I will be moving to Stonehaven and Yorba Linda Blvd. Up near the top of the hill.

I am pretty sure I am SOL on line of sight.

Jeff

I was in Temecula by the 79 south and with a CM 4228 and a preamp I had great reception (85+) for over 3 years on all channels except 13.1 but that seems to be another issue all together. I just recently moved over to Winchester which is actually a few miles closer so I am assuming nothing should change when I get my antenna installed today but is there anyone in the French Valley area that has had any issues with reception??

Just wandering if anybody else is having problems with KCET-DT 28-1, KCET-SD 28-2 is working. My reliable Voom receiver (OTA) reboots everytime I go to that channel since last night. I tried rescanning my locals, right after it scanned KABC 53 it rebooted again. I have had no problems with either my STB or KCET-DT in the past. I have no problem with any other channels. Thanks for any help.

yes the same thing is happening with my Voom receiver when I tune to KCET.

Although I love watcing ABC news and American Idols in HD Widescreen perfect format, there are times when the broadcasts bug the hell out of me. Here's my list:

KCAL9 & WB5: the news and old re-runs are all in upscaled SD format that looks so blurry and bad that I wonder why they even broadcast these via HD.

CBS2: why is it that this channel is soooo much louder than the others? I have to mute first every time I hit this channel.

Fox11 & KCOP13: America's Most Wanted is in 4:3. WWE Smackdown in 4:3 format. Wish they would broadcast these in 16:9.

NBC, ABC, KCET, KOCE: can't complain much since they in mostly 16:9 HD format and look great most of the time. Love the programming.....

Ok..thanks for letting me vent. I'm thankful that I am less then 10 miles from all these networks and can still get 85%+ signal from my attic. This OTA HD programming has completely changed the way I watch TV. I cancelled dish and cable, and I'm perfectly happy.

Not all of the local networks are broadcasting on the sub-channels higher than .1. Some are but not all.

In general these higher sub-channels are not in 16x9 but rather are 4:3. The content might perhaps be a digital simulcast of what's on their regular SD analog channel (as, for example, digital 28.2 mirrors analog 28 while 28.1 is a totally separate KCET-HD set of program content), perhaps a weather or news sub-channel, etc.

What receiver/STB are you using to receive your HD OTA channels, and where do you live? If you get audio on those sub-channels I would think you're above the digital minimum for your receiver/STB to lock on, so I would think you should also be getting video. But if you describe your hardware setup and location perhaps there might be an explanation. Also, what antenna? And is it aimed correctly?

Incidentally, you did not list 11.1 in your above sequence of channels you can receive, and yet you say you can get 13.1. This is unexpected. I would have expected the reverse for most areas of LA, where 11.1 (KTTV-DT FOX) is almost universally available but 13.1 (KCOP-DT UPN) is mostly non-receivable. You also didn't list 28.1 (KCET-DT PBS), which should be available all over the LA area.
I am getting 11.1 fox channel good I just didn't list it also 28.1 and 50.1. 13.1 and 5.1 come in now and then but they do fade in and out from time to time.
Im down in Echo Pk which is just a couple of miles from downtown Los Angeles. Im also using a Sony TV 34XS955 and I just have a Terk indoor antenna hooked
up to it.

Although I love watcing ABC news and American Idols in HD Widescreen perfect format, there are times when the broadcasts bug the hell out of me

CBS2: why is it that this channel is soooo much louder than the others? I have to mute first every time I hit this channel.

Because they are the only ones that have the DiagNorm set properly at -31db which makes the analog and digital audio SPF match when measured with proper equipment.

Fact is, the other stations are shorting you a 4db or more of S/N setting it at the factory default of -27 or as low as -21 on ABC at one time.

Get the other stations to get their act together and you won't have the problem.

Just because the others do not know how to do proper calibration, doesn't mean KCBS should do it wrong.

audio SPFMean ye "SPL" (sound pressure level)?

Fact is, the other stations are shorting you a 4db or more of S/N setting it at the factory default of -27 or as low as -21 on ABC at one time.
And KNBC-DT is just the absolute lowest... and the worst.

Catching up on the week's DVR recordings, going from an NBC primetime show like "Las Vegas" to a CBS show like "CSI: Original" is like a bolt of lightning. It's remarkable just how much audio detail (and viewer enjoyment) NBC is losing by setting their level so low.

The channel has been up in LA since Monday, I sent them an email since I was glad they started to broadcast digital OTA, the channel used to be on KU FTA satellite.

____________________________________________________________ __
Hello Qwert1515,

We will posted our information on the website as soon as we get a confirmation as to the channel information on digital cable.

We just signed with KTLA and plan to have the official launch in May and will update the website around that time.

Thanks for writing. We are all excited to be in LA full power in the next few months!

Spread the word!

Take care,

Ali

This sucks. I was wondering what happened to the HD channel. It now pixelates like crazy on Smallville and any other HDTV program when there is any motion at all. I recorded a small sample and it looks like they are wasting 3.8 Mbits on this 5-2 sub-channel and only leaving 13.5 for HD on 5-1. I hate multi-casting... :mad:

Anyone have contact information for this station?

Because they are the only ones that have the DiagNorm set properly at -31db which makes the analog and digital audio SPF match when measured with proper equipment.

Fact is, the other stations are shorting you a 4db or more of S/N setting it at the factory default of -27 or as low as -21 on ABC at one time.

Get the other stations to get their act together and you won't have the problem.

Just because the others do not know how to do proper calibration, doesn't mean KCBS should do it wrong.


It's not only that KCBS is louder than the other stations, it's more they can't seem to make things match internally. The network is way louder than the locally originated materials. Is the level from the network correct or is the local programming correct? We are talking big differences in the two levels and not the just a barely perceivable 4db difference. It's more of a KCBS issue.

Just got my antenna installed at my new house and Im getting all the channels at around 70% expect for KCOP (Im not suprised) but I am curious about KCET (28.1) that seems to be coming in lower than normal at 50% and the picture is dropping every few minutes as it doesnt seem to get a lock.

Im out in Winchester CA using a CM 4228 with preamp.

I was in Temecula by the 79 south and with a CM 4228 and a preamp I had great reception (85+) for over 3 years on all channels except 13.1 but that seems to be another issue all together. I just recently moved over to Winchester which is actually a few miles closer so I am assuming nothing should change when I get my antenna installed today but is there anyone in the French Valley area that has had any issues with reception??
I just posted a detailed reception report for two different attic mounted antennas + C-M Preamp about 1 mile NE of French Valley Airport:
http://hdtv.forsandiego.com/messages/1/2846.html#POST24097
The new CM-4228 resulted in about 2-6 dB improvement in SNR over the CM-4221, as measured by Sony GrandWega HDTV.

The narrower beamwidth of the CM-4228 resulted in losing KVCR-DT (low-rez PBS), but since it is still 480i, no big deal....until they upgrade....
We (and half of LA) also don't get KCOP-DT (low-rez UPN on 13.1), ditto until they upgrade....
And many Hispanic and other low power stations are missing in the Ether.....

Analog VHF reception with a pair of attic mounted rabbit ears is the pits and is only used to receive the nearby CH12 low-power repeater for San Diego's KUSI.
All local SD stations normally come in via Dishnet SD-DVR, so we didn't even try to optimize VHF reception....yet....

Sniffing around on the ground with a hand held CM4221 only resulted in receiving KSWB-DT from San Diego,
but other people have reported limited success receiving Mt Miguel (only) stations. You probably won't receive Mt Soledad stations or XETV-DT from Tijuana.
Suggest you search hdtv.forsandiego.com using "temecula" "winchester" and "hemet".

PS: Thnx for asking your question, I've been sitting on my hand written notes for over two months now.....

I know it's quite far away but in 2009 - 2010 when analog is turned off will our local channels continue to broadcast in the UHF band as well as the VHF(If they decide to use VHF)? I have seen a PDF with results from the first round of channel selections after the cut-off and many seem like they want their old VHF frequency, that would make most of our CM 4228's useless.

Yes, and it will also doom the indoor HD antenna...
Well, on second thought, the Terk HDTV-I does have VHF rabbit ears.
I just never imagined they'd work well enough to pull them up.
--Gary

Thanks for the report. After having the weekend to observe what channels Im getting I now notice that both KCET and KTTV (28.1, 11.1) are not very stable signal strength wise while all the other LA stations seems to be consistent with what they were when I was in Temecula. KTTV is watchable but does have the occasional pixelation breakup. KCET is basically unwatchable with constant breakups and the signal going anywhere from 10% to 60% at any given time. KTTV seems to go anywhere from 65% to 40%. Im guessing I'll hop on the roof and tinker with the antenna direction but Im not sure how much it will help.

I know it's quite far away but in 2009 - 2010 when analog is turned off will our local channels continue to broadcast in the UHF band as well as the VHF(If they decide to use VHF)? I have seen a PDF with results from the first round of channel selections after the cut-off and many seem like they want their old VHF frequency, that would make most of our CM 4228's useless.
The CM-4228 is one of the very few UHF antennas that have significant gain for the VHF channels:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6423155&highlight=cm4228+vhf+cozad#post6423155

This subject was also addressed via NEC computer simulations:
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
The CM-4228 is driven from the middle (like a dipole) with all that metal forming two big, fat dipole elements that seem to act as if they are a fat 4-foot wide dipole in the VHF band.
Note that actual measurements on the CM-4228 were much better than the uneven NEC simulation results.

BTW: Due to much better signal coverage in the VHF band, in most of L.A., a big, high-gain VHF antenna would not be required.

========================================================
From someone who does antenna modeling, I learned that there is a big difference in sub-resonance gain for the two general types of UHF antenna driver elements:
CLOSED (like a folded dipole) and OPEN (like the fan bowtie in a CM4221)....better to describe it as presenting either a SHORT or INSULATED path for RF tip currents....

Those antennas that use a folded dipole driver element (91XG, WG PR-90xx, CM30xx, CM4245) would be expected to have much lower gain in the VHF band
than those antennas that use either a simple dipole (WG PR4400/8800) or open, two-wire fan bowtie elements (CM4221/4228, DB-4/8, DAT-75).

Is anyone in the Anaheim area experiencing reception problems on all digital channels lately, like the last two or three weeks? I have a Sony HDG-HDD500 DVR that I've been using since the Olympics. I'm about 35 miles from Mt. Wilson with a good line of site. I've been using an indoor Silver Sensor clone with good results up till now. Reception has been in the 77 to 83 range up until the storms started in March. Since then reception has been terrible spiking up and down, mostly down, even on clear days. I haven't made any changes to anything or moved the antenna. Is there a seasonl component to OTA, or should I start suspecting the tuner in the Sony?

For those that are interested in Formula One racing, there is serious rumors that they will go HD starting in Montreal/Indy:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=27731


Just too late for us this year as CBS presentations are all prior to HD possible conversion and SPEED does not transmit any HD feed.

Anyone heard anything else?

I've been noticing frequent and rapid changes in brightness on the Tonight Show on the OTA KNBC digital channel. I don't watch it live, so I see it on my hard-disk recorder. I've ruled out my TV--a Sony 60-inch SXRD--by turning off the auto-iris.

I haven't observed this on any other show.

Can anyone else confirm what I'm seeing?

Has anyone had luck with getting OTA HD channels in Rancho Santa Margarita.. antennaweb reports I am about 50 miles away.

I haven't seen any shows on KTLA(WB) in HD lately. Anyone know what is going on? I tried to watch "Everwood" the other day and it was 4:3 SD. Now tonight I watched part of "One Tree Hill" and it also wasnt in HD. WTF is going on? Are they having issues because of that dumb Music Channel they added?

Has anyone had luck with getting OTA HD channels in Rancho Santa Margarita.. antennaweb reports I am about 50 miles away.

I'm nearby (Oso Pkwy, east of 241) and get decent reception.
I have an amplified silver sensor hooked up to a 1st gen HDTV STB. I'm not too far down behind a hill, too.

When I first entered my address at antennaweb, it showed that I'd get some HDTV stations, but now, it reports that I'd get nothing digitally.

I am in Ocenaside and get all the LA digital channels with near 100% strength except for KABC 7, which comes and goes, but I never get better than in the 60's. This is on a dish 622 stb and a divco fusionhdtv 5 gold rt using a Antennas Direct xg 91 antenna.

If you can get a clean line of sight to the north, you should be able to get at least what I am getting.

Anybody having problems with KCOP 13-1? I set up an antenna for my parents in the foothills of the North San Fernando Valley above the 118. I can't get a signal for 13-1 or KLCS 58-1 and any of the subchannels. All in all, things worked out well except for those two stations. I used a Channel Master 4228 and an amp.

No matter what I do I have never been able to get a decent signal for KCOP 13-1. In fact I have only been able to receive it once (for a very brief time) and it had major breakups throughout. I just hope that when UPN merges with WB they use the signal for WB. WB is the channel I receive best.

I still haven't found my antennas sweet spot. I always have to make sacrifices. Currently I can receive NBC, WB, ABC, KCAL, and the small independent channels. I currently dont receive CBS, FOX, UPN. When I adjust my antenna to receive those channels my signal strength for the previously mention stations goes bad. Sometimes completely away. I have thought about buying a bigger antenna with an amp but I have put it off. Goes I should be happy. When I was first investigating getting an antenna I was told I wouldn't be able to receive any channels unless I had a 100ft boom.

Does anyone know when the new WB/UPN channel is going to start broadcasting?

I have had the same reception problems-- either this channel or that

I found that in addition to the direction the antenna points, tilting the antenna off its horizontal axis and changing its pitch helped in finding a spot where I received all channels -- which I now do

13 was always a tricky one and has the lowest signal strength

hope that helps

I still haven't found my antennas sweet spot. I always have to make sacrifices. Currently I can receive NBC, WB, ABC, KCAL, and the small independent channels. I currently dont receive CBS, FOX, UPN. When I adjust my antenna to receive those channels my signal strength for the previously mention stations goes bad. Sometimes completely away. I have thought about buying a bigger antenna with an amp but I have put it off...

Does anyone know when the new WB/UPN channel is going to start broadcasting?

I'm not sure where you are located, but I'm surprised that you don't receive CBS or Fox well as they have decent transmitter power. I am guessing that your antenna does not receive the upper UHF band well, as CBS is on channel 60 and Fox is on channel 65. I live in Orange County about 45 miles from the transmitters and I get all stations very solidly with a small antenna (Winegard Square Shooter II).

The new network, called "CW" will start broadcasting on KTLA channel 5 in the fall.

I'm not sure where you are located, but I'm surprised that you don't receive CBS or Fox well as they have decent transmitter power. I am guessing that your antenna does not receive the upper UHF band well, as CBS is on channel 60 and Fox is on channel 65. I live in Orange County about 45 miles from the transmitters and I get all stations very solidly with a small antenna (Winegard Square Shooter II).

The new network, called "CW" will start broadcasting on KTLA channel 5 in the fall.

Thanks for the feedback. I am able to receive those channels when I search for them (lots of time on the roof adjusting the direction of my antenna) and when found they usually have a strong signal. I think I might be looking into getting a new antenna. I have no idea what the make and model is of the one I have (I bought the only one I saw at radioshack) but maybe it isnt a good one. Might need to check out some Winegard models.

Its been stretched all week long on KTLA/Los Angeles' WB. Is this just a local thing or is anyone getting the WB in HD this week? I don't understand what the problem is in LA. It fills to screen but its stretched! They aren't fooling anyone. Horrible picture. Usually they have black bars too during commericals and the news. Thats gone too.

I watched most of Smallville last night on KQCA, the Sacramento WB affill. Must be a problem with KTLA.

threads merged.

Its been stretched all week long on KTLA/Los Angeles' WB. Is this just a local thing or is anyone getting the WB in HD this week? I don't understand what the problem is in LA. It fills to screen but its stretched! They aren't fooling anyone. Horrible picture. Usually they have black bars too during commericals and the news. Thats gone too.
I sent them an email. Hopefully this is a temporary problem...

Anyone having problems with KABC today?? Im usually getting it in the 70's but today I am having periodic dropouts from the 70's down to the teens.

Almost missed that Kobe buzzer beater ;)

So far American Idol on KTTV-DT is some sort of SDTV to HDTV upconvert. It looks really bad. Is this the fault of the network feed or the local station?

So far American Idol on KTTV-DT is some sort of SDTV to HDTV upconvert. It looks really bad. Is this the fault of the network feed or the local station?

Looked fine on Adelphia?

Is channel 5.2, THE TUBE, still on the air? Last I checked, it went bye bye.

Is channel 5.2, THE TUBE, still on the air? Last I checked, it went bye bye.

It's on 5.3 now.

It's on 5.3 now.

There's also a 4.4 now!

WTF!? Another news channel from NBC? Damnit. The HD picture quality was already suffering greatly from the first weather channel. Sheesh.

So am I to believe that one of the largest and most important areas (Orange County) doesnt receive any HD shows from UPN? I just installed my new antenna yesterday and was finally able to recieve it. Sadly after viewing several shows (some of which said offered in HD) I was shocked to see that they all were SD.

Does KCOP have any plans to start offering there shows in HD? Does anyone know there contact info? UPN doesnt have a huge amount of material I am interested in but I find it insane that we dont receive any of there shows in HD. Guess I should have done a google search before I bought my new antenna and not afterward. Oh well. I am still loving the huge improvement in signal strength on other channels. I still cant receive CBS for some reason though.

Is anyone having trouble with 28.1 in OC, the last 5 days their signal is down to 55 on my Sony PVR and pixelating. Went over to Fry's Anaheim to check their signal on Monday and found their plasma displays were all pixelating on 28.1 too.

Did anyone else lose signal on Fox last night? At about 8:40 my recording stopped. I checked the channel at about 9:15 and it was still dead... no video or audio, just black.

Does KCOP have any plans to start offering there shows in HD? Does anyone know there contact info? UPN doesnt have a huge amount of material I am interested in but I find it insane that we dont receive any of there shows in HD. Guess I should have done a google search before I bought my new antenna and not afterward. Oh well. I am still loving the huge improvement in signal strength on other channels. I still cant receive CBS for some reason though.
KCOP is owned by News Corp the owner of Fox. They seem to have little interest in HD. Last season Enterprise was broadcast in HD nationwide but not on KCOP. 6-12 months ago they began broadcasting in 1080i but it is all upconverted. Previously they were broadcasting in 480i. Actually 18 months ago they were one of the strongest digital signals in L.A. but they moved their antenna to be co-located with Fox 11 and their signal went from one of the best to the very worst. This indicates to me that they have very little interest in their digital broadcasting.

In September UPN is merging with WB to create the CW network and KTLA will be broadcasting that network leaving KCOP totally as an independent. This means that they will probably have even less incentive to go HD. The good news is that all their UPN shows will go to the CW on KTLA 5 which is a leader in HD.

Rick R

Thanks for the info. It is truly unfortunate that they dont care more about offering there customers the best product possible. Thankfully it will be for only a couple more months.

I had some serious issues with NBC tonight. During ER there were serious breakups and then no video at all for a good 5-8 minutes. When it came back it was SD.

The Tonight Show, or as we TiVo owners call it, The Last Night Show, went black off and on for several minutes during segment 2 too.

The Tonight Show, or as we TiVo owners call it, The Last Night Show, went black off and on for several minutes during segment 2 too.

I was watching it last night live OTA and it went nuts for me too. It was still funky when I got up at 5AM with the local news. It seems OK now.

The good news is that all their UPN shows will go to the CW on KTLA 5 which is a leader in HD.

Rick R

Also a leader in distorting the SD material to make the ignorant complainers happy.

Funny thing . . . they switch it to true 4x3 for the newscasts. Guess the anchors don't like to look fat?

that is up to date with channel OTA channel info? I went to one I had bookmarked months ago and it was badly out of date. I would like to know about the L.A. area, Orange County, San Bernardino, and San Diego. I have a good OTA antenna and may be able to get a lot of these. Looks like I've found the local ones, but I'd like to know in advance what to look for in the outlying areas. The AVS list at the beginning of this category does not make sense to me, listing lots of VHF numbers - - what is that? Thought all digital stations were UHF....?

that is up to date with channel OTA channel info? I went to one I had bookmarked months ago and it was badly out of date. I would like to know about the L.A. area, Orange County, San Bernardino, and San Diego. I have a good OTA antenna and may be able to get a lot of these. Looks like I've found the local ones, but I'd like to know in advance what to look for in the outlying areas. The AVS list at the beginning of this category does not make sense to me, listing lots of VHF numbers - - what is that? Thought all digital stations were UHF....?
Quick list:
http://radiostationworld.com/locations/united_states_of_america/california/default.asp

More extensive information:
http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp

FCC database query page (query by city, station call letters, et al.):
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html

Thanks, this helps a lot. Don

anyone having trouble w/ ABC? ill have 80% or higher and then suddenly no signal.. this is really pissing me off as I am missing LOST!!!!!

Is KRCA down? I'm not getting any audio or video on 62.1 or 62.2 on a D* receiver. I've got a signal near 90, but nothing except a black screen.

What is Channel 9?

I can't seem to find that one..

Why do the Dodger games on FOX Saturday mornings look like crap! It's widescreen, but there's no way it can be high def...can it?

I've been watching LA OTA via the ATI Wonder in an HP Media Center PC. Last week CBS disappeared. The computer claims low signal strength but all other channels are fine. Did CBS make any changes last week?

Jeff

Why do the Dodger games on FOX Saturday mornings look like crap! It's widescreen, but there's no way it can be high def...can it?

It's widescreen composite SD video, just like the KABC Eyewitness News remote shots. The widescreen component SD video tends to look closer to HD, Fox News Sunday and Cops are sent as component SD video.

I've been watching LA OTA via the ATI Wonder in an HP Media Center PC. Last week CBS disappeared. The computer claims low signal strength but all other channels are fine. Did CBS make any changes last week?

Jeff


Jeff,

check TGB forum. If you are using MCE 2005 like me, we have the same problem....

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/116580.aspx

Thanks ratbrain, that thread saved my KCBS channel. WAF jumped through the roof.

Apparently the file has KCSB at channel 43, but the correct frequency is 60.

sounds like you were able to apply the fix. did you have to access the setup for tv and go into the settings to add the channel again?

i cannot apply this fix because i have uninstalled the required analog card and now can not access the setup.

i had the same problem with cbs i had to edit the xml file from 43 to 60 still didn't work, so i added a new digital channel 60-1 linked with cbs guide still didnt work, tuned to new channel 60-1 then quickly to (1021) the original cbs channel, now it works like normal, i hope it doesnt reset once it updates the guide. Will these problems still exist after the analog cut off or will channel 2 be 2, or 60 will be 2

I am still having problems with CBS DT. I checked my ATSCCHANNELS.xml and here is what is list:

<channel callsign="KCBS" version="0" physical="60" major="2" />

I get 5 green bars on all my channels. I haven't been able to get this channel for about 3 days now.

Also, when watching FOX DT, I get issues only when the show on is not HD. The screen will cut out once in a while and then the BLUE screen that there isn't a TV signal. If I push live tv, everything is fine. This never happens when the show is in HD (or Dolby 5.1) and only happens on this channel.

i had the same problem with cbs i had to edit the xml file from 43 to 60 still didn't work, so i added a new digital channel 60-1 linked with cbs guide still didnt work, tuned to new channel 60-1 then quickly to (1031) the original cbs channel, now it works like normal, i hope it doesnt reset once it updates the guide. Will these problems still exist after the analog cut off or will channel 3 be 3, or 60 will be 3


This too works for me. But the problem is, everytime I want to watch CBS (1021), I first have to goto the 1601 that I made manually, then goto 1021 everytime. Please help. Thanks.

this is how I made it work:

go to the xml file and delete the entire line which contain the KCBS info. Save and go back to MCE setup. Go to TV, then go to guide, then add a new digital channel (2.1) with the right frequency (60).

this is how I made it work:

go to the xml file and delete the entire line which contain the KCBS info. Save and go back to MCE setup. Go to TV, then go to guide, then add a new digital channel (2.1) with the right frequency (60).

worked like a charm, ty. don't forget to assign the cbs guide listings to this new added channel.

Thanks guys. This fixed me problems witrh KCBS and KCET as well. Hopefully Zap2it gets it fixed soon.

Hi all,

I'm in the Los Feliz area (90027) and just bought my first HDTV. I plugged in a Zenith Silver Sensor HDTV indoor antenna to the Ant 2 / Air terminal of the TV and did an automatic search and... nothing ! I got a few spanish stations (REAL bad) and KCOP (even worse). I turned the antenna around while on KCOP and the image changed a bit (not really getting better or worse).

What do I need to do?

Also, I went on antennaweb and after I entered my address, was told that I'm about 15 miles from the towers and my compass orientation is between 39 and 41. But when I narrowed down the search to Digital Stations Only I got a message that :There are no digital stations predicted to serve this location". What does this mean ?

I know these are total newbie questions but after searching randomly 20 some pages of the 69 pages of this thread I got desperate.

Thank you for the help.

But when I narrowed down the search to Digital Stations Only I got a message that :There are no digital stations predicted to serve this location". What does this mean ?

From Los Feliz, probably just poor line of sight to MtWilson antennas (just above Arcadia I believe). I have no experience w/ amps and such, so maybe someone can chime in with some real help. Might bandwfrog have better luck w/ an outdoor antenna?

Hi all,

I'm in the Los Feliz area (90027) and just bought my first HDTV. I plugged in a Zenith Silver Sensor HDTV indoor antenna to the Ant 2 / Air terminal of the TV and did an automatic search and... nothing ! I got a few spanish stations (REAL bad) and KCOP (even worse). I turned the antenna around while on KCOP and the image changed a bit (not really getting better or worse).

What do I need to do?

Also, I went on antennaweb and after I entered my address, was told that I'm about 15 miles from the towers and my compass orientation is between 39 and 41. But when I narrowed down the search to Digital Stations Only I got a message that :There are no digital stations predicted to serve this location". What does this mean ?

I know these are total newbie questions but after searching randomly 20 some pages of the 69 pages of this thread I got desperate.

Thank you for the help.
First of all, what antenna were you using with your old TV and did it receive analog UHF stations
either 1) clearly, 2) with snow or 3) with lots of multipath (overlaid and distorted images).
Analog UHF stations are those using CH14 and above, such as KDOC(56), KCET(28), KTBN (40), KMEX(34), etc.

Same question for how well does your new Samsung receive these analog stations using both your old antenna and the Silver Sensor?

You are in a difficult reception location primariy due to the hills North of you blocking line-of-sight to Mt Wilson stations.
Although you are fairly close to the transmitters, unfortunately, you are also "under" the transmit antenna pattern.

So what can you try?
1. Using a 50-foot or longer length of coax, try different antenna locations. Shooting through a window can help. Higher is better. Outdoors is best.
2. If you still see SNOW rather than primarily mulltipath for the analog UHF stations, a Preamp (or an amplified UHF antenna) will probably help your situation. You should use a high overload/low-gain type, such as the Winegard AP-4700 which is passive VHF, 19 dB UHF.

If you still have problems, a higher gain antenna (probably with Preamp) would be the next thing to try. For many years, I used a 4-bay antenna as an indoor antenna. The higher directivity of a 4-Bay will also reduce multipath.

Hello to both of you. Thank you for the help.

I didn’t realize my location would be an issue because I thought I was so close to the towers. I told you I was a noob…

To answer your questions:
With my old TV, I didn’t have an antenna but basic (Adelphia) cable. The very basic package with the “big 5” networks and 20-some smaller channels. Currently I have the cable hooked up in the Ant 1 / Cable terminal of my Samsung. PQ is “better” than I expected but clearly, HD it isn’t.
With the Silver sensor (and then a Multi directional UHF/VHF indoor antenna I picked up at Rad. Sh.) the auto programming only picked up a few channels (4 (NBC), 9 (KTLA), 10, 13 (KCOP)) and a few Spanish stations higher on the dial). The PQ was real bad. The image changed a bit when I re-oriented the antenna but it was still very bad PQ.

Based on your input, I need an outdoor antenna. I’m only interested in picking up signals from the big networks, in the VHF range according to antenaweb. Do you still recommend the Winegard for that purpose ? Is the winegard an antenna or just a amp. ?

I called Adelphia today and I was surprised that they offered to provide HD signal on my basic, $12.00/month package. For a nomimal fee of $8.95/month ! Yeah right !

Thank you for the help, past and future.

Sincerely,

Olivier

im showing KCET DT1 and DT2 as down, normally 28.1 & 28.2 (1281, 1282). anyone else?

EDIT: I got KCET DT1 by deleting the channel atscchannels.xml and then adding it with a frequency of 59. Not sure on KCET DT2.

If your Samsung accepts a CableCard, then using only Basic Cable input,
it should be able to receive unencrypted LOCAL HD channels (with or without the CableCard).

If you picked the Samsung that does not accept CableCard,
then it probably won't decode the unencypted QAM signals on cable.

ALL of the network digital channels are currently in the UHF band.
In the antennaweb.org list, the ACTUAL channel is in the last column,
whereas the "virtual" channel corresponding to the old analog VHF channel assignment are in decimal (7.1, 9.1) format.

So are you seeing any digital channels, or only the old analog VHF channels (7, 9 etc)?

Hey there again,

I bought a HL-S 4666W, so no cable card. Dang, I didn’t realize that I could have received unencrypted local HD with it… Read a bunch of posts on the Samsung threads but never noticed anything about the cable card giving you that ability. Oh well…

If all of the network digital channels are in the UHF band, then I’m out of luck. Or the UHF antenna I got was crap b/c it only picked up a few Spanish channels and KCOP (Ch. 13) when I auto-programmed with it.

With the UHF/VHF antenna, the only thing I see are the old analog VHF channels (and not even all of them).

I checked the antennaweb again and the last column/Frequency Assignment gives me the same plain numbers as the Channel column. No decimal numbers in sight.

Thank you for the help again.

Olivier

Hey there again,

I bought a HL-S 4666W, so no cable card. Dang, I didn’t realize that I could have received unencrypted local HD with it… Read a bunch of posts on the Samsung threads but never noticed anything about the cable card giving you that ability. Oh well…

If all of the network digital channels are in the UHF band, then I’m out of luck. Or the UHF antenna I got was crap b/c it only picked up a few Spanish channels and KCOP (Ch. 13) when I auto-programmed with it.

With the UHF/VHF antenna, the only thing I see are the old analog VHF channels (and not even all of them).

I checked the antennaweb again and the last column/Frequency Assignment gives me the same plain numbers as the Channel column. No decimal numbers in sight.

Thank you for the help again.



Olivier

Cablecard only gives you the channels you pay for. A QAM tuner will capture unencrypted channels and ATSC tuner (which you have) will capture OTA HD channels using a good HD (UHF) antenna. Make sure you're connecting to the AIR input, not the cable input with your antenna. If you need an antenna search "Silver Sensor" on Amazon, great antenna under $20.

Hey Joe,

Thank you for the explanation. Looks like I picked up the wrong Samsung set for my specific situation of a weak/nonexistent OTA HD signal in my neighborhood. I tried the Silver Sensor actually. Unfortunately I only picked up a few channels and the PQ (If I can call it that b/c the image was so distorted and snowy) was REAL bad.
Looks like I’m going to have to either return my set and buy one with QAM tuner or upgrade the package with my cable company to HD. Or get an more powerful outdoor antenna. Any recommendations ? Will I need one with an amp.

Thanks for the help.

Olivier

Hey Joe,

Thank you for the explanation. Looks like I picked up the wrong Samsung set for my specific situation of a weak/nonexistent OTA HD signal in my neighborhood. I tried the Silver Sensor actually. Unfortunately I only picked up a few channels and the PQ (If I can call it that b/c the image was so distorted and snowy) was REAL bad.
Looks like I’m going to have to either return my set and buy one with QAM tuner or upgrade the package with my cable company to HD. Or get an more powerful outdoor antenna. Any recommendations ? Will I need one with an amp.

Thanks for the help.

Olivier

I use the SS with great results here on the Westside. I'll let others comment on the fancier stuff! Good luck,

im showing KCET DT1 and DT2 as down, normally 28.1 & 28.2 (1281, 1282). anyone else?

EDIT: I got KCET DT1 by deleting the channel atscchannels.xml and then adding it with a frequency of 59. Not sure on KCET DT2.

anyone can check this out for me on their tv?

I live in Westminster (zip 92683) just south of the 405 and across the street from HB. According to www.antennaweb.org I'm approximately 35 mile from Mt. Wilson. Based on the website I need a Yellow / Green antenna to pickup the stations I want.

I'm currently using cheap indoor OTA antenna and it works sometimes. I'm interested in better outdoor antenna and have been looking at the Winegard PR-4400 to mount on the roof. I'm wondering if anyone in my area has experience with this antenna and would post their results. Or if you're approximately my distance away in another part of the southland, how have your results been? Please let me know what you're using and what works best.

Thanks,

Jeff

Hi Jeff

I'm using a Channelmaster 3021 (single bay bowtie) in a 2nd-story attic, about 5 miles further south than you, and getting good to excellent ATSC reception. In fact I bought that antenna many years ago at an electronics store on Westminster Blvd.

According to this antenna comparison, your antenna should give similar UHF reception:
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

Have you checked Fry's? A while back IIRC the CM double bay was only like $40 or so, and that's a top performer.


Regards

Thanks for the input, I haven't seen the 3021 locally. I was planning on buying the PR-4400 at that store on Westminster Blvd (aka JK Electronics).

I checked Fry's and the only thing they offered was the Channelmaster 3018. As I don't care about VHF or FM, it didn't appeal to me.

I purchased an 8-bay Channel Master CM4228 at the City of Industry Fry's for $50 several
months ago.

The 8-bay is simply two side-by-side 4-Bay's with two crossbars riveted on the back. I
needed two 4-bay antennas, and it was cheaper for me to buy the 8-bay, and drill out
the rivets. The separated antennas both work fine, and I even kept the crossbars in
case I wanted to remate them.

rb

24 hour anime on 18-3 ?!?

24 hour anime on 18-3 ?!?

The Funimation Channel! And right now it's in English!
Didn't even know it was there, since 18.2 doesn't seem to display anything.

http://www.funimationchannel.com/index.cfm?page=home

I love my HDTV setup so much I decided to split the feed into my ADS Instant HDTV computer card. I don't know why, but all channels come in perfectly except KABC. KABC basically stutters and freezes. Does this mean that KABC is broadcasting at a much higher resolution that my card can't handle? Why KABC tho?

LA Heat Wave + wind = unhappy me. :(

Is anyone having problem with KTTV's HD signal right now?

My OTA HD recevier indcates the HD signal for KTTV is constantly fluctuating between 0% and 75% every two to three seconds. All other channels are fine with signal strenghth above 80% and no flucuation.

My KTTV signal went to 0% on Saturday night during the first Cops. Then it came back to its normal 78-80%. It happens.

Has everyone here been doing there own antenna installs? Or does anyone have a recommendation for a good antenna installer in the LA area? Thanks.

My HD locals on the Dish Network 129 satellite went out last night. Actually everything from the 129 is completely dead. Is it me or is anyone else experiencing this?

Rick R

My KTTV signal went to 0% on Saturday night during the first Cops. Then it came back to its normal 78-80%. It happens.

I've had the same problem for 2 months with KTTV. It was fine in the beginning, then sometime in mid May it just went blank. I've re-scanned all channels and nothing. Get this...one time the signal meter actually stated 95-97% but no picture!

The only thing that changed is that I moved my antenna another 50 feet...mounted on the highest point on the roof. Originally it was in the attic and everything was fine. All other digital channels are perfect.

Any ideas? Amplifier? Attenuator? Preamp?

I've had the same problem for 2 months with KTTV. It was fine in the beginning, then sometime in mid May it just went blank. I've re-scanned all channels and nothing. Get this...one time the signal meter actually stated 89% but no picture!

The only thing that changed is that I moved my antenna another 50 feet...mounted on the highest point on the roof. Originally it was in the attic and everything was fine. All other digital channels are perfect.

Any ideals? Amplifier? Attenuator? Preamp?

This weekend I installed a Winegard PR-4400 and all the channels come in great, including KTTV.

I've had the same problem for 2 months with KTTV. It was fine in the beginning, then sometime in mid May it just went blank. I've re-scanned all channels and nothing. Get this...one time the signal meter actually stated 95-97% but no picture!

The only thing that changed is that I moved my antenna another 50 feet...mounted on the highest point on the roof. Originally it was in the attic and everything was fine. All other digital channels are perfect.

Any ideas? Amplifier? Attenuator? Preamp?

One problem might be multipath interference. That would explain the strong readings with no picture. The signal might be overloading the antenna from multiple directions.

I've had the same problem for 2 months with KTTV. It was fine in the beginning, then sometime in mid May it just went blank. I've re-scanned all channels and nothing. Get this...one time the signal meter actually stated 95-97% but no picture!

The only thing that changed is that I moved my antenna another 50 feet...mounted on the highest point on the roof. Originally it was in the attic and everything was fine. All other digital channels are perfect.

Any ideas? Amplifier? Attenuator? Preamp?
Maybe you have a signal overload problem....or the antenna is now sitting in a multipath null. Where are you located?
If you are using a preamp and/or distribution amp which models and how is everything connected?

I mentioned in an earlier post that my Dish Network satellite Los Angeles HD locals had gone out. It turns out it was a problem with the cable from the 129 dish. Dish Network came out and fixed the problem at no cost since it was (barely) in the 90 day warrantee.

Rick R

I have some questions...

My parents live in San Clemente...straight up Pico Avenue up on a hill. They will be losing their LA MPEG2 feeds next month and I was wondering if they could receive OTA HD LA feeds. I went to AntennaWeb and put in their address....For the 4 major networks, FOX and CBS come up Yellow (small multi-dir), ABC is Green (Med multi-dir), NBC is Red (med-dir).

The distance says my parents live ~60 miles from the transmitter (Mt. Wilson)

If all the Major Networks are being sent from the same location, then why the differences in Antenna types???

Are my parents basically SOL until DirecTV starts sending out the HR20 DVRs for MPEG4 content?

My parents also live in an area where Home regulations won't allow them to mount a Large antenna...their satellite dish is about as big as something can get on roofs in their neighborhood.

So, anybody live in the San Clemente area that receives OTA HD feeds?

What Antenna do you use?

Anyone have any info on Antenna installers in the area??

Thanks for any info...

Sounds like I live in the same community as your parents. I don't have any answers, yet, but am trying to find out a.s.a.p. since I am switching to D*. I'll post any info that I get.

Sounds like I live in the same community as your parents. I don't have any answers, yet, but am trying to find out a.s.a.p. since I am switching to D*. I'll post any info that I get.

They live up Calle De Cerro (Rt. off Pico) and then right on Calle Venezia....

Thanks...I look forward to hearing anything you can find out...

There people in San Diego that report getting Los Angeles OTA fine at 115 miles (Mt Wilson is about 6000' high and unlike other cities has a large propagation pattern). Your ability at 60 miles to get OTA is more dependant on local terrain and the quality of your antenna. BTW FCC regulations prohibit and invalidate local ordinances that regulate antennas that are less than 12 feet above the roof.

Rick R

They are up on the hill a bit, which should help. Check the map on Antenna web, too, to make sure that it is using the correct location. I get strange results also and when i look at the map it shows the wrong location.

As I stated above...

So AntennaWeb says to use a small multi-directional for most Digital Cahnnels, but in order to receive NBC & ABC it is recommended to use a mediaum multi-directional or medium directional.

Why such the variation??? Aren't the digital channels coming from the same place (Mt Wilson)??

I would think that an amplified directional antenna aimed straight at Mt. Wilson would work...would this avoid some possible ghosting affects that multi-directional antennas might get from neighboring cities?

Can a small amplified directional (or multi-directional like the Winguard SquareShooter SS2000 or Antenna Direct Lacrosse-A) work? They are said to work up to 50 miles....the only antenna I see for 60 miles are Large multi-drectional antennas that are larger than 4 feet in size.

Any tips on good antennas? Is anyone using on of those new type antennas I listed above?

Thanks...

As I stated above...

So AntennaWeb says to use a small multi-directional for most Digital Cahnnels, but in order to receive NBC & ABC it is recommended to use a mediaum multi-directional or medium directional.

Why such the variation??? Aren't the digital channels coming from the same place (Mt Wilson)??

I would think that an amplified directional antenna aimed straight at Mt. Wilson would work...would this avoid some possible ghosting affects that multi-directional antennas might get from neighboring cities?

Can a small amplified directional (or multi-directional like the Winguard SquareShooter SS2000 or Antenna Direct Lacrosse-A) work? They are said to work up to 50 miles....the only antenna I see for 60 miles are Large multi-drectional antennas that are larger than 4 feet in size.

Any tips on good antennas? Is anyone using on of those new type antennas I listed above?

Thanks...
There are several reasons why different stations will have different recommendations.
I'm aware of some, but not all of the algorithms used by antennaweb.org, which includes not only terrain propagation effects, but also interference from other nearby stations.

KNBC-DT (380 kW, CH36) and esp. KABC-DT (182 kW, CH53) are not running as much ERP (Effective Radiated Power) as some of the other stations on Mt Miguel:
http://radiostationworld.com/Locations/United_States_of_America/California/tv.asp?m=los

KABC-DT has an additional propagation and cable loss disadvantage, since it is assigned a fairly high UHF frequency. Although FOX and UPN are even further up, they have more power to compensate.

KABC-DT also directly suffers from interference from Qualcomm's 50kW MediaFlo transmitter on Black Mountain (between Encinitas and Poway) which is also using CH53. A directional antenna may or may not be able to suppress enough of this interference for a receiver in San Clemente. CH53 presumably will be used for XHDTV from Mexico (located between Tijuana & Tecate) for the new MYNETWORK (ex-UPN), at which time (Sept?) I'm hoping that Qualcomm vacates CH53.

I don't have any specific info re San Clemente reception, but if you checkout the fol. website, you'll see that several people pick up nearly all of the LA stations from along the coast from Oceanside to Encinitas:
http://hdtv.forsandiego.com/messages/1/1.html?1152760463
And report problems with KABC-DT....

I would recommend CM-4228 8-Bay antenna...
The Square-Shooter gets the award for the highest cost, lowest performing antenna ever made.

You can go to www.2150.com/broadcast and do a search with all four boxes checked for a 15 mile radius.
If there are no other UHF stations within 15 miles, you can use a high gain Preamp (e.g. CM-7777) and if there are any between say 8 and 15 miles, you probably need one of the low gain Preamp models (e.g. WG AP-4700, AP-8700 or HDP-269). Any closer, you might have problems with even the low gain Preamp.

Thanks for the info...very much appreciated!!

BBQ -

In this thread - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=690198&page=4 - I was told that a "seriously huge" OTA antenna is needed in South OC. :(

Sounds like your parents should try to stick with cable or D* for HD . . .

Thanks for the info...very much appreciated!!

BBQ, you may want to hold off, if your parents are receiving the west coast feeds on D* they are already receiving LA locals. It sounds like those won't be shut off anytime soon. (the west coast feeds that is.)

And Cetesq, topography does play a big role. In san juan capo, where I am, I'm in a bit of a valley, if you're on a hill in san clemente you may be in good shape. You may actually have a better shot at san diego depending on the direction of the hillside.

the general problem with san clemente is that the coast is facing south southwest at that point, with the hillsides rising up behind you. there are exceptions of course.

As I stated above...

So AntennaWeb says to use a small multi-directional for most Digital Cahnnels, but in order to receive NBC & ABC it is recommended to use a mediaum multi-directional or medium directional.

Why such the variation??? Aren't the digital channels coming from the same place (Mt Wilson)??

I would think that an amplified directional antenna aimed straight at Mt. Wilson would work...would this avoid some possible ghosting affects that multi-directional antennas might get from neighboring cities?

Can a small amplified directional (or multi-directional like the Winguard SquareShooter SS2000 or Antenna Direct Lacrosse-A) work? They are said to work up to 50 miles....the only antenna I see for 60 miles are Large multi-drectional antennas that are larger than 4 feet in size.

Any tips on good antennas? Is anyone using on of those new type antennas I listed above?

Thanks...

Not all stations broadcasting from Mt. Wilson are created equal.

The power output of various stations varies widely, from one million watts (KTLA and KTTV) to 182,000 watts (KABC). Secondly, some stations broadcast using directional antennas which strengthen signal reception in certain areas and decrease signals in other directions. Not all the stations broadcast with antennas at the same height and from the same tower, and the position of a particular antenna can effect fringe area reception quite a bit. And, the frequency that a particular station is using makes some channels easier to receive at a given power output and the receiving antenna characteristics change accordingly.

To summarize, while all of the Los Angeles stations broadcast from Mt. Wilson, they each have different effective radiated power, different frequencies, different towers, and different radiation patterns which theoretically effect reception and the type of antenna that is best suited for outlying areas.

I am 42 miles from Mt Wilson and use the Winegard Squareshooter 2000. It works very well for me; I get solid reception from all of the LA stations. I choose it because it is small and inconspicuous, and honestly wasn't sure if it would work when I bought it, but it has worked well. I know that certain Channelmaster antennas get great praise from some people. You can search this and other AVS forums to get recommendations.

My personal experience over the years is that antenna selection and placement is a black art. One of my buddies lives 9 miles from Mt. Wilson and he consistently has problems; he is on his sixth antenna. (He gets severe multipathing, which is really disasterous for getting digital.) I am, as I said, 42 miles away (on the beach) and my Squareshooter is mounted fairly low on the side of my house, camoflauged from the street by a tree, and my next door neighbor's roof is in between the antenna and Mt. Wilson. Yet I get consistently good signals from all of the stations. Go figure.

Good luck.

Kevin

Thanks for all the above info folks....very helpful and informative...

I guess I should take my foot out of my mouth...I knew that the LA HD feeds from D* are MPEG2 and will not be shut off anytime soon...for some reason I thought my parents were receiving the HD feeds as DNS, not locals. So they are all good as the 4 major network feeds are concerned. :)

However, if they have a clear shot at Mt Wilson, which I believe they do (their elevation is over 600 ft with no obstructions to the N-NW), then they would be able to receive all the Digital Feeds from OTA.

I'm going down there in a few weeks to visit and might check out their options...

Thanks again for all the info....

Thanks for all the above info folks....very helpful and informative...

I guess I should take my foot out of my mouth...I knew that the LA HD feeds from D* are MPEG2 and will not be shut off anytime soon...for some reason I thought my parents were receiving the HD feeds as DNS, not locals. So they are all good as the 4 major network feeds are concerned. :)

However, if they have a clear shot at Mt Wilson, which I believe they do (their elevation is over 600 ft with no obstructions to the N-NW), then they would be able to receive all the Digital Feeds from OTA.

I'm going down there in a few weeks to visit and might check out their options...

Thanks again for all the info....

I have D* and record all HD programming OTA because D*'s picture quality is compressed and pretty lousy overall IMHO. That in itself is a valid reason to see if OTA will work.

Plus, the two PBS channels (KCET and KOCE) have some high quality programming that can't be received from D*. And the new CW network (KTLA) isn't going to be on D* with HD programming anytime soon. All three of those stations have pretty powerful OTA signals, so even if you only can get those, your parents may enjoy them.

Kevin

Have there been any changes recently? My reception for ABC has recently gone way downhill. That is usually one of the stations I receive the best. Also CBS seems to have a higher signal strength than normal. I haven't made any adjustments to my antenna and I dont think it has been moved by wind or birds.

Have there been any changes recently? My reception for ABC has recently gone way downhill. That is usually one of the stations I receive the best. Also CBS seems to have a higher signal strength than normal. I haven't made any adjustments to my antenna and I dont think it has been moved by wind or birds.

I am also in OC and KCBS has always had a really solid signal here (plus they broadcast the "full" 19 Mbit HD stream unlike ABC and NBC). My KABC signal right now (11 am Saturday) is steady in the mid 80's. I have occasionally noticed a couple of very brief periods of pixellation over the last month, but nothing that lasts more than a second or two.

Have there been any changes recently? My reception for ABC has recently gone way downhill. That is usually one of the stations I receive the best. Also CBS seems to have a higher signal strength than normal. I haven't made any adjustments to my antenna and I dont think it has been moved by wind or birds.
My signal for ABC has also gone down as well...

Channel Master makes excellent antennas. I use both the 8-bay CM4228 and
a 4-bay CM4221. And, when I can't find the latter, I'll buy the former,
i.e., the 8-bay, and drill out the rivets to get two 4-bay's.

That said, I've helped install, and seen good results with Radio Shack's
$24.99 U-75R UHF corner reflector/8-element yagi antenna.

If you have a local Radio Shack that's going out of business (use the store
locator on their WWW site, and look for stores with a red $), check
if they have any U-75R's for 40%-60% off. And, even if they don't, grab
a "$10 off your next $20 purchase" coupon from the counter, and take it to
a Radio Shack that stocks the U-75R. I recently picked up a U-75R for
$14.99 at my local Radio Shack using the $10 off $20 coupon.

Finally, I assemble U-75R's slightly differently than shown in the
instructions. If you follow the instructions, assembling the antenna
with the corner reflector elements on the outside of their respective
booms, the driven element and the directors, which are on the top of the
boom, will not be in the center of the corner reflector, i.e., the bottom
half corner reflector elements will be two boom widths too low. I assemble
U-75's with all elements on the top-side of their respective booms, i.e.,
the bottom half corner reflector is reversed, which requires a nibbling
tool or a file to remove about 1/8" from the bracket holding the bottom
reflector.

I've not done a computer simulation of the result, but I sleep better
knowing that the yagi's driven element is in the center of the corner
reflector. That's the good news. The bad news is that I won't get much
sleep because I have to pickup half a dozen more U-75R for all my cheap
friends that want to upgrade their HDTV antennas, and want my free
installation and engineering help... :-)

rb

Hmmm. My signal for ABC seems to be much better today. That is one thing that sucks about OTA. You are never guaranteed a good signal. Even on perfect cloudless days. Oh well. I am just happy its better now. Hopefully it will last.

I am supprised no one else has mentioned that KNBC has their audio messed up. On Jay Leno they have no audio at all. During prime time they have audio on the HD program but no audio on the commercials (not a bad thing). They had no audio on a SD program last night also.

This was with my 622 on OTA and satellite and my other OTA only STB the MIT MDR-200. Since no one else has mentioned it is it possible that both of my STB have a problem? Maybe my audio receiver?

Rick R

I am supprised no one else has mentioned that KNBC has their audio messed up. On Jay Leno they have no audio at all. During prime time they have audio on the HD program but no audio on the commercials (not a bad thing). They had no audio on a SD program last night also.

This was with my 622 on OTA and satellite and my other OTA only STB the MIT MDR-200. Since no one else has mentioned it is it possible that both of my STB have a problem? Maybe my audio receiver?

Rick R


I watched Jay last night and didn't notice any problems.

Must be my audio amp receiver.

Rick R

Thanks for the feedback it allowed me to solve my problem. It was the amp. The main speakers switch had been turned from A to B so I was not getting my main speakers. I was only getting my center and rear speakers. Amazingly only NBC and ocassionally ABC were affected. This means that only those programs did not put anything through the center channel.

Rick R

Channel Master makes excellent antennas. I use both the 8-bay CM4228 and
a 4-bay CM4221. And, when I can't find the latter, I'll buy the former,
i.e., the 8-bay, and drill out the rivets to get two 4-bay's.

That said, I've helped install, and seen good results with Radio Shack's
$24.99 U-75R UHF corner reflector/8-element yagi antenna.

If you have a local Radio Shack that's going out of business (use the store
locator on their site, and look for stores with a red $), check
if they have any U-75R's for 40%-60% off. And, even if they don't, grab
a "$10 off your next $20 purchase" coupon from the counter, and take it to
a Radio Shack that stocks the U-75R. I recently picked up a U-75R for
$14.99 at my local Radio Shack using the $10 off $20 coupon.

Finally, I assemble U-75R's slightly differently than shown in the
instructions. If you follow the instructions, assembling the antenna
with the corner reflector elements on the outside of their respective
booms, the driven element and the directors, which are on the top of the
boom, will not be in the center of the corner reflector, i.e., the bottom
half corner reflector elements will be two boom widths too low. I assemble
U-75's with all elements on the top-side of their respective booms, i.e.,
the bottom half corner reflector is reversed, which requires a nibbling
tool or a file to remove about 1/8" from the bracket holding the bottom
reflector.

I've not done a computer simulation of the result, but I sleep better
knowing that the yagi's driven element is in the center of the corner
reflector. That's the good news. The bad news is that I won't get much
sleep because I have to pickup half a dozen more U-75R for all my cheap
friends that want to upgrade their HDTV antennas, and want my free
installation and engineering help... :-)

rb

This antenna is what I'm using. Would you have any pics of your modifications to the antenna? I can't seem to picture it from your description. thanks.

This antenna is what I'm using. Would you have any pics of your modifications to the antenna? I can't seem to picture it from your description. thanks.

Here's an attached .jpg photo of my U-75R. The elements on the yagi boom, as well as those on the upper and lower corner reflector booms, are all on the top side of their respective booms so that the yagi's driven element will be centered in the corner reflector.

rb

Thanks, is there a noticeable difference going this route? I'll try it. Nothing to loose but some time.

Here's an attached .jpg photo of my U-75R. The elements on the yagi boom, as well as those on the upper and lower corner reflector booms, are all on the top side of their respective booms so that the yagi's driven element will be centered in the corner reflector.

rb

New to this thread.... I am getting a hdtv lcd monitor and trying to decide whether to invest in a ATSC & QAM tuner and buy basic cable or should I just buy a ATSC (OTA) tuner because the OTA channels covers all the unencrpyed channels I can pick up with charter or any other reason....

I live in long beach and have been on antennaweb.org and shows i can pick up a lot of channels ota.... just wondering if it is worth investing in a qam tuner capability or just a ota (atsc) tuner strictly with is alot cheaper...

any comments?

Below is what antennaweb.org showed

How true is this list? Can I get all these channels with the correct antenna?

Antenna Station Ch Netwk Miles
yellow - uhf KVCR 24 PBS 50.0
yellow - uhf KVCR-DT 26.1 PBS 50.0
yellow - uhf KNBC-DT 4.1 NBC 30.9
yellow - uhf KLCS 58 PBS 30.8
yellow - uhf KCET 28 PBS 30.8
yellow - uhf KCET-DT 28.1 PBS 30.8
yellow - uhf KFTR-DT 46.1 TFA 30.9
yellow - uhf KAZA 54 AZA 30.9
yellow - uhf KAZA-DT 54.1 AZA 30.9
yellow - uhf KTTV-DT 11.1 FOX 30.8
yellow - uhf KMEX 34 UNI 30.9
yellow - uhf KMEX-DT 34.1 UNI 30.9
yellow - uhf KCOP-DT 13.1 UPN 31.1
yellow - uhf KCAL-DT 9.1 IND 31.0
yellow - uhf KCBS-DT 2.1 CBS 31.3
yellow - uhf KPXN-DT 30.1 i 30.1
yellow - uhf KRCA 62 IND 30.1
yellow - uhf KRCA-DT 62.1 IND 30.1
yellow - uhf KXLA 44 IND 30.9
yellow - uhf KVEA-DT 39 TEL 30.1
yellow - uhf KOCE 50 PBS 50
yellow - uhf KOCE-DT 50.1 PBS 30.9
yellow - uhf KDOC 56 IND 30.9
yellow - uhf KDOC-DT 56.1 IND 30.9
yellow - uhf KTBN 40 TBN 30.8
yellow - uhf KTBN-DT 23.1 TBN 30.8
yellow - uhf KTLA-DT 5.1 WB 30.9
yellow - uhf KJLA-DT 57.1 IND 30.9
yellow - uhf KABC-DT 7.1 ABC 30.9

green - vhf KABC 7 ABC 30.9
green - uhf KWHY 22 IND 30.9
green - vhf KNBC 4 NBC 30.9
green - uhf KVEA 52 TEL 30.1
green - vhf KTLA 5 WB 30.9
green - uhf KPXN 30 i 37.3
green - uhf KXLA-DT 44.1 IND 30.9
green - uhf KSCI 18 IND 30.1
green - vhf KCBS 2 CBS 31.3
green - uhf KFTR 46 TFA 30.9
green - vhf KCAL 9 IND 31.0
green - vhf KTTV 11 FOX 30.8
green - vhf KCOP 13 UPN 31.1
green - uhf KLCS-DT 58.1 PBS 30.8
green - uhf KSMV-LP 33 IND 30.9

red - uhf KWHY-DT 22.1 IND 30.9
red - uhf KVMD-DT 23.1 IND 77.4
red - uhf KSCI-DT 18.1 IND 30.1

violet - uhf KDIG-LP 36 UAT 72.8
violet - uhf KBEH 63 ETH 63.8
violet - uhf KJLA 57 IND 63.8
violet - vhf XETV 6 FOX 108.5
violet - vhf KGTV 10 ABC 82.5
violet - vhf KFMB 8 CBS 82.6
violet - uhf KPBS 15 PBS 101.8
violet - uhf KSWB 69 WB 101.8
violet - uhf KUSI 51 IND 101.8
violet - uhf KNSD 39 NBC 101.8
violet - uhf K27DS 27 ABC 77.4
violet - uhf K69CO 69 PBS 68.9

A decent antenna in the attic (or roof mount) should easily pick up
yellow and green stations--nearly all from Mt Wilson.

CH23 is iffy, since it is shared between KVMD-DT (3 shopping channels), KTBN-DT (Mt Wilson)
and XETV-DT (FOX-HD San Diego).

KWHY-DT and KSCI-DT are iffy--mostly cuz of station limitations...

If you have a high gain outdoor antenna with a rotator and a Preamp, you should get
KGTV-DT (ABC-HD) and KFMB-DT (CBS-HD) from La Jolla in San Diego--the rest are iffy...

A decent antenna in the attic (or roof mount) should easily pick up
yellow and green stations--nearly all from Mt Wilson.

Agreed, I have a 4-bay UHF channelmaster in the attic, and receive all the DT channels in central OC.


KWHY-DT and KSCI-DT are iffy--mostly cuz of station limitations...

Maybe it's a quirk in my system, but I can always tune in to 18.3 (funimation) but 18.1 is iffy. I understand that they are 2 transport streams on the same carrier, but sometime 18.1 won't display a picture and sound is choppy. Channel up (or down) to 18.3 and always get perfect video and audio. Anyone else notice this?

Just wandering if anybody else is having problems with KCET-DT 28-1, KCET-SD 28-2 is working. My reliable Voom receiver (OTA) reboots everytime I go to that channel since last night. I tried rescanning my locals, right after it scanned KABC 53 it rebooted again. I have had no problems with either my STB or KCET-DT in the past. I have no problem with any other channels. Thanks for any help.

I'm having the exact same problem with my Voom STB and KCET-DT 28-1. And yes 28-2 is fine. all other channels are fine.

A decent antenna in the attic (or roof mount) should easily pick up
yellow and green stations--nearly all from Mt Wilson.

CH23 is iffy, since it is shared between KVMD-DT (3 shopping channels), KTBN-DT (Mt Wilson)
and XETV-DT (FOX-HD San Diego).

KWHY-DT and KSCI-DT are iffy--mostly cuz of station limitations...

If you have a high gain outdoor antenna with a rotator and a Preamp, you should get
KGTV-DT (ABC-HD) and KFMB-DT (CBS-HD) from La Jolla in San Diego--the rest are iffy...


Thanks for the info.... not sure my apartment will let me have an antenna...

does anyone have a qam tuner and have basic cable with charter.... wondering if I can it is worth getting a qam tuner to pick up more channels or better quality signal....

any comments?

I'm having the exact same problem with my Voom STB and KCET-DT 28-1. And yes 28-2 is fine. all other channels are fine.

Yes

KCET HD is crashing the Voom STB's here in Los Angeles after a change in the PBS digital transmissions. Not sure but perhaps the problem is coming from the national PBS digital feed.

The local PBS station in Detroit was made aware of the same problem, and fixed it. There should be no reason KCET couldn't do the same.


Ask KCET (http://www.kcet.org/about/contactus.php) to contact WTVS in Detroit, to find out what the fix is.

After three years of flawless reception KABC just went away a couple of weeks ago and never came back? Nothing on my end has changed. Other stations appear just fine. KABC must of done some “improvements” that left us in the IE high and dry. :mad:

Anyone from Ventura have any luck? I see a few antennas in my neighborhood, but it's hard to tell if anyone is actually using them for digital (or at all). Antennaweb shows 63-64 miles to Mt. Wilson, but I suspect the ridge in the Santa Susana's above Simi Valley/Moorpark may be a problem. I need at least one success story before I'm willing to risk ridicule from family & neighbors. :)

Anyone from Ventura have any luck? I see a few antennas in my neighborhood, but it's hard to tell if anyone is actually using them for digital (or at all). Antennaweb shows 63-64 miles to Mt. Wilson, but I suspect the ridge in the Santa Susana's above Simi Valley/Moorpark may be a problem. I need at least one success story before I'm willing to risk ridicule from family & neighbors. :)

I'm here in Ventura off of the 126 and I get great reception for all channels using just the silver sensor indoor antenna. Granted, I do have a good line of sight from my second story bedroom & I am using the directv H20 (which has a superb tuner for ota stations). Nevertheless, I get over 60% signal strength for all stations and close to 100% for most.

I'm here in Ventura off of the 126 and I get great reception for all channels using just the silver sensor indoor antenna. Granted, I do have a good line of sight from my second story bedroom & I am using the directv H20 (which has a superb tuner for ota stations). Nevertheless, I get over 60% signal strength for all stations and close to 100% for most.

Fantastic! You give me hope! :)

I was able to get all of the HDTV channels in Laguna Niguel by adding an antenna in the attic and let my panasonic scan for the digital channels.

After a year of being unhappy with the price and quality of hdtv over cox cable I've decided to give OTA a try. I went to the attic and experimented with an old Radio Shack amplified antenna ( Model: 15-1892 is the equivalent current model)

Hooked up to the tv and let the panasonic scan for the digital channels. It added them all cbs-hd, nbc-hd, abc-hd, ktla-hd, fox-hd, kcet (kcet-hd, kcet-sd, koce-hd, koce-sd, klcs, even the spanish channel are broadcasted digitally. Picture is superb and I am not exagerating. Much better than the compressed images of cable. I am cancelling my cable today.

I would love to do the same thing (drop cable/satellite and only use OTA HD) if I could record it onto a DVR with two OTA tuners. Anyone know if the Series 3 Tivo that is coming out soon will be able to do this (allow recording of two OTA HD channels at the same time)?

I was able to get all of the HDTV channels in Laguna Niguel by adding an antenna in the attic and let my panasonic scan for the digital channels.

After a year of being unhappy with the price and quality of hdtv over cox cable I've decided to give OTA a try. I went to the attic and experimented with an old Radio Shack amplified antenna ( Model: 15-1892 is the equivalent current model)

Hooked up to the tv and let the panasonic scan for the digital channels. It added them all cbs-hd, nbc-hd, abc-hd, ktla-hd, fox-hd, kcet (kcet-hd, kcet-sd, koce-hd, koce-sd, klcs, even the spanish channel are broadcasted digitally. Picture is superb and I am not exagerating. Much better than the compressed images of cable. I am cancelling my cable today.

Very strange. i have not been able to get the audio portion of 50.1. The picture is perfect and I am able to get clearly 50.2 and 50.3. Could this be my TV? I have a Sony 50" xbr1 projection. I'm able to get all the other OTA channels perfectly with a rooftop radioshack uhf antenna. I'm in northeast LA right next to Pasadena.

Very strange. i have not been able to get the audio portion of 50.1. The picture is perfect and I am able to get clearly 50.2 and 50.3. Could this be my TV? I have a Sony 50" xbr1 projection. I'm able to get all the other OTA channels perfectly with a rooftop radioshack uhf antenna. I'm in northeast LA right next to Pasadena.

Them not you, relax. No sound confirmed.
:cool:

Thanks! :D
Them not you, relax. No sound confirmed.
:cool:

NBC arent sizing the pic correctly again on some stuff

blue line on LHS and the bits on the top [sometimes]

and their audio levels are all over the place from show to show, and they still havent figured out the center channel 5.1 issues

whats GE worth? how many billion? maybe they could hire a professional broadcast engineer sometime

PBS get it right most of the time with no money

NBC should be embarrassed

and their audio levels are all over the place from show to show, and they still havent figured out the center channel 5.1 issues
.
.
.
NBC should be embarrassed

No kidding. I gave up trying to get them to fix the center channel 5.1 issue (ie. 2 channels delivered as 5.1 when should be 2.0) on Conan. Same problem on Leno but I don't care about him. Why is this so difficult??

East Ventura near the 126 -- reception in most of this area is easy with an indoor silver sensor, because it has an unobstructed line of sight to Mt Wilson. If you are west of Ventura College, reception is a little more difficult since the land slopes down towards the ocean. South of the 101 or east of Rose Dr, you generally no longer have line of sight, so reception is more difficult but not impossible. I know a person in west Ventura with an antenna in the attic, and a person in Oxnard with an external antenna, they both get most of the channels most of the time.

I get all the channels 99% of the time in east Ventura with indoor SS antennas. For unknown reasons, last year I never had problems, this year occasionally I get tremendous dropouts (like sudden 80% signal strength down to 10% strength) for 5 to 10 minutes on some channels, and I don't know if the cause is at the source with the antennas or transmitters, or from local interference like ham radio or CB.

NBC arent sizing the pic correctly again on some stuff

blue line on LHS and the bits on the top [sometimes]

and their audio levels are all over the place from show to show, and they still havent figured out the center channel 5.1 issues

whats GE worth? how many billion? maybe they could hire a professional broadcast engineer sometime

PBS get it right most of the time with no money

NBC should be embarrassed

Look something like this?


http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/4033/bl1hp3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I am debating whether to just install an antenna to get OTA HDTV programming for free or just get Cable which is going to obviously cost more however will have ESPN which I pretty much watch half of the time. Also if I do go with cable I'll probably get all the premium channels. I think I am answering my own question but will a small indoor antenna be able to pick up the local HDTV channels? If not then I will most likely just get cable since I don't feel like going through the hassle of installing an antenna on top of my 2 story house.


DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
blue - vhf KTTV 11 FOX LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.3 11
blue - vhf KCAL 9 IND LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 9
blue - vhf KCBS 2 CBS LOS ANGELES CA 90° 20.6 2
blue - vhf KTLA 5 WB LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.1 5
blue - vhf KABC 7 ABC LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 7
blue - vhf KNBC 4 NBC LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.1 4
blue - uhf KWJD-LP 25 IND VAN NUYS, ETC. CA 181° 7.6 25
violet - uhf KLCS 58 PBS LOS ANGELES CA 92° 21.3 58
violet - uhf KCET 28 PBS LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.3 28
violet - uhf KWHY 22 IND LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 22
violet - uhf KVEA 52 TEL CORONA CA 93° 21.6 52
violet - vhf KCOP 13 UPN LOS ANGELES CA 91° 20.9 13
violet - uhf KFTR 46 TFA LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 46
violet - uhf KAZA 54 AZA AVALON CA 91° 21.0 54
violet - uhf KXLA 44 IND RANCHO PALOS VERDES CA 91° 21.0 44
violet - uhf KSCI 18 IND LONG BEACH CA 93° 21.6 18
violet - uhf KDOC 56 IND ANAHEIM CA 91° 21.0 56
violet - uhf KRCA 62 IND RIVERSIDE CA 93° 21.6 62
violet - uhf KTBN 40 TBN SANTA ANA CA 91° 21.3 40
violet - uhf KMEX 34 UNI LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.1 34
violet - uhf KJLA 57 IND VENTURA CA 259° 34.4 57
violet - uhf KBEH 63 ETH OXNARD CA 259° 34.4 63
Note:
The above listing is a conservative prediction of stations received. Depending on the specifics of your installation, you may be able to receive stations that do not appear in this list.
DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
blue - vhf KTTV 11 FOX LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.3 11
blue - vhf KCAL 9 IND LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 9
blue - vhf KCBS 2 CBS LOS ANGELES CA 90° 20.6 2
blue - vhf KTLA 5 WB LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.1 5
blue - vhf KABC 7 ABC LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 7
blue - vhf KNBC 4 NBC LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.1 4
blue - uhf KWJD-LP 25 IND VAN NUYS, ETC. CA 181° 7.6 25
violet - uhf KLCS 58 PBS LOS ANGELES CA 92° 21.3 58
violet - uhf KCET 28 PBS LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.3 28
violet - uhf KWHY 22 IND LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 22
violet - uhf KVEA 52 TEL CORONA CA 93° 21.6 52
violet - vhf KCOP 13 UPN LOS ANGELES CA 91° 20.9 13
violet - uhf KFTR 46 TFA LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.0 46
violet - uhf KAZA 54 AZA AVALON CA 91° 21.0 54
violet - uhf KXLA 44 IND RANCHO PALOS VERDES CA 91° 21.0 44
violet - uhf KSCI 18 IND LONG BEACH CA 93° 21.6 18
violet - uhf KDOC 56 IND ANAHEIM CA 91° 21.0 56
violet - uhf KRCA 62 IND RIVERSIDE CA 93° 21.6 62
violet - uhf KTBN 40 TBN SANTA ANA CA 91° 21.3 40
violet - uhf KMEX 34 UNI LOS ANGELES CA 91° 21.1 34
violet - uhf KJLA 57 IND VENTURA CA 259° 34.4 57
violet - uhf KBEH 63 ETH OXNARD CA 259° 34.4 63
Note:
The above listing is a conservative prediction of stations received. Depending on the specifics of your installation, you may be able to receive stations that do not appear in this list.
There are no digital stations predicted to serve this location.
Depending on the specifics of your installation, though, you may be able to receive some signals.

© Copyright CEA 2006 Privacy Policy

exactamundo...

Look something like this?


http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/4033/bl1hp3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Just a heads up, KABC is doing live reports out of New Orleans in HD for the anniversary of Katrina. I believe this is a first for them. I'm guessing they are renting out a high def satelllite truck and cam and this is not an indication that LA local remotes (via microwave) are going HD. It's nice of ABC7 to stay ahead of the curve. (HD helicopter shots, HD newsroom, HD skycams, HD filed reports during sweeps, and now HD satellite remotes + filed reports.)

I just wanted to share my experience with anyone else reading this thread from Huntington Beach in North Orange County. I am close to the corner of Bolsa Chica and Warner. I installed the Radio Shack 15-2160 on a second story balcony overhang pointing directly at another apartment directly in my line of sight to Mt. Wilson. I am 35 miles from the towers and am getting 100% readings across the board from my Fusion RT Lite tuner in my HTPC. For the money the 15-2160 seems to be a nice antenna, although when I went to the RS to get one they had two in the store...both returned. I took a chance and took one and it has worked very well for me.

Anyone had experience with the (HURRAH!) former Adelphia, now (hopefully better) TW cable on the Van Nuys system into Studio City/Sherman Oaks with a cable card? More importantly, any luck with non-scrambled QAM signals on your set? Thanks.

Anyone had experience with the (HURRAH!) former Adelphia, now (hopefully better) TW cable on the Van Nuys system into Studio City/Sherman Oaks with a cable card? More importantly, any luck with non-scrambled QAM signals on your set? Thanks.

CableCard defeats QAM, you can't do both. Remove the CC if your set has QAM and you'll see what it can and can't get. Generally the main Networks and that's it for HD plus some regular digital.

Thanks, Joe. I'm aware of the "only one at a time", so I guess I wasn't clear enough in the question. I'm getting a DVR box anyway, so the CableCard question was mostly academic to see what experiences people have had here in LA.

My real question is to see how many QAM signals (w/o CableCard, or course!) anyone is able to tune. I don't know if there is any connection, but about a month ago I tried to see what is there, and had all the local stations and a few more things. Curiously, tried it again within the past two weeks, post the TW takeover, and almost all of them disappeared.

Without the CableCard, are you able to tune any unscrambled HD channels?

Thanks

Thanks, Joe. I'm aware of the "only one at a time", so I guess I wasn't clear enough in the question. I'm getting a DVR box anyway, so the CableCard question was mostly academic to see what experiences people have had here in LA.

My real question is to see how many QAM signals (w/o CableCard, or course!) anyone is able to tune. I don't know if there is any connection, but about a month ago I tried to see what is there, and had all the local stations and a few more things. Curiously, tried it again within the past two weeks, post the TW takeover, and almost all of them disappeared.

Without the CableCard, are you able to tune any unscrambled HD channels?

Thanks

In West LA former Adelphialand I was able to tune (HD) CBS NBC ABC FOX KCET and a scattering of some digitals above 100. I also saw a porno go by in high speed on 114-5 :eek:

That's what I USED to get, but not recently. Need to check again over the weekend. THANKS.

BTW, there is some hope that TW will not only bring better service, but lower rates for packages. WHen I talked to the CSR to arrange for the HD box I ended up actually lowering my total bill by $15/mo!

That's what I USED to get, but not recently. Need to check again over the weekend. THANKS.

BTW, there is some hope that TW will not only bring better service, but lower rates for packages. WHen I talked to the CSR to arrange for the HD box I ended up actually lowering my total bill by $15/mo!

I also recently had two HD boxes added and the
$25 install fee was reversed to Zero! :D Maybe there's hope yet!

I have a question... I've been seeing ads that say MyNetworkTV is going to be an all HD network. I don't recall seeing anything that KCOP is going HD. Did I miss something?

I have a question... I've been seeing ads that say MyNetworkTV is going to be an all HD network. I don't recall seeing anything that KCOP is going HD. Did I miss something?

Didn't you see the "*" if you followed it it said...

"Except KCOP, you fool!" :p

Didn't you see the "*" if you followed it it said...

"Except KCOP, you fool!" :p


I must have missed that part. ;)

All-HD Soaps Coming on MyNetworkTV

MyNetworkTV, a recently formed broadcast program service that will have a heavy diet of soap opera "telenovelas" in primetime starting Sept. 5, plans to feed all its content in 720p. Twentieth Television, an arm of News Corp., which owns the wide array of Fox broadcast and cable networks, is assembling the new network. The service is designed to compete directly with a newly combined broadcast network, The CW.

MyNetworkTV plans to air original soaps stripped across five weeknights for up to 13 weeks per telenovela. The all-HD network is expected to air two hours of primetime nightly, Monday through Friday, like Fox -- and unlike NBC, ABC and CBS, which air three hours on six nights weekly (and 4 hours on Sunday).

The primetime dramas with names such as "Desire" and "Secret Obsessions" will target adults 18-49. According to published reports, the new service's production schedule calls for about 600 original hours of HD annually, with several productions shooting concurrently on up to 10 sets. It will be shot in 1080i and air in 720p, with the 16:9 aspect ratio also used for simultaneous SD broadcasts.

http://www.tvtechnology.com/hd_notebook/one.php?id=901

I guess that can be interpreted to mean all programming will be HD. I interpreted it to mean that the network of station were all broadcasting HD.

I have a question... I've been seeing ads that say MyNetworkTV is going to be an all HD network. I don't recall seeing anything that KCOP is going HD. Did I miss something?
Inside information we have from fellow Fox-owned UPN/MNTV station KUTP here in Phoenix is that they plan to have HD up and running for the launch of MNTV. I would assume that KCOP is on a similar timetable. As for all HD network, MNTV consists of exactly 12 hours per week, so while all 12 of those hours are HD, most of these stations are #6 in their market so don't expact much (if anything) in HD outside of these few hours.

Anyone have a recommendation for an installer in South Orange County, CA? Specifically looking for someone to run one or two additional coax cables that would involve fishing the line through the walls from the attic down to the ground floor of a two-story house.

Anyone else loose picture for OTA ABC 7.2, 7.3 NBC 4.2. Noticed this yesterday and today, Audio works but those channels now seem scrambled. Same problem with both my Sony and Panasonic ATSC recievers.
Thanks, Ken WLA

Anyone else loose picture for OTA ABC 7.2, 7.3 NBC 4.2. Noticed this yesterday and today, Audio works but those channels now seem scrambled. Same problem with both my Sony and Panasonic ATSC recievers.
Thanks, Ken WLA

Nope...all's well in Santa Monica on both EyeTV and Phillips ATSC tuners! :D

Still, none of those additional channels have video. No You tube, raw news, no ABC 7.2, PBS 28.2 and all the rest have a mostly white screen with black lines. Lines run Vertical about 4" then moving horizontal lines every half inch or so.
Both my ATSC tuners show the same. Audio is fine on all though,

Is it possible it's the TV? It's Less than a month old. How could I just loose the video on those channels?

Edit: Actually the Sony tuner is picking up the channels, they show up clear on the Sony program guide(small image) on the onscreen menu. After I make my selection and return to the TV they become distorted.

The channels that you mentioned are all 480i, SD transmissions. Perhaps that's a clue?
Is the connection between tuners and TV by component cables?
You could try an ordinary 480i DVD player to confirm if the TV cannot accept 480i video.

The channels that you mentioned are all 480i, SD transmissions. Perhaps that's a clue?
Is the connection between tuners and TV by component cables?
You could try an ordinary 480i DVD player to confirm if the TV cannot accept 480i video.


Your right though, only the SD stations were effected. I never thought of that.
But the problem was resolved by unpluging the set for 30 seconds.
Hopefully It won't happen again.

I've been waiting for this for years! Their first episode of the MyNetworkTV nighttime soaps is being broadcast in High Definition!

Hurray for KCOP. FINALLY!!!

I was also pleasantly suprised when I saw My13 in HD! Great PQ, but just 2.0 audio. But so far, very impressed with the PQ. Watching OTA.

With KCOP, let's take what we can get!

Howdy from an HD newbie looking for antenna advice.
I'm currently making do with a Silver Sensor pointed out a 1st floor window, but signals never go much above 60-70 and even mild weather completely destroys reception- so I'm looking to upgrade to a roof mounted antenna. I live in Northridge- not many multistory buildings, but lots of tall trees and I'm close enough to the foothills of Porter Ranch that I'm thinking multipath signals might be a concern. Anyone in a similar predicament? Basically, I'm just wondering if the terrain is cluttered enough that I should look first to a directional yagi type antenna or start off with a 'flatter' billboard array type antenna.

Thanks for the input.

I've been waiting for this for years! Their first episode of the MyNetworkTV nighttime soaps is being broadcast in High Definition!

Hurray for KCOP. FINALLY!!!

It's nice that they went HD on time for the new network (for which KCOP is now considered a network O&O of MyNetwork); it's too bad LA never had UPN in HD as KCOP passed it in SD for all it's existence only to go HD now, even after sending an HD signal. I also noticed that KCOP is now 720p instead of 1080i (even though nothing was in HD when it was 1080i). So the LA VHF lineup is complete: 2 through 13 is now HD. 1080i: 2 (CBS), 4 (NBC), 5 (CW); 720p: 7 (ABC), 11 (FOX), 13 (MyNetwork). Now only if KCOP-DT had better valley coverage, it's breaking up here a lot.

It's nice that they went HD on time for the new network (for which KCOP is now considered a network O&O of MyNetwork); it's too bad LA never had UPN in HD as KCOP passed it in SD for all it's existence only to go HD now, even after sending an HD signal. I also noticed that KCOP is now 720p instead of 1080i (even though nothing was in HD when it was 1080i). So the LA VHF lineup is complete: 2 through 13 is now HD. 1080i: 2 (CBS), 4 (NBC), 5 (CW); 720p: 7 (ABC), 11 (FOX), 13 (MyNetwork). Now only if KCOP-DT had better valley coverage, it's breaking up here a lot.


I'm in the SFV... I think we had one breakup last night. We won't be recording it again until the recap show on Saturday.

I was intrigued by the Farscape ads. I wonder if they will be airing them in HD since they advertise themselves as an all HD network...

Let's not forget KCAL (9-1). They've broadcast a handful of Imax movies. I also remember seeing some sort of sporting event (basketball?) several years ago in HD.....

Let's not forget KCAL (9-1). They've broadcast a handful of Imax movies. I also remember seeing some sort of sporting event (basketball?) several years ago in HD.....
Show was called "HD to the Max" on Sundays. Had excellent PQ (at least on par with Discovery HD, to my eyes). Was apparently changed to Sat nights some time ago, but I haven't seen it since. So, they have the capability. More local sports on 9-1 would be nice.

Show was called "HD to the Max" on Sundays. Had excellent PQ (at least on par with Discovery HD, to my eyes). Was apparently changed to Sat nights some time ago, but I haven't seen it since.

I've been stalking this show ever since seeing the tail end of an episode about helicopters. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it since they ran a couple of episodes early Sunday morning earlier this year.

Since 9 is the only station I can't get consistantly, I guess this is more a blessing than a curse for me. :D

I'm having major issues trying to get KTTV on my HDTV setup. Every other station in the LA area is coming in just fine.

Technical details:
- SquareShooter 1100 antenna
- Live in Temple City: about 8 - 9 miles from the transmitters according to Antenna Web
- eyeTV 500 running on a Mac mini

I put my antenna up a couple months ago, and initially was having issues only with KTTV and KCOP. I adjusted the positioning of my antenna over the weekend and KCOP now comes in fine, but when I try to manually add KTTV (using 65 for it's channel in the eyeTV setup), the signal strength goes from 0 - 75%, but never holds.

Any thoughts/hints on what I could try to improve this? Many thanks in advance!

KABC is not showing Jeopardy in HD, when they tried to go HD, there was a dark green screen, then they went back to SD upconversion. I hope they correct this after the commercial.

KABC is not showing Jeopardy in HD, when they tried to go HD, there was a dark green screen, then they went back to SD upconversion. I hope they correct this after the commercial.


You beat me, I just called KABC engineering and they're clueless, "maybe it's Master Control"!?
UNBELIEVEABLE!

It's HD now.

It's HD now.

This is amazing considering it's not Kinosha or Boise, it's Los Angeles! :eek:

This is amazing considering it's not Kinosha or Boise, it's Los Angeles! :eek:

Not to mention that the two shows originate at the Sony Studio in Culver City; a mere 15 - 20 miles from KABC.

Sometimes things go wrong in production. Too bad they didn't try running a test at like 3am or something.

Rasheed

Not to mention that the two shows originate at the Sony Studio in Culver City; a mere 15 - 20 miles from KABC.

What does that matter? The shows aren't fed live from Sony Studios... they're sent out over the net in a bulkfeed... sometimes that day, sometimes the whole week is sent on Mondays, sometimes the whole month is sent.

This isn't network prime-time. Its syndication. Depending on the show... its delivered via videotape at times.

anyone else having reception problems?

5 KTLA -- lost channel ID getting it on 31-1 not 5-1 and tube on 31-2 not 5-5

instability on some other channels [but not all] , flipping between their assigned channels 2/60, 50/48?

9, 11, 13 28 all fine

thanks

I live in a Santa Monica apartment. DTV is going to install a HD 5-LNB Dish. Should I order their Off Air Antenna for $50? I understand from the AVS forum that I should be able to receive KTLA, KCOP, and PBS in HD with the OTA. Would there be much of a difference with an indoor OTA versus the DTV outdoor OTA? Thanks.

I live in a Santa Monica apartment. DTV is going to install a HD 5-LNB Dish. Should I order their Off Air Antenna for $50? I understand from the AVS forum that I should be able to receive KTLA, KCOP, and PBS in HD with the OTA. Would there be much of a difference with an indoor OTA versus the DTV outdoor OTA? Thanks.
I just got new DirecTV service installed last week. I got the HR20-700, which is their new MPEG4 HD DVR box. My service inlcudes HD versions of LA channels 2, 4, 7, and 11 over the DTV satellite. You're right that you'll need to go OTA to get 5, 13, and 28 in HD ... also I believe channels 9 and 50 broadcast some HD?

I understand that the new HR20-700 includes OTA tuners, but they're not activated yet. I was not given the option of ordering an OTA antenna with my install -- I think the box was grayed-out and I couldn't check it. I'll just use my Radio Shack indoor powered antenna to pull down the OTA and send it straight to my TV's tuner when I want it ... I won't be able to record it of course.

In West L.A. I don't get good reception with my indoor antenna, probably becuase it's cruddy. If I had been given the option to have DTV install a OTA antenna on my roof when they installed the dish I definitely would have taken it. Good luck!

I just got new DirecTV service installed last week. I got the HR20-700, which is their new MPEG4 HD DVR box. My service inlcudes HD versions of LA channels 2, 4, 7, and 11 over the DTV satellite. You're right that you'll need to go OTA to get 5, 13, and 28 in HD ... also I believe channels 9 and 50 broadcast some HD?

I understand that the new HR20-700 includes OTA tuners, but they're not activated yet. I was not given the option of ordering an OTA antenna with my install -- I think the box was grayed-out and I couldn't check it. I'll just use my Radio Shack indoor powered antenna to pull down the OTA and send it straight to my TV's tuner when I want it ... I won't be able to record it of course.

In West L.A. I don't get good reception with my indoor antenna, probably becuase it's cruddy. If I had been given the option to have DTV install a OTA antenna on my roof when they installed the dish I definitely would have taken it. Good luck!

Powerswitch, thanks for the information. I am trying to add the OTA antenna to my order. At first DTV said it would not add any HD channels. I should have just included it on my original order. The OTA antenna is an option on their website.

Powerswitch, thanks for the information. I am trying to add the OTA antenna to my order. At first DTV said it would not add any HD channels. I should have just included it on my original order. The OTA antenna is an option on their website.

Based on my own experience with D*'s installation service, I would opt to install my own antenna after the dish is put in. One of the issues that the installer may have is that you can't use the multiswitch to diplex the OTA antenna with the 5 LNB dishes. He may resist running a separate cable for the antenna at no charge. Also, I believe the new models of the DVR that use D*'s own software (instead of Tivo) do not currently support OTA recording, so it might not be possible to see if the OTA antenna is working.

Good luck.

Here we go again! KABC is screwing up HD! Dancing w/The Stars is ni SD! Argh, and I don't even want to watch it! :eek:

2 minutes in it popped!

Based on my own experience with D*'s installation service, I would opt to install my own antenna after the dish is put in. One of the issues that the installer may have is that you can't use the multiswitch to diplex the OTA antenna with the 5 LNB dishes. He may resist running a separate cable for the antenna at no charge. Also, I believe the new models of the DVR that use D*'s own software (instead of Tivo) do not currently support OTA recording, so it might not be possible to see if the OTA antenna is working.

Good luck.

Kepper, thanks. I am not a tech guy. However, I spoke with the tech person at the install company and he said they could hook up an OTA with the the cable used with the 5LNB dish. He said the DTV is on channel 3. If I can see the other channels like 2, 4, 7, PBS, etc on the TV, the OTA is working. I will find out. What antenna do you recommend if it does not work? Indoor or outdoor antenna? I am getting the H20 receiver. I purchased a Panasonic DMR-EH75V. I will see how it works.

anyone else having reception problems?

5 KTLA -- lost channel ID getting it on 31-1 not 5-1 and tube on 31-2 not 5-5

instability on some other channels [but not all] , flipping between their assigned channels 2/60, 50/48?

9, 11, 13 28 all fine

thanks

I'm in Long Beach and I lost KTLA 5-1, and 5-5 on Monday. I didn't surf over to 31-1, or 31-2, (I rarely venture past KCET 28)! ;)

I'm new on this forum, and with OTA. I just installed a Terk HDTVI amplified indoor antenna last night and I can get all of the Mt. Wilson stations at 90% to 100%, (I have a direct line of sight - Far East Long Beach). Except for KTLA?

This is my second OTA antenna attempt. My first was a Philips Silver Sensor PHDTV3. I kept getting pixels on channels 7 and 9, channel 13 didn't even come in. However, 5-1, and 5-2 were 100%. The Terk seems to achieve more consistent reception across all of the available channels.

Here we go again! KABC is screwing up HD! Dancing w/The Stars is ni SD! Argh, and I don't even want to watch it! :eek:

2 minutes in it popped!
I was watching it on my satellite feed and observed it was SD. Then switched to OTA and saw HD. I was really confused until after the show was over I saw on my DVR recordings that I switched over just as the HD began. However I have two recordings on my DVR; one satellite feed and one OTA.

Rick R

[QUOTE=BeachDweller]I'm in Long Beach and I lost KTLA 5-1, and 5-5 on Monday. I didn't surf over to 31-1, or 31-2, (I rarely venture past KCET 28)! ;)


mine went out monday too. I figured out that my problem is just with KTLA-- but it destabilized the other channel assingnments on my box if I changed channel to those after KTLA

KTLA is their on channel 31 if you want it-- where its always been, htats actually how DTV works, reassigning the channel #s. odd as it is

I'm in Westminster in the OC and I have a DB8 antenna and I can only receive KTLA 5-1 and KOCE 50-1... not sure what is happening.

The antenna is mounted about 30 feet up on a mast pointing NW about 335-340.

There's a medical building about 100 yards in front of me about 2 stories, which might be blocking my signal...

Anyone have any ideas?

[QUOTE=BeachDweller]I'm in Long Beach and I lost KTLA 5-1, and 5-5 on Monday. I didn't surf over to 31-1, or 31-2, (I rarely venture past KCET 28)! ;)


mine went out monday too. I figured out that my problem is just with KTLA-- but it destabilized the other channel assingnments on my box if I changed channel to those after KTLA

KTLA is their on channel 31 if you want it-- where its always been, htats actually how DTV works, reassigning the channel #s. odd as it is


I lost KTLA suddenly on monday night at about 11pm. it is still out i think. at first i though my nanny messed with the antenna in the attic, but i figure could be the station itself also. shucks.

OK I've had it. :mad: I'm having reception issues with my OTA signal. I live in an apartment in West LA/ Santa Monica area, zip code 90025. AntennaWeb.org says I'm about 26 miles from the transmitter. Currently I have an antenna on the roof of my apartment but it is farely small and sits on a low mast. I purchased a Terk TV44 antenna to see if it will do a better job however it does not. It acts almost identicall to the antenna currently on the roof. The problem is that a lot of times I cannot tune any of the HD stations in al all. Sometimes some of them come in. But I can never see them all. It's kind of frustrating.

Anyway, my questions are:
1. Is anyone else who lives in my area able to tune the HD stations in without a problem?

2. Do you guys think that a different/better antenna would resolve this problem?

Thanks.
Rudy

I'm in Westminster in the OC and I have a DB8 antenna and I can only receive KTLA 5-1 and KOCE 50-1... not sure what is happening.

The antenna is mounted about 30 feet up on a mast pointing NW about 335-340.

There's a medical building about 100 yards in front of me about 2 stories, which might be blocking my signal...

Anyone have any ideas?

Wow DB8 is an awesome antenna, I think it's multi-directional too. What a shame. Have you visited antennaweb.org?

Rudy

Wow DB8 is an awesome antenna, I think it's multi-directional too. What a shame. Have you visited antennaweb?

Rudy

Yes, sure have! And it's pointed in the direction it's supposed to be, for the most part anyways... and I can still only receive those 2 digital channels, really strange.

I'm in Westminster in the OC and I have a DB8 antenna and I can only receive KTLA 5-1 and KOCE 50-1... not sure what is happening.

The antenna is mounted about 30 feet up on a mast pointing NW about 335-340.

There's a medical building about 100 yards in front of me about 2 stories, which might be blocking my signal...

Anyone have any ideas?
A short in one of the connectors or a bad crimp in the coax could be causing you to lose all but a couple channels.

You may be able to pick up a reflected signal from a different direction if you rotated the antenna, trying many different directions until you found the "best" direction.

Moving the antenna to different locations on the roof and at different heights may find a "hot spot" that is better than other locations.

OK I've had it. :mad: I'm having reception issues with my OTA signal. I live in an apartment in West LA/ Santa Monica area, zip code 90025. AntennaWeb.org says I'm about 26 miles from the transmitter. Currently I have an antenna on the roof of my apartment but it is farely small and sits on a low mast. I purchased a Terk TV44 antenna to see if it will do a better job however it does not. It acts almost identicall to the antenna currently on the roof. The problem is that a lot of times I cannot tune any of the HD stations in al all. Sometimes some of them come in. But I can never see them all. It's kind of frustrating.

Anyway, my questions are:
1. Is anyone else who lives in my area able to tune the HD stations in without a problem?

2. Do you guys think that a different/better antenna would resolve this problem?

Thanks.
Rudy

I too am in 90025 and I'm on the 3rd floor face NE and use a Silver Sensor pointing out my living room window. I get perfect reception on all the LA channels.

I'm in Westminster in the OC and I have a DB8 antenna and I can only receive KTLA 5-1 and KOCE 50-1... not sure what is happening.


It might be the matching transformer that's the problem. (That's the thing with the two wires that attaches to antenna with thumbscrews and comes out as coax.)

I had a DB8 that I swore was defective. One day I hauled it over to a friends house to test and used a different matching transformer that was lying around. BAM! Perfect reception afterwards.

YMMV.

I'm having major issues trying to get KTTV on my HDTV setup. Every other station in the LA area is coming in just fine.

Technical details:
- SquareShooter 1100 antenna
- Live in Temple City: about 8 - 9 miles from the transmitters according to Antenna Web
- eyeTV 500 running on a Mac mini


I've seen that same KTTV problem in Temple City with several different antennas. Unfortunately, I have no solution either. Are you using the SquareShooter indoors or outdoors?

Is it just me or is channel 62 no longer availible in digital. I never really watched the channel since I almost understand no spanish but I'm just curious. I remember that I use to get it just a couple of months ago. With a indoor Terk HDTVa placed on the floor I get all other stations with at least 80% signal strength including all the other spanish stations.

I too am in 90025 and I'm on the 3rd floor face NE and use a Silver Sensor pointing out my living room window. I get perfect reception on all the LA channels.

:O Wow I'm kind of shocked and envious. :) Thanks for replying Joe. The Silver Sensor pickes up a signal from 26 miles away? Hmmmm. Looks like I'l be buying yet another antenna. Now, I'm on the second floor of a two story building facing south. AntennaWeb.org says our signal comes from South-East. Can you tell me a little bit more about your antenna positioning. My building is between Santa Monica and Wilshire, just west of Bundy.

Edit: Also there are a lot of Silver Sensor look alikes. Can you tell me the exact Brand and model of yours. And if you remember where you bought it.

Thanks Joe.
Rudy

:O Wow I'm kind of shocked and envious. :) Thanks for replying Joe. The Silver Sensor pickes up a signal from 26 miles away? Hmmmm. Looks like I'l be buying yet another antenna. Now, I'm on the second floor of a two story building facing south. AntennaWeb.org says our signal comes from South-East. Can you tell me a little bit more about your antenna positioning. My building is between Santa Monica and Wilshire, just west of Bundy.

Edit: Also there are a lot of Silver Sensor look alikes. Can you tell me the exact Brand and model of yours. And if you remember where you bought it.

Thanks Joe.
Rudy

The Silver Sensor is a basic Made in China antenna under Zenith Phillips and Gemini. Amazon is a great source usually for aprox $20. Great value. You'll need a filler to kill the shipping. I'm on federal a bit South of SM Blvd and face NE. I have no obstructions out the window. I have the SS perched on my left speaker which is on a stand so it's about 5' off the floor abaout 2' inside the window. Clear shot at Mt. Wilson.

Hmmmm. Looks like I'l be buying yet another antenna. Now, I'm on the second floor of a two story building facing south. AntennaWeb.org says our signal comes from South-East. My building is between Santa Monica and Wilshire, just west of Bundy.
Rudy
Recheck your directions--Mt Wilson is North-East from Santa Monica Blvd & S. Bundy Dr.
Which presumably means you have the building between you and Mt Wilson.

At your distance, you might want to consider the AMPLIFIED Philips PHDTV3 variant of the Silver Sensor,
which also adds rabbit ears for better VHF reception (not found in standard S-S) and is much more resistant to damage:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-0527100-1015905?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dblended&keywords=silver+sensor&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

Note that Terk also makes S-S "clones" (both with VHF rabbit ears) that come with (HDTVa) and without (HDTVi) a built-in amplifier.

It might be the matching transformer that's the problem. (That's the thing with the two wires that attaches to antenna with thumbscrews and comes out as coax.)

I had a DB8 that I swore was defective. One day I hauled it over to a friends house to test and used a different matching transformer that was lying around. BAM! Perfect reception afterwards.

YMMV.

Hmm... that's a good tip... where did u get a different matching transformer? The odd part is, I have a universal UHF/VHF antenna and I had the same issue, it would only receive 5-1 and 50-1 digital, I wonder if the matching transformers on both antennas just don't match up with my TV.

I have a Toshiba 56HM195 (56") DLP 1080p.

The Silver Sensor is a basic Made in China antenna under Zenith Phillips and Gemini. Amazon is a great source usually for aprox $20. Great value. You'll need a filler to kill the shipping. I'm on federal a bit South of SM Blvd and face NE. I have no obstructions out the window. I have the SS perched on my left speaker which is on a stand so it's about 5' off the floor abaout 2' inside the window. Clear shot at Mt. Wilson.

Hey Joe. Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry for being paranoid about it, but I actually wanted the exact brand and model of your antenna. I know I know. If you look on Amazon they don't all have the same reviews even if they appear similar. So you don't have to move it around at all right? Also do you get KLCS-HD?

Thanks.
Rudy

Recheck your directions--Mt Wilson is North-East from Santa Monica Blvd & S. Bundy Dr.
Which presumably means you have the building between you and Mt Wilson.

At your distance, you might want to consider the AMPLIFIED Philips PHDTV3 variant of the Silver Sensor,
which also adds rabbit ears for better VHF reception (not found in standard S-S) and is much more resistant to damage:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-0527100-1015905?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dblended&keywords=silver+sensor&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

Note that Terk also makes S-S "clones" (both with VHF rabbit ears) that come with (HDTVa) and without (HDTVi) a built-in amplifier.

Hi holl_ands. Huge thanks for the reply. I was tyoing that from memory and well what can I say, my memory ain't what it used to be. :) :o I just rechecked AntennaWeb.org and indeed my compass orientation is around 47° which appears to be mostly east and just ever so slightly north. Shoot, my apartment faces south, the only thing I have north is my balcony. Looks like I'm going to have to run a cable all the way from the balcony across the entire living room to my TV. :( Oh well if that gets me a good signal I'm going to do it, I guess.

Thanks again.
Rudy

Recheck your directions--Mt Wilson is North-East from Santa Monica Blvd & S. Bundy Dr.
Which presumably means you have the building between you and Mt Wilson.

At your distance, you might want to consider the AMPLIFIED Philips PHDTV3 variant of the Silver Sensor,
which also adds rabbit ears for better VHF reception (not found in standard S-S) and is much more resistant to damage:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-0527100-1015905?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dblended&keywords=silver+sensor&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

Note that Terk also makes S-S "clones" (both with VHF rabbit ears) that come with (HDTVa) and without (HDTVi) a built-in amplifier.

I had the Terk that looks like the SS with the Rabbit ears and it couldn't find a signal if it's life depended on it. I returned it and got the SS and haven't looked back. Is you have signal issues the amped Phillips may prove good.

Hey Joe. Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry for being paranoid about it, but I actually wanted the exact brand and model of your antenna. I know I know. If you look on Amazon they don't all have the same reviews even if they appear similar. So you don't have to move it around at all right? Also do you get KLCS-HD?

Thanks.
Rudy

There is a KLCS-HD? I get the all and none were in HD. Are they broadcasting anything in HD? KCET and KOCE are 24/7 on the .1 segment. I can't remember "which" SS I have, only the box carries a logo and it's gone. They are all the same. The differences should come from different results from different people.

There is a KLCS-HD? I get the all and none were in HD. Are they broadcasting anything in HD? KCET and KOCE are 24/7 on the .1 segment. I can't remember "which" SS I have, only the box carries a logo and it's gone. They are all the same. The differences should come from different results from different people.

Sadly all KLCS stuff is in 480i but they carry it on HD channels 58.1, 58.2, 58.3 and 58.4. There also appears to be 58.5 however I've never been able to tune it in.
Yup KCET and KOCE are both 1080i on the .1 segment and 480i on the .2. Also KOCE has 50.3 which is also 480i.

So then your antenna is a Zenith brand, "Silver Sensor"? Is there a model number on the bottom of the unit?

Rudy

Hmm... that's a good tip... where did u get a different matching transformer?

Radio Shack, part number: 15-1140.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103912

If you tried two different antennas, you might actually have reception problems in your area. But it probably doesn't hurt to make sure the transformer on the DB8 isn't bad. If you still have the one from the other antenna, you could just swap them to see what happens.

I figured it out!

After reading the following FAQ:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7625830&&#post7625830

I checked out www.2150.com and it listed the real channel #s... it turns out my Toshiba needs to "figure out" which channels are actually the digital channels... So for example KABC-DT is listed as 53 on 2150 when I punch in 53-1 on the TV it figures out that it is 7-1.

So now I can report that the DB8 truly is remarkable... I am receiving basically EVERY DT channel in the LA area from Westminster.

Sadly all KLCS stuff is in 480i but they carry it on HD channels 58.1, 58.2, 58.3 and 58.4. There also appears to be 58.5 however I've never been able to tune it in.
Yup KCET and KOCE are both 1080i on the .1 segment and 480i on the .2. Also KOCE has 50.3 which is also 480i.

So then your antenna is a Zenith brand, "Silver Sensor"? Is there a model number on the bottom of the unit?

Rudy

I never said that, I said no box I said they're all the same, bottom is blank. Relax.

Is it just me or is channel 62 no longer availible in digital. I never really watched the channel since I almost understand no spanish but I'm just curious. I remember that I use to get it just a couple of months ago. With a indoor Terk HDTVa placed on the floor I get all other stations with at least 80% signal strength including all the other spanish stations.

They lost their remapping. Try tuning it in on digital channel 68.

They also still relay that low power San Diego station on 68.2 . . . with no audio. That's been going on forever. Big waste of bandwidth, says I. Do ANY of these local engineers ever actually check their work?

Radio Shack, part number: 15-1140.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103912

If you tried two different antennas, you might actually have reception problems in your area. But it probably doesn't hurt to make sure the transformer on the DB8 isn't bad. If you still have the one from the other antenna, you could just swap them to see what happens.
I measured insertion loss of numerous baluns and found the R-S units had significantly higher loss than the Channel Master CM3075, that was available from Fry's and www.outpost.com
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/2570351;jsessionid=N9if5v+VE3AEdl6xwbRTCg**.node2?site=sr:SE ARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I've been getting the same program info ("Travel, Gardening, & Documentaries") from TitanTV regarding KOCE-HD (50.1) since I started receiving the station.

So I was surprised today when ACTUAL programming info popped up briefly in EyeTV before quickly reverting to "TG&D". Not only could I see the current program's name plus start and stop times, but also the upcoming show too.

I'm hoping this could be a harbinger of something to come...anyone else seeing any new info?

What a wealth of knowledge. I am glad I found this board.

I have just set up a stacked 2160 array on my roof in San Clemente. No amplifier (yet); both are pointed at Mt. Wilson (approximately, following the black line on the map from antennaweb). I get some digital signal.

Here's the strange thing: Most of the signal is coming from SD stations, ie. 8-1, 10-1. I know I have the antennas pointed the right way... I think.

___Mt. Wilson_______________________My Antenna (not to scale)

00000 /\\ 0000000000000000000000000000000 ----->||
0000 ///\\\ 00000000000000000000000000000000000 ||
000 ////\\\\\ 00000000000000000000000000000 ----->||
00 //////\\\\\\\ 00000000000000000000000000000000 ||
0 ///////\\\\\\\\\ 0000000000000000000000000000000 ||

Am I pointing the right way? If so, does this make sense to anyone? I thought the 2160 was directional. I do get KNBC 4.1 out of LA, but that is it.

Oh, and I haven't had a chance to fine tune the antenna yet, I got it up to test the signal, and then it got dark.

I've been getting the same program info ("Travel, Gardening, & Documentaries") from TitanTV regarding KOCE-HD (50.1) since I started receiving the station.

So I was surprised today when ACTUAL programming info popped up briefly in EyeTV before quickly reverting to "TG&D". Not only could I see the current program's name plus start and stop times, but also the upcoming show too.

I'm hoping this could be a harbinger of something to come...anyone else seeing any new info?
KOCE's HD listings are availible on their website: http://www.koce.org/whats.htm

Mt. Wilson is on fire. Where are the back up transmiters located?

Mt. Wilson is on fire. Where are the back up transmiters located?

Good question! :eek:

Mt. Wilson is on fire. Where are the back up transmiters located?

To my knowledge, backup transmitters and auxiliary towers for those stations which have them are also on Mt. Wilson. Some stations have built fire resistant/earthquake resistant facilities. There is actually a good deal of clear space around the towers and transmitter buildings to minimize fire issues. Of course, there still could be problems, but I think that a good deal of contingency planning for fires, earthquakes, etc. has been developed.

KOCE's HD listings are availible on their website: http://www.koce.org/whats.htm

Thanks, but that's been on their site for months...I'm talking about Program Info actually INSIDE TitanTV (or any other software guide). To facilitate recordings, review current and upcoming listings, etc.

Thanks, but that's been on their site for months...I'm talking about Program Info actually INSIDE TitanTV (or any other software guide). To facilitate recordings, review current and upcoming listings, etc.

FWIW, the program guide on my Direct TV TiVo has had program listings for 50-1 and for 28-1 for several months. They get their data from Tribune Media. I think the web guide is called Zap2It. If you select an Orange County cable company that has digital service, I think you'll find the listings there.

FWIW, the program guide on my Direct TV TiVo has had program listings for 50-1 and for 28-1 for several months. They get their data from Tribune Media. I think the web guide is called Zap2It.

Thanks, Kepper! I'm working on getting that info into TitanTV now. It turns out TT uses TV Guide (hence, no KOCE listings) instead of Tribune (who have it all).

:D

Thanks, Kepper! I'm working on getting that info into TitanTV now. It turns out TT uses TV Guide (hence, no KOCE listings) instead of Tribune (who have it all).

:D

Good luck. As you probably know, the future of KOCE as a PBS affiliate is really iffy, and they seem to be reluctant to do much of anything these days.

Good luck. As you probably know, the future of KOCE as a PBS affiliate is really iffy, and they seem to be reluctant to do much of anything these days.


It would be a real shame if we lose them as a PBS affiliate. I became a member just for that reason.

Rudy

For those of us out of the loop, could you elaborate on this statement? Why is it iffy? What IS the future of KOCE if not PBS, and when does this future get here?

http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2006/09/21/opinion/dpt-commentary21.txt

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1282572.php

Some additional background information...

KOCE was put up for sale three years ago. The highest bidder was a religious broadcasting group who would discontinue PBS. A competing (but lower bid) was from an educational foundation that would keep operating the station as PBS. The trustees awarded the bid to the foundation instead of the high bidder. The high bidder sued saying it should have been awarded the case, and won both the case and an appeal, as a judge ruled the station must be sold to the high bidder.

In an effort to circumvent the court's ruling, a local legislator wrote legislation that would essentially make the sale legal. This legislation passed and is currently sitting on the governor's desk awaiting signature or veto.

To make the situation even more bizzare, KCET in Los Angeles announced this week they will be dedicating one of their HD sub channels to Orange County news and information starting next year. Essentially, they will be competing even more aggressively than they do now with KOCE for Orange County donations.

So, the future of KOCE as a PBS stations is iffy from a legal viewpoint and also, IMHO, from a donations viewpoint.

Sorry no time for search /new here WOW i'm on a boat on catalina ,exactly cat harbor 75 miles from mt. wilson and can just about (sometimes)get all channels with a stupid boat antenna but a good amp.xxxcept fox on ch.11 is fox ,on low power ??hard too get overall on most locations??? why if all antennas on mt. wilson are some harder too recieve then others??????????any help................

Opps did not mean to highjack this thread...

Sorry no time for search /new here WOW i'm on a boat on catalina ,exactly cat harbor 75 miles from mt. wilson and can just about (sometimes)get all channels with a stupid boat antenna but a good amp.xxxcept fox on ch.11 is fox ,on low power ??hard too get overall on most locations??? why if all antennas on mt. wilson are some harder too recieve then others??????????any help................

There are a number of reasons why some stations appear harder to receive. Stations transmit using different power levels which affects fringe reception. Some have directional antennas that send more signal to inland areas than to the ocean. Your antenna is optimized for certain frequencies so it is much more sensitive to certain channels. Different frequencies (wavelengths) propagate in certain ways over distance; some travel fairly far, some don't.

The atmosphere reflects and bounces signals differently depending on daytime and nightime, signal frequencies, air temperatures, and sometimes changes with certain weather conditions. The troposphere can propogate some tv frequency skywaves under favorable conditions for hundreds or thousands of miles depending on weather.

The variables are quite extensive, which is why it is not possible to answer your question easily.

I live on the Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys border in SFV. I have a Winegard antenna mounted on the roof. The Directv installer put it up about a year ago. I never got all the stations OTA , but then we had some bad weather and I lost a few more channels.

This got me to look at the antenna placement. Now I don't know a lot about this stuff, but the antenna looks very much like this:

http://www.summitsource.com/images/products/ANW005.gif

The left tip of it is facing Mt. Wilson. My question is, shouldn't the part that says Winegard face Mt. Wilson so the antenna is facing directly at Mt. Wilson. I wanted to get opinions of more experience people before I get up on the roof.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Crummy antenna, but it might work where you are and yes. the face should face Mt. Wilson so that the wings are perpendicular to the line drawn between the mountain and the antenna. A little tweaking may be necessary and you may have some luck since you're in the valley.

Crummy antenna, but it might work where you are and yes. the face should face Mt. Wilson so that the wings are perpendicular to the line drawn between the mountain and the antenna. A little tweaking may be necessary and you may have some luck since you're in the valley.

I knew it! I had a feeling the installer didn't know what he was doing. Thanks for the quick reply. I'll get up on the roof tomorrow. Is it just a matter of loosening the bolts and moving it a bit? Also, if this is a crummy antenna, any recommendations on a different antenna?

First try aligning it, then try a few degree offsets. Given your location you should be able to get most if not all of the channels. Then if that doesn't work go down to Radio Shack and get a good UHF/VHF combo antenna. Some of the broadcasters are going to migrate back down into the VHF band following analog shutoff, while others will remain on their current, temporary channel. You'll need a dual band antenna to get both.

Good luck. You're about to do exactly what I did. When the Winegard I had intalled wouldn't work. It as too low and I'm in the shadow of the Hollywood Hills, relative to Mt. Wilson.

I posted this in another thread but I will repost it here.

bought my Son a TV Saturday. Was planning to buy the 32" 4x3 SDTV from Wal Mart for $276. Instead got talked up to the 30" 16x9 720p HDTV by Sanyo for $478. Both of course had ATSC reception.

When we got it to his apartment all he had was a FM 300 ohm dipole antenna lying on the floor. Hooked it up and got all digital channels except one (KABC). Ooowed and awed over PBS's HD channel. Then we taped the antenna to the wall and got every digital channel perfectly. Watched KABC for 30 minutes with not a single drop out.

Basically with an antenna that was not intended for its use we got every channel perfectly. My Son was one happy camper. By the way he lives in the Studio City area near the 170 and 101 freeways.

This lousy antenna worked great. In my opinion ATSC works great.

Rick R

Crummy antenna, but it might work where you are and yes. the face should face Mt. Wilson so that the wings are perpendicular to the line drawn between the mountain and the antenna. A little tweaking may be necessary and you may have some luck since you're in the valley.

On my way to work this morning, I took a look at the Winegard again. I noticed that I also have a huge old-looking antenna mounted on the roof and pointed towards Mt. Wilson. It's actually mounted higher than the Winegard too. There is a line of cable connected to it and just sitting there on the roof. Is it possible to get reception out of this?

Also, I noticed that between the Winegard and Mt. Wilson, I have some trees in the way. Would that interfere with reception if I was to go with the Winegard?

On my way to work this morning, I took a look at the Winegard again. I noticed that I also have a huge old-looking antenna mounted on the roof and pointed towards Mt. Wilson. It's actually mounted higher than the Winegard too. There is a line of cable connected to it and just sitting there on the roof. Is it possible to get reception out of this?

Also, I noticed that between the Winegard and Mt. Wilson, I have some trees in the way. Would that interfere with reception if I was to go with the Winegard?


The old antenna should work fine.

The old antenna should work fine.

I connected my prehistoric antenna from the roof which is facing Mt. Wilson. Wow, not only did it work, but it picks up every...single...channel listed on antennaweb.org and all perfectly with no dropouts so far. Thanks to mitchrc, Rick_R, and PJO1966 for all the advice.

Hello Southern Californians,

I currently am in Northern California, but will be transplanting to the High Desert (Apple Valley/Hesperia/Victorville) area for a new job. I have been OTA only since February of '05 and love it! That's something like $1,000 in savings right there.

I tried looking up a couple addresses in Apple Valley area on AntennaWeb to see what my reception potential was. Unfortunately, it only appeared as though I had a decent chance of getting translated Analog signals. This would be somewhat depressing although I might be able to convince myself to live with it, if I think the coming Analog shutoff might work to accelerate DTV conversion for translator stations.

Does anyone know what reception in the Victor Valley Area is like? Or am I totally out of luck? Does anyone even know about the translator stations? I've tried calling them from their YP number at it appears to be disconnected. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Unfortunately the transmitters on Mt Wilson are on the south side of the mountains and Victor Valley is on the north side of the mountains. I do not know about Victor Valley but people on the north side of the mountains in Palmdale and Santa Clarita have reported having trouble with OTA but they do get some channels. I suspect if you get the best antenna available you MIGHT get some reception.

Rick R

This is a list of the translators that you should be able to receive in the Victorville/Hesperia area. All are in analog unless noted.
KHIZ-TV 64 (digital on 44) @ Quartzite Mtn (north of Victorville)
KSCI-18 Booster for KSCI-TV @ Blueridge (south of Victorville)
KRCA-62 Booster for KRCA-TV @ Blueridge (south of Victorville)
K39GY-LP Translator for KTBN-TV (Trinity Broadcasting) @ Quartzite Mtn
K44CC-LP Translator for KCET-TV (PBS) @ Quartzite Mtn
KVKV-LP 29 new LPTV on the air soon? @ Quartzite Mtn
K28IE-LP new LPTV on the air soon? @ Quartzite Mtn
K21AC-LP Translator for KCBS-TV @ Quartzite Mtn
K25AD-LP Translator for KNBC-TV
K27AE-LP Translator for KCAL-TV
K31AD-LP Translator for KTLA-TV
K51AN-LP Translator for KCOP-TV
K55CW-LP Local programming (CP to move to channel 34)
K08NZ-D New Digital LPTV at Blueridge (I think is is KCET-DTV)
Channel 12 New Digital LPTV at Blueridge (I think is is KCBS-DTV)
There are also translators over in Lancaster on channel 26, 38 and 50 that you might receive.

no front-channel audio?

Hi there
Anyone else encountering partial loss of the audio, just the front channels, yet still receiving the rear channels of the 5.1 audio stream? Noticed this during the first 15 minutes of Friday's Law&Order on NBC, and tonight on CBS's Cold Case. Seems very unusual that a similar glitch would happen on two different channels/networks. Thought it would most likely be my HTPC (avermedia 180 tuner w/ watchHDTV), but during tonight's CBS audio "blackout" I also recorded the same program with another (separate PC, but shared antenna) ATSC setup, and got the same loss of the audio front channels. So 2 separate tuners in different PCs lost (or didn't receive?) part of the audio stream.

Also during Friday's L&O, after the audio was fully restored, it looked like the widescreen video was pillarboxed into 4:3? Someone please confirm these anomalies.

Regards

no front-channel audio?

Hi there
Anyone else encountering partial loss of the audio, just the front channels, yet still receiving the rear channels of the 5.1 audio stream? Noticed this during the first 15 minutes of Friday's Law&Order on NBC, and tonight on CBS's Cold Case. Seems very unusual that a similar glitch would happen on two different channels/networks. Thought it would most likely be my HTPC (avermedia 180 tuner w/ watchHDTV), but during tonight's CBS audio "blackout" I also recorded the same program with another (separate PC, but shared antenna) ATSC setup, and got the same loss of the audio front channels. So 2 separate tuners in different PCs lost (or didn't receive?) part of the audio stream.

Also during Friday's L&O, after the audio was fully restored, it looked like the widescreen video was pillarboxed into 4:3? Someone please confirm these anomalies.

Regards

I didn't see it but the locals are having a hard time exactly figuring out their new-fangled "quipment", ya see. It's sooo complicated with all them switches, lights and dials, that sometimes they just don't know what to do.

KABC had a devil of a time getting Jeopardy on the air in HD, still do sometimes. Weekend GMA, maybe.
Don't worry, be happy. Maybe call engineering? ;)

I observed one channel having no center channel. Could hear the background music and sound effects but no dialog. I checked the satellite HD channel and OTA HD channel. Went to the SD satellite channel and it was fine. I think I observed this on KNBC. I just decided to watch something else on satellite in HD.

Actually this made realize hoqw much of a program is broadcast through the center channel. It appeared to me that 90% of what you hear is the center channel. Unfortunately my best speakers are the two side channels.

Rick R

Did anyone have completely lose signal on KNBC last night during Studio 60? I've been having some problems receiving KNBC lately but not a complete loss of signal like last night. Thanks.

Did anyone have completely lose signal on KNBC last night during Studio 60? I've been having some problems receiving KNBC lately but not a complete loss of signal like last night. Thanks.

I've had sound issues lately with KNBC. :(

Did anyone have completely lose signal on KNBC last night during Studio 60? I've been having some problems receiving KNBC lately but not a complete loss of signal like last night. Thanks.

I had some minor pixellation during a commercial. Otherwise, everything was fine.

Burt

does anyone's 5.5 the tube keep dropping off the air? it's been on and off for me the past few days. any input would be helpful

does anyone's 5.5 the tube keep dropping off the air? it's been on and off for me the past few days. any input would be helpful

It might depend where you are. But no mine is reasonably solid. Although NBC HD has completely disappeared 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 and 11.1 is dropping in and out of the picture. I'm in 90025.

Rudy

RudyG are you currently receiving the tube, I have KTLA-DT with a signal over 100% all the time and I also have noticed recently the Tube TV sub channel has been dropping off at random times of the day. I remember when KTLA broadcasts HD content they sometimes turn the Tube off but the last few days I have noticed it going down many times during the day even when there is no HD being broadcasted.

RudyG are you currently receiving the tube, I have KTLA-DT with a signal over 100% all the time and I also have noticed recently the Tube TV sub channel has been dropping off at random times of the day. I remember when KTLA broadcasts HD content they sometimes turn the Tube off but the last few days I have noticed it going down many times during the day even when there is no HD being broadcasted.

Hmmm I didn't realize KTLA transmitted anything in DT. At least I saw nothing on zap2it.com. But the Tube is there for me, at least every time I check. Generally during the day the reception quality drops on all channels. At least for me.

Wow over 100%. I'm envious. I barely hit 90% on a channel or two. Everything else is in 70s and 80s.

Rudy

Anyone know what happened to KSCI-DT? There are complaints in the family about the absence of Funimation 18-3 (I don't know the actual ch. number, just the "display number")

Anyone know what happened to KSCI-DT? There are complaints in the family about the absence of Funimation 18-3 (I don't know the actual ch. number, just the "display number")

I can receive Funimation just fine.

Regards

there sure is some whackiness going on those airwaves. the odd part is some of us still are receiving channels that others used to be able to but now can't and vice versa.