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.

Thanks for the reply and your experience. I was thinking about two bow tie units in the attic.
Based on your experience, do you think that two DB-4's pointed and cables joined as you explained would be sufficient to get the primary Pittsburgh HD signals? Which Channelmaster bow-tie did you get? Do the two antennas have to be a minimum distance apart? I haven't worried about antennas for a very long time!

Great news! All of a sudden, I am able to receive ABC from my home in Squirrel Hill. Previously, I could get every channel except ABC, no matter the orientation and placement of antenna.

Perhaps it is the lack of folliage on trees at this time of year but I think something else must have changed as well. I had no luck at this time last year.

Anybody know of anything that changed? Or perhaps I'll try again tonight and discover that the planets were only momentarily aligned.

Dave Morrison,
I know you've been working on the audio issues with your digital signal.
Check that audio on 11-1. It is too low now. When I switch channels to 9-1 (Steubenville) or 13-1 (WQED), I get blown away by the difference in levels.
Also, Mr. Kasparek at WTAE (if you read this forum), your audio is too low also.
Thanks,
Bill
Washington County

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.

Yeah Chewy77, I am with you, and I am up here near New Castle, PA using Adelphia.

I WISH those *#&HOLES at Adelphia would strike a deal with Sinclair so I could get WPGH via CLEAR QAM on my LG LST-4200A. I can still get in the afternoon with an indoor amp'd antenna, but I still get breakups(It is close to 50 miles away! and the little crappy RCA amp'd indoor get's it. It is the LG, no doubt. Great money spent! :) )

I did see a Penguin Game in Clear QAM HD on my lineup at the beginning of the season. It might have been a 1 time deal, but I don't know. It was on for the game, and then immediately shut off after the game had ended. I know there are others(NYR-PIT last night? 11/12/05) so I will keep an eye out in the future for when they are advertised. I think(key word) as long as you have at least Expanded Basic, then you can get FOXSPORTS HD in the CLEAR QAM for the game, but that is just a guess.

Great news! All of a sudden, I am able to receive ABC from my home in Squirrel Hill. Previously, I could get every channel except ABC, no matter the orientation and placement of antenna.

Perhaps it is the lack of folliage on trees at this time of year but I think something else must have changed as well. I had no luck at this time last year.

Anybody know of anything that changed? Or perhaps I'll try again tonight and discover that the planets were only momentarily aligned.
That's funny... I was getting breakups on Sunday's game in my Squirrel Hill home. Nothing like watching the start of a play, breaking up, seeing the end of the play and then breaking up again for the replay. :mad:

Stop hogging the signal, dfiler. :D

Dave Morrison,
I know you've been working on the audio issues with your digital signal.
Check that audio on 11-1. It is too low now. When I switch channels to 9-1 (Steubenville) or 13-1 (WQED), I get blown away by the difference in levels.
Also, Mr. Kasparek at WTAE (if you read this forum), your audio is too low also.
Thanks,
Bill
Washington County

Bill...is the low audio an overall audio issue, or is it limited to local cutins during prime time? Has the overall audio level changed from being normal to too low? Anyone else notice this audio level issue?

Believe it or not, changing audio levels in an HD stream isn't quite as easy as turning up a volume control. The challenge for us is to match the network's dialnorm setting (dialogue normalization) with the locally generated dialnorm value. This is all a function of our HD encoder and is one of 29 metadata parameters we're required to send out in the data stream. Dialnorm, simply put, is perceived loudness. By adjusting the dialnorm in our metadata stream, your HD receiver dynamically adjusts the perceived loudness for all audio to the same level no matter the actual audio amplitude a show or commercial may have.

It was a dialnorm setting here at WPXI that caused our local segments to be so much louder during prime time programming. We did not match the network's dialnorm value at that time.

The ATSC has set a dialnorm value as a standard, and in theory, all stations and networks ought to provide the same dialnorm setting in the metadata stream. We're working to meet that standard, and I think we're doing a fairly good job. (You might notice during prime time that CBS affiliates are louder than NBC affiliates. This has to do with the networks' different corporate policies on dialnorm values.)

Yeah...too much information, I know. But I thought some of you would be interested.

Dave

Wow, thanks for all the info. :) (Definately not too much)

Hi there. Hope this is the right place...or at least a right place..to ask this...

I live on the North Side of Pittsburgh and just got HD DBS. Because of my particular situation, the DBS off-air antenna wasn't a good option, so I'm interested in getting the HD version of "rabbit ears" to pull in the local HD channels. Given my wife's aesthetic preferences, something as unobtrusive as possible would be preferred.

Any suggestions of what to get or what not to? I'd appreciate any advice.

Thanks.

Cheers.

--- das

I live on the North Side also (Manchester). I have Comcast for HD now, but I still have a RCA DTC100 reciever that I try to use for OTA HD in my bedroom. I have not had much luck. I'm only getting WPXI-HD now. I have 2 different antennas made by Terk. A bowtie with a built in amplifier and a 3 foot long outdoor under the window stick type (can't remember the model #'s right now).

Is this terrible reception normal. I'm very close to town. I see people in Washington PA, and Ohio getting ALL OF THE CHANNELS and I can only get one. Any ideas. Also, any luck with the other fellow from the N. Side. What are you using and how is it working out?

Thanks.

Glad to see a local section here.

I live on the North Side also (Manchester). I have Comcast for HD now, but I still have a RCA DTC100 reciever that I try to use for OTA HD in my bedroom. I have not had much luck. I'm only getting WPXI-HD now. I have 2 different antennas made by Terk. A bowtie with a built in amplifier and a 3 foot long outdoor under the window stick type (can't remember the model #'s right now).

Is this terrible reception normal. I'm very close to town. I see people in Washington PA, and Ohio getting ALL OF THE CHANNELS and I can only get one. Any ideas. Also, any luck with the other fellow from the N. Side. What are you using and how is it working out?



Good morning Scissorfight (hmmm...like the nickname!)

The short answer to your question is this: with my limited knowledge of OTA reception, this problem isn't uncommon. Since you're in Manchester, you are able to see the WPXI tower. Unfortunately, Manchester is fairly low in elevation, so using either indoor antenna or outdoor antennas below roof level decreases your chances of receiving digital television stations. Maybe someone else in the group has an idea for you.

Here's the REAL question: why do you need to see anyone else when you get the best station in town now? ;)

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Also, any luck with the other fellow from the N. Side. What are you using and how is it working out?

I'm over in the Mexican War Streets. I tried out a Zenith indoor antenna and was able to pull in a couple of stations--I wanna say NBC and PBS--but nothing else. I mainly care about OTA HD for sports, and the two networks that make the most difference to me (Fox and ABC) I can't find at all. I'm not sure that even a roof-top antenna would help--I'm surrounded by buildings and hills of various dimensions--and am loathe to punch holes in brick walls only to find that it doesn't work.

Anyone know if DirecTV has plans to begin broadcasting local HD channels any time soon? I know they're launching a number of satellites, and I thought I recalled that one of the purposes was to carry local HD. But I'm often delusional... :)

Cheers.

--- das

I'm over in Avalon and had very little success with indoor antennas, and this was in the 3rd floor finished attic. I had to mount an outdoor (Winegard Squareshooter) to get solid reception, once I found the "sweet spot" that pulls in almost all of the Pittsburgh stations.
I think I pull in CBS with rabbit ears though.

I have a Toshiba DST-3000 HD receiver which I have used for several years to receive My local Hd signals.The channels go 2,4,11 for analog locals, and 2-1,4-1,11-1 for HD locals.About a year ago the 2-1 channel disappeared from my menu and I can't get it back. I have re-downloaded the entire menu several times, but it's never there.I could always pick up the signal (rooftop antennae) when it was available.I no longer sub to DTV. Any ideas? thanks

Bill...is the low audio an overall audio issue, or is it limited to local cutins during prime time? Has the overall audio level changed from being normal to too low? Anyone else notice this audio level issue?
...
Yeah...too much information, I know. But I thought some of you would be interested.
Hey Dave, I noticed a couple things today. First, the top half of "My Name is Earl" was missing when it started :eek: Fortunately, you (or someone else) managed to fix it up. I figure it was local, since the analog broadcast was just fine, but you know what goes on in the background better than I do.

As for the audio, here's how it came out on my end. Your prime time stuff was the normal volume for me. It was maybe a touch on the quiet side, but perfectly within reason, IMHO. But what was puzzling was that the WPXI news broadcast was downright quiet.

Just to give you an idea, my receiver read around -34dB for the primetime stuff, and I had to crank it to -20dB for comfortable news broadcast listening. I don't recall whether the local news cut-ins were that quiet. I do recall thinking that the commericals were a little loud, so when you cut to commerical, I did have to turn the volume down a bit (probably somewhere in the -27dB range on my receiver).

I have a Toshiba DST-3000 HD receiver which I have used for several years to receive My local Hd signals.The channels go 2,4,11 for analog locals, and 2-1,4-1,11-1 for HD locals.About a year ago the 2-1 channel disappeared from my menu and I can't get it back. I have re-downloaded the entire menu several times, but it's never there.I could always pick up the signal (rooftop antennae) when it was available.I no longer sub to DTV. Any ideas? thanks
On a hunch, try 25-1

First, the top half of "My Name is Earl" was missing when it started :eek: Fortunately, you (or someone else) managed to fix it up. I figure it was local, since the analog broadcast was just fine, but you know what goes on in the background better than I do.

The top half was missing? Hmmm. I don't know what to tell you about that, sthayashi. Probably some kind of a glitch from NBC. Here's what I CAN tell you about NBC prime time. We pass NBC's HD signal directly from the HD receiver through to our encoder. NBC's analog signal comes to us on a different path. I don't know if NBC is converting it's HD program to SD or if they simul-rolled an analog version of the program.


As for the audio, here's how it came out on my end. Your prime time stuff was the normal volume for me. It was maybe a touch on the quiet side, but perfectly within reason, IMHO. But what was puzzling was that the WPXI news broadcast was downright quiet.

Just to give you an idea, my receiver read around -34dB for the primetime stuff, and I had to crank it to -20dB for comfortable news broadcast listening. I don't recall whether the local news cut-ins were that quiet. I do recall thinking that the commericals were a little loud, so when you cut to commerical, I did have to turn the volume down a bit (probably somewhere in the -27dB range on my receiver).

The source that feeds our HD encoder (our upconvered SD output) is the same for commercials and live news. I'm not sure if our cutins during prime time are recorded or if they're live, but if they're recorded then they play back from the same video server as our commercials. If that is the case, then it would make sense to me that there was little or no change in the audio level. As for the audio levels for our live news at 11pm, we may have to look at the audio levels coming from our main switcher.

I don't know how much of this I can get done before the holidays, but I'll check into it and see if it's something simple.

Dave

For those of you HD fans out there (and I suspect that would be ALL of you who read this thread), WPXI-DT will be broadcasting the holiday parade live from downtown on Saturday November 26th from 9am til 11:00am - all in true High Definition. (I don't know if we're using Dolby 5.1 or just plain stereo. I suspect the latter.)

This is going to be a very interesting exercize for all of us involved. I suspect that we'll learn a lot about what to do and what NOT to do. And yes, I expect glitches and mistakes...but if you never make mistakes, you're never trying anything new!

We did this last year and it really did look awesome. I expect it will look just as good this time around!

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

I had to turn off the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and watch in SD because the HD broadcast was TERRIBLE. Major issues: freezing images, macroblocking and stuttering, and lipsynch. My signal was coming in strong so the problem wasn't at my end. They even went to the NBC test pattern a couple times so you know that's bad news. Major disappointment!

I would like to commend WPXI for the beautiful HD broadcast of the local Holiday parade.
Great job! I hope there will be more of local broadcasting in HD in the future. This
is what HD needs.More local HD would be great. Thank you.

The downtown parade looked awesome, the picture quality was fantastic. Congratulations to WPXI on a first class presentation. I would love to see more regional events in HD. :)

After recently upgrading my tuner, I've been looking into previously un-receivable stations... and I stumbled upon this.

"WNPA continues to await Federal Communications Commission approval before moving forward with its digital signal, but Davis said he expects the FCC to give the station clearance soon, with the goal of getting Channel 19 broadcasting in digital in early 2006."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05308/600378.stm

Hopefully they're right and we'll get digital UPN as well soon.

Good Afternoon,

Are there any users in the Natrona Heights area? I'm Just curious about your antenna configuration and whatnot.

Thanks!

Dave Morrison,

Last night "Surface" OTA was is SD for me. I didn't check other NBC shows later because of the Steeler Game. Just wondering what was up with that......

Yep, Surface was SD but the following program was back to HD.

It was in SD for the national feed it looks like. So it wasn't local

Dave,

Just wanted to update you and let you know that WPXI's local evening news appears to be at the normal volume again :-) Thanks for the good work

Just wanted to update you and let you know that WPXI's local evening news appears to be at the normal volume again :-) Thanks for the good work

Thanks for the update, sthayashi. All of these digital audio parameters drive me nuts! Don't hesitate to leave a message here on the board if (or when!) you notice new or recurring issues. Something else is bound to come up one of these days, and you all are a great source of feedback for me!

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Dave,

i have to say... during tonights apprentice, which i happened to be watching at one thirty am, i have never heard a louder alarm for a severe weather announcement. holy crap, please look into this, it was like turning your beeping sleep alarrm up as high as possible. it was insane how loud it was, actually woke up my roomates telling me to turn the tv down. anyways, may want to look into that. the alarum was so much louder i can't even begin to describe it

Dave,

i have to say... during tonights apprentice, which i happened to be watching at one thirty am, i have never heard a louder alarm for a severe weather announcement. holy crap, please look into this, it was like turning your beeping sleep alarrm up as high as possible. it was insane how loud it was, actually woke up my roomates telling me to turn the tv down. anyways, may want to look into that. the alarum was so much louder i can't even begin to describe it

Thanks for the heads up, Tipton. The alert tone (which, by the way, is a legal requirement as per the Americans With Disabilities Act) was way too low last week. I thought I only "tweaked" it up a little bit...I guess I tweaked the heck out of it!!! Sorry! The problem I have here is that I cannot preview this tone without putting it on-the-air. This will be resolved first thing this morning. Thanks again.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

no problem, i know you guys are required to do that. thanks for taking care of things, much appreciated.

Is anyone having problems picking up WCWB in edgewood area. I rescanned and I pick up WCWB-SD but no WCWB-HD. Did WCWB change anything I been tring all day all I can pick up is SD(480i) channel but no HD(1080i). If anyone has any suggestion please let me know or if something has changed. -thanks

No WCWB tonite for me either as of 7:30pm. Must be a problem on their end.

Dave Morrison,

Did you ever get an answer to the Redistribution Control Flag question I asked you a couple months ago? It is still enabled and I can't record via firewire.

Thanks.

I'd like to know if anyone is still having problems with WCWB ota. Since my last post I still can't receive any signal at all. Is it off the air for some reason?

WCWB OTA is out for me and few people I know not sure whats going on.

WCWB OTA is out for me and few people I know not sure whats going on.


Rescan it again, it is coming up as 42-1 not 22-1

42-1 is 480i not 1080i. So No HDTV yet. It use to come in as WCWB-SD and WCWB-HD. Now it's only 42-1 which reads as 480i.

anyone still having problems rescan now WCWB came back at around 12 noon. Both HD and SD.

Raven654,

Thanks, I just did a rescan and now can get WCWB . I don't get the call letters to display like the other channels for some reason, though.

Just taking a stab to see if anyone knows if Fox Sports Pittsburgh has released a list of Pens game being broadcast in HD (I know they said 10 at the beginning of the year), and I believe they have shown around 4 or 5 thus far...

Thanks...

To my knowledge Pen games will only bradcast in HD if they air on a primetime network(ABC,CBS,etc) if they make it to the playoffs. well it's not OTA but ever so often it airs on HDnet or ESPN-HD. So to answer your question no Fox Sports Pittsburgh does not air in HD so no pen games in HD. Unless it airs on another network.

To my knowledge Pen games will only bradcast in HD if they air on a primetime network(ABC,CBS,etc) if they make it to the playoffs. well it's not OTA but ever so often it airs on HDnet or ESPN-HD. So to answer your question no Fox Sports Pittsburgh does not air in HD so no pen games in HD. Unless it airs on another network.I believe you are mistaken on this. Although I don't get it (being a Comcast subscriber), FSN has broadcast a few games in HD, as carried by Armstrong Cable in this area. They announced a total of 10 for this year. Nothing to do with national broadcasts. This was discussed in the Pittsburgh Comcast thread (which also covers other cable companies).

Has anyone noticed any issues with WTAE HD since the end of November? A couple times per show the audio goes out for 2 or 3 seconds and comes back. I only watch during primetime so I don't know if it goes on all day. Does anyone have a contact to the engineering department? I tried to send an email through the web page but never got a reply.


Edit: I just got a reply from David A. Kasperek and he says they are looking into it.

Well he asked in a OTA threat so I guess he was talking Pens game in HD via OTA not though cable company. As far as the WTAE I don't watch it that often, watched it a few times in december I didn't get any audio errors. It could be that your signal is not strong enough.

Hey there. I live on the North Side of Pittsburgh. My circumstances make it highly impractical to install an external OTA antenna for HD, so I'm using an indoor one (which my wife finds ugly, but what else is new?). With it, I receive only a handful of local digital channels (NBC and PBS primarily); no ABC, no CBS, no Fox. I applied to my DBS service for a waiver to get the national feeds; so far (~five weeks), CBS has apparently granted one (I'm receiving their east coast feed) but no progress on the other fronts. Just curious as to others' experience with this process, which as I understand it requires the local station's agreement. Also be interested in any rumors as to when Pittsburgh local HD might be coming online via DTV DBS.

Cheers.

--- das

Also be interested in any rumors as to when Pittsburgh local HD might be coming online via DTV DBS.

Cheers.

--- das
I am pretty sure Pittsburgh will be in the next batch of HD locals which as of now will be available in the 1st half of 2006.
From the DirecTV press release:

Including the 12 HD local markets launched last year, DIRECTV will offer HD local channels in 36 markets, representing more than 57 percent of U.S. television households in the first half of the year, with more local HD launches planned for later in 2006. DIRECTV will initially carry the primary broadcast stations - ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox - that offer an HD feed in the market. Customers who subscribe to a programming package that includes local channels will receive both the standard and HD signals at no extra monthly charge.

I live in Swissvale, and I can get CBS, NBC, and Fox reasonably well OTA, but I've never able to get WTAE at all. I'm not surprised by this, because I believe their transmitter is located directly on the opposite side of the hill that I live on. I recently submitted a waiver request through DirecTV, but ABC denied my waiver. Does anyone know who I should contact at WTAE to discuss this?

Thanks,

-Jeff

BlackNGold: The 1/21/06 Pens vs. Flyers game on NBC is supposed to be broadcast in HDTV. That looks to be it for a while, so enjoy it while you can.
Source:
http://www.hdsportsguide.com/nhl.php

BlackNGold: The 1/21/06 Pens vs. Flyers game on NBC is supposed to be broadcast in HDTV. That looks to be it for a while, so enjoy it while you can.
Source:
http://www.hdsportsguide.com/nhl.php


Sorry, doesn't look like it's HD from my info - which of course may change before I finish typing this.

Has there been any word on when WNPA UPN 19 is going live with HD?

Just taking a stab to see if anyone knows if Fox Sports Pittsburgh has released a list of Pens game being broadcast in HD (I know they said 10 at the beginning of the year), and I believe they have shown around 4 or 5 thus far...

Thanks...

From show last week (i think it was pregame)

Jan 19, Feb 2, Mar 7, Mar 19, April 2, and April 17

I thought you all might be interested in this mail I just received from NBC. You should see two of these games on WPXI-DT.

Dave
_____________

The NHL on NBC begins Saturday January 14th with up to three regional games on a given day.

Only one game per day will be available in HD.

You may air the HD feed when the SD (analog) feed you are scheduled to broadcast is coverage of the same event.

HD games for the first four weekends of the season are as follows:

Saturday 1/14: New York @ Detroit
Saturday 1/21: Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
Saturday 1/28: Pittsburgh @ New York
Saturday 2/4: Detroit @ Colorado

Additional games available in HD will be advised prior to the NHL's return to the schedule in April.

Thanks Dave! Always reassuring to hear it from our "insider", since the online TV guides can be notoriously inaccurate with regard to HD.

Dave, this is great news. Thanks for the post.

Great - now if only the Pens were worth watching in HD...

Interested in viewing the Olympics in HD? Here's an article that you might be interested in: http://broadcastengineering.com/newsletters/sports/20060113/#

The Olympics are awesome in HD...especially hockey in my humble opinion.

Dave

I live in Monroeville and have ADELPHIA. Adelphia has a good HD line-up except the lack of Fox-Hd. It sucks to not be able to watch 24 in HD. (Season debut tonight!) Anyone know when Adelphia will wake up and acquire this station.

Is anyone still having problems with WTAE reception? I can't seem to get it to lock in. Every other Pittsburgh station is at 90+


GO STEELERS

WTAE is fine theirs been no problems with it. As for ADELPHIA who knows. Might some kind of contract issue. I know Dishnetwork & Directv(currently ready in certain states) will be curring locals via satellite Q1 2006.

WTAE is fine theirs been no problems with it. As for ADELPHIA who knows. Might some kind of contract issue. I know Dishnetwork & Directv(currently ready in certain states) will be curring locals via satellite Q1 2006.
Do you get WTAE OTA or on cable? :cool:

Ota

That sounds awesome, Dave! The 2004 summer Olympics was one of the big reasons I got an OTA HD receiver for my projector. My wife is a Winter Olympics-aholic too, can't wait!

my WTAE has suddenly gone out. anyone know if its down ?

my WTAE has suddenly gone out. anyone know if its down ?


I have had problems with it over a month It will not lock in. :mad: I get all of the Pittsburgh stations perfect. I hope they get this fixed before the Super Bowl.


GO STEELERS :)

Saturday 1/21: Philadelphia @ PittsburghDid something change Dave? Game isn't in HD.

Dave, today's Pens game is not in HD. Can someone flip the switch?

Dave, today's Pens game is not in HD. Can someone flip the switch?


I had to switch over to channel 21 out of Y-Town to get it in HD. WTOV and WPXI were not in HD. I am still having problems with WTAE is anyone else having any problems?

my WTAE has suddenly gone out. anyone know if its down ?

I have been getting WTAE DT-51 with no problems since your post

I live in Swissvale, and I can get CBS, NBC, and Fox reasonably well OTA, but I've never able to get WTAE at all. I'm not surprised by this, because I believe their transmitter is located directly on the opposite side of the hill that I live on. I recently submitted a waiver request through DirecTV, but ABC denied my waiver. Does anyone know who I should contact at WTAE to discuss this?

Thanks,

-Jeff

You will need two UHF antennas and a ChannelMaster Jointenna to get WTAE and the rest of the OTA channels in the burg.

That is what I do and it works great.

I got two DB2's from antennasdirect and a jointenna from warenelectronincs.

Go STEELERS!!!

Dave, today's Pens game is not in HD. Can someone flip the switch?

I don't know what the problem is with the NBC coverage of the Penguins in HD. If I find anything out, I'll post it.

Dave

the pens game was in HD in other markets, yet not in Pittsburgh... looks like something got messed up at WPXI.

dave,

leno hasn't been in HD this week. what's the problem?

my WTAE has suddenly gone out. anyone know if its down ?



Anyone now who to contact at the station to see if their is problems?
I still can not get it to lock in. I am getting all other Pittsburgh stations and Johnstown too. :mad:

GO STEELERS :)

Hmmm...no Leno in Hd...no Penguins in HD...geez!

Seriously, I don't know what the problem is and I will have to look into it. I don't have answers yet on the Penguins game last Saturday, but I hope everything works for the Pens/New York game this Saturday.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

I haven't checked, but has anything HD from NBC been coming through on WPXI-DT since Saturday?

I have some info for you on The Tonight Show in HD...and sorry, this one's out of my hands.

Due to WPXI's extended Steelers coverage through the Super Bowl, we have been told to delay the start of The Tonight Show and air it in it's entirety. As this is the case, and as we are not able to record the HD version of the show, we have to air the upconverted SD version of it.

I know this isn't the answer you wanted, but things will hopefully go back to normal after the Super Bowl.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Because, clearly we aren't getting enough Steelers coverage on our local news shows these days. ;)

Hey maybe you guys should get a Comcast DVR so you can record the show in HD. :)

Thanks for the info, Dave!

please just make sure the Penguins game is in HD this saturday.

Hey Dave, Best Buy has HD-VHS video recorders for sale.
Maybe, WPXI should look into buying one.
My Comcast HD DVR works good too.

Dave, The game looked good on Saturday.

So do you guys receive the HD signal of all the NBC games but are only cleared to broadcast some of them in HD?

does anyone know or recommend a store in the pittsburgh area that sells home theater seats ? any recommendations of a good place to check out ?

Dave, The game looked good on Saturday.

So do you guys receive the HD signal of all the NBC games but are only cleared to broadcast some of them in HD?

Thanks for the question, but I'm not sure how this works. If NBC handles their HD like they do their analog, NBC controls what it is we receive by remotely changing our digital receiver to the channel we are to use for any given event.

I can't say if we're receiving all of the games or not.

Did anyone's WB(WCWB) air in FS during HD broadcast of One Tree Hill on wedesday(02/01/2006) & Smallville(partly WS) (02/02/2006)? Did they forget to turn the HD on.

Dave, The game looked good on Saturday.

So do you guys receive the HD signal of all the NBC games but are only cleared to broadcast some of them in HD?

There is only one NBC HD game. If you carry that one game on your analog, you can carry the HD game. Stations have a choice on the SD games. So, if a Penguins game is not in HD, you will have to upconvert for your HD channel. If you "throw the switch" to get NBC HD, it will be HD but 2 different teams. We're not supposed to carry the HD game unless we carry the SD version on analog. This will no doubt make some people upset when a Pens game is not the HD game. We don't make the rules, we just play by them.

February 4 HD game is Detroit @ Colorado. Islanders @ Pens (which is the game we will carry) is SD. The other SD game available is Dallas @ St. Louis. Of course, this is all subject to change before I hit the SUBMIT button. :)

For those of you who have HD Sat service from Dish or DirecTV, and have no luck in receiving WTAE in HD over an off-air antenna, you're in luck! Both DirecTV and Dish Network will have the Super Bowl available over satellite. DirecTV will be on ch. 86, and Dish Network will be on ch. 240. Im not sure which sat for DirecTV, but Dish will be from 110. All you will need will be an active HD receiver that is mpeg-2 , not the new mpeg -4.

Greg, not to doubt, but are you sure about that? I read something on another forum (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=51618) about ABC making the HD feed available on Dish 240 and 250 to stations in 10 cities where the network owns the station. But Pittsburgh WTAE is not owned by ABC. Did WTAE make a deal to allow this? Do you have a source?

I'm Comcast, so it doesn't matter to me, but I have a relative who has Dish HD but can't get WTAE-DT OTA with his current setup so this would be significant news for him.

I'm a dealer for both Dish and DirecTV, and had it confirmed. I wouldn't be calling my client's and postiong it here if I was not 200% sure. Thats a quick way to be killed in Steeler country!

Hi, I'm visiting my girlfriend mom's house in Beaver and have a few questions regarding HD in this area. I'm from NYC so I don't know anything about what the situation is like here. Firstly, what are the channel line ups OTA? Do you use channel line ups like 2.0 or 11.0?

We just bought her a new Samsung HD TV and the remote for that TV doesn't have the "." or "-" to use for the HD channels. How do some of you Samsung owners put in those HD channels directly?

Lastly, I use Time Warner Cable in New York City. I subscribe to the least expensive basic package for $13/month. I can get manu of the HD channels by connecting my cable directly to my HD ATSC tuner on my plasma without the use of a cablebox. I can recieve all of the local channels like ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, etc. in HD. I can even get Discovery HD. The only thing is that you'll have to know what exact channel the HD channels are, for example, Discovery HD is on 0.0. I was wondering if the same thing is available here in Beaver with Adelphia? I know they have a basic package that's around $10 that gives you all the local channels but can you also pick up the HD versions of those local channels by hooking up the cable directly to her HD tuner? If so, what is the channel line up?

Thanks, sorry I didn't want to go through 60 pages to find the answers... :p

Sounds like the Samsung is a HD ready, not one with a built in ATSC.

Greg,

I'm not seeing channel 240 or 250 in the EPG on my Dish 811 here in Pittsburgh. Any idea when it is supposed to show up?

Bill

SNL isn't in HD tonight. Seeing how it started on time, why is that happening?

Dave Morrison,
Also, the local commercial level is back to being insanely loud (at least it was during the non-HD SNL on Saturday).

I used the auto program to set the channels for OTA HD reception. I didn't need to have a special HD antenna like the salesperson at the Circuit City said to receive HD OTA. The regular arials worked fine.

BTW, SNL IS in HD otnight with Steve MArtin. I'm watching it now on channel 11-1.

Is that so? That's incredibly odd then and I'll have to look into why you're getting it in HD and I'm not.

Greg,

You are a genius! 240 is on this morning here in Pittsburgh as WABC in HD on my 811. Go Steelers!!!!

Bill

86 is also up on DirecTV as NY ABC HD. Tried to call my clients on fri. to inform them about the HD feeds, but about 75% of them are in Detriot for the game! and that doesn't include the ones that are playing in the game :)

Is that so? That's incredibly odd then and I'll have to look into why you're getting it in HD and I'm not.

He wasn't. I think he may assume since he was watching on 11.1 it was automatically HD.

Is anyone else having difficulting with WTAE this superbowl sunday?

They don't appear to be putting out any signal!

Ah whew... i see. WTAE isn't properly remapping from 51 to 4. Nearly gave me a heart attack there!

Changed to 51-1 and I can now watch the game!

Is anyone else having difficulting with WTAE this superbowl sunday?

They don't appear to be putting out any signal!

If you have D*TV, try channel 86; the ABC East Coast HD feed is coming in. I guess those of us who can't get channel 4 OTA owe WTAE thanks for that!

When I select WTAE I get sound but no picture. So I manually added 51.1 in and ABC is coming in fine now. not sure what is up. hope this helps. Still seems to be a bit of problems thats on their end.

I'd just like to comment on a few observations regarding WPXI HD, as compared to WJAC HD from Johnstown. Again last night "Surface" was broadcast in SD on WPXI, but on WJAC it was in HD.

Again, the shows volume was much lower on WPXI compared to WJAC as is all of WPXI's programs. The commercials though on WPXI are quite loud. Not to bash anything, just some feedback. Overall I would say that WJAC has their act together as far as having a top notch HD package compared to WPXI.

I am concerned that WPXI may drop the ball on HD with the olympics broadcasts. Might some days be SD and some days HD.

Getting back to the sound volume of shows, WJAC, KDKA, WQED, and WPGH DT's have their volume set to where I would say it is equal to volume on my DVD's, and they are equal to each other. WPXI and WTAE are quite low on their DT stations. It is alittle annoying. Isn't it possible that these two stations could match volume levels with the other stations?

Has anyone else noticed these observations?

Yep, WPXI wasn't in HD last night... at least for Surface and Las Vegas.

I turned the TV off and did other stuff rather than watch blury letterboxed content inside a 16:9 area with pillar boxes on the sides as well. *Sigh*

I'd just like to comment on a few observations regarding WPXI HD, as compared to WJAC HD from Johnstown. Again last night "Surface" was broadcast in SD on WPXI, but on WJAC it was in HD.

Again, the shows volume was much lower on WPXI compared to WJAC as is all of WPXI's programs. The commercials though on WPXI are quite loud. Not to bash anything, just some feedback. Overall I would say that WJAC has their act together as far as having a top notch HD package compared to WPXI.

I am concerned that WPXI may drop the ball on HD with the olympics broadcasts. Might some days be SD and some days HD.

Getting back to the sound volume of shows, WJAC, KDKA, WQED, and WPGH DT's have their volume set to where I would say it is equal to volume on my DVD's, and they are equal to each other. WPXI and WTAE are quite low on their DT stations. It is alittle annoying. Isn't it possible that these two stations could match volume levels with the other stations?

Has anyone else noticed these observations?

Yes, I noticed.

I just got back from a week and a half in Detroit and I'm getting back into the swing of things here. I understand that we lost a piece of our signal processing gear while I was gone. We are working to correct the HD issues as well as the dialnorm (audio) problem that Mark mentioned in a previous message.

Regarding matching our audio with the other stations, no, we will not be matching what our competitors do. Rather, we will match local programming to network programming based on ATSC standards. There is an unnamed station in town whose network policy is to take their audio out full tilt. That is NOT NBC's policy.

Your messages on this board do not go unnoticed. Thanks for all the comments and constructive criticism.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Interesting article from http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcastdirectv012506.htm regarding Comcast HDTV vs. DIRECTV HDTV.

Your messages on this board do not go unnoticed. Thanks for all the comments and constructive criticism.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering[/QUOTE]


Thanks for your response Dave. I'm sure that this forum gives you quick input that you otherwise might not get thru other means. I'm sure most of us on this forum are a little fanatical about HDTV and the digital technology that has elevated picture and sound quality to a level that was impossible a few short years ago.

Most of us here on the AVS forum probably have tweaked our HDTV's and audio systems as much as humanly possible to get the maximum out of our setups. We want the best presentation possible and have spent the money and time to get it and set it up right, surely in the thousands of $dollars$.

Just to let you know how some of us are alittle overboard with our investment and expectations, thats all.

PS Can't wait for the Winter Olympics to begin. Its gonna be "Must See TV".

He wasn't. I think he may assume since he was watching on 11.1 it was automatically HD.

Ah, no. It was in HD. It was sized incorrectly but HD nevertheless. The pciture wasn't full screen size, it was mini 16x9. I see it sometimes here in NYC too but the techs at the station usually catches it quickly and fixes it. However, the Pittsburghers are a bit slow. They let the entire broadcast run with the mini 16X9.

I have to say that the stations there over at Pittsburgh don't know what the heck they're doing. Your OTA HD TV channels should all look like PBS HD, the benchmark. The New York ones do. Especially when it comes to prime time programming.

I have to say that the stations there over at Pittsburgh don't know what the heck they're doing. Your OTA HD TV channels should all look like PBS HD, the benchmark.

Hmmm...the more I learn about broadcasting in HD, the dumber I feel. Yes, it's very complicated for me, and I sure wish we had NY's tech budget. Oh well...sorry you guys are stuck watching HD here in the 'Burgh. We'll keep pluggin' away until we look like PBS.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

I'm wondering if there are any DirecTV HD subscribers located in Cranberry Township who are sucessfully receiving local channels in HD. I recently had an installer from Ironwood Communications at my home...he set me up with the HD dish, but said that there was no point in having him install the OTA antenna since my location was out of range for OTA HD broadcasts. He made it sound like I will need to wait until DirecTV upgrades our HD dishes in Pgh before I can receive local channels in HD.

Is this for real? Might I have a chance with either an indoor or outdoor antenna?

I'm wondering if there are any DirecTV HD subscribers located in Cranberry Township who are sucessfully receiving local channels in HD. I recently had an installer from Ironwood Communications at my home...he set me up with the HD dish, but said that there was no point in having him install the OTA antenna since my location was out of range for OTA HD broadcasts. He made it sound like I will need to wait until DirecTV upgrades our HD dishes in Pgh before I can receive local channels in HD.

Is this for real? Might I have a chance with either an indoor or outdoor antenna?

Damn thats bad news. Does anyone in Pittsburgh have any luck with this? I actually was in the process of literally getting *D when I read this post. I live in Monroeville not sure If it makes that much difference. So why would you get *D for HD purposes If you cannot get the HD channels? Should I just stick with ADELPHIA than?

I currently have Dishnet, plus a antenna plugged into my Reciver and I pick all the HD channels FOX, CBS, ABC, WB, NBC. Plus all HD channels on Echostar 110. I checked what can be picked up in Cranberry Township all Locals can be picked up via OTA antenna

I live in Washington County, specifically 3 miles east of Washington, PA.

My elevation is 1283 feet and I am using a rooftop 25 element UHF beam antenna (rotor controlled) with a signal amplifier mounted on the antenna mast.

I receive everything perfectly (including channel 4!) with my setup. Johnstown, Steubenville, Morgantown are all no problems. Sometimes when the conditions are right, I can also receive Cleveland, Youngstown and Columbus, Ohio. One night last summer I was receiving all the locals out of Buffalo, NY.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that your reception is a DIRECT function of:

1) Your elevation,
2) Your ability to see over obstructions (trees, buildings and other obstacles),
3) What kind of antenna you're using (inside vs. outside),
4) Whether your antenna is amplified, and of course,
5) Your receiver sensitivity and hookup.

If you make no effort to meet the above criteria, then you will get nothing.

If you make an effort to meet the above criteria, then there is no reason why anyone living in Cranberry wouldn't be able to receive AT LEAST the Pittsburgh locals.

If you make an effort to meet the above criteria, then there is no reason why anyone living in Cranberry wouldn't be able to receive AT LEAST the Pittsburgh locals.

Yup...that's what I thought. My plan, like most housing plans in Cranberry, sits on an old farm site with little trees or other obstructions, and although I don't know for sure, I'm fairly certain that the elevation is decent.

Once I get my equipment setup, I'll give the indoor antenna a try and move up from there if need be.

Anyone able to suggest a local company that may be able to help out with outdoor / rooftop antenna installations?

Here in Washington, call The Stereo Outlet www.thestereooutlet.com/ and ask for Ed.

He's a nice, helpful guy.

He does all the satellite and antenna installations and he could answer all your questions.

Whether he would go to Cranberry, I can't answer. I know he's done installations that far away for other equipt.

Did anyone's WB(WCWB) air in FS during HD broadcast of One Tree Hill on wedesday(02/01/2006) & Smallville(partly WS) (02/02/2006)? Did they forget to turn the HD on.

WB22's been like this for a while, at least for the shows I watch. Smallville last week and this week, and Supernatural on Tuesday, look like stretched versions of the SD feed (that is, mini-16:9 then stretched across the whole 16:9 display). Prior to this, both these shows had been broadcasting fine, in real full 16:9 HD. Frustrating, and I'm going to call them tomorrow to complain about it. (I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed this)

I was also disappointed that the Surface season finale over on WPXI wasn't in HD when the rest of the season had been, hopefully that'll be fixed in time for the Olympics.

Meanwhile, over on WTAE, which had been my worst OTA signal, I'm suddenly getting it with signal strength 99 (on a Dish Network 942) and had no dropouts during the entire Superbowl. SOME good news, at least...

Just a short note to let you all know that I think we have our HD video problem squared away, and we've been working on tweaking the audio. Opening ceremonies ought to be awesome! I hope I don't have to eat my words on Monday!

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Great news Dave! Thanks.

Just a short note to let you all know that I think we have our HD video problem squared away, and we've been working on tweaking the audio. Opening ceremonies ought to be awesome! I hope I don't have to eat my words on Monday!

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering


Will it be as good as PBS-HD? :p

Will it be as good as PBS-HD? :p

PBS-HD NY will be coming to Pittsburgh to ask for OUR help! ;)

Well, watching some of the Olympics opening ceremonies tonight I was overall pretty disappointed in the picture quality. The impressive show should have looked stunning, but there was significant macroblocking in anything with movement. Apparently pretty common around the country, from reading the thread in HDTV Programming.

I don't know what the culprit is, maybe it's from the network this way, but I'm sure the multicasting can't be helping. Dave, what kind of pull you got down there? Any chance you can get them to turn off the weather subchannel and devote the entire bitrate to the HD when Olympics are being broadcast? We need more bitrate!

During Olympics I was noticing picture break ups and audio was cracking at times, was about ever 25 minutes. My singal was at about 85% so I don't think it was my antenna. Just hope they fix it so can watch the rest of the olympic games without any problems.

During Olympics I was noticing picture break ups and audio was cracking at times, was about ever 25 minutes. My singal was at about 85% so I don't think it was my antenna. Just hope they fix it so can watch the rest of the olympic games without any problems.

It may very well be your antenna. I got WTAE (ABC) that way when I just used my Silver Sensor antenna on it, but for the Superbowl, I went all out and put up a 4-bay UHF antenna in my attic pointed in the direction of the station. That stopped all the picture breakups and 90% of audio breakups.

If you're getting WPXI the same way that I got WTAE, it could very well be your antenna.

It's the only network causing problems CBS,WB,ABC,ABC,WQED,etc.. all come in fine without any problems with no breakups seems NBC is the only one and it only started this week. It was fine last week.

Okay folks...sorry for the crummy pix for the opening ceremonies. (They were kinda weird anyway.) Sthayashi, we found a problem with our HD switcher here during the Saturday afternoon broadcast, and I think we have things solved for Saturday prime time. I don't suspect that Raven has antenna issues.

While I'm not normally here on Saturdays, I'll hang out here until I'm satisfied that our HD looks wonderful!

Thanks for the updates.

Dave
WPXI Engineering

HD trouble shooting is difficult tonight. Due to blizzard conditions in New York, the HD signal has become intermittant. The SD signal is coming from Burbank, so no problems there.

Dave
WPXI Engineering

I noticed some breakups last night on the NBC OTA signal, despite my receiver saying signal strength of 100/100. Guess that explains it :)

The stretch picture on WB 22 looks horrible. I wish they would return it back to the non-stretch mode and leave the viewer stretch it. I'm glad I don't normally watch much on this channel.

The stretch picture on WB 22 looks horrible. I wish they would return it back to the non-stretch mode and leave the viewer stretch it. I'm glad I don't normally watch much on this channel.Agreed. I just noticed they started doing this the other day. Really a stupid decision. ESPN started out that way for SD content, but finally fixed it and use their grey side bars. Now WB22 goes the other way?

I'm glad I watch very little on that channel. But it may be worth complaining about so they know it's not what we want to see. Aren't they owned by Sinclair, just like Fox53? I'd really hate to see them do that on Fox, which I do watch a lot more. Anybody have contact information?

Agreed. I just noticed they started doing this the other day. Really a stupid decision. ESPN started out that way for SD content, but finally fixed it and use their grey side bars. Now WB22 goes the other way?

I'm glad I watch very little on that channel. But it may be worth complaining about so they know it's not what we want to see. Aren't they owned by Sinclair, just like Fox53? I'd really hate to see them do that on Fox, which I do watch a lot more. Anybody have contact information?

From what I can gather, it seems that WB22 is broadcasting the same SD signal on both 22-1 and 22-2 and is no longer broadcasting any HD content on 22-1. My wife and I suspect it has something to do with the upcoming WB/UPN merge and/or the sudden appearance of the "Get HDTV on Comcast" note at the bottom of the screen. Either way, this has to be a conscious decision by WB22 to no longer broadcast HD content. I just can't believe that the WB22 wouldn't notice a problem after 2 weeks have passed. It was so nice to be able to watch the WB22 HD signal that didn't include all those annoying ad splashes that cover the bottom 3rd of the screen. Hopefully someone can give us contact information so that we can contact the station directly.

http://www.wcwb22.com shows a phone number of 412-931-5300. Don't know if a call requesting "Engineering" would do any good. I don't have time to call right now.

Station info on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCWB

From what I can gather, it seems that WB22 is broadcasting the same SD signal on both 22-1 and 22-2 and is no longer broadcasting any HD content on 22-1. My wife and I suspect it has something to do with the upcoming WB/UPN merge and/or the sudden appearance of the "Get HDTV on Comcast" note at the bottom of the screen. Either way, this has to be a conscious decision by WB22 to no longer broadcast HD content. I just can't believe that the WB22 wouldn't notice a problem after 2 weeks have passed. It was so nice to be able to watch the WB22 HD signal that didn't include all those annoying ad splashes that cover the bottom 3rd of the screen. Hopefully someone can give us contact information so that we can contact the station directly.

It has nothin to do with the WB/UPN merging to CW. Since theirs other WB's bradcasting in HDTV fine. Just seems to be WCWB22. I still wonder why they are doing this broadcasting in SD in 1080i format doesn't make any sense.

I keep meaning to call WCWB and complain about this "sending the SD feed to the former HD channel" garbage. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually remember to do so.

Smallville and Supernatural are two of my favorite shows in HD. Needless to say I've been very dissapointed the past few weeks with the SD stretch-o-vision. I'm going to try and remember to call tomorrow.

Dave,
The Olympics looked awesome last night. No macroblocking, skin tones were natural, and the sound was good. HUGE improvement over the opening ceremony on Friday night.

Now last night Olympics was inconsistent. The indoor events such as short track looked fine, but the outdoor events, particularly the women's skiing were inconsistent depending which camera shot was used. One odd thing was that certain cameras produced a thick black border on the right side of the screen, other cameras did not have this. Some cameras seemed to be upconverted, others true HD. Weird.

Thanks for the update on the Olympic HD quality. It's taken a little work, but we think we have our end optimized. I can't speak to what NBC's providing, however. I'm just glad that we have a vast improvement over the opening ceremonies!

Dave
WPXI Engineering

I was a little disapointed Dave. It kept switching from HD to SD then would put up a blocky appearence the whole bottom half of the screen. Lots of flickering and short periods on no vid at all. Mostly during the skiing. Word has it it's not a problem from the source. People from other cities are reporting it looks great.

Anyone get anywhere with why WB22 is not broadcasting HD anymore?

i am having a weird problem with kdka. According to antenna web i am only 46.6 mles from kdka and the same i mean the exact same distance from wtov. Analog wtov comes in all the time no matter where i put my 2 35 foot each copper wires(giant rabbit ears) but i cannot recieve kdka at the same distance i even put the two 35 foot wires out side wtov come in great but then kdka is black and white even got out the compass and still nothing even in that direction. Digital wtov looks great but cannot get kdka even digital. Whats wrong i know i have plenty of antenna length. And one more thing i recieve wpxi pretty good no matter where the antenna is and its even farther than kdka!!!

Stilholm,

Its frustrating about wb22, to go from a decent hi-def to a stretched sd. Maybe they check into this forum but maybe not, maybe they are having problems but yes it stinks.


It's great that Dave Morrison monitors this forum for WPXI. He must be an enthusiast besides just trying to get a direct feedback from the viewers of how his DT station is perceived by us viewers. I say hats off to him!!! The one amd only guy who reports to this forum from the broadcaster side. Thanks Dave!!!


Coolguy202: do you have a direct line of site?, no hills or obstructions in the direction of KDKA? Have you ever been able to get KDKA DT? If you have, try to rescan your tuner. Also the wind and the weather we are having will degrade your reception on uhf. You may already be aware of this and have re-tested. All the info I have read says you need basically a direct line of site to the transmitting tower for UHF. This is unlike VHF which I believe can be picked up because it bounces around the atmosphere.

I have friends that are closer to Pitt that can't receive most of the Uhf that I can because of no line of site......

i have real talls trees about .5 tenths of a mile away and thats it..never had kdka-dt ever heck i cannot even really get kdka analog in color at times i can but very snowey

I called WB22 Thursday, asked for engineering and left a voice-mail with a call-back number. There was no response. Earlier, I also emailed "Mr. DTV" at Sinclair Broadcasting asking what was up with Channel 22. Again no response.

I do have a theory, though (of course, I could be wrong!) ...

I find it interesting that Channel 22 stopped airing the WB's hi-def feed right after the the WB/UPN merger was announced ... and that the new WC (surviving) affiliate would be WNPA. When the WB goes dark, Channel 22 won't have a network affiliation (at least not an affiliation with one of the four remaining broadcast networks).

So I'm guessing that Sinclair Broadcasting hustled Channel 22's high-def equipment right out the back door as soon as they heard the news. Perhaps to another Sinclair station ... or to a buyer. But even if this is not the case, and the problem is not an engineering snafu, I'd be surprised to see Sinclair spending money to fix a problem for an affiliation that's ending.

Even worse, for those of us who would like to see some of the surviving WB/UPN programming on the new WC, we're not going to be able to see it digitally -- stretched or not. As far as I can tell, there's still been no action from the FCC on WNPA's digital channel application. I'd love to eat these words, but I wouldn't be willing to bet that there will be a digital signal from WNPA by this fall. Oh well. Hope I'm wrong.

Hi,
I'm in the Pittsburgh area, and just started using Comcast's HD service. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to change the ASPECT RATIO on this box (model DCT6200/2005). I'd like to be able to go from standard to widescreen. Also, I noticed on the remote that came with it that this is picture-in-picture mode, but not sure how to use this (is this only for TIVO's?).

Would like to find out if this model receiver has an instruction manual...or perhaps someone has figure out how to get these options to work?

Hi,
I'm in the Pittsburgh area, and just started using Comcast's HD service. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to change the ASPECT RATIO on this box (model DCT6200/2005). I'd like to be able to go from standard to widescreen. Also, I noticed on the remote that came with it that this is picture-in-picture mode, but not sure how to use this (is this only for TIVO's?).

Would like to find out if this model receiver has an instruction manual...or perhaps someone has figure out how to get these options to work?

I would check -> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7135599#post7135599 It's for Pittsburgh Comcast service. This is more for OTA. You would have a better chance getting an answer in that post.

I called WB22 Thursday, asked for engineering and left a voice-mail with a call-back number. There was no response. Earlier, I also emailed "Mr. DTV" at Sinclair Broadcasting asking what was up with Channel 22. Again no response.

I do have a theory, though (of course, I could be wrong!) ...

I find it interesting that Channel 22 stopped airing the WB's hi-def feed right after the the WB/UPN merger was announced ... and that the new WC (surviving) affiliate would be WNPA. When the WB goes dark, Channel 22 won't have a network affiliation (at least not an affiliation with one of the four remaining broadcast networks).

So I'm guessing that Sinclair Broadcasting hustled Channel 22's high-def equipment right out the back door as soon as they heard the news. Perhaps to another Sinclair station ... or to a buyer. But even if this is not the case, and the problem is not an engineering snafu, I'd be surprised to see Sinclair spending money to fix a problem for an affiliation that's ending.

Even worse, for those of us who would like to see some of the surviving WB/UPN programming on the new WC, we're not going to be able to see it digitally -- stretched or not. As far as I can tell, there's still been no action from the FCC on WNPA's digital channel application. I'd love to eat these words, but I wouldn't be willing to bet that there will be a digital signal from WNPA by this fall. Oh well. Hope I'm wrong.

I agree!! This is exactly what I thought when I guessed in an earlier post as to why WB22 is no longer broadcasting HD. What I didn't know is that new network is going to broadcast on WNPA. Hopefully this forum will make enough noise to wake up the owners of WNPA and cause them to hasten the transition to HD before the fall season.

Originally posted by stilholm
What I didn't know is that new network is going to broadcast on WNPA. Hopefully this forum will make enough noise to wake up the owners of WNPA and cause them to hasten the transition to HD before the fall season.

I hope so too! But I think the problem may be with the FCC.

WNPA's story is a little strange -- it's been inching toward Pittsburgh from Johnstown for a number of years. From what I understand, the FCC used the wrong (old) geographic location for WNPA when making the first digital channel assignments. Unfortunately the station was assigned a digital frequency that couldn't be used or would have been problematic to use in the Pittsburgh market (do a google search for 'wnpa dtv' and you should find an msword document originating from fcc.gov that more-or-less explains this).

WNPA filed for a channel change in August of 1999. I've been occasionally checking on this since late 2002. The fcc document I just mentioned (dated April, 2005) is the first and only official information on that application that I've ever been able to find. Three or four attempts to write to the FCC for more (any!) info resulted in pretty silly replies.

WNPA and KDKA are both CBS owned-and-operated stations -- I'd hope that they would want to have WNPA broadcasting with a digital signal by the time the WC debuts, but who knows?

It would be great if we could make enough noise to get KDKA/WNPA to at least address the issue and let us know what's going on!

Hi,
I'm in the Pittsburgh area, and just started using Comcast's HD service. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to change the ASPECT RATIO on this box (model DCT6200/2005). I'd like to be able to go from standard to widescreen. Also, I noticed on the remote that came with it that this is picture-in-picture mode, but not sure how to use this (is this only for TIVO's?).

Would like to find out if this model receiver has an instruction manual...or perhaps someone has figure out how to get these options to work?

Turn the power off and then quickly hit the menu button on the remote. A white screen will appear. Use the arrow keys on the remote to change the options.
The picture in picture capability does not work. Comcast programmed that button for swapping between the dual tuners.

Here is a link to the user guide for this model. DCT 6200 (http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/dct6200/downloads/DCT6200_User_Guide.pdf)

Yup...that's what I thought. My plan, like most housing plans in Cranberry, sits on an old farm site with little trees or other obstructions, and although I don't know for sure, I'm fairly certain that the elevation is decent.

Once I get my equipment setup, I'll give the indoor antenna a try and move up from there if need be.

Anyone able to suggest a local company that may be able to help out with outdoor / rooftop antenna installations?

I live in Cranberry, and I can pick up DTV for KDKA, WTAE, WPXI, WQED, WQEX, WCWB, WPCB, and WPGH. Sometimes I can get WWCP (8, 29-D) out of Johnstown. All of this is coming from a 9 year old VHF/UHF RS 8-10' (I cannot recall the model number, but it is fairly large and looks quite a bit like VU-120 XR) antenna hanging upside down in my attic pointed nearly due south (160-165 degrees). The antenna is amplified using a RS 15-1113C 25 dB signal amplifier.

I will say this, without the amplifier, things go bad really fast. All that will come in DTV is KDKA and I think WPXI.

Good Luck

I hate to bore folks with a long message.... so I'll ask the question and then follow up with some details

Help! I am getting different behavior from the Samsung tuner built-in to the HL-R5656W set and a borrowed STB (Samsung SIR-T451). With the built-in, KDKA and WPXI are problematic with video and/or audio glitching/skipping (not like a weak signal with large macro blocks and signal loss). Without touching the antenna (details below), and simple reconnecting the antenna to the STB the problem with KDKA and WPXI simply go away. Mean while, all the other stations that I can receive DTV, I have no problems whatsoever (e.g., the superbowl on WTAE was fantastic and flawless).

My question.... what should I expect from the built-in tuner, IMHO I would expect that tuner to be as good as a another tuner from the same company... perhaps that is naive--and I can accept that. But I am really wondering if there is something wrong with that built-in tuner given that the STB seems to work flawlessly.

The antenna is a VHF/UHF antenna in my attic which has a 25 dB signal amplifier. I have spent the better part of a month believing that I was having a multi-path problem and went through a number of steps including attenuating the signal, trying different OTA antennas, and moving the antenna with little success. In fact, I went so far as to reduce the signal so low that all I could receive was KDKA (the strongest signal for me) and the problem continued (with the built-in tuner). After all that work, I finally decided to try a different TV, but a STB was easier to move :-)

I am really interested in thought you might have because I am running out of ideas.

Samsung is sending a local service rep to my home to check out this problem, but I am not very hopeful because the local tech that Samsung hooked me up with continued to insist that I either had SAT or CABLE to get DTV/HD programming and what I was saying (OTA) was not possible.

TIA

It seems that WCWB is broadcasting in true HDTV again. Not in SD streched in 1080i.

Raven654 - that's good news! So much for my theory :o ...

Well I'm not 100% it will keep going with True HD I know during primetime last night it was in True HD. It went back to the SD-WS streched tv as soon as 10pm hit. So dunno if their some hardware error their having or testing out something. Atleast we know they can still air in HDTV if they want. Let's hope they fix everything in the coming days. So the shows that should be in FS air in FS and not streched out and the shows that should air in 1080i air in true HD. On a side note shows that should be airing in FS that are airing in WS seem to be a bit better not as streched out like before.

Well, whatta ya know?! It would appear that the FCC has (finally) granted WNPA's application to change digital channels (from 30 to 49). I stumbled across this document (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-303A1.txt) on the FCC website. Looks like the decision was made 2/16. I have no idea what (if any) other hurdles WNPA would have to clear, but this seems to be encouraging.

First the WB, now FOX 53 is SD stretcho vision. Sinclair obviously can't get it's act together. Anybody know what's up with 53?

WB seems to back to normal now. As for Fox have no idea FoxHD is't even coming in on my TV only SD. I don't think they know how to broadcast digital TV correctly. Only thing we can do is call and ask whats going on or just wait and see what happens.

WPGH Fox 53 DT tonite for American Idol ...............NO SOUND on their HD broadcast, or was the video in HD at all?.....I didn't look to long, and switced to their SD side.

You wonder why its so tough for the providers to get it right? Is anyone minding the shop?

It would have been nice to see Becky in HD one last time since she was booted off..........

Well, whatta ya know?! It would appear that the FCC has (finally) granted WNPA's application to change digital channels (from 30 to 49). I stumbled across this document (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-303A1.txt) on the FCC website. Looks like the decision was made 2/16. I have no idea what (if any) other hurdles WNPA would have to clear, but this seems to be encouraging.


Where will they be broadcasting from. I heard that it was going to be around Oakland not Jeannette PA.

WB seems to back to normal now. As for Fox have no idea FoxHD is't even coming in on my TV only SD. I don't think they know how to broadcast digital TV correctly. Only thing we can do is call and ask whats going on or just wait and see what happens.Fox still in stretched SD tonight. They'd better fix this by Monday night for 24. :mad:

Where will they be broadcasting from. I heard that it was going to be around Oakland not Jeannette PA.

The license is still for Jeannette, which must be located in WNPA's primary coverage area. Here's the document summary from the FCC website:

"Viacom Television Stations Group of Pittsburg, [sic] Inc. must submit to the Commission a minor change application for a construction permit specifying DTV Channel 49 at Jeannette, PA, in lieu of DTV Channel 30 at Johnstown, PA, for NIPA-DT Document released on 02/15/2006"

Other than that, I don't know.

WPGH Fox 53 DT tonite for American Idol ...............NO SOUND on their HD broadcast, or was the video in HD at all?.....I didn't look to long, and switced to their SD side.

You wonder why its so tough for the providers to get it right? Is anyone minding the shop?

It would have been nice to see Becky in HD one last time since she was booted off..........

Last nights American Idol on FOX 53 WAS NOT in HD, and they apologized in a scroll along the bottom of the screen.

Last nights American Idol on FOX 53 WAS NOT in HD, and they apologized in a scroll along the bottom of the screen.What did the apology say? Since this first happened for awhile on WCWB-DT and now on WPGH-DT (Fox53), both Sinclair, is this just some maintenance work being done or something? Whatever it is I hope they fix it quickly.

Fox is still not in HD.

I live up in Cranberry and have Armstrong Cable. Fox wasn't in HD last night and isn't again tonight. I might call tomorrow to see if they know what's going on.

Fox is still not in HD.

I live up in Cranberry and have Armstrong Cable. Fox wasn't in HD last night and isn't again tonight. I might call tomorrow to see if they know what's going on.

During American Idol last night a scroll at the bottom of the screen said that AI would not be in HD due to technical difficulties.

Sunday 2/26 presented two basketball games in HD OTA which started around noon - CBS showing MSU vs Indiana and ABC showing Detroit vs Cleveland (which was joined in progress at 1 PM due to educational programming requirements). Neither station seemed to realize that the game should have been in HD. I acked WTAE to "flip the switch" and she had no idea what I meant, but called engineering just the same, 2 minutes later, the game was on in HD (10 minutes left in 3rd quarter). I then called KDKA and was told "we don't know if the game is in HD" and I confirmed it was (thanks to AVS). She said "thanks for your concern" and two seconds later that game was on (4 minutes left in second half). Let's hope WPGH's HD problems are fixed for the race later.

Game 2 for KDKA (Villanova/UConn) is HD from the first minute.

RE: "Dropping the Ball" KDKA and WTAE"

Again another example of what I said before, Is anyone at the local stations minding the store?"

To the stations: Keep it simple, make a checklist of what is supposed to be in HD, give it to whoever is responsible for that shift to make sure it is HD, and be done with it.

Since you are the provider of this cutting edge technology, and you have the gear in place to do it, the easiest thing to do is followup on it.

It's only TV, but it rankles me to no end.

Is FoxHD back for anyone else?

It was still out at my place when I watched 24 last night. I sent an email to my cable company to inquire. You'd think that the problems that started Thursday night would be resolved by now. :(

Is FoxHD back for anyone else?

It was still out at my place when I watched 24 last night. I sent an email to my cable company to inquire. You'd think that the problems that started Thursday night would be resolved by now. :(It was fixed on Comcast here as of some time Sunday, at least. 24 was in full HD, looking good.

I have a question. right now i am using an rca antenna that looks like a boomberang and it has 10db gain. I recieve kdka pretty decently with it out the window. What if i would add like a 30db gain amplifier along with the 10 to make 40 db gain. Will this improve my reception on the snowey analog of kdka and fix the pixelation on the hd channel.

It was fixed on Comcast here as of some time Sunday, at least. 24 was in full HD, looking good.

Thanks for the reply. I have Armstrong cable so hopefully they fix the issue soon. They probably aren't even aware they have an issue! :D

Yay, WB22 really is back to the real thing. I'm watching Supernatural as I type, and it looks great.

According to antennaweb.org there's no ABC WTAE digital broadcast for Pittsburgh or they think I can't recieve one. Anyone know they story?

According to antennaweb.org there's no ABC WTAE digital broadcast for Pittsburgh or they think I can't recieve one. Anyone know they story?
WTAE is a much tougher one to pull in. Antenna directions suggest to me that if you live North of the Monongahela, then you might have at LEAST one hill in your way.

Where do you live anyways? That might give us a better idea why you can't pull it in.

For some stupid reason, KDKD 2-1/25-1 went goofy. I cannot get it on 2-1 but only on 25-1. This is on my Toshiba 62hm94. Cannot seem to get it at all on my lg lst3410A. Says digital signal strength low. Anyone else having ota problems with channel 2 as of yesterday?

Where do you live anyways? That might give us a better idea why you can't pull it in.

According to antennaweb I'm about 36 miles North-NorthWest (the compass orientation is around 142degrees) from all of the other transmitters. Physically I'm up in Lawerence County, right on the Beaver County border. Almost in Ohio.

For some stupid reason, KDKD 2-1/25-1 went goofy. I cannot get it on 2-1 but only on 25-1. This is on my Toshiba 62hm94. Cannot seem to get it at all on my lg lst3410A. Says digital signal strength low. Anyone else having ota problems with channel 2 as of yesterday?

I am! While I can watch KD live without an apparent problem (no virtual channel shifting), all I get is a blank screen when I try record anything (MyHD MDP-100 card). Things were fine on Sunday :confused:

RE KDKA: I had to rescan to pick it up and now comes in as 25-1.

i've had difficulty with 025.01 since last night. my mitsu integrated tries to display it but can't decide if it's 25 or 2 , then it won't respond to the remote and eventually reboots itself. if i stay away from ch.025 i don't have any problem. my guess is they screwed with the psip tables and messed up.

Now it comes in as 2-1 for kdka-dt

Is anyone experiencing problems with 53-1 freezing? I have a DTV box and have never seen this before. My signal strength is in the mid 90’s. The picture freeze lasts around 15 seconds and seems to occur two to three times an hour.

I had the same problem with FOX freezing last night with 24.

I had the same problem with FOX freezing last night with 24.

jmf243,

What type of receiver do you have? I have tried calling fox53 and was told that they aren't having any problems.

Fox53 is lieing to you. I had both my ViP211 Reciver and my ATi HDTV Wonder card freeze few times. Both on different antennas.

I have Armstrong Cable and I find it odd that they don't have Discovery HD. I've heard it's the most popular HD cable channel. what gives?

Its monday night and i have a 70 to 80% kdka-dt reception stregnth. I live in ohio about 40 miles from kdka according to antennaweb.org. I have had kdka at 60% before and no problems but tonight pixelation jumping and so on even though the reception is higher. Its lightening and off and on rain right now could that affect reception or is kdka having problems?

Rain storms will cause problem with most OTA signals. If the storm is bad.

D* subs - A little help with some research please.

In my local market, Sinclair Broadcasting group operates our local FOX affiliate, WVAH. I am a D* sub and although I get guide data from analog WVAH-TV, I do not get guide data from WVAH-DT. SBGI also operates the ABC affiliate WCHS as well.

I have talked to managers at the station who tell me there is nothing they can do as the guide data has to be manually typed in. Yet they are able to provide guide data for WCHD-DT.

According to the SBGI website, WPGH is a FOX affiliate operated by SBGI. So I would like to ask the following question of DirecTV subs, specifically those with HR10-250’s. Non-D* subs need not respond. ;)

1.) Do you get guide data from WPGH-DT via your D* High Definition set top box?


Thank you for your response.

D* subs - A little help with some research please.

In my local market, Sinclair Broadcasting group operates our local FOX affiliate, WVAH. I am a D* sub and although I get guide data from analog WVAH-TV, I do not get guide data from WVAH-DT. SBGI also operates the ABC affiliate WCHS as well.

I have talked to managers at the station who tell me there is nothing they can do as the guide data has to be manually typed in. Yet they are able to provide guide data for WCHD-DT.

According to the SBGI website, WPGH is a FOX affiliate operated by SBGI. So I would like to ask the following question of DirecTV subs, specifically those with HR10-250’s. Non-D* subs need not respond. ;)

1.) Do you get guide data from WPGH-DT via your D* High Definition set top box?


Thank you for your response. i do...go into the setup and under the antenna setting or setup one of the two and it says local area somethig rather and click on that and then type in the zip code and directv gets all avalible channels in that area and then it has the program guide for all ota channels analog or digital

just a quick note to anyone that couldn't get the Pittsburgh WB in before, they seem to now be broadcasting at 100% finally, cause i can now get this in at about 90% finally up in Cranberry, previously i could never get over a 30 or so signal. anyways, if you couldn't get it before try again.

Is anyone else having difficulty receiving KDKA HD OTA? Even though I have a 90% signal strength, I'm still getting drop-outs. It's only started over the past few days and adjusting my antenna doesn't help. If I watch the signal strength meter, it stays at a steady 88-92%. Any thoughts.

I have noticed that i live in ohio about 45 miles from kdka. When i first put up my antenna about 2 weeks ago no problems and had a 60 percent signal. Now it has to be a strong 60 to 70 so i don't get weird sound issues and picture problems

My signal strength for KDKA-DT is a steady 100% and a have seen very brief audio losses and a partial drop-off or loss in the video signal to small sections of my TV picture for several days now. I have assumed the problem was on KDKA's end and not mine.

My signal strength for KDKA-DT is a steady 100% and a have seen very brief audio losses and a partial drop-off or loss in the video signal to small sections of my TV picture for several days now. I have assumed the problem was on KDKA's end and not mine.

Exactly. The signal does not seem to drop at all, but the pixellation still occurs. This happens on both of my D* OTA receivers, so I too assume it's an issue with KDKA. It's good to get some confirmation because this is making me crazy.

Another vote for this being on KDKA's end - it's doing the same thing through my cable (Comcast) = lots of breakups/pixelization.

Another vote for this being on KDKA's end - it's doing the same thing through my cable (Comcast) = lots of breakups/pixelization.

Really? Even on a cable system. How many other people are seeing this. KDKA should be informed of this issue. I mean, it's during the NCAA tournament, one of the premier events on CBS.

I have also seen the glitches lately on KDKA-DT via Comcast. I assumed the problems lie with the source at CBS.

Have there been many complaints about this from other areas over in HDTV Programming? I haven't been following the threads on the tournament.

I have also seen the glitches lately on KDKA-DT via Comcast. I assumed the problems lie with the source at CBS.

Have there been many complaints about this from other areas over in HDTV Programming? I haven't been following the threads on the tournament.

I don't think the problem lies at the source with CBS because my CBS station out of New York does not have these glitches. Only the local affiliate.

All,

I just got D*TV HD installed. HiDef Tivo HR10-250. Using a wingard antenna I believe to get my OTA HD channels, I live in Mt Lebanon, in a valley.

I get WPXI just fine, FOX is good, I get nothing from WTAE....and just like several of you, my KDKA drops out a second or two, about 5-10 times a minute, pixelation and audio both. Very annoying, trying to watch the tourney is frustrating, especially when my OTA signal for 2-1 is 87-90%.

Whats the deal with KDKA??? Any ideas? :mad:

Anyone have a good KDKA phone number to call?

still bad today for the tourney

Is there anyway that we can collectively petition KDKA to get that signal corrected or equipment fixed? :mad:

Is there anyway that we can collectively petition KDKA to get that signal corrected or equipment fixed? :mad:


KDKA is fine WTAE never comes in any more.

24 not in HD on WPGH, although my Dad said that Prison Break was. What's the big idea?

Fox is in FS. Why is it everytime I want FOX thiers always a problem. Prison Break was in HD but 24 is in FS. Wish they would just fix their problems.

HD finally after the second commercial break.

So I’ve gone through a bit of a runaround with my recent move to DirecTV’s HD service and thought I would share some of my notes from the experience:

*I was initially told by the installer that I would not receive locals in HD given my location in Cranberry Twp, so I did not have him install the off-air antenna. His assessment was totally false…I did a little test by running an antenna I bought from Best Buy out of my window and on to my deck…I got all local HDs other than WTAE (which I understand is a lost cause for just about everyone). I had the installer come back and using a small antenna that he connected to the back of my receiver (without the need to run cable, drill holes, etc), I’m able to get KDKA, WPXI, WPGH, UPN.

*I bought the HR10-250 HD DVR in December, and just had it activated 2 weeks ago. Bad news for those of us looking to make the switch to the new 5-LNB dish…your HD DVR will be rendered useless since it’s not compatible with this upgrade. Wish DTV would have mentioned this to me before I shelled out $500 for it.

*The word on the street is that DirecTV will cutover to HD locals broadcasting over the 5-LNB dish on April 19th here in the ‘burgh. You will need to have a 5-LNB installed ( I know that they are already installing these in Cranberry Twp upon request) along with the purchase or lease of an H20 receiver in order to make the move. There will be no HD DVR available that is compatible with the 5-LNB dish at that time. I understand they are targeting mid-year for the release of a 5-LNB compatible HD DVR. Probably makes sense for most of us to wait things out and stick with the HR10-250 and the OTA HD locals until things are set and new programming deems the move worth while.

*I too am getting really bad HD pixilation while watching the KDKA OTA HD broadcasts. It makes me mental, but at least I know that it’s not a setup or location issue since it seems that many of you are experiencing the same.

From what I have heard the D* Local HD service only comprises the four networks. Since I am getting everything OTA, including WTAE (using dual antennae), I see no reason to "upgrade" until I have to. I have been recording local and D* HD for over a year on my HR10-250 with very few problems, even from KDKA.

BTW, KDKA has always been notorious for poor signal quality. I remember when I worked for WRCT back in the early 60s that a local engineer said KDKA has some kind of problem getting a good ground at their transmitter site. This may or may not be (or have been) true, but there has always been a problem. You would think KDKA would come booming in almost everywhere, but it doesn't.

Well, I finally have my HD set up finished. I put up my DB4 yesterday and hooked it up to my HR10-250. I had it aimed wrong initially (about 30degrees to far south) and wasn't getting any signal at all. I got out the compass and aimed it based off the readings from antennaweb and all 'Burgh locals (even including WTAE) are coming in good! I was surprised that aiming the DB4 by 30degrees made such a huge difference as it's advertised as a multi-directional antenna. I should mention again that I'm up on the Beaver/Lawerence County line just off of Route 51 about 1 mile from the Ohio border. BTW, antennaweb.org doesn't think I should be able to recieve WTAE but I do get it. The picture looks good, but I haven't been able to do a signal strength test as I don't know what the actual freq. is. What's the frequency for WTAE4 ?

What's the frequency for WTAE4 ?

I assume you're asking about ch 51.1 aka ch 4.1, right? Regardless, here are freqs:

Channel 4 = 67.25 MHz (video carrier)
Channel 51 = 692 MHz - 698 MHz

Hopes this helps.

Dave Morrison
WPXI-DT Engineering

you can definitely get all the major networks including the WB and WTAE in cranberry. i get them all at around 90% you just have to aim your antenna correctly and find the sweet spot.

STILL problems with KDKA they need to fix the problems on their end, constant breakups.

I'm just waiting for a nice weekend day to come along so I can replace the antenna on the roof and add a CM4228. I live near Ford City, 40+ miles NE of Pittsburgh. I get pretty good HD reception on 2, 4, 11, 13 and 53 plus 6 and 8 from Johnstown, but it could be better. I have always had more problems with KDKA, though, than the others.

In fact, I watch the New York CBS channel HD feed on DirecTV most of the time anymore. I like the PQ of KDKA better, but I've had too many breakups and dropouts to rely on being able to record CBS shows from channel 2. It's fortunate that we're in an O&O CBS market.

As if WPGH-DT wasn't mediocre enough...

The Tube, a pure music video network created to be broadcast as a digital multicast channel, has signed an agreement to be carried by Sinclair-owned stations, which includes WPGH and WCWB in Pittsburgh.

As all-digital television creeps closer to becoming a reality in 2009, stations are beginning to create uses for the multiple digital streams that will allow what's currently a single channel to broadcast multiple channels. The Tube will be one of those streams broadcast by either Pittsburgh Sinclair station.

Launching this summer, The Tube won't feature reality shows or other MTV mainstays, just music.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06083/675676.stm

Is anyone having problems with WCWB tonight(04/05/06)? keeps freezing ever so often.

I also live in Cranberry, and I'm able to get all of the major locals 2,4,11,13,53 at 90-100% strength(with the exception of WTAE in which I get about 70%). I'm using a Zenith Silver Sensor antenna with a Radio Shack TV/HDTV/VCR/FM Antenna-Mounted High-Gain Signal Amplifier Catalog #: 15-2507. I'm not using the outdoor portion, just the indoor. It's a little pricey at $59.99 but it was a big boost for my antenna which is actually in my basement at the moment. I plan on moving it up to my attic when I get some spare time which should improve my WTAE signal.

As Tipton mentioned the main thing is to get the antennae positioned so you can get all of the Feeds. Check out: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx to get an idea of where to point your antenna. I'm also a DirecTV subscriber, and don't plan on switching to their local HD feeds. My antenna is picking them up quite well (you get an occasional dropout here and there). I'll probably end up dropping their non HD local feeds as well.

As far as DTV new HD Recorder that will only work with the new 5-LNB dish, from what I understand it will be MPEG-4 based (and will not include the TIVO software but their own DVR software) nd they will be swapping out dishes for customers for free but it will require a 2 year commitment. Also the receivers, will now be leased to the customer (I'd prefer to own mine instead). I've been holding off on getting a HD Recorder until I see how everything plays out. I bought my Samsung HD Receiver for $500 when DTV offered HD, but now they are offering all sorts of specials for customers. If I would have waited I could have saved some money, but I decided to jump on the HD bandwagon early.

I also live in Cranberry, and I'm able to get all of the major locals 2,4,11,13,53 at 90-100% strength(with the exception of WTAE in which I get about 70%). I'm using a Zenith Silver Sensor antenna with a Radio Shack TV/HDTV/VCR/FM Antenna-Mounted High-Gain Signal Amplifier Catalog #: 15-2507. I'm not using the outdoor portion, just the indoor. It's a little pricey at $59.99 but it was a big boost for my antenna which is actually in my basement at the moment. I plan on moving it up to my attic when I get some spare time which should improve my WTAE signal.

As Tipton mentioned the main thing is to get the antennae positioned so you can get all of the Feeds. Check out: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx to get an idea of where to point your antenna. I'm also a DirecTV subscriber, and don't plan on switching to their local HD feeds. My antenna is picking them up quite well (you get an occasional dropout here and there). I'll probably end up dropping their non HD local feeds as well.


I live in Peters Twp at the opposite end of the Pittsburgh Universe. My antenna is in the attic and I had to add a second antenna to get WTAE. I have a device that joins the two outputs but I have not had to use an amplifier. My primary antenna splits the other channels and picks them all up. Everything comes in fine OTA and I also have no plans to subscribe to the HD local service just to add four channels. If they offered the others I would consider it.

I am getting 95% signal strength yet the picture keeps pixellating and dropping audio. This is happening with 2 tv's, one with a roof mounted antenna and the other with a silver arrow. I guess this must be a problem at WQED, anyone else have this issue? I noticed it last night but have not watched the station lately.

--Ray

Me, too. I was trying to watch Legends of Jazz and it was immpossible. The problem has to be WQED because ALL the other OTA channels are booming in.

I talked to an engineer at WQED, they said that their home office in Virginia made a change to a piece of equipment and ever since they have had trouble receiving their signal. They said it is being worked on and hope to have a solution today or within the next few days.

--ray

I am pleased to formally announce that WKBN-DT (Ch. 41) is on the air at the full power of 700 KW. It has been a grueling past few weeks, but equipment came in and contractors showed up and everything came together on time with many long work days. We do have a couple of minor issues to work out so please bear with us as we work on them, however I do welcome your feedback on signal quality and/or anything else on which you care to comment.

I am pleased to formally announce that WKBN-DT (Ch. 41) is on the air at the full power of 700 KW. It has been a grueling past few weeks, but equipment came in and contractors showed up and everything came together on time with many long work days. We do have a couple of minor issues to work out so please bear with us as we work on them, however I do welcome your feedback on signal quality and/or anything else on which you care to comment.


I live in Peters Twp., half way between Pitsburgh and Washington. I get my local digital channels OTA, but my channel guide comes from DirecTV. There is nothing in the channel guide for 41. Tuning to 41 produces no signal, nor does 41-1. Perhaps I am too early or I am doing something wrong or I am too far away??

I live in Peters Twp., half way between Pitsburgh and Washington. I get my local digital channels OTA, but my channel guide comes from DirecTV. There is nothing in the channel guide for 41. Tuning to 41 produces no signal, nor does 41-1. Perhaps I am too early or I am doing something wrong or I am too far away??


Is your antenna set up for Pittsburgh locals or Youngstown locals? Looks like 41 is comng out of Youngstown so depending on the directionality of your antenna you wont' see it unless you re-aim.

Is your antenna set up for Pittsburgh locals or Youngstown locals? Looks like 41 is comng out of Youngstown so depending on the directionality of your antenna you wont' see it unless you re-aim.


Pittsburgh, and that may explain why I am not seeing it in the guide either.

Mr. Zocolo,
I am receiving 41-1 and 41-2 with a good enough signal for a lock here in Washington County, PA.
I am in South Strabane Township approx. 3 miles east of Washington, PA.
My elevation is 1280 ft. and I am using a Winegard 21 element directional UHF antenna which is mounted flush with my rooftop.
I cannot receive channel 33's signal, and can only occasionally receive 21's signal here.
I do on occasions receive WEWS and WJW from Cleveland, but conditions have to be perfect.
I have also received a lot of DT-skip especially in the summer.
Hope that helps, keep up the good work.

Thanks for the feedback. It's much appreciated.

Here's a question that's probably best answered by one of the technicians that frequent this site.
Is it possible to receive a weaker digital signal on a channel that I already receive a weak analog signal, or is the digital signal drowned-out by the already existing analog signal?

Here's a question that's probably best answered by one of the technicians that frequent this site.
Is it possible to receive a weaker digital signal on a channel that I already receive a weak analog signal, or is the digital signal drowned-out by the already existing analog signal?

Yes it is possible, but the digital signal probably wouldn't be stable. The conditions would have to be just right to get to that point.

Here's a question that's probably best answered by one of the technicians that frequent this site.
Is it possible to receive a weaker digital signal on a channel that I already receive a weak analog signal, or is the digital signal drowned-out by the already existing analog signal?

I had an example of that last night when for brief periods I was receiving WNPB-DT, ch 33, in Morgantown WV over WYTV, analog, ch 33 in Youngstown. My antenna was turned more to the SE so Youngstown was minimized. ...But then maybe this kind of "skip" reception is not what you're referring to?

Thanks for answering my question Mr. Flis.
Coincidentally, it is your station which I was inquiring.
I live 3 miles east of Washington, PA or 20 miles (by way of crow) from downtown Pittsburgh.
Since WKBN started their digital broadcasts I've noticed something.
Every once in a while I could receive WFMJ-DT 20 with a good lock.
Since WBGN (a crappy low power station out of Greentree, PA with a lot of LP "satellites") got it's local Washington satellite up and running again on channel 20 (LP), I haven't been able to receive WFMJ's digital signal.
I can receive WKBN's signal anytime of the day with no problem at all.
Is this a kind of analog-digital problem I was asking about.

Thanks for answering my question Mr. Flis.
Coincidentally, it is your station which I was inquiring.
I live 3 miles east of Washington, PA or 20 miles (by way of crow) from downtown Pittsburgh.
Since WKBN started their digital broadcasts I've noticed something.
Every once in a while I could receive WFMJ-DT 20 with a good lock.
Since WBGN (a crappy low power station out of Greentree, PA with a lot of LP "satellites") got it's local Washington satellite up and running again on channel 20 (LP), I haven't been able to receive WFMJ's digital signal.
I can receive WKBN's signal anytime of the day with no problem at all.
Is this a kind of analog-digital problem I was asking about.

You're way closer to Greentree which would override my much weaker signal at your location.

I've been posting for a little while now on the Phillips Plasma forum and I thought I would drop a line here. I'm a Munhall resident and receiving HD through Dish and OTA (direct to the TV). I've noticed recently that fox (53.1) really seems to be coming in well, especially American Idol. It was exceptional last night. Anyone else concur? Is anyone else getting Dish HD and Voom? What is your opinion on it? I'm really enjoying the new Kung Fu channel. :D

This looks like a great thread, wish I came across it sooner.
Tiga

Good morning all you HD hobbiests out there...

I've got a question. Has anyone found that their program guide for WPXI-DT was NOT displaying the program information, but rather just showing the station call letters? If so, could you please drop me an email (or post here on the forum) telling me what you see for the WPXI program guide along with the make and model of your receiver.

Thanks in advance,

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering
dmorrison@wpxi.com

So is CW going to be broadcasting out of Pittsburgh initially? If so, on what channel?

Good morning all you HD hobbiests out there...

I've got a question. Has anyone found that their program guide for WPXI-DT was NOT displaying the program information, but rather just showing the station call letters? If so, could you please drop me an email (or post here on the forum) telling me what you see for the WPXI program guide along with the make and model of your receiver.

Thanks in advance,

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering
dmorrison@wpxi.com


Dave
Everything is fine here. :)

Anyone using one of these RadioShack antenna's? If so does anyone have any thoughts on it?

40" Boom Length, 17 Elements Outdoor Antenna for UHF-Only

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103088

I have. It's very directional. Use a good rotor and you will have very good luck. It's not bad at all and with a little patience you might get Johnstown -Youngstown-Morgantown areas based on where you live of course. I even got a Cleveland station a few times.

So is CW going to be broadcasting out of Pittsburgh initially? If so, on what channel?

Most likly be boradcasting from WB. Since CW has signed a deal with Sinclair. So that means WB network will be broadcast CW. Dunno what will happen with UPN station. This is just a guess. If anyone has some facts on what really going happen let's us know.

Anyone using one of these RadioShack antenna's? If so does anyone have any thoughts on it?

40" Boom Length, 17 Elements Outdoor Antenna for UHF-Only

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103088

I am using this RadioShack Antenna just for WTAE 4-1. I use a Antennasdirect DB4 for all the other local channels. I use a ChannelMaster Jointenna to combine both of these antennas into one cable. Works great.

Most likly be boradcasting from WB. Since CW has signed a deal with Sinclair. So that means WB network will be broadcast CW. Dunno what will happen with UPN station. This is just a guess. If anyone has some facts on what really going happen let's us know.

What is now WB will carry MyTV programming and what is now UPN will be CW.

What is now WB will carry MyTV programming and what is now UPN will be CW.

So that means no HDTV this fall unless UPN starts to broadcast in DTV in September.
Wish they would do it that other way around. So Everyone can watch their favorite WB Shows in HD and some UPN now too. Hope something get's done before CW goes live.

Heya folks, HDTV newbie here in Monroeville. After much frustration last night, I achieved some measurable success todya in my initial jump into OTA HDTV. I have a $30 UHF directional indoor antenna hooked up to a HD5000 tuner in my Linux PC. (I'm going to build a Linux HTPC at some point; right now I'm just experimenting.)

Indoors, the indoor antenna could only pick up one or two stations, and those would always drop out after a few minutes.

When I moved the indoor antenna out onto the apartment patio facing northeast, I was shocked to find that FOX 8 was blasting its way to me. Picked it up without a problem. The local FOX came in as well at 720p for House and American Idol - my first real OTA HDTV experience. Great picture!

Tomorrow I'll actually take notes on which stations I'm able to receive. The one which has vexed me the most is WQED, but I'm probably not properly oriented. I'll get a brief burst of it, then poof.

WPXI's audio kept dropping out on me.

I'll need to get an outdoor antenna for mounting on the apartment patio.

Any update yet as to when WNPA 19 (CW) will start broadcasting a digital signal?

Which Pittsburgh newscast is going to be the first to broadcast in HD?

Which Pittsburgh newscast is going to be the first to broadcast in HD?

This is not meant to suggest I have any inside info, because I don't, but...
WPXI is constructing a new building (it will be done in 2007), all new plant and facilities, it'd make sense for them to be able to go first.

This is not meant to suggest I have any inside info, because I don't, but...
WPXI is constructing a new building (it will be done in 2007), all new plant and facilities, it'd make sense for them to be able to go first.

You guys don't really think that you're going to sucker me into this one, do you?

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Nope...that's why I am phrasing it the way I did. I'm sure decisions still have to be made at corporate levels, which as we all know, you guys find out last.
In the words of Sgt. Schulz....I know nutting!

After doing a scan last nite, I am receiving WPGH-DT (Fox) out of Pittsburgh not only on 53.1 (Hi-def.) & 53.2 (SD), but I am also receiving it on 27.5 (East) and 27.6 (Mntn). I assume 53.1 & 53.2 are still coming in on channel 43DT.
Both appear to be the high-def. feed.
This is weird.
Anyone else getting this?

After doing a scan last nite, I am receiving WPGH-DT (Fox) out of Pittsburgh not only on 53.1 (Hi-def.) & 53.2 (SD), but I am also receiving it on 27.5 (East) and 27.6 (Mntn). I assume 53.1 & 53.2 are still coming in on channel 43DT.
Both appear to be the high-def. feed.
This is weird.
Anyone else getting this?


I got the same thing here accept WKBN is 27-1

I'm getting WKBN on 27.1 and WYFX on 27.2 and WPGH on 27.5 and 27.6.
27.5 says "East" and 27.6 says "Mntn" and both appear to be hi-def of the same programming.
There is no 27.3 or 27.4.
Very strange.

ok, i was thinking. if i have an hdtv tuner card for my pc and have adelphia cable which has hd channels. would i be able to pick up these channels without their box by plugging in the coaxial or can i only pick hd channels by using the antenna?

ok, i was thinking. if i have an hdtv tuner card for my pc and have adelphia cable which has hd channels. would i be able to pick up these channels without their box by plugging in the coaxial or can i only pick hd channels by using the antenna?I don't think so, unless your tuner card can decode QAM (different modulation scheme than used by over-the-air ATSC 8-VSB modulation tuners). Even then, it could only get "clear" QAM - stations that aren't scrambled by the cable company, requiring the box (or a Cable Card) to descramble.

oh ok, thanks for your clarification. so is there an updated list anywhere of the stations recieved in the pittsbrugh area. i live in the south hills and was just curious how many stations i would receive.

If you have a card that supports QAM you will be able to tune all the local channels that your cable company broadcasts.(because they are not allowed by law to encrypt them)
There are a few cards out that will work(MyHD MDP-130, Fusion Cards, and a couple others that I can't remember) I recommend staying away from the fusion cards because you are forced to use the software they provide when using QAM and it doesn't work very well. I have 2 MDP-130's and they work great. For me I can't get any antenna signal so all I wanted was the locals through the cable.