Originally posted by jer_mayhew
just relized this....maybe a stupid question, but how are you getting channel 4 with the silver sensor? isn't it just a UHF (channels 14-69) antenna?

WTAE-DT is on RF channel 51

Originally posted by sombreroman
WTAE-DT is on RF channel 51

i thought it was 4.1

4.1 is a virtual channel number assigned using PSIP (some metadata sent with the transport stream). The real channel is 51. PSIP is also supposed to carry guide data, the current time, etc., but has done nothing but cause problems from what I've seen over the years.

Originally posted by agtiny
4.1 is a virtual channel number assigned using PSIP (some metadata sent with the transport stream). The real channel is 51. PSIP is also supposed to carry guide data, the current time, etc., but has done nothing but cause problems from what I've seen over the years.

oh ok...yeah guide data...noting show up on my reciever

Having problems with the 2-1 / 25-1 thing on CBS. CBS shows to be on 25 but nothing is there, it is 25-1 !!!
My Toshiba is happy to record from "25-1" by tuning itself to 2-1. My LG LST3410A picks up gemstar TV guide listings on 25-1 but not 2-1. When it goes to record, it goes to 25-1, quickly switches to 2-1, finds no program and stops recording with the message "not a valid channel" Why are the 2 units different and what might I try to make the stupid thing record properly from channel 2 HDTV? The Toshiba rarely loads data so has a useless program guide and the LG wants to switch to an "invalid" channel and stop.

Originally posted by jer_mayhew
how do the ones that clip to your Sat dish work??

I'll probably go with a rooftop before trying another indoor.
but we'll see.


I may go to sears to pick up a silver sensor today & try it out & if its no good take it back.

I live in the south hills and when I first got DTV four years ago, tried the OTA antenna from Terk that clips onto the dish itself. Im in a valley about 6 miles south of the city and got a whole lot of nothing with that setup. I tried it cause I wanted to try and get the locals OTA so I didnt have to pay the $5/month from DTV. Cant say what will happen in your case, but that was my experience.

Let us know what happens with your SS if you get it. I have yet to have HD installed, just cant pull the trigger yet.

Originally posted by jer_mayhew
how do the ones that clip to your Sat dish work??

I'll probably go with a rooftop before trying another indoor.
but we'll see.


I may go to sears to pick up a silver sensor today & try it out & if its no good take it back.

I live in the south hills and when I first got DTV four years ago, tried the OTA antenna from Terk that clips onto the dish itself. Im in a valley about 6 miles south of the city and got a whole lot of nothing with that setup. I tried it cause I wanted to try and get the locals OTA so I didnt have to pay the $5/month from DTV. Cant say what will happen in your case, but that was my experience.

Let us know what happens with your SS if you get it. I have yet to have HD installed, just cant pull the trigger yet.

I live on the n. side of Pittsburgh in Brighton Heights and way up on a hill. I''m almost eye to eye with the observatory. I recently installed a channel master 4228 antenna on one of the telephone polls running up my driveway. I can now finally pick up wtae-hd but my signal for wpgh-hd is so weak it's not even viewable. Honestly I don't watch much on wpgh-hd but I figure if I'm going to all this trouble, I want to receive it all! Anyone have suggestions on a signal amplifier that will boost my current incoming signals. I do receive a signal for wpgh-hd. It's just not strong enough to hold a picture consistently.
Thanks,
John

Speaking of signal amplifiers, do they really work? I have tried some before (although never ones that attach directly onto the antenna outside) and none seem to make a difference.

swspjcd

You might want to try the silver sensor antenna. I live 50 miles northeast of pittsburgh and have the 4228 with pre-amp and rotator and get wpgh-dt just fine. I don't live in the city but you might be a little over kill with your antenna. Perhaps someone else in the city can help but I think an indoor setup would be just fine in your situation.

Have you checked antennaweb.org using your address? It may be that the WPGH tower is in a different direction. I know it's located along 279, while the rest are downtown (and WTAE's is farther southeast).

A good quality can make a difference, sometimes. We use Weinguard AP-4800 amps, and like all other off-air antenna solutions in the Pittsburgh area, it may help or it may hurt. Tried to use one at the south end of Squirel Hill, and it nocked some stations off due to overdriving their signal. Used it out by Moon yesterday to bring in WTAE and it was the ticket.

Originally posted by Bill Shenefelt
Having problems with the 2-1 / 25-1 thing on CBS. CBS shows to be on 25 but nothing is there, it is 25-1 !!!
My Toshiba is happy to record from "25-1" by tuning itself to 2-1. My LG LST3410A picks up gemstar TV guide listings on 25-1 but not 2-1. When it goes to record, it goes to 25-1, quickly switches to 2-1, finds no program and stops recording with the message "not a valid channel" Why are the 2 units different and what might I try to make the stupid thing record properly from channel 2 HDTV? The Toshiba rarely loads data so has a useless program guide and the LG wants to switch to an "invalid" channel and stop. I just got a MyHD-130 today and had the same problem. Screwing around I happened to switch to 79 and it was cbs but it wasn't labeled. Let me know if it helps.

Originally posted by swspjcd
I live on the n. side of Pittsburgh in Brighton Heights and way up on a hill. I''m almost eye to eye with the observatory. I recently installed a channel master 4228 antenna on one of the telephone polls running up my driveway. I can now finally pick up wtae-hd but my signal for wpgh-hd is so weak it's not even viewable. Honestly I don't watch much on wpgh-hd but I figure if I'm going to all this trouble, I want to receive it all! Anyone have suggestions on a signal amplifier that will boost my current incoming signals. I do receive a signal for wpgh-hd. It's just not strong enough to hold a picture consistently.
Thanks,
John


I use the same antenna with the Channel Master 7777 Amp and I get all the Pittsburgh Stations Except WTAE.

Ok, I live in Blairsville, PA 15717, I checked Antenna.org, it says I can not recieve any DTV channels. Ok Really Can I, I found a Zenith HDV420 for $30 and would love to add it to my rack. I have a 2 story house. Thanks all for any help.

42 miles east of town.. with a good enough antenna you should be able to get something. You should also be able to receive the Johnstown stations.

Great, whats a "good" antenna? (Prolly asked for the 10000th time).

Thanks

I have the biggest "radio shack" VHF-UHF unit but Channel master has one slightly bigger. Don't go with only UHF as many HD channels are to move to VHF in about a year and then you will start over with a UHF only unit.
I would go with the Channel Master 3671 were I to do it again.

The UHF stations are not going to move anywhere.

The VHFstations (2, 4, 11, and 13 are now broadcasting HD on UHF digital stations . CBS, NBC and ABC as well as PBS are on these UHF stations temporarily for HD but will replace their VHF non High Definition stations in about a year and they will be broadcasting VHF HDTV, not UHF. IF all you want is UPN, WB and FOX you will be ok with a UHF only antenna, but for CBS, NBC, ABC you will need a VHF antenna. 53, 22 and 40 will stay UHF HDTV as far as I know. I don't know if it has been decided to allow KDKA, WTAE and WIIC to keep their current VHF frequencies for the changeover to new HDTV feeds or if they will be "put up for bid" Still open there.

So is it safe to say, that for those of use that are kinda far from Pittsburgh, that once these HD channels go to VHF, we will no longer be able to get them OTA? I ask because I know UHF reaches farther than VHF signals.

Originally posted by Bill Shenefelt
The VHFstations (2, 4, 11, and 13 are now broadcasting HD on UHF digital stations . CBS, NBC and ABC as well as PBS are on these UHF stations temporarily for HD but will replace their VHF non High Definition stations in about a year and they will be broadcasting VHF HDTV, not UHF. IF all you want is UPN, WB and FOX you will be ok with a UHF only antenna, but for CBS, NBC, ABC you will need a VHF antenna. 53, 22 and 40 will stay UHF HDTV as far as I know. I don't know if it has been decided to allow KDKA, WTAE and WIIC to keep their current VHF frequencies for the changeover to new HDTV feeds or if they will be "put up for bid" Still open there.

WIIC?
Man, are you showing your age!

Originally posted by Bill Shenefelt
The VHFstations (2, 4, 11, and 13 are now broadcasting HD on UHF digital stations . CBS, NBC and ABC as well as PBS are on these UHF stations temporarily for HD but will replace their VHF non High Definition stations in about a year and they will be broadcasting VHF HDTV, not UHF. IF all you want is UPN, WB and FOX you will be ok with a UHF only antenna, but for CBS, NBC, ABC you will need a VHF antenna. 53, 22 and 40 will stay UHF HDTV as far as I know. I don't know if it has been decided to allow KDKA, WTAE and ERIC to keep their current VHF frequencies for the changeover to new HDTV feeds or if they will be "put up for bid" Still open there.


Man that stinks,because my antenna and amp are for UHF.

I think this whole UHF converting to VHF thing is just speculation. I've never heard that this is going to happen, and I'd bet against it. PSIP will eventually work properly and remap all channels to their virtual numbers anyway. Or maybe we'll just see things change to become "Storm Team 48" and so on. :)

Originally posted by Bill Shenefelt
The VHFstations (2, 4, 11, and 13 are now broadcasting HD on UHF digital stations . CBS, NBC and ABC as well as PBS are on these UHF stations temporarily for HD but will replace their VHF non High Definition stations in about a year and they will be broadcasting VHF HDTV, not UHF. IF all you want is UPN, WB and FOX you will be ok with a UHF only antenna, but for CBS, NBC, ABC you will need a VHF antenna. 53, 22 and 40 will stay UHF HDTV as far as I know. I don't know if it has been decided to allow KDKA, WTAE and WIIC to keep their current VHF frequencies for the changeover to new HDTV feeds or if they will be "put up for bid" Still open there.
This would be a remarkably stupid thing to do on their end. Stupid enough to make me believe that they won't do it.

How exactly do you know which stations will change and which ones won't?

Remember this is in the hands of politicians....Stupid is as stupid does.

None of this is decided. The whole broadcast flag issue is in appeals court.
There's no hard analog cut off date. No one knows who is going to foot the bill for all these digital to analog set top converters yet for millions and millions of viewers. All I know for sure is I get all the digital channels OTA I can reasonably expect at this time and I'm not letting speculation and conjecture about what the gov't may or may not do in the future ruin it until it happens, if it ever does.

Last night on WTAE-HD NYPD Blue my picture changed from HD in the last 5 minutes of the show. I'm not sure what it changed to; it was still watchable on my rabbit ears antenna, while the SD-4 channel isn't, but the quality was a noticeable difference from the HD, and it kind of popped. I just picked up a new set Sunday, so I was wondering if it was the set or if anyone else noticed this? I checked WPXI later and it was HD.

Originally posted by UVArplcd
Last night on WTAE-HD NYPD Blue my picture changed from HD in the last 5 minutes of the show. I'm not sure what it changed to; it was still watchable on my rabbit ears antenna, while the SD-4 channel isn't, but the quality was a noticeable difference from the HD, and it kind of popped. I just picked up a new set Sunday, so I was wondering if it was the set or if anyone else noticed this? I checked WPXI later and it was HD.

Yep, I expected to see a weather or news crawl when they did that, but it must have just been a glitch. Nothing wrong with your equipment. :) Really points out the video & audio quality difference doesn't it!

Originally posted by UVArplcd
I checked WPXI later and it was HD.
Funny you should mention WPXI. I was watching L&O:SVU last night and I was gonna start watching the news. After the end credits finished, there was just black. No news broadcast. At least not for a good 30 seconds to a minute. At that point, I just said screw it and found something more interesting to do.

Originally posted by agtiny
Yep, I expected to see a weather or news crawl when they did that, but it must have just been a glitch. Nothing wrong with your equipment. :) Really points out the video & audio quality difference doesn't it!
The locals route the network through the studio's control room just prior to news so that they may do a promo, news tease, etc so you can have network credits running simultaneous to the tease to your 11PM news.
And yes, you REALLY know when it's SD.

I pulled the following from the FCC site. Note the last sentance:
Quote
"Answer: Under the FCC spectrum plan, we have provided most existing broadcasters with access to a 6 MHz channel for digital broadcasting within a core digital TV spectrum, i.e., TV channels 2 to 51. Because of the limited availability of spectrum and the need to accommodate all existing facilities with minimal interference among stations, however, during the transition some broadcasters would be provided DTV channels outside of this core spectrum (channels 52 to 69). These broadcasters would have to move their DTV operations to a channel in the core spectrum when one became available. Broadcasters whose existing NTSC channels were in the core spectrum could move their DTV operations to their NTSC channel at some time in the future. Broadcasters whose DTV transition channel and existing NTSC channel were both outside of the core area could obtain a new DTV channel when channels in the core spectrum are recovered. [/B]"
end quote

Now remember, VHF has a greater range than UHF. Uhf is touchy (as if we didn't see that". Does anyone think that KDKA, WTAE, and WIIC wont shoot for their current VHF channels for their digital broadcasts. As soon as the FCC mandates analog to go away, thee 2 to 13 will be digital and HD will show up there. Something is to happen this summer and by 2006, kiss analog goodby and be sure your VHF antennas are operational.

Originally posted by sthayashi .

How exactly do you know which stations will change and which ones won't? [/B]


I have no idea which will actually go uhf or vhf. Some will however go vhf. Assuming 2, 4 and 11 are "big money" stations as compared to UPN, my guess is that they will stay on VHF with their digitals and those like 53 and 22 will be staying on UHF, but I doubt we will know till it happens.

I way always under the assumption that UHF has a greater range than VHF. Is this wrong?

This raises another question. Why not simply broadcast digital on both? It's not like they don't already have the encoders for their current digital channel. It seems really pointless to pull the plug on the digital and put it back on the VHF channel all for "Channel recognition."

As we saw with the PSIP problems on KDKA, making transitions WILL cause problems, so pulling plugs is undesirable. You risk losing a LOT of money by having no broadcast whatsoever.

I would think they will broadcast on bothtill they get things straight. My gurss is that over the next two years we will see a mess till all the dust settles. Who knows when the GVT is involved.

Originally posted by hoops10
I way always under the assumption that UHF has a greater range than VHF. Is this wrong?
I believe lower frequencies have a greater range. That's why you can usually tune in to an AM radio station at a much greater distance than an FM station.

UHF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_high_frequency) and VHF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF) have their own advantages. VHF appears to be able to go farther, but can be subject to ionosphere reflections and problems.

Bill Shenefelt, I agree with you that they'll broadcast both until things get straightened out. And knowing large corporations and the government, that will take a good long while. I'll bet at least 5-10 years.

Whichever is better for whatever reason, In this area.the major networks seem to have gone with VHF for their broadcasts up to now.

Originally posted by Bill Shenefelt
Whichever is better for whatever reason, In this area.the major networks seem to have gone with VHF for their broadcasts up to now.
I thought that might have been due to the fact that VHF is older than UHF and that once you own a channel, you don't want to necessarily change it unless absolutely necessary.

Could be that they are older but for my reception UHF has always been very "iffy" No problem with other major channels like cCBS(2), NBC(11) ABC(4) or PBS(13) Even get VHF from more3 distant stations (7, 9, 8, 10) but to just keep 22 or 53 with a viewable picture from 20 miles using the biggest, best UHF antenna I can buy was not possible. Now with the digital and the HD UHF it is sometimes on or off rather than just poor quality picture, but still not like VHF in reliability. Even at about 6 miles from me 4-1 can "change direction" for the best reception on digital.

It would be a hell of a lot more convenient for us if they all went full power UHF after the transition, but VHF broadcasting is much cheaper for the broadcaster, and some stations are jumping on them.

So if VHF is channels 2-13 and KDKA operates on 25-1 (whereas their analog is on channel 2), is KDKA using a VHF signal or a UHF signal? I ask because right now I am about 52 miles away and it is very touchy, most of the time I can't get KDKA. But if it moves to a VHF (if it is not VHF now) then maybe my chances will increase of getting it?

I would guess they will go from the channel 25 UHF to channel 2 VHF within about 2 years. Ihave not tried since Ihave the network more local, but I should see if I can get 8 and 10 digital UHF feeds. They are East of me and thPittsburgh is west so my antenna is almost always pointed west. My channel scan finds them though. I do get them on vhf with fair picture too.
Not sure if I could get their digital UHF feeds. I'll give it a show and see what cpomes in, but there is a hill east of me and UHF is kind of touchy about anything between me and the tower. Even in the summer the leaves on the trees seem to block and really give me a bad p;icture on 22 and 53.

Strangely enough, I can get VHF feeds, even though I don't have an explicit VHF antenna. What I have is a cable running from my STB across the room to the Silver Sensor behind my couch, running underneath the floor.

The bigger question is, can normal STBs tune VHF-based digital stations?

EDIT: When I say I can receive VHF feeds, I mean on analog, not digital.

all pittsburgh stations are currently UHF i believe

Well, that long cable is probably why you CAN receive VHF feeds. VHF needs a longer attenna, so in your case, it works.

I don't see why current STB's couldn't tune in digital channels over VHF. The circuitry is there to receive analog VHF stations. I would imagine the tuner tries to see if the signal coming in (whether UHF or VHF) is digital. If it is, and the signal strength is sufficient, you're in business. If not digital, then tune it as analog. This is based on an assumption, but it would make sense for something like this to occur.

Originally posted by sthayashi
Strangely enough, I can get VHF feeds, even though I don't have an explicit VHF antenna. What I have is a cable running from my STB across the room to the Silver Sensor behind my couch, running underneath the floor.

The bigger question is, can normal STBs tune VHF-based digital stations?

EDIT: When I say I can receive VHF feeds, I mean on analog, not digital.

Originally posted by tipton
all pittsburgh stations are currently UHF i believe

Pittsburgh stations are all UHF ,but I did see that some Cleveland HDTV stations are on VHF.

Hey Guys, UPDATE!!
Got my CM 4228 Today, after trying all sides of my house, I finally got a signal at the porch, facing west. I got WTAE and KDKA.

My question is what channels should I expect to receive after I Roof mount this thing? I am in 15717 blairsville.

Thanks for your help.

CheckAntennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx), though I'm a little skeptical of them not reporting the digital stations for you. I figure that if you can get KDKA analog (and digital?) you should be able to get the other digital stations as well.

can anyone recommend to me a good DSL service for the northern pittsburgh area (Cranberry) ? i'm not concerned with having the fastest or anything like that, cheaper would be better i guess since i'm already paying so much at my office where i spend most time online anyways. not sure if anything is better than armstrong's cable internet or not

You just about have to call the different ones(like verizon) and ask. I thnik the switchboarrd must be within about 4 miles for the pole to work on DSL. I don't know if there is an option on differnt services though. I would start with verizon. $29.95 a month for mine. I have verizon on my phone service and ATT on my cell. Got the veriazon DSL So far pretty reliable.

You just about have to call the different ones(like verizon) and ask. I thnik the switchboarrd must be within about 4 miles for the pole to work on DSL. I don't know if there is an option on differnt services though. I would start with verizon. $29.95 a month for mine. I have verizon on my phone service and ATT on my cell. Got the veriazon DSL So far pretty reliable.

I was wondering if UPN 19 Pittsburgh is broadcasting in HD yet?

No, they are still trying to sort out where their digital signal will be.

FYI,

I checked their channel election forms in the FCC database of applications and 2, 4, 11 have elected to stay on their existing UHF digital channels. None are going back to their VHF channels.

<<<<I checked their channel election forms in the FCC database of applications and 2, 4, 11 have elected to stay on their existing UHF digital channels. None are going back to their VHF channels.>>>>




Are the kdka, wiic and wtae going to dump the VHF stations when the non HD dies? I thought they were all going digital and converter boxes were going to be needed within a couple of years for thoose with old style TVs. . If they stay on UHF for digital what becomes of VHF 2, 4, and 11? Dead space, new stations?

was KDKA out for anyone else last night ? out for me for some reason...

Are the kdka, wiic and wtae going to dump the VHF stations when the non HD dies? I thought they were all going digital and converter boxes were going to be needed within a couple of years for thoose with old style TVs. . If they stay on UHF for digital what becomes of VHF 2, 4, and 11? Dead space, new stations?

They're supposed to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Originally posted by tipton
was KDKA out for anyone else last night ? out for me for some reason...


It was fine for me.

i just got back home for spring break and noticed the sound synch error is still happenning with the CBS ota feed, and i also noticed that the sound on NBC ota (i was watchin the tonight show) was very hollow-like monotone, when i switched back to my E* local feed it sounded normal. can this be because my 811 wants to convert 5.1 into 2ch(but i think wpxi is not 5.1 yet). anyone else having these issues? or should just wait for the longggg mpeg4 transition to get a new reciever

Try switching between Dolby and PCM sound. Sometimes one works better thant he other for both sync and volume of the center channel.

Looking for somebody besides me with a Toshiba DLP 62HM94 set in the Pittsburgh area. Have nothing but problems with the Gemstar TV Guide. As opposed to others around the country, I seem to get programming loads but get the time set as one hour and 3 minutes slow, which really screws up recording from the guide. Anyone else in Pittsburgh with OTA and a Toshiba???

Also seem to get a goofy reception of channel 2 on my LG-LST3410A. It switches from 25-1 to 2-1, finde nothing in the guuide on 2-1 program wise(all are listed under 25-1) and shuts down recording.

Originally posted by lazyvenki
i just got back home for spring break and noticed the sound synch error is still happenning with the CBS ota feed, and i also noticed that the sound on NBC ota (i was watchin the tonight show) was very hollow-like monotone, when i switched back to my E* local feed it sounded normal. can this be because my 811 wants to convert 5.1 into 2ch(but i think wpxi is not 5.1 yet). anyone else having these issues? or should just wait for the longggg mpeg4 transition to get a new reciever


I was watching the Law & Order Trial by Jury premiere from WPXI-HD on the Comcast DVR the other night, and experienced the same sound issue - like one of the stadium settings on a surround receiver - hollow, tinny, prominent echo.
So it was probably a WPXI problem, not your equipment.

Was WPXI having problems tonight?

I had to switch to analog because there was an uncomfortably long pause during SVU.

Also, my receiver was showing 3 channels, left, center, and right. I suspect that might have had something to do with the 'hollow' sound that people were complaining about.

Originally posted by sthayashi
Was WPXI having problems tonight? It looks like it is the 5.1 stream that is the issue. It has been going on for a couple days now. Every 5.1 program has the LCR channels only. (it is coming through on Cable for me.)

When is the best conditions to receive UHF DT OTA stations. Morning,night,winter,summer,spring,fall,cloudy, or clear days?

I have pulled in the strongest signals on cold relatively humidity-free winter nights when there is no snow or cloud cover. I know the sun can interfere with radio waves so reception is better at night.

I forwarded some of the above posts to NBC today in order to see what was going on with WPXI's 5.1 audio.

As it turns out, there was a metadata problem between our HD receiver and our Dolby DP569 Digital Audio Encoder. When the encoder cannot see the proper metadata, it defaults to the left, center and right configuration (resulting in that "hollow" sound). Hopefully, this problem has been resolved as of 3/15.

If problem persists, please post your messages here. I check this forum from time to time, and I'll be happy to look into any WPXI-DT issues.

Regards,

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Thanks for the update!

We really appreciate it when we're lucky enough to get direct info here. :)

Thank you. We appreciate the attentiveness of the engineering department and your response.

Given the responses (or lack thereof) that we've received from some of the other network affiliates, we're pretty grateful for all answers here, even if it turns out to be small or embarrassing. We're technical people and we like answers to our problems.

Hopefully, this thread can be a useful medium to provide more technical feedback on digital broadcast/reception problems. Thank you again, WPXI.

As more and more viewers venture into "HD-Land", the more attentive we find we must be to our HD signals. With that, any feedback I receive from this forum will be helpful to me.

I have to keep remembering that this is all new territory - both to viewers and to the technical staffs at local TV stations. There are so many different ways we can foul up our signal - many which I know of and many more that I haven't even dreamed up yet!

Please keep me posted via the forum if any of you experience problems, have questions, or just want to "vent" to a TV station. I may not have all the answers, but I'm most happy to find them when I can!

Cheers!

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Speaking as a fellow engineer who's trying to make this stuff work, I'd like to echo Dave's comments. It is definitely a different world for us broadcast engineers. Not too many years ago I was making jokes about sitting at home and seeing a blue screen of death on my TV with the words "Please standby while WFMJ TV reboots...". Little did I realize that the joke would be on me when one misplaced keystroke in a PSIP bit stream left every tuner in my coverage area dark even though I was putting out full power with a perfect transmission system. One year ago, I wouldn't have hesitated to reboot an encoder or make a PSIP change in the middle of the afternoon, but now with so many viewers, I treat my digital like my analog and do it in off hours. I've been monitoring this forum for over a year now and try to help where I can.

Any thoughts as to why sometimes a HD broadcast lacks the "center channel voice" I was watching NY CSI this this week (OTA) and the voice was "gone" Commercials were fine though. Ths show lacked any volume on center channel (Dialogue) both going via PCM or via Dolby. Did CBS (or NBC, dont remember the network) have a problem???

I have had that problem several times on CSI. It sometimes only lasts for the intro, last night it was about 3/4 of the way before it was corrected. I kept switching back from my 921 which was recording it and my HD-520 which was live on the DTV local feed.

Thanks, at least it isn't my tuner. Sometimes you can fix this problem by going either into dolby from pcm or the other way. Would not work for me that way the other night. I think the stations and networks are having growing pains. My LG3410A wont tape from channel 2 since 2 insists on calling itself 25-1 My LG goes to 2-1 and it has 25-1 as the station listing the progaamming on the guide and nothing on 2-1 on the guide and quits recording immediately. The toshiba symbio understands 2-1 for recording but the guide sucks still. Time is now off by 15 minutes ersus 1 hour and 3 minutes, but no program listings yet.

Does anyone know which NCAA March Madness games will be in HDTV?

I saw on CBS's site that more games would be in HDTV this year but couldn't fine a listing of which ones.

If today's Pitt game is in HDTV I'm going home to watch it. Otherwise I'll go to a sports bar.

I hadn't read of any problems with WPXI-DT's Surround Sound over the last couple of days, but I found two additional problems with our Dolby encoder over the last two days. I've corrected them both...I think!

If you happen to watch "Medical Investigations" or "Law and Order" tonight, I'd appreciate any updates you might care to give me on our Surround Sound.

Thanks in advance,

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

So maybe I've been out of it lately, but are some NBC shows being mixed in 5.1 now? That's great. :)

Originally posted by RockScaler
Does anyone know which NCAA March Madness games will be in HDTV?

I saw on CBS's site that more games would be in HDTV this year but couldn't fine a listing of which ones.

If today's Pitt game is in HDTV I'm going home to watch it. Otherwise I'll go to a sports bar. According to TitanTV the games aren't in HD. I noticed it the other night looking at the guide. I don't really care for basketball but I still was a little suprised.
Originally posted by agtiny
.....I think most of the Drama's that are on are 5.1. I could be wrong though. I know Las Vegas and Law & Order is

I have a Channel master amp 7777 and found this amp and was wondering how much it would improve reception, if any over the 7777 model. http://www.researchcomms.com/hdtv.html It has a UHF NOISE FIGURE UHF 0.4 dB. UHF 20 db GAIN vs the Channel master 7777 UHF NOISE FIGURE 2.0 dB UHF Gain: 26 dB

Kudos to KDKA for multi-casting the HD NCAA tournament games again this year! AWESOME!

The coverage and PQ has been awesome!

My only complaint is with the audio. The commercials are about 50x louder than the coverage. Extremely annoying.

LET'S GOOooooooo Mountaineers!!!

yeah.. so is 53-1 being incorrectly remapped to 43-3 for anyone else ? man, my hdtivo missed it last night because of this.

I looked at my OTA recording of 24 last night and it is missing the TVCT header info, which is what controls the remapping. Their normal stream remaps 43-1 (HD) to 53-1 and 43-2 to 53-2.

On last night's recording all the HD and SD data appears to be in the right place, just without a TVCT header. I haven't actually looked at the video yet but I hope it's there!

Their normal TVCT data:

Channel 1
Short Name: WPGH-HD
Transport Stream ID: 2513 (0x09d1)
Channel Number: 53.1
Carrier Frequency: 0
Modulation Mode: ATSC (8 VSB)
Service Location Descriptor:
PCR PID 0x0031
Stream Type 81 ESPID = 0x0034 Language = eng
Stream Type 02 ESPID = 0x0031 Language =

Channel 2
Short Name: WPGH-SD
Transport Stream ID: 2513 (0x09d1)
Channel Number: 53.2
Carrier Frequency: 0
Modulation Mode: ATSC (8 VSB)
Service Location Descriptor:
PCR PID 0x0041
Stream Type 81 ESPID = 0x0044 Language = eng
Stream Type 02 ESPID = 0x0041 Language =

Anyone having trouble with FOX 53 signal? I am having trouble locking it in.

For the very first time since I got my set in Novermber, the TV guide time is correct !!! Hope it holds especially when this weekend we change the clocks! I only have about 9 hours of programming loaded but at least the time is finally correct (fingers crossed)

Just got back from a job in Chicago, and I don't have any picture from KDKA-DT on my Dish 921. I have a signal of 120 on the meter. It is just like back in Feb. when alot of my DirecTV clients had problems when they changed the PSIP and screwed up the receivers. I have no problem with my Zenith HD-520 receiving KDKA-DT. Am I the only one?

Has anyone had any problems with WPXI's closed captioning on Channel 48? If so, could you post some details?

Thanks,

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

I was finally able to get an HDTV for my house but unfortunately I can't get any OTA signal here in Pitcairn. I guess I will have to wait awhile until I get some extra cash to get HD with D* or E*, I will go with the one who I can get HD with the cheapest. I currently have D*, but if E* can get me a better deal I will go with them. Cable is not an option for me in Pitcairn...

hey verbal, i live in monroeville near Forbes hospital and have trouble getting OTA with an indoor antenna(I will try this summer to get an outdoor one setup). I think there is no way you can get OTA in pitcairn. its elevation is so low with respect to the topography of the area. I have E* right now and its great. The 811 is not very good at locking in OTA and the tuner sometimes freezes, but it picture quality is very good. I believe you should wait for the MPEG4 transition for both satellite operators, and Adelphia is way overpriced, but it would solve any reception issues and be hassle free. You should only consider going with D* if you can get free equipment like E*.

Yeah, that's got to be a low elevation problem. I live in Forest Hills about a block away from the Greensburg Pike (up high) so I can pull in everything. In Pitcairn even a tower antenna might not help, there are hills all around you. I was not aware that Pitcairn wasn't under the territory of Comcast!

I think Pitcairn is the only municipality in Allegheny County that supplies its residents both electric and cable. I wish I would get cable from Comcast or someone else so I could get HD through them, but DirecTV or Dish is my only way to get HD. I wish Voom wasn't dying or I would get them because they had some cool channels.

I'm moving to Pittsburgh from Philly this June and am looking at apartments in Shadyside. How is the OTA reception? I have a Silver Sensor and HR10-250 Directv receiver.

Shadyside is within a couple miles from the city so the distance won't be an issue. I would be more worried about hills and the apartment building you will be in.

Agreed. Shadyside is a jungle in terms of trees, apartment buildings and houses. Open space to the Northwest will be your best bet in terms of getting decent OTA reception for NBC, CBS, Fox and WB. ABC, I'm just gonna say that you're probably pretty f***ed in terms of getting a clear signal with that. The broadcasting antenna for that station is to the south past a lot of hills, including Squirrel Hill, your closest large hill.

When you're here, to give you an idea of the size of the hill, find Negley Street and go South on it. You will come to a very impressive hill.

I sat down to watch Conan the other night and lo and behold, black bars on top and bottom, black bars on left and right. The show definitely originated in HD. It was clearer than usual and Conan spent half the show making HD/widescreen jokes. But I was getting it on WPXI's digital channel on Comcast as an upconvert. This was true of some other shows on WPXI as well, too. What gives? I called WPXI and they told me it was Comcast's fault. I called Comcast and they told me it was WPXI's fault and accused me of stealing service. Can someone at the very least confirm whether it's in true HD OTA so I know whether I should be bitching at Comcast or WPXI?


Dan

Originally posted by lazyvenki
hey verbal, i live in monroeville near Forbes hospital and have trouble getting OTA with an indoor antenna(I will try this summer to get an outdoor one setup).

Hey lazyvenki,

I live about a mile and a half from Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, off of Haymaker Road. I have an RPTV in the basement of my house with a Terk indoor antenna (see its specs here: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Terk-Indoor-HDTV-Antenna-HDTVi-/sem/rpsm/oid/91092/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do ) and a USDTV OTA receiver (see its specs here: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2598451 ). With this setup I am able to get all Pittsburgh OTA HD channels with the execption of ABC.

Maybe this info might help you pinpoint what the problems are with your HD OTA reception in Monroeville. I get great reception even with my antenna sitting in the basement, so there might be other issues with your OTA setup if you live in the same vicinity.

I also get HD channels from Adelphia Cable to supplement the OTA channels and also get ABC.

If you think further details and comparisons with our HD setups might improve your OTA reception, let me know.

It's funny that you should be writing today about NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The folks at 30 Rock have had US guessing here as well about their Late Night feeds!

Last Wednesday, NBC started feeding Conan O'Brien in High Definition. Here's the rub as I understand it...only the in-studio portions of the show are in high definition while any archived tape elements (as well as commercials) are sent in 4:3 SD. This means that the studio portion of the show looks great in HD, but some of the show's elements and the commercials are upconverted with the black side bars.

On the SD analog side of things, here is the reply I received from NBC engineering this afternoon (and if you read between the lines, he sounds a little disgusted):

"The SD version of "Conan" is downconverted from the HD master. The "Conan" folks made the creative decision to create a 16x9 letterbox for the SD version. Non-program elements like commercials and promos will air in their native aspect ratio, meaning there will be some 4x3 material during commercial breaks."

I'm sure that this doesn't completely answer your question, but I will continue to follow up on this until you are satisfied. I've been talking with our overnight operator and I will be sure to get an update from him first thing in the morning. If I hear anything new or different, I'll be sure to post it on the board.

...and by the way...as I understand it, Comcast "should" be simply passing our HD signal. If we were sending a straight HD signal, that's what they should be passing. If on the other hand, they were getting an upconverted signal from us, that's what they should pass. I'll make sure that things are right coming off TV Hill.

Don't you just hate it when people pass the buck? I'll try to get things straight on this end...and I'll be sure to let the board know.

Hey Charles, turn your antenna about 90 degrees counterclockwise looking down from the top. Channel 4 is out in the Little Boston area at about 90 degrees from 11, 2 and 53 in Pittsburgh.

bigcps,
I live off of saunders station, unfortunately my RPTV is in the corner of the house farthest away from all the signals(antennaweb basically has all the channels pointing towards Forbes) ABC of course needs to be pointed south(It also happens to be one of the channels i can recieve the best) I am using the DISH 811 reciever and the radioshack 15-1880. The Radioshack antenna is really buggy, probably because of a crappy onboard amplifier. I really want to buy a CM 4228 and a rotator i know that will pick up everything. solidsignal.com has everything for cheap, but i would prefer to buy things locally just in case a return had to be made. Can annyone reccomend how to point the RS 15-1880? it seems to bug out with just the slightest adjustment. Anyone have experience with the radioshack yagi(15-2160)?

I have the 2158 and a channel master 8 bay bow tie on separate masts. I use the bow tie for channel 4 and the yagi for the others, both are on channel master rotors controlled by a remote controlled motor unit.
I got the rotor system from.
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/Chmaster_ant.htm

and they shipped it just fine. I also got the 8 bay bow tie from them. I'm out near paintertown fire hall and overlook Irwin. Never got decent UHF but the digital UHF's come in very well.
I would get the biggest channel master and skip the amp. All they do is increase the signal (and any garbage)in case you got an enormous cable run to the house from the antenna(at least 120 ft+ or skip it!). Better just a bigger antenna. Never had an amp worth anything.

I just saw that Ch 11 is going to broadcast the NBC weather channel on one of the digital side channels. Just what I need, another useless channel and degraded HD.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

By the way lazyvenki, I live off of Saunders Station and I put a rotary antenna up on the chimney. I pick up 2, 4, 11, 13, 16 (occasionally, but there is nothing to watch anyhow), 22, 40, and 53 digital channels. Picked up my antenna and such at Lowes. I don't remember the model but I used the recommendation from antenna.org. Total cost was between $200 - $250. Also, I agree with Bill - you don't need an amplifier.

casey,
which antenna specifically did you use? i feel as the signals I recieve should be just as good as yours(I live near the saunders+haymaker Y-intersection, but before the hill) did you mean antenna with a rotator? or an antenna with a round shape(an antennaweb yellow/green multidirectional urban antenna)?

Also, the terk version of the Winegard SS-3000 Sharp Shooter is now available from bestbuy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7049669&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08084&id=1108124657996
Its only at the Century III location right now though. I'd love to hear if anyone has tried it or not(its a lil risky for me to put an antenna on the roof, just as risky as getting permisssion). If i do decide to try it I will certainly post.

lazyvenki,

I live back after you turn on Woodland.

I don't recall the exact model but maybe either a Channel Master 3017 or 3018. Check out their website (Under outdoor antennas, Advantage line). I also got a rotator since Ch 4 is about 90 degrees off the other channels. There are no amplifiers. I just feed the coax into the back of my STB.

http://www.channelmaster.com/home.htm

With this set-up, I can tune in a strength of 80 to 100 on all the major channels on my STB (DTC 100). I need a high 60 to get the signal and anything over 80 is pretty rock solid. My worse channel is 16 followed by Ch 22 (which is still in the high 70's and low 80's).

I picked the antenna based on this site.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

BTW, my main TV is in the basement and I don't think I can use an internal antenna to pick up the weaker stations. In the little testing that I did, I could pick up the real close stations but not the ones farther away.

I have the Terk branded Squareshooter from BB - it's a nice antenna given its size for sure. Combined with the LG 4200 OTA tuner, I get just about everything. It's a directional antenna so I had to find the "sweet spot" which took some adjustment. For me it's not a big deal, it's mounted on a second floor deck, but on a roof I imagine it's not so fun and something motorized might be a better option.

Don't you just hate it when people pass the buck? I'll try to get things straight on this end...and I'll be sure to let the board know.


Welp, Conan and everything else was just fine last night. All is well in HD land. No way I could convince you guys to shut down the weather radar subchannel...? The PQ on Leno has declined considerably. Nobody with HD equipment needs that channel. Anyone with that much hardware has eight hundred other ways of getting the weather (cell phone, weather channel, cable box, internet, looking out the window...) Ah, multicasting.

Anyway, many thanks if you had any hand in resolving the not-really-in-HD thing. Kick ass.


Dan

Did anyone else notice an audio delay in yesterday's Kentucky Derby?

Anyone experiencing problems with WQED through Adelphia cable in NW Pennsylvania?

It has been off on my channel lineup for at least a couple of days now(I have not checked all that often) and has not been on the air since. the channel receives a strong steady signal, but no picture or sound. The other channels(KDKA/WPXI/WTAE) are all fine.

Well I tried the Terk, "by Winegard", HDTVIp / SS-3000 Sharp Shooter. It was absolutely horrific. The silver sensor and the Radioshack indoor greatly out-perform it. The terk could not pull in a single signal. The antenna as a whole seemed very cheap(external amp, assembly, look,etc). Despite its purspose as an antenna the defeats multipath, this antenna does not control this problem. Therefor is useless. Please do not buy, a huge waste of time/money

Anyone experiencing problems with WQED through Adelphia cable in NW Pennsylvania?
I haven't been receiving WQED-HD for several days now. I get it OTA.

Originally posted by lazyvenki
Well I tried the Terk, "by Winegard", HDTVIp / SS-3000 Sharp Shooter. It was absolutely horrific. The silver sensor and the Radioshack indoor greatly out-perform it. The terk could not pull in a single signal. The antenna as a whole seemed very cheap(external amp, assembly, look,etc). Despite its purspose as an antenna the defeats multipath, this antenna does not control this problem. Therefor is useless. Please do not buy, a huge waste of time/money

Or you have a lousy tuner, poor location, user error, etc. Sorry it didn't work out for you. Every situation is different, but a search of the forums will turn up a lot of satisfied squareshooter owners, so branding it "junk" based on your experience is a little much. I can certainly understand the frustration trying to pull in OTA.
Good luck with your next setup.

I am new to this thread.

I have had HD TV for a little over two weeks. From AntennaWeb I found that at my address the channels run from 2.1 @ 22 degrees to 4.1 @ 104 degrees. I have an old RS antenna in the attic on a rotor so I set it to about 63 degrees and everything comes in fine with two exceptions.

22.1 is always weak, and I know that. I talked to the 22/53 engineer about it.

What is bugging me is 11.1, which is at 28 degrees and should be comparable to 2.1 sometimes comes in at the same level as 2.1 and 4.1, which is about 70 on my DirecTV HR10-250. At other times it comes in at single diget strength. When this is happeneing, all the other channels are maintaining their usual signal strength.

Has anybody else observed this and do you have a solution?

Following up to my own post, I got some data off my HR10-250. I only recorded signal strength readings over 50. What I found was that most of the major Pittsburgh stations have good strength over a field of 90 degrees or more. Channel 53-1 was best, covering 15-120 degrees. OTOH, 11-1 only covers 45 degrees. It has terrific strength if you are aimed right at it, but it falls off pretty quickly to either side.

Channel 22-1 was really bad having only marginal strength over 30 degrees. It is enough for me to receive if I am pointing right at it, but otherwise I get nothing.

Re my last post. If anybody wants the Excel spreadsheet, please send your e-mail address and I will return it to you.

well, I was referring to the new Sharp Shooter SS-3000 antenna, just recently availably at best buy as a Terk. I was not referring to the Square Shooter SS-1000/2000 antennas. And i believe it is a poor buy since antennas one third the cost outperform it,even in the antenna's suggested conditions. No my tuner is not "lousy".

Originally posted by lazyvenki
well, I was referring to the new Sharp Shooter SS-3000 antenna, just recently availably at best buy as a Terk. I was not referring to the Square Shooter SS-1000/2000 antennas. And i believe it is a poor buy since antennas one third the cost outperform it,even in the antenna's suggested conditions. No my tuner is not "lousy".

DOH! My sincerest apologies, must be a little multipath in the thread. ;)

Like I said, I can sympathize - I must have tried 8 different indoor antennas from $30-$100+, with my best results coming from the 15 year old rabbit ears with a UHF loop that I was using to pull in FM radio on my receiver. My results improved dramatically when I got rid of the Samsung T351 OTA tuner and replaced it with the LG4200, and got increasingly better by moving to an outdoor antenna.

Isn't this fun?

I know this is supposed to be about OTA, and that is what I am using. However, as you know from previous postings, without moving my outdoor antenna, I can either get 48/11.1 (NBC) or 51/4.1 (ABC), but not both. Somebody suggested using two antennae but I'm not really sure how to make something like that work.

From my location, 51/4.1 is at 104 degrees, while all the other stations in which I am interested are between 22 degrees (25/2.1) and 40 degrees (three channels). Consequently, I would like to be able to get 51/4.1 off the satellite, but I don't know if that is possible.

The DirecTV web site says only CBS is available in Pittsburgh, but I am at a loss as to why one network would be available and the others not. I have sent a note to DirecTV, but I have heard nothing back as yet. If anybody has any information on this subject, I would appreciate hearing it so that I have some idea what to do if I need to pursue this further.

BTW, I get local SD channels off the satellite, and in fact, I use that signal for one or the other of these so as not to have to move the antenna. However, since I have HD equipment and I am an HD subscriber to DirecTV, I would like to be able to get the networks in HD without having to worry about where my antenna is pointing.

KDKA is a CBS O&O (owned and operated) station, so CBS doesn't care if you watch their New York feed. The other local stations are affiliates so they won't let you watch out of area feeds.

I heard back from DirecTV. Apparently they can't even give me KDKA at this point. However, they can, and have, requested clearance to provide all the signals to me, even the ones I don't want! Hopefully, either WPXI or WTAE will oblige, preferably WTAE. If I can get WTAE, I can get everything. If I can get WPXI I can get everything but 42/22.1 (WCWB).

In case this doesn't work out I also went to www.solidsignal.com and filled out their form. I may be able to install a different antenna to get all the channels without moving my antenna. I am also thinking about looking into amplification. It might give me the extra kick I need.

First, I need to see if WPXI or WTAE will allow me to download from NY.

For me in Irwin they are about 90 degrees apart. Stick up a second antenna connected to antenna B for channel 4-1 and be done with it 2, 11, 22, 53 and 13 HD are close enough together or wide band signal availability for me (and maybe for you depending on your location) to get those from the same direction. Other than that, buy a rotor

Unless you are running a coupleof hundred ft of cable from antenna to tv, an amplifier at the antenna is a waste of money and will probably overload the tv anyway.Tuners are very sensitive these days so an amp is not a wise investment unless like I said your antenna is a great distance away,

Actually i already have a rotor, but I want to be able to program my HD DVR to record stations without having to worry about where the antenna is pointed. 4-1 is at 104 degrees and most stations are at 22-40.

I am aiming my antenna at the most stations and recording channel 4 in SD off the dish for now. I would consider a second antenna except I have only one input and I don't really know how to combine the signals. Do you?

Obviousley, I am hoping DirecTV will get permission to deliver 4-1 off the dish.

I'm not sure how it would work as I don't know how poor 4 is when pointed at the other stations, but with a combiner, you could combine the two antenna signals and see how it goes. IF the 4-1 signal off the prime antenna is weak enough it should work for you Something to try as I don't know any other way to see if it will work out. If you have a HD DVR and it is using the tv tuner though, you can tune the tv to the antenna 2 input for the recording and hitch antenna 2 to the 2nd antenna. The DVR's I know of other than the 3410A If you have a DVR with its onwn internal HD tuner, try the splitter/combiner route. Just pick up one at radio shack. Not expensive. are not HD but take firewire in rather than use their own tuners.

For the last week I have not been able to pull in 11.1, I've had it for a while now and all of a sudden it is gone. I live in South Fayette (near Bridgeville) and have a huge antenna up in my attic. I'll have to climb up in there for specs if needed, but I figure I'll try moving it around a little as well.

All of the other HD stations are still coming in fine. Just wondered if I was alone in this one or not.

Thanks.

Comes in fine for me. Try doing a repeat on channel scan. Sometimes a set will forget a station.

11.1 is weak for me unless I aim directly at it, in which case it is very strong. I am in Peters Twp. I found I could either get 11.1 or 4.1 but not both, so I aim to get everything but 4.1 and get 4 off the satellitge.

Hello,

I will be moving to Cranberry Twp, next month and will be using DirecTV as well (I'm a current subscriber). I was wondering how the HD OTA reception is out there? I currently live in N. Hills and can receive all of the locals fine with my Zenith Silver Sensor, but I doubt the Zenith will work as well in Cranberry.

Agtiny any chances of pulling in WTAE from Cranberry? I'll be moving to the Creekwood plan off of Rochester Rd. I'd hate to miss Monday night football in HD this year. Thanks in advance for any input.

Regards,

Mark

I have DirecTV and an HR10-250 HD TiVo and a Channelmaster 4228 OTA antenna. I can pull in every local HD channel OTA but 4-1 (WTAE). I get WTAE but barely with lots of digital artifacting. I can't seem to lock that channel in without loosing one or more of the other OTA channels. I get WTAE at about 65 peak.

Can I use two OTA antennas and combine them into one cable? Aim one at WTAE only and the other one at the rest of te OTA channels?

All of the other OTA channels are at 312-320 degrees
WTAE is at 187 degrees.

I have the identical problem and this solution has been suggested to me. However, before trying it I asked DirecTV to request that they be allowed to download the local channels over the satellite. I kind of doubt all will agree, since they all put out an adequate signal, but it was worth a shot. DTV was unable to offer any info on how likely approval might be, just that it would take 30-45 days.

I have the identical problem and this solution has been suggested to me. However, before trying it I asked DirecTV to request that they be allowed to download the local channels over the satellite. I kind of doubt all will agree, since they all put out an adequate signal, but it was worth a shot. DTV was unable to offer any info on how likely approval might be, just that it would take 30-45 days.
It sounds like DirecTV is sending out DNS waiver requests for the national networks not your local affiliates. You are a lock for CBS (You should already qualify for this one-CH 80) since it is O & O.

Local HD coverage by DirecTV should begin late this year or sometime next year so there is hope.

That is correct. The waivers are for the networks. However, as I said, all have good signal strength, just not in the same direction!!

i live in cranberry and get all the locals aside from the WB at almost full strength. it took a few antennas to get it right but with an amplified antenna from radio shack i get 90% or more from the big 4.

Thanks Tipton. Is your antenna an outside or attic antenna? Also do you happen to have the model number?

Thanks Tipton. Is your antenna an outside or attic antenna? Also do you happen to have the model number?

i had tried 3 different antennas and this was the best of them. its just an indoor amplified antenna. it took a little to find the sweet spot, but once i found it its sat in the same place never having to move it.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?MSCSProfile=745D84CBF04D14A48AA6FF9C89D722C0BA68 C1B04FE384678A5285FCD6E056B17AF21627FDABE316B90B3C038D68EBD6 B7F9F3BD1712EAA9951ACB2590A05C6517EFE46941FEFDD1985D4EFD6321 F5E70B4DE9B6C1D45512DCD9FB3DBCACB947CFF7F0E932F6BE65BF58DD89 D44985E34D8E483124CB8DD0C5967EB08D2E9F6C1B78A9E9DE195711&cookie%5Ftest=1&catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1880

thats the link hopefully it works.

Thanks for the link and info. I appreciate it.

Anyone else notice JAG on Friday and NCIS on Saturday were in 5.1.

Great News!

edit: nevermind it was going in and out of 5.1 Maybe they are just testing it.

Sorry to post this off the topic question.
I am buying a new hpuse with a separated 14'x26' unfinished basement. I try to use it as a dedicated home theater room. If you know any good Home theather constuction service in Pittsburgh area (Wexford), could you please share with me? Any suggestion about how to build a HT room is welcomed. This my first HT room and I know nothing about the comstruction. Thanks in advacne.

Sorry to post this off the topic question.
I am buying a new hpuse with a separated 14'x26' unfinished basement. I try to use it as a dedicated home theater room. If you know any good Home theather constuction service in Pittsburgh area (Wexford), could you please share with me? Any suggestion about how to build a HT room is welcomed. This my first HT room and I know nothing about the comstruction. Thanks in advacne.You should search here at AVS and the internet in general for home theater pictures and accounts to get some ideas. I've always been impressed with RAF's theater built from the ground up, as described here:


http://www.rfowkes.com/html/ht.html

Anyone have first hand info about reception in Murrysville? I have been to antenaweb but just thought I'd ask for any real experience pulling in the HD signals from the eastern suburbs. I'm a D* sub tired of waiting for HD locals and Adelphia doesn't have Fox 53 in HD. Thanks

I don't know if you are in murraysville down by 22 at McDonalds or up on a hill. Cpould make a big diffeerence. How are your UHF stations there? If good, HD should not be a problem for you. I am in Irwin up on a hill and get all the Pgh channels in HD off a big uhf/vhf radioshack antenna.

Thanks for the reply. I am off of old 22 east of the McD halfway between it and the Sheetz by the post office. What do you think about indoor or attic antenna? My roof has a serious pitch to it so I'm not comfortable getting on the roof.

Indoor little antennas are typically junk. I would go inside the attic or if you can, just alongside the heouse with an outdoor UHF. From the location you are in, you probably can get most of the stations. USe the antennaweb site to see which side of the house faces the most HD stations and look at the big 8 bay UHF antennas. You want some direction from a location that has no close obsticles. Even if the hills to your south are in the way, a close tree or house is far worse. Consider a pole that may be attached to the side or corner of the house and esxtend up to the roofline or a couple of ft higher. Most of the HD stations are UHF and may stay there. UHF can be goofy with signals. I get lousy 22 and 53 uhf, but get the same ones on HD digital just fine.

How long has QED been down? I haven't been able to pull it in for a while. Usually reception is not an issue so I assume there's something wrong at the station again--has anyone heard anything? I was bummed out, I wanted to watch some Fourth of July fireworks in HD!

I thought my antenna moved or something since I was not getting 13-1 or 13-2 for the past week or so..

I just sent QED a quick e-mail asking if there's anything wrong with the broadcasting atenna...

Wow do I feel foolish. I spent an hour in a really hot attic over the weekend moving my antenna around because I haven't been able to pick up PBS for a couple weeks.

I knew I should have just looked here.

It's okay on Comcast HD. But it was the last time they had OTA transmitter problems too.

WQED's web site says they had storm damage to their antenna.

...and six days later, QED responds to my e-mail with what we already know:

Hello,

At this time our antenna is down due to techincal problems. We are in
the process of getting this fixed, but we are not sure how long this
will take.

With regards,


Shyvonne Hall
Customer Service Representative

I have never seen a television station with so many technical problems, or such a lack of concern over whether they're on the air or not.
They should be reported to PBS.

I guess since they are public television, the big bucks just aren't there. Since OTA HDTV viewers are still (unjustifiably) considered a "fringe market", they probably don't feel they have to rush to spend money to fix this. Maybe if we all keep bugging them, they'll get an idea of how many of us are actually out there using this service.

Below I have posted the contact information for the Customer Service Representative, maybe we could all send a quick and polite e-mail letting them know that we exist as a viewing base and are concerned about their ongoing commitment to OTA HDTV?

Shyvonne Hall
Customer Service Representative
WQED Multimedia
4802 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-622-1370 (phone)
412-622-7008 (fax)
SMHall@wqed.org

Are HD antennas more susceptible to lightning damage than the normal broadcast ones? KDKA is down and the WB was down for a while the day before yesterday.

BigG asked: Are HD antennas more susceptible to lightning damage than the normal broadcast ones? KDKA is down and the WB was down for a while the day before yesterday.

To the best of my knowledge, HD broadcast antennas are no more or no less susceptible to lightning than Analog broadcast antennas, that is unless there were problems or mistakes in the original antenna installation.

While I don't know the specifics of KDKA's or WB's problems, I would suspect transmitter issues, not antenna issues. But with adequate lightning suppression and proper antenna/tower grounding, transmitters should be protected as well.

-----

Regarding WQED - just be patient. No, TV isn't rocket science, but broadcasting digitally is new ground for everyone. There's quite a learning curve involved! Just because someone received an email from a customer service rep with a cavalier tone doesn't mean that she even talks to the techs, let alone knows who they are! I'm confident they're working to solve the problem quickly, properly and with the help of their transmitter's tech support team.

Dave

I would believe the stations do not put high priorities on their digital signals as they would on their analog signals. I don't think WQED for example, would allow their analog signal on channel 13 to be off-the-air for weeks on end.
They are I believe still able to be viewed on Comcast's digital feed.
That seems to be more important than OTA transmission because Comcast pays a fee to them to rebroadcast their signal.
That is a real shame because it leaves us terrestrial viewers out in the cold.
They are really taking their time to correct the problem.

Letter fired off to WQED 7-17-05.

Ten Questions:

1) Why is it taking so long to repair your transmitting antenna?

2) Doesn't WQED have to abide by the same FCC's rules and regulations as non-public stations?

3) Isn't it your job as a broadcaster licensed by the FCC to serve the public interest?

4) Does WQED believe there are no over-the-air (terrestrial) viewers?

5) Are terrestrial viewers "second-class" viewers (since the outage hasn't effected Comcast's feed)?

6) Why do I have to rely on WNPB's Morgantown signal to watch digital PBS programming when I reside in the much larger Pittsburgh market? Btw, WNPB's tower was damaged last year by an airplane strike, and they repaired the problem quickly, and were back on the air almost immediately.

7) How are our "public interests" being served?

8) Would you care more about the situation if it was your analog (channel 13) signal?

9) Why?

10) Does it matter to WQED if I forward this inquiry letter to the FCC?

Please forward this to your engineering department.

Bill
Washington County

...They are I believe still able to be viewed on Comcast's digital feed.
That seems to be more important than OTA transmission because Comcast pays a fee to them to rebroadcast their signal....True, WQED-DT is still on Comcast. Never off, as far as I know.

But, I really don't think Comcast pays for the signal.

I suspect it's just that whatever is wrong doesn't affect their ability to give the signal to Comcast.

I agree there is no excuse for being off OTA so long.

Wouldn't it be great if one of the local broadcasters like KDKA, WTAE or WPXI put up on one of their digital channels a real-time live radar view? They certainly have the space as you can put 3 SD and 1 HD channel on one carrier.
I've seen this in several other markets and it's a nice thing to have.

Benji15301: The closest any broadcaster has come to your request is WPXI-DT on channel 11.2. We've added NBC's Weather Plus, which among other weather information, shows live radar five times per quarter hour. Additionally, Weather Plus crawls watch and warning information fairly continuously while they are active. Remember, Weather Plus was not designed for long-term viewing - the program repeats itself every 15 minutes. That being said, Doppler radar is up fairly often - and it's live.

(By the way...Weather Plus is also on Comcast Digital Cable, 208.)

Dave Morrison, Tech
WPXI-TV/WPXI-DT

Thats great Dave, and I like it. Thanks.
But, there are times when I'm going to a ballgame, picnic or simply a short trip and I would like to turn on the TV and have it right there-bam! I have to wait around for it to cycle through on 11-2.
Don't get me wrong, Weather Plus is a great product.
I've been viewing it for a while now even before WPXI picked it up.
It was on WJAC and WTOV before you guys had it. I receive both of those stations also.
A bigger screen for the radar would be really nice too because of the small area Weather Plus allots for live video.
That's all.
Bill
Washington County

Multiple Antennas

I was not able to get Ch 4's digital signal because it was at 104 degrees. All the other channels were around 30. I added a second antenna and joined the outputs into one line and now I am getting all the Pgh channels OTA without having to move my antenna. Works great for Tivo.

FYI,
WQEX-DT returned to the air on Tuesday (7-26) and WQED-DT returned to the air on Wednesday afternoon (7-27).

Can anyone get KDKA-DT? It has been awhile since I got it and it was usually very reliable. Is it still at 25-1?

I am getting KDKA loud and clear. It is at 22 degrees from me. I have one antenna pointed at 30 degrees to get 15-45 and another pointed at 90 degrees to get 75-105. The outputs are joined and I am getting all the local digital channels without having to move my antenna.

benji15301, I wonder if your pointed e-mail helped speed things along! Great news!

i just wonder why the hell PBS can't start broadcasting their program/guide date on 13-2....then perhaps i would know when something i wanted to watch was on. i emailed them at least 6 months ago and they said it would be fixed soon. they broadcast the data on 13-1...but thats pretty much damn inconvenient. i don't understand how/why these stations can be run so poorly.

Per HDSportsguide.com, they have confirmed some upcoming Steeler games will be in HD for OTA:

08/26 (preseason) @ Redskins 8:00 pm FOX
10/10 @ Chargers 9:00 pm ABC
10/31 Ravens 9:00 pm ABC
11/28 @ Colts 9:00 pm ABC

Two more Steeler HD games (Eages on 8/15 and Browns on 11/13) are ESPN games so I don't know what the story will be for OTA. I'm sure there will be a lot more Steeler HD games than this since there are several CBS and Fox games scheduled and those networks have a pretty good track record of being HD broadcasts. Does anyone know if there's a complete list of all Steeler HD games for the season? I realize they may not know this far in advance or could get pre-empted by the local broadcasts.

I think last year CBS posted their HD schedule on the fly about 3 weeks in advance. On CBS if the Steelers play at 4pm they're usually a national game which is HD (If I recall correctly).

For the ESPN games doesn't WTAE pick up the feed? I have no idea whether ESPN would grant them the HD feed for DWTAE...

i'd pretty much guarantee that the patriots, packers, ravens, bears, browns, vikings, and lions games will be in HD. of course all the ABC and ESPN games will be in HD.

there are 6 games per week on FOX in HD and 3 on CBS, from what i have heard this number is not increasing this year.

so overall (including preseason) i would bet that we will see at least 12 games in HD this year, and most likely more if the team is having a good season. for the past 2 years there has been 1 local (non national) preason game in HD, so hopefully this trend will continue to hold true this year. i guess we'll see...

i see it looking like this, and this would be the minimum:

PRESEASON

Monday, Aug. 15 EAGLES 8:00 p.m. (ESPN) - HD
Saturday, Aug. 20 DOLPHINS 7:30 p.m. (KDKA)
Friday, Aug. 26 @ Redskins 8:00 p.m. (FOX) - HD
Thursday, Sept. 1 @ Panthers 8:00 p.m. (KDKA)
REGULAR SEASON

Sunday, Sept. 11 TITANS 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Sept. 18 @ Texans 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Sept. 25 PATRIOTS 4:15 p.m. (CBS) - HD
Sunday, Oct. 2 BYE WEEK
Monday, Oct. 10 @ Chargers 9:00 p.m. (ABC) - HD
Sunday, Oct. 16 JAGUARS 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 23 @ Bengals 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Monday, Oct. 31 RAVENS 9:00 p.m. (ABC) - HD
Sunday, Nov. 6 @ Packers 4:15 p.m. (CBS) - HD
Sunday, Nov. 13 BROWNS 8:30 p.m. (ESPN) - HD
Sunday, Nov. 20 @ Ravens 4:15 p.m. (CBS) - HD
Monday, Nov. 28 @ Colts 9:00 p.m. (ABC) - HD
Sunday, Dec. 4 BENGALS 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday Dec. 11 BEARS 1:00 p.m. (FOX) - HD
Sunday, Dec. 18 @ Vikings 1:00 p.m. (CBS) - HD
Saturday, Dec.24 @ Browns 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Jan. 1 LIONS 1:00 p.m. (FOX) - HD

That would be a sweet HD schedule. I'm ruined for watching SD broadcasts.

I heard Franco Harris will be signing copies of the new NFL Films DVD (The Complete History of the Steelers) at the mall at the Robinson FYE on Thursday August 4th from 6 to 8 pm!

rbpeirce, how exactly did you do this two antenna setup? Are the two antennas on the roof? What antennas did you use? I have a ChannelMaster 4228 on my roof. I get all stations but WTAE. If I move the antenna to get WTAE I loose all the other stations. I want to get two antennas and do what you are doing.

rbpeirce, how exactly did you do this two antenna setup? Are the two antennas on the roof? What antennas did you use? I have a ChannelMaster 4228 on my roof. I get all stations but WTAE. If I move the antenna to get WTAE I loose all the other stations. I want to get two antennas and do what you are doing.

I had a RS antenna on a rotor in the attic. I could not Tivo OTA digital programs without moving it, which sort of defeats the purpose. I removed the rotor and pointed the RS antenna to 30 degrees. I added a Channelmaster UHF antenna pointed at 90 degrees. I combined their output with a splitter/joiner, which I believe was manufactured by Winguard. This unit has a 3 db loss, which if I recall correctly, is 50% power loss. Nevertheless, all the Pittsburgh digital channels (when they are on :-)) register 80-90 on my Tivo.

I don't recall who I ordered the antennna and joiner from but I got the name from one of these forums.

I'm getting a slow crawl of white dots on 4 WTAE (D*). Is anyone else seeing this? It's not on any other channel and not coming through on 4-1 antenna. I have a Directv HD Tivo. It does not appear to be a ground loop interference or other signal coming from within my house (I've turned off and/or unplugged just about everything I can think of). Also, if it were an interference issue, why is it only on this one channel. Any thought or help would be appreciated. It's been happening for about a week and I have not changed anything in my house/home theater during this time. Thanks.

GNo, I see this on my HR10-250 HD DirecTiVo too on channel 4 (SD). I can't get WTAE 4-1 OTA without loosing all my other OTA channels. I may go the two antenna/combiner route in the next month or so.

i'm in cranberry too and don't have this problem with abc... just watched the football game monday and made sure to look for it. no problems on my set, weird.

The one thing that seems to plague me is occasional loss of "center channel" audio (containing the dialogue). Sometimes repaired after 5 or 10 minutes into a HD show but sometimes I need to revert to SD to get the audio. Seems a network problem as comercials always come thru LOUD and clear. Wish they would fix this audio loss as well as audio volume equilaization.

For reception problems with channel 4:

David A. Kasperek
Director of Engineering
WTAE-TV
400 Ardmore Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15221-3090
Office 412-244-4615
FAX 412-244-4595

dkasperek@hearst.com

Remind them of their "smeary" SD video quality also.

It seems to have corrected itself over the last day or so. Thanks everyone for the posts.

The dots seem to be back - multiple tv sets but only on WTAE from D* not ota or on other D* channels. Any suggestions?

Will WTAE carry tonights Steeler's game in HD?

For those of you that watch us:

Our studio took a pretty good power hit this morning that blew up our upconverter. I'm supposed to have a loaner here tomorrow, but until then we will be SD 480i only both OTA and cable.

I am having a heck of a hard time pulling in WTAE 4-1 here in North Versailles. I can either get WTAE 4-1 alone, or get NBC, Fox, CBS, WB and PBS. I chose more channels obvioulsy.

Is there a way to combine two OTA antennas into one coax cable?

What antennas do you recommend?

Can you then split this combined antenna coax to run 2 HR10-250 HD TiVo's for OTA?

The antenna I have now is a ChannelMaster 4228

Yes. Winguard, I think it is, makes a device that joins the output of two antenae. I am using it and it works fine. I suppose you could also split the combined signal to drive two devices, but remember that you lose power every time you combine or split a signal.

myunk, Is your antenna directional? I think the problem is that Channel 4's HD tower is not in the same location as their regular TV station on Ardmore, you might be pointing it the wrong direction. I think from North Versailles you need to point the antenna in the opposite direction as most other stations (check antennaweb.org for the exact direction to point it). I live not far from you, on the edge of Forest Hills up on the Greensburg pike, and although channel 4 is one of my weaker signals, I can always pull it in. I could just be lucky that I am on high ground and have a large attic antenna.

WTAE's tower is about 7 miles south-southeast of North Versailles.

If you point it that way, you should have no problem receiving it.

It is, however, the opposite direction of the other Pittsburgh TV stations.

I just jumped on the $299-$100 HD Tivo deal w/ D* and they agreed to throw in free antenna and instalation into the deal as well. I am between 12-19 miles to the various towers. Any "help" I can pass on to the installer re: direction ect? The towers all seem bunched together accept TAE. I am closest to the TAE tower however(12.4 miles) What are my chances he will be able to pull in the Big 4 with the antenna D* is sending? The installer is coming Mon morning. Thanks in advance if you have any imput.

I think they just clip a multidirectional antenna onto your dish, you might not be able to give them any suggestions anyway. I haven't had any experience with the free antenna they provide but I haven't heard too many people complain about them, if that's any reassurance.

well, pittsburgh already got a game i wasn't expecting to be in HD as the CBS website reports that week one against the Titans will be in HD. no HD in week 2, but as expected week 3 agains the Pats is confirmed to be in HD.

too bad our crappy fox sports net still isn't doing local Pens, Pirates, etc games in HD.

Does anyone know if the Pitt/ND game tonight is in HD?

Does anyone know if the Pitt/ND game tonight is in HD?

NO HD! ARGH! Someone call WTAE!!!

Don't bother calling WTAE. It's ABC who isn't showing hardly any regular season college games in HD. This Monday Fla State-Miami will be, but only a couple more after that until bowl games I think. ESPN gets most of the HD games.

Not sure Pitt's effort would look much better in HD anyway. :(

It said on the ABC web site that this game was supposed to be in HD.

Yes, that was in error, as discussed in other threads in the HDTV programming subforum here.

As of today, Monday Sept. 12th, WQED-DT is multicasting on 13-1, 13-2, 13-3 and 13-4.

13-1 I believe is reserved for primetime HDTV and is empty during the day.

13-2, 13-3 and 13-4 is SD and is used for daytime programming.

Maybe they are just testing as I don't know if this will be permanent.

It would be nice if they would not interrupt their 13-1 HD feed.

just read this in the post gazette today

FSN Pittsburgh plans to produce 10 Penguins home games, including the home opener against Boston Oct. 8, in high-definition this season.

i wonder if anyone in the area will have this channel added...i'm sure being a D* customer i'm out of luck, but i have season tickets anyways :)

Yeah it figures...I got tix too, but only a 20 gamer. Oh well, there's no better HD than live and in person. I'll buy you an Iron, Tipton...

Will ANYONE get FSN PGH? I don't see Comcast adding it either since they haven't even added a national HD for me since January or Feb...

Maybe FSN will do the HD games for OLN...and we'll get blacked out.

you would think being that the opening game really isn't that far away there would be more info about FSN and hd in pittsburgh. perhaps there is a chance it could be carried for the NHL center ice package, i'm not sure.

i think we will definitely see some Penguins games on HDnet this year though if they are doing 3 games per week. wouldn't surprised me if Crosby's first game at NJ was televised on HDnet, i'm crossing my fingers anyways...

myunk, Is your antenna directional? I think the problem is that Channel 4's HD tower is not in the same location as their regular TV station on Ardmore, you might be pointing it the wrong direction. I think from North Versailles you need to point the antenna in the opposite direction as most other stations (check antennaweb.org for the exact direction to point it). I live not far from you, on the edge of Forest Hills up on the Greensburg pike, and although channel 4 is one of my weaker signals, I can always pull it in. I could just be lucky that I am on high ground and have a large attic antenna.
I have tried a ChannelMaster 4228, ChannelMaster 3000a, several indoor antennas (silver sensor), and now am using an AntennasDirect DB4.

I still can not pull in all the major networks via one antenna. I can get WTAE 4-1 fine, but can't get the rest of the channels I want.

I can get all of the other channels I want, but have to give up getting WTAE 4-1. I can pull in all the channels with 90+ on my signal strenth.

I can aim at WTAE and get is at 90+ on the signal strengh but then loose all of the other channels

Maybe two antennas combined is the way to go for me...

Here are all the stations I want to get...

WPXI-DT - 11.1 - NBC - 312° - 12.4 Miles from - Freq 48
WTAE-DT - 4.1 - ABC - 187° - 5.8 Miles from - Freq 51
WPGH-DT - 53.1 - FOX - 320° - 13.8 Mile from - Freq 43
WQED-DT - 13.1 - PBS - 313° - 10.0 Miles from - Freq 38
WCWB-DT - 22.1 - WB - 320° - 13.7 Miles from - Freq 42
KDKA-DT 2.1 - CBS - 318° - 14.3 Miles from - Freq 25

I can get all of the other channels I want, but have to give up getting WTAE 4-1. I can pull in all the channels with 90+ on my signal strenth.

I can aim at WTAE and get is at 90+ on the signal strengh but then loose all of the other channels

Maybe two antennas combined is the way to go for me...



That is what I did. Works fine. I have two antennas aimed aobut 90 degrees apart and combined into one cable (3 db loss). One antenna gets 4-1 and one other channel ( I forget which) and the other gets all the other channels. I don't recall the signal strength reading but it is plenty good enough.

That is what I did. Works fine. I have two antennas aimed aobut 90 degrees apart and combined into one cable (3 db loss). One antenna gets 4-1 and one other channel ( I forget which) and the other gets all the other channels. I don't recall the signal strength reading but it is plenty good enough.
Do you have the same cable length on both antennas? I read somewhere that in a two antenna setup you have to have the same length of cable on both. I might give the two antenna thing a try this week.

I also read that you need a certain type of splitter too.

Do you have the same cable length on both antennas? I read somewhere that in a two antenna setup you have to have the same length of cable on both. I might give the two antenna thing a try this week.

I also read that you need a certain type of splitter too.

I thiink they are the same length, but that is by chance rather than planning.

I don't know about the spliiter type. I just ordered one of the internet and it has worked fine.

I thiink they are the same length, but that is by chance rather than planning.

I don't know about the spliiter type. I just ordered one of the internet and it has worked fine.
Can you give mose specifics? Antenna types and what splitter combiner you have.

Can you give mose specifics? Antenna types and what splitter combiner you have.

The new antenna is a Channelmaster, or something like that, for fringe areas. The fringe area one wasn't much bigger than the others. My original antenna was an RS unit I installed about 12 years ago. The combiner was a Wind or Wing something (gate?). Sorry I can't be more specific but I just don't recall. It has been several months.

I am less than 20 miles from all the transmitters I need to receive and I suspect almost anything would have worked. The key was to find out where the transmitters were so I could aim the antennae.

Hello,


I've been receiving over-the-air HD signals for almost 3 years now. I've always used a set-top from either DirecTV or Dish (depending on who I was currently subscribed to). I have a question about the HD broadcast from KDKA. I notice that on all HD broadcasts the audio is about 1/2 - a full second behind the video. This applies to all KDKA/CBS shows in HD. If it's an SD show the audio/video is fine. KDKA/CBS is the only station I notice this on. I receive about 10 other OTA digital signals and the audio/video on their HD broadcasts are fine on all of them. I seem to remember this problem starting when I switched from DirecTV to Dish and switched set-top receivers. I wouldn't think the receiver had anything to do with it (since it only happens on one station) but I had it replaced just in case and I still have the problem.
I contacted KDKA and talked to their HD technician. He said he checked their equipment and everything seemed fine. Occasionaly he said they
can get out of synch but tend to correct themselves (or someone there does it). This problem happens regardless if I run the audio from the set-top directly to my AV or if I run it through an AV receiver first - they're both out of synch. I can't imagine this is a problem with CBS or else there would be a lot of complaints. I can't even think this is a problem with KDKA or else there would some complaints, I would think (unless no one else here has complained). I can't seem to pinpoint what could be causing the problem. It's very distracting to watch prime-time shows, football or Letterman when the audio doesn't match the video. Does anyone have any ideas or maybe you are experiencing the same thing?


Thanks.

SOUTH HILLS RESIDENT LOOKING FOR SOME ANTENNA ADVICE.......

Hi everyone. Im a D* subscriber living in Mt. Lebanon (in a valley) and Im trying to determine what OTA Antenna has worked best for you folks in the same situation as me. Ill be able to put an antenna on my roof or up in the attic, but there are trees/hills/buildings between me and Pittsburgh and the antennas (as shown by antennaweb). Im getting ready to have D* install a HD Tivo, but before I buck up for the cost of a $50 antenna, I was hoping to get a heads up on what is good from those of you who were in the same boat or at least figured out what works best. I dont want the tech to install something that will be of no use. Any info is much appreciated. -Stu

Hello,


I've been receiving over-the-air HD signals for almost 3 years now. I've always used a set-top from either DirecTV or Dish (depending on who I was currently subscribed to). I have a question about the HD broadcast from KDKA. I notice that on all HD broadcasts the audio is about 1/2 - a full second behind the video. This applies to all KDKA/CBS shows in HD. If it's an SD show the audio/video is fine. KDKA/CBS is the only station I notice this on. I receive about 10 other OTA digital signals and the audio/video on their HD broadcasts are fine on all of them. I seem to remember this problem starting when I switched from DirecTV to Dish and switched set-top receivers. I wouldn't think the receiver had anything to do with it (since it only happens on one station) but I had it replaced just in case and I still have the problem.
I contacted KDKA and talked to their HD technician. He said he checked their equipment and everything seemed fine. Occasionaly he said they
can get out of synch but tend to correct themselves (or someone there does it). This problem happens regardless if I run the audio from the set-top directly to my AV or if I run it through an AV receiver first - they're both out of synch. I can't imagine this is a problem with CBS or else there would be a lot of complaints. I can't even think this is a problem with KDKA or else there would some complaints, I would think (unless no one else here has complained). I can't seem to pinpoint what could be causing the problem. It's very distracting to watch prime-time shows, football or Letterman when the audio doesn't match the video. Does anyone have any ideas or maybe you are experiencing the same thing?


Thanks.Absolutely. I get HD via Comcast cable. KDKA-DT is consistently about a half-second out of sync, with audio behind the video. Very annoying. This has been noted by others on this board in the past.

This is the only such digital/HD station that does this for me regularly. I just wish KDKA would acknowledge they have the problem (it does not correct itself, although at times it is worse than others) and be diligent enough to figure it out and fix it.

Absolutely. I get HD via Comcast cable. KDKA-DT is consistently about a half-second out of sync, with audio behind the video. Very annoying. This has been noted by others on this board in the past.

This is the only such digital/HD station that does this for me regularly. I just wish KDKA would acknowledge they have the problem (it does not correct itself, although at times it is worse than others) and be diligent enough to figure it out and fix it.


That's interesting. Here I thought it was isolated to their OTA broadcast. I'm not sure how Comcast picks up their (or anyone else's) OTA HD broadcast to retransmit via cable. Is it simply a matter of picking it up OTA as I guess they do with the locals regular SD broadcasts and retransmitting it via cable? Anyone know the answer to that?

I guess that narrows it down pretty much to a problem with KDKA's transmission. I did notice last night that the audio on Letterman was only about 1/4 - 1/2 second behind the video. I think it is more noticable on their primetime broadcasts and football. Since cable subscribers are experiencing the same issue I'm really surprised nothing has been done about this yet. HD is becoming more and more prevalent in average homes. If I didn't know better and that was my first experience with an HD broadcast I'd be very upset. You put a decent investment in something you expect something decent in return.

I'm going to try with the KDKA technician again - this time telling him the problem is obvious on both OTA and cable. I'll be sure to mention that WTAE, WPXI and even WPGH don't have this problem. What can they do right that KDKA can't?

I too notice frequent audio sync issues. Last night, CSI was out of sync for the entire episode. :-(

It truly is ridiculous. So much for HDTV being a better viewing experience... pay extra to make everything look dubbed.

I'm thinking that it will take another two years before broadcasters get the bugs worked out. Shouldn't it be their number one priority? I mean, their entire job is to deliver static-free/synced audio and video. Yet they fail.

Although, I knew this when I bought into HDTV and am patiently biding my time. I just wish that they'd hurry it up a bit.

I'm not sure how Comcast picks up their (or anyone else's) OTA HD broadcast to retransmit via cable. Is it simply a matter of picking it up OTA as I guess they do with the locals regular SD broadcasts and retransmitting it via cable? Anyone know the answer to that??When I was talking to Comcast trying to figure out why I can't record the locals via firewire on my PC. They said that some are transmited via OTA and others aren't. Either way all they are doing is rebroadcasting the signal. This is definetly up to the station to troubleshoot. Same with that green bar down the right hand side of ABC's broadcasts. It shows up all over the country but they haven't done anything about it.(Most people don't see this because overscan cuts it off)

I watched NCIS this week and it was going in and out every now and then. It is annoying.

How long has Fox 8 been broadcasting digitally? I re-scanned the digital stations on my HDTV-Wonder MCE 2005 PC and was surprised that channel 8 showed up with a strong signal for me in the North Hills (near Ross Park Mall). I'm using a channelmaster 4 bay bowtie pointing south toward Pittsburgh.

As far as I can tell it's not HD but 8.1 is Fox8 WWCP and 8.2 was showing WATM ABC from Johnstown/Altoona.

Anybody know where their digital antenna is?

I am having a heck of a hard time pulling in WTAE 4-1 here in...

It's been a heckuva long time since I've been on the Forum yet the number one complaint remains the same...reception of WTAE-TV 4-1. They'll NEVER figure it out.

Ya think?

What is this WTAE you speak of? ;)

Yeah i've cracked that joke a few times... but it's still relevent.

In Squirrel Hill, WTAE doesn't even show up on my signal strength meter despite every other Pgh station being received perfectly.

How long has Fox 8 been broadcasting digitally? I re-scanned the digital stations on my HDTV-Wonder MCE 2005 PC and was surprised that channel 8 showed up with a strong signal for me in the North Hills (near Ross Park Mall). I'm using a channelmaster 4 bay bowtie pointing south toward Pittsburgh.

As far as I can tell it's not HD but 8.1 is Fox8 WWCP and 8.2 was showing WATM ABC from Johnstown/Altoona.

Anybody know where their digital antenna is?


I have been getting thier signal since early summer.

What is this WTAE you speak of? ;)

Yeah i've cracked that joke a few times... but it's still relevent.

In Squirrel Hill, WTAE doesn't even show up on my signal strength meter despite every other Pgh station being received perfectly.

It is about 80 degrees east of the other Pittsburgh channels. I used to have to rotate my antenna to get it. Now I use two -- one pointed toward Pittsburgh and the other twoard WTAE.

How long has Fox 8 been broadcasting digitally? I re-scanned the digital stations on my HDTV-Wonder MCE 2005 PC and was surprised that channel 8 showed up with a strong signal for me in the North Hills (near Ross Park Mall). I'm using a channelmaster 4 bay bowtie pointing south toward Pittsburgh.

As far as I can tell it's not HD but 8.1 is Fox8 WWCP and 8.2 was showing WATM ABC from Johnstown/Altoona.

Anybody know where their digital antenna is?

I just tried to get 8, 8.1 and 8.2 and could not get any of them. I live in Peters Twp., south of the city. I have an antenna pointed about 20 degrees which I use to get the Pittsburgh stations.

i was told today that UPN should finally be up and running in HD OTA by the end of the year, early next year.

I just tried to get 8, 8.1 and 8.2 and could not get any of them. I live in Peters Twp., south of the city. I have an antenna pointed about 20 degrees which I use to get the Pittsburgh stations.

Dammdest thing about WWCP for me.

I was up late one night, around 2:30am. I forget what I was watching but just for the hell of it, I decided to do a channel scan on my tuner(LG LST-4200a) with my indoor antenna(an amp'd RCA indoor. Nothing big) just because I know the signals are better at night.

With this set-up, I normally get KDKA/WPXI/and WPGH(plus local Ytown, OH stations) because they are on the north side of the Burgh, and I am about 51 miles North at the max from the towers themselves. WPGH does have drop-out probs, but not always.

Anyway, I do the scan and I get 8.1/8.2(I forget WWCP's UHF designation), WTAE 4.1(I get WTAE from Clear QAM from adelphia normally) WQED 13.1, plus a bunch of others.

At first I had no idea what the heck WWCP was, but I figured it out, and I got this channel, with a crappy amp'd indoor, at over 100 miles away I was stunned.

Granted, it hasn't happened since(this was about 2-3 weeks ago on the weekend).

i was told today that UPN should finally be up and running in HD OTA by the end of the year, early next year.


UPN 19?

Anyone else last night watching Saturday Night Live on WPXI-DT have the problem that I did of the audio of the show being very low while the network commercials were louder and the local commercials were ear-splitting?

Help, Can You Use 2 Uhf Antennas Combined So That I Can Pickup 2,11,13,22,53 On One Antenna,and 4 On The Other Since There In 2 Different Directions
,everyone Says They'll Cancel Each Other Out, Is There Any Possibility For This To Work Or Not?

Mark...thanks for the heads up on the audio issues. I'll look in to this right away. I'm not sure I understand yet why there's such a big difference in audio levels. Keep monitoring, though, and give me a little time to dig into what could end up being pretty complicated.

Dave Morrison, WPXI Engineering

Mark...thanks for the heads up on the audio issues. I'll look in to this right away. I'm not sure I understand yet why there's such a big difference in audio levels. Keep monitoring, though, and give me a little time to dig into what could end up being pretty complicated.

Dave Morrison, WPXI EngineeringThank you! :)

This is a nightly occurance. Programming is adjusted to a reasonable volume... then when commercials hit... WAMMMO! All hell breaks lose as the entire building shakes with the increased volume.

What's worst are the local news teasers. I have to check my ears for blood if I don't lower the volume prior to commercial breaks.

Thank you! :)

This is a nightly occurance. Programming is adjusted to a reasonable volume... then when commercials hit... WAMMMO! All hell breaks lose as the entire building shakes with the increased volume.

What's worst are the local news teasers. I have to check my ears for blood if I don't lower the volume prior to commercial breaks.

Yikes! Bloody ears - that's a bad sign! One thing I can tell you is that all network programming is passed through directly from our NBC receiver, while all local items go through an upconverter. Perhaps there is an issue here.

We are in the process of getting some more sophisticated audio monitoring gear specifically for 5.1 Dolby. When that arrives, I'm sure we'll be able to track down the actual source of the audio problem. I'm hoping that will be sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, keep your account with the Blood Bank in good standing!

Dave

Yes, absolutely. I recorded SNL on the Comcast DVR, and I use the digital sound from my receiver.

Just as Mark describes, when volume was set properly for the program the network commercials were just a bit louder (not unusual) but then when they switched to local spots part way through a commercial break it was VERY VERY LOUD, requiring a significant turn down of the volume dial.

I guess I haven't watched a lot of NBC on the digital station, because I hadn't noticed that before.

Please level that sound volume out Dave!

(And if you happen to quit WPXI and go work for KDKA please get them to fix their video/audio sync problem on KDKA-DT :) )

Thanks.

Yep...I've noticed the audio level being out of whack too. It's so nice to have an ear to bend from WPXI here on the forum - thanks, Dave. It shows you guys are paying attention to your product.

Now where are all the engineers from WTAE, KD, and WPGH???

(I think WPGH has a similar issue with the audio on the local upconvert material too)

Thanks for the kind words, Scottro. And Hondo21...believe me, I've got my hands full here!

As of late we've been having NBC receiver issues / issues originating from NBC - I'm not sure which yet. There seems to be some Dolby 5.1 issues; that is, programming which I would expect to be in Surround Sound isn't. I think they are in a continuing process of fixing this issue. As of last week, they had us check our receivers because they changed some of their encoding parameters.

At this point in time, I am trying to figure out whether the "level" audio problem is a result of the NBC HD audio coming in too low or our upconverted audio going out too hot. As I said before, I am waiting for the arrival of some audio diagnostic gear, and I will be able to more accurately pinpoint the problem then.

Until then, I hope all of you will continue to post your WPXI-DT questions or comments here on the forum. I check this site daily - you all are a good source of feedback for me.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Help, Can You Use 2 Uhf Antennas Combined So That I Can Pickup 2,11,13,22,53 On One Antenna,and 4 On The Other Since There In 2 Different Directions
,everyone Says They'll Cancel Each Other Out, Is There Any Possibility For This To Work Or Not?

Absolutely. That's what I do. There is a device from Win[somebody] that will combine the signal from two antennae. I believe there is a 3db loss, which is actually quite a lot, but not enough that I am able to notice it. I am getting good signal strength across the board. I live in Peters Twp. if that is any help.

I Bought The Db-8 And Split It Into 2 Seperate Antenna's- If I Point Them In 2 Different Direction And Use There Combiner Do I Need To Have Equal Lengths Of Wire From Each Antenna To The Combiner? And How Far Apart Do They Need To Be So They Don't Cause Multi Pathing?

How Far Are Your Antenna's Apart?

when volume was set properly for the program the network commercials were just a bit louder (not unusual) but then when they switched to local spots part way through a commercial break it was VERY VERY LOUD, requiring a significant turn down of the volume dial.


We made some preliminary "tweaks" to some data in our HD encoder. Please let me know if this helps level out WPXI's ear-busting local segments during prime time HD programming. We found a place to start, but we've got more fine tuning to do.

Thanks,

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

According to http://www.hdsportsguide.com/nfl.php and http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl the Steelers/Jags game is in HD, but www.titantv.com says no. I think I trust the other sites more..

We've all lost count on how many times TitanTV is wrong.

Yeah, I think going with what CBS says is the safest bet.

We're fortunate the Steelers are playing well...I don't think Browns fans get many HD games.

Looks like we have HD Steelers games at least until November. Does CBS decide "on the fly" depending how well teams are doing in the ratings? From what I've heard, the Steelers have a pretty good following in just about every state in the union. Lots of displaced Pittsburghers, I guess.

Lots of displaced Pittsburghers, I guess.
Guilty as charged!

Is it just me or is there a new channel out there -- 11.2? Dmorrison, do you have anything to do with putting that there?

Is it just me or is there a new channel out there -- 11.2? Dmorrison, do you have anything to do with putting that there?



NBC Weather Plus

I am new to the forum and new to HDTV. My old Toshiba 50" SD RP died about a month ago and I've been trying to get up to speed on HDTV. We have dish networks now but will likely switch to Adelphia cable (we live in Peters Twp.) when I decide on a TV. Adelphia has the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR. Any feedback you can give on Bethel Park Adelphia would be appreciated.
Also, what OTA should I expect with different antenna options?? I have a very large attic but getting a cable down to the 1st floor isn't easy. What about different rabbit ear options?
I have a ton of questions!

Is it just me or is there a new channel out there -- 11.2? Dmorrison, do you have anything to do with putting that there?

Yup - 11.2 is NBC Weather Plus. It is a standard def digital signal. Were you just wondering about it, or is there a problem with it?

Dave Morrison, WPXI Engineering

Anyone notice occasional softness with the score ticker on the bottom of the screen during the MNF games?

Seems to happen when there is a cut from a far to a near camera (or vice-versa)...
Softens up then gets sharper a second later.

Don't know if it's a compression issue or something else...

Receiving via OTA to Samsung 360 D* HD box (DVI->HDMI) to 720P RP LCD.

The softness has always been there as long as I can remember...like it's out of focus for a second.
Don't know why. I don't think it's limited to ABC's MNF though, probably the nature of the ticker makes it more noticeable...I've seen it on ESPN SNF too.

Dave Morrison:

I think you guys got that volume change issue when the local promos run fixed pretty well...watching SVU last night, David Johnson wasn't SCREAMING at me. ;)

I think you guys got that volume change issue when the local promos run fixed pretty well...watching SVU last night, David Johnson wasn't SCREAMING at me. ;)

That's good news Scottro. Please never hesitate to let us know when there's a problem. This is a good place to post them...I check the forum daily.

Dave

CBS decided the Steelers/Ravens matchup on 11/20 wasn't going to be exciting enough for their national 4:15 broadcast, so they bumped it back to 1:00. I bet this means it's not going to be in HDTV now. Arrgh!

That's good news Scottro. Please never hesitate to let us know when there's a problem. This is a good place to post them...I check the forum daily.

Dave

We appreciate having an ear to beat. Or a pair of eyes in this case.

In Rob Owen's TV Q&A on the P-G online today, a viewer wrote in about the volume change issue on the WPXI-DT channel. Just a heads up. Apparently Rob doesn't visit AVS or he'd have known the answer!

Rob's column is here: http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/questions/

CBS decided the Steelers/Ravens matchup on 11/20 wasn't going to be exciting enough for their national 4:15 broadcast, so they bumped it back to 1:00. I bet this means it's not going to be in HDTV now. Arrgh!

Blame the Ravens for being terrrrrrible.
And CBS' inability to do every game in HD like Fox.
Someday even the lousy games will be in HD... :rolleyes:

Anyone having an issue with WB where it seems to flip from 16:9 to 4:3 for a second, then switch back to 16:9. Seems to do it several times throughout the show. Notice it on both Smallville and Supernatural. Been happening for weeks now.

Anyone having an issue with WB where it seems to flip from 16:9 to 4:3 for a second, then switch back to 16:9. Seems to do it several times throughout the show. Notice it on both Smallville and Supernatural. Been happening for weeks now.

It has happened to me as well. I have no idea why. I thought it was my system. Apparently it is channel 22.

JKad:

Adelphia's Bethel Park system offers:

ABC HD
PBS HD
CBS HD
NBC HD
HDNET
HDMovies
INHD
INHD 2
FSN PGH HD (I have yet to see anything on it...I believe it will only be in use for 10 Penguins games)
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
Discovery HD
NFL net HD

They also offer a few premium channels in HD, but I am not positive of which ones because I don't subscribe to them, so I don't pay attention. I believe I have seen:

MAX HD
HBO HD
STRZ HD

I wish they would get on board with FOX HD, but other than that I have no complaints.

chewy77

Thanks for the reply. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was out there.
Adelphia is setting me up tomorrow and I am anxious to see the quality of their feed. I am leaving Dish after 4 years. Dish requires too much of an investment in equipment to get a HD DVR whereas Adelphia is rental. The SA 8300HD has all the outputs I would need including HDMI and optical digital sound for my amp. We've become spoiled with a Dish two tuner DVR used with our dead SD projection set. Hopefully the SA 8300HD will prove to be as useful with the new HDTV.
I live in Peters and may try an antenna for locals especially if Adelphia's service proves to be less than stellar or reliable. I am still unsure what antenna would work and how to get all of the local channels without a rotor. Our area has deed restrictions for outdoor antennas so I'll have to try to get something into the attic. It will mean some trial and error unless someone speaks up with suggestions and experiences from what has worked for them.
I was pleased to see a local thread on AVS but it does seem to get very little traffic. Perhaps this HDTV stuff is old news for many but it is all new for me!

chewy77
I live in Peters and may try an antenna for locals especially if Adelphia's service proves to be less than stellar or reliable. I am still unsure what antenna would work and how to get all of the local channels without a rotor. Our area has deed restrictions for outdoor antennas so I'll have to try to get something into the attic. It will mean some trial and error unless someone speaks up with suggestions and experiences from what has worked for them.
I was pleased to see a local thread on AVS but it does seem to get very little traffic. Perhaps this HDTV stuff is old news for many but it is all new for me!

I also live in Peters (Country Brook) and have two antennae in my attic aimed about 90 degrees apart and combined via a signal joiner. The main antenna gets all but channel 4-1 and the new antenna gets 4-1. Works great. My original antenna was a huge RS unit I bought 15 years ago. The new one is a Channelmaster bow-tie unit. I don't recall who made the joiner, but I bought it when I bought the antenna. I suspect any internet site selling antennae would also sell a joiner. As I recall, the main antenna is aimed at about 30 degrees and the second one at about 110. However, there is a web site out there that tells you where all the transmitters are. Set one antenna to the middle of the Pittsbrugh range and aim the other at 4-1.