Originally posted by sabes35
I just got my HD today from Comcast in Pitt. Im watching monday night football right now, and for some reason, the sound is 40% lower than all of the other Dolby 5.1 HD channels. I.e. i can click over to KDKA and Everybody loves Raymond is great sounding, but this damn football game sounds awful. Anyone have any idea or experience something similar?


I get WTAE OTA. Their volume setting is very low compared to KDKA and it is very annoying. Seems like the commercials are run at the proper level though. I crank up the volume for the HD programs and get my ears blasted during commercials.

Originally posted by veinboy
I had the exact same problem viewing yesterday's Steeler game as BigG on my DISH 6000. Great signal strength on KDKA-DT (25.01), over 90%, but no picture at all so I missed the game in hi-def. This is the first time this bug has happened to me also.

I took his suggestion and deleted the KDKA Analog channel and everything is fine again. Thanks BigG !

I've done this fix several times on my 6000. I also have been having problems with KDKA DT but since others here had been complaining about KDKA's signal I hadn't tried that lately. I guess I'll be deleting the analog and digital 2's tonight and readding them.

Does anyone else get WQED DT remapped to channel 80? That's where my 6000 has put it for a month or so.

I also noticed Smallville's unique 1/3rd split screen last week. Later on it was only about 10% of the bottom of the screen that was on top so I watched it anyways. My wife came in as said why are you watching it like that? :rolleyes: (The answer, of course, is that it was in HD)

Anybody else notice WTAE-DT seems to be off the air?

Originally posted by roemerj
Anybody else notice WTAE-DT seems to be off the air?

I sure have!! I used to get a fairly reliable 45-52 signal strength with WTAEDT. The past few weeks, I can't seem to get anything higher than 38, regardless of the atmospheric conditions. As a result, I get a lot of macroblocking, audio drops, picture freezes and at times...no picture at all. I've been thinking of adding an amplifier to my Channelmaster 4228 antenna to try and improve things.

Kevin

I think WTAE-DT is off the air ... I live on Mt. Washington and always get a good lock on WTAE ... but last night there was nothing there. Anyone else???

Originally posted by rpeduzzi
I think WTAE-DT is off the air ... I live on Mt. Washington and always get a good lock on WTAE ... but last night there was nothing there. Anyone else???

yup, it definitely appears to be off the air, i get WTAE-DT over cable and its out for me as well, so its definitely out.

You're welcome vienboy. Yes, I'm finding WTAE is off the air too. Also, QED is remapped again on my 6000 to 80 and KDKA, since I had the problem, has remapped back to 25. I'll be glad when these guys make up their mind where they want to be. 22, 53, 2 and 13 all keep moving around!

I'm glad you said that, BigG, I thought my Sony had done a hard reboot or something.

Latest word from Armstrong regarding Sinclair. This applies to Comcast customers as well I'm afraid. :(


I'm disappointed to tell you, Sinclair Broadcasting has taken a hard line stance to date concerning access to their digital signal. They have not signed a deal anywhere in the country to date. Negotiations are being handled by their corporate office and local officials are not involved. They will shortly start running commercials that "over the air" digital reception is the way to go (ignoring the fact that over 90% of present HD sets don't include a digital tuner). Their present demands foreshadow a difficult retransmission consent process in the future. We will continue trying.

Wow, what a day. I hope all you Pittsburgers are high and dry. Fortunately, I am.

man, the WTAE ABC hd feed isn't even showing up on armstrong now.

thats bad news about FOX Hd.... is anyone in cranberry pulling in fox OTA ? i hate to spend the money for an OTA tuner and a decent antenna, but if its going to be a long time before armstrong adds it i may just to get the world series and the NFL

Originally posted by tipton
man, the WTAE ABC hd feed isn't even showing up on armstrong now.

thats bad news about FOX Hd.... is anyone in cranberry pulling in fox OTA ? i hate to spend the money for an OTA tuner and a decent antenna, but if its going to be a long time before armstrong adds it i may just to get the world series and the NFL

tipton,

I can actually pull in Fox out of Pittsburgh sometimes using an RCA indoor amplified antenna connected to a LG LST-4200A(accepts analog NTSC from cable/OTA, OTA ATSC digital/hd, and CLEAR QAM from cable which the local stations should be transmitted in through your cable Co.). I am all they way up here in New Wilmington, PA, which is about 30-35 miles north of you. I can EASILY get KDKA, and most of the time, WPXI as well.

You should have no problem with using an indoor antenna(an outside 4-bay or 8-bay antenna would obviously be better) to get those stations as I believe they are located more towards the North of Pittsburgh.

And considering how close you are, you could also probably get away a inexpensive OTA Digital/HD receiver. The Sylvania SRZ3000 is on closeout at SEARS stores now. While there may not be many left, if any at all now, you can usually find them for about $120+tax. It is an excellent receiver for the price. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles like other receivers, but no sense in spending alot on something that is going to be used for OTA only.

yeah i will be purchasing the cheapest thing possible that will do the job, as i will only need it for FOX. any recommendations for the least amount i will have to spend to get the job done?

WTAE-DT is back on line OTA! :)

Unfortunately, I think it's too late to find the Sylvania receiver in the Pittsburgh area Sears stores. I felt like doing some driving last week, and I drove around to the Robinson, Monroeville, Century III, South Hills Village, and Ross Park Mall Sears stores, and none of them had it in stock. I see from their website there are a couple Sears Outlet stores in town that I didn't know existed, nor do I know what they carry, but maybe they have it.

Originally posted by STEELERSRULE

And considering how close you are, you could also probably get away a inexpensive OTA Digital/HD receiver. The Sylvania SRZ3000 is on closeout at SEARS stores now. While there may not be many left, if any at all now, you can usually find them for about $120+tax. It is an excellent receiver for the price. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles like other receivers, but no sense in spending alot on something that is going to be used for OTA only. [/B]

tipton,

Another STB to consider is the Zenith HV420 available at Circuit City either on closeout or open box for around the same price as the Sylvania SRZ3000.

I personally didn't particularly care for it. I had the Zenith HV420, the LG LST-3510A STB/DVD player, the Sylvania SRZ3000, and the LG LST-4200A.

Out of those four I rated the Zenith the worst of the bunch, with the LG LST-4200A being the best(it was just released). Along with the LG, the Sylvania was my second favorite and I kept that as well.

Others have vehometly disagreed with my assessment, but it is just an opinion.

Considering your situation, I would strongly consider this unit, BUT ONLY because of availabilty. You can be pretty sure to find them at any Circuit City store, especially down near Monroeville, or Robinson. Consider the one at the Beaver Valley mall as well off of RT.60 North, but that may be a hike for you.

If you find the Sylvania, grab it! But if you need a cheap STB, this Zenith would be your next best option.

Here is the link to the discussion we had in the HDTV HARDWARE FORUM:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=432788

Later

bump

Agtiny,

Since you live here in Cranberry and I assume you have Armstrong, assuming you have the Motorola 6208 cable box, do you find it loud or noisy? I just got my HD setup, and the fan or hard drive noise on this unit is loud. The TV and Directv hard drive/fans are much quieter. Is it worth looking into another box or is this typical.

Also, does anyone know when the next Steelers HD game will be?

GNo, yeah the fan noise is a bit annoying. The word on the 6412 box is the noise has been lessened a bit, so we won't have to put up with it for too much longer. I have mine in an enclosed glass case now, but when it was just sitting out it was really loud.

Originally posted by GNo

Also, does anyone know when the next Steelers HD game will be?

In about 30 minutes. :) I wasn't expecting to see today's game in HD, but Ken's sticky thread says it is!

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll be sure to try and get an updated receiver once Armstrong has them available.

Yes, it does in fact appear that today's game is in HD. Thanks for the help.

you can always see which CBS games are in HD here:

http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl


Originally posted by agtiny
In about 30 minutes. :) I wasn't expecting to see today's game in HD, but Ken's sticky thread says it is!

man, what is up with armstrong.... are they going to ever add WTAE HD again? i hope it gets fixed for monday night football tonight...

I'll send them an email and see what's up.

thanks.... hopefully you can find out more than me, i called today and customer service was clueless about the issue.

I'm new to HD and wondering why WPXI-HD isn't available on Comcast in the City of Pittsburgh. Any thoughts?

104 is back in the guide on Armstrong, but shows the "One Moment Please" message. Hopefully it'll be back online by gametime.

No HD, no 5.1. Anyone else having this problem?

Originally posted by agtiny
I'll send them an email and see what's up.

I think something going on with WTAE-DT source. The OTA has been up and down (mostly down) for the last week or so. It was down during MNF so no HD.

From Armstrong:
Our engineers tell me WTAE's digital signal remains off. WTAE tells us they're going to be off for a couple of days. If you can confirm they are on, let me know.

Originally posted by ress
I'm new to HD and wondering why WPXI-HD isn't available on Comcast in the City of Pittsburgh. Any thoughts?

It's my understanding that WPXI (NBC) is owned by Cox Communications*, who has not reached an agreement with Comcast for carriage of the digital channels of their stations.

Similar to the Sinclair-owned WPGH (Fox) situation. I'm more upset about not having Fox (NFL, MLB, 24, etc.). NBC has somewhat limited HD content that I'm interested in anyway at this point.

We really need to get to the point where all the local digitals are available on every cable system.

*EDIT: I just checked on that, and I think I'm wrong. Cox Communications is a cable company. It looks like WPXI is owned by Cox Enterprises (http://www.coxenterprises.com/corp/operating_companies/television.htm?Vermenu=operatingcompanies&Hormenu=television). I think Cox Enterprises may own Cox Communications too. But the rest of what I said above is still valid. No Cox/Comcast agreement. You may want to see this post in another thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4220946#post4220946).

Anyone know anything about UPN? Antennaweb says they are awaitin FCC aproval but it has been that way for years. Did someone lose the paperwork?

111 (WPXI) has disappeared for me on Armstrong as well now (along w/ WTAE)... Anyone else notice this? I called Armstrong and they're sending someone out to see what's up. They said no one else had reported problems with 111.

Thanks,
Parag

It's out for me too. You'd think their tech support people could have some way of knowing if a channel was completely out instead of waiting for people to report it.

yup, 111 was definitely out tonight. however, both 111 and 104 are finally back on tonight.

sucks i missed LOST in HD tonight...

WTAE-DT was being broadcast OTA last night during LOST. Was able watch in HD. Hopefully WTAE-DT will stay up now.

Fox was also tweaking their DT signal last night ~8:30PM. Saw aspect ratio lines overlayed on their HD programming several times. My OTA signal meter a bit higher also. Hoping they boosted power a bit and not atmospheric.

Is it just my small area of the planet, or do all of you share my never-ending "never in sync" KDKA HD? I ask for I continue to look for a fix and have written many letters of complaint to KDKA (Mark Itzi) but nothing comes of it. Is Comcast to blame?

Is it in sync OTA, on Armstrong? It is my favorite network and looks like a dubbed Japanese movie.

I first noticed the lag during the first two Steeler games (also a Comcast prisoner, ahem, subscriber). I don't recall this being a problem a few months ago.

Last week I was tinkering (unsuccessfully) with an OTA receiver to get Fox and NBC HD and didn't see any sync problems on KDKA-DT's primetime lineup via the OTA box. However, I have only experienced the sync problem with live sports broadcasts through the cable - so maybe the problem is CBS sports? I know the Steelers-Ravens week 2 game didn't have audio commentary for almost the entire 1st half. Are the commercials out of sync also? I thought the commercials were OK during the games...at least better anyway.

By the way isn't it perfect irony that the only local HD channels I can get OTA with an indoor antenna are the same ones I get through Comcast?
Just my luck. Let's go Comcast Pittsburgh, the Super Bowl is on Fox this year!!

I know it is not the equipment, but the signal itself. I have ADELPHIA up here near New Castle, PA and I see the out of sync audio on KDKA more than any other channel.

Even MNF on ABC(WTAE out of the burgh) doen't experience this problem all that often(sometimes though).

I think it is either CBS, KDKA, or that since it is bouncing off of satellites to the cable station, then to your STB, then to your tv, the technology isn't up to snuff just yet.

But I don't think it is the equipment in your living room(especially the newer stuff made this year 2004) as it is more the station(KDKA) or the broadcaster(CBS) that has the problem.

I experience frequent audio sync problems on all HD content. It seems that HDTV regularly bungled between source and viewer. The chain still has too many week points to work all the time... or even most of the time for this viewer.

Even non-video-philes comment on the problem without any coaxing. HDTV, still not ready for the masses.

Arrrr

I'm pretty sure this is a KDKA-DT issue. I definitely see it on Comcast. Then I was at a friend's house in Wilkins Township the other day and he had the exact same problem via Adelphia cable. So I think we can rule out the individual cable companies as the problem source. I don't have OTA to check that. Also, it isn't just during the football games. On Sunday night it was there on the primetime lineup as well, and I've seen it on the local KDKA news broadcast.

I'm very sensitive to lip-sync problems and find it too distracting to watch very long when it happens. Fortunately, it's not really a problem during football because you don't see the announcers too often and the delay is so slight you don't notice.

What's the e-mail contact for the right person at KDKA? Maybe if enough of us complain repeatedly they will actually try to fix it.

Yes, it's a KDKA or CBS issue, I've seen it on everything on KDKA since the first Steelers HD game.

Anyone getting KDKA-DT OTA tonight? Not receiving it here (normally have a strong signal). Called KDKA and they insist everything is fine!???

Still no OTA signal for KDKA-DT!

I too am experiencing audio dropouts for KDKA-DT. Do not hear audio dropouts for anyother OTA signal. Fortunately, because KDKA is CBS owned I am able to recieve CBS HD feed from NY on DirecTv which exhibits no audio dropouts. Therefore, I believe audio problem with KDKA. Hopefully the OTA digital signal down correcting issue.

Dang, tonight is a big CBS night with back to back CSI's, and kdka-dt is still out! Anyone know whats going on with them?

Let's hope they are installing the new and improved audio/video synchronization machine. :D

Originally posted by roemerj
WTAE-DT was being broadcast OTA last night during LOST. Was able watch in HD. Hopefully WTAE-DT will stay up now.

Fox was also tweaking their DT signal last night ~8:30PM. Saw aspect ratio lines overlayed on their HD programming several times. My OTA signal meter a bit higher also. Hoping they boosted power a bit and not atmospheric.

Lost is being rebroadcast on Saturday, both episodes, I think at 8pm.

--Ray

Talked with KDKA yesterday - they're doing an upgrade that will take their digital transmitter to its fully licensed power (I gather they had been at 75%). From what I was told, the upgrade (which was mandated by the FCC) may be finished sometime today (Thurs 9/30), but more likely on Friday. At least that's what they're hoping. They're also concerned about and working on their audio ... but this outage seems to only involve a transmitter upgrade. Also, it's good to see HD on all the local stations (except UPN). It's been a long time in coming :)

That is excellent news! I should be able to pick up KDKA now even under the worst weather conditions.

Now... if only WTAE would up their power, I might be able to register that they're actually broadcasting.

Are any other pgh stations upgrading soon?

After WTAE come back on the air last week. I was receiving them at a whopping 73 signal strength. Last night they were coming in at 24, which is not strong enough for me to lock onto.

I've got my Hipix set to record Lost on Saturday...hope I'll have a stronger signal then.

I have yet to be able to see an HD Monday night football game this season, after no problems at all last year. Anyone know what WTAE has been doing?

Kevin

I've got a question for yinz... How do you measure the signal strength? Every now and then, I get a drop out, but I'm curious to know whether or not it's due poor signaling or multi-path or what.

Originally posted by kkc
After WTAE come back on the air last week. I was receiving them at a whopping 73 signal strength. Last night they were coming in at 24, which is not strong enough for me to lock onto.

I've got my Hipix set to record Lost on Saturday...hope I'll have a stronger signal then.

I have yet to be able to see an HD Monday night football game this season, after no problems at all last year. Anyone know what WTAE has been doing?

Kevin

That's good news about KDKA. I have a Adelphia and wasn't receiving ANYTHING on the KDKA digital Channel.

kkc,

Where do you live in the Burgh. If you are on the North Side of the City you MIGHT(important word here is might) be able to pick up WYTV(ABC) out of Youngstown, OH. I believe their digital station is 36 OTA remapped to 33-1. They operate at a pretty substantial power level(not as high as KDKA mind you, BUT a HELL OF ALOT HIGHER than WTAE, I can assure you of that.)

If you are using an outdoor antenna I can't see why you wouldn't be able to get it.

Also, a question.

Adelphia up here(NEW CASTLE and SHARON PA) only offer, as far as I can tell KDKA(CBS), WTAE(ABC), and WPXI(NBC) on their local HD stuff. No WB, UPN, or even PBS. Is this the norm for Adelphia all over? Even down near the Burgh? Wexford? Cranberry?

Up here this is the only choice as far as cable companies are concerned. It is either this or satellite.

Are there any future additions to Adelphia as far a local OTA HD/digital stations are concerned?

Anyone know when WB will start doing HD? I know they have 2 digital subchannels up, but the HD WB shows are still shown 4:3 on both subchannels.

STEELERSRULE,

I live about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, on top of the Chestnut Ridge, so I think that Youngstown might be a stretch to pull in a good signal. Too bad, I wish WTAE would get the problem fixed. There is always hope that DirectTV will add ABC HD to their lineup, but WTAE would probably not grant any waivers.

Jeraden,

Smallville was shown in HD last night on 22-1(WB). I think that the engineers are not reliable in "flipping the switch" from the standard feed to the HD feed...maybe they think that no one is watching.

Kevin

Ah, thats good to hear. I didn't check smallville last night, I just ended up recording it instead. I must have just tuned in during a glitchy show previously.

Noticed KDDA-DT OTA was on for presidential debate. A few video freezes but audio dropouts seemed to be fixed.

How many QED channels are currently active? my voom receiver lists 13-1 13-2 13-3 13-4, but I can only receive 13-2 which appears to be pbs hd. Is that all thats currently active? or am I missing out?

after a bit of searching locally with no luck, i finally purchased a used sylvania hd tuner from ebay for $75. unfortunately, there is no remote control included. however, i am able to easily get wpgh (fox), kdka (cbs), wpxi (nbc), and pbs HD channels with an rca indoor amplified antenna.

i have not been able to manually program any remote i have to control this tuner and i went out to wal mart tonight and bought the most expensive one for all remote they have but there are no codes for this sylvania tuner... searching for the code hasn't worked either.

anyways, if i ever get a remote to work can i manually select a channel i want to attempt to tune in with the remote? is there any chance to picking up hd channels from youngstown, etc.... i was hoping to maybe get more choice for nfl. anyone living in cranberry pulling in any additional OTA HD channels ?

hell, i was only buying this to get fox hd so i guess i should be happy that it comes in at almost full strength, in fact it comes in stronger than any other channel.

tipton,

I answered your question with regards to the remote in the HARDWARE forum to the best of my ability. I hope it helps.

I'm guessing you live in Cranberry by your post(it would be easier if you put your location in your info on your posts. Trust me, none of us are coming to see you ;) )

As far as Ytown, OH stations they do not operate at the power level that KDKA, WPGH, or WPXI operate at.

With that being said, you might want to get an outdoor UHF antenna, that can be pointed in two directions. No pre-amp or anything should be neccessary. You live so close to the North side stations it is not neccessary, and should be close enough to the Ytown stations(no further than 50 miles would be my guess) that you should get them without the amp too. I believe(I live up near New Wilmington, PA by the way) that WYTV/ABC out of Youngstown operates at a higher power than the other local stations, which would be great for Monday Night Football for you.

I am assuming you can't get WTAE/ABC out of the Burgh. I am surprised that you can't get that one, or even the WB, or UPN out of the Burgh, but they are on the other side of Town, and are operating a low power I think.

I have an LG LST-4200A and can get KDKA, and sometimes WPGH/WPXI with an amplified RCA indoor antenna as well. KDKA is constant(got KDKA on my SRZ3000 when it was connected, but NEVER got WPGH/or WPXI on the indoor antenna) but WPGH/and WPXI sometimes breakup. I'm guessing it will get better when the leaves(obstruction) fall off the trees by the end of next month, but an outdoor antenna will ALWAYS be BETTER in any situation, especially if it is mounted high. Amps or no amps are debateable and are different for everyone.

Later

P.S. YES you can enter in certain channels with the remote to locate certain channels.

The Ytown, OH digital channels are as follows:

1. WYTV/ABC Frequency assignment: 36 or 36-1 remapped to 33-1.

2. WFMJ/NBC Frequency Assignment: 20 or 20-1 remapped to 21-1. There is now a 21-2 subchannel that has a screen that says "WBCB coming soon". God only knows when that will be, but this might be an alternative if you can't get the WB out of the Burgh. By the way this would be the SD(480i) channel and not the HD one like in the Burgh.

3. WNEO/PBS Frequency Assignment: 46 or 46-1 mapped to 46-1. Out of ALLIANCE, OH which may be too far to get for you, but who knows.

4. WKBN/CBS Frequency Assignment: 41 or 41-1 mapped to 41-1. This damn channel is still waiting for a permit, and has been waiting for over a year and half now. Who the hell knows when they will be up an running. This would be great for football, switching between all the channels watching the games in digital/or HD. I hope someone from WKBN reads this and tells people to get off their asses and get this thing up and running. Enough time has gone by already. GET MOVING!!!

Armstrong just added channel 121, but it's still coming up as "Not Authorized" for me. We don't have a local channel 21, so I'm not sure what this is. I would assume they'd continue to put non-local HD channels in the 180/190 range. I sent them an email to see what's up.

Well smallville wasn't in HD again tonight, at least not the first 10 minutes, I gave up after that and just tivo'd it instead.

Steelersrule, thank you so much for the reply and information.

looks like the johnstown channels aren't worth trying to get for me since i'm only intersted in getting more football and their cbs affiliate isn't broadcasting yet as you informed me... and i can get all the local HD channels aside from fox via the armstrong HD package, and it looks like armstrong will be adding a new channel soon as 121 is showing up tonight.... will be funny if it turns out to be fox hd since i just bought this tuner last week to get fox.

Fox should be 153 if they follow their numbering pattern. I don't expect to see Fox or WB any time soon, though. :( 121 has to be some kind of error, it just doesn't fit, so I'm not getting my hopes up. I'd really like to see something like Discovery HD though. We should know tomorrow what the deal is.

Agtiny wrote:

"Fox should be 153 if they follow their numbering pattern. I don't expect to see Fox or WB any time soon, though. 121 has to be some kind of error, it just doesn't fit, so I'm not getting my hopes up. I'd really like to see something like Discovery HD though. We should know tomorrow what the deal is."

Wealth TV, wtf is Wealth TV? With Fox, WB, Discovery and TNT out there is HD, we get Wealth TV? Nice:confused:

Hmm, Wealth TV is apparently an HD channel though. Looks pretty lame, but I'm sure it was very low-cost for them to add it.

http://www.panamsat.com/news/pressview.asp?article=1341

About Wealth TV
Herring Broadcasting, Inc. is launching the “Wealth TV” network on June 1, 2004. Wealth TV is a lifestyles and entertainment network designed to have broad appeal, providing a behind the scenes look into how the wealthy achieved and enjoy their success. Wealth TV is launching numerous new programs in true high definition (HD) format. Visit Wealth TV at www.wealthtv.net.

FYI per TitanTV the 10/17 Steelers vs. Cowboys game will be in HD on CBS!!

Just an FYI....here's the CBS NFL TV schedule - they usually list out the HD games for the next 3 weeks.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl

Armstrong is indeed adding Wealth TV as well as TNT-HD, both available at no extra charge. TNT will be channel 120 and Wealth will be 121, and both should be on by tomorrow at the latest. I asked about other chanenls and got "Still talking to Bravo and Discovery, but expect more additions in the coming months."

Agtiny, thanks so much for the info. do you happen to have any updates on the dual tuners ?

Hey guys, does anyone know why I am having so much trouble getting WTAE-DT OTA?

I'm running a Channel Master 4228 on my roof and I can pick up CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, and WB all at about 90% or better. But, my signal strength for WTAE just bounces back and forth from about 0-10 to 90-100 no matter how I position the antenna. WTAE is only about a 15 degree difference from the other stations and it is even twice as close.

WPGH-DT 53.1 FOX PITTSBURGH PA 317° 32.4
WCWB-DT 22.1 WB PITTSBURGH PA 317° 32.4
KDKA-DT 2.1 CBS PITTSBURGH PA 316° 32.9
WQED-DT 13.1 PBS PITTSBURGH PA 315° 28.7
WPXI-DT 11.1 NBC PITTSBURGH PA 314° 31.1
WTAE-DT 4.1 ABC PITTSBURGH PA 298° 15.8

Why does this signal bounce so erradically? Am I going to need a preamp to get this channel?

tipton: No update, sorry.

spengo: WTAE-DT broadcasts at very low power. You have to get very lucky to get it. A preamp was the solution for me several years ago when I was getting it OTA in Cranberry. Try one from Radio Shack, you can always take it back if it doesn't work.

I just noticed the substantial Pittsburgh - Comcast thread, so I'm changing this thread from a general HDTV thread to exclusively OTA thread. It pretty much seems that way anyway, but from here on out, try to post your comments in the appropriate Pittsburgh thread.

Not to be disrespectful, but where should those of us who are Pittsburgh - Armstrong cable subscribers post. This forum has been a convenient place for us to gather.

Cpanther95,

I have to agree with GNo on this as well.

Again, no disrespect, but if it isn't broke, don't try to fix it.

Originally posted by CPanther95
I just noticed the substantial Pittsburgh - Comcast thread, so I'm changing this thread from a general HDTV thread to exclusively OTA thread. It pretty much seems that way anyway, but from here on out, try to post your comments in the appropriate Pittsburgh thread.

I'm having trouble finding the "Pittsburgh - Comcast" thread you mention using both the site search and going to the "AVS List of all OFFICIAL DISCUSSION THREADS." Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi guys, I'm new to the board and I was wondering if anyone knows if Adelphia in our area plans on adding FOX in HD in the near future? thanks.

Not likely, cable won't be adding Fox or WB any time soon. See recent posts in Sinclair HDTV List (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=444257) for more info.

Originally posted by ress
I'm having trouble finding the "Pittsburgh - Comcast" thread you mention using both the site search and going to the "AVS List of all OFFICIAL DISCUSSION THREADS." Any help would be much appreciated.

Try this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=283087&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)

mds

Hi CPanther,

This has been the most usefull thread for me, since I have Armstrong Cable and not Comcast. I don't have to go through tons of post to find information not specific to Comcast.

Please let us continue to get Armstrong and OTA in this thread.
Thanks,
Bill

Just thought I'd chime in here too.

Wealth TV is an odd addition. I just noticed it about a week ago, but they had a show on the history of Porsche which was interesting.

I have to say once we get discovery and bravo we will be the cutting edge of hdtv.

doug

Yeah Wealth is strange... some of the shows look like SD to me, or just really poor quality HD. I haven't watched it much though to be honest.

No CBS college game in HD on Saturday. Is their a number to call for the engineering for KDKA to turn it on?

Status of Armstrong south of the burg (after 3 mos of service)
channels available are KDKA, WTAE, WPXI, WQED, HBO, MAX, SHOW, HDNET MOVIES, and ESPNHD.

The quality and reliability have been mixed. Most reliable, HBO and CineMAX. HDNET and HDNET MOVIES go down for long periods. Armstrong says this is hardware in the Connellsville office that has to be rebooted regularly and they are working with Motorola for a solution. No date estimate. They advised me to call when HDNET drops out so they can page a tech to reboot the equipment

KDKA and WTAE have been out on occasion. I dont pay enough attention to WPXI or WQED to comment on them.

I emailed Armstrong but received no reply on plans (if any) to expand the HD offerings.

Did you get the 2 new channels they just added: TNT-HD and Wealth? I assumed they had the same channels in all locations.

Not yet. Armstrong Connellsville office has only had HD since July 2004. I switched over from E* as soon as they had it..already had their broadband. I got my PVR the second week they were hooking them up.

KDKA question..during the Steeler/Cowboys, the digital audio was silent during commercials or any time KDKA switched from the game feed. But the game feed audio came through fine. Is this a problem with the MOTO 620X box, KDKAs problem, or my error. The regular analog audio from the MOTO box was normal at all times.

Ah, I see. I'm sure you'll get the new channels soon. I skipped most of those commercials, but those I did see were fine.

Hello!

Newbie to HD wondering if I can get OTA broadcasts from Pittsburgh to where I live near Uniontown, about 30-40 miles away. There isn't any cable here, so I have regular DirectTV. I'm trying to determine whether I can get by without getting DirectTV HD right away. Only a few analog channels are receivable here OTA, and they are horrid. Does HD OTA have the same range?

At this distance I'm assuming an indoor antenna won't suffice, correct? I'm mostly interested in getting Steeler games OTA for now. I plan on eventually getting the Direct HD w/NFL package. Thanks.

Originally posted by Heinz Werner
Hello!

Newbie to HD wondering if I can get OTA broadcasts from Pittsburgh to where I live near Uniontown, about 30-40 miles away. There isn't any cable here, so I have regular DirectTV. I'm trying to determine whether I can get by without getting DirectTV HD right away. Only a few analog channels are receivable here OTA, and they are horrid. Does HD OTA have the same range?

At this distance I'm assuming an indoor antenna won't suffice, correct? I'm mostly interested in getting Steeler games OTA for now. I plan on eventually getting the Direct HD w/NFL package. Thanks.

check www.antennaweb.com you can type your address and zip code in there to get some idea as to what you can get.

like you i never really understood how digital/hd channels could come in well OTA, especially since analog channels barely come in. however, the HD channels come in perfect OTA its completely different. i live in cranberry and i can get ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX at full signal strength with an indoor rca aplified antenna bought at wal mart from all the broadcasting pittsburgh channels. the only OTA channel i can't seem to get in is the WB (can anyone get in their signal?)

i have been getting all the local HD channels via armstrong cable and had bought a tuner just to get FOX. however, now that i can get all the local HD channels in i am also switching to directv just for the sunday ticket package. right now there is a retailer on ebay selling the HDtivo and dish for new directv subscribers for an amazing price, plus you get 4 months of programming free when signing up for sunday ticket.... that made it worth it to me.

Originally posted by Heinz Werner
Hello!

Newbie to HD wondering if I can get OTA broadcasts from Pittsburgh to where I live near Uniontown, about 30-40 miles away. There isn't any cable here, so I have regular DirectTV. I'm trying to determine whether I can get by without getting DirectTV HD right away. Only a few analog channels are receivable here OTA, and they are horrid. Does HD OTA have the same range?

At this distance I'm assuming an indoor antenna won't suffice, correct? I'm mostly interested in getting Steeler games OTA for now. I plan on eventually getting the Direct HD w/NFL package. Thanks.

Hi there.

I live in Dunbar and receive NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and PBS HD channels from PGH with a small uhf antenna and inline amp. I have a Sony HD Sat box that gets both Directv and OTA HD. Check out http://www.antennaweb.org. They are pretty much spot on as far as antenna requirements go...at least in my experience.

just wondering.... is anyone in the pittsburgh area able to get the WB's hd channel via OTA ?

I can receive it. I live in the Dormont area of Pittsburgh and it comes in clearly for me.

Thanks for the help (and link) guys.

Since mprinkey, who's about 20 minutes away from where I live, gets all those stations OTA I'll try an amplified indoor antenna first.

One more thing, a stupid question probably, but I'll ask anyway: Are all the Steeler games broadcast OTA in HD? I hope this is the case 'cause I really don't want to fork out another grand right now for DirectTV's HD-PVR as I just bought my first HDTV (Hit 51S715).

Thanks again.

No, not all Steeler games are in HD. Steelers are usually on CBS, who picks 3 games to do in HD each week. They don't decide on which until a week or two ahead of time. Here is the schedule:

http://cbs.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl

As shown, this week vs. the Pats will be HD.

I believe that Fox is doing most of their NFL games in HD, but I don't have OTA capability right now and it isn't on cable -- thanks a lot *&%#$ Sinclair Broadcasting -- so I don't get it ). So next week vs. Eagles should be HD OTA.

Originally posted by tipton
check www.antennaweb.com you can type your address and zip code in there to get some idea as to what you can get.

like you i never really understood how digital/hd channels could come in well OTA, especially since analog channels barely come in. however, the HD channels come in perfect OTA its completely different. i live in cranberry and i can get ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX at full signal strength with an indoor rca aplified antenna bought at wal mart from all the broadcasting pittsburgh channels. the only OTA channel i can't seem to get in is the WB (can anyone get in their signal?)

i have been getting all the local HD channels via armstrong cable and had bought a tuner just to get FOX. however, now that i can get all the local HD channels in i am also switching to directv just for the sunday ticket package. right now there is a retailer on ebay selling the HDtivo and dish for new directv subscribers for an amazing price, plus you get 4 months of programming free when signing up for sunday ticket.... that made it worth it to me.

Tipton,

I too live in Cranberry (it seems a lot of us on this thread do), and I was wondering, what model indoor antenna do you have and amp also, what receiver. I would like to mimic your setup to see if it works for me. (I live near the Traco window plant).

Originally posted by GNo
Tipton,

I too live in Cranberry (it seems a lot of us on this thread do), and I was wondering, what model indoor antenna do you have and amp also, what receiver. I would like to mimic your setup to see if it works for me. (I live near the Traco window plant).


i am using the sylvania srz3000 (i believe that is the number, its the only digital tuner sylvania makes i'm pretty sure) tuner and an rca amplified indoor antenna (i can't remember the number, but its sold at wal mart for about $30). if you are interested in the sylvania tuner i would check ebay, i ended up getting it for about $75.

when i first used this tuner i got everything but the wb and abc. however, after moving the antenna to the top of my two story townhouse and scanning channels again i got abc to come in. i brought the antenna back downstairs and found a spot where abc still comes in and the antenna is only a few feet away from my tv. where this antenna is placed now i get cbs, abc, nbc, and pbs at 95 signal stength and abc comes in at 85-90 signal strength and i never have to move the antenna at all, everything comes in perfectly how it is set.

my hd tivo arrives tomorrow and i have read that the OTA tuner isn't as good so i am hoping i still get all these channels after the changeover from armstrong to directv. since the OTA hd channels come in at such a great power it was an easy decision to make the switch to directv with their 4 months of programming free and the sunday ticket package... and with the hd tivo (which for a new customer i got for $300 less than the SRLP) i can record all the OTA hd channels, and since it doesn't look like FOX will be added to armstrong any time soon this was another point in directv's advantage.

oh, i live just off of haine school road i wouldn't think our locations are that different so i think you should be able to get all the same channels i do with that equipment.

now if i could just get the WB OTA, i would love to record Lord of the Rings in HD in Nov.

Hi all. Thought I'd jump in here...
I live in the Greensburg area. Does anyone else live around here that has gotten the OTA to work? If so, which channels and how well? I've tried on the Terk antennas on the roof and got 2 things: Jack and S$@#. THis was a non amplified antenna though. Round 2 will include a BFA (big f'in antenna) and an Amp.

Thanks in advance!

Originally posted by llama
Hi all. Thought I'd jump in here...
I live in the Greensburg area. Does anyone else live around here that has gotten the OTA to work? If so, which channels and how well? ...

Ilama,

I live in Cherry Creek across from Westmoreland Comunity College. I get all OTA except WB, 40.1. FOX a little shaky at times. I have large Radio Shack antennae in attic. I run the antennae lead into a ChannelPlus allinone distribution amp. I am fortunate live on west side of hill so not much blocking westward line of sight and most of the stations line up so don't have to move antennae.

Someday going to move antennae outdoors to improve reception.

I have SONY SATHD300 in case your curious.

Jim

Tipton,

Thanks for the info. You and I sound like we are in the same decision mode. I am a current D* subscriber and I have added Armstrong to get locals. I would like to get an HDTivo (I already have 3 SDTivos) for D*, but I don't want to lose my locals. I know we can get CBS through D* since it's an O&O, but I would like to try and keep ABC, NBC and PBS. Let me know how your HDTivo reception is and I may get one myself. I'll check Walmart for the RCA antenna. My wife would never let me put up an outdoor antenna, but I could put one in the attic.

roemerj, thanks for the reply. These are the digital stations?

Unfortunatly, I live over by Lynch Field in a sorta vally.. I just my mileage may vary (but at least now I know it's possiable)

thxs again.

Today's
TV Q&A in the Post-Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04302/402732.stm) has a question about WNPA:Is WNPA ever going digital? I would dearly love to see "Star Trek: Enterprise" in hi-def. After watching every other Pittsburgh station go hi-def, I'm wondering if their management is asleep at the wheel.

-- Robert Heilbronner, Forest Hills

No one is sleeping at WNPA, but the same may not be true of the Federal Communications Commission.

WNPA general manager Chris Pike said it all dates to when WNPA was moved from the Johnstown to Pittsburgh market in 1997. Digital channel positions had already been allocated. WNPA was to be on digital Channel 30, which would be fine in the Johnstown market, but in Pittsburgh, digital Channel 30 would come into conflict with a digital channel in an adjacent market.

Before Pike's arrival earlier this year, the station had petitioned the FCC to change the digital channel allocation for WNPA to Channel 49. Pike said WNPA continues to await the FCC's approval. Once it comes through, Pike said, WNPA will begin moving toward broadcasting in digital.

Originally posted by mprinkey
Hi there.

I live in Dunbar and receive NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and PBS HD channels from PGH with a small uhf antenna and inline amp. I have a Sony HD Sat box that gets both Directv and OTA HD.

I live in Connellsville but never tried an antenna because when I enter my address into antennaweb.org it shows I can't receive any HD channels. I get the local HD channels from Armstrong cable but also have an HDTV tivo from DTV. I called Direct TV but was told I can only get CBSHD. If I could get ABC, NBC ad Fox OTA, I would drop Armstrong HD.

Does antennaweb.org list any HD channels for your address?

Originally posted by gmfbts
I live in Connellsville but never tried an antenna because when I enter my address into antennaweb.org it shows I can't receive any HD channels. I get the local HD channels from Armstrong cable but also have an HDTV tivo from DTV. I called Direct TV but was told I can only get CBSHD. If I could get ABC, NBC ad Fox OTA, I would drop Armstrong HD.

Does antennaweb.org list any HD channels for your address?

I was wondering the same thing. Antennaweb showed only one station for me as well, Morgantown's PBS station. After reading mprinkey's post I believe I'll try an amplified indoor antenna first, and if that doesn't work get an outside one.

I'm about 30-40 miles from the 'burgh stations. Anyone think I'm wasting my time and should just go ahead and get the outdoor antenna? I can't set up my new TV until Saturday afternoon at the earliest , and that means I've got until oh, 4 o'clock or so on Sunday ;), to have the set connected, tweaked, and an antenna up and working. Sure would hate to have to settle for SD knowing this important game is being broadcast in HD! :D

This Sunday's game will be my first Steeler game on the new set. Luckily it's in HD, so I'd really hate to miss that opportunity because of something as simple a ****** antenna or worse, the wrong type! Does CBSHD have a strong signal?

Originally posted by Heinz Werner
I was wondering the same thing. Antennaweb showed only one station for me as well, Morgantown's PBS station. After reading mprinkey's post I believe I'll try an amplified indoor antenna first, and if that doesn't work get an outside one.

I'm about 30-40 miles from the 'burgh stations. Anyone think I'm wasting my time and should just go ahead and get the outdoor antenna? I can't set up my new TV until Saturday afternoon at the earliest , and that means I've got until oh, 4 o'clock or so on Sunday ;), to have the set connected, tweaked, and an antenna up and working. Sure would hate to have to settle for SD knowing this important game is being broadcast in HD! :D

This Sunday's game will be my first Steeler game on the new set. Luckily it's in HD, so I'd really hate to miss that opportunity because of something as simple a ****** antenna or worse, the wrong type! Does CBSHD have a strong signal?


i live in cranberry and antennaweb tells me that i can't get abc.... however i can pull it in at 90 signal strength with an amplified indoor rca antenna purchased at wal mart. alot of it has to do with the tuner i think. i would suggest going in purchasing an indoor antenna for around $30 and if it doesn't work just take it back... hell, wal mart takes anything back let them be your guinea pig because to get a decent outdoor antenna most likely you will have to order it online and it won't be here before sunday.

on another note, how much does it suck that trick or treat (at least in cranberry) falls at 6pm sunday which will most likely be doing the most tense parts of the pats/steelers game, which is only the biggest game we've had in years. looks like i'll be pulling the candy in a bowl please take one option :D

tipton,

Is this the antenna you are using from Walmart?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2153142&cat=4536&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A172479%3A3996%3A4536

Hmm, I thought as much. Thanks tipton..

Radio Shack told me I could get indoor antenna first, if it doesn't work to take it back and the price of it would go toward a bigger one. The tuner I have is the one built-in to my Hitachi TV.

Is there any other kind of signal booster I should know about?

That's a bummer about Trick or Treat in your neck of the woods man! There would have to be a fire or some other similar catastrophe for me to miss this game! :o

Originally posted by GNo
tipton,

Is this the antenna you are using from Walmart?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2153142&cat=4536&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A172479%3A3996%3A4536

yup that is the antenna i am using.

just got my directv and HD tivo installed today. everything works great, i am still receiving all of the OTA channels aside from the WB.

IS anyone in cranberry able to get the WB hd channel ?

man, this HD tivo is awesome.

Why is the Steelers game not in HD? I'm not getting in either on Armstrong or OTA.

Originally posted by GNo
Why is the Steelers game not in HD? I'm not getting in either on Armstrong or OTA.


THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!!! I get the Directv package to see most games in HD and now I cannot see my local team in HD because of their stupid local coverage blackout rule. I AM NOT RENEWING NEXT YEAR!!!

If KDKA isn't going to show the game in HD, then I should be able to watch the Directv broadcast that I pay $200/year for!!!!

Ok. 4:27 and now its in HD.

Originally posted by GNo
Ok. 4:27 and now its in HD.

I was starting to get a little upset too. I had friends over and I was bragging about how good the game looks in HD,and then it starts and no HD!!! All turned out well tho, game was in HD and the Steelers kicked a$$

I was mad too...I was just wondering if I should try to call someone at KDKA. It was weird how about 3 minutes in, it switched to a pillarboxed HD image for about a second, then went back to SD. Luckily everything turned out fine, especially the game itself!

Same thing happened to me. I just barely got my antenna installed in time for the game! TV set up Saturday night, antenna Sunday morning and part of the afternoon. I found the CBS OTA channel (25-1) and was floored by how good the end of the Baltimore game looked. Then some folks arrive right before the Steeler game and I tell them how awesome it looked and then the game starts and it sure wasn't 1080i! Then of course as the others have said it switched over and looked great BUT...

...What's up with that audio lag?? Very annoying. Next time I'll watch the game on OTA HD and use the sound from my D* CBS station. Great game though!

Steelers are a'goin to the Super Bowl!!! :D

You'll never get the sound to sync up if you mix OTA video with D* audio. D* will be behind by a little bit due to the extra 55000 miles the signal has to travel. :)

CBS digital OTA has an on-again, off-again problem with lipsynch, even if you're pulling the audio OTA (same source as video). Luckily during the game for the most part you can't see anyone's lips moving anyway.

Anyone know why CBS doesn't actually broadcast in 5.1? Especially when the other stations/networks do.

Or has that changed since this weekend?

All HD NFL games are in 5.1, and some shows appear to be (CSI I think, maybe some others), although they may not actually be mixed for 5.1.

all the games are in 5.1 for sure.

best 5.1 mix is definitely abc usually i think.... fox does a good job sometimes too. the only games not in 5.1 are espn.

speaking of audio not matching up, i used to always turn the volume off on tv and listen to the game on the radio with myron announcing... but its like 2 seconds ahead the past two years. really sucks not to be able to do that anymore.

speaking of 5.1 issues has anyone else noticed that every week during LOST the good people at WTAE don't switch on the 5.1 mix until midway through ? this is the only show they do it on every week. every single episode aired so far they have done this drives me nuts.

Originally posted by Bob McLaughlin
CBS digital OTA has an on-again, off-again problem with lipsynch, even if you're pulling the audio OTA (same source as video). Luckily during the game for the most part you can't see anyone's lips moving anyway.

That's what I thought. I was listening to the OTA audio. Next time I'll try listening to the D* feed instead to see if it syncs up better. Barring success with that there's always DVE.

Someone used to sell a radio that gave you the option of delaying the broadcast audio either 2,4, or 6 seconds so the radio signal would synch up with the picture better. I cannot find that damn link anymore! Barring that, you could buy a digital delay of some type.

WAIT, I FOUND IT!

This one is more expensive than the one they were selling in previous years, but it has much more flexibility (0-16 second delay). The question is: are Myron, Bill Hillgrove and Tunch worth $139? I guess you might also be able to use it on HDTV to re-synchronize the OTA audio, but you'd have to get a switcher if you intended to use it for radio as well.

Here's the link:
http://delayplayradio.com/index.htm

That radio looks interesting Bob, but I don't want to spend that much on something that's only rarely used. Next Steeler CBS-HD broadcast I'll try either D* or WDVE.

Why can't they get the audio/video in sync? They must be aware of the problem by now. Anyone?

Heinz Werner,

You can FORGET ABOUT the video and audio "Sync" with your above proposed idea.

The FM signal from DVE comes into house DIRECTLY to your receiver. Think of it like throwing a tennis ball to someone who is 50 ft away. If you throw it hard and directly at him, it will REACH him quicker than lets say, bouncing it off a tree first.

Remember the old math rule,"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line."

With your possible set-up, if you watched the game in HD(either through D* or OTA from an antenna) you will notice a 2-3 delay in the video on the screen from Myron, Bill, and Tunch on the Radio.

If Big Ben were too drop back, you would here Bill call,"TOUCHDOWN STEELERS. PLAXICO AND BIG BEN HOOK UP AGAIN, AND THE STEELERS ARE BLOWING OUT THE EAGLES!!"(This will happen, I hope, by the way) the video on the screen, being two seconds behind, would probably just be showing Big Ben going into his throwing motion and THEN Plaxico catching the touchdown. Meanwhile the boys will be well into their celebration by the time you ACTUALLY SEE IT.

I agree, the lip sync problems at KDKA is very distracting, and needs to be fixed PERMANENTLY KDKA!!!! But it might be a while before it is perfect. Live sports seem to suffer from this more than any other type of media, especially on KDKA. But that cannot be an excuse.

ABC's Monday Night Football RARELY Suffers from this. I get WTAE(on clear QAM from Adelphia) and OTA from WYTV/Youngstown, OH and NEITHER stations SUFFER from this.(both from an LG LST-4200A).

Why the hell isn't the Steelers/Eagles game listed on Titan TV as scheduled to be broadcast in HD? I thought this was one of the big HD games that Fox had promised. Only the entire state of PA will be watching, as well as the legions of fans across the country. Come on, Fox!

must be a problem with titan tv because i've seen it scheduled everywhere in HDTV... its on the directv schedule as a game in HD

also, the radio/tv sync problem just started within the last 3 years. i do not believe the distance is the factor, but its the fact that the networks are imposing a bit of a delay to help with commercial time. who knows though.... i just know it sucks not being able to listen to myron

some good news though pitt @ cleveland is also in HD !

Originally posted by tipton
must be a problem with titan tv because i've seen it scheduled everywhere in HDTV... its on the directv schedule as a game in HD

also, the radio/tv sync problem just started within the last 3 years. i do not believe the distance is the factor, but its the fact that the networks are imposing a bit of a delay to help with commercial time. who knows though.... i just know it sucks not being able to listen to myron

some good news though pitt @ cleveland is also in HD !

Anywhere in the Burgh I can rent an OTA HD box? lol. Just kidding, but All I have is Comcast, and there is no FOX HD. Guess maybe it's time I look into buying a OTA reciever. Last game on CBS sure looked good. SD broadcasts look llike crap on my tv, unless it's just that I'm now spoiled by HD

Originally posted by WRL
Anywhere in the Burgh I can rent an OTA HD box? lol. Just kidding, but All I have is Comcast, and there is no FOX HD. Guess maybe it's time I look into buying a OTA reciever. Last game on CBS sure looked good. SD broadcasts look llike crap on my tv, unless it's just that I'm now spoiled by HD


i was in the same situation as you with armstrong for awhile and i ended up buying a box off of ebay for like $75 just to get fox hd. it ended up coming in handy on many occasions, especially for the world series and baseball playoffs, and many of the shows on fox if they aren't in HD (pretty much none are) they are at least broadcast in widescreen.

Explanation in today's P-G TV Q&A (http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/questions/) for the delay in switching the Steelers game to HD the other day:Q: I've noticed the last three Steeler home games that have been on KDKA, are not being broadcast in HDTV. What gives? Comcast says it's not their problem, and I e-mailed KDKA but they never responded. Obi-Wan Owen you are my only hope.

A: ... According to KDKA general manager Chris Pike, the Steelers game was scheduled to be in high definition, but CBS has a limited number of HD transponders and the transponder used for the Steelers game was committed to the Kansas City game at 1 p.m. That game ran long and as a result the Steelers game wasn't available until about 4:30 p.m. in high definition.

Thanks for the explanation, Hondo21, very interesting. At least it's good to know there's an actual reason, and not that they feel asleep at the switch!

WRL, just got out to Circuit City and pick up an open-box HD receiver. I just saw a couple decent Samsung receivers at the CC in Monroeville going for something around $149. It's definitely worth it, and you'll always have a good backup if your cable goes out!

Originally posted by Bob McLaughlin
Thanks for the explanation, Hondo21, very interesting. At least it's good to know there's an actual reason, and not that they feel asleep at the switch!

WRL, just got out to Circuit City and pick up an open-box HD receiver. I just saw a couple decent Samsung receivers at the CC in Monroeville going for something around $149. It's definitely worth it, and you'll always have a good backup if your cable goes out!

I might just do that. I'll check at the North Hills store. I'm only a few miles from that one. I'd sure like to get something before Sunday. I have an old "bowtie" antenna that I used with an HD receiver about 2 years ago. No longer have the receiver tho (long story, sold my house right after I put in a kick a$$ HT room. Still have my PLV-60HT projector lying around somewhere tho)

is anyone in cranberry able to get the WB's digital/hd channel OTA ? i can get everything but this channel...

What are you waiting for, WRL? :) Watching HD football on your PLV-60HT must be sweet, that has a higher native resolution than my Panny 500U which looks fantastic! And you know you'll get good Fox reception, living in the north, so that bowtie might be all you need. Good luck.

Originally posted by Bob McLaughlin
What are you waiting for, WRL? :) Watching HD football on your PLV-60HT must be sweet, that has a higher native resolution than my Panny 500U which looks fantastic! And you know you'll get good Fox reception, living in the north, so that bowtie might be all you need. Good luck.

I haven't used my projector in about 2 years :( It's sitting in my closet. I watch my HD stuff on my Hitachi 51S-500 (I do miss my home theater tho)

I went out to Monroeville Circuit City, they had a Samsung open box for $199. Seemed a little high so I passed (Model SIR T351) Looks like they are going for around $120-$150 on Ebay. I think I might break out the projector, just to see how good it looks (bad thing is the ex has the remote)

Would this OTA receiver be ok? USDigital Box (http://www.usdigitalhdtv.com/) I was reading about it in one of the other threads. Looks to be about $200 at WalMart.

Originally posted by WRL
Would this OTA receiver be ok? USDigital Box (http://www.usdigitalhdtv.com/) I was reading about it in one of the other threads. Looks to be about $200 at WalMart.

It's what I use here for OTA reception (Akron, OH). It's a decent box. Make sure it's the full "over the air" box and does not require any subscription to "USDTV". I'm pretty sure that'd be the only box you'd find in this region of the country, as the "USDTV" subscription service doesn't sell here. I think in markets where they sell the subscription boxes (Salt Lake City, etc.), they charge much less for the box, as they make up the money for their service.

("USDTV" is a cable-like over air distribution network that feeds up a few SD cable channels for a lower cost, using unused DTV bandwidth on stations not doing HDTV. For our purposes, assume it doesn't exist, and that the box is just a $200 OTA HDTV receiver.)

Originally posted by Inundated
It's what I use here for OTA reception (Akron, OH). It's a decent box. Make sure it's the full "over the air" box and does not require any subscription to "USDTV". I'm pretty sure that'd be the only box you'd find in this region of the country, as the "USDTV" subscription service doesn't sell here. I think in markets where they sell the subscription boxes (Salt Lake City, etc.), they charge much less for the box, as they make up the money for their service.

("USDTV" is a cable-like over air distribution network that feeds up a few SD cable channels for a lower cost, using unused DTV bandwidth on stations not doing HDTV. For our purposes, assume it doesn't exist, and that the box is just a $200 OTA HDTV receiver.)

I picked up this box at the Cranberry WalMart. Seems to be ok, but I think I may need a better antenna (using an old indoor 'bowtie' that I had lying around) I can only pick up 4-1 WTAE, 11-1 WPXI and 25-1 KDKA. I'm surprised I'm not getting WPGH, I only live a few miles from Ivory Ave, where they are located, and I am quite a ways from WTAE. I'll hit Best Buy for a different antenna, and if I can't get FOX, then I'll just return the box

Has KDKA decreased it power outage any time in the last year? Last year at this time, I was able to pull in KDKA all the time but now I can't seem to get it at all. I live close to Youngstown, OH with an roof-top antenna and a rotor.

I wouldn't think so hoops10.

I live outside of New Castle, PA(between New Wilmington, PA and New Castle, PA to be exact) which is about the same distance wise as you(I am just due east of your location, most likely).

I use a cheap RCA amplified indoor antenna and I get KDKA without a problem(my area where I live is rural, with high trees surrounding my location. The antenna is in a bedroom with another bedroom above, placed near a window facing South-towards Pittsburgh). All connected to a LG LST-4200A. There is a "sweet spot" for my antenna which allows me to get all the channels I can, but I would need to ROTATE the round thingy in the middle for OPTIMUM receiving cappabilities of some channels(WYTV, and PBS out of Alliance, OH which I cannot re-call the channel letters

With this cruddy set-up I get from OTA:
1. WFMJ/Youngstown NBC and it's subchannel 20-2 for the the WB(WCBWB) with NO problems. Only 16 miles away
2. WYTV/Youngstown ABC with no problem.(with rotation. In "sweet spot" I get drop outs) Only 16 miles away
3. PBS out of Alliance, OH. Both it's digital and HD feed with no problems(after rotation. In "sweet spot" I get drop-outs). About 31 miles away
4. KDKA/Pittsburgh CBS with no problems. This station is 49 miles away.
5. WPGH/Pittsburgh FOX with no problems. Both digital and HD station. This station is 49 miles away
6. WPXI/Pittsburgh NBC with no problems. This station is 49 miles away.

With the QAM capability I get from Adelphia:
1. KDKA/Pittsburgh CBS
2. WTAE/Pittsburgh ABC
3. WPXI/Pittsburgh NBC

I wish Adelphia would add more digital/HD channels to its line-up(WB, UPN, and PBS out of the Burgh would be nice) but according to most they have no plans to do so. YOU SUCK ADELPHIA!!!

STEELERSRULE, thats wierd. Where you live sounds a lot like where I live. Same type of location as you described. And I have a fairly large antenna on my roof, too. KDKA is about 53 miles away from me. I have the Hughes HTL-HD and the built-in tuner in my lcd tv. Any ideas why I can't receive KDKA anymore and you can?

hoops10,

The only thing I can think of as a possibility is TOPOGRAPHY. I "technically" live on top of a hill or more on the upper part of a mountain(I am sort of guessing here. But this region of the country, believe it or not, is made up of hills, mountains, valleys[City of New Castle, if you are familiar with it, is actually "built" in a valley and the surrounding hills]. I don't know where to find a topographical map on the web(someone may know) that may give you an idea of the layout of the land.

That is one possibility. Another one might be you are in an area with SEVERE multipath. How close are you too YTown? Are you on the East(more towards PA. Say like Hubbard, OH?) or are you on the west, north(Niles, OH) or South of YTown?

I am not familiar with your Hughes HD receiver(or whatever is in you LCD, which my guess is probably NEW), but my LG receiver is pretty strong. I've had the Sylvania SRZ3000(SWEET CHEAP Tuner for those who just want OTA. Very Nice for the price. Not all the bells and whistles like the LG and others though), the LG LST-3510 DVD Player/HD tuner(Nice, but a little pricey in my mind.) and the old Zenith HDV420(TERRIBLE IMHO. HAD FOR 5 DAYS AND DUMPED IT) and the LG LST-4200A was the strongest without question.

From what I understand it does handle multipath pretty well(not great though, and the new 5th gen chips in the new LG receivers coming out in early 2005 are SUPPOSED to be the "Holy Grail" of solving multipath problems for people in those type of areas. But until they are tested en masse by people, it is still "Speculation". People may wind up with a case of the "Supposed to's" with regards of this chip if it does not live up to it's advanced billing) and that "MAY BE" your problem.

But if it never existed before, then maybe there is a loose connection along the way. Was your set-up ever struck by lightening in the past few weeks?
Check your connections. See if there is anything out of the ordinary. Did you "change" your set-up(antenna connection) prior to you "losing" KDKA?
These things may be the culprit.

EDIT:

HOOPS10,

I am going to post this in the YOUNGSTOWN, OH OTA thread as well. I think it belongs there, and it is probably more suited to be in that thread.

We can carry on the disscussion there. Here is the link to that thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4565157#post4565157

Justincase anyone was wondering about those USDigital (http://www.usdigitalhdtv.com/) HDTV recievers and the RCA ant1250 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2153142&cat=4536&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A172479%3A3996%3A4536) amplified antenna, save your money. All I could pick up here in the Brighton Heights area of PGH, was WPXI, WTAE and KDKA,. I was hoping for WPXI and FOX, and if I was lucky WB. I couldn't even get a trace of a signal from any other stations, which leads me to believe it's the receiver. I even went as far as to take everything outside, hoping the reception would be better, but it wasn't.

The HD receiver is going back to WalMart. I guess I'll hang on to the antenna. Any decent receivers for around the same $200? I don't need anything fancy. I already subscribe to Comcast so I get those HD channels offered by them.

Looks like no HD Steeler game for me tomorrow :(

WRL, sorry to hear about your reception woes. How far away are from the towers? I'm down near Brownsville (Fayette County, prolly 30-40 miles) and with Radio Shacks $99 outdoor antenna I can get KDKA, WTAE, WPXI, WPGH, WPXI, and WB22. All without an amplifier. I can't believe that you're actually in Pittsburgh and can't get all those channels OTA! Just awful. You should get a decent outdoor antenna.

Anyhow, is today's game going to be broadcast OTA in HD? WPGH doesn't broadcast its digital channel in HD, does it? Everytime I've scanned it its just 480i. I'm guessing they only broadcast HD for certain events, like Steeler games? Someone please tell me that's the case!

Btw, is anyone gonna watch Fellowship of the Ring tonight in HD on the WB? I'm going to at least check it out. Are 2.35 movies normally panned and scanned or cropped to 16x9 for HD broadcast? If so, I won't be watching for too long...

Originally posted by WRL
Justincase anyone was wondering about those USDigital (http://www.usdigitalhdtv.com/) HDTV recievers and the RCA ant1250 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2153142&cat=4536&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A172479%3A3996%3A4536) amplified antenna, save your money. All I could pick up here in the Brighton Heights area of PGH, was WPXI, WTAE and KDKA,. I was hoping for WPXI and FOX, and if I was lucky WB. I couldn't even get a trace of a signal from any other stations, which leads me to believe it's the receiver. I even went as far as to take everything outside, hoping the reception would be better, but it wasn't.

The HD receiver is going back to WalMart. I guess I'll hang on to the antenna. Any decent receivers for around the same $200? I don't need anything fancy. I already subscribe to Comcast so I get those HD channels offered by them.

Looks like no HD Steeler game for me tomorrow :(


go back a few pages and read STEELERSRULE posts about his OTA receivers. his posts helped me a great deal and i ended up purchasing the sylvania srz3000 off of ebay for like $70. it all depends on how much you want to spend though, if you are gonna spend $200 plus get the LG which he talks about.

there is no reason you shouldn't be getting WPGH, their signal is quite strong.

Originally posted by Heinz Werner
WRL, sorry to hear about your reception woes. How far away are from the towers? I'm down near Brownsville (Fayette County, prolly 30-40 miles) and with Radio Shacks $99 outdoor antenna I can get KDKA, WTAE, WPXI, WPGH, WPXI, and WB22. All without an amplifier. I can't believe that you're actually in Pittsburgh and can't get all those channels OTA! Just awful. You should get a decent outdoor antenna.

Anyhow, is today's game going to be broadcast OTA in HD? WPGH doesn't broadcast its digital channel in HD, does it? Every time I've scanned it its just 480i. I'm guessing they only broadcast HD for certain events, like Steeler games? Someone please tell me that's the case!


According to antennaweb.org, I'm 0.3 miles from NBC(WPXI), 16.8 miles from ABC(WTAE), 2.1 from FOX(WPGH), 2.7 from WQED, 2.1 from CBS(KDKA), 15.3 from WCWB. Funny I get WTAE with the best signal and it's the furthest away. Maybe I'm to close to the others??

I don't know if WPGH broadcasts in HD, I just assumed they did. I guess if they don't there's no need for me to look into other OTA receivers just to get NBC

WPGH, like any other channel only broadcasts the programs/events in HD that are HD. fox's HD lineup isn't that strong.... but all their football games (including todays steelers) and the world series, super bowl, etc are all in HD on 53-1. some of the fox shows, including the OC are in HD, 24 will be in HD when it starts as well.

Originally posted by tipton
WPGH, like any other channel only broadcasts the programs/events in HD that are HD. fox's HD lineup isn't that strong.... but all their football games (including todays steelers) and the world series, super bowl, etc are all in HD on 53-1. some of the fox shows, including the OC are in HD, 24 will be in HD when it starts as well.

Of course. Thanks for pointing that out. It stands to reason that SD fare would be broadcast 480i on digital channels. Good to know that the game today is HD. Hey, PGH doesn't have the same audio lag problem as KDKA does, do they? Hope not.

Go Steelers!

Originally posted by Heinz Werner
Of course. Thanks for pointing that out. It stands to reason that SD fare would be broadcast 480i on digital channels. Good to know that the game today is HD. Hey, PGH doesn't have the same audio lag problem as KDKA does, do they? Hope not.

Go Steelers!

And here I am with a nice HDTV and an HD Projector and I have to watch the game in SD :mad: Oh well, just so the Steelers win I'll be happy

Steelers crush Philly! Awesome game, and nice to see that Fox doesn't have the audio sync problems that KDKA suffers from. Let me just say that watching football in SD just isn't gonna cut it anymore! I'm still astounded by how good it looks, and by how good the Steelers are this year!

Nice to know Fox has the Super Bowl, so I'll be able to hear the Steelers win it at the same time as I see it! ;)

The game on WPGH analog on Armstrong looked TERRIBLE. I don't think Fox knows how to properly downconvert their HD feed. My wife said it was hurting her eyes just to watch it! Lots of jaggies and some kind of framerate issue. Was a great game though!

I'm in Morgantown with Adelphia cable and the analog signal from WPGH sucks. Only god knows why Adelphia has not added FOXHD (WPGH) and PBSHD (WQED) to their lineup. I have ABC, NBC, and CBS all in HD from Adelphia, but no Fox :( Had to watch the steelers in Analog which agtiny stated was painfull.

For what it's worth, in my short 2-3 days of having HD I think CBS really has it implemented well. The Tennessee-Notre Dame game looked incredible. Along with the Rams/Pats yesterday.

getting an hd tuner for fox OTA has been totally worth it for me, especially if you are a football fan. a game in HD every week on fox... and let's not forget the superbowl is on fox this year. looks like fox getting added to any of the local cable services isn't going to happen anytime soon. i also have to say, fox's HD broadcasts are excellent, especially their 5.1 mix, much better than CBS in my opinion.

for those living in cranberry, the WPGH signal comes in at full power.

with the great season the steelers are having there is no doubt that the upcoming steelers vs. redskins and steelers vs. giants games will be on in HD on fox since fox is doing 6 games per week in HD.

like i stated before, i got the sylvania srz3000 off of ebay for $75, and right now there are several auctions for this model on ebay highest price currently is only like $25 with 8 hrs to go. this is a great tuner. to me $100 max for HD football, arrested development, malcolm in the middle, the OC, 24, the super bowl, etc is totally worth it. plus, even if the local cables do get fox next year you can always use the tuner for picture in picture, or use it to watch something while recording on a single tuner dvr.

Thanks for the info Tipton. Unfortunately being in morgantown puts me on the very fringe of being able to pick up Pittsburgh OTA channels. I have a true HDTV with a built in digital tuner so I don't have any reason to buy the sylvania. I live in an apartment so an outside aerial antena is not possible. Do you think there are any inside Antenas that are not too obtrusive that would allow me to pick up the PGH channels? I'd like to get FOXHD since Adelphia is dragging their feet.

Originally posted by coomarlin
Thanks for the info Tipton. Unfortunately being in morgantown puts me on the very fringe of being able to pick up Pittsburgh OTA channels. I have a true HDTV with a built in digital tuner so I don't have any reason to buy the sylvania. I live in an apartment so an outside aerial antena is not possible. Do you think there are any inside Antenas that are not too obtrusive that would allow me to pick up the PGH channels? I'd like to get FOXHD since Adelphia is dragging their feet.

have you tried out the built in tuner ? i am getting all of my channels with an indoor amplified rca antenna purchased at wal mart, there is a link to it above. if you can get any of the pittsburgh stations i bet you can get wpgh as well, check antenna web... i know where i live in cranberry it comes in full strength. if you haven't tried the tuner, i'd suggest at least trying it out to see what you can get, go buy an antenna and if it doesn't work take it back.

I'll do that. I'm 44 miles from WTAE and 56 from WPGH. Thats probably pushing it. But like you said I can always take it back if it doesn't work.

I've tried the Built in tuner through my cable companies raw feed and was able to pick up some clearQAM stations.

I was looking at the HDTV antenas at walmart.com and noticed that the RCA and Philips antennas stated a range up to 25 miles. I don't think that will cut it. Maybe for the WNPB station here in morgantown, but quite honestly I'm not too interested in PBS. I'm more concerned with fox (WPGH). I can't put up an outdoor antenna. I guess I could get one of the indoor antennas and see what it will do but I wouldn't hold my breath. Is there a better indoor antenna? Antenna web shows my address as 58.9 miles from WPGH at 3 degrees asimuth and it is the first channel listed in Violet. WTAE is in blue at 44.0 miles at 15 degrees. Thats a relatively clear line of site for me with some trees in the distance. WNPB is in Yellow and is listed at 7 miles away 72 degrees. That one shouldn't be a problem.

Radio shack has somthing they call a double bowtie but it's god awlful looking. Not sure if it would be any better that the wal mart antenas.

The game on WPGH analog on Armstrong looked TERRIBLE. I don't think Fox knows how to properly downconvert their HD feed. My wife said it was hurting her eyes just to watch it! Lots of jaggies and some kind of framerate issue. Was a great game though!
I find the Fox HD picture to be inferior to CBS HD, although not as bad as the Olympics on NBC. The colors on Fox HD are inaccurate and loud. The turf looks real on CBS, a greenish-yellow, whereas on Fox it is super-green. Also on Fox the transitions from one scene to another are rougher, sometimes there are frame problems for a split second where you see their feet at the top of the screen, or lateral frame problems. I just keep telling myself this is a young technology and new to many people (including those who are providing the programming), so hopefully it should improve over time! It's still vastly superior to SD.

WRL, I have the Sammy SIR T351 and I pull in every available OTA channel. It helps that I live atop a hill in Forest Hills and I have a big attic antenna. It's probably overkill, but since my theater is in my basement, I had to run an antenna cord upstairs anyway (fished it up through the laundry chute, it was a snap). My attic is large so I just hooked up a big antenna, it did the trick. Maybe all you need is a bigger antenna.

Originally posted by coomarlin
I was looking at the HDTV antenas at walmart.com and noticed that the RCA and Philips antennas stated a range up to 25 miles. I don't think that will cut it. Maybe for the WNPB station here in morgantown, but quite honestly I'm not too interested in PBS. I'm more concerned with fox (WPGH). I can't put up an outdoor antenna. I guess I could get one of the indoor antennas and see what it will do but I wouldn't hold my breath. Is there a better indoor antenna? Antenna web shows my address as 58.9 miles from WPGH at 3 degrees asimuth and it is the first channel listed in Violet. WTAE is in blue at 44.0 miles at 15 degrees. Thats a relatively clear line of site for me with some trees in the distance. WNPB is in Yellow and is listed at 7 miles away 72 degrees. That one shouldn't be a problem.

Radio shack has somthing they call a double bowtie but it's god awlful looking. Not sure if it would be any better that the wal mart antenas.

yeah, i know that it claims those ranges... but i think that more than anything when it comes to getting HD channels the key is in the tuner alot of times, it must be, read steelersrule posts back a few pages. antennaweb tells me that i can't get ABC that i'm like 50 miles away, but i can get it.... i'm not sure why or what the trick is. probably a combination of location and the tuner.

FOX's hd picture could be better, but their 5.1 mix is far superior to all the other networks IMO. also, i have to hand it to fox in being the only network that is brodcasting and upconverting shows that aren't in HD to widescreen upconverted. they are doing this even with some reality shows, etc. many of the fox shows are in HD now, and oftentimes when shows aren't in HD they are at least doing them widescreen. i don't understand why all the networks dont do that, especially with reality shows.

also, no doub that RCA antenna isn't the best you can get. its just easily obtainable. i'm sure there are much much better indoor antennas you can buy, but this one worked for me. you maybe could get something better and stronger. home theater magazine is oftentimes off, but they are recommending this Godar HD-3 antenna for $70 in the new issue, may want to check it out here http://users.mcleodusa.net/m/mgodar (thats the address they list in this issue.

CRANBERRY PEOPLE: can any of you get the WB's digital channel 22-1 ?? its the only channel i can't get. if you do get it let me know what you are using, thanks.

man, it seems like the problems and questions never end. just when you think you have your setup 100% glitch free and how you want it.


anyone in the pittsburgh area using the HD tivo ? today i go to watch fox and the channel is not coming in for me no signal, and its usually around 90 percent signal strength OTA. i turn on my other digital tuner and the channel is coming in correctly on 53-1 as usual. so i end up rescanning for OTA channels on the HD tivo and it is broadcasing the fox channel on 43-1. the guide information remains on 53-1. has anyone else had this happen to them or is anyone else having this problem? what has been the solution... contact the local station since D* claims it is their problem? it doesn't make sense to me since on one box it comes in correctly and on the HD tivo it does not.

Originally posted by tipton
man, it seems like the problems and questions never end. just when you think you have your setup 100% glitch free and how you want it.


anyone in the pittsburgh area using the HD tivo ? today i go to watch fox and the channel is not coming in for me no signal, and its usually around 90 percent signal strength OTA. i turn on my other digital tuner and the channel is coming in correctly on 53-1 as usual. so i end up rescanning for OTA channels on the HD tivo and it is broadcasing the fox channel on 43-1. the guide information remains on 53-1. has anyone else had this happen to them or is anyone else having this problem? what has been the solution... contact the local station since D* claims it is their problem? it doesn't make sense to me since on one box it comes in correctly and on the HD tivo it does not.

Tipton,

You da man! I just got my HD Tivo hooked up yesterday (I too live in Cranberry). Fox was fine at first, then I got no signal. Rescanned and still blank. Looked at the guide, channel 43-1 and 43-2 added, what do you know, it's Fox. Looks like it's some sort of Directv issue. By the way, does your HDMI work? Mine is shot out of the box, looks like I'll be getting a replacement.

Originally posted by GNo
Tipton,

You da man! I just got my HD Tivo hooked up yesterday (I too live in Cranberry). Fox was fine at first, then I got no signal. Rescanned and still blank. Looked at the guide, channel 43-1 and 43-2 added, what do you know, it's Fox. Looks like it's some sort of Directv issue. By the way, does your HDMI work? Mine is shot out of the box, looks like I'll be getting a replacement.

i don't know what is up with my hdmi, it could be faulty because i can't get it to look as good as my component. regardless, when the two are calibrated evenly unless you have a super huge display or projector it makes little difference from everything i can read so i'm not worrying about. its weird the hdmi works, but it doesn't look as good to my eyes as the component. there is tons of talk on this on tivo community though, i suggest reading about it there.

concerning WPGH... this is insane. i mean i've had this hd tivo for about a month now and this problem started yesterday. taking to D* on the phone there is nothing they can do. i think i will try to call WPGH today because D* claims the problem is on their end.... many on tivo community have the same problem in other areas of the country and some have had it resolved after calling their local station. i doubt my call to WPGH will do anything, but i guess it is worth a shot. if it doesn't work the only other thing you can do is set manual recordings i guess.

GNO, are you able to get 22-1 the WB's digital OTA feed ? thats the only channel i can't get, not sure if going out and experimenting with expensive antennas is worth it or not. i'm trying to find out if anyone is able to get it in cranberry, could be a lost cause.

EDIT - just called them and got the voice mail for the person that would handle this problem... left him a message. who knows if i'll get a callback or if this will be fixed.

wow, less than 10 minutes after leaving that voicemail i got a call back. i am told that they were doing an upgrade and everything should be back working fine this evening on the correct channel.

also, i asked him about the WB and their signal strength. he said that it is very low right now but they will be upgrading it in the first quarter of 2005 to at least the same strength WPGH is being broadcast on now.

good news i guess...and great customer service.

Tipton,

No joy on WB22 for me in Cranberry. I keep my eye out to see if Fox remaps.

I have a Directv installer coming tomorrow, maybe I'll get some more information from him regarding the HDMI and WB.

GNo, fox has remapped to the correct channel. dont expect the DTV installer to know anything about OTA or the hd tivo, he won't have a clue about hdmi most likely either. best info on all that is at www.tivocommunity.com in the HDtivo section. so so so many problems with the hdmi.

if WB is upping their power in the first quarter of 05' like the guy told me yesterday, probably not much use in me trying to get a better more powerful antenna to bring it in.

Well, this week's game @Cleveland is in OTA HD (CBS), but the following week @Cincinnati is not. I'm glad 'cause I'd rather see the Cleveland game in HD if I had to choose.

Tipton,

You were right about the installer not knowing anything about HDMI. I guess over the weekend I'll give Directv a call when I have time and see about getting a replacement.

On another note, I was excited this morning to see that my recording of the excellent Saving Private Ryan was thoughtfully replaced by WTAE with the mediocre at best Far and Away. Thank you "new FCC guidelines" as WTAE says pushing off the blame.

Hey Everyone,

I live in Monroeville and get most of my HDTV via Adelphia. Since Sinclair is not letting cable systems get their Fox and WB HD signal, I bought an open box Samsung SIRT351 receiver and a Terk Indoor HDTV antenna from Circuit City to see the Pittsburgh - Philly game on Fox last weekend. I was also happy because I could watch Lord of the Rings on WB Sunday and Monday, and finally watch Smallville in HD.

My problem is that it seems that the WB station doesn't turn on its HD feed. Has anyone else noticed this? On Sunday, part one of FOTR was in SD with DD5.1 sound. On Monday, part 2 was in HD, so I thought it was just a fluke. But then when I settled in to watch Smallville on Wednesday it was in SD again (still with DD5.1 sound). If they know to turn on the DD5.1 sound, why don't they "flip the switch" and send the HD video? Does anyone know who I can contact at WB22 to fix this problem?

Also, does anyone have a clue why Sinclair wastes bandwidth with an SD subchannel on WB22 and Fox53? If you can get digital reception, chances are you want the HD broadcast at the highest bitrate rather than the option of watching the SD version at the expense of the HD bandwidth. Are they ever running different programs on the SD channel? That's the only way it would make sense.

Another problem I have is with audio dropouts. I'm not sure if this is a problem with my reception or with the stations themselves. I get a pretty good lock on all the OTA stations except WTAE 4 ABC. But when I've been watching Fox, WB or PBS for more than 15 minutes, I start to get frequent audio dropouts that make it unwatchable. I'm getting pretty good signal strength on all three channels, so I didn't think it was a reception problem, but I could be wrong. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there any way to tell if the problem is at my end? Are frequent audio dropouts with no picture degradation an indicator of insufficient signal strength?

Any help or similar experiences you could share would be helpful. Thanks, fellow Pittsburghers!

Charles

in my quest to get the WB to come in i bought this antenna the other day after seeing it recommended so highly

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1&catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1880

the signal strengths for all of my channels have been improved. everything is in the high 80's or low 90's on the HD Tivo..... unfortunately the WB is jumping all over the place, usually in the 20's or low 30s sometimes spiking to 100. i've tried every location known to man, even the ledge of the 2nd story bedroom window....nothing can get this signal from jumping all over the place. only 12.5 miles away from the towers, you would think it would come in. i've tried everything i can think of. no amplification, different locations, etc.

Originally posted by tipton
in my quest to get the WB to come in i bought this antenna the other day after seeing it recommended so highly

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1&catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1880

the signal strengths for all of my channels have been improved. everything is in the high 80's or low 90's on the HD Tivo..... unfortunately the WB is jumping all over the place, usually in the 20's or low 30s sometimes spiking to 100. i've tried every location known to man, even the ledge of the 2nd story bedroom window....nothing can get this signal from jumping all over the place. only 12.5 miles away from the towers, you would think it would come in. i've tried everything i can think of. no amplification, different locations, etc.
You know, it's interesting that your Radio Shack Antenna works so well for you. I live in Squirrel Hill within Pittsburgh, and I've found the Radio Shack antenna to be a little worse than the Silver Sensor that I've also bought. The Silver Sensor gets me good signal strength on clear days, but on rainy days I get poor reception (semi-frequent dropouts).

I imagine that multi-pathing is my biggest problem and I'm seriously considering getting an outdoor antenna, so long as the cost of installation isn't too great (I don't know shinola about installing outdoor antennas, nor do I have the equipment necessary to install an outdoor antenna myself).

FWIW, my STB is an LG LST-3100.

Just wanted to post my locatioon and results.

I live in North Charleroi, PA

I am recieving
KDKA 2.1 at about 45% signal (also tunes in on 25.1 at same %)
WTAE 4.1 at about 70%
WQED 13.1 at about 45%
WPCB 40.1 at about 36%
WPGH 53.1 at about 70%

WPXI 11.1 and WCWB 22.1 come and go from 0% to 30% (but usually at 0%, so are unwatchable)
I can pull in WPXI and WCWB if I rotate the antenna, but lose all the above channels when doing so.

Im using a channel master 3016 from Lowes for $35, mounted in my attic, 100' RG6 run to a samsung ts160.
originally tried a cheap $15 inside antenna from kmart and was only able to pull in WTAE.

Will try a preamp soon to see if it improves signal and possibly lets me tune 11 and 22 without rotating the antenna..
Any suggestions for preamp? does a normal radio shack powered cable splitter work for this purpose or do I need to look for something more specific?

Wife would kill me if I mounted the antenna outside, and no room in attic for anything larger, so Im hoping an amplifier or preamp will do the trick

btw... Antennaweb.org says I can NOT get any digital stations when i enter my street address.

Anyone notice that the digital feed from WTAE sucked yesterday for the WVU/BC game. It looked like the camera was having a problem focusing. During camera movement the turf was a huge blurr but once the camera stopped it became focused. I switched over to WTAE analog and there was no such problem. It almost made me nausiated and dizzy. Anyone else notice that?

That seems really odd that you guys in and around the city are having such reception problems. I get all the channels at around 90% strength here near Brownsville, but then again I do have the VLA (very large array) on my roof as I like to call it! ;)

I imagine that multi-pathing is my biggest problem and I'm seriously considering getting an outdoor antenna, so long as the cost of installation isn't too great (I don't know shinola about installing outdoor antennas, nor do I have the equipment necessary to install an outdoor antenna myself).

I was in the same boat. Although assembling and mounting the antenna seemed like a daunting task it really wasn't too hard. Took me about 2 1/2 hours all told. I did it by myself, and my VLA is about 10 or 11 feet long! Depending on how you're mounting it and on what surface the brackets that hold it are attached to, you really don't need too many tools. The antenna itself was assembled entirely with wing nuts, no tools at all. I used a screwdriver, hammer, and my screwgun. That's it. Of course every installation is different and your situation may be more difficult. Mounting in brick or concrete, for example. Or on a high roof, etc.

I think I spent about $180.00 for everything, antenna, mounting brackets, ground rod and wire, and RG-6 cable. The antenna itself was a hundred bucks at the Shack, their largest outdoor job. You shouldn't need one as large. That cost is nothing compared to an HDTV.

tipton, sounds like your just in a 'dead zone' for WB22. Any chance of an outdoor antenna, or are you in an apartment?

jcatalfamo, antennaweb told me the same thing. I get all the major channels in great. You really ought to try talking your wife into an outdoor antenna. Tell her it's a waste having a nice HDTV that won't receive anything in HD! And it's a LOT cheaper than going the satellite route.

Originally posted by Heinz Werner
I was in the same boat. Although assembling and mounting the antenna seemed like a daunting task it really wasn't too hard. Took me about 2 1/2 hours all told. I did it by myself, and my VLA is about 10 or 11 feet long! Depending on how you're mounting it and on what surface the brackets that hold it are attached to, you really don't need too many tools. The antenna itself was assembled entirely with wing nuts, no tools at all. I used a screwdriver, hammer, and my screwgun. That's it. Of course every installation is different and your situation may be more difficult. Mounting in brick or concrete, for example. Or on a high roof, etc.

I think I spent about $180.00 for everything, antenna, mounting brackets, ground rod and wire, and RG-6 cable. The antenna itself was a hundred bucks at the Shack, their largest outdoor job. You shouldn't need one as large. That cost is nothing compared to an HDTV.
Ahh... You probably used one thing that I don't have and can't justify purchasing at this time. A ladder. Any ladder tall enough to actually get me to my roof is too long for me to put in my house.

It's semi-moot because although I have every confidence I could assemble the Antenna without a problem, I have zero confidence in my ability to mount and ground the antenna properly without doing something very dangerous or expensive.
EDIT: Oh yeah, the kicker is that I don't actually own an HDTV yet. I'm saving up for a nice LCD or Plasma set. So I'm torn between getting the OTA signals stronger or getting financially closer to the TV.

To bigCPS:

That audio dropout problem is a documented glitch for the SIR-T351, unfortunately. Some people report less dropout problems using a digital coax instead of an optical cable. Here's one of several threads on the topic.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=308880&perpage=20&highlight=SIRt351&pagenumber=1

Anyone have an idea as to when WTAE (ABC) will go full power with their OTA digital? I live in Mt. Lebanon and it is the only channel I cannot receive.

They've upgraded! 1 million watts. It's on the Pittsburghchannel website. I can't post a link as I have too few posts.

whoops

Sorry. ;) OK. Here it is:

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/station/3928984/detail.html

That's great news! Can anyone confirm they get a better signal? Now whenever Voom offers a DVR maybe I can go back to OTA. :)

I can confirm that the signal is stronger!! You may recall that I posted a few months ago about the problems that I was having with WTAE. I now get a ROCK SOLID signal. Those that have't checked the signal strength lately should do so...you may be pleasantly surprised.

Kevin

Originally posted by WRL
According to antennaweb.org, I'm 0.3 miles from NBC(WPXI), 16.8 miles from ABC(WTAE), 2.1 from FOX(WPGH), 2.7 from WQED, 2.1 from CBS(KDKA), 15.3 from WCWB. Funny I get WTAE with the best signal and it's the furthest away. Maybe I'm to close to the others??

I don't know if WPGH broadcasts in HD, I just assumed they did. I guess if they don't there's no need for me to look into other OTA receivers just to get NBC

Tomorrow my Sylvania SRZ3000 is due to arrive (Ebay) and although I have that RCA amplified antenna (which only picked up 3 stations on that USDigital box I had, and returned, I was wondering if that MegaWave (http://www.megawave.com/mtv1.htm) antenna would maybe work better for me. I'm in an apartment, so an outdoor antenna is out of the question, but seeing that I am only a few miles from most of the towers, I thought an indoor would be ok. I guess I should wait til I actually get my srz3000. Maybe it will perform better than the USDigital box

I think the Zenith Silver Sensor (http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=49&id=131) is generally agreed to be the best indoor antenna. I had good results back in the day with an Xium (http://www.goxium.com/xm2000.htm) that let me pick up WTAE in Cranberry in my apartment when combined with a Radio Shack preamp.

Originally posted by agtiny
I think the Zenith Silver Sensor (http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=49&id=131) is generally agreed to be the best indoor antenna. I had good results back in the day with an Xium (http://www.goxium.com/xm2000.htm) that let me pick up WTAE in Cranberry in my apartment when combined with a Radio Shack preamp.

Anywhere local carry the Zenith Silver Sensor? I looked at Circuit City and Best Buy sites, but they don't carry it

I saw the Zenith at Sears the other day.

Steeler/Redskins game in HD this Sunday! There has been only one non-HD Steelers game since the Steelers/Cowboys game. You gotta love that! I am so glad I bought an HD receiver this summer.

Originally posted by WRL
Tomorrow my Sylvania SRZ3000 is due to arrive (Ebay) and although I have that RCA amplified antenna (which only picked up 3 stations on that USDigital box I had, and returned, I was wondering if that MegaWave (http://www.megawave.com/mtv1.htm) antenna would maybe work better for me. I'm in an apartment, so an outdoor antenna is out of the question, but seeing that I am only a few miles from most of the towers, I thought an indoor would be ok. I guess I should wait til I actually get my srz3000. Maybe it will perform better than the USDigital box


i think i remember before that you are super close to the towers ? you need to try everything, if you are really close there is a chance your signal could be too strong. turn off the amplifier and see if that helps.

Originally posted by tipton
i think i remember before that you are super close to the towers ? you need to try everything, if you are really close there is a chance your signal could be too strong. turn off the amplifier and see if that helps.

Not sure if that RCA antenna I bought was defective or not, but went back to that old bow tie that I bought from RS a few years back. I'm able to pick up 2, 2.1 - 11, 11.1 both are real strong. No good with WTAE (4, 4.1) and WPGH (53) comes in with a signal strength of almost 90, but picture is un watchable. Very bad. No 53.1 at all

I did order the Silver Sensor antenna from buy.com. Should have it monday I guess. Would like to be able to somehow get 53.1 for the Steeler game tomorrow, but doesn't look like that's gonna happen.

I don't have a manual for my srz3000. Anyone that has one, is there a way to manually add channels, or do you have to rescan each time to try to pick up an new ones (Like now I have 2.1 and 11.1, but would like to manually add 4.1, 13.1 and 53.1 then just be able to move the antenna to try to get the signal)

Did get my remote from Sears tho, makes it a little easier :)

Is this normal operation for the srz 3000? I'm unable to clearly receive 13-WQED and 53-FOX, but when I manually enter the channel using the remote, say like 53.1, it will go there for a second, scan, say no signal then jump right to 53. Same will happen if I try to manually go to 13.1. Jumps back to 13 after a few seconds.

As you can see, I'm fairly close to all the towers with the exception on WTAE, being 19.1 miles. But depending where I have my antenna, I can also get that channel. I would think I should be able to get all of those, unless it's all these trees around me.

WPXI 11 NBC PITTSBURGH PA 142° 2.6 11
WPXI-DT 11.1 NBC PITTSBURGH PA 141° 2.7 48
WPGH 53 FOX PITTSBURGH PA 86° 2.0 53
WPGH-DT 53.1 FOX PITTSBURGH PA 86° 2.0 43
WCWB-DT 22.1 WB PITTSBURGH PA 87° 2.0 42
WQED 13 PBS PITTSBURGH PA 135° 5.0 13
WQED-DT 13.1 PBS PITTSBURGH PA 135° 5.0 38
WQEX 16 PBS PITTSBURGH PA 135° 5.0 16
KDKA 2 CBS PITTSBURGH PA 84° 1.2 2
KDKA-DT 2.1 CBS PITTSBURGH PA 84° 1.2 25

WTAE-DT 4.1 ABC PITTSBURGH PA 148° 19.1 51

Originally posted by WRL

I don't have a manual for my srz3000. Anyone that has one, is there a way to manually add channels, or do you have to rescan each time to try to pick up an new ones (Like now I have 2.1 and 11.1, but would like to manually add 4.1, 13.1 and 53.1 then just be able to move the antenna to try to get the signal)


I found it. For some reason it didn't seem to work when I tried it earlier. I guess that's what the ADD/DELETE channel option is for :)

Is anyone here using a Dish 921 receiver and unable to record KDKA? My 921 is having a problem with them. I guess it's a known bug in the 921's PSIP decoding software but this just started yesterday. All other channels are fine.

Anyone know what power they are broadcasting at? I have a Channel Master 4228 mounted on my chimney pointing at 40* and I get:

NBC
CBS
ABC
FOX
PBS

All at signal strengths >90, but WB signal bounces between 40-60 and I can't get a lock if the the signal is under 70 with my reciever. I do not want to move my antenna as there is not much WB programming I would watch, but it would be nice to have the option.

THanks
Ray

Originally posted by raynist
Anyone know what power they are broadcasting at? I have a Channel Master 4228 mounted on my chimney pointing at 40* and I get:

NBC
CBS
ABC
FOX
PBS

All at signal strengths >90, but WB signal bounces between 40-60 and I can't get a lock if the the signal is under 70 with my reciever. I do not want to move my antenna as there is not much WB programming I would watch, but it would be nice to have the option.

THanks
Ray

This link is about a year and a half old, but it might help Try this (http://www.broadcast.net/~sbe20/HDTVNews/hdtvstatus.html)

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see WPXI broadcasting the Pittsburgh Thanksgiving parade in HD. Does this mean they are gearing up their internal HD capability and we will soon see their newscast in HD?

Nah..they rolled in a truck for that one.

TitanTV shows next Sunday's 8:30 game as NOT being in HD. However, when you click on the program to get the detail, it says "Program shown in 720p" So, is there any way for me to tell if this program is going to be in HD or not (before I invite everyone over)? I couldn't find anything on the ABC website.

ESPN Sunday Night games are always in HD. No worries. :)

Wait, were you asking if it would be HD on WTAE? My guess is the answer is no; last year there was a Sunday night game that was HD on ESPN-HD but not allowed to be shown in HD on WTAE for some reason. So you'll need to watch the game on ESPN-HD.

Thanks agtiny...I should have clarified, at this point I'm 100% OTA with regards to HDTV. That would make sense assuming ESPN-HD has exclusive rights to the HD broadcast. Oh well, I can always put on the SD broadcast and remove my glasses.

Don't feel bad Bob, I'm in the same boat. OTA only. Fortunately most of the games are NOT on ESPN.

We can always hope things have changed since last year and WTAE WILL do it in HD! :D

I am the Steubeville area and I was wondering if all the Pittsburgh HDTV stations are running at full signal strength?

Considering ABC owns ESPN I don't really see what the bid deal would be. But in this case it's one ABC station (WTAE) instead of the entire country receiving the game. I'm pretty positive that the WTAE feed will be SD.

I received my Silver Sensor yesterday, but it does no better then my old RS Bow Tie. Better than that junk RCA amplified antenna tho. I'm still only able to receive NBC and KDKA. FOX signal is only about 60% and picture is unwatchable (53.1 won't come in at all)

I was in Best Buy today, and they have a few HDTV antennas that "look" impressive. Like a Samsung TV5, or something like that ($99) and a few others. I already have about $80 invested in the 3 I already have. I don't mind paying the $100, if it will work. Are ANY of these better than the Silver Sensor?

WRL, you have to have a location problem or you aren't putting your antenna in the correct location. if i were you i would try everything. you mentioned that trees were blocking, etc. try taking your antenna outside and see if that will help at all, take your antenna to its highest point inside. i can tell you that i live in a 2 story townhouse, i could never get abc to come in..... i ended up going to wal mart and buying a 75' cable to run from the main tv downstairs to my upstairs bedroom and putting the antenna on the windowsill upstairs. i then found the abc signal and consequently experimented more with locations downstairs until i found a sweet spot that everything came in. getting channel 53 to come in is worthless, you need the digital channels. the only thing i can think of is that your location must be really bad because there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to get those channels in.

it may not hurt to call wpgh fox 53 and ask if you could talk to someone about their digital signal, i talked to the guy in charge of it before and he was very nice and prompt in getting to me, he may have some advice as to what you can do.

i do think you posted before that you are really close to the towers, you may want to search here on avs and see if you can find people that have been too close to the towers... i know that i have read many threads on teh tivo community forum about people being too close asking for help perhaps you can read over there as well for some hints.

Originally posted by tipton
WRL, you have to have a location problem or you aren't putting your antenna in the correct location. if i were you i would try everything. you mentioned that trees were blocking, etc. try taking your antenna outside and see if that will help at all, take your antenna to its highest point inside. i can tell you that i live in a 2 story townhouse, i could never get abc to come in..... i ended up going to wal mart and buying a 75' cable to run from the main tv downstairs to my upstairs bedroom and putting the antenna on the windowsill upstairs. i then found the abc signal and consequently experimented more with locations downstairs until i found a sweet spot that everything came in. getting channel 53 to come in is worthless, you need the digital channels. the only thing i can think of is that your location must be really bad because there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to get those channels in.


I do have a 50' cable, and ran my antenna outside, and it was actually worse. Lost NBC completely. If I set the antenna in the middle of my living room floor, I can pick up ABC(WTAE). I'm going to ask my landlord if I can at least set a ladder up and see what happens if I place my antenna near the roof.

What do you mean about getting 53 to come in is worthless? I thought some of the football games were in HD on FOX. I tried to manually enter 53.1, but it jumps right back to 53. Same if I try to enter 13.1, just jumps right back to 13 (although 13 is also unwatchable)

yes

Originally posted by burghman
yes

Huh?

WRL,

I believe the actual numbers to enter are:

1. For WPGH/FOX out of the Burgh the actual number(frequency assignment) is 43 or 43-1, which your unit should remap as 53-1.

2. For WQED/PBS out of the Burgh is under channel 38 or 38-1 which will be remapped to 13-1.

Try that

I thought I'd chrip in here with some meaningless info :)

I live in the greensburg area, and finally bought the Channel Master CM4228 and 7777 booster. Put it up on the roof tonight, and I get Fox, CBS, and NBC. ABC is only at 44% signal so I need to play around with the antenna a bit. All the other channels come in around 75%-80% on adverage.

Just thought I'd share

WOOT

Hello all...

I just recently moved from the Greentree area out to Robinson (Ventana Hills). In greentree, I was able to get all of the OTA channels, except for 4.1 using the new Trek indoor antenna.

Since I've moved out here, I can not get a single OTA channel. I've tried just about every indoor antenna that circuit city and best buy sells. I even tried a Trek 35? directional outdoor antenna, but I only have access to the southern sky.

Does anyone have any ideas??? Due to our restrictions here, I cant really mount anything outside... and using directional ones are out because I cannot get a clear shot.

HELP! I'm missing alot of HD steeler games!!!

Originally posted by EAnglum
Does anyone have any ideas??? Due to our restrictions here, I cant really mount anything outside... and using directional ones are out because I cannot get a clear shot.

If an indoor antenna is the only solution for you, seek out the "Silver Sensor" (sometimes available as the Zenith HDTV1).

http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=49&id=131

This Web page has details about it, and most importantly, a picture.

DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT buy another Terk antenna! They are awful. Terk makes an antenna with "HDTV" in it that looks very similar to the Silver Sensor. It is NOT THE SAME ANTENNA.

I bought mine from Amazon. If you're looking for one in a store, I believe Sears carried them at one time.

Mine is great, but I don't use it because we have two local VHF-based DT channels and the Silver Sensor is basically UHF only. I believe all of your major DT stations are UHF in the Pittsburgh market, so it wouldn't be a problem for you.

I use an RCA amplified antenna, the ANT-1250, which is sold at Wal-Mart. Another choice for you should the Silver Sensor not do it.

http://www.rca.com/product/viewdetail/0,2588,PI45474-CI209,00.html?

(Don't be scared by the $69 retail, it's like $27 at WallyWorld and other stores.)

Another well-regarded indoor antenna is this model from Radio Shack:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1880

If none of these work, you may be out of luck unless you can get an outdoor antenna up somehow, either in an attic or (preferred) on the roof. If you're in a condo or apartment, I'm sure the roof won't work :)

Up at the top of the Local Info and Reception area here, there's an "official antenna thread"...I'd go look at that, too.

Good luck!

Originally posted by EAnglum
Hello all...

I just recently moved from the Greentree area out to Robinson (Ventana Hills). In greentree, I was able to get all of the OTA channels, except for 4.1 using the new Trek indoor antenna.

Since I've moved out here, I can not get a single OTA channel. I've tried just about every indoor antenna that circuit city and best buy sells. I even tried a Trek 35? directional outdoor antenna, but I only have access to the southern sky.

Does anyone have any ideas??? Due to our restrictions here, I cant really mount anything outside... and using directional ones are out because I cannot get a clear shot.

HELP! I'm missing alot of HD steeler games!!!

I live about 2 miles further down the road from you in Moon and can recieve all OTA stations (Including 4.1) with no problems using an indoor antenna. My only view is of the southern sky too. I am using a LG Tuner (LST-3510) with a Radio Shack amplified indoor antenna (15-1880). I get all of the stations with an extremely strong signal. I have the antenna looking out my only southern window. Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't Ventana Hills sit pretty high on a hill? You are closer to Pittsburgh than I am so I would think you should get all of them with no problem like me. Maybe you can try the same Radio Shack antenna I have and see if it works for you. Hope this helps a little for ya.

Thank you guys for the info!

I just got back from Sears with a Zenith Silver Sensor...so far, no luck. :(

I'm currently using the Samsung DirecTV HD reciever (SIR 360) - and this thing is a pain in the butt to use. I really wish there was an option that would just show channel signal without having to lock it in using the "scan channels" option! :mad:

Anyone here from the Washington / Ruff Creek area? What kind of recption can you get with a silver sensor?

Originally posted by EAnglum
Thank you guys for the info!

I just got back from Sears with a Zenith Silver Sensor...so far, no luck. :(

Sorry to hear that. The Silver Sensor is one of the better indoor antennas.

Before you return it, note that it's quite directional. (That's one of the reasons it's highly rated.) You might have to scope out quite a bit of real estate to get a signal...and not being able to scan individual channels sure won't help your luck in that regard. Maybe you should attach the SS to a small, portable TV and scope out the local UHF *analog* channels...and when you find a position that looks the best for them, hook up your DTV box and rescan.

Anyway, since the SS is a directional antenna (which is one of the reasons it works as well as it does), even an inch or two either direction may change your signal pickup.

If you wanna continue antenna hunting, the RS 15-1880 that jsling is using down the road from you could be a good bet...it's at any RS store, link above in my earlier message to see what it looks like (it's quite distinctive). :D

As the second message in the "Antenna" topic in this board says, generally high, clear and directional is your best bet. If you have a shot at a window, high up, with few obstructions and aimed at wherever the antennas are, that's as good as you're gonna get.

As a note, with that RCA antenna I linked above... I was in a hotel room, third floor, in the Cranberry Township area of the Pittsburgh market. (Generally near the Turnpike/I-79/U.S. 19 interchange.) Window facing north. All transmitters south. No window in that direction. Digital STB and TV tuner box for my laptop in tow.

I found a spot on the bed, of all places, that allowed me to pick up KDKA-DT, WPXI-DT and WPGH-DT with clear signals! WTAE-DT was a no-show, but it's my understanding their tower is somewhat further south than the others.

On the other side of the room, out the window, I was getting WFMJ-DT out of Youngstown with no problems. (I couldn't squeeze out WYTV-DT, but got its analog equivalent with some snow.)

I only bring this up...because maybe it'll give you hope :D And if you can repeat my performance over there in Moon, you do have hope...I believe KDKA-DT is at full power for its digital signal, and KDKA and WPGH are (except for MNF and perhaps some playoff games) the two stations you'd need for Steelers games.

Well, I just boxed up the SS. I did find a way to get a signal meter with the Sammy 360... I avg around 45% with spikes going higher and lower (down to 10%) for KDKA... no luck. I moved the SS all over my apartment and even tried it outside near my DirecTV dish...

I think I might try that radio shack one mentioned above...

...back to fight the shopping crowds at the mall. :D

Good luck to you!

The KDKA signal sounds like you have multipath problems. The signal looks like it's bouncing off things...you're out by the airport, right? Maybe all the buildings/hotels/etc. out there are causing problems for you.

Here's some pictures of my adventures in the area a while back...maybe it'll help motivate you! ;)

http://www.nowbie.net/kdkasmall.jpg
http://www.nowbie.net/wpxismall.jpg
http://www.nowbie.net/wpghsmall.jpg

And here's what KDKA analog channel 2 looked like at the same place:

http://www.nowbie.net/kdkaanalogsmall.jpg

Again, that's with the RCA ANT1250... but I wouldn't assign any magical qualities to that...especially as it appears you have multipath issues. That RS 15-1880 you're getting would probably have similar results to the 1250.

.I'm not sure if any of this is gonna help you. :(

Originally posted by EAnglum
Well, I just boxed up the SS. I did find a way to get a signal meter with the Sammy 360... I avg around 45% with spikes going higher and lower (down to 10%) for KDKA... no luck. I moved the SS all over my apartment and even tried it outside near my DirecTV dish...

I think I might try that radio shack one mentioned above...

...back to fight the shopping crowds at the mall. :D

I also had no luck with the SS, or RCA amplified. Right now my SRZ-3000 is sitting, collecting dust, till I can find something that works. I'm actually only a few miles from most of the towers (Brighton Heights area of PGH). I must be in some "dead zone" or somthing, I guess

A look at the service area map for KDKA-DT (both 700KW power level and 1000KW) shows that Moon Township should be well within its service area:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT496424.html
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT498065.html

Power is not your problem here...KDKA-DT 25 is running at a high power level. The more I think about this, with your multipath issues... describe the terrain around you, the buildings, etc. It appears some things may be in the way between your place and KDKA's towers! I don't know the terrain down there very well, is there a large mountain or hill near you? Or between the KDKA site (which would be shown in the maps above) and you?

Originally posted by WRL
I also had no luck with the SS, or RCA amplified. Right now my SRZ-3000 is sitting, collecting dust, till I can find something that works. I'm actually only a few miles from most of the towers (Brighton Heights area of PGH). I must be in some "dead zone" or somthing, I guess

We MUST be talking terrain issues. I know the area is fairly hilly, and maybe there's a hill between you and the towers.

For both of you, try this site:

http://www.antennaweb.org/

put in your address, or even just your ZIP code, and you'll get an idea how far away - and in which direction - the towers are from you. If you put in your street address, you'll even get a map with directions of the towers superimposed on your local street map.

Considering that KDKA-DT, for example, is VERY powerful (at least 727KW, if not up to its full 1000KW) and you're probably not THAT far from it, either of you...I'd suspect multipath/terrain issues. There's not a lot either of you can do about that, unless you can hoist an outdoor antenna higher...and even then, there's no guarantees.

One small piece of hope, but it's a ways off...the so-called "5th generation" of STBs will reportedly handle multipath issues MUCH better.

I know it doesn't help you both NOW...but...! :)

Has anyone been recieving this channel over the last day or so? I know it worked on Sunday as my Wife watched "Housewives", but I noticed it was not in HD and I thought it typically was. I could not get the MNF game last night at all. All of my other channels had normal signal strength.

Anyone else having a problem?

THanks
Ray Nist

I got MNF in HD last night on WTAE-DT with normal signal strength.

I got the Sun 400pm game on KDKA-DT ,this was the first time seeing a NFL game in HDTV WOW I was shocked to see how great the picture was.
I wish I could get more Pittsburgh stations in HDTV. Are all the Pittsburgh stations in full signal strength? Still no HDTV stations,but the csr for Comcast said they have to rebuild the headend still. I get ota stations and it is great to watch the NFL and the Steelers in HDTV.Night and day different.


Tom:o

OK, something happened to the signal strength on WTAE-DT over the last couple of days. I left town for a few days and my signal strength has dropped to 6% from its usual 60%. I use the Zenith Silver Sensor and it has not been moved. I need to get this worked out before the New Years Day bowl games!

Anyone else notice a drop in signal recently?

Sorry WTAE-DT signal is to week for me to recieve.

It was for me too until recently I got the Silver Sensor and was getting great reception. They must have lowered the power since all the other stations are coming in normally. Any other Pittsburghers out there noticing anything different with WTAE-DT?

Originally posted by mripple
It was for me too until recently I got the Silver Sensor and was getting great reception. They must have lowered the power since all the other stations are coming in normally. Any other Pittsburghers out there noticing anything different with WTAE-DT?

I haven't watched it much lately but as of right now my signal strength for WTAE-DT hasn't changed any and is very strong. I live in Moon Twp.

OK, thanks. I am in Ohio Twp. and the signal is a little better now, ~25%. That's not going to be good enough to watch Lost uninterrupted at 8pm though.:mad: Strange that my signal strength was so solid for a month and now it's crappy...

Just got my system all hooked up and running and I can't stop smiling.
My system consists of:
Denon AVR 1800 a/v surround receiver dolby digital DTS
Denon DVD player 1500
JBL surround sound speakers (front, center & surround - dual sub-woofers)
Parasound Power Amplifier
Dish 811 HDTV Satellite Receiver
Sony 57" HDTV
Panasonic PT-AE700U HD Front Projector
DaLite High Contrast Projector Screen 54" x 92" Diagonal 106"
To get my OTA channels on my roof I have a outdoor Radio Shack Antenna 160" Long Dual Boom 57 Element and a Radio Shack 360 degree outdoor
antenna rotator connected to my Dish 811 HDTV Satellite Receiver.
OTA channels i get are (2)KDKA, (4) WTAE, (11) WPXI, (13) WQED, (53)
FOX, (21) WFMJ Youngstown, WBCB (WB) Youngstown.
Going to sit back and relax and watch the rest of the football season
and upcoming basketball. Nothing like watching the Steelers in HD on a
106" screen.

Sounds like a sweet setup, midontro. This weekend you can really give it a workout between Pitt being in the HDTV Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night, and the HDTV Steelers/Bills game on Sunday.

So much HDTV football, so little time...

Are you sure the Bills game is in HD? You'd think with it being a meaningless game CBS would pick another game to do.

The CBS schedule usually identifies which games are in HD a couple weeks ahead of time, but they still haven't done so for this weekend:

http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl

Hopefully by next season this will be a non-issue because every game will be HD.

Originally posted by agtiny
Are you sure the Bills game is in HD? You'd think with it being a meaningless game CBS would pick another game to do.

Meaningless for Pittsburgh maybe, but definately not for the Bills.

Certainly hope the Steelers & Bills are in HD.
Got a feeling it won,t be..

I have a feeling it will be.

The CBS HD games are usually the ones that they consider their "A" game on the national schedule. Looking at that list, I can't see another 1 PM game trumping Steelers/Bills, especially with both teams being good and with the Bills still in the hunt for the playoffs.

Miami/Baltimore? No way.
Cleveland/Houston? No way.
Cincinnati/Philadelphia? No way.
N.Y. Jets/St. Louis? Possibly the second HD game, if only because there are (last I'd checked) playoff implications and N.Y. is a huge market.

4 PM games:

Indianapolis/Denver? Possibly, though Peyton's already broken the record.
KC/San Diego? Probably not, since SD has long clinched a playoff run and I believe KC is out of it.
Jacksonville/Oakland? I can't remember if the Jaguars still have a shot...probably not.

So, here's my guess, based on the fact they usually do two 1 PM games and one 4 PM game:

1 PM
Steelers/Bills
Jets/Rams

4 PM
Colts/Broncos

TitanTV says it is:
KDKA-DT 25 (2.1) Sunday 1/2/2005 1:00 PM, 3 hrs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NFL Football

Steelers at Bills

Scheduled: Pittsburgh at Buffalo.
High Definition (HD) program shown in 1080i
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sports/Other

This list would bear me out, except for the Steelers/Bills:

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/programming/sports/twi-nfl.php

(They can't list local market NFL HD broadcasts due to a computer glitch.)

The two CBS games listed are the ones I thought they'd be - Jets/Rams and Colts/Broncos. Assuming CBS still has a 3rd HD truck at their disposal for this coming weekend, I wouldn't be surprised if Steelers/Bills would be on the list, though I don't know why it isn't now. Maybe there are only 2 trucks this week for some reason.

Interesting that people are saying that WTAE's power has dropped. I've found exactly the opposite to be the case. For me, all of my channels used to come in by pointing my Silver Sensor to the North West. ABC was best pointing North East, so I put it in my attic and pointed it due North. This wasn't ideal, but it caught most of the stations. On Sunday, I was tinkering with the antenna and pointed it North West. I was really surprised to see a strong signal on WTAE! That has never been possibe pointing NW. Could they have moved their tower?

Chris

Your right Hondo. Just checked Titantv and it is showing the Steelers in HD on sunday at 1:00 pm

Guys, never trust titantv.com - their track record isn't the best for accuracy.
It would appear, though, the Steeler game is HD. The announcers are Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross. That is CBS' "C" crew, and it's always HD with them.
For some reason, CBS forgot to update their web site this week as to which games are HD.
And Chris, WTAE did not move their tower, but they did increase their output recently.

Guys, never trust titantv.com - their track record isn't the best for accuracy.
It would appear, though, the Steeler game is HD. The announcers are Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross. That is CBS' "C" crew, and it's always HD with them.
For some reason, CBS forgot to update their web site this week as to which games are HD.
And Chris, WTAE did not move their tower, but they did increase their output recently.

Guys, never trust titantv.com - their track record isn't the best for accuracy.
It would appear, though, the Steeler game is HD. The announcers are Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross. That is CBS' "C" crew, and it's always HD with them.
For some reason, CBS forgot to update their web site this week as to which games are HD.
And Chris, WTAE did not move their tower, but they did increase their output recently.

Here are this Sundays HD Games (NFLST)

1:00 PM
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills 90
New York Jets @ St. Louis Rams 91
Minnesota Vikings @ Washington Redskins 92
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears 93
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers 94
San Francisco 49ers @ New England Patriots 95

4:00 PM
Indianapolis Colts @ Denver Broncos 96
Atlanta Falcons @ Seattle Seahawks 97
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Arizona Cardinals 98

Good...it's as I thought it would be. Makes sense, when you go through what teams are doing what.

In my experience, when Titan TV is wrong, it's been that something is not listed as HD, but ends up being broadcast in HD. I can't recall any shows that were being listed as HD, but were then broadcast in SD.

I live north of Butler, PA and have never been able to receive the digital signal from WTAE. Does anyone out there in my area receive this signal? If I thought I had a chance, I'd invest more money into another antenna. I just want my ABC HD. I'm able to pick up all other Pittsburgh stations with a moderate signal strength through my DirecTV tunner. I've emailed WTAE several times about their signal strength and have never received a response until the other day. This is what they sent me......


-------------------------------------------------------

Press Release

October 18, 2004

Contact:
XXXXXXXX
412-244-XXXX

WTAE-TV Channel 4 HDTV Signal Upgraded to New Maximum Power Strength

WTAE-TV Channel 4, a national pioneer in digital broadcasting, is proud to announce the upgrade of its High Definition Television (HDTV) digital broadcast signal. WTAE-DT viewers now enjoy our new 1 million-watt signal. This is the maximum signal power allowed under the latest FCC regulations. This new maximum power level is a dramatic increase from the previous signal strength of 145 kilowatts. This upgrade is designed to bring WTAE-DT viewers the clearest possible signal across our entire viewing area.
WTAE-TV Channel 4 pioneered digital television in the Pittsburgh viewing area, broadcasting Pittsburgh’s first HDTV signal on February 1, 1999.

-----------------------------------------

Is this true???? Did anyone ever see a signal strength increase in October?

To add to my frustration, DirecTV just added, as of Dec 31st, an ABC HD east & west coast feed. I called a CSR and was told that I cannot subscribe to this channel as they already provide locals in my area. This is due to a recent act by the FCC. I'm not sure of the name. I believe that it is SATELLITE HOME VIEWER IMPROVEMENT ACT, SHVIA.

Thanks for letting me vent,

Dan

I believe they did increase the strength, but their tower is farther south than the other towers, so you will get a weaker signal. But at max power, I think you should still be able to pick it up. Some have noticed the power has been weaker over the last few days I think. How far north are you... 40-50 miles? Do you have a rooftop antenna?

I'm 53 miles from their tower. I have a large rooftop antenna. I'm not sure of the specs on it though. I've had it for a long time. I also have an in-line amp hooked up. Without it, I don't receive any digital channels.

I went out today and purchased a dedicated HDTV receiver just to give it a try. My signal strength increased on all channels. I can now at least tell that WTAE exists! The signal varies so much on their channel that the unit is unable to get a lock on it. I did locate a couple of other stations from Youngstown but they are duplicates of others that I already receive. I don't know that I have any options left. I thought about raising the antenna up another five or ten feet, but I don't know if it would make much of a difference. I also thought about trying to buy a bigger and better antenna. If anyone has any ideas, please pass them along. I sure would have liked to see that Pitt game in HD tonight!

you should be able to get either the wtae feed or the feed from youngstown. if all else fails to get around the wairvers with directv you may want to consider "moving" you can find white areas in say chicora, east brady, clarion...call d* and tell them you have moved here, then switch the billing address to your house.

perhaps "move" to Clarion PA 16214-4019, you will get pittsburgh local channels and are eligable for all distant HD feeds. go to the yellow pages in yahoo and enter that zip as your location and find addresses. plug them in till you find one that works. just keep that as your location and set the billing address on the directv website as the one you have now and you'll be set.

Anyone know when the UPN 19 HD feed will be coming up?

The only info I've been able to find has them pending FCC approval for a really long time now.

I live in the Uniontown,PA area, and have been reading the post about both the indoor and outdoor antenna's. Those of you how live around here, what kind of reception do you get. I would like to know before I go and buy something and it ends up not receiving anything.
Thanks, Nick