I don't watch Idol for the "talent" but for its comedic content.

I just can't subject myself to the continued dumbing down of america with garbage like that.

7:00pm Razorback Propaganda
8:00pm Tele Nicholson production "All About Arkansas"
8:30pm Paid Programming
9:00pm ABC Programming en HD (something called Dick Clark NY Eve or somethin')

10:00pm Tele Nicholson News
10:37?pm Sitcom Rerun
11:05?pm Repeat of 8pm programming
11:35?pm ABC Programming (1 hour tape delay en 480i?)

Happy New Year, and may Little Rock have a New ABC affiliate before the end of the year.

(the following info was not endorsed by an alleged ABC affiliate, its sponsors, board of directors or clueless viewers).

GREAT JOB CHANNEL 7 YOU BIG FRICKEN PANTLOADS!!!!

Instead of my kid getting to watch Shrek 2, he is subjected to your GARBAGE about the Razorcraps! Way to keep up your Childrens Programming Requirement!

I just did what I could do to flood their email boxes at 7. I sent it to GM, Programming, Sales, No Department, and anything else I thought relevant. I sent it to each one multiple times in fact. This is what I sent:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHOWING SHREK 2 TONIGHT!
Oh wait, maybe you didn't get that, that was SARCASM!!! Instead of my child getting to watch a family oriented program, he gets to see Razorback GARBAGE that no one in our household wants to see!!
I am sick of your lack of consideration for what people really want to see! This happens CONTINUOUSLY with your so-called "station". A while back you insisted on pushing more childrens shows, namely "Shrek the Halls" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas (40th Anniversary Special)", until after MIDNIGHT. How are children and families supposed to be able to watch QUALITY programming like this, when its either not shown or shown in the middle of the night when people are asleep?!?
You really need to learn to show programming the people want to see instead of Razorback GARBAGE and paid programming that people could care less about! If I find a way to report this to people that matter, I will, but until then you will have to do.

Of course, I had to trim down what I really wanted to say because of their crappy limit of 1000 characters max, but it got across what I wanted to say. I suggest you all do the same thing and flood their asses with complaints. I mean, this is ridiculous.

I guess if I want to watch something like this in the future with my son, I will have to pull out the DVD and put it in. I really hate doing that because he is getting to the age that he remembers where stuff is and might pull it out and lose it or scratch it. I would rather he watch it on tv when its supposed to be shown instead.

Maybe when they shut off analog you will be able to pick up abc from El Dorado or Mississippi. I love football, but Ill be watching the Wisconsin game tomorrow morning.

Maybe when they shut off analog you will be able to pick up abc from El Dorado or Mississippi. I love football, but Ill be watching the Wisconsin game tomorrow morning.

I used to get the ABC station from Greenwood/Greenville (WABG-DT 32) during the winter of 2005-06, but that ended with KARK's digital power increase.

KAQY (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=52046) Columbia LA (south of Monroe) is that market's ABC affiliate. It will not have a full power station on digital/HDTV until 2/17/2009 when it flash cuts to channel 11. According to the coverage map (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1200306.html), it will reach Alexandria LA (which has it own ABC station), but not El Dorado!

All the channels, and they put Greenwood and Little Rock on the same one? Idiots.

The award for best New Years coverage goes to: CNN, with its multicity PIP windows.

I briefly checked over there between Cotton Bowl ad breaks. Rose parade showing up as letterboxed SD with pillar bars.

Hope they get this fixed before the NHL Winter Classic start at Noon....

UPDATE: 12 Noon, Switched over to KARK with Missouri up 14-0. KARK is HD now, and also KTVE. Tweaked antenna earlier just in case KARK forgot to flip

I briefly checked over there between Cotton Bowl ad breaks. Rose parade showing up as letterboxed SD with pillar bars.

Hope they get this fixed before the NHL Winter Classic start at Noon....

UPDATE: 12 Noon, Switched over to KARK with Missouri up 14-0. KARK is HD now, and also KTVE. Tweaked antenna earlier just in case KARK forgot to flip


That game has been horrible, DMAC just scored though. Fine coaching effort by Herrings guys.

Ok, lets just forget about trying to post when things are screwed up. They don't care, so why should we? It obviously doesn't do any good. I am tired of caring.

The audio feed for this hockey game on KARK is almost worth watching the game for.

All the channels, and they put Greenwood and Little Rock on the same one? Idiots.
Ft Smith/Fay has FOX KFTA-DT on ch 27 (allegedly 200kW, but doubtful).
Springfield has FOX analog KSFX on ch 27 (5,000kW).
Being smack dab between the two, we can receive KSFX but not KFTA-DT.
At least this will change in about a year.

Ch 2 and ch 7 analog off air right now...wonder what happened in Redfield? Don't have ATSC at work so don't know about digitals.

I am receiving no ATSC or NTSC OTA. Is anyone else seeing anything OTA for Channel 7?

"FCC: Broadcasters get go ahead to kill analog TV early."
Article at PCMag.com LINK (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2242670,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121)

I wonder if any area stations will end up doing this.

arxaw, that link doesn't work.

Dave, looks like 7 digital is off the air completely. I don't get anything from them on the clearQAM channel on my TV or through GBPVR for them nor do I get them OTA digital. The analog cable tv channel is still up and running, but that appears to be it.

try it now.

The analog cable tv channel is still up and running, but that appears to be it.katv's analog channel is fed to scumcast via a direct link, not OTA. (You'd think the picture would be sharper....)

katv's analog channel is fed to scumcast via a direct link, not OTA. (You'd think the picture would be sharper....)

You get out what you put in. In their case, GARBAGE.

Now, as far as their digital channel, I have been playing with it more over the past few minutes and am seeing absolutely nothing. Tried 3 different methods, although 2 of them are essentially the same way. In GBPVR it shows that its getting a full bar on strength, but nothing or sometimes 3/4 level on the quality line. I also notice I am not getting some of the other clearQAM stations that I normally do in GBPVR. Not real sure what any of that means.

Funny thing is on 93-4 on my tv (the other, non-hd I guess, katv channel) I am getting the channel. But on 8-1 (the one where the HD ABC comes through), its absolutely black just like the OTA channel and the NewsNow channel.

arxaw, This may having You change Your Deadline time Clock.. Hows the Ozarks...

arxaw, This may having You change Your Deadline time Clock.. Hows the Ozarks...heheh, I took the link down from my sig.

Ozarks? COLD this AM. 9° F when I got up!
It's up to a warmish 24° outside now (at 12:50pm)
Heatpump hasn't run since around 10am, thanks to passive solar!

Ch 2 and ch 7 analog off air right now...wonder what happened in Redfield? Don't have ATSC at work so don't know about digitals.

Hi Gang;

Been out since Christmas. Hope everyone had a good holiday.

The following is excerpted from a message I found this morning. I think its the reason for the signals from 7 and 2 being off.

KETS will be off the air intermittently for an undetermined period of time while a tower crew changes guy wires on the KATV tower. Our KETS antenna is located near the top of the KATV tower. To avoid RF radiation to the tower crew we must turn off the transmitter when they are working near our antenna.

Hope this helps,
happy new year.:cool:
Kelly

I notice that 7-1 and 7-2 are back up now. It was just a little unnerving to not see them on. I tend to think its something screwed up with my setup when that happens. :)

I notice that 7-1 and 7-2 are back up now. It was just a little unnerving to not see them on. I tend to think its something screwed up with my setup when that happens. :)

Think it makes YOU nervous!:D

I think they'll be doing that (guy-wire work) as time/weather permit for a couple more days. Not sure--supposition on my part.
Kelly
==================

They picked a great time of year to do their tower work.

How do you reduce choppy digital audio? Is it a signal strength issue because my tuner says it's above normal. Not excellent though.

Particularly referring to KLRT

Thanks Kelly. I called programming and got a return call from a very busy lady, who basically said she would look into the possibility of Nova being shown HD, but seemed more concerned with the "loss" of the three subchannels. If that's true, and they are afraid to cut off the subchannels for HD, then maybe you all should leave channel 5 digital active for the SD folks, and get a second license for channel 7 post analog cutoff, and just run it HD only. Then you could have it all. I don't suspect the low power channel 5 transmitter is using that much electric...Once Directv picks you guys up for HD locals in 6 months or so, I'm thinking you will hear from a lot more folks than me :)

Hunter, do you get little pixelations in the picture with the audio breakups? That would indicate to me you have multipath which is a lot of time, so rapid, the meter doesn't have a chance to show it.

Thanks Kelly. I called programming and got a return call from a very busy lady, who basically said she would look into the possibility of Nova being shown HD, but seemed more concerned with the "loss" of the three subchannels. If that's true, and they are afraid to cut off the subchannels for HD, then maybe you all should leave channel 5 digital active for the SD folks, and get a second license for channel 7 post analog cutoff, and just run it HD only. Then you could have it all. I don't suspect the low power channel 5 transmitter is using that much electric...Once Directv picks you guys up for HD locals in 6 months or so, I'm thinking you will hear from a lot more folks than me :)

I doubt AETN would want to run two transmitters, and even if they could get a second license for Central Arkansas I'd doubt the station would run PBS-HD 24/7 due to funding issues (PBS apparently started charging a hefty fee to use that channel). There is programming available from PBS and other sources that never sees the light of day on AETN (ie Nightly Business Report (http://www.pbs.org/nbr/)--PBS, In The Life (http://www.inthelifetv.org/)-non pbs, but shown on public stations mainly) and were AETN more willing to air HD programming or more inovative programming I would consider donating but its doubtful until some of station's technical and programming policies change.

And one other thing, WMC in Memphis is reusing their current analog channel (5) for digital after 2/17/2009 (although there is rumors that WMC has "saw the light" and considering a frequency change, but it cannot be their current digital channel of 52--not in core).

I used to live in Blytheville. Night skip up the river makes low band unusable (unless they were the ONLY channel 5 digital in the river valley. Even New Orleans area used to interfere with channel 3 and 5 from Memphis.)

I suppose Little Rock isn't a big enough market for two PBS's, but I like their programming...can only wish.

I suppose Little Rock isn't a big enough market for two PBS's, but I like their programming...can only wish.dave,
I could be wrong, but didn't D* recently announce they're going to add PBS-HD feed nationwide soon?

FYI, KETS off at 0720 for tower work.

Kelly

(and yeah, to me it is far too cold to working on a tower. But, it's 7's tower and whomever they've contracted someone to do the work. But, it seems awfully darn cold to be up there.)

You want cold? We got that.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2163019950_755fa677b3_m.jpg

:eek:

I don't watch Idol for the "talent" but for its comedic content.

Exactly.

right now i have regular comcast cable. does anyone know what all of the channels in the 80's, 90's, and 100's are? i know some of the 80's are the comcast on-demand movie channels, which is great since we are getting the movies for free, but we just don't know what is coming on and when it starts... any help would be appreciated.

Both steveken and myself have posted a couple different lists of QAM stations semi-recently (within the last 15 pages or so), depending on the application. The on-demand movie channel schedule is entirely dependent on what your neighbors decide to watch at a particular time. There is no fixed schedule (and movies can suddenly pause, rew, and ff, without notice).

Speaking of that, steveken, are you seeing the same GBPVR channel mappings I posted a while back, or something different? Something you posted almost made me wonder if you were seeing them in the proper locations (8.1, 13.1, etc). I also noticed PBSHD (for which I can find absolutely no programming listings for anywhere, let alone EPG data) and KASN seemed to switch spots on my setup yet again. That is going to really annoy me at some point when I miss a recording because of another random switch.

I don't remember and I am not where I can check it right now. I know that my pbs hd (which I am having just as much trouble as you getting guide data for and getting pissed about it) and the other stations around it don't change.

In fact, I haven't had any channels change positions on me ever. Are you sure you are on comcast? If you are, the only thing I can figure is they have a different channel assignments in your area than in mine and the only thing that makes it work seemlessly across the city is the fact that they use their stupid ass converter boxes for digital cable to get it to decode them to the right channel.

In fact, I haven't had any channels change positions on me ever. Are you sure you are on comcast? If you are, the only thing I can figure is they have a different channel assignments in your area than in mine and the only thing that makes it work seemlessly across the city is the fact that they use their stupid ass converter boxes for digital cable to get it to decode them to the right channel.

I'm certain I'm on Comcast, and the channel changes haven't been frequent: twice that I remember. And just with PBS and KASN (and some SD channel too, I think). You could very well be right about the box handling all the weirdness, and I had pretty much suspected as much.

What's ironic is that I'm not getting the HD package, but my brother in law is. I'm almost certain that he doesn't get PBS HD through his box. I will confirm this for certain next time I am there.

I just realized I may have hit upon a solution for the PBS EPG data with listings for PBS-XD. Based on the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS-X), PBS-X sure sounded like what I've been watching, and the listing is available on CT TV listings (at least with E* or D*). I'll do some more testing when I get home.

...Once Directv picks you guys up for HD locals in 6 months or so, I'm thinking you will hear from a lot more folks than me :)

Has this been verified by anyone that LR HD locals are next in line with Direct TV? I'm stuck with Resort Cable in Hot Springs, and I'm dying to switch - although I don't want to miss out on Local hd channes, since locals make up about 70% of my viewing.

Resort is killing me though - only have 5 national hd channels (not counting premium movie channels) and ABC, CBS and NBC in hd - That's right - no Fox - home of the BCS title game and the Super Bowl. UGH.

I sent them an email several months ago asking them if there were any plans to add any new hd channels in the future and the response was simply "no." LOL, have to admire the blunt honesty from them.

Where is the 6 month figure on Direct coming from?

Thanks,

Phil

Just a guess, Launch sat in March, two months to get it online, a month to get the locals launched. No official word yet at all. We have been on the "you're next" list for two years... Its anyones guess. You can't get 16-1 with an antenna? I can pick up your channel 26 up here clear as can be.

Sam: I saw the thread but my take was they were going to carry the LIL PBS HD channel and the SD subchannels were the ones going national. I hope I am wrong, and they put PBS HD national up. Since PBS is technically a govt entity, they should allow us DNS.

Here's a suggestion for AETN...(okay this isn't perfect)

Dump channels subchannels 2-3, and 2-4 and replace Create/PBS World on 2-2 with PBS HD after 7pm. They'll never dump the analog parallel 2-1 anyway. Besides, having AETN Kids on the air at 11pm is a waste of bandwidth anyway.

And dump Welk :D

Resort is killing me though - only have 5 national hd channels (not counting premium movie channels) and ABC, CBS and NBC in hd - That's right - no Fox - home of the BCS title game and the Super Bowl. UGH.



Resort is owned by WEHCO Cable (owners of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) which also owns Pine Bluff Cable. Last spring, I set up my parents tv there and their new QAM tuner equipped SDTV failed to recieve KASN-DT and KLRT-DT. They had all four AETN subchannels, Tele Nicholson (katv)DT 1&2, KARK-DT, KTHV-DT 1&2, and a video only feed of the Outdoor Channel. WEHCO Cable makes Comcrap look almost decent in comparison. Only the antique cable system in Star City is worse than WEHCO (no digital cable or HDTV).

Hunter, do you get little pixelations in the picture with the audio breakups? That would indicate to me you have multipath which is a lot of time, so rapid, the meter doesn't have a chance to show it.


No not really, it just cuts out a lot of the time. I used to get pixel breakup but since I put up the new antenna it's not doing that, but I'm still so so on audio on KLRT, so far KTHV and KARK are fine...can't get Channel 7 (ABC).

What does multipath mean?

Multipath is signal arriving from different directions slightly delayed, reflected off objects within a few miles of your antenna. To See if this is a problem, go to channel 16 analog. If you see any ghosts, you have multipath. If not, try deleting channel 16-1 and rescanning. If its a HR 20 receiver, there isn't any scan, so I can't suggest anything there. I noted audio breakup during the football game, but not recently.
If its a dvr, replay the section with a breakup and see if it repeats at the same spot. If not, check the digital audio cables or hdmi cable.

What's your setup. If there any pattern to the breakups, like only during commercials or only during programming?

What does multipath mean?Multiple signals being received from the transmitter, arriving at fractions of a second difference in time. Usuallly bounced signals from trees, water towers, airplanes, tall buildings, etc. On analog TV, multipath caused "ghosts" or multiple images on the screen. With digital, multipath can kill reception or cause intermittent audio dropouts and pixelization or freezing of the video.

Newer tuners with better chipsets are fairly immune to multipath, and some use it to their advantage to strengthen the signal. But some tuners can't deal with it at all and reception breaks up.

Just a guess, Launch sat in March, two months to get it online, a month to get the locals launched. No official word yet at all. We have been on the "you're next" list for two years... Its anyones guess. You can't get 16-1 with an antenna? I can pick up your channel 26 up here clear as can be.

I haven't tried an antenna. According to Antennaweb.org, the only channel I can pick up w/ an antenna is 11.1 - which I already get. Not sure I'm ready to drop some money on an antenna only to pick up a channel I already (over)pay for.

Is antennaweb wrong on this?

anyone else from Hot Springs able to get 16.1? There are an awful lot of mountains between my house and the towers on Cantrell.

Resort is owned by WEHCO Cable (owners of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) which also owns Pine Bluff Cable. Last spring, I set up my parents tv there and their new QAM tuner equipped SDTV failed to recieve KASN-DT and KLRT-DT. They had all four AETN subchannels, Tele Nicholson (katv)DT 1&2, KARK-DT, KTHV-DT 1&2, and a video only feed of the Outdoor Channel. WEHCO Cable makes Comcrap look almost decent in comparison. Only the antique cable system in Star City is worse than WEHCO (no digital cable or HDTV).

You are correct. The customer service w/ Resort/WEHCO is absolutely terrible. Outdoor HD is one of our 5 hd nationals and it is absolutely worthless. We don't get ESPN2HD and, moreover, ESPNHD is so pixelated at least 45% of the time, its unwatchable.

But that said, I watch a lot of network programming and can't really make the switch until I know that Direct TV or Dish or whoever will actually carry the locals in HD.

I haven't tried an antenna. According to Antennaweb.org, the only channel I can pick up w/ an antenna is 11.1...

...Is antennaweb wrong on this?antennaweb.org results are know to vary widely and usually err on the very conservative side. I get channels it shows I cannot receive.

To get a closer estimate of what you might receive with a decent outdoor antenna:
Go back to antennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org/) and click on Choose an antenna.
Scroll to the bottom of the address entry page and click the [+] Options
Add 50 to the antenna height in feet.

Post back here with the results.

Another option for Directv is getting the NY HD networks (CBS, FOX, ABC, NBC) from DirecTV. They're free if your address qualifies and you sub to SD locals. And since antennaweb shows you can't get much OTA with antenna, the odds are higher that your address will qualfy.

Enter your address here (http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressEntry.asp) to see if it qualifies for any or all of the distant HD nets (not SD distant nets, which are $1.50 each and the site will show you do NOT qualify for those).

antennaweb.org results are know to vary widely and usually err on the very conservative side. I get channels it shows I cannot receive.

To get a closer estimate of what you might receive with a decent outdoor antenna:
Go back to antennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org/) and click on Choose an antenna.
Scroll to the bottom of the address entry page and click the [+] Options
Add 50 to the antenna height in feet.

Post back here with the results.

It still shows 11.1 and 26 as my only options. I am in a bit of a valley and real close to the mountains that hwy 70 runs through.

Would be a whole lot easier of Resort/Wehlco would just add that one channel . . . ;)

Phil

Another option for Directv is getting the NY HD networks (CBS, FOX, ABC, NBC) from DirecTV. They're free if your address qualifies and you sub to SD locals. And since antennaweb shows you can't get much OTA with antenna, the odds are higher that your address will qualfy.

Enter your address here (http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressEntry.asp) to see if it qualifies for any or all of the distant HD nets (not SD distant nets, which are $1.50 each and the site will show you do NOT qualify for those).

DNS eligibility shows up as:

Digital (HD) Distant Network Service
Network Affiliate Status
ABC KATV-DT Grade B (moderate signal)
CBS KTHV-DT Grade A (strong signal)
FOX KLRT-DT Grade B (moderate signal)
NBC KARK-DT Grade A (strong signal)

I recall from past experience, the LR nets don't grant waivers. It seems odd that the D* site indicates that I can get a signal, while antennaweb says no.

Thanks for your help.

Phil

Phil Monty don't feel bad...they refused me when D* didn't even have the lr locals..saying the local stations would not allow me to see the national feeds.
(it was not just a salesman but the lawyer for D* that said all the LR stations were fighting it) bunch of A^&*%

My cousin lives in mount Ida and they could not sell him national locals because of a Hot Springs channel. Does Hot Springs have a local channel ? LOL

but my friend living in the middle of LR got the national feeds on dish network before they got the locals up. SO I believe its all a bunch of BS


I would call back and argue with them, retention if I had to.

etrin, dish no longer offers the national feeds, per court order.

phil, can you get KLRT 16 analog at all?
If you're behind a hill and that far away, you'll probably have to use an outdoor antenna.

I just recently got HD through DTV and use an HR20 and hooked up a fancy set of rabbit ears to the HR20. I can get CBS(11.1) and Fox(16.1) pretty darn well, not perfect, but I'm happy. I can't get NBC, ABC, or PBS HD at all.

I went through the antenna web thingy it indicates that CBS, FOX, and NBC are all in the same direction from me and under 7 miles away. I get FOX which is uhf and CBS which is vhf but not uhf NBC. You'd think I'd get it, but I don't. I noticed one odd thing about the station channel on antennaweb. NBC shows a channel of 32.1 while the HR20 says it is 4.1, which I think is correct. Still, could the HR20 be looking for NBC on the wrong channel?

BTW, I live in the Country Club of AR in Maumelle.

Has this been verified by anyone that LR HD locals are next in line with Direct TV?This is so irritating, you can't get an answer from DTV. The CSRs don't know and anyone who does know isn't talking. It would be a lot easier to tolerate if we just knew when HD would happen. It's probably a year away and they don't want to lose customers by telling them that.

In all reality, Directv's hands are tied by the Govt. Borrow a uhf indoor antenna with amplifier, and try to get a signal on channel 30 on your digital signal meter on the set. If you can get ANY reading on an indoor antenna, I can promise you an outdoor Uhf yagi will pull it in. Apply for a waiver from Fox16. Call their engineering dept, and speak to the head engineer and explain your sitution to him. If in fact you are in a hole and can get them with a outdoor yagi, he can probably get your waiver approved. I helped them do signal tests when they first fired up. I'm not sure if the same engineer is there, his name was Allen Finney, but that's your only choice right now. If you can get a signal on 30, and want an antenna installed, hollar. I can stop by next time I'm down there working on a lunch break, and let you test a 18db gain yagi and see how it works.

Johnny, the HR20 tried to tune digital 32 and maps it to 4-1. Check you signal meter and see if you are getting a signal. The HR20 sometimes can get a 100 on signal but not lock. Usually downloading the beta software or reinitializing your local OTA will fix it.

Johnny, what dave said.
Try redoing OTA in the setup menu.

What antenna are you trying to use? (I hope it's not a TERK)

This is so irritating, you can't get an answer from DTV. The CSRs don't know...D* can't tell you because they don't know. It all hinges on the successful launch of D11, their next MPEG4 satellite. If all goes well, the LR HD locals may be added by mid year. If the sat launch or satellite itself has problems, it could be a long time, possibly years. So, for now, nothing is definite.

If you want the LR locals now, install a decent outdoor antenna and be done with it. They're not very expensive, and it's only a one time cost (less than the cost of 6 months of an HD cable tier). And you won't lose your locals during a heavy rain storm.

Gentlemen:

I live in Batesville and have been studying all this for several days now. I have done the antennaweb thing, and have calculated what my needs are/could be. Here are my questions (and I hope to try and get good info wout having to pour through hundreds of pages of posts):

1. antennaweb conservatively says I can only get KAIT in Jonesboro and a channle in Mtn View OTA. My question is if I buy the right outdoor antenna, could I feasibly pick up LR stations?

2. If #1 is either yes or maybe, can anyone tell me the best way to determine if I could get LR HD local stations OTA, and what outdoor satellite would work the best for me?

3. Any other suggestions as to how I could get HD programming, OTA, in "local" news channles? For example, maybe I dont try for LR, maybe I try for another city/towns feeds. I am looking for the 4 major's, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX with the Super Bowl coming up.

Thanks in advance-

Jonah in Batesville

Jonah, welcome to the forum. Batesville would be iffy for LR reception. Do you see any rooftop antennas aimed at LR? If not, then it's probably not gonna happen for you.

You may be able to get the HD big 4 networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) from NY via DirecTV. Enter your address here (http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressForm.aspx) to see if you're address is eligible for any of the networks. If so, you can get the ones you are eligible for from DirecTV. You probably won't qualify for ABC, since you can get it with antenna.

Jonah, location? If you are in the White River valley, probably not. If you are South on top of the hill, probably. North? Maybe. Quick test. Jump in your car in your driveway at noonish. Tune 98.5 from LR. Come in good? Probably can get LR with a good antenna and amp. If not, check 99.7 from Memphis. You are looking for a stereo signal with no dropouts or fade. . I'm thinking I lose LR about 15 miles South of town...but not sure since I'm usually playing mp3's. Local Radio shack dealer might know too. For sure you can get ABC from Jonesboro and probably PBS from Bono or Mt View..

Sam: I don't have web access here at home. Have you heard if they finalized letting ham ops do site surveys for waivers yet? I'd volunteer just to help these poor folks the LR stations are screwing over by denying all waivers across the board...and use a channel 22 attenuator for the test hahahaha.

heh, something funny, I was going to do the HR20 update tonight, but turns out it was canceled for all HR20's tonight. While it was downloading the NR, I remembered how you guys said that 25 had upped its power. When the HR20 and H20 came back up, I decided to test it. 25-1 comes in really well on the HR20 in the living room, but here in the computer room (with the antenna less than 5 feet from the living room antenna) I can't get it. Guess that speaker wire antenna does better than this set top antenna with amp that I have here in the computer room. I just thought it was amusing.

Jonah, just checked using the address of Taco Bell on St Louis, and with Directv you are eligible to get all sd and hd networks from New York, and ABC from Jonesboro with a outdoor antenna. Check your specific address, if it doesn't qualify, you might have to fudge a little.

Could your amp be picking up noise from the computer?

Not if its the amp built into the consumer level antenna, its made to sit on top of tv's or stereos where there is a crapload of rf nearby anyway. Its probably just not tweaked enough to be catching the signal fully. And, like I said, the speaker wire antenna is not very far away from it at all either. So, considering the number of computers I have in here, it would be affecting that a lot too.

In any case, there isn't anything at all on that channel I would want to see anyway.

I like some of the Christian Rock they have on weekends, but the PQ sucks to back to watch it.

Has this been verified by anyone that LR HD locals are next in line with Direct TV? I'm stuck with Resort Cable in Hot Springs, and I'm dying to switch - although I don't want to miss out on Local hd channes, since locals make up about 70% of my viewing.

Resort is killing me though - only have 5 national hd channels (not counting premium movie channels) and ABC, CBS and NBC in hd - That's right - no Fox - home of the BCS title game and the Super Bowl. UGH.

I sent them an email several months ago asking them if there were any plans to add any new hd channels in the future and the response was simply "no." LOL, have to admire the blunt honesty from them.

Where is the 6 month figure on Direct coming from?

Thanks,

Phil


Phil - I feel your pain. I'm with Resort as well. I stopped in there the other day and they told me they plan to have more HD channels after the first of the year. Knowing how that operate I asked if that meant by Dec. 31 of 2008? Right now it's a waiting game with me. I am waiting for either Dish or Direct to get local HDs and then I think I'm switching unless Resort wows me with the new HD channels. The only problem is I can't cancel Resort all together because of my internet access. I have to at least have the basic tier service to be able to have Internet.

I have a question about Dish and DirecTV’s set top boxes. Does either of their HD boxes pick up clear QAM channels without losing the ability to have two tuners? In other words will I loose the use of one of the tuners to tune in QAM channels? The reason I ask is that with Resort cable I have to keep my basic cable tier to have internet access and I know that I can tune in the local HD channels (NBC, ABC, CBS, and PBS) with a QAM tuner. Any help here would be much appreciated.

It looks like Dish has the better offering right now for new subscribers. I would like to know which is best overall Dish or DirecTV.

I have a question about Dish and DirecTV’s set top boxes. Does either of their HD boxes pick up clear QAM channels without losing the ability to have two tuners?Why would they make it easier for you to view a competitive provider's programming? You'll never see a QAM tuner in a Dish/DirecTV receiver.

It looks like Dish has the better offering right now for new subscribers. I would like to know which is best overall Dish or DirecTV."Best" depends on what you're lookng for.

If you want cheaper HD DVR startup costs, Dish is the way to go. If you want tons more HD channels, a lower monthly fee for the HD tier, and a high likelihood of locals in HD via sat. within the next 6 months, DirecTV is your only choice. Dish doesn't even have LR HD locals on their list of "future" cities.

steveken, those cheap amps built into indoor antennas pick up all sorts of noise. That, and/or signal overload is probably what's killing ch 25 reception with it.

Indoor antennas (especially amp'd ones) should always be located as far away from other RF-generating stuff as possible.

Sam: I don't have web access here at home. Have you heard if they finalized letting ham ops do site surveys for waivers yet?...Hadn't heard anything about that.

Indoor antennas (especially amp'd ones) should always be located as far away from other RF-generating stuff as possible.

That would mean taking any antenna like that, which is designed for indoor use with a TV that WILL and DOES put out RF during its normal operation, and putting it completely outside the house, probably 20 or 30 feet. Darn near EVERY item in the modern home produces RF.

You can't just make a blanket statement like that saying that it needs to be away from other RF-generating equipment. It is virtually impossible. Plus, like I said, this type of equipment is designed for indoor use near other pieces of equipment, so its expected to get local RF interference and I would expect some sort of filter or something has been implemented to help combat this problem.

Don't get me wrong, I understand what you mean, but if you think you can do it with an indoor antenna, you are pretty much fooling yourself. That is why they came up with outdoor antenna's. I am still trying to come up with a suitable solution for that.

Anyway, like I said in another post, its not like I give a crap what is on 25. I have never heard of nor seen anything on that channel that makes me want to watch it. In fact, its been blocked out of my list as long as its been available because I have absolutely no interest in it.

I have done a ton of research and want to get as many HD channles as I can, especially local. I think I could settle for the NY stations on HD, but will have to determine if Dish or Direct is the way to go. I know there is another thread, and forum for that.

For reference sake, I am pretty sure I live in a spot that would be hard to get it, but I wanted to see about Batesville as a whole. Where the satellite antenna on my house (bought back in Nov, once our HD set up gets here next week, we will hook it all up) is on the front of the house because they said that is the best spot for the dish, for the HD channels, so I was kinda holding out hope that I could do something similar, in a similar location on my house...

Anyway, I will do some research on the DirecTV and see if that is something we want to do. We really like Dish, but like I say, another thread another forum...

Thanks again gentlemen!

Jonah, did you enter your address at the DirecTV HD DNS eligibility site?
http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressForm.aspx

Here's an example of a Batesville address and an explanation below the chart:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2168/2168295479_18e9b67d36.jpg
If your address has the same results, you could get these NY Standard Def networks:
CBS
FOX
NBC
PBS
CW
And these HD networks:
CBS-HD (WCBS-DT)
FOX-HD (WNYW-DT)
NBC-HD (WNBC-DT)

DNS channels are ala carte and $1.50 each per month, which includes both the SD and HD versions of channels.

DirecTV cannot offer you ABC because you can get KAIT with an antenna.

Jonah, as to Dish vs DirecTv, Dish is banned from offering New York I think, so if you want the networks, DirecTv is the choice there. Check a HD channel comparison chart, and see if the channels you watch are available. If you are into HD sports, Directv is your choice hands down. Costs more up front, but cheaper by the month. Directv has more HD bandwidth for adding new channels, and will double HD bandwidth this year. Dish is almost maxed out. Dish does offer some novelty HD channels Directv doesn't have, and startup costs are cheaper. Dish charges a monthly fee to plug an external hard drive into their box while Directv does not. I have 750GB on mine, and it still stays pretty full until my weekend watch and delete marathons.

I believe dish uses 110 and 119 sats, so if you can get dish, the Directv HD sat is just a little further south and a couple of degrees higher at 99/101/103.

Enjoy the new HD, and tell us how KAIT-HD looks. Our LR ABC is pretty sad.

And got 98.5 just fine in my drive way like you had suggested.

Im pretty risky when it comes to things, so I am willing to try and see if I can get the LR stations since I passed this first one.

Dave, and others, what kind of satellite and amp would you all suggest?

...what kind of satellite and amp would you all suggest?You keep mentioning "satellite". Do you mean OTA (OverTheAir) TV antenna, or Directv/Dish satellite antenna?

If you are trying to get Little Rock, where are you planning on mounting the antenna, Rooftop, pole, tower? I'd have to check to see what the gain is between a 8 bay UHF and a long yagi. In any case, since you qualify for networks from New York if you choose Directv, you really only need to get the station(s) from LR you would want to watch the news, or local sports on. If CBS is one of them, being VHF its going to make a difference in your choices. Sam can tell you how well the 8 bay would work for high vhf at 100 miles, I know with a UHF yagi you won't get digital 12 up there. For sure you want a Channel Master amp, model depends on the type antenna you go with, and whether you get New York from Direct or go with Dish.

According to the google earth TV reception overlay maps, decent LR reception looks pretty iffy in most of Batesville. As dave said, it looks like if you can get any LR OTA TV at all, the strongest LR signal would be CBS KTHV-DT 11-1 (RF channel 12). But without your exact address, it would be difficult to make a prediction using the google earth software.

I would talk to some local folks about the chances of getting LR OTA TV in your area before investing money in an antenna, preamp and (probably) a tower. Radio Shack would be a good place to start.

Did you enter your address at the DirecTV web site I posted, to see if your address qualifies for the HD networks out of New York? If it qualifies, your best bet for getting most of the networks in HD would be to go with them.

what google earth tv reception overlay?

You need Google Earth Software. If you don't have it, download it free here:
http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html

Once that's installed, you'll need the LR (or other market) TV coverage map overlays for Google Earth. Get those here:
http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15

Once the overlay file's downloaded, open Google Earth and click File | Open and browse to the file you just downloaded.
That will put the LR reception overlays into google earth's sidebar options (view | sidebar).

What do the different colors mean? I am looking at it and am not real sure what I am seeing.

read the tvfool web site (http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15).

oh, duh, missed that section


Red-yellow-green are all quite strong. You can expect reasonable coverage with an indoor antenna.

LOL!!! I have green on my house for KETS. Guess, what, I can't get it with an indoor antenna!

For the NY stations on Direct. I think I will go to Radio Shack and ask about all this like you guys say. What I dont want is to pay all the $$$ on either carrier for local HD programming when its OTA and I can pick it up that way. But, if it wont work, then I guess I pay the extra $$$ and see about the NY HD channels...

I will let you all know how I come out. Thanks so much for the help!

The New York HD channels are free if your package includes the SD locals, which I believe they most do. Its like $4 a month saving to opt out of the locals if they even allow you to do that anymore.

Dave, in Batesville, no locals are available on D*. So the programming packages are called "Package Name No Locals" and each package is $3 cheaper than in areas where locals are available.

They can subscribe to Distant Network Service (DNS) channels on an ala carte basis. Each network is $1.50/month and I think this includes both NY & LA SD feeds and the NY HD feed of each network. They cannot get the LA HD feed in the Central time zone.

In areas with locals, you can still switch to a "no locals" package and save $3/mo. Some people do that up here because they don't want to pay to watch Springfield locals when they can watch Fayetteville locals free w/ antenna. Others do it because they don't have LOS to the 72.5 bird, or don't want a 2nd dish on the roof.

For the NY stations on Direct. I think I will go to Radio Shack and ask about all this like you guys say.Radio Shack is the best place to ask about OTA reception possibilities in your area. But don't ask them about the NY HD networks on DirecTV, because they only sell Dish Network. Dish is barred by court order from offering the NY networks in Arkansas.

You mean the people at Radio Shack up there are competent enough to tell you about OTA stuff? That is simply amazing. The people they get around here are barely competent enough to tell you where the AA batteries are, much less anything at all about OTA reception.

Actually, if I was up there I would drive around the neighborhood looking at rooftop antennas, find a house with a monster honker on the roof, and stop in for a question session. Problem is, I don't know how the lower power on digitals translates to a usable signal compared with a 5 megawatt analog signal at the deep fringe locations. I'd love to throw my 18db yagi in my truck and drive to some fringe towns and just see how the signals carry out to the country. I suppose I could use a laptop with a usb adapter for a display, and my old E86 receiver. Would be kinda fun. I always wonder, when I drive up a big hill, like some of those N of Conway on US65 and toward Batesville outside Bald Knob, just what kind of reception I could get.

You mean the people at Radio Shack up there are competent enough to tell you about OTA stuff? That is simply amazing. The people they get around here are barely competent enough to tell you where the AA batteries are, much less anything at all about OTA reception.People out in the state rely on OTA a lot more than in LR, due to non-existent sat. carriage of Arkansas TV in some areas.. Maybe not in LR, but out in the state hinterlands, Radio shack would be a good starting point.

Dave's idea to look for a big ol' antenna tower and talk to the owner is also a very good suggestion.

Before I post it, does anyone care what the Program Director of Channel 7's response was to my email to KATV about their not showing Shrek 2 on the 31st? In short, the response proves that it is mainly due to the money they get from advertisers. I still am of the opinion that they get paid by the U of A to air the Razorback games. In any case I thought I would ask if anyone was curious what their lame response was before I posted up here. Let me know.

Steve

Sure, post away. I need a good laugh...

AETN HD for the next two weeks as best I can tell:
Mon 7th - Antiques Roadshow
Mon 7th - Great Performances - Carnegie Hall Celebrates Berlin

Tues- Nova NOT in HD :(

Weds 9th - Pioneers of Television

Sun 13th - Nature - Dogs that Changed the World

Mon 14th - Antiques Roadshow

Wed 16th - Pioneers of Television

Not much HD, but its kick ass when its there.

"steveken 07:40 PM Today
Before I post it, does anyone care what the Program Director of Channel 7's response was to my email to KATV about their not showing Shrek 2 on the 31st? In short, the response proves that it is mainly due to the money they get from advertisers. I still am of the opinion that they get paid by the U of A to air the Razorback games. In any case I thought I would ask if anyone was curious what their lame response was before I posted up here. Let me know."

I pretty well know what the response was. Commercial broadcast television stations air what the advertisers want to see, when they want to see it, and not the general public. They get paid very well to air the Razorback games. Television stations don't make much off running network shows except on the local cut-ins and station breaks. News, infomercials, "paid programs" and religious shows are all moneymakers. Ask any of the salesmen or "Account Executives" as they are known, at any commercial broadcast television station.

Everything but Sales is a necessary evil.

steveken, please post the response.

Steven,

Thank you for contacting KATV about our preempting the ABC showing of “Shrek 2” on December 31. KATV, like all broadcasters are in a unique situation. Our job is to bring our viewers the very best in entertainment and sports programming. We try our best to do just that.

Broadcasters provide programming for a wide range of interests, likes and dislikes. No matter what any television station chooses to broadcast at a particular time, there will always be those who believe there is a better choice. KATV realizes not everyone enjoys Razorback football and basketball. However, there are many that enjoy the games; just as some viewers love situation comedies there are those who despise them.

The primary reason for KATV’s carrying Razorback sports is advertiser support. Local advertisers have the opportunity to showcase their message in a program that attracts consumers of their product or service.

The unique nature of New Year’s Eve programming did not provide a late night time period to replay the movie. In addition, ABC’s showing of “Shrek 2” was a repeat of the theatrical movie from last year. For these reasons, ABC and KATV agreed a replay was not necessary of this program.

Regarding the late night replays of previously preempted ABC Network programming, KATV has worked with ABC to find a replay time period that does not violate our ABC contract. Granted, post-midnight is not the most viewer-friendly time period; however, the replay does provide an opportunity to record the program for viewing at a more convenient for the entire family. And, we certainly don't expect parents to keep small children up after midnight to view a television program.

KATV understands there are legitimate differing opinions for every decision we make, but I want you to know that we make every judgment in good faith. I trust you will continue to share your views with us.

Thank you for contacting KATV and for watching Channel 7.

Richard Farrester
Program Director

a perfectly predictable response.

[aetn]Not much HD, but its kick ass when its there.I have done several A/B comparisons with AETN 1080i HD - minus subchannels, and Missouri's KOZK-DT PBS not-quite-HD broadcasts rescaled to 720p and two sub channels running. The quality of the AETN broadcast (well, except for the VHF dropouts ;)) is stunning in comparision.

The KOZK-DT broadcasts look less than DVD quality.

To be honest, I don't have any real gripes with that response. What I DO have a gripe with is their complete inability to timeshift HD material. I wait 8 months for 8 episodes of Lost, and I'll be shocked fewer than two of these aren't in SD because of lousy Razorback basketball preemption.

I would try to actually look it up, but then Google may think I actually care about the Razorbacks and send me related ads for months.

THAT is it in a nutshell. If Joe Blow can buy a HD recorder for less than $399, why on earth can't the TV stations afford to record a flipping show in HD and replay it later in HD? I've seen some of the equipment used at commercial stations, and I've seen Directv receivers. I imagine they are holding out for the big buck commercial equipment and a totally digital switching console, but in the mean time, I wouldn't care if the recorded WABC-HD off DirecTv on a HR20 and used that with their "switch flipper" switching back to SD for local commercials.

PBS I don't understand. Network HD is a damn hour a night usually. 7 to 8pm. At least the popular shows, yet they still have to time shift one of their TOP RATED SHOWS, so we don't get it in HD. I just don't get it.

Its gonna cost me $399 to get PBS National HD feed. I'm gonna wait a few months to see how PBS on DirecTv shakes out. If nothing has changed by then, Ill fork out the $399 and watch PBS HD in HD.

Its gonna cost me $399 to get PBS National HD feed.
Are you in a Comcast service area? Basic cable service should do it for QAM. That comes probably $125 a year after taxes. If not, your local cable co might still work.

To be honest, I don't have any real gripes with that response. What I DO have a gripe with is their complete inability to timeshift HD material. I wait 8 months for 8 episodes of Lost, and I'll be shocked fewer than two of these aren't in SD because of lousy Razorback basketball preemption.

I would try to actually look it up, but then Google may think I actually care about the Razorbacks and send me related ads for months.

Well, the good news is that ABC has moved Lost to Thursday nights this year. Most of KATV's preemptions take place on Wednesday nights, so they'll only be preempting Wife Swap and Supernanny for most of the spring, and those are in SD anyway.

If the writers don't settle, thewont be anything but bad reality shows anyway.

I'm in a Comcast are, but don't have any QAM tuners. The $399 is for a HD FTA sat receiver with an ATSC tuner. It would do double duty picking up PBSs' HD feed as well as a couple Fox stations in the fall to save me from paying way to much for the NFL package from Directv to watch the Packers play.
I already have a 1.2m dish and lnb in storage.

To be honest, I don't have any real gripes with that response. What I DO have a gripe with is their complete inability to timeshift HD material. I wait 8 months for 8 episodes of Lost, and I'll be shocked fewer than two of these aren't in SD because of lousy Razorback basketball preemption.

I would try to actually look it up, but then Google may think I actually care about the Razorbacks and send me related ads for months.

Get on the Internet and download the episodes yourself. You CAN get them in really really high quality compared to their SD counterparts if you look at torrents. If you want, I can download them for you and find a way to send them to you, but you would be better off doing it yourself. For an hour long show, you will probably be looking at 350MB for an HD show! That is some GREAT compression while maintaining picture quality.

There are many many many ways now to hook your computer up to your TV in some fashion, so you aren't stuck watching the eps on your monitor. I mean, I do this ALL the time. I don't have any commercials or annoyingly HUGE state map maps and messages that these channels around here don't think can be moderately transparent. It is absolutely GREAT to watch damn near HD shows without commercials! When I say damn near HD, its only because occasionally you can see some pixelation or you can see that its not quite as crisp as it could be, but for the size of the file, plus the added benefits of the other bs you don't have to put up with, it is a BEAUTIFUL picture! You also get full surround sound too when run through your stereo.

I am serious people, when you get sick of the BS these channels put you through around here, BOYCOTT THEM! Get your favorite network shows from the Internet and ENJOY THEM! If enough of us do this, and enough advertisers start seeing a drop in their revenue induced by TV advertising, then maybe something will change. To me, I see little to no difference in TiVo'ing Las Vegas, fast forwarding through ALL the commercials, and enjoying it, than I do downloading the same exact episode off the net, with the commercials already removed for me, and enjoying it. Either way I am bypassing commercials I absolutely can NOT stand. The only people it hurts are the local TV stations and the advertisers on those stations.

There is no law saying I HAVE to watch the commercials or watch the content from my local area. There is no law saying I HAVE to put up with any of the BS these bastards dish out to us on a weekly basis. Thus, I choose my own method of seeing the network shows that I don't have to pay for in the first place other than my satellite bill or electricity to run the receivers and TV's.

If anyone needs help figuring out how to connect their TV's to their computers or whatever else they want to watch the content from, or needs help in figuring out how to get the content they want to see, PLEASE let me know. I will do my absolute best to get you started on the road to what we used to experience long ago......an absolutely enjoyable TV experience.

You know, Dave, I have been wanting to mess with that FTA stuff. What's it like? What all do you have to do to get up and going with it? I guess I don't know much about it, so anything you might find useful, like a primer maybe, would be nice to know. I have tried looking at a number of sites, but really find myself not following it or getting bored out of my mind trying to read it because the writer can't do the job adequately enough to keep the attention span of their reader. Its a shame really cause I know anything I need to know is out there. I suppose some of it can be attributed to laziness or other things going on around me that distract me, but still....

steveken, you're preaching to the choir :) I had forgotten about the torrents (which I have used previously) and was planning to use ABC's HD software to view them if my bandwidth was high enough, but the torrents are even better though. The only problem is waiting until the next day for them.

I've been doing the HTPC thing with both of my TVs (including one SD) for about a year and a half now and would never EVER go back. It took some time to build the system up (namely to acquire >2.5 TB of storage at reasonable prices), but it was well worth it IMO. In fact the only things I have hooked up to my plasma right now are my HD-A2 (which only gets used as an upscaling DVD player at the moment) and my HTPC. And zapping commercials while watching HD was the primary motivation for getting into HTPCs at the start (although I have seen many, many other benefits since).

LOL ABC's "HD" software. LOL, sorry, thats just funny. You mean where you watch their shows on their website? I have tried that and just didn't think the quality was very good at all. At least with torrents you get only minor compression. The website stuff is far more compressed believe it or not. Also, you don't have to wait until the next day. I started getting the simpsons, american dad, and king of the hill yesterday like an hour to an hour and a half after they aired. Those guys are really quick.

If you have a Mac, there is software called "TVShows" that lets you tell it what shows you want, what quality to want, and what episode you want to start with. It runs in the background and when the shows show up on the trackers it monitors, it starts up your torrent program and gets them automatically for you.

LOL LOL LOL!!! Just turned on Good Morning Arkansas on 7 for some weird reason. They had that brunette on it giving the news real quick. She was talking about the people in Union County suing that place for the waste fire. The top of the graphic said "Waste Lawuist". I kid you not! LOL, what a bunch of buffoons!!!

And something else that kind of bugs me about that show. They have this graphic that says GMA and spells it out underneath it that scrolls across the screen. The common sense thing to do would be to make the graphic so that, when it reached the end of the graphic and loops back around, it would look absolutely seamless and start over again where the end of it stopped. Instead, it is jittery and jumps really big back to a different area. It looks VERY unprofessional.

I really should stop writing up complaints about 7. There are just way too many and does no good. I just wish there was a way to get KAIT down here. Back when my dad worked there, it was a great station. I can only assume that it is still above KATV because its hard to be worse than.

To be honest, I don't have any real gripes with that response. What I DO have a gripe with is their complete inability to timeshift HD material. I wait 8 months for 8 episodes of Lost, and I'll be shocked fewer than two of these aren't in SD because of lousy Razorback basketball preemption.

I would try to actually look it up, but then Google may think I actually care about the Razorbacks and send me related ads for months.

good news: as of right now, Raycom Sports' SEC schedule shows only one conflict with LOST. March 13, SEC tournament opening day. Of course, KATV will probably find another way to screw things up for us but it will have to be with something else. Maybe some paid programming?

what would be really nice, but completely improbable, would be for those VHS, or lower, quality games to be on the subchannel with ABC programming on the main channel. The quality is crap anyways, it doesn't need the full bandwidth. LOST and the other preempted shows might have a little less PQ but they'd still be HD and they'd still be live instead of delayed til the wee hours of the morning.

I hate having to use P2P (mostly because of my fears of being sued but also because the one time I tried to use it the download was going to take two days...) but I may have to on March 13. Glad ABC moved it off of Preemption Wednesday though!

I'm just glad we don't have teams in two conferences like South Carolina (with SC and Clemson, SEC and ACC) or we'd rarely see ABC programming on KATV.

FTA is simple. You need a 3' dish, a lnbf on the dish, a cable to your receiver, and the receiver of your choice. Point the dish at the satellite you want, log on lyngsat and enter the numbers in your receiver (or just let the receiver scan for them).

Now, if you want more than one satellite, you either need to add a disq motor drive to the dish, or a disq switch with multiple dishes.

Unless you are into foreign language programming, about all you will find (all on the same sat) are Fox (Marquette Mich), Fox (Missoula Montana), ABC (Casper Wyo), and severel MYnet's, Channel 42, ch 20 local are on it, and lots of radio stations. PBS is on another sat (in HD). Everything free except PBS and Outdoor channel 2 are SD, and outdoor channel is on C band, so that's a 10' dish there.

Receivers are $79 for a PCI card, and $99-$399 for a real receiver, HD versions being on the high end. LNBF's are cheap. Dishes can cost depending on how you outfit it. I'm using an old 3' data dish that was discarded long ago.

I'm gonna need more money... Directv just showed a 1" high dual ATSC tuner for the HR21, and a USB satellite tuner box that plugs right into a media center PC. I would love a Directv tuner in my computer...Then I could have it all in one.

Where did you see that stuff about the new receivers from D*? I really want to look at that stuff. It would be so awesome to be able to have a sat tuner for my vista tv box.

Where did you see that stuff about the new receivers from D*? I really want to look at that stuff. It would be so awesome to be able to have a sat tuner for my vista tv box.

Check out this link http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=115062

Ok, I found the DBStalk forum about it. The HDPC20 sounds really great! I really hope it comes out soon! I would LOVE to see more info on it. This is exactly what I am wanting. Right now I have my H20 running via S-Video to my Hauppauge 150 card in my Vista box. Needless to say, it doesn't look that great, but it is passable. And with the aspect change ability, I can watch HDTV from the D* box that way as well.

Other thing I want to find out more about, but haven't seen it talked about in depth yet (only on page 9 of 12 right now) is the MRV from the HR20 to a PC. I would love to be able to do that. That way I can watch stuff I have recorded out there while the wife watches her crap. Or my son can watch Diego or Mickey Mouse on the computer while I play my 360 (I am always losing gaming time due to his shows that, frankly, put me to sleep).

I'm curious if the external ATSC tuner for the HR21 will work on the HR20. I saw another post claiming USB 2.0 cannot handle HDTV bandwidth... Don't know if that's true or not. If true, that would mean the tuner would have to downres... Be interesting to see how it pans out.

I found a Fortec FTA receiver with autoprogramming for $89 I think Ill order tomorrow. Be a Mountain time zone fox and abc station and some music to play with. SD looks pretty good with component input, so its forth it if I can catch a few Packer games I'd miss otherwise...and ABC run by equity :)

If you can stream HD across a 100Mb LAN, I would think you can run HD over USB 2.0. Plus, the fact that all of elgato's stuff (I believe their EyeTV stuff does) now works using USB 2.0 as well as all of Pinnacles HD stuff, I think its safe to say it will work. Most of the time those posts are done by people who know jack diddly about what they are saying.

While there are severe storms, what is 7-2 airing at 10:24am? Damn E/I programming where the radar/news briefs normally are!!!. Ain't the kids in school (other than preschool and homeschooler homes that would never watch television to begin with?)

Someone ain't mindin' the store over at "7".

Man, what do you expect you are going to get from "Arkansas's SHI* Leader"? All their emmy's and whatever else they have gotten was for nothing else but paid sponsorships, sports programming, and murder/robbery stories.

Man, I really really wish someone from KATV read this forum!!!!!

Man, I really really wish someone from KATV read this forum!!!!!

I'm sure somebody over there is, but not giving a ***t. The policies of Tele Nicholson tend to drag down the remaining LR stations due to the perception of Joe Sixpack's viewing habits.

Its even worse down here in SE Arkansas. Because many of these elderly viewers won't get D* and E* in the sticks (outside of cable areas) they are pretty much bound to and highly influenced by Tele Nicholson. Where I live (rural Lincoln County) there is no cable service period (or even DSL broadband service). Several of my neighbors don't have dishes, but medium to large VHF/UHF antennas so they are watching Little Rock locals OTA (and mostly on analog-only sets). There are even some homes still using VHF only antennas so they are unlikely to get a usuable picture from KLRT's analog signal (which is fringe in this area). Even my parent's viewing habits are rather set in stone from years of watching OTA analog here in town before moving several years ago. Its frustrating trying to get folks to have the scales fall from their eyes and see the truth.

BTW, of the 3 old line affiliates as this is being typed, KARK and KTHV are still on the air, Tele Nicholson/katv is OFF THE AIR (at least digital I know --11:45am update, the analog signal on ch 7 is still up). Until I get DSL (last word was early 2008), the subchannels (cough, cough) are my best source of real-time radar and putting up with breakups on high VHF or plain stubbornness, digital broadcasting apathy and lack of a backup link between the station and transmitter site isn't cutting it.

KETS (analog) went off the air this morning and will be off air for a while. Tree across the power line, snapped a pole, etc. etc. etc. You get the idea. Probably four or five hours before they get a new pole set, lines moved, so forth.

BTW, one oddity about that site is that the power line feeding ch. 7 is a separate feed, from a different circuit-- literally arriving on property from a different direction. Plus, they now have a generator. (:rolleyes:AETN's generator got "valued engineered" out of the budget).

KETS-DT unaffected.

Sure appreciate KETSs' presence here. Ch 7 analog was off for a while my boss said. Apparently they don't have an autostart generator :). Automatically checked ch 2, and looked at her and said "Surely they aren't working on the guy wires in this weather" :)

Johnny, the HR20 tried to tune digital 32 and maps it to 4-1. Check you signal meter and see if you are getting a signal. The HR20 sometimes can get a 100 on signal but not lock. Usually downloading the beta software or reinitializing your local OTA will fix it.Since I first posted my message, I fiddled with the rabbit ears and now can get 11-1, 16-1, and 4-1 in HD. NBC (4-1) is the weakest of the bunch but still comes in consistently enough to be fine to watch.

I did do a reset and initialize on my OTA channels, but that did not get me ABC (7-1) or PBS (2-1). When I did the signal test, CBS & Fox were ranging from 60-70%. NBC was 30-35%. PBS and ABC were not acquired at all. I guess this makes some sense since NBC, Fox, and CBS are all in the same direction from me and PBS and ABC are on another direction. BTW, I'm using this Phillips indoor antenna that has the rabbit ears and this flat panel UHF antenna that can be rotated and tilted.

I wonder if an outdoor antenna in my attic would make a difference?

I wonder if an outdoor antenna in my attic would make a difference?Almost always an improvement. Exceptions are if you have:
Metal Roof
Foil backed (radiant barrier) roof decking
Metal Siding
Foil faced wall insulation in the eaves of the house.
HVAC ductwork in the attic.

Best location is outside. You may lose up to half of your signal by using an indoor or attic antenna, vs outdoor.

Sure appreciate KETSs' presence here. Ch 7 analog was off for a while my boss said. Apparently they don't have an autostart generator :). Automatically checked ch 2, and looked at her and said "Surely they aren't working on the guy wires in this weather" :)

Another FYI; Approx. 0745, KETS off-air for the tower crew to work on ch. 7's tower. (Ch. 7 only had to reduce power (not shut off) since the crew is to be working far enough below their antenna). But, because of proximity KETS power was reduced ---by 100%.

DTV unaffected.

(Moderator; while these messages pertain to the analog signal --not the DTV, which is the topic of this forum-- I thank you for the latitude. Many of the participants here check both digital and analog reception. TNX, Kelly)

completely off topic, but oh well....

i got a hr21 in my living room and a d12 in my bedroom. the parental controls on the hr21 seem to be working correctly, in the guide it shows blocked title and when i tune to that channel it says blocked title instead of giving all of the info. but on the d12 in the guide it still shows the title when it should be blocked. i have the same settings on both. any ideas???

Almost always an improvement. Exceptions are if you have:
Metal Roof
Foil backed (radiant barrier) roof decking
Metal Siding
Foil faced wall insulation in the eaves of the house.
HVAC ductwork in the attic.

Best location is outside. You may lose up to half of your signal by using an indoor or attic antenna, vs outdoor.I do have HVAC ductwork in the attic. I live in a newer development and there are no external antennas (not counting dishes) installed anywhere. I may be within my rights to do so, but I think they're ugly and don't want to start a trend.

Wow. I think antennas are a work of art. Espcially the old channel masters and winegards with the boom shaped like <

Wow. I think antennas are a work of art. Espcially the old channel masters and winegards with the boom shaped like <I should refine my statement. A single antenna on a rooftop, perhaps one of the ones you mentioned, is ok. But once there's one, there will be more. I have memories of a a sea of antennas from many years ago, and for me, that just didn't look good.

Besides, one man's art is anothers....?

Dave, I gather you are in the business of installing antennas. What is your experience relating to installing them in the attic?

If you have trees around, you can paint an antenna with Krylon camo ultra flat gray green spray paint. It will make the antenna barely be visible from the street. I've done it several times. See if you can spot the small Channel Master CM4221 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4221.htm) in this picture:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2012/2181999716_a6b5a3a017_o.jpg


I remember when everyone had outdoor antennas and no one thought a thing about 'em. Then cable came along and started telling everyone they were ugly. I guess if you tell someone something enough they start believing it.

IMO, an antenna on the roof beats crappy TV. And a cookie cutter neighborhood.

Actually, I'm in the business of installing and repairing Espresso machines, tea, and coffee machines...however, I am a ham operator, so I've put up my share of towers and antennas. Attics are as hard or easy as your access to same, and the direction your house faces. A single UHF antenna is easy. A multiband yagi needs to be outside.

Actually, I'm in the business of installing and repairing Espresso machines, tea, and coffee machines...however, I am a ham operator, so I've put up my share of towers and antennas. Attics are as hard or easy as your access to same, and the direction your house faces. A single UHF antenna is easy. A multiband yagi needs to be outside.Expresso machines...antennas--I was close:)

My attic is easy to get into. Can you recommend someone locally for antenna installation? I'm a total klutz with stuff like that?

Not aware of anyone offhand. How do you want the coax run from the attic to the tv? If you want a wall drop, and you have cross bars inside the wall, its gonna run you big bucks. If you can access a crawlspace under the house from the attic, say through a pair of holes in a nearby closet or something, it might be do-able, running the coax through the back of the closet, and coming up through a hole in the floor behind the tv...

Change Subject: Directv'ers, when there is a staggered release in the stream, does anyone know what triggers the receiver to download the upgrade, or prevents the receiver from downloading the new version if you try to force a download? Right now both versions are in the data stream, but I keep getting the old one.

Same thing here when I did a force. I am thinking that maybe it comes down on spot beams they specify. That seems to be the only reason why everyone couldn't force it and get it all at once. We will probably be able to get it tomorrow or this weekend.

Hope so. This 1BE sucks. I want my 30 second skip back...and my networked videos. By the way, T101HD went live today. Lots of good concerts.

I didn't know that. Looks okay. I noticed Tennis Network HD went live too, but don't know when. I turned it on and, unfortunately, it looks like crap. The picture is not sharp, the graphics are blurry, the lines have jaggies on them, it just frankly does not look good. I hope its just a SD match stretched and blown up, but it doesn't look it.

LOL!!! EVERYONE CHECK THIS OUT!!!

http://jobview.monster.com/getjob.asp?JobID=65752697&aid=59051969-1018&WT.mc_n=MKT000351

Should we ALL apply for it?

...Directv'ers, when there is a staggered release in the stream, does anyone know what triggers the receiver to download the upgrade, or prevents the receiver from downloading the new version if you try to force a download?DirecTV only allows you to view authorized channels. Software updates work in a similar way. Staggered software releases are done on a regional basis, usually starting from West to East. If your account isn't in a region where the update has been released your receivers won't download it.

And as you may have discovered, if you have a CE release and try to force download a staggered national release that's not yet available yet in your area, your box will re-download the previous national release. This causes you to lose any beta or "cutting edge" features that were in your CE release.

Not aware of anyone offhand. How do you want the coax run from the attic to the tv? If you want a wall drop, and you have cross bars inside the wall, its gonna run you big bucks. If you can access a crawlspace under the house from the attic, say through a pair of holes in a nearby closet or something, it might be do-able, running the coax through the back of the closet, and coming up through a hole in the floor behind the tv...
There is no crawlspace and it would have to be a wall drop. I've already got cable in the wall for the DTV dish. Perhaps that might be of assistance to the installer.

Can anyone else recommend a good antenna man(or woman)?

You might check Broadway satellite. They used to do OTA installs, and have all the equipment needed. I'd help ya, but you would probably need a sheetrock specialist when I got done :).

Those living in the El Dorado/Crossett/Hamburg areas, Nexstar just built out KARD-DT (RF channel 36) to full power and HDTV (including DD 5.1 audio) last week. I received it this morning upstate (Star City) with moderate tropo scatter. I hope to catch it up here at a later time for HD prime time programming for a HD quality review.

Transmitter is at Columbia LA (south of Monroe)

You might check Broadway Satellite. They used to do OTA installs, and have all the equipment needed. I'd help ya, but you would probably need a sheetrock specialist when I got done :).

For the love of God and everything Holy, avoid Broadway satellite. I hated DirecTV for quite a while in the beginning because of Broadway.

In 1998 Broadway did my initial DirecTV install. They sent out a teenager to do it. At the time I knew nothing about DirecTV other than I wanted it. So I took him at his word and let him do the install where he wanted it. Anytime there was even the slightest wind or rain I lost signal. After ranting about it to my neighbor he took a look at my install. Turns out there were two problems. I lived in a mobile home and he simply attached it to the side of the house with two screws rather than four and didn't do it in a location where he was screwing into anything solid. Anytime the wind blew it moved the dish slightly which completely messed up the signal. The second issue was that he barely bothered to point it at the satellite. Once I properly remounted the satellite a few inches from where it was and spent a few minutes properly aligning it I was golden. Gone were the constant dropouts.

A year later I decided I wanted an OTA antenna. I decided to give Broadway another shot. Big mistake.

When I called Broadway about the antenna I told them I wanted an older experienced installer because the last time they sent a teenager who did a horrible job and had to borrow some of my tools because he had forgotten his own. They assured me they would send out one of their best techs.

So I get the call that they are sending their guy out. I told them I'd leave work and meet them there for payment. By the time I get there it is too late. They had sent the same damn kid and he did just as piss poor a job of putting up the antenna as he had the satellite. It's hard to describe exactly how he mounted it so I wish I had a picture to get the point across. The bottom line is that he had used the same two screws randomly driven into the side of the house. But this time he had a solution for wind. Zip ties. My hand to God. Rather than spending a few minutes searching for a proper place for a secure mount he just drilled two holes in a convenient place and used zip ties to try to hold it in place.

Broadway Satellite will never, ever see another penny of my money.

When I bought a new home in 2003 I knew I could use the DirecTV movers program for a free install at the new place. Would have been great because I was somewhat fresh out of college and after buying my first "real" house I was pretty low on funds. But I was so worried that DirecTV would use Broadway as their contractor that I paid for another local satellite company to come out and do my install. It cost me $150 but it was money well spent. The installer spent nearly three hours to make it a clean and proper install. He even ran the wires in-wall even though it was a nightmare because of the way my house is built. After he made sure everything was perfect and the signal was flawless he went out to his truck and came back with a tiny vacuum cleaner to take care of the small bit of drywall that had gotten on the carpet when he drilled. That's good service.

I know it is OK to warn people about bad experiences but I don't recall what the rule is for publicly recommending a local company. If you'd like to know who did my great install shoot me a PM and I'll let you know. Or if someone says it is OK I'll just post it.

EDIT:

Custom Satellite on Markham by Chip's BBQ is who did my install. The installer was Chris. He is no longer there though because they did an install for my brother a while back and I told him to request Chris. No dice. I still recommend them over Broadway though!

For the love of God and everything Holy, avoid Broadway satellite.

I know it is OK to warn people about bad experiences but I don't recall what the rule is for publicly recommending a local company. If you'd like to know who did my great install shoot me a PM and I'll let you know. Or if someone says it is OK I'll just post it.Well, Broadway has already been recommended and Dave hasn't been vaporized by a laser beam. My guess, it's ok. Go ahead and name the company, please.

In case you are wondering why you're having a hard time getting ABC it is because the Redfield tower fell down.

Guess they shouldn't have gone with the lowest bidder to re-tension the guy wires.

In case you are wondering why you're having a hard time getting ABC it is because the Redfield tower fell down.Does this mean there is no HD at all from ABC-LR? Is there a time frame for the tower to be back in operation?

yeah no signal on 7-1. they better get it together before LOST comes back...until then I don't think there's anything on ABC I wanna see. Glad they don't have the NFL playoffs since the tower is down.

Is there a time frame for the tower to be back in operation?

I haven't the faintest idea. A girl I work with lives in Redfield and her husband just called to tell her about it.

Oh, I see it's been mentioned...my bad


RE: KATV Tower.

I thought AETN was on ch 7's tower, but KETS-DT is still on...And analog 2 is off ??? Where is the antenna for KETS-DT?

Now would be a good time for ch 7 to put up an antenna for KATV-DT on Equitys tower on Shinall, and just forget even putting the analog back on. Ill bet Equity would even let them use 42-4 :)

Oh, I see it's been mentioned...my bad
RE: KATV Tower.

Sometimes even some improbable wishes come true.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12185242&postcount=3658

Really fortunate nobody got killed.

I knew I read that post but couldn't remember where. I am really serious about them going out to Shinall with their Digital transmitter. The two stations share programs, and work togther quite often. That would make all the majors in one direction, and cure LOTS of installation headaches. Its easy to add a single low band antenna to a VHF hi/UHF setup. I'd love to see them all get together and do what they did in Birmingham... Share a tower(s) and master transmitter building, emergency backups... It makes sense dollar wise, and makes sense reception wise too.

It will be very interesting how this plays out, but I doubt that allbritton will spend the bucks to put 7 analog back on for only 12 months of transmission.

At least one station in NWA has already given notice to cablecos that if they have a similar catastrophe happen to their analog transmitter, it will not be replaced, and they need to prepare their headends now.

More news on katv's troubles at ArkansasBusiness (http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=102174.87444.114316).

dave, FWIW (not much), I believe that KETS-DT 5 is on KASN's tower.

Sometimes even some improbable wishes come true.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12185242&postcount=3658

Really fortunate nobody got killed.Oh my.

Yes, glad no one got killed. It's a miracle.

Now would be a good time for ch 7 to put up an antenna for KATV-DT on Equitys tower on Shinall, and just forget even putting the analog back on. Ill bet Equity would even let them use 42-4 :)dave,
If their city of license is Pine Bluff, would that even be legally possible?

For the love of God and everything Holy, avoid Broadway satellite. I hated DirecTV for quite a while in the beginning because of Broadway.

I agree wholeheartedly! Those jackasses are ripoff artists. They will take the simplest job and charge you out the rear for it. I hate them.

FYI, I went out to Ironwood today to put in my application for Technician Supervisor. Hopefully I will hear something from them. If I can get the job, I will do what I can to help fix their somewhat questionable installs.

www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1384724&posted=1

Storys and links on Dbstalk.

The DMA is Little Rock/Pine Bluff. The transmitters are in neither city. When Fox16 digital went off air due to an ice storm, they routed it to KASN-DTs transmitter in Redfield until they repaired the antenna...Dont see a problem with digital, If you are putting your signal on a licensed transmitter. Probably wouldn't be legal to move say 22 digital to West Little Rock without fcc approval.

Now would be a good time for ch 7 to put up an antenna for KATV-DT on Equitys tower on Shinall, and just forget even putting the analog back on. Ill bet Equity would even let them use 42-4 :)

I totally agree. All of the primary local antennas on one tower!

Of course that'd be too logical and we probably can't have that! I heard the other stations are offering to help get them back online. I think that's great so that maybe they can make some room on that shinal (sp?) tower.

I saw that stuff about KATV's tower on KARK's news at 6 (not real sure why I was watching it). I could NOT stop laughing!!! That is the best thing I could have ever seen! I mean, yeah, its unfortunate that it happened, but as pissed off as I have been lately at them, it made me happy. I know, its bad of me. I am sorry. I can't help it.

But yeah, hopefully they will do a quick motion to the FCC to get permission to move their tower to WLR. I am sure the FCC will have no problem granting a move to Shinall. It just makes absolutely no sense to have it out there now. At one time they were the second largest structure in the world, but things and technology has changed in 44 years. (I think I am right about those facts) Shinall is a much higher point than the spot in Redfield and they could get a much better distribution pattern up that high.

Maybe someone on here knows someone to call up and suggest that to. I am sure it can be done in a couple weeks time. Until then, I have no qualms with not getting 7-1. I can get what I want from there off the Internet.

Now would be a good time to apply for a waiver, since you obviously aren't in their grade B coverage area, which I believe extends about 1/2 mile up and down I-530 from the redfield exit hahaha.

If they deny your waiver, just request a signal test. :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2197/2185953007_9aac67331c_m.jpg7 was news.

I've not posted on the day's events here yet but here are my thoughts....

As much as KATV has ticked me off the last few years (especially since I've had HDTV), I hate seeing a tower collapse of that importance and history. There is no damn joy in their tower collapsing regardless of programming and managerial decisions.

Hopefully, KATV will concentrate on putting up a first-class digital facility and not rebuild a analog station that will be shut down in 13 months. Some of the other posters have suggested putting the tower at the Shinall antenna farm. That would be a logical choice and would benefit viewers of all of Central Arkansas. KATV would lose a few OTA digital viewers in SE Arkansas but they are served in the lower counties (especially in Desha, and Chicot) by WABG-DT. AETN should call this a loss and abandon analog OTA on KETS if at all possible (unless the FCC grants KETS a STA to operate analog on ch 5, and that I personally am opposed to.). Any effort to rebuild channel 2 analog would be a waste of state funds that could be put into a first-class digital facility.

Since "7" is now a glorified cable channel, I wonder how much response there will be with the lack of OTA coverage from analog viewers. I contacted my parents up in Pine Bluff and they are getting 7 (SD of course) via WEHCO/PB Cable. E* is carrying the station's SD signal as of now.

One question for the group: Could or should the FCC allow KETS-DT to switch to KATV's current analog channel pre 2009 if KATV abandons analog broadcasting from this point?

update: 9:08pm KATV now subchannel 42-3 on KWBF-DT. Bit starved SD.

The FCC is letting stations shut down analog early. All of western Kansas PBS OTA is now digital only. Some California stations are also digital-only. It would be cheaper for katv and KETS to just give out digital converters to anyone who needs them, than to rebuild new analogs from the uh, ground up, which is where they have to start :)

KETS could go ahead and move to 7 if katv doesn't rebuild analog. But a better solution would be for the FCC to give KETS-DT a reliable channel allotment that's not prone to interference. A UHF channel.

At least katv had the sense to drop their beloved VHF channel 7 for digital TV. KETS should have kept UHF channel 47, their originally assigned digital channel.

7 is still off D* as of 9:09PM.

42-3 huh? They actually listened to me...hahahah Yes, KATV should immediately apply to put ch22 digital on Shinall, and KETS should apply to go Full power digital on ch 7. I see no reason for either station to put forth the expense to rebuild analog.

FWIW, Directv never has mapped 42-3 as a receivable channel on the HR20's so those folks still won't be able to watch it...

....I hate seeing a tower collapse of that importance and history. There is no damn joy in their tower collapsing regardless of programming and managerial decisions.

Who really cares of the history of something like a tower when it can and does adversely affect the people you are serving? Things like towers do fade in importance as technology improves. Things like this are a GOOD thing to help further improve the product you are placing out into the public. At least that is the thought when it comes to any other place than Little Rock. Companies around here, for the most part, don't seem to give a rat's behind about improvements on product or what customers want. They just do what is best for their bottom line, to hell with everyone else.

I still stand behind my expression of joy over an antiquated piece of crap coming down when better things need to be done to improve the quality of the programming you mentioned. I further stand behind my expression of joy because of the managerial decisions because it is said management that ruins the programming you mentioned.


Hopefully, KATV will concentrate on putting up a first-class digital facility and not rebuild a analog station that will be shut down in 13 months. Some of the other posters have suggested putting the tower at the Shinall antenna farm. That would be a logical choice and would benefit viewers of all of Central Arkansas.

Your key words there are "a logical choice". Things that make sense around here very rarely happen. Thus, we will most likely see them continue with the same choices again in the rebuilding. Most likely it will occur because they still have a lease on the property that the tower was on and refuse to do anything to get out of the agreement or they are too lazy to try to get the FCC to try to let them move the transmitters.

And you think they will just abandon the analog people before they have to? Are you serious? They will NEVER do that because it would cost them viewers which in their dictionaries are the very definition when you look next to the word profit. Nicholson would never do anything to jeopardize profits or to make the Franklin's in his wallet lonely.

KATV would lose a few OTA digital viewers in SE Arkansas but they are served in the lower counties (especially in Desha, and Chicot) by WABG-DT.

They don't care who serves them. If they are able to get a signal down there somehow to further advertise to people and line their pockets, they are going to find a way to do it.

AETN should call this a loss and abandon analog OTA on KETS if at all possible (unless the FCC grants KETS a STA to operate analog on ch 5, and that I personally am opposed to.). Any effort to rebuild channel 2 analog would be a waste of state funds that could be put into a first-class digital facility.

Yeah, I agree, they should switch to digital as well. It would hurt them far less than 7. By your statement of wasting state funds, I would think you were new to the state of Arkansas. This state has a very bad habit of wasting money on projects that really should be left alone or done differently. Hell, every government body is guilty of that, not just here. Depending on the condition of the transmitting equipment in that demolished building, I would count on seeing an analog facility being rebuilt. The old people in this state HAVE to see their Lawrence Welk Show or else they will go bananas.

Since "7" is now a glorified cable channel, I wonder how much response there will be with the lack of OTA coverage from analog viewers. I contacted my parents up in Pine Bluff and they are getting 7 (SD of course) via WEHCO/PB Cable. E* is carrying the station's SD signal as of now.

Until the people affected read their local papers, I would say that there will be a pretty big response with loads of questions asking when they will be back on. I would hate to be the person assigned to the phones right about now.

One question for the group: Could or should the FCC allow KETS-DT to switch to KATV's current analog channel pre 2009 if KATV abandons analog broadcasting from this point?

I think the FCC can do it if they are petitioned in a timely fashion. Now, whether they will or not is a different story.

update: 9:08pm KATV now subchannel 42-3 on KWBF-DT. Bit starved SD.

HOLY COW! You aren't kidding. Over-modulated sound, crappy picture, but then again any signal going out at all generating ad revenue is better than none. I would be willing to bet in those 9 hours or so they were down that they lost a good $100,000 minimum in lost ad revenue.

Directv still doesn't have KATV sd on... I think KETS wants channel 7 for the electric savings of running a vhf high channel vs UHF...If I remember correctly. I hope that office the tower hit at KETS engineer shack wasn't Mr. Boswell's. If it was, I'm glad he wasn't in the office. Well, now they have the reason, and when the insurance pays, the money, to go first class digital...Hope they make the right decisions. Even Nicholson admitted towers were not as important as they used to be. So move it to Shinall!!!

Directv sd feed just came on. Appears to be the same feed as 42-3.

You know, it is absolutely amazing when you thinking about the amount of stories that are just copied and pasted from news wires. I mean, take this story for instance, EVERY single site you go to to read it says the same fricken thing. They may just be reordered a little bit, but the wording is the same damn thing.

For instance, "KATV went off the air, and the accident also knocked out the analog signal of KETS, a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate in the Arkansas Educational Television Network. AETN said it could be several days before its analog signal is restored." The section where it says "..the analog signal of KETS, a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate...." is an example of this.

I learned how little originality there is in the news field while in college when I took Mass Media and Society, but it just never really took hold in my mind until you see something like this. I have read several articles now and each one says the same exact thing with the same exact words with very little deviation at all. Its like they just took the feed of the AP wire and put it up.

I've not posted on the day's events here yet but here are my thoughts....

As much as KATV has ticked me off the last few years (especially since I've had HDTV), I hate seeing a tower collapse of that importance and history. There is no damn joy in their tower collapsing regardless of programming and managerial decisions.

[/B]

I agree with you, haley. I haven't agreed with the decisions made on the executive level, but they didn't deserve what happened. I don't like some people, but I would never wish them dead or any harm! I remember reading about KLTV, the Tyler, TX ABC affiliate, when their tower fell. Towers and transmitters may not be as important, but OTA TV is one of my favorite pastimes! I feel sorry the residents of the southern part of AR the most, because KATV was the only Little Rock station that could be received here. Actually, they were the only ARKANSAS station receivable here. (I consider KTVE a Louisiana station, since they broadcast from Monroe.)

I really hope KATV gets back on their feet quickly.

I was checking the database for dx possibilities... It shows KNOE-DT Monroe La on ch 7? Is this correct? Only running 15KW?

I was checking the database for dx possibilities... It shows KNOE-DT Monroe La on ch 7? Is this correct? Only running 15KW?


Hah...yes you are correct! I rarely, if ever, get a usable signal from them. Maybe if they were smart enough to get on the UHF bandwagon like all the other stations in the Monroe/El Dorado market, they would be receivable more than once in a blue moon at my location! I receive the only full power signal from the transmitter site in Columbia, LA, which is KARD-HD (FOX). They just went full power two weeks ago, and are on UHF CH 36, running at 2,000kw =) KTVE-HD is receivable with a paperclip... and their tower is 25 miles away! I simply don't understand why stations can't think of their viewers.... I wish KNOE would read this forum... but they still cater to an older audience, (which are probably all in nursing homes by now).

KTVE may not have the best news department, but they'll always be the HD leader around here.... and pretty much in the entire state of Louisiana when it comes to bandwidth allocation, signal strength, etc.

What channels are those powerful stations transmitting on? Ill point the antenna that way. I think there is a low power 36 here which will probably screw that one up.

KARD-HD is on UHF 36, and KTVE-HD is on UHF 27... KARD is at 2,000kw, while KTVE is at 1,000kw. I thought 1,000kw was the max for UHF digital....but the chief engineer for KTVE/KARD said that they were full power at 2,000. Both stations are owned by Nexstar.... isn't it a little ironic... the two best HD stations in my market are owned by Nexstar :) I have to give the chief engineer props, though... he really takes pride in his job, and it shows. KTVE-HD is putting out 15.33mps on NBC-HD, while KARD-HD is putting out 17.40mps on FOX-HD. if those numbers don't say how attentive he is to the viewers, I don't know what will!

Correction, KARD is putting out 17.66mps, not 17.40 :)

http://i15.tinypic.com/7wgiqrt.jpg

How do football games look on NBC there? Looks like crap here but I think its NBC, not the local station. Nascar races are horrid. Cars are all pixels against a sharp background.

Looks like Ill have some luck. No skip at all right now, and getting 3 percent on the meter from KTVE. Nothing from any of the others down there. Local analog 36 blocking the strong one.

FCC show KARD-DT @ 1,000kW ERP (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=&call=kard&arn=&city=&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9).
I don't know of any digitals that have been allowed to operate at higher power than that.
...........................................


I knew katv would be forced out of analog tv business. But I thought it would by by done by the FCC, not a tower company.

karma :)

Is it me or do you guys find that KWBF is kind of weak for a station that is supposedly running 1000kW? I always have a hell of a time getting it in from Shinall, but have no problem at all getting KLRT which is also running 1000kW from the same location. Whats up with that?

Well, I get a rather weaker than the rest signal also, but I would imagine if you looked at the fcc data for tower height, you would see 4, 11 and 16 all have really tall towers, whereas, 42's tower is short and mixed in the batch of all the FM and other towers out there. You can pick out 4,11 and 16 from 20 miles away with no problem...I dare anyone to see 42's tower that far away.

But if you want my honest opinion, they are authorized to run 1000KW but Ill bet they are either running reduced power or their antenna is a cheap low gain model.

Hmm, ok. Didn't think about the height, duh! :)

Btw, anyone else that does the clearQAM off comcast, looks like they changed some channel assignments. THV2 is now 2-1. PBS HD is now 80-3 with actual guide data if your tv supports it, 38-1 and 38-2 are now actually those assignments. I don't get the music channels anymore, but who cares. There are a few other changes, but those are the biggest ones. They also fixed the time on their signal too if your tv can get that as well. The time used to be like 4 or so hours off and was not user changeable. It was obtained by my tv. Just thought I would throw that info out there if anyone cares.

How do football games look on NBC there? Looks like crap here but I think its NBC, not the local station. Nascar races are horrid. Cars are all pixels against a sharp background.

KTVE-DT comes in up here 24/7, but seldom turn the rotor to watch. They have one "10-2" subchannel which is stretch-o-vision but plain ol' radar (SD) but no audio or video (ala "THV2"). The last sports event I watched on both stations (NHL Winter Classic), KARK looked slightly better because of no muliticasting. But not a huge difference.

RE: KARD-DT 36, they've been in the last two mornings.

Well, I get a rather weaker than the rest signal also, but I would imagine if you looked at the fcc data for tower height, you would see 4, 11 and 16 all have really tall towers, whereas, 42's tower is short and mixed in the batch of all the FM and other towers out there. You can pick out 4,11 and 16 from 20 miles away with no problem...I dare anyone to see 42's tower that far away.

But if you want my honest opinion, they are authorized to run 1000KW but Ill bet they are either running reduced power or their antenna is a cheap low gain model.

Methinks its less-than-authorized power. I can only get KWBF-DT when signal levels reach the 90's on the other Shinall stations down here. If the full power were used, there would be a slight difference in coverage but not the 20% or more less signal than I normally see compared to KARK or KLRT.

And occasionally, KYTV-DT 44 from Springfield MO will come in via tropo ducting over KWBF-DT! It happened again on early Thrusday Morning. Those two stations don't belong on the same channel assingment that close together.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2197/2185953007_9aac67331c_m.jpg

Otherwise known as "Seven on its side."

Wish Mr. Boswell would give us an update on AETN's plan of attack.

I really really really hope KATV can get its HD signal back on the air for LOST's premiere...

Did the stories say that Comcast doesn't have direct access to the HD feed only the SD? I might have to take my laptop to my dad's office since they have Comcast there and pick it up with QAM...

I have my TV plugged into the Comcast signal. It gets clearQAM. There is NO ABC HD on it. Only the crappy SD feed (which is appearing to get better). You will NOT have it in time for the LOST premier. Get yourself familiar with torrents and be prepared to download it from the Internet after it gets aired.

You can probably get a waiver from katv for WABC-DT out of NY via DirecTV.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2197/2185953007_9aac67331c_m.jpg

Otherwise known as "Seven on its side."

ROFLMAO. Good one, wxguy!
http://www.geekfest.com/images/icons/icon83.gif

I guess this will teach me to get my hopes up about a new time slot for Lost. I had just recently made a post about how we wouldn't be subjected to as many late night, SD only basketball preempted episodes, and now, we probably won't get any in HD :(. No torrents or downloads for me though, I'll still just watch it in SD, which I can still get on E* and cable. Add me to the list of folk who are sad to hear about the tower collapse, I grew up in southeast Arkansas as well, and like haley and Keith were pointing out, KATV was the only Little Rock station we could get, and I also always looked for the tower between Pine Bluff and Little Rock. Say what you will about the station's current management, but the tower was an Arkansas landmark.
Switching gears a little bit, to the 42 reception issue, over the summer, when KWBF-DT bumped their power up, I was receiving them, weak, but strong enough to lock onto, but by the end of the summer, their signal went away, and I haven't been able to get them since.
Lastly, since the issue of reception down south has been brought up, I will ask a question I almost posted yesterday morning for Keith and haley-SEA. My brother is moving back to Ashley County, between Hamburg and Crossett. He's also considering buying a new HDTV. (He's lived in Dallas for the last seven years, and he finally decides to get into HD when he moves back to the sticks. :) He's never really been all that bright.) Anyway, I'm getting from things you guys have posted, that he might be able to get KTVE-DT (NBC-HD) and KARD-DT (Fox-HD) down there. I know there won't be any way to completely predict witout getting down there with an antenna, but do you know what other HD might be receivable down there?

Lastly, since the issue of reception down south has been brought up, I will ask a question I almost posted yesterday morning for Keith and haley-SEA. My brother is moving back to Ashley County, between Hamburg and Crossett. He's also considering buying a new HDTV. (He's lived in Dallas for the last seven years, and he finally decides to get into HD when he moves back to the sticks. :) He's never really been all that bright.) Anyway, I'm getting from things you guys have posted, that he might be able to get KTVE-DT (NBC-HD) and KARD-DT (Fox-HD) down there. I know there won't be any way to completely predict witout getting down there with an antenna, but do you know what other HD might be receivable down there?

I know your brother would receive KTVE-HD with no problem, and most likely KETZ, the AETN-DT on RF CH 12, which is located on the same tower as KTVE. KARD-HD would probably be possible, if he had a good antenna setup. I would also go as far as to saying he might possibly get WABG-DT, which is the ABC affiliate for Greenville, MS... but it would be fringe reception... Their signal is predicted to reach Hamburg... I guess it all depends on his location. Haley knows more about WABG than I do, so he can probably chime in and give some advice.

KTVE-HD could probably be receivable with rabbit ears from that distance... I live 28 miles from the tower, and get a signal in the low 70s when I connect a rabbit ears up.

I hope this helps! :)

Thanks, Keith. To be honest, I'm not even sure if he's gonna go the OTA route or not, but if he get's the tv he wants with a digital tuner, I figured I'd help him out with reception.

Lastly, since the issue of reception down south has been brought up, I will ask a question I almost posted yesterday morning for Keith and haley-SEA. My brother is moving back to Ashley County, between Hamburg and Crossett. He's also considering buying a new HDTV. (He's lived in Dallas for the last seven years, and he finally decides to get into HD when he moves back to the sticks. :) He's never really been all that bright.) Anyway, I'm getting from things you guys have posted, that he might be able to get KTVE-DT (NBC-HD) and KARD-DT (Fox-HD) down there.

This is what he'll probably get: YMMV on antenna, height, etc.

ABC --WABG-DT 32 from Greenwood MS (transmitter @ inverness MS) rotor needed, on the fringe.

NBC--KTVE-DT 27 he is in the back yard of the transmitter almost. Easy

CBS--KNOE-DT 7. Monroe Going to be tough even with katv analog offline

FOX--KARD-DT 36 Monroe. On the fringe like WABG, but will be a bit easier

PBS--KETZ-DT 12 Antenna pattern favors him. Still easy

CW--SD via KNOE-DT 8-2

MNTV--analog via KEJB 43 (flash cutting in 2/2009). Hardly worth mentioning, although I get the analog signal here 24/7

KAQY-DT the Monroe ABC is minmal power and on a non-core channel (57). Not sure of their final plans.

arxaw, I doubt very seriously that directv will grant us a waiver for the NY feed for ABC. They managed to get the channel back on through the satellite, so that probably killed any chances at all for that happening for us.

RockyF, why no torrents or downloads for you? There is nothing wrong with it if its only for a limited time to substitute for the loss of local content I would think. Plus, the chances of you getting caught doing it are very very slim.

Thanks haley-SEA.

steveken, it's really just a convienence thing. We have got a couple of Lost episodes in the past on iTunes, but the wife and I just prefer to watch tv on the tv and not the computer. Our Dish DVR is has a dual output, so we can watch it in the living room or the bedroom, and on the small bedroom tv, even SD stuff looks fine.

Btw, anyone else that does the clearQAM off comcast, looks like they changed some channel assignments. THV2 is now 2-1. PBS HD is now 80-3 with actual guide data if your tv supports it, 38-1 and 38-2 are now actually those assignments. I don't get the music channels anymore, but who cares. There are a few other changes, but those are the biggest ones.
Interesting. I wonder why the TV sees QAM one way and the computer another. My TV saw things the way yours did previously (I don't have the cable hooked directly to the TV anymore), but the computer saw them elsewhere. I would guess my TV would show the changes yours did, yet my computer channel mappings are the same. It's very strange.

When you say PBS-HD guide, do you mean just for the current program?

ORPhD, it doesn't really show anything useful. It just calls the channel PBS1DTV and when I hit my guide button, it just says PBS HD Program and no other details at all for it.

RockyF, I am not sure if you realize it or not, but it is VERY easy to connect a computer to your TV these days. Especially if you have a newer TV with HDMI, DVI, or regular VGA connections. It is nothing at all to connect your computer to your TV to watch something you downloaded. Its also a hell of a lot cheaper than iTunes. I just don't believe in paying for TV shows that you get for free (well, aside from your cable or sat bill) from the networks themselves. If I miss shows, or the OTA or sat is messed up when it tries to record, I just download it from the Internet and watch it on my TV anyway. I have 3 computers hooked up to TV's in one way or another. If you are at all interested in hooking your computer to your TV, I can surely help. I promise its real easy and not much of a hassle at all.

Thanks, Keith. To be honest, I'm not even sure if he's gonna go the OTA route or not, but if he get's the tv he wants with a digital tuner, I figured I'd help him out with reception.

No problem, Rocky. Glad I could help, even if it was a little. I think OTA and satellite would be the only option from Ashley County...I don't believe the Crossett cable system, nor the Hamburg system have an HD lineup :(

RockyF, I am not sure if you realize it or not, but it is VERY easy to connect a computer to your TV these days. Especially if you have a newer TV with HDMI, DVI, or regular VGA connections. It is nothing at all to connect your computer to your TV to watch something you downloaded. Its also a hell of a lot cheaper than iTunes. I just don't believe in paying for TV shows that you get for free (well, aside from your cable or sat bill) from the networks themselves. If I miss shows, or the OTA or sat is messed up when it tries to record, I just download it from the Internet and watch it on my TV anyway. I have 3 computers hooked up to TV's in one way or another. If you are at all interested in hooking your computer to your TV, I can surely help. I promise its real easy and not much of a hassle at all.

Nothing but composite, S-Video, and component inputs on my tv, and I actually agree with you about not paying for free tv. We've just done the iTunes thing a few time in the past. If somehow a recording gets past me, I generally know how to get my hands on it online, it's just not my preferred way of watching. Thanks for the offer of help though.

Is there a list somewhere that shows all the OTA stations generally available in central Arkansas? Including the changes caused by the fall of the tower.

Haley... You are completely correct and I was in error when I told Keith 2 Mw was the EIRP of KTVE.. KTVE, believe it or not is accually around 800 Kw EIRP, and KARD is the Max allowed by the FCC which is 1 Mw EIRP.

Cheers

Joe

Is there a list somewhere that shows all the OTA stations generally available in central Arkansas? Including the changes caused by the fall of the tower.There's this list (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=&call=&arn=&city=little+rock&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9), from the FCC. Just remove
KETS 5 analog
KATV 7 analog
KATV-DT 22 digital

(KETS-DT 5 digital was not on the tower that fell.)

Here's another list from TVFool, for the 72201 zip:
http://www.tvfool.com/modeling/tmp/e0c9c44772/Radar-All.png
Just because a station appears on this list doesn't mean you'll be able to receive it, or that they're even currently on the air.

ch 4 - Analog - NBC
ch 5 - Digital - PBS maps 2-x
ch 9 - Analog - Low Power dntown
ch11-Analog - CBS
ch12-Digital - CBS maps 11-x
ch16-Analog - Fox
ch20-Analog - RTN
ch24-Digital - VTN maps 25-1
ch25-Analog - VTN
ch26-Analog - VTN Hot Springs
ch28-Analog - Low Power
ch30-Digital - Fox maps 16-1
ch32-Digital - NBC maps 4-1
ch36-Analog - Daystar I think
ch38-Analog - UPN Redfield
ch39-Digital - UPN maps 38-x
ch42-Analog- MYnet
ch44-Digital- MYnet,RTN,ABC maps 42-x
ch58-Analog-Univision

I redid my antenna setup today in NLR. Bought a VHF-LO/HIGH combiner, removed the driven element (bow tie) from my Theives 17db yagi and mounted it on the pole under my Quantum (U/V) yagi. fed the yagi to the low input side and pointed yagi at redfield. Fed high side from bow tie pointed 10 degrees south of the diection to Shinall Mt.

Works great... PBS Digital is 75 percent, CBS is 95, Fox is 100, NBC is 100, VTN is 85, Equity is 75, UPN is 65 (off at an angle). Finally don't have to turn the rotor.

I called D* and asked them if they could turn on the HD ABC feed for me. They said they still had to put a waiver through to KATV and that there was no way around it. I don't see how they can possibly deny my request given the fact that they have no way to offer it to us right now and probably not the foreseeable future. Apparently the waiver request is at the station right now, so all I have to do is call up and let them know I asked for it and ask them to fast track it through the system.

You know something else, D* still has no idea that the tower fell. KATV never notified them that they lost the tower. This is something that is usually done within hours of it happening. I wish I understood why they would just not do something like that. D* has to know that the tower came down in order to fix the SD 7. Maybe they just told them they were having technical difficulties or something.

So, when I call tomorrow, I will tell them #1) to tell D* that the tower fell, and #2) that I need them to approve my waiver even if it is just temporarily. I think its going to take them at least 6 months to get the insurance check in and to get a new tower to start going up. I suppose its possible that they might be able to get the HD OTA going again by putting the transmitter up on Shinall somewhere....who knows.

I redid my antenna setup today in NLR. Bought a VHF-LO/HIGH combiner, removed the driven element (bow tie) from my Theives 17db yagi and mounted it on the pole under my Quantum (U/V) yagi. fed the yagi to the low input side and pointed yagi at redfield. Fed high side from bow tie pointed 10 degrees south of the diection to Shinall Mt.

Works great... PBS Digital is 75 percent, CBS is 95, Fox is 100, NBC is 100, VTN is 85, Equity is 75, UPN is 65 (off at an angle). Finally don't have to turn the rotor.Dave,
Got a picture of it?

Any time table on a "decent" KATV feed. Right now it's horrible watching the game. I know the tower feel but how much of that has to do with transmitting clearly to the DBS and Cable companies? Was the transmitter also damaged?

but of course, it is a Razorback game so the signal is out. Guess the folks at KATV are taking a sunday afternoon nap! UGH!!!!

but of course, it is a Razorback game so the signal is out. Guess the folks at KATV are taking a sunday afternoon nap! UGH!!!!

You can get it on yahoo sports but I'm not paying to get it.

I have pictures. With a PDA no way to post em. Sent you a PM. You can post em for me if you can give me a way to send em to you from my cell.

Steveken...how can Directv not know? Who switched out their feed from OTA on 22-1 to 42-3? I know its out at Clear Channel, but surely someone there had to be in contact with Directv????

Razorback game on KATV currently on: Directv SD ch 7 and OTA digital 42-3.

Nothing but composite, S-Video, and component inputs on my tv, and I actually agree with you about not paying for free tv. We've just done the iTunes thing a few time in the past. If somehow a recording gets past me, I generally know how to get my hands on it online, it's just not my preferred way of watching. Thanks for the offer of help though.
It may still be possible to use your computer with the TV, depending on the video card.
1. Many computers have an Svideo jack. You may wish to check yours.
2. Some video cards support VGA breakout to component. Your video card or computer may have come with an adapter, or you could get one like this (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10235&cs_id=1023503&p_id=2170&seq=1&format=2).

Might be worth looking into if it's something that would be of interest.

The PB City Council will discuss the lack of HD programming and other cable issues in a special comittee meeting. Article in today's Pine Bluff Commercial (http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2008/01/13/news/news3.txt).

I like the way Hussman claims he is negotiating with this HD channel and that HD channel, etc... No mention of the fact they probably don't have the bandwidth to add any more HD channels, or they would have FOX by now.

Dave, remember this is the same guy who's newspaper (AD-G) charges for access to its online edition.

Pretty sad when Fox (KLRT) and The CW (KASN which is licensed to PB) station isn't HD on a local cable co.

Dave, remember this is the same guy who's newspaper (AD-G) charges for access to its online edition...Which is so stoopid, considering the NWA edition of the D-G is available online free with no registration:
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/

It's got most of the D-G's state news on it.

The PB City Council will discuss the lack of HD programming and other cable issues in a special comittee meeting. Article in today's Pine Bluff Commercial (http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2008/01/13/news/news3.txt).There is still no HD programming at all up here on Coxcable Eureka Springs. Of course if you're on a hill, you can get tons of OTA from two markets. And downtown, every address qualifies for HD DNS from DirecTV :)

...Steveken...how can Directv not know? Who switched out their feed from OTA on 22-1 to 42-3? I know its out at Clear Channel, but surely someone there had to be in contact with Directv????Jeez, it sure looks bad on D*. That's absolutely the worst picture quality I've ever seen on DirecTV. I guess letting equity retransmit the abc signal has a lot to do with it!

Just guessing but KATV is probably sending the signal to KWBF on their STL. It should be much better than that. It almost LOOKS like its coming off a comcast box, but haven't seen any Comcast ad inserts.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2195/2190391849_94f7d53c7e_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2229/2190392925_b7db78a8da_o.jpg

I am guessing they don't know because KATV didn't contact them at all about anything. They probably just jerry-rigged the setup from KWBF-DT3 into the normal uplink setup at the source to D*.

And 22-1 has nothing to do with it anymore as it does not exist anymore. Only the direct feed of 7 into Comcasts load-in point exists currently and thats only because KATV had it run to there to get the feed of their news to Comcast so they could record it and put it On Demand for Comcast customers.

I honestly don't know where the signal that KWBF-DT3 gets and thus gets sent to D* is coming from. Maybe from something off KATV's building to the KWBF tower LOS.

Who wants to bet that when I call KATV tomorrow they tell me the will not approve my waiver request even though the HD portion is toast? And, who wants to bet that no amount of arguing on my point about how they can't deny me HD DNS because there is no OTA HD signal at all anymore will do a damn bit of good?

I called D* and asked them if they could turn on the HD ABC feed for me. They said they still had to put a waiver through to KATV and that there was no way around it. I don't see how they can possibly deny my request given the fact that they have no way to offer it to us right now and probably not the foreseeable future. Apparently the waiver request is at the station right now, so all I have to do is call up and let them know I asked for it and ask them to fast track it through the system.

You know something else, D* still has no idea that the tower fell. KATV never notified them that they lost the tower. This is something that is usually done within hours of it happening. I wish I understood why they would just not do something like that. D* has to know that the tower came down in order to fix the SD 7. Maybe they just told them they were having technical difficulties or something.

So, when I call tomorrow, I will tell them #1) to tell D* that the tower fell, and #2) that I need them to approve my waiver even if it is just temporarily. I think its going to take them at least 6 months to get the insurance check in and to get a new tower to start going up. I suppose its possible that they might be able to get the HD OTA going again by putting the transmitter up on Shinall somewhere....who knows.

I can guarantee you DirecTV is aware of the KATV tower situation. The person you spoke to on the phone may not have been aware, but the NOC is aware.

E

I redid my antenna setup today in NLR. Bought a VHF-LO/HIGH combiner, removed the driven element (bow tie) from my Theives 17db yagi and mounted it on the pole under my Quantum (U/V) yagi. fed the yagi to the low input side and pointed yagi at redfield. Fed high side from bow tie pointed 10 degrees south of the diection to Shinall Mt.

Works great... PBS Digital is 75 percent, CBS is 95, Fox is 100, NBC is 100, VTN is 85, Equity is 75, UPN is 65 (off at an angle). Finally don't have to turn the rotor.
Ok, now that is rocket science:) Is this something I could have done in my attic, would it even applicable to me? Dave, thanks for the list of stations.

Yes, you can buy a 422? (the two bay version) and leave the reflector off, and mount it in your attic. You will still need a channel 5 yagi or a vhf standalone antenna and a lo/high combiner to get PBS. If you don't care about PBS, you should be ok in the attic if you just want digitals. If you want the analogs also, you'll need to go outside.

I can guarantee you DirecTV is aware of the KATV tower situation. The person you spoke to on the phone may not have been aware, but the NOC is aware.

E

When people from two different departments (one being the DNS Qualification department) say they are looking through the broadcasts that contain events such as this and don't see anything mentioned about it? The screens they looked at list every single thing that happens that they need to know about. For instance, the told me that there was a time that towers in the Philippines got knocked down due to bad weather (I think they said typhons) and within a couple of hours knew about it. If something as insignificant to many people as that was and they knew about it, a broadcast would have been up on their system by now if they were notified. KATV did NOT notify them of this problem and simply rigged something in place to work.

I love the new setup, Dave..... one morning, see if you can actually get a signal from KTVE-HD. The signal is suppose to reach almost to Sheridan and Pine Bluff with Grade B... so you should be able to get it at night sometimes.

Happy DXing with your new setup :)

Errett, is Allen F over at KATV engineering now?

Problem is Keith, for DX from the south, I just blocked 75 % of my antenna with the filter. Its low band only now. I doubt a westward facing bow tie is gonna pick up much DX.
I'm also 70' lower than the ridge to my south, even tho I'm on top of a hill. I used to get Jackson and Greenwood Ms every morning from the flat eastern part of town 250' lower than I am now :).
Only DX I've ever gotten here is Memphis once, Longview/Tyler once, and Shreveport a few times.
I really miss being in a good DX spot. I considered a 70' tower, but just can't justify the expense for a hobby.

Errett, is Allen F over at KATV engineering now?

Yes

Problem is Keith, for DX from the south, I just blocked 75 % of my antenna with the filter. Its low band only now. I doubt a westward facing bow tie is gonna pick up much DX.
I'm also 70' lower than the ridge to my south, even tho I'm on top of a hill. I used to get Jackson and Greenwood Ms every morning from the flat eastern part of town 250' lower than I am now :).
Only DX I've ever gotten here is Memphis once, Longview/Tyler once, and Shreveport a few times.
I really miss being in a good DX spot. I considered a 70' tower, but just can't justify the expense for a hobby.


Well that's a shame.... but I can understand the concern about cost. At least you can get all the locals without a problem. One day, perhaps I'll have a 70' tower, but, like you, I can't justify all the money for DXing. Oh hoe nice it would be to win the lottery :rolleyes:

Well, if Allen is over there now, I can be sure it will get done, and done right. My respect level just went way up for KATV. He is a hell of a digital engineer.

Yes, you can buy a 422? (the two bay version) and leave the reflector off, and mount it in your attic. You will still need a channel 5 yagi or a vhf standalone antenna and a lo/high combiner to get PBS. If you don't care about PBS, you should be ok in the attic if you just want digitals. If you want the analogs also, you'll need to go outside.I can get the locals I want from DTV, except for HD. I do want PBS HD, are you saying I won't be able to get that in my attic?

James Tidwell is Director of Engineering at KATV.

All I could do is leave a message with them letting them know that I understand that they must be very busy right now and all and that I figure it will take quite a long time to fix the problem. I said that since they are unable to provide HD OTA currently and for the foreseeable future, I requested a DNS waiver from DirecTV and that as soon as they are back up again I would discontinue my HD waiver service from them and go back to KATV for HD content. I didn't leave my phone number, just my name, as I figured that all he really needed was my name to be able to spot the waiver request and do whatever he needed to do to grant it. I just hope he does it soon. The wife is already missing some HD stuff from ABC. :)

Oh, and at the end of the message I told him how DirecTV told me that they couldn't find anything in all of the information about TV stations what had happened to their tower and how DirecTV told me that I should probably call KATV up and ask them to report it to them. Man, I really wish DirecTV had some kind of contingency plan in place for situations like this where we wouldn't have to ask for a waiver to get out of receiving a non-existent signal from a station. I mean, if the tower fell, and its going to take at least 6 months to get a new one back up, then there should be a rule in place saying that if the station is no longer broadcasting for an extended amount of time, you can get a waiver granted immediately. Oh well.

I am guessing they don't know because KATV didn't contact them at all about anything. They probably just jerry-rigged the setup from KWBF-DT3 into the normal uplink setup at the source to D*.

And 22-1 has nothing to do with it anymore as it does not exist anymore. Only the direct feed of 7 into Comcasts load-in point exists currently and thats only because KATV had it run to there to get the feed of their news to Comcast so they could record it and put it On Demand for Comcast customers.

I honestly don't know where the signal that KWBF-DT3 gets and thus gets sent to D* is coming from. Maybe from something off KATV's building to the KWBF tower LOS.

Who wants to bet that when I call KATV tomorrow they tell me the will not approve my waiver request even though the HD portion is toast? And, who wants to bet that no amount of arguing on my point about how they can't deny me HD DNS because there is no OTA HD signal at all anymore will do a damn bit of good?

KATV should approve your HD DNS without any questions. They approved my waiver (1/06) when they were running low power. They were the only station in LR to approve my requests.

KATV should approve your HD DNS without any questions. They approved my waiver (1/06) when they were running low power. They were the only station in LR to approve my requests.

Well, should and will are two different things. I am VERY cynical when it comes with any local TV station anymore and am not counting on it.

I can understand their approving your request since you are in McRae. That is a lot further away from their tower than I am. I am a Grade A status on every network they carry on the satellite. So, depending on what the head engineer has in mind for the future and when he has time to approve me, I may or may not get the waiver granted.

I just got off the phone with D*, they would NOT put in a DNS waiver request for me. He was not a typical front line CSR and he seemed knowledgeable about the situation with the tower and DNS in general. His point of view is that by law, since we still have access to a signal (albiet, crappy) he can't put in a waiver request.

I will be interested to see if others get requests approved.

Any time you call D* and do not get an answer you like, hang up and call back immediately. You will get a different person and most likely get what you want.

Since they do not offer us ANY HD locals here yet, they can not tell you that they will NOT put in a waiver for you. That is just the way it works. Call back and ask to talk tot he DNS Qualification department. I know it exists because I spoke to them yesterday.

Second try worked. Waiver request entered for ABC-HD.

They tell you to call KATV up and let them know you applied for it? Thats what they told to me. James Tidwell is the Chief Engineer and is probably way way way too busy to bother with them today or anytime soon.

No, they did not tell me to call KATV.

I forgot to ask when I was on the phone with D*. When (and if) KATV grants the waiver, how will I be notified?

No, they did not tell me to call KATV.

I forgot to ask when I was on the phone with D*. When (and if) KATV grants the waiver, how will I be notified?


I received a postcard from D*, however, just keep checking the ABC East coast HD station.

When we first got D*(2001), we received waivers from both KATV & KLRT and got both east & west coast feeds.

When we upgraded to HD in 2006, we could only got a waiver from KATV and all we were able to get in HD is the east coast feed due to changes in the laws (according to D*).

So now we have Fox (East & West) ABC (East & West) and ABC HD (East)

Good luck, it was hurting my eyes trying to watch the Razorback game on Sunday. Reminded me of watching Channel 4 when I was a kid. :D

I received a postcard from D*, however, just keep checking the ABC East coast HD station.

Good luck, it was hurting my eyes trying to watch the Razorback game on Sunday. Reminded me of watching Channel 4 when I was a kid. :D

Thanks, I was hoping it would be that easy...didn't want to have to call D* again to "turn on" the channel.

I have to agree, channel 7's picture is absolutely atrocious right now. Does anyone else see it as having the white levels way way too high??

I have to agree, channel 7's picture is absolutely atrocious right now. Does anyone else see it as having the white levels way way too high??

Yep, that's what I'm seeing on both E* and Charter. Looks better on Comcast, and I haven't been able to get 42.3 in a while, so I haven't looked at it there.

Comparing 42-3 to D* 7. It has to be something at the load-in point (not sure the correct term). It is definitely not a problem on the 42-3 feed. Its like the levels are ramped up on the satellite version.

AETN decides to resume analog broadcasting on channel 2 (KETS). (http://www.aetn.org/pressroom/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=474&Itemid=2)

I doubt you could even fit the antenna for PBS HD in your attic. The antennas for low band VHF are very large... and you need a very large one, since they are only transmitting about 2KW, while most others on low band are at least 50KW. UHF HD would be no problem in the attic. My antenna is outside, on the roof, and one of the larger Channel Masters, and I only get 70 % plus or minus from PBS. Being on low band means you need a very low bit rate error (or on the meter, an above average or greater than 60 signal) to keep car ignitions, light switches at your neighbors, and lightning, from trashing the data flow causing picture freezes, pixelation, and audio dropouts.
If you want PBS HD right now, plan on spending about $70 for the antenna, and mounting it at least 30' above ground outside in Maumelle.

That's funny Haley...I can't imagine they are spending taxpayers money to put analog back up for a year. The funniest part is suggesting people tune to their digital transmission. Well, people would if they would turn up the power a little. So instead of spending money to power up the digital, they are going to buy a channel 2 antenna and transmitter for a year? Just doesn't make sense.