV doesn't have an HDMI port but, does have DVI. My Oppo 981 worked without problem on the TV with an HDMI>DVI cable. It's gotta be the cable box. I was told the picture actually looks better on the component when compared to the HDMI so, I don't know if it's worth it to call them back and stretch the truth to get a new receiver. It's just beyond me why they would give out receivers with only certain outputs working. When they first installed it I didn't care about an HDMI port and they hooked it up with component. I mean it's not that hard to have firmware loaded to have all the outputs on just in case. They save nothing by doing that. It's just ridiculous. I'm actually thinking I should have them come out and give me a new receiver just to be a pain since they're so stupid with their policies.

MLock

08-04-07, 05:44 PM

mhowie

08-04-07, 10:09 PM

I have DirecTV and live on the far south-east side of Marion County. I get all the HD channels OTA that I'm supposed to except channel 8 (8.1). I believe this is the only channel in Indy that's broadcast on VHF; I have a cheapie rabbit-ears setup and 70s to 90s signal strength on 4, 6, 13, 20, 59... so I really don't want to use an amplifier.

Am I the only one with this problem? Ch8 is the one I really NEED to get OTA because DirecTV doesn't carry it. Is there something I'm not doing to pick up VHF HD OTA?

Yes, my cheapie rabbit ears are VHF and UHF.

I picked up the following antenna--

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7367896&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08084&id=1122653825071

and am now able to pick up Channel 8 out in West Avon. The amplifier was the key for me.

dkgoalie

08-06-07, 09:29 AM

I have DirecTV and live on the far south-east side of Marion County. I get all the HD channels OTA that I'm supposed to except channel 8 (8.1). I believe this is the only channel in Indy that's broadcast on VHF; I have a cheapie rabbit-ears setup and 70s to 90s signal strength on 4, 6, 13, 20, 59... so I really don't want to use an amplifier.

Am I the only one with this problem? Ch8 is the one I really NEED to get OTA because DirecTV doesn't carry it. Is there something I'm not doing to pick up VHF HD OTA?

Yes, my cheapie rabbit ears are VHF and UHF.

I had the same problem on the northwest side of Johnson Co. ( 37/Smith Valley Road area ). I burned through 4 or 5 amplified indoor/outdoor antennas with poor signal strength. I ended up getting one from a friend who did not need it any longer.

It is pictured on the D* website here: https://www.directv.com/images/hardware/offer5042.gif

It is non-amplified and works perfectly. All signals are 85%+ including 8-1, which pegs the meter at 100%.

Good luck...

- dk

goldrich

08-08-07, 09:37 AM

According to the latest update from the FCC, it appears that a couple issues have been resolved relating to WTHR-DT and that it will be switching from ch. 46 to ch. 13 as of Feb. 17, 2009 (Appendix D3, page 111) http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A1.pdf WTHR-DT will operate with 15.1 kW @ 982 ft.

List of stations post-transition... http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A2.pdf

Steve

jrcorwin

08-08-07, 11:55 AM

Folks, I apologize for doing this. This is actually a non-HDTV question, but I don’t know where else to ask it. Also, as I have had an HDTV in past (and will again in about two months)…I have used this forum before. The knowledge of the members in this area is incredible and I am sure that someone can answer my question.

I am received SD content via DISH. I have my home theater equipment set up awaiting my replacement plasma. My receiver is hooked up to the DISH box via Toslink. I receive DD 2.0 or 5.1 on some HBO programming. This great and I’m happy for that much anyway. However, is it not possible to get the DD signal on sporting events through an SD signal on channels such as ESPN/ESPN2 or locals? Are there any times where I can get a DD 5.1 signal from something other than the premium movie channels? Or is this a lost cause until I get the new plasma?

Thank you for your help…and again…sorry for putting this here.

AlanSaysYo

08-08-07, 02:43 PM

GLBright

08-08-07, 07:33 PM

... However, is it not possible to get the DD signal on sporting events through an SD signal on channels such as ESPN/ESPN2 or locals? Are there any times where I can get a DD 5.1 signal from something other than the premium movie channels? Or is this a lost cause until I get the new plasma?

I don't believe you're going to get DD 5.1 or otherwise on any of the channels you mention without upgrading to a Dish HD receiver (like a 622). Getting a new plasma TV will have absolutely no effect on the sound. And since Dish doesn't offer the locals in HD you'll have to use an external antenna with their HD receiver to get them in HD. And in DD 5.1.

Greg

jrcorwin

08-09-07, 09:55 AM

I don't believe you're going to get DD 5.1 or otherwise on any of the channels you mention without upgrading to a Dish HD receiver (like a 622). Getting a new plasma TV will have absolutely no effect on the sound. And since Dish doesn't offer the locals in HD you'll have to use an external antenna with their HD receiver to get them in HD. And in DD 5.1.

Greg
Yep, I'm out of luck for the time being. The only DD 5.1 I'm getting is on two of the HBO channels. Oh well...I'll upgrade in a few months.

Phireman19

08-12-07, 01:22 AM

Hey guys, I just got my new Samsung HLS6187 DLP yesterday. I have DirecTv now, but not HD.

I don't think I want to upgrade to their HD just from my research, that their HD is not the best out there.
We have Comcast cable here in Shelbyville, but they still don't have HD yet. Who know's when. Every time I call they say "soon" !

So, I was planning on switching to Comcast, and use and OTA antenna to get HD until Comcast provides it.

Can any help me this decision, good or bad idea ? Also, what kind of antenna and any other equipment I would need ?

Thanks for the help !!
Tim

nd06irish

08-12-07, 05:15 PM

Bad idea...I also live in shelby county. Within the next month DirecTv will have D10 up and running which means more HD content.

Phireman19

08-12-07, 10:27 PM

True, they will have more channels, but how will the quality be? Will it be HD Lite ??? That's my big concern.. I would prefer less channels but the best quality HD out there.

I did pick up an antenna for $50 from Radio Shack, and it is picking up 40 channels.
Gotta love FREE HD !!!

chibul

08-13-07, 01:39 PM

Is there any word on what date DirecTV's new HD channels will launch?

Also, is there news on WISH-HD/DirecTV?

Phireman19

08-13-07, 03:25 PM

I called D* today and the guy I talked to said he did not know when the new channels would be available, and they are still in negotiations with WISH-HD.

The antenna I picked up is getting some of the local HD channels. I still can't get WISH-HD.

I am having troubles getting WRTV,WTHR, FOX at the same time. I can't get one or two, but not all. I have a big tree right in the direction I need to aim the antenna, I believe that is the problem !?!?

IndyTom

08-13-07, 03:37 PM

Phireman19

08-13-07, 03:52 PM

chibul

08-13-07, 04:14 PM

Totally off subject, but why do people call it D*?

goldrich

08-13-07, 05:51 PM

I've already done that. Last night when I hooked it up, I temporarily put the antenna inside just to see if it worked. Today I moved it outside and mounted at the peak of the roof next to my D*tv dish and it is much worse than when it was inside. I figured it would be alot better being outside and higher ? Would the tree be causing me not to get some of the channels?

The tree MIGHT cause some reception issues, but at your distance from Indy I would think it would not affect your reception that much. Antenna placement can be all about location, location, location. Especially with UHF channels, moving the antenna just a few feet or inches can sometimes make a HUGE difference. And don't forget that WISH-DT is on ch. 9, a VHF channel, so your antenna needs to have VHF reception capabilities along with UHF for the other Indy DTV stations.

Also, I don't know what time you were checking reception conditions today, but all morning long (until around noon), tropospheric conditions in the area were very much enhanced for receiving out-of-market stations, while interfering with some of our local and semi-local stations. I decoded DTV stations from Toledo, Detroit, Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, OH and Pittsburgh, PA this morning between 7 a.m. and noon. WPXI-DT-48, Pittsburgh was even able to decode for a minute over WTTV-DT-48.

I'm just mentioning all of this as a possible reception issue at your location, especially during the morning hours. See if you can relocate your antenna (up, down, right or left) just to see if that makes any difference.

Steve

Phireman19

08-13-07, 06:03 PM

Thanks for the info Steve. I tried moving it up, down, around, upsided down, inside out (ha ha) but would still only get a few stations that were worth watching. The antenna I bought is a Radio Shack Amplified - HDTV Indoor/Outdoor Antenna. That's what it says on the box. Here it is on their website :
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2253765

I just brought it back inside and if I get wrtv-6 HD channels, I don't get wthr-13 or wish-tv8. If I move it to get wthr, then I lose wrtv, and I can't get wish at all. I would really like to get wish for the colts games.

Is the antenna I got cheap, or do I need something better ? I am in Shelbyville, about 30 miles from Indianapolis. My zip is 46176

wrwine3

08-13-07, 07:57 PM

Phireman19

08-13-07, 08:54 PM

I'll return mine and try that one... why not !?!?

Thanks

hoosierky

08-14-07, 09:42 AM

Today I have picked up Lexington, KY, Louisville, Dayton. The only problem, I cannot pick up WTHR?? I am getting alot of ghosting that is overiding the signal.
Or are they still having transmitter problems?

Can it be the amp I am using is too strong, even though I can pick up the other Indy stations?? ( I have the gain on minimual gain).

I was think about moving the antenna away from Indy (I am in Avon), so I can get the Indy's, on the side, but move it south or north to pick up either Bloomington or Terre Haute.

Any ideas.

Thanks

Chimpy

08-14-07, 09:31 PM

Phireman19

08-14-07, 10:57 PM

Anybody have any suggestions on what antenna to get so I can pick up CBS ? I live in Shelbyville, IN 46176.

Thanks!!

ccrider2

08-15-07, 07:26 AM

Is anyone in the Indy area, using an HTPC with a MyHD-130 card, having a problem with the timeshift feature on channel D-46 (13.1 WTHR)?

For some reason, on or around 08-13-07, I lost the audio and video on WTHR.
After poking around, I found that using "timeshift" was causing the problem.

The PC will record a scheduled show on that channel and display it, while recording, but not after. I've got a good signal, better than CH9 the WISH-DT channel, and timeshift works fine there. It's almost like the station (WTHR Indianapolis) is preventing the Myhd from using Timeshift??? .......Is that possible?

I've tried re-scanning the channels...no joy. Strange though, the card failed to find 13.1 and 13.2 during the scan..... I had to add them manually. Like there is something different about their signal.

I posted on the MyHD-130 thread, but got no response....thought I'd try here.

Any Ideas?

hoosierky

08-15-07, 07:37 AM

RSlamD

08-15-07, 03:49 PM

Anybody have any suggestions on what antenna to get so I can pick up CBS ? I live in Shelbyville, IN 46176.

Thanks!!

I live in Spencer and am using a plain old UHF antenna from Channel Master. My antenna guy brought out some special HD UHF antenna for twice the money and did not pick up what the old antenna did. Look at the Channel Master (I do not sell any of these fyi) Model 4228. This should do more than fine for you.

Randy

winker12

08-15-07, 05:43 PM

I've been having problems with channel 13 freezing and going blank. It's been happening for the past 3 days or so.

kierandill

08-15-07, 07:22 PM

Anybody have any suggestions on what antenna to get so I can pick up CBS ? I live in Shelbyville, IN 46176.

Thanks!!

Your earlier posts had me scratching my head, because you "location" is listed as Indianapolis. But in Shelbyville, that little antenna is going to be too small. Notice Antennaweb says you'll need a "blue" antenna, or medium directional with preamp, to get most Indy stations. I don't think you'll find an indoor one adequate. Most of the the antennas on the Radio Shack website don't refer to that color code "range" rating. But a few do - look at the size of the Terk TV36 for an example of a "blue" one:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2417026&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032205&parentPage=family&summary=summary&techSpecs=techSpecs&currentTab=summary&custRatings=custRatings&features=features&accessories=accessories&support=support&parentPage=family
You might get by with a rooftop-style antenna mounted in the attic if climbing on the roof makes you uncomfortable, or if the spouse says "no-way" to one from an aesthetic standpoint.

poporo

08-15-07, 07:38 PM

I noticed it happening to me last night. Had to unplug the TV, (Sharp Aquinos)re-plug it in to re-set it.

Same happens to me since about 3 days with 13.1/13.2 (also Sharp Aquos). I assume NBC has some technical trouble.

Boilerman59

08-15-07, 08:16 PM

goldrich

08-15-07, 08:55 PM

Anybody have any suggestions on what antenna to get so I can pick up CBS ? I live in Shelbyville, IN 46176.

Thanks!!

I totally agree with Kierandill's suggestions. At your distance and with WCPO-9 (analog), Cincinnati not too far away with its weak signal bouncing off the backside of your antenna, you need a fairly high gain and directional antenna to keep a strong and hopefully interference-free signal from WISH-DT-9. One of the quickest ways to confuse the decoding process of a digital tuner is to mix an analog signal with the digital signal. This MIGHT be part of your current reception issue with WISH-DT.

Here are a few suggestions that I would pass along if it is mounted outdoors. If you decide to mount one of these antennas in the attic, I'd strongly recommend that you go with one of the larger models.

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HD7080P
or
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=SHD7082
or
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANCM3677

If the length of your coax cable between the antenna and the receiver is very long, say over 75 feet, you might need to add a preamplifier. I would first start without it and check your reception. Then you'll know if one is needed.

There's no substitute for a good, strong, interference-free signal when watching digital TV. My 2 cents.

Steve

Chimpy

08-16-07, 06:59 AM

I have a Panasonic Plasma 42 inch px60-u model that is a few months old. I recently heard a popping sound and saw a straight visible video line coming down the middle of the TV screen. This usually only happens when the commercials are over and it switches back to the show.

It was in for service and they hooked it up for a week and they found no problems.

This problem only occurs on WTHR-DT and I was hoping folks on here may have an explanation. Thanks for any help!

Sounds like you're having the exact same problem others are on this board as well.

It seems like it is not a problem with your television but a problem with WTHR-DT's signal. My television, for example, shuts down and reboots when I watch the station.

Phireman19

08-16-07, 09:19 AM

I totally agree with Kierandill's suggestions. At your distance and with WCPO-9 (analog), Cincinnati not too far away with its weak signal bouncing off the backside of your antenna, you need a fairly high gain and directional antenna to keep a strong and hopefully interference-free signal from WISH-DT-9. One of the quickest ways to confuse the decoding process of a digital tuner is to mix an analog signal with the digital signal. This MIGHT be part of your current reception issue with WISH-DT.

Here are a few suggestions that I would pass along if it is mounted outdoors. If you decide to mount one of these antennas in the attic, I'd strongly recommend that you go with one of the larger models.

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HD7080P
or
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=SHD7082
or
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANCM3677

If the length of your coax cable between the antenna and the receiver is very long, say over 75 feet, you might need to add a preamplifier. I would first start without it and check your reception. Then you'll know if one is needed.

There's no substitute for a good, strong, interference-free signal when watching digital TV. My 2 cents.

Steve

Thanks guys for the info.. I stopped in the local D*TV shop here in Shelbyville and the guy told me I should be able to pick up CBS with no problem. He said to use this antenna. The Winegard Sensar III GS2200.
http://www.winegard.com/offair/sensar.htm
He said to mount it in the attic and I should pick up every local with no problems.

The wife isn't too keen on putting one of those bigger ones on the roof.

I'm going to give the Winegard one a try. The local place wanted $125 for it. I got one off ebay for $25 shipped.

I'll post back here in a few days after I get it and let you guys know if it worked.

If not, then I will go with one of the ones you guys have suggested.

Thanks for all the info !

goldrich

08-16-07, 10:40 AM

.

The wife isn't too keen on putting one of those bigger ones on the roof.

I'm wondering if some guys live without electricity because their wives don't want a bunch of poles and wires around the house......(WAF) ......... :-)

Steve

Chimpy

08-16-07, 01:44 PM

OK--I just got an email back from the engineer at WTHR-DT about the signal problem:

Thank you for your e-mail.

A problem developed late Monday with bitstream continuity in our DTV/HD encoder which we and our encoder manufacturer diagnosed to be a problem with the encoder’s 10 Mhz reference. We verified that our precision 10 Mhz reference source is right on and verified that nothing changed in our encoder’s setup, to the point of reloading all software. We consulted with the encoder manufacturer and the only possibilities were two boards which process and use the 10 Mhz reference. The manufacturer shipped two replacement boards Priority overnight on Tuesday. Unfortunately FedEx dropped the ball and one of the boards was stuck here in their sorting facility for 26 hours. We tried reconfiguring an old discarded board and even loaned an unaffected receiver to Comcast to no avail. We finally got the missing board from FedEx this morning and the problem has been repaired.

This 10 Mhz reference problem affected reception on a few specific model sets so most HD viewers were not experiencing problems – all of the receivers at the station and my Samsung, RCA and Olevia sets at home were fine. Unfortunately the HD master receiver and transport stream grooming equipment Comcast is using was one of those affected. The difference is likely due to some HD receivers having better transport stream error correction than others.

We constantly monitor our transmitted DTV stream so please be assured that we will continue to do our best to resolve or repair any problems as quickly as possible.

Feel free to post my response for the AVS forum members.

Al Grossniklaus

Director of Engineering & Operations

WTHR NBC 13

Indianapolis

Ziuck

08-16-07, 04:45 PM

Not quit HD related but, does anyone know what these towers they are erecting along 65 on the southside? They are at almost every overpass/cross street. Probably about 6-10' base and about 75-100' high?

ccrider2

08-16-07, 10:15 PM

a_greer

08-19-07, 09:42 AM

Anybody having a problem with NBC HD coming out of Indianapolis? Every time I turn on that station, my Samsung HLS5086W literally freezes, shuts down, and reboots. After the reboot, NBC is on and everything is fine.

Doesn't happen with any other station, and it just started about a week ago.

I have a problem with a green line down the left side of any NBC HD content. It appears on local news, NBC syndicated stuff and 3rd party HD syndicates like "Jeopardy!" It appears on Directv HD, Comcast HD and in two locations that I have tested on WTHR-DT 13.1 Free-to-air on two different displays.

a_greer

08-19-07, 09:47 AM

I live in Spencer and am using a plain old UHF antenna from Channel Master. My antenna guy brought out some special HD UHF antenna for twice the money and did not pick up what the old antenna did. Look at the Channel Master (I do not sell any of these fyi) Model 4228. This should do more than fine for you.

Randy

I had a simmilar experiance: I live in an appartment so I am confined to rabbit ears: The $10 rabbit ears from k-mart get 2x the channels and 3x the signal stability as the $60 set from Fried Electronics

a_greer

08-19-07, 09:54 AM

AT&T's U-verse will be debuting the new Big Ten Network channel on Aug. 30 with the SD feed, but I've heard that AT&T is working to secure the HD feed of the channel ASAP.

SteveSadly, some of us dont live in Carmel or Fishers...I would go u-verse in a heartbeat as they have a better product than comcast at a lower rate, but my neighborhood is apperantly not rich enough...heh

XavierMike

08-19-07, 11:13 AM

I have a problem with a green line down the left side of any NBC HD content. It appears on local news, NBC syndicated stuff and 3rd party HD syndicates like "Jeopardy!" It appears on Directv HD, Comcast HD and in two locations that I have tested on WTHR-DT 13.1 Free-to-air on two different displays.

That is on NBC's end. Your set must not have overscan. You could use one of the zoom features if it bothers you that much.

Boilerman59

08-19-07, 11:18 AM

Any ideas what causes this problem and is there any cure to it? Thanks.............

Thanks for the previous help!

I have a Panasonic Plasma 42 inch px60-u model that is a few months old. I recently heard a popping sound and saw a straight visible video line coming down the middle of the TV screen. This usually only happens when the commercials are over and it switches back to the show.

It was in for service and they hooked it up for a week and they found no problems.

This problem only occurs on WTHR-DT and I was hoping folks on here may have an explanation. Thanks for any help!

goldrich

08-19-07, 12:01 PM

Sadly, some of us dont live in Carmel or Fishers...I would go u-verse in a heartbeat as they have a better product than comcast at a lower rate, but my neighborhood is apperantly not rich enough...heh

U-verse is available in a number of neighborhoods in Indy. You don't have to live in Carmel or Fishers to get it. In fact, there are still a lot of areas in those two communities where the service is still not available.

One of the early areas in Indy was between Kessler Blvd. and 52nd St. and between College Ave. and just west of Keystone. Some Ball State students were signing up for it in Muncie last week, and U-verse just rolled out to parts of Kokomo this past Wednesday.

Steve

jlentz

08-19-07, 07:37 PM

goldrich

08-20-07, 11:19 AM

Hi,

I'm up in the Carmel area and starting last Saturday (8 days ago), I noticed that 29.1 isn't coming in anymore. I'm still receiving all the other stations just fine. Has this been moved to a new channel? Or does anyone know when it will start broadcasting again? I still can get the analog channel 29.

Thanks,

John

Per Rick Poling at WXIN/WTTV/WTTK..........................

"We terminated the distributed transmission experiment on Friday (8/17/07), for several reasons. WTTK-DT is now just at Windfall at its original power (3.3 kW ERP). At this point we're hoping those who watched the WTTK-DT Indy transmitter can now receive WTTV-DT or the WTTK-DT Windfall signal."

Between now and Feb. 2009 you'll need to aim your antenna towards the WTTV-4/WTTV-DT-48 tower in Trafalgar or towards the WTTK-29/WTTK-DT-54 tower one mile south of Windfall on St. Rd. 213.

In 18 months, WTTK-DT-54 will begin transmitting once again from the WXIN tower (Indy) on ch. 29 at full power.

Steve

jlentz

08-20-07, 07:38 PM

Per Rick Poling at WXIN/WTTV/WTTK..........................

"We terminated the distributed transmission experiment on Friday (8/17/07), for several reasons. WTTK-DT is now just at Windfall at its original power (3.3 kW ERP). At this point we're hoping those who watched the WTTK-DT Indy transmitter can now receive WTTV-DT or the WTTK-DT Windfall signal."

Between now and Feb. 2009 you'll need to aim your antenna towards the WTTV-4/WTTV-DT-48 tower in Trafalgar or towards the WTTK-29/WTTK-DT-54 tower one mile south of Windfall on St. Rd. 213.

In 18 months, WTTK-DT-54 will begin transmitting once again from the WXIN tower (Indy) on ch. 29 at full power.

Steve

Thanks. I guess it is time to climb in the attic and re-aim the antenna.

John

a_greer

08-25-07, 08:58 AM

Anyone know if WTTV will have the Colts/Lions game in HD in Indy tonight seeing as how ComCrud Cable doesnt even have the NFL Network HD feed in indianapolis? I figured that I would try to score cheap seats from a scalper tonight but with the nasty weather, I really dont even want to go down town. If the game is in HD then I am set, if not then I have to find a pub with NFL Network HD.

ghillindy1

08-26-07, 02:19 PM

Hello,

I will be so appreciative if someone can explain this setup to me. I would like to pick up the local HD Tv channels, but I'm not sure how. I own a Toshiba 26HF84 set. When I try using channels, not using my sattelite, ie. 4-99, I can pick up some local ones, albeit they are not good, as the set is in the basement. My question is how do I pick up the HD channels? My friend said that the channels are listed as 9-1 for example. What do I need to purchase, and what dio I need to do? :(

Thanks,

Greg

MAX HD

08-26-07, 02:43 PM

ghillindy1

08-26-07, 05:43 PM

Assuming your TV has an ATSC Digital tuner,you'll need some sort of antenna,and you need to read the manual that came with your set.Where are you(location)?
West side of Indy, near Avon. My manual isn't much help. I can't find any info on digital tuner. What should I be looking at in my spec sheet?.....THANKS!

ghillindy1

08-26-07, 05:47 PM

Assuming your TV has an ATSC Digital tuner,you'll need some sort of antenna,and you need to read the manual that came with your set.Where are you(location)?
Here is some info on my TV. Do I need a seperate HD tuner?

Featuring a sleek, space-saving design, Toshiba's 26HF84 HDTV-ready CRT television uses bottom-mounted stereo speakers and a stylish FST PURE flat picture tube, which also happens to minimize image-degrading ambient light reflections. The 26-inch set is as loaded with image technologies as it is with connections and conveniences, simplifying your home-theater experience while enriching it.
DFine high-speed velocity-scan modulation improves definition at picture edges, creating sharper images by slowing the CRT (cathode-ray tube) beam's horizontal scanning during demanding work--say, when rendering transitions from light to dark parts of an image--and speeding it up when scanning easily rendered sections, like broad dark areas. A wideband video amplifier minimizes noise and distortion.

A 3D Y/C (4 MB, 10-bit) digital comb filter with Vertical Contour Correction processes RF and composite-video signals for a sharp, clean picture. This advanced filter significantly reduces detail noise, seen as shimmering or flicker, in complex or intricate scenes.

And, since not everything you watch will be high-definition in origin (wouldn't that be nice), CrystalScan HDSC upconverts all video signals (including 480i/p) to 1080i HD. This significantly reduces jagged-line artifacts for a smoother, more natural image. (Selectable 540p, for those who want a progressive-scan image from a progressive-scan source, is available through the onscreen menu.) CableClear DNR+ Digital Noise Reduction circuitry--selectable by input--optimizes poor NTSC signals from antenna or cable by eliminating video noise (snow).

The 26HF84 is loaded with connections of all stripes, including a HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) HDTV input, which gives you a pure, uncompressed video connection with your DTV receiver or set-top box (not included). HDMI supports standard-definition (SD), enhanced definition (ED), or high-definition (HD) video, plus multi-channel digital audio--all using a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports up to 8-channel digital audio, with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements.

For audio, the 26HF84 offers SRS WOW, combining SRS 3D (which creates a wide three-dimensional sound field), TruBass (which boosts bass frequency perception for dramatic low-frequency effects), and Focus (which raises the perceived sound image vertically to clarify voices) to greatly enhance your home-theater sound.

The set comes with a 4-device illuminated universal remote control capable of operating DVD players.

What's in the Box
TV, remote control, batteries, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Product Description
HDTV monitor (compatible with HDTV/SDTV formats -- when connected to a separate HDTV tuner -- and displays them at 1080i or 540p) * FST PURE flat picture tube with Invar shadow mask * widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio * CrystalScan HDSC with 3-2 pulldown processing (upconverts NTSC sources to 1080i) *

IndyJeff

08-26-07, 08:19 PM

Yep, you'll need a separate tuner:

"HDTV monitor (compatible with HDTV/SDTV formats -- when connected to a separate HDTV tuner"

Some of the high-def satellite receivers also have a tuner built in, or you can get them as stand-alone devices.

Jeff

bakem84

08-27-07, 04:04 PM

Is anyone here using a Series3 on Brighthouse Indy? I've got an install happening later this week, and have no idea what to expect. I'm bracing for the worst, but hope the installers have at least seen these things, and know how to set up the CableCards.

Also, I've heard that ESPN2HD is on BHN now, but don't see it in their channel list online. Is it really there, or am I just hopin' and dreamin'?

bakem

lux mundi

08-27-07, 07:11 PM

I am looking to have a television antenna installed on my home in Fishers. Does anyone know of some quality antenna installers in the Indianapolis area? Thank you.

IndyJeff

08-28-07, 03:06 PM

I highly recommend Attic Antenna (http://indianapolis.citysearch.com/profile/3967262/indianapolis_in/attic_antenna_incorporated.html). His installation was very neat and professional, and it's been trouble-free for years.

Well, except now for the WTTV-4 situation, but that's hardly his fault. They must not want people to watch their channel!

Jeff

lux mundi

08-28-07, 04:11 PM

goldrich

08-28-07, 04:15 PM

Also, I've heard that ESPN2HD is on BHN now, but don't see it in their channel list online. Is it really there, or am I just hopin' and dreamin'?

bakem

With BHN-Carmel, ESPN2-HD is available on ch. 761.

BTW, I found out a few days ago that the Big Ten Network (BTN) will debut this Thursday on U-verse. SD will be on ch. 650 and HD is scheduled to be on ch. 1250.

Steve

goldrich

08-28-07, 04:36 PM

Thanks for your feedback.

I will give Attic Antenna a call.

So, you can no longer receive this channel? Is this due to them broadcasting from their tower in Trafalgar? I was hoping to get this channel from Fishers, but it sounds like it is difficult to do.

I live near Carmel and I am able to receive WTTV-DT with plenty of signal (over 90%), and it doesn't take a huge antenna or complicated setup to accomplish this. The station's ERP is 870 kW @ 1043 ft. I am able to receive WTTK-DT from their Windfall tower most of the time, although it does vary with its ERP of 3.3 kW. I am located 36 miles from the WTTV tower in Trafalgar and 29 miles from the WTTK tower in Windfall.

If an antenna installer cannot provide the customer with the area stations, then I would not hire him for the job. That's no better than hiring a guy to install a satellite dish and then not receiving the stations.

Steve

lux mundi

08-28-07, 04:47 PM

Thanks for the information.

I was planning on having the installer put the antenna outside and point it toward the tower farm. Do you have to rotate your antenna to get Ch. 29 or Ch.4? Also, what type of antenna do you recommend for use in the Carmel/Fishers area?

GLBright

08-28-07, 04:55 PM

I live 20 miles SW of the airport and have yet to receive any WTTV/K digital signal at all. And I'm too cheap to put a rotor on my 25 yr. old outside mast antenna. Hope there's no essential HD programming that my family is missing! I guess I can always fall back on E* (no HD) if the need arises.:)

goldrich

08-28-07, 05:30 PM

Here's a site with some very good general info....
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html

FWIW, this site compares test results of various antennas. I've tested several of these, and I generally agree with most of the info.
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

While watching HDTV, I want as much signal as possible to help override any temporary drops in signal (weather conditions, airplanes, etc.) plus an antenna that will control or at least lessen any complications from multipath issues, if that happens to be an issue at your location. I usually believe in "bigger is better."

The Channel Master 4228 is a very good UHF antenna and at your distance it should work quite well for WISH-DT-9 and after Feb. 17, 2009 it should work quite well for WTHR-DT when it switches from ch. 46 to ch. 13.

I also really like the Antennas Direct 91XG, a UHF only antenna, but once again I've noticed that it seems to work quite well at receiving WISH-DT's VHF signal.

The smaller CM 4221 UHF only antenna would most likely do well with the UHF channels but it sometimes is not very good with multipath issues and it's not very good at receiving VHF signals.

Yes, I do have to use a rotor to change the azimuth when moving from the Indy antenna farm, to the Trafalgar antenna farm (WTTV, WCLJ and WIPX), to WTTK in Windfall, to WNDY near Strawtown (north of Noblesville) and to WIPB just south of Muncie. Aiming the antenna correctly is one of the keys to maximizing the digital signal.

As a side note, when watching PBS-HD, I prefer watching WIPB-DT-52 (1080i broadcasts with one SD subchannel) over WFYI-DT-21 (720p broadcasts with two SD subchannels) on my 1080p HDTV.

Hopefully some antenna users closer to your location in Fishers will post some suggestions.

Steve

TPIERCE

08-29-07, 12:57 PM

T Heller

08-29-07, 11:36 PM

What happened to/with Phireman19? He said he'd report back his experience with the Wineguard Sensar III GS2200 antenna, but it's been a couple of weeks.

hoosierky

08-31-07, 07:38 AM

Has any one switched to u-verse? I was curious how the install went and how the service has been. I live in Muncie and they are coming out september 8th to start the install. I am looking forward to getting away from comcast. I have had so many problems with my phone, tv and internet connection over the past few years it will be a nice change...........I hope.

I have been with them for four months. The install took 8 hours. Be prepared to spend your day at home! Also, check your cordless phone. If it is on 2.8 Ghz, get a new cordless. The 2.8 interfers with the U-verse fiber.

Also, make sure you have telephone lines run to all the rooms you want service. If you don't, they will have to cable to all the hook-ups, even if only one room does not have a phone line.

I live in Avon and have been very happy with the tech support. They are on top of it and even came out to house the next day to troubleshoot a problem. There was a problem with the phone line box, they called out the ATT phone division, and the phone line tech was here in an hour!! Everything was fixed in 2 hours total, no charge.

TPIERCE

08-31-07, 07:45 AM

hoosierky

08-31-07, 09:28 AM

Thanks hoosierky. Did you have them run Cat5 to all your tuners or did you allow them to use the existing RG6 coaxial? From what I have been reading the tuners hooked up with coaxial have had the most problems.

Never read about the cordless phone problem I will have to check that out tonight.

Thanks again for your response.

I am running CAT 5. The only problem is the slow response from the remote to the tuner to the TV. Once the 2 problems I mentioned before were fixed, we have had only 1 minor problem. Last night, had to reset the box. It might have been for the BTN start-up. Other than that, no problems.

One more thing, because of the 2.8 GHZ phone, we ran wired internet to my sons room. They did this for no additional charge, but I had verify twice that this was OK. If we had know about the phone, I would have had my wife hang up the call she was on to allow the wireless install :mad:

Boilerman59

09-01-07, 07:14 AM

This is the response I received from WTHR regarding the audio popping and video lines coming from my tv. Posted this just in case any other people were having problems with this station also.

Dear Mr.

Thank you for your e-mail.

We are in the process of installing a completely new state of the art HD/SD all digital Master Control. In the meantime, we are using the original partly homebuilt prototype HD Master Control switcher we signed on the air with back on September 26, 1998. (WTHR-DT was the pioneer first HD station on the air in Indiana and one of the first dozen in the nation) The only HD air switcher available at that time does a rudimentary "glitch" switch of the HD digital video and only handles analog audio, so that original HD switcher produces the brief video "glitch" and slight audio "pop" when switching.

The very brief vertical line and slight audio pop do not pose any problem for your set, and do not at all affect the actual HD programs, and will go away when we soon turn up our new Master Control.

Al Grossniklaus
Director of Engineering & Operations
WTHR NBC 13/WTHR-DT 13.1/13.2/WALV-CA
Indianapolis

BurtonSnol3order

09-02-07, 03:37 PM

I have a few questions for anyone that knows about Lafayette WLFI. I live in 47901 about 14 miles from their tower. Antennaweb has their analog signal as uhf channel 18 and their digital as vhf channel 18. I thought uhf only went up to channel 13 or so. Also, I have been looking to get an antenna to watch the colts games (i cant get CBS as a local channel with DishNetwork).

If anyone could give me some suggestions on antennas that would work well for both the analog and digital signals i'd be very thankful. I believe i'll be sticking with the analog for a while and upgrading to digital when the tuners come down in price.

Thanks,
Tom

goldrich

09-02-07, 04:11 PM

IndyJeff

09-02-07, 09:24 PM

I live near Carmel and I am able to receive WTTV-DT with plenty of signal (over 90%), and it doesn't take a huge antenna or complicated setup to accomplish this. The station's ERP is 870 kW @ 1043 ft. I am able to receive WTTK-DT from their Windfall tower most of the time, although it does vary with its ERP of 3.3 kW. I am located 36 miles from the WTTV tower in Trafalgar and 29 miles from the WTTK tower in Windfall.

If an antenna installer cannot provide the customer with the area stations, then I would not hire him for the job. That's no better than hiring a guy to install a satellite dish and then not receiving the stations.

Steve

I went into the setup menus for my Dish receiver (ViP 622) and rescanned, and I'm able to get WTTV 4.1 and "The Tube" 4.2 now with a signal strength of 64. For comparison, WTHR is about 86 and WISH is 100.

The picture and sound are fine even at 64 - no pixilation or drop-outs noticed yet.

Jeff

BurtonSnol3order

09-02-07, 10:43 PM

Tom,

WLFI-DT is on VHF channel 11 and will remain there after analog signs off in Feb. 2009. At 14 miles from their tower near Rossville, you should be able to pick it up rather easily. I've found that it's easy to receive in Kokomo with a VHF antenna.

If you are just looking for an antenna to receive WLFI-18 and WLFI-DT, any good suburban UHF/VHF combo antenna should work quite well for these stations at your location. If you are trying to receive any of the Indy DTV stations, you'll need a high gain UHF antenna with a preamp and as much antenna height as possible.

Steve

Thanks alot... by any uhf/vhf combo... you are talking about something along the lines of... "RCA ANT1250 UHF/VHF Amplified indoor Antenna"

Will that work well if I choose to go with a DVD recorder that has a tuner on it such as the Philips DVDR 3505?

Thanks alot

goldrich

09-03-07, 12:01 PM

Thanks alot... by any uhf/vhf combo... you are talking about something along the lines of... "RCA ANT1250 UHF/VHF Amplified indoor Antenna"

Will that work well if I choose to go with a DVD recorder that has a tuner on it such as the Philips DVDR 3505?

Thanks alot

At 14 miles, that RCA indoor antenna would probably work fine if correctly positioned. Reception from indoor antennas can be VERY picky as far as placement and aim. If you were thinking about an outdoor antenna, here's the type of antenna I had in mind to receive UHF and VHF from WLFI.....
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HD-7015
Or if you were going to get a digital receiver and wanted to skip analog reception and wanted an outdoor antenna (VHF only), here's a suggestion.....
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/y10713.htm

I don't have any experience with the Philips DVDR unit, but if it has a good built-in ATSC tuner, any of these antennas should do well with WLFI-DT.

Steve

BurtonSnol3order

09-03-07, 01:44 PM

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about trying to build one of these. http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9613&st=0

It should be small enough to keep inside (i rent the property or else i'd put a nice yagi on the roof) Hopefully we'll get some results in the near future.

Thanks to all who helped

IndyJeff

09-03-07, 07:19 PM

I went into the setup menus for my Dish receiver (ViP 622) and rescanned, and I'm able to get WTTV 4.1 and "The Tube" 4.2 now with a signal strength of 64. For comparison, WTHR is about 86 and WISH is 100.

The picture and sound are fine even at 64 - no pixilation or drop-outs noticed yet.

Jeff

Hmm.... and tonight the signal on wttv is zero. I wonder what's going on?? The weather tonight isn't much different from last night.

a_greer

09-03-07, 08:12 PM

BurtonSnol3order

09-03-07, 10:25 PM

Is Lafayette TBN still up? My mother wanted/wants to watch some show on TBN which is not on lafayette basic cable, but according to antennaweb has a transmitter 5 miles from her home, I bought her a cheap set of rabbit ears that could pull in WISH-8, WTHR-13, WLFI-18, WFYI-20, and WXIN-59, but couldnt get TBN on 57...any advice?

Also, where are the much talked about "affordable DT tuner boxes" for standard def TVs that the FCC keeps promising; it would be cool to get her a setup like that for PQ and because TBN acctually uses the sub-channels feature to it's utmost

Where is she located? (zip)
It seems strange she could pick up channels from indy (45 miles away) and not lafayette channels 5 miles away. The signal is very weak at 15kw. I'm guessing that the TBN tower is north of you and indy is south. I'll let someone with more knowledge give a full answer.

a_greer

09-04-07, 05:59 AM

Where is she located? (zip)
It seems strange she could pick up channels from indy (45 miles away) and not lafayette channels 5 miles away. The signal is very weak at 15kw. I'm guessing that the TBN tower is north of you and indy is south. I'll let someone with more knowledge give a full answer.
47905

goldrich

09-04-07, 08:19 AM

Is Lafayette TBN still up?

According to this site http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=TV&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=1153622 , that low power station moved from ch. 57 to ch. 51 last October. It's now listed as
W51DU. It's transmitting from a tower located at 2510 S. 30th Street.

Steve

goldrich

09-04-07, 08:29 AM

Hmm.... and tonight the signal on wttv is zero. I wonder what's going on?? The weather tonight isn't much different from last night.

Jeff, I don't know your location, but if you are located in Indy between Trafalgar and the Indy "antenna farm" on the northwest side, I'm guessing that you have your antenna aimed toward the antenna farm and WTTV-DT is trying to come in off the backside (south). Depending on your antenna and area tropospheric conditions, that may or may not work.

If you could add another antenna aimed toward the south and add an A/B switch between the antennas and your receiver, then you could switch between the two antennas, depending on whether you needed signal from the south or from the north. Just a thought.

Steve

IndyJeff

09-04-07, 10:58 PM

Jeff, I don't know your location, but if you are located in Indy between Trafalgar and the Indy "antenna farm" on the northwest side, I'm guessing that you have your antenna aimed toward the antenna farm and WTTV-DT is trying to come in off the backside (south). Depending on your antenna and area tropospheric conditions, that may or may not work.

If you could add another antenna aimed toward the south and add an A/B switch between the antennas and your receiver, then you could switch between the two antennas, depending on whether you needed signal from the south or from the north. Just a thought.

Steve

Thanks Steve, I will give that a try!

Jeff

SupaKats

09-05-07, 07:35 PM

Just wanted to check in with any U-Verse subscribers to get a general impression of the service. I have read the other posts in this thread but was just looking to see if anyone had any updated impressions. It just because available in my area and was looking into it.

dhascall

09-06-07, 03:15 PM

SupaKats - I do not have U-Verse but I have been reading up on it at UverseUsers.com. It seems that the users feel that SD channels are awesome in quality but the HD picture is horrible! I'm not sure how a user did this but he comapred file size on an OTA HD signal and a Uverse HD signal. An hour OTA HD program took up 8.1 GB while the Uverse HD was only 1.8 GB. They feel that the HD signals are over compressed and it sounds like that's the case.

The wife and I have friends that live in Lawrence and they are fairly pleased with their U-Verse but there have been a few outages. I have not checked it out @ their house but hope to.

They are adding VRAD's all over Indy but one street will have U-Verse and the next one won't.

I like that the DVR can record FOUR channels at once!

a_greer

09-06-07, 05:41 PM

WTHR, great job thusfar on the local colts party coverage: the HD remote cams look great!

Cant wait for the HD traffic chopper!

one request, make the lower third "countdown to open" logo about 1/3 the size that it is...it is really distracting on a big HD set

IndyJeff

09-06-07, 08:54 PM

Woohoo!! Dish Network has added the new Big Ten Network (SD now, HD next week)!

SupaKats

09-07-07, 01:03 PM

Thanks for the info.

If they are really compressing the HD that much the it doesn't seem worth it. I'll have to try and see if anyone I know has it that I can check out. Also the fact that you can only have 1 HD stream is a big negative.

DirectorBoy

09-07-07, 03:35 PM

WTHR, great job thusfar on the local colts party coverage: the HD remote cams look great!
It did look great! Not sure it was HD, though. Most of it looked like widescreen SD to me. WTHR would occasionally take the feed from the folks producing the concert, but the difference between that live feed and the recorded feed played back later on NBC was significant. Though produced in HD, WTHR appeared to be scaling down the concert resolution. If I'm wrong, then some other variable was at play that "muddled" the clarity.

Regardless, it's more than any other local station is doing, so kudos to THR.

AlanSaysYo

09-08-07, 10:20 AM

It did look great! Not sure it was HD, though. Most of it looked like widescreen SD to me. WTHR would occasionally take the feed from the folks producing the concert, but the difference between that live feed and the recorded feed played back later on NBC was significant. Though produced in HD, WTHR appeared to be scaling down the concert resolution. If I'm wrong, then some other variable was at play that "muddled" the clarity.

Regardless, it's more than any other local station is doing, so kudos to THR.

I assumed the WTHR coverage was 16:9 SD also. When coverage switched to the NBC/NFLN production, the Monument Circle shots looked a lot more detailed. Regardless, WTHR's picture easily trumps what the other stations put out for local news, and I thank them for being the leader in that regard. It's nice to have a local station setting the bar high.

Now if only WTHR's national partner would get their HD act together...

gb33

09-08-07, 10:35 AM

What's up with WISH HD? The OTA feed now says 8-4 but it is blank?! No 8-1?! I will skim through here and see if others have same issues.

goldrich

09-08-07, 11:36 AM

What's up with WISH HD? The OTA feed now says 8-4 but it is blank?! No 8-1?! I will skim through here and see if others have same issues.

I just checked WISH-DT with my LG STB and it is receiving the channels just fine (8-1, 8-2 and 8-3). I even did a new channel scan and they all registered correctly.

Steve

AlanSaysYo

09-08-07, 01:06 PM

What's up with WISH HD? The OTA feed now says 8-4 but it is blank?! No 8-1?! I will skim through here and see if others have same issues.

I used to pick up 8-4 when I had a HR10-250 from DirecTV. No matter how many clears and scans I did, it would not go away. I have a newer HR20 now and I don't pick up the phantom channel anymore.

gb33

09-08-07, 01:09 PM

I used to pick up 8-4 when I had a HR10-250 from DirecTV. No matter how many clears and scans I did, it would not go away. I have a newer HR20 now and I don't pick up the phantom channel anymore.

Huh. I have the HR20 and have had for over a year. This is just all of the sudden. So your HR20 has it on 8-1 and picture is fine? Not only is it on 8-4 there is no picture. I'd like to catch some of the US open later today. I have tried a reset and rescan. If I type in 8-1 it says channel unavailable.

jrcorwin

09-08-07, 05:52 PM

This might be stupid, but I want to check anyway. Are all the Indy locals (WTHR, WISHTV, WRTV, WXIN, WNDY, and WFYI)...are they all UHF? I know that antennaweb.org says they are...I just want to make sure before I go antenna shopping.

Les Auber

09-08-07, 06:12 PM

WISHDT is VHF 9. Take another look at antennaweb.

jrcorwin

09-08-07, 06:17 PM

Ahh...thank you. I don't really know the difference, but why would that be the one and only local that is VHF?

hoosierfan227

09-08-07, 06:17 PM

Huh. I have the HR20 and have had for over a year. This is just all of the sudden. So your HR20 has it on 8-1 and picture is fine? Not only is it on 8-4 there is no picture. I'd like to catch some of the US open later today. I have tried a reset and rescan. If I type in 8-1 it says channel unavailable.

I had a similar situation yesterday with my HR 20. We had a momentary power outage which caused it to have to restart. When it came back up no channel 8-1. Tried to type it in same thing. The channel list also did not have it. All channels were there except for 8-1. I happened to be recording 8-1 at the time(US Open Tennis) so not sure if that contributed to it not appearing. I ran the antenna set up and channel 8-1 reappeared.

Of course losing 8-1 is the one channel we do not want to lose since WISH and D* still can't come to a meeting of the minds.

jrcorwin

09-09-07, 01:05 AM

Hey folks I had a question, but I wasn't sure where to post it and I didn't want to double post. I would really like the input of some of you who post on this thread though. If you have a moment...take a look please. I really do appreciated it.

My question is posted here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11566895#post11566895

Les Auber

09-09-07, 10:30 AM

Ahh...thank you. I don't really know the difference, but why would that be the one and only local that is VHF?

Sorry, it's way beyond my understanding to understand how our government arrives at these things. Available bandwidth may have had a part in it.

As to your other question the indoor antenna has a very good chance of working fine if you're getting excellent reception on the analog channels. The one caveat is on stations that are VHF analog and UHF digital. They don't propagate the same so there could be a difference but it seems unlikely at this distance.

If it doesn't work by the TV try different locations in the room or the attic. A little altitude can make a big difference.

ccrider2

09-09-07, 11:01 AM

Ahh...thank you. I don't really know the difference, but why would that be the one and only local that is VHF?
b-t-w .... I read somewhere, that after 2009, WTHR-DT will be switching back to the VHF band from their current spot at channel 46 (UHF).

jrcorwin

09-09-07, 11:52 AM

Sorry, it's way beyond my understanding to understand how our government arrives at these things. Available bandwidth may have had a part in it.

As to your other question the indoor antenna has a very good chance of working fine if you're getting excellent reception on the analog channels. The one caveat is on stations that are VHF analog and UHF digital. They don't propagate the same so there could be a difference but it seems unlikely at this distance.

If it doesn't work by the TV try different locations in the room or the attic. A little altitude can make a big difference.

Oh ok. Thank you very much! :)

jrcorwin

09-09-07, 11:52 AM

b-t-w .... I read somewhere, that after 2009, WTHR-DT will be switching back to the VHF band from their current spot at channel 46 (UHF).

Hmmm...I'll have to keep an eye on that. Thank you very much.

dkgoalie

09-10-07, 11:00 AM

dhascall

09-10-07, 12:50 PM

b-t-w .... I read somewhere, that after 2009, WTHR-DT will be switching back to the VHF band from their current spot at channel 46 (UHF).

That is correct.

I just looked at Doug Smith's excellent TV and TV DX'ing website to verify this, WTHR-DT will move to it's permenant home on Channel 13 after DTV conversion in 2009.

WTHR and WTTK are the only Indianapolis area stations that are returning to their former analog channels after DTV conversions.

Why is WTHR-DT heading back to VHF? My guess is that it's because it's high band VHF, which gets out good compared to UHF and many OTA folks already have a good antenna for high VHF. WISH-DT is moving to 9, which is slightly better than 8 (duh), since lower band VHF is so susceptible to propagation / skip interference. Although VHF is much lower power the signal gets out better.

Doug's site (for Indiana): http://www.w9wi.com/tvdb/dtvfinal/in.htm

dhascall

09-10-07, 01:05 PM

Sorry, it's way beyond my understanding to understand how our government arrives at these things. Available bandwidth may have had a part in it.

Les; Many stations have been requesting their own assignments. The Government appears to be flexible, when they can. Look at Doug Smith's excellent website at http://www.w9wi.com/. His Final DTV Assignments page show many VHF stations, temporarily operating on UHF are requesting to go back to VHF, especially high band VHF, while others are staying on UHF. Everyone, it seems, is trying to get off of lowband VHF (2-7).

dhascall

09-10-07, 01:29 PM

U-Verse HD quality

Thanks for the info.

If they are really compressing the HD that much the it doesn't seem worth it. I'll have to try and see if anyone I know has it that I can check out. Also the fact that you can only have 1 HD stream is a big negative.

You're welcome - I read a thread on UVerseUsers.com that AT&T is rolling out up to 3 HD streams per connection, which I assume means household. This rollout is supposed to hit "Summer 2007." So they have another 12 days. :p Seriosly some of the customers on that website have mentioned that they saw two separate HD streams and later, only one after their STB reset itself. They are guessing that they are secretly field testing the increase, at this time.

I may wait for a bit before deciding to change from Comcast, i.e. let some other user "guinea pig" the system.

Dave

SupaKats

09-10-07, 10:07 PM

Thats cool, thanks for the info. Multiple HD feeds would be one of the major things holding me back from switching over so if they are rolling it out soon that would be great. Also I have insight and not comcast, if I had comcast I wouldn't be in such a hurry to switch :P

TPIERCE

09-11-07, 06:02 AM

jrcorwin

09-11-07, 09:45 AM

DirectorBoy

09-11-07, 12:36 PM

If you install an atenna in your attic...how much trouble does snow on the roof cause? Does it cause very limited, moderate, or significant signal loss? I'm going to try an indoor first, but the attic option will be next if I need a boost. Thanks.
In my experience, it depends on whether the snow depth is limited, moderate, or significant. :) The big snow last February caused significant reception problems until the melting began... but other, lighter snows went completely unnoticed. You'll probably be fine until it really starts to pile up.

Tom Weber

09-11-07, 02:44 PM

It appears that DirecTV and/or TiVo has, at long last, dropped 8-4 from their channel listings. 8-4 only gets used for 2 weeks in the spring, IF WISH does multicasting of NCAA games - it is otherwise not there, and it has caused some confusion for folks.

It may be that this drop has caused some set-top boxes to somehow scramble their memories. Some folks have had to unplug their set-top boxes, and then re-scan for all the satellite-delivered, and over-the-air channels, to get everything to re-set itself in its proper slot.

Tom Weber
WISH Engineering

jrcorwin

09-11-07, 03:16 PM

dhascall

09-12-07, 11:49 AM

In my experience, it depends on whether the snow depth is limited, moderate, or significant. :) The big snow last February caused significant reception problems until the melting began... but other, lighter snows went completely unnoticed. You'll probably be fine until it really starts to pile up.

It may be less of an issue with DTV. All but two Indianapolis stations DTV's are on UHF. UHF has shorter wavelengths, which may make it easier for the signals to pass through snow, roofing and so on. Also you may want to consider some kind of a heating pad (for roofs) to melt snow and ice, especially on the part of the roof near the antenna. Of course snow and ice can build up on outdoor antennas too.

dhascall

09-12-07, 12:14 PM

I had u-verse installed on saturday. So far everything has been great. The HD picture isnt quite as good as comcast's but I am not one who tries to find problems with the picture. No pixelation or sound issues but some macro blocking. SD does look better than comcast's. I have not had any problems with the wireless internet connection either. He supplied two wireless cards and got both my laptops connected. I ran a speed test at speakeasy and I am getting 3.0mb down and 1mb up as advertised.

The DVR and tuners are considerably smaller than comcast's. The guide is fancier looking than comcast's but it functions very similarly. Channel switching seems faster also.

I had him set up four tv's. He used the existing coax for two of them and ran cat5 for the other two.

There where several reasons I switched. My phone service through comcast has some issues that cannot be solved for some reason. My cable signal strength to my house is low which sometimes causes some channels not to come in. They tried to fix the problem a few times to no avail. The BTN was extremely important to me since I am a die hard IU fan. They originally said they where not going to pick up the overflow channels for BTN but they have since added them.

My install lasted from 9:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. 3 hours of that was waiting on them to fix a problem in the line running to my house and a couple hours of that was running the cat5. Once all the cables are ran the install went really fast and really smooth.

If anyone has any specific questions I can try and answer them. I have always been a cable subscriber adelphi/comcast.

Thanks TPIERCE. Can you tell me what package that you went with? It sounds like you have the "mid speed" internet. I think that they have your choice of 1, 3 or 6mb. I'd like to have the u400 TV service, which has about everything. If you don't mind me asking, do you know how much your total U-Verse will be, including taxes? I'm trying to compare pricing between AT&T and Comcast. My Comcast services (digital cable (classic and expanded but no premium channels)), one HD / DVR, and Hi Speed Internet) runs a little less than $140. A fellow that I was chatting with said that he had U-Verse: U400, 6 Mb/s internet, 1 DVR and 2 regular STB's and his was $146 and change. I could "probably" live with the 3 Mb/s internet.

I am not generally an HD nut but I do love NFL and especially auto racing in HD. ESPN has awesome HD. The great SD picture that U-Verse apparently has will be nice but I may wait until the HD quality issues are worked out.

Thanks again for your feedback!

coolray

09-12-07, 12:16 PM

dhascall

09-12-07, 01:30 PM

Hello

I live at Selma and was wondering what this u-verse is all about

Tom Smalley
coolray@netdirect.net

Selma, Indiana, the home of Indiana stock-car legend Vic Hellis?

U-Verse is AT&T's brand of IP provided services. They are bundling cable TV type services and the internet over the phone lines or fibre. The roll-out was authorized with Indiana's deregulation of communication services, last year. It has been slow with one side of the street, for instance getting it and the other not.

There is a nice page at www.uverseusers.com.

Dave in Indy

TPIERCE

09-13-07, 08:56 AM

I went with the U-400 package and an extra receiver. When I signed up it listed the price as $119.00. I am not exactly sure what the final price is going to be after taxes. They dont seem to be in a hurry to send me a bill. As soon as they do I will post the price.

I was paying $205.00 a month for internet/cable (no movie channels) and phone through comcast. I had two dvr's and one SD receiver. With AT&T you get up to three tv's before they make you pay $5.00 for additional one. All there receivers are HD and are about the 3rd of the size of comcasts recievers.

You are right I went with the 3 meg down and 1 meg up which is their middle of the road. I have not downloaded any large files for a few years so I dont notice the bandwidth difference between comcast and uverse.

The HD looks nice. Even though the HD may be compressed too much it still looks tons better than SD.

My service hasnt had a hiccup yet. Everything has been solid. I was skeptical after reading some of the other boards.

dhascall

09-13-07, 12:33 PM

TPIERCE - Thanks very much for the info. I guess that I won't feel so bad now about what I'm paying for Comcast. They nickle and dime you to death.

How does Comcast's HD compare to U-Verse? I do like Comcast's HD, what little they have.

TPIERCE

09-13-07, 01:01 PM

The main difference between the two I have noticed is the grass during a football game. Comcast's picture is pretty clear and crisp. AT&T seems a little more washed out without as much detail.

When watching movies in HD I really have not noticed much difference between the two.

goldrich

09-14-07, 06:31 PM

a_greer

09-16-07, 08:21 AM

Congratulations to Rick and Rich at WTTV-DT (WTTK-DT) in presenting a syndicated program, Two and a Half Men, in HD on a daily basis. I just checked it out for the first time this week and it looked very good. Thanks for stepping up with more HD.

Steve

More HD is great, and I applaud WTTK and their staff, but I just want to point out that Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune have been HD for some time now on WTHR so WTTK's HD syndication is not a first for the market.

goldrich

09-16-07, 10:08 AM

More HD is great, and I applaud WTTK and their staff, but I just want to point out that Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune have been HD for some time now on WTHR so WTTK's HD syndication is not a first for the market.

Correct. WTHR was first, on 9/11/06..... http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8407903#post8407903

Now, who will be third in this market?

Steve

IndyJeff

09-16-07, 02:44 PM

I'm surprised no other local stations have switched their newscasts to HD. I watch WTHR news (and NBC Nightly News) almost exclusively now simply because they are in HD.

a_greer

09-17-07, 07:02 AM

Correct. WTHR was first, on 9/11/06..... http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8407903#post8407903

Now, who will be third in this market?

Steve

I predict a rush of crap shows like Maury, Live with Regis and whoever, Oprah, Springer and such, also, since they are retooling gthe Price is Right, could it go HD as well?

bottom line: what would HD fans watch? oprah, Maury, Price is Right? not so much...a lot of stuff doesnt really need to go HD.

hoosierky

09-17-07, 07:41 AM

I predict a rush of crap shows like Maury, Live with Regis and whoever, Oprah, Springer and such, also, since they are retooling gthe Price is Right, could it go HD as well?

bottom line: what would HD fans watch? oprah, Maury, Price is Right? not so much...a lot of stuff doesnt really need to go HD.

Like QVC & HSN, the religous stations, and infomercials.

RWB

09-17-07, 12:57 PM

Been some time since I've posted. Hope all is well my Indiana brethen.

Still waiting for the locals other than 10-1 WTHI to get on board in the Terre Haute area. Had to do a switcharoo with my coax length for a short time (ie: longer). May sound stupid since it's kind of common knowledge but if at all possible make sure you get that length down to as short as possible. I had an additional 20ft attached to my run and started to lose signal strength rapidly. Once I cut out the extra and connected new connectors I was back in business.

jrcorwin

09-17-07, 01:14 PM

Anyone here had their HDTV professionally calibrated? Is it worth the money? I found a list here:

http://www.imagingscience.com/

Not many had online pricing information, but I think I'm looking at about $350.

Thanks.

chibul

09-17-07, 09:04 PM

Any word on WISH-TV in HD on DirecTV?

hoosierky

09-18-07, 08:04 AM

According to Indystar.com (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/BUSINESS/709180377)

AT&T spokeswoman Molly Cornbleet said the jobs will be for service technicians, responsible for installing U-verse and upgrading the company's fiber-optic network to handle video. U-verse is AT&T's brand of Internet Protocol TV, or IPTV, a method for transmitting television signals over a broadband Internet connection rather than a satellite dish or cable line.

chibul

09-18-07, 12:06 PM

Dude...leaving directions to your home on a public forum?

GLBright

09-18-07, 07:14 PM

Coolray,
You'll be having another fun day soon for those of us who have directions but missed the first bus, right?:D

coolray

09-19-07, 09:22 AM

chibul:

Thanks for mentioning this to me. I never thought about that at all at the time. I have since deleted the message. Again Thanks.

I see you are from Muncie. Are you going to go for the HD dish and the new equipment and if so where did you get the info for who will install the new stuff.

Thanks
Tom

chibul

09-19-07, 09:23 AM

I actually just subscribed to DirecTV about three months ago, and the installer went ahead and put everything in that I needed.

MarshallHDTV

09-19-07, 10:12 AM

Still waiting for the locals other than 10-1 WTHI to get on board in the Terre Haute area.

The GM at WTWO recently told me that WTWO and WFXW will be available in HD by the end of 2008. Still a ways off, but I've been waiting for years so maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Now if I could only figure out how to get ABC in HD around here...:rolleyes:

First time poster, long time lurker...thanks for the info over the years.

KG9JW

09-21-07, 12:42 AM

RWB

09-21-07, 09:23 AM

Now if I could only figure out how to get ABC in HD around here...:rolleyes:

First time poster, long time lurker...thanks for the info over the years.

Marshall, you should be able to get ABC thru 41-1 remaps to 15-1 from WICD in Champaign. I live about 3-4 miles south of Clinton and have no problem at all. I am using an outdoor antenna though.

jrcorwin

09-21-07, 09:50 AM

I'm surprised that no one here locally has had their HDTV professionally calibrated. Hmm...I'll probably just do it if my wife will let me get away with it. Hopefully it will be worth the money.

RWB

09-21-07, 10:27 AM

With the current financial difficulties Nexstar is facing, I would suggest HD from 2 and 38 (along with FULL POWER) will be implemented about a week or two before the mandated service date in 2009. Not much time difference due to "technical difficulties" delaying HD from "late 2008" to February 17, 2009, right?

I would say you have hit the nail on the head with that. What's frustrating it couldn't only be one but Nexstar controlling both stations. It's welcome to HD hell for the majority living around here. I've been pretty fortunate as in the evening time I usually get pretty good reception out of Indy. All summer I've have WTHR 6 (25-1) come in every night spot on and WTTV 4 (48-1) as been very consistent as well. Honestly if the TH stations get on board I'll be set with the majority of networks I want to see.

CBS, NBC, and FOX out of THAute.
ABC out of Champaign IL.
PBS out of Bloomington
ION/Worship channels, etc off and on
CW out of Indy off and on
And finally the wonderful nights when you're able to drag in stations from Louisville, Dayton, and all parts Illinois

SupaKats

09-21-07, 10:28 AM

I'm surprised that no one here locally has had their HDTV professionally calibrated. Hmm...I'll probably just do it if my wife will let me get away with it. Hopefully it will be worth the money.

There is a great deal of talk about calibration on other areas of AVS. Most people seem to say it is well worth it if from what I have read. There is a separate forum at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=139

RWB

09-21-07, 10:46 AM

I'm surprised that no one here locally has had their HDTV professionally calibrated. Hmm...I'll probably just do it if my wife will let me get away with it. Hopefully it will be worth the money.

Ken Whitcomb is the known expert in Indiana when it comes to calibrations. The man has a great reputation if you're looking for someone.

I suspect (and of course could be completely wrong :D) you don't hear as much about calibrations is because of the popularity of LCD and Plasma tvs. An older rear projection tv always seemed to have geometry, color, and convergence problems that a professional could correct. Not sure if they can pull the same magic with the current crop of televisions. HOWEVER..... with the popularity of Front Projection increasing the need is alive and well for the experts.

goldrich

09-21-07, 11:01 AM

I'm surprised that no one here locally has had their HDTV professionally calibrated. Hmm...I'll probably just do it if my wife will let me get away with it. Hopefully it will be worth the money.

RWB is correct. Ken is very well known for his fine calibration work. Several of us via this site met with Ken a few years ago and discovered his talent and wealth of information.

Contact info here from previous post... http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=10688219&postcount=3953

Steve

jrcorwin

09-21-07, 02:47 PM

Thank you for the calibration info folks.

pecasbo

09-23-07, 11:50 AM

nd06irish

09-23-07, 01:55 PM

David VO

09-23-07, 05:07 PM

I am having trouble with 8-1 today. I have a DirecTV HR20 8-2 and 8-3 will play with no problem, but 8-1 is not recognized. I restarted the HR20 and it does not list in the guide. Anyone have any ideas?

I am having the exact same problem, no 8-1 on my HR20. Anyone?

hoosierfan227

09-23-07, 07:21 PM

I am having trouble with 8-1 today. I have a DirecTV HR20 8-2 and 8-3 will play with no problem, but 8-1 is not recognized. I restarted the HR20 and it does not list in the guide. Anyone have any ideas?

I have been having no issues with 8-1 today using an HR-20 also. Have you tried the antenna set up? I had a similar issue a few weeks ago and that solved it.

goldrich

09-23-07, 08:41 PM

I live in Kokomo and get all my channels (in HD) from D*.

Recently I have had lots of interference issues with WISH-TV (only channel that I have to use an antenna for :mad:). am I the only one with this problem? Or is there a reason for the massive interference on this channel?

(Unfortunately, WISH-TV is also the only VHF channel, I can get all my other channels OTA without any problems in the UHF band).

Any update on LIN finally realizing that they are loosing viewers by their boneheaded stance in their negotiations with D*? (I refuse to watch the SD version of the channel if there's a HD version available)

Two weeks ago today I was at my parents' house in Kokomo checking out DTV reception on their new 32" Panasonic LCD HDTV using a very small outdoor antenna similar to this http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANCM2001 set up in their dining room, with approximately 20 feet of RG6 coaxial cable between the antenna and the TV, with no preamp. The antenna pulled in all the full power UHF Indy DTV stations plus WISH-DT and WLFI-DT on VHF. Have you tried WLFI-DT-11? The signal meter indicated that it was stronger than WISH-DT and I didn't even have the antenna aimed toward the WLFI tower in Rossville. I didn't notice any kind of interference on any of the channels.

Steve

goldrich

09-24-07, 09:15 AM

Slowly but surely WTHR-DT is making progress on its new HD Master Control setup. The station now has 26 (yes, 26!) new HD field cameras that are just about ready for use but the station is also waiting on an HD edit system to make all content true HD.

More HD coming soon!

Steve

jrcorwin

09-24-07, 09:35 AM

Tom Weber

09-24-07, 10:46 AM

jrcorwin

09-24-07, 11:13 AM

This may be a silly question...but oh well.

Do any of our Indy locals shut off or key down their sub channels (weather and news) during HD broadcast, special events, sporting events, etc? Just curious...

David VO

09-24-07, 01:19 PM

Are the HR-20 boxes that lost 8-1 also connected with TiVo? Maybe also known as DirecTiVo boxes?

I do know that TiVo finally removed 8-4 from their listings, and I have heard that some TiVo owners have had to do a complete power removal for many seconds, then plug the device back in and then re-scan.

Did anyone do this successfully? Or are HR-20s a different animal altogether?

BTW, WISH will be joined in the VHF spectrum after February 2009, by WTHR, which will come back to its original channel 13. VHF has several advantages over UHF for transmission and reception.

Tom Weber
Engineering
WISH/WNDY/WIIH/LWS

The HR20 is Directv's current HD DVR, not a tivo. My wife just informed me that Y&R is recording on 8-1, but it is not in the channel line-up nor can I tune to it. However, I can go to the playlist and play Y&R even while it is recording. I caught up to live TV and at the end of the recording it let me stayed tuned to 8-1. If I changed the channel I could not return to 8-1 by pressing the prev button as I normally could. So, I get blank screen when tuned to 8-4 as normal, but when I record on 8-4 it tunes to and records 8-1. I can then press stop and continue watching live 8-1. I could not figure this out until today and watched Colts game in SD. I deleted all my OTA channels and started over to no avail. When I called Directv they said they have no control over the local channels and what is displayed in the guide.

Thanks for any help,

David VO

David VO

chibul

09-24-07, 03:32 PM

Tom, any word on when WISH will be available in HD on DirecTV?

mhowie

09-24-07, 11:33 PM

Tom, any word on when WISH will be available in HD on DirecTV?

Or when the WISH newscast will be broadcast in true HD (i.e., fill my entire screen like WTHR)?

dkgoalie

09-25-07, 12:18 PM

The HR20 is Directv's current HD DVR, not a tivo. My wife just informed me that Y&R is recording on 8-1, but it is not in the channel line-up nor can I tune to it. However, I can go to the playlist and play Y&R even while it is recording. I caught up to live TV and at the end of the recording it let me stayed tuned to 8-1. If I changed the channel I could not return to 8-1 by pressing the prev button as I normally could. So, I get blank screen when tuned to 8-4 as normal, but when I record on 8-4 it tunes to and records 8-1. I can then press stop and continue watching live 8-1. I could not figure this out until today and watched Colts game in SD. I deleted all my OTA channels and started over to no avail. When I called Directv they said they have no control over the local channels and what is displayed in the guide.

Thanks for any help,

David VO

David VO

This happened to me a few weeks ago. I resolved the problem by going into the setup and doing a reset all the OTA settings and then set them up again.

All has been well since I did the reset (HR20-100).

- dk

David VO

09-25-07, 03:22 PM

This happened to me a few weeks ago. I resolved the problem by going into the setup and doing a reset all the OTA settings and then set them up again.

All has been well since I did the reset (HR20-100).

- dk

That worked. Thank you very much. I had done the initial setup over again thinking that would work. The Reset worked.

David VO

explorher64

09-25-07, 05:48 PM

Hey guys, it's been a while since I've posted around here but I wanted to get your guys' opinion on which OTA antenna would be better.

I saw a post made on here earlier in the year about someone having a DB4, with their location from Indy approx. the same from mine (around 50-60 miles, possibly less, my zip is 47201). They were in Greensburg and claimed to get not only Indy, but Cincy and Louisville channels OTA as well.

The Cincy and Louisville channels would be a nice added bonus, but really, Indy is all I'm concerned with picking up.

There is someone living about 1/2 mile from me that I have noticed has something similar to the MS-2000, but I have not had a chance to ask them their opinion on it or how well it works.

With football season upon us, I really miss my locals in HD and I'm not about to switch back to Comcast, so I wanted to do OTA. Based on my zip, what are your opinions on either of these antennas as far as picking up my locals OTA?

Thanks in advance for all your help/opinions.

ccrider2

09-26-07, 12:26 PM

I live just North of Anderson, and put up a Channel Master CM 3679 and rotor last month. I get all the Indy stations just fine (WFYI sometimes a little weak...might be multipath, just a slight turn of the rotor clears it up). The antenna is at 25' with a clear shot to the tower farm. Not using an amp at present...maybe sometime in the future.

Hope this helps,

Tom Weber

09-27-07, 03:01 PM

Sorry, I have no information on how negotiations with DirecTV are going. Just from my own selfish standpoint, I'd like us to be on there, as it would cut down on all the complaints!

Regards,
Tom Weber
WISH Engineering

jrcorwin

09-27-07, 03:22 PM

mhowie

09-27-07, 10:37 PM

Out of curiosity...what are the top two or three complaints you get related to HD? Thanks.

I am guessing one is related to the question I posed a few posts up. Why can Ch. 13 broadcast its newscast in wonderful full screen HD but Ch. 8's has ugly bars on each side of the screen?

IndyJeff

09-27-07, 11:13 PM

Is the new WTHR "master console" up and running? I haven't noticed any loud clicks or pops tonight when HD shows switch to/from commercials. And the picture quality of ER looked really really good tonight, in my opinion.

If anyone communicates with the WTHR engineers, let them know it looks great! The volume could be louder, though... it's very very soft compared to the other channels.

Tom Weber

09-28-07, 11:19 AM

Biggest question is probably how do I get you, or why did you stop transmitting. Both closely related to the fact that right now, we're the "odd man out" being on VHF, and proper antenna selection/function. After the transition, the fact that WTHR will also be on VHF should help that tremendously. Unfortunately, there still appears to be a lot of misconception about DTV "only" being on UHF channels.

We get a few questions about when HD news, I suppose those will increase until such time as we also switch. Corporate has our plan and budget, but we don't yet know when we will be told to make the switch. With 25 or so stations, making the transition to HD is a much trickier budgeting problem for us than for smaller entities.

These are other than DirecTV questions.

Tom Weber
WISH Engineering

explorher64

09-28-07, 08:52 PM

So I ended up going with a CM-4228 w/ the CM-7777 pre-amp as I have seen recommended so many times. Got everything up and running today and am able to pull in 22 digital channels, all the ones I want, except for WISH.

This is the same set-up that another poster on here said that he has, and is in my area (47201) and if I recall right, they were able to receive everything. I tried it first just laid up in my attic and was only able to pull in 6.1 and 6.2. I didn't think I would be able to get away with just putting it in the attic so I got everything needed and installed in on my roof.

I live in a single-story ranch style home and it is placed about two-three feet from the peak, mounted on a four foot mast. Not the highest, but it pulls in more than what I honestly thought it would at that height.

Do I need to go higher to get the WISH stations or should I just be happy with what I am getting?

Any suggestions?

MAX HD

09-28-07, 09:05 PM

dhascall

10-02-07, 11:12 AM

Hi. I live near 25th and Post Rd. Yesterday an AT&T work van was in front of my house. I asked the technician what he knew about U-Verse. He stated that was what he was there for. He was preparing the lines for the service. When asked about the timeline for the service, he stated that it would be 2-4 months after the line prep.

He was in front of another house this morning. I saw another similar van going into another neighborhood on my way to work. I still haven't looked for the VRAD's on 21st St or 25th St.

The only bad thing was that he apparently left four houses without phone service last night.

chibul

10-02-07, 02:18 PM

And you live where?

digilos

10-02-07, 02:39 PM

IndyJeff

10-02-07, 11:09 PM

Yeah, the clicks and pops were back last night for me as well.

But tonight the news stories from the field are in HD....

coolray

10-04-07, 02:27 PM

I am not as up to date on the different digital signals and the indicator on my Pioneer AV is too small to read, but it is obvious that when they go to local commercials and such the signal light changes and the sound goes down low, then when they go back to HD content the signal light changes back and the sound gets louder. Very very annoying. Is this problem waiting for new equipment to be able to fix it at the station?

coolray

goldrich

10-04-07, 05:27 PM

Yeah, the clicks and pops were back last night for me as well.

But tonight the news stories from the field are in HD....

Yes, WTHR's local newscasts are including more and more really nice HD shots outside the studio. The station continues to transition from older analog equipment to its new HD equipment, including its new HD MC center. I would suggest that we all be patient for a few more weeks as the engineers get closer to finalizing the entire process. This is a major undertaking by WTHR and these little issues should be history in the very near future.

Steve

nathill

10-04-07, 10:26 PM

I have said it before. I always feel like I'm watching a scientific experiment as various stations transition to digital.
As long as we all look at it that way, we can all be more patient.
I keep reminding myself, over and over, they haven't done this before, they haven't done this before, etc.

goldrich

10-05-07, 12:27 PM

I just read this at WRTV's website.................

"RTV6 is proud to team up with ABC to offer two major games on Saturday night," said Paul Montgomery, the station's director of audience development. "Our primary Channel 6 signal will offer Purdue-Ohio State in standard definition and in high definition for viewers with HDTV. And our secondary, over-the-air digital channel (6.2) will offer live ABC coverage of Notre Dame."

Steve

nathill

10-05-07, 02:38 PM

GLBright

10-05-07, 05:31 PM

Now THAT is cool! And they picked the right game to send out in HD.

Isn't that the truth. ABC must be having nightmares over Notre Dame's remarkable season.

IndyJeff

10-07-07, 03:02 PM

Actually, comparing the games on Sunday afternoon, the Notre Dame game should have been the one in HD!

But yeah, it's very cool that WRTV showed both games. Between that and being able to watch Indiana play (and win!) on BTN in HD, it's been a great college football season so far!

BurtonSnol3order

10-10-07, 09:45 PM

Alright, i need some help! I live about 10 miles south of lafayette (47909) and I just installed one of these (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103087&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032205&parentPage=family)
and I can get ABC, NBC, and CBS very clear but there is a very slight snow on certain areas. I cannot seem to get my TV to recognize the digital signal. Only the analog tuner is working (yes it has a digital atsc tuner) I tried looking for a digital setting but could not find one. I am guessing that is a problem with the TV and not the antenna. My concern is that I do not get FOX 59 or WB 4. Does anyone have any idea why I would not be getting 59 or 4 when all the towers should be located in the same area??
Please help!

MAX HD

10-10-07, 10:07 PM

BurtonSnol3order

10-10-07, 10:31 PM

Make sure the tuner is set to AIR,not CABLE.Look on the remote for a D/A button also.

WTTV-4,Digital-48 is further south.Maybe turn your antenna towards Kokomo for WB,WTTK-29,Digital-54.

If you don,t have a preamp,you need one.

There is no way to turn the antenna. It's 13 feet long and in my attic :-D The WB station isn't as big of a deal as not getting FOX 59. Is there anyone that can suggest something to try to get fox? I get abc, cbs, and nbc VERY clear on analog.

MAX HD

10-10-07, 11:29 PM

BurtonSnol3order

10-11-07, 07:05 AM

DO you get anything on UHF? 20,40,23 or 18 in Lafayette?

Nope, I was thinking I wouldn't get lafayette 18 because of the directional nature of the antenna. If i wasn't pulling good UHF, what could be the problem?

wrwine3

10-11-07, 07:58 AM

I was flipping through the Comcast Guide yesterday and noticed HD Theater is now on the HD tier. I don't know how long it has been on. I was looking and hoping to see TBS HD when I found it.

I have Comcast in Muncie. It normally mirrors what Indianapolis gets.

AlanSaysYo

10-11-07, 09:29 AM

MAX HD

10-11-07, 12:59 PM

Nope, I was thinking I wouldn't get lafayette 18 because of the directional nature of the antenna. If i wasn't pulling good UHF, what could be the problem?

The tuner must be set to cable.Hook the antenna up to an analog tv and see what you get.

ccrider2

10-12-07, 05:49 PM

Anyone know what percentage of WTHR-DT's signal is committed to 13-1? Their HD PQ seems lacking lately. I notice a lot of noise and pixelation (although I'm sure some of that has to do with the network feed, which I understand is on a somewhat unreliable method of transmission). I'm guessing that WeatherPlus garbage is to blame. It's to the point that RTV's lower resolution is looking better than WTHR.

I'm watching the OTA feed on 13.1 right now (news) and the studio picture is great. I've noticed that they are using HD field cameras now, and some of those shots look only fair at best. Seems like the HD cameras need good lighting to produce a decent picture. Last night the network feed looked good to me... still getting the clicks on SD to HD change..... Hope that helps.

Edgar_in_Indy

10-12-07, 09:25 PM

There is no way to turn the antenna. It's 13 feet long and in my attic :-D The WB station isn't as big of a deal as not getting FOX 59. Is there anyone that can suggest something to try to get fox? I get abc, cbs, and nbc VERY clear on analog.

I live on the South side of Indianapolis (Greenwood), and had that same antenna installed in my attic. Like you, I did not have any room to aim that beast in the confines of my attic, but luckily my roof pointed roughly north towards the towers in Indianapolis.

I just installed that same antenna on my brother's roof in Brown County. At first the channels were not coming in very well, 60's - 70's mostly. We took a look at his house using Google Earth, and found that we had misaimed the antenna by about 45 degrees. When we aimed it directly at the towers, the Indianapolis stations all came in at around 95 percent strength. This is in hilly terrain with a lot of trees directly in front of the antenna, approximately 40 miles from the transmitters.

So moral of the story is, proper alignment can make a big difference. You might not get the results you want until you mount it on the roof and aim it properly. Good luck!

goldrich

10-13-07, 08:56 AM

I'm watching the OTA feed on 13.1 right now (news) and the studio picture is great. I've noticed that they are using HD field cameras now, and some of those shots look only fair at best. Seems like the HD cameras need good lighting to produce a decent picture. Last night the network feed looked good to me... still getting the clicks on SD to HD change..... Hope that helps.

A few of us were recently fooled with the new 16x9 field reports. Those field reports are not true HD. The "out of studio material is 16x9 SDI." Here's some general info on SDI........ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Digital_Interface
The station is not quite ready for the HD feed from the field.

Also, I've been told the "clicks" will be gone when the new HD MC is up and running.

Steve

hoosierjerry

10-15-07, 03:57 PM

Been a long time since I posted. I tried searching through the board but did not find an answer. I am moving from Brighthouse to DISH all because of the Big Ten Network. Since WISH-DT is not on DISH, I am going to try and get it OTA.

My question is I believe the tower in up north. I am near 136th and Keystone. Do I have a chance at receiving the signal without an OTA antenna? A couple of years ago I tried OTA HD with an indoor antenna and it did not work with enough stations so I gave up. Brighhouse also came through.

Anyway any idea whether it will work, or do I need an antenna, plus with the VHF and WISH do I need a special antenna. Any other stations I'm missing?

Thanks

nathill

10-15-07, 10:51 PM

hoosierfan227

10-16-07, 07:34 AM

goldrich

10-16-07, 10:51 AM

HoosierJerry;
I would bet pretty good money that you can get WISH-DT with $10 rabbit ears from inside your home. I'm not kidding. You live so close to the towers that overload would be a more likely problem than not enough signal. You're what, less than 10 miles away? This should be a piece of cake.
Wait for Goldrich. He actually knows what he's talking about.
But I'll bet he agrees with me!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Nat! And I do agree with you.

HoosierJerry, it should be quite easy to receive WISH-DT at your distance (approx. 8-9 miles). Just make sure the antenna is designed for VHF reception. VHF wavelengths are longer than those for UHF so the antenna elements need to be longer to match the frequency. For example, the Silver Sensor is designed for UHF only (very short elements), and as a result, is quite bad at receiving VHF frequencies. As of Feb. 17, 2009, WTHR-DT will move from ch. 46 (UHF) to ch. 13 (VHF) so then a VHF antenna might come in handy for this station, too.

Make sure you keep the receipt of any antenna you purchase so it will be easy to return if it's not the right match for your location. Also, keep in mind that sometimes placement of the antenna can be VERY CRITICAL along with the correct aim in relationship to the transmitter tower. At times just moving the antenna a few feet, or a few inches, can make a HUGE difference in the station's signal strength/quality (no multipath interference).

Steve

hoosierjerry

10-16-07, 10:53 AM

Thank you very very much Hoosierfan, you are correct DISH does not have HD local so I cancelled my install.

By the way, with a name like Hoosierfan, what do you plan to do about IU basketball? I have 6 TVs with 4 DVRs. I do not want to buy the directv equipment, and Uverse while available is limited to 4 feeds and one DVR.

I MUST have IU BBall so this is a tough situation!

hoosierfan227

10-16-07, 09:14 PM

Thank you very very much Hoosierfan, you are correct DISH does not have HD local so I canceled my install.

By the way, with a name like Hoosierfan, what do you plan to do about IU basketball? I have 6 TVs with 4 DVRs. I do not want to buy the directv equipment, and Uverse while available is limited to 4 feeds and one DVR.

I MUST have IU BBall so this is a tough situation!

I understand your pain. It will be interesting to see what the cable companies do once people start missing Big Ten basketball.

I am a DirecTV subscriber so I do not have the BTN issue. I have 3 DVR's (1- SD TIVO, 1 HD TIVO, and 1 DirecTV HD DVR) and paid maybe a total of $50 for them. Now I did not get them all at once but over the course of two years. Definitely understand your not wanting to outlay a bunch of money for leased equipment.

My suggestion would to be at least to call D*. They will give you their standard line of $199 per DVR but be firm and keep making them improve their offer. Getting 4 DVR's for a reasonable amount may be tough but can't hurt to call. They will give you the satellite and multi switch at no cost. Remember you will still have the WISH problem but as goldrich said I am sure you can solve that with an antenna.

GO HOOSIERS!!

jpasiczn

10-16-07, 09:52 PM

Hoosier Jerry
I have DISH and live in Broad Ripple.
I found them to have a better set up than Direc TV. Basically, if you get a set of bunny ear antennas in your house, you connect that to your DISH stb. Then, the box gets all the program information and lets you use the DVR functions just as like with a satellite channel. The added benefit is that with the ViP 622/722 STB that DISH has now, the OTA will be a 3rd tuner, meaning that you can record up to 3 things at once: 2 shows from the satellite, and one local HD channel. Also, with Direct, you need to buy the HD DVR for 200 dollars, and with DISH you get a leased receiver.

That may not have made sense, PM me if you want more info about DISH and HD locals in Indy. I did a lot of research and DISH is a better set up for me than Direc TV

John

nathill

10-18-07, 09:17 PM

Why would it take Fox59 until the third inning of tonight's Boston-Cleveland game for the video to appear in 16:9 HD?
Huh?

hoosierfan227

10-18-07, 09:27 PM

Why would it take Fox59 until the third inning of tonight's Boston-Cleveland game for the video to appear in 16:9 HD?
Huh?

Most stations do not have the ability to display the weather information/graphics on their HD/digital signal. Whenever we have a a situation like tonight with severe weather they have to show the analog signal in order to make people aware of the impending weather.

If you have the ability to see channel 59 you will see they are are showing weather radar and weather warning graphics. Channel 59-1 is not showing that information now so we are getting the game in HD again.

goldrich

10-18-07, 09:41 PM

I believe that at 9 p.m. WXIN realized that WRTV, WISH and WTHR were all presenting HD so it dropped the SD feed with weather warnings and switched to HD. If I want to check weather reports, there is always the analog feed for another 16 months.

Steve

nathill

10-18-07, 09:56 PM

Well, ask a simple question and you get the right answers!
I just went to analog 59, and you're right, it's got all sorts of weather graphics messing up the game.
Thanks to both of you.

mhowie

10-18-07, 10:36 PM

Edgar_in_Indy

10-19-07, 08:22 AM

As far as I know, Survivor and Regis & Kelly are still waiting for the HD treatment. That's why I'm not watching Survivor this year.

goldrich

10-19-07, 08:37 AM

Speaking of programs not being broadcast in 16:9, do others see an increase of shows, presumably in HD (like Survivor on CBS this evening), being shown in the old 4:3 aspect ratio? I noticed this AM a number of shows as I flipped through my HD feed (Today Show, Kelly & Regis) which were shrunk to the old normal ratio. Is something going on? I find this on both of my HDTVs, so I have eliminated the TV as being the culprit (assuming my observation has relevance!).

Thanks,

During the summer months I noticed a number of primetime network programs that were not in HD, especially on NBC. But now that the new TV season has begun, it seems that most of the new programs during primetime hours via the OTA networks are in HD. Survivor has never been in HD and I don't believe there are any current plans to make the switch.

Live with Regis and Kelly is a syndicated show and as far as I know it is not available in HD. Except for a few occasional special broadcasts in HD, currently Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune on WTHR and Two and a Half Men on WTTV/WTTK are the only syndicated shows broadcast in HD via our local stations (as far as I know). Plus, WTHR is presenting its in-studio shots in HD during the local newscasts.

I didn't see any early morning TV yesterday, but this morning between 7:50 and 8:15, Good Morning America on WRTV was in HD and Today on WTHR was in HD. Also, WTHR's local newscast at 7:55 was in HD.

Steve

T Heller

10-20-07, 05:04 PM

Here's a 'can you tell me more?' question. I know nothing (technically-speaking) about TiVo, but a neighbor is tossing a model HR10-250, that has failed in some manner. (She declined DTV's offer to swap it out & re-up her service, opting simply to retain her satellite box.)

I don't yet have the HR10-250's power cord nor its remote, but I am wondering if it can be salvaged somehow to work in my OTA environment. (I don't have nor do I want satellite or cable TV service, nor do I have or want a monthly TiVO subscription.)

I've read about people building their own DVR boxes and, with or via MythTV, having the ability to network their DVR box and schedule the programs they want to record over a browser interface.

I presume the basic components are present in the HR10-250, but is it possible to make this TiVo DVR into an 'open-source' DVR? If so, where might I learn more and what should I know before diving into such a project? Also, any comments on compromises in functionality that such effort, even if successful, might inescapably result in? Thx.

digilos

10-20-07, 08:45 PM

Anyone else in the Muncie area?

Starting yesterday, I think it was, I started having issues I cannot tune in to HBO or Showtime's HD channels.

Both say "Please wait", all other channels around them (hd tier area and regular hbo area) are working fine.. getting good SNR on channels around them.

hoosierfan227

10-20-07, 08:48 PM

T Heller

10-21-07, 10:13 AM

Looks like you can use for a OTA Tuner but not a DVR.

But I want the recording/playback functions. I've got a tuner.

jpasiczn

10-21-07, 03:24 PM

goldrich

10-21-07, 04:10 PM

I am really having some huge frustrations lately with OTA locals.
I live in Broad Ripple, no more than 6 miles away from any of the towers for local channels. Yet, I still cannot get consistent signal strength from WRTV, WTHR, or WXIN. WISH 8 comes in great, locked between 98 and 100.
I have this ~ 8 year old 5 foot VHF/UHF antenna connected to my Dish Network ViP622. I just dont understand why for WRTV 6 my signal can go from 97 to 71 to 98 and then lose the signal totally only to come back to 96. It is absolutely impossible to watch these channels with signal loss every 10 seconds or so. Now I havent put the antenna up in the attic yet, but wouldnt it make sense for even a set of 5 dollar bunny ears (which I also have and work even worse than the big antenna) to pick up a good lock on all the Indy locals?

Any suggestions what I should try next? Im going crazy with these HD locals.

Your description sounds like a bad case of multipath, where the very strong signal is bouncing around off of various buildings, trees, etc. and then entering your antenna. These various bounced signals enter your receiver at slightly different times, thus confusing and/or cancelling the main signal. This is when your signal jumps from 97 to 71 to 98 and then maybe to 0. As the leaves are falling off the trees, outdoor conditions for the multipath in your neighborhood are changing, too.

My suggestion is trial and error, I guess. Sometimes just moving your existing equipment can help (finding a "sweet" spot for the signal....less multipath) or trying a different antenna that is much more directional, which increases the strength of the "main" signal and is better at rejecting the "multipath" signals hitting your antenna from various side angles, behind, etc.

Six years ago when I bought my first STB, @ 5.5 miles from the WXIN tower I couldn't even get a signal from WXIN-DT with the CM 4221 (4-bay) due to a terrible case of multipath, but when I switched it with the CM 4228 (8-bay....higher gain, much more directional) I received WXIN-DT just fine.

The above situation was with the antennas mounted on a mast outdoors. My experience with trying to position these antennas in the attic was a mess. I couldn't find a "hot" spot where I could reliably receive all the local stations.

Steve

IndyJeff

10-21-07, 04:20 PM

It makes me wonder how the transition to digital TV will ever work when it becomes law in a year and a few months. How are people, who have no idea about "multipath issues" and other issues that come with digital TV, going to handle this stuff?

TV8

10-21-07, 04:46 PM

Remember 86% of the TVs are hooked up to cable or satellite. The vast majority will do fine. Of the antenna viewers probably only 10% are having trouble.

bwframe

10-21-07, 08:32 PM

Remember 86% of the TVs are hooked up to cable or satellite.

Hi all. I'm just a nosy new guy, but don't you think the % of TVs hooked to cable and sat will go down as people discover OTA HDTV? Combined with the spiraling prices of large screen, yet space saving TVs?

I recently bought a 42" LCD HDTV due to their dropping in price to under a grand and an upcoming move. I was convinced that I was going to upgrade to the twentieth century and subscribe to cable or satellite service when I moved. I hooked up the new TV to the old antenna and well, you know...
I'll be subscribing to cable at the new place, for Internet and phone service.

ccrider2

10-21-07, 09:39 PM

But I want the recording/playback functions. I've got a tuner.

Just thinking ahead.....
Got an old Analog TV in the garage?
That tuner might come in handy in 2009, if OTA is available in your area.

jpasiczn

10-21-07, 10:39 PM

ws6guy

10-23-07, 12:49 PM

I'm in Westfield on the north side and getting ready to purchase a new flat panel with a built in tuner. What do I need to do to pick up HD OTA?

nathill

10-23-07, 01:12 PM

This just makes me feel like the transition really wont be that smooth. I mean honestly, if people have trouble getting a clear signal within 6 miles of the tower, it makes me wonder how people are going to handle it on a large scale once the signal switches to digital.
This is getting rediculous...I cant even watch the ALCS game 7 because my signal cuts out so often. I have moved this antenna all over my house, gotten it as far up as I can, and still no decent signal. I shouldn't have to have a 200 foot tall tower with a $1000 antenna on top of it to get local channels that come from a tower within walking distance.

I think you're the victim of an unsual location with some sort of crazy multipath issues. I'll bet that as soon as you find a more directional UHF antenna, you'll be all set. I would think that you could use the Silver Sensor indoors and get things straightened out. I have received our local Bloomington station with a wire sticking out of the coax input. Not recommending it, but just illustrating that your problem may well be an overload or multipath issue. You won't need to spend a lot of money.
I can understand your frustration. Don't give up. You'll get it straightened out before the world series starts. Patience and constant experimenting will get it done.

HD_in_West_Lafay

10-23-07, 04:24 PM

I'm thrilled to have stumbled upon this forum. I haven't scoured the site yet, but haven't seen too many recent comments from my area of the state. I have installed 2 large outdoor UHF antennas in series with a high gain amp and get WRTV, WTHR, WLFI, WXIN and an ABC from Champaign, IL. All of those appear to be UHF signals except my local WLFI CBS affiliate, but since I'm so close to the transmitter I receive their VHF signal on my UHF antennas. Being blessed ;) with this local CBS station that isn't carried by DTV, everyone in Tippecanoe County is not eligible for local networks via any dish system. Every county around us in every direction can purchase the locals from DTV, just not us. This forces us to use an antenna, however being more than 50 miles from the transmitters in Indy definitely creates issues at times. I've had the antennas installed for HD for just one year now, and I noticed that last year between Nov-Jan I started losing signal strength on my Indy stations. The rest of the year I get pretty consistent signal without drop outs, but those 3 or 4 months in winter seem to be bad. I'll be watching closely this year to see if it's consistent. I know that atmospheric conditions and all sorts of other aspects affect the signal, but I would think winter time would be a improvement as the leaves are gone etc. So, I'd like to hear from any other die hards in the Greater Lafayette area that have gone to great strides to receive HD from the ONLY option available to us in Tippecanoe County.
BTW, our local CBS is also owned by LIN, the same company that owns WISH in Indy. Perhaps when LIN comes to a DTV agreement with WISH they can include WLFI in the package. Wishful thinking I'm sure.

drummerguy

10-24-07, 09:00 AM

goldrich

10-24-07, 10:18 AM

Does anyone know if anything is going on with WTTV-HD? I live in Fishers, and have had almost no problems pulling it in with my Dish 622 and a set of RCA amplified rabbit ears sitting on top of my TV. Then, suddenly, as of last week, I can't pick up the signal at all. There's been no change in my setup, and the antenna is fine -- is picking up all the other local network HD affiliates at the same signal strength. I tried adjusting the antenna, but no dice.

Not sure if it's something with the broadcaster, or maybe it's just the change in weather? There has been lots more cloud cover...

Any insight or advice would be appreciated.

Yesterday I noticed that WTTV-DT's signal strength was weaker than the other two stations with towers next to WTTV in Trafalgar, WIPX-DT-27 (63.1) and WCLJ-DT-56 (42.1). This morning, after reading your post, I checked again and it still appears to be weaker than the other two. I have sent this info to Rick Poling and I will post an update after hearing back from Rick.

Steve

drummerguy

10-24-07, 10:22 AM

goldrich

10-24-07, 10:49 AM

I'm in Westfield on the north side and getting ready to purchase a new flat panel with a built in tuner. What do I need to do to pick up HD OTA?

From most areas around Westfield you can see most of the TV towers on the northwest side of Indy. So the signal strength should not be an issue, as I've been able to receive UHF stations like WTHR-DT, WRTV-DT and WXIN-DT with the little Zenith Silver Sensor indoor UHF antenna in Kokomo @ 36-38 miles distant. The issue that might come up at your location is multipath, which appears to be the main culprit for jpasiczn in the Broad Ripple area, although I doubt that multipath will be that much of an issue in your location. If multipath is an issue, the best way to tame it is with a very directional antenna which increases the gain of the main signal and helps to minimize the multi reflected signals.

Just remember that WISH-DT is on VHF channel 9, and that the Silver Sensor I mentioned above is designed for UHF only, so it tends to be a very poor antenna for this local station. If you are going for an indoor antenna, I'd suggest one of the UHF/VHF combo units. With indoor antennas they are very much affected by their placement and surroundings (keep it away from computers), so you may need to reposition it when changing stations. Outdoor antennas usually provide a stronger and more stable signal but some people don't want to erect an antenna outdoors.

Good luck, enjoy the new HD set and please come back to post your results. We're all trying to learn what does and doesn't work. Thanks.

Steve

goldrich

10-24-07, 01:09 PM

Yesterday I noticed that WTTV-DT's signal strength was weaker than the other two stations with towers next to WTTV in Trafalgar, WIPX-DT-27 (63.1) and WCLJ-DT-56 (42.1). This morning, after reading your post, I checked again and it still appears to be weaker than the other two. I have sent this info to Rick Poling and I will post an update after hearing back from Rick.

Steve

Update from Rick:

"Advise the forum that we are having trouble with our high-power transmitter at Trafalgar. The transmitter manufacturer is having difficulty solving the problem, so it may be a few days before we get back to full power. Viewers north of Marion County may have difficulty receiving WTTV-DT until this problem is resolved."

Rick

drummerguy

10-24-07, 03:43 PM

Update from Rick:

"Advise the forum that we are having trouble with our high-power transmitter at Trafalgar. The transmitter manufacturer is having difficulty solving the problem, so it may be a few days before we get back to full power. Viewers north of Marion County may have difficulty receiving WTTV-DT until this problem is resolved."

Rick

Good to know. Thanks for checking on this.

goldrich

10-24-07, 03:48 PM

I'm thrilled to have stumbled upon this forum. ................ however being more than 50 miles from the transmitters in Indy definitely creates issues at times. I've had the antennas installed for HD for just one year now, and I noticed that last year between Nov-Jan I started losing signal strength on my Indy stations. The rest of the year I get pretty consistent signal without drop outs, but those 3 or 4 months in winter seem to be bad.

Welcome to AVS Forum. Hopefully we'll all learn new information relating to DTV/HDTV by sharing info and experiences.

As a TV DXer (receiving distant/out-of-market stations) for many years, I've found that once a station's signal is beyond line of sight (approx. 40-45 miles for most of the Indy stations), tropospheric conditons are usually not favorable during the winter months. Tropospheric enhancement and ducting are much more common during the warmer months. At your distance from Indy, the height of your antenna will stretch that line of sight distance from the Indy TV towers a few extra miles.
http://www.qsl.net/kd4sai/distance.html

Steve