But not on the local channels information on their website.

But not on the local channels information on their website.

I find it interesting they show an analog non-hd station for MyTV for Eureka Springs yet the only actual HD digital in the state KWBF, is still being sent in SD on 119w sat... Go figure.

I find it interesting they show an analog non-hd station for MyTV for Eureka Springs yet the only actual HD digital in the state KWBF, is still being sent in SD on 119w sat... Go figure.
Huh? I have read it 4 times and I don't follow. Maybe I am being dense.....well, no maybe to it, I am dense :)

I noticed in my H20 I can no longer access and change my primary and secondary zips:confused:
Have the ability to change them here on mine. Hope I didn't just screw up 7-1. :)

Have the ability to change them here on mine. Hope I didn't just screw up 7-1. :)

I found it, I forgot it was in the antenna setup and not the satellite setup, hoping my secondary address will allow me to have the FS stations tomorrow, hoping for a "glitch" in the system

I found it, I forgot it was in the antenna setup and not the satellite setup, hoping my secondary address will allow me to have the FS stations tomorrow, hoping for a "glitch" in the systemLocals via D* are based on the county listed in your account information.

The ZIPs in the antenna setup menu just tell the box what OTA locals to fetch for your guide.

I find it interesting they show an analog non-hd station for MyTV for Eureka Springs yet the only actual HD digital in the state KWBF, is still being sent in SD on 119w sat... Go figure.I recently contacted Equity about the flash cut date for KPBI 34 in Eureka. They said "soon"... Maybe Equity's got a direct link setup for KPBI, or it could be a mistake.

Regardless, all the FSM/NWA stations will likely begin simulcast on D* in MPEG4 tomorrow. They are going to change out every account with locals up here to MPEG4 receivers and a single slimline dish, replacing the two-dish setup currently used in NWA & Springfield. You can no longer activate an MPEG2 receiver on a new account any more, in Ft Smith/Fay or Springfield markets, and all new sat dishes are slimline.

You can no longer activate an MPEG2 receiver on a new account any more, in Ft Smith/Fay or Springfield markets, and all new sat dishes are slimline.


I noticed on solidsignal, they have the new 3 satellite slimline Single Wire Multiswitch dish selling for $149. I think if I was going to install a new house, or upgrade dishes from two 18" dishes, I would spring for the SWM version, and install it myself. It would come in real handy to be able to use the second coax line for OTA instead of DTV. Right now, I have two line to the DVR in the living room, and one line each bedroom, so the DVR in the bedroom only has one line to it. I suppose I could install a SWM8 multiswitch on my current setup, but have heard of problems with the power inserter it uses. Would be great for those people who cant see 110 or 119 sats, since for most of the state, the only two channels you would lose by going with the 3 lnb slimline would be KWBF and KETS. I suspect KETS will eventually be on the HD bird.

I noticed on solidsignal, they have the new 3 satellite slimline Single Wire Multiswitch dish selling for $149...They also sell just the slimline LNB with built in multiswitch for a lot less. It's a drop in replacement for the 5LNB. The power inserter is extra.

Would be great for those people who cant see 110 or 119 sats, since for most of the state, the only two channels you would lose by going with the 3 lnb slimline would be KWBF and KETS. I suspect KETS will eventually be on the HD bird.AETN is on the 72.5° sat for NWA, but is being added to 99° - possibly tomorrow.

They also sell just the slimline LNB with built in multiswitch for a lot less. It's a drop in replacement for the 5LNB. The power inserter is extra.


Someone told me it wouldn't fit on the AT9 that I have because it isn't keyed the same... If it would fit, I would order one.

Huh? I have read it 4 times and I don't follow. Maybe I am being dense.....well, no maybe to it, I am dense :)

He said MyNetworkTV was launching in HD on the Ft Smith lil's, using the station in Eureka Springs, which hasnt even switched over to digital yet, and I was saying it was strange they would put a low power MyNetworkTV station up on HD lil there, where they havent even put the actual mothership station KWBF which is in digital and does show some HD up on HD lil for the Little Rock market.

I was also looking at the HD Lil list, and it doesnt appear anyone short of a couple cities, get PBS in HD. Makes a person wonder how the nations biggest HD provider can just ignore one of the nations oldest and popular networks for so long. Thread after thread have been posted wondering where it is, why we arent getting it, and DirecTv just ignores the question, and the local PBS station doesnt seem to care at all. Strange. If I was running a station, and spending time and effort to put a HD signal on the air, I sure would be on the phone with DirecTv every day wondering why they arent carrying my station. I know KETS can be picked up at the receive site, as I installed a 5 element channel 5 antenna for someone about a 1/2 mile away, who gets 100% signal.

Someone told me it wouldn't fit on the AT9 that I have because it isn't keyed the same... If it would fit, I would order one.It only fits slimlines.


He said MyNetworkTV was launching in HD on the Ft Smith lil's, using the station in Eureka Springs, which hasnt even switched over to digital yet, and I was saying it was strange they would put a low power MyNetworkTV station up on HD lil thereActually, KPBI in Eureka is a full power 1200kW analog station. Equity is going to reuse the analog xmtr for DT flash cut.

EDIT: Update from the Ft Smith thread:[Ft Smith] HD Locals are up on DirecTV.

KHBS
KFSM
KNWA
KFTA
KPBI

:)

He said MyNetworkTV was launching in HD on the Ft Smith lil's, using the station in Eureka Springs, which hasnt even switched over to digital yet, and I was saying it was strange they would put a low power MyNetworkTV station up on HD lil there, where they havent even put the actual mothership station KWBF which is in digital and does show some HD up on HD lil for the Little Rock market.

I was also looking at the HD Lil list, and it doesnt appear anyone short of a couple cities, get PBS in HD. Makes a person wonder how the nations biggest HD provider can just ignore one of the nations oldest and popular networks for so long. Thread after thread have been posted wondering where it is, why we arent getting it, and DirecTv just ignores the question, and the local PBS station doesnt seem to care at all. Strange. If I was running a station, and spending time and effort to put a HD signal on the air, I sure would be on the phone with DirecTv every day wondering why they arent carrying my station. I know KETS can be picked up at the receive site, as I installed a 5 element channel 5 antenna for someone about a 1/2 mile away, who gets 100% signal.
Ahh, ok, sorry about that. :)

So, today is install day for U-Verse. Hope I have as good an experience as all the other posts I have read and as bpeacock22 had. Only part not looking forward to is moving furniture around and the dread of hoping he uses Cat-5 like I want everywhere. :)

So far so good I guess. He told me that he would have to run a Cat-5 in from the NID through the attic for some reason. Don't understand why he can't use the phone line for the residential gateway. Also, almost started trying to tell me he wouldn't be able to drop a connection into the master bedroom because I was only getting 3 TV's so that limited me to 3 drops, but I said "Ahh, but in the computer room I don't need a drop cause its right there!" :) Anyway, he should be back any time now from the VRAD.


EDIT: Hmm, 2854ft from the VRAD......1 HD 3 SD. Not looking good.

Well, I am fully installed on it. The HD looks okay for the most part, especially on my plasma tv. On my LCD it kinda looks a little off on some things, but nothing real bad.

The installer guy was real nice. Gave me a number to call and talk to the people about not getting my 2 HD and 2SD streams like I was promised. Am only getting 1HD and 3 SD as I mentioned before. The final total on my distance was a bit over 3000 for some reason. Dunno what the deal with that is cause there isn't 200ft of Cat-5e in the house. Anyway, Total Home streaming from the DVR is set to go live on the 11th, so thats a plus. That in itself may keep up so my son can watch Diego in his room when he wants and we don't have to.

Also said on the 11th they are rolling out 18Mbps max internet from the 10 they have now. No known pricing on it, though.

Hell, at least all my rooms are networked now. Even got a free gigabit 8-port netgear hub out of it and about 50 to 100 feet of Cat-5e and some ends. :)

We are between two fronts tonight...If anyone with OTA notices any ducting, please post here.

We are between two fronts tonight...If anyone with OTA notices any ducting, please post here.

KWBF-DT decoding on the E* STB (vip211) in the living room. Getting sniffs in here (Zenith STB) from distant ABC DT's KSPR and KTBS, but no decodes so far.

Oh, btw a bit off topic but two more analog stations in the US have gone silent as of today, the WTFDA listserv reports that WGBY 57 (http://www.wgby.org/digital/video.html) Springfield MA, and KUON 12 (http://www.mynptv.org/) Lincoln NE are no longer on the air on analog. KUON is flash cutting to DTV on ch12 in about 10-14 days, its a Nebraska Edu. TV/PBS affiliate.

The End Is Drawing Near for analog FP OTA...

Bring it on!

KTWN-LD (18) drifted in this morning and I've noticed some programming changes. With the shift to Standard Time, KTWN's time is only 30min behind.

18-1: Weather (radar, maps alternating--audio from KWCK 99.1)
18-2: AETN (assuming its a KEMV relay)
18-3: Color Bars
18-4: Color Bars

And if one lives say away from the range of that 3ABN translator in Little Rock and can detect KTVE-DT (27), the 10-2 subchannel which is normally stretchovision live radar is at present.....you guessed it, Color Bars!

Personally the modern color bars are boring (having remembered the final years of *real* test patterns). Of course it can be argued that modern "test patterns" are actually infomercials ;)

Hey, Dave, you know that Multi-Room DVR thing that DirecTV has been promising forever, but has yet to deliver? Well, they actually have it going on AT&T early (was supposed to be on Tuesday when it gets turned on, but its on mine today). It's pretty awesome being able to have my son watch his kids show from the DVR in the living room on his TV in his bedroom. :) If they can ever get that going on DirecTV, its going to be awesome (except the part of having to buy more DVR's for it to work and having to run Cat-5 everywhere that is). That feature alone adds LOADS of benefits for a lot of reasons.

Yea, its nice. Been using it with Sage for a while now, although a Directv solution would be nicer. Maybe tonight. So far the last two betas haven't had anything noticably new at all.

For anyone interested--probably no one geeky enough to visit an AV Science forum, but hey you may have friends--Fox 16 is "flipping the switch" on their digital broadcast for a few seconds during their newscast tomorrow night so people can test their setup. Obviously if you get snow, that's bad news.

For anyone interested--probably no one geeky enough to visit an AV Science forum, but hey you may have friends--Fox 16 is "flipping the switch" on their digital broadcast for a few seconds during their newscast tomorrow night so people can test their setup. Obviously if you get snow, that's bad news.

It ought to be cold enough... oh you mean that old analog tv stuff. I think I only have one tuner in my whole house capable of it (in my dvd recorder), which I never use :) Guess Ill miss the fun...Would be nice if there was major dx tho, might get to lock on to a distant 16 digital.

For anyone interested--probably no one geeky enough to visit an AV Science forum, but hey you may have friends--Fox 16 is "flipping the switch" on their digital broadcast for a few seconds during their newscast tomorrow night so people can test their setup. Obviously if you get snow, that's bad news.

HUH?

You mean KLRT's analog broadcast? Which newscast: 9pm or one of the early ones (5pm and 5:30pm)? Nothing mentioned on KLRT's website. Hopefully, its done only on the analog signal, otherwise its just as useless as KATV's latest sweeps gimmick.

(ps. many cable systems are still relaying the analog local signals at this time, and not 100 % converted over such as Star City)

KHBS & KHOG have been doing this on the 17th of each month for some time, now.

I wonder if KLRT will actually shut down the analog transmitter or just insert a "fake" snow video, like KHBS & KHOG have been doing.

...(ps. many cable systems are still relaying the analog local signals at this time, and not 100 % converted over such as Star City)Has D* finished their analog to digital conversion at the local receive facility on Col. Glenn?

This schedule shows a December date:
http://mstv.org/docs/satschedalpha.pdf

9pm hour tonight (Nov 10th) per their website.

9pm hour tonight (Nov 10th) per their website.

KARK just had a teaser on their 6pm newscast hinting they may do the same...

I flipped to the analog channel 16. It scrolled a message about contacting KLRT for answers on how to get your signal right for DTV. I could still hear the news man talking although the analog channel was scrolling the message. So, I'm assuming they did not actually turn analog off, if they had, there would be no message, no audio, it would just be snow. I think by scrolling the message they may have confused folks even more. Now if they would have just dropped it to snow, people would have gotten the message loud and clear. What scared me is that they also made a point about the difference in SDTV and HDTV and how stations were required to carry DTV but were NOT required to carry HDTV to the consumers. Now they are talking about how they will have more bandwidth, we will all have more channels such as sub channels. Oh no, this is bad news, 16.1 currently does not have a sub but it sounds like at least one, maybe more are coming. I dont mind having subs as long as the HD programming dont suffer from it. However, they were really stressing ....we have to carry dtv, we dont have to carry HD...yikes:eek:

Remember, though, that the Fox splicer allows for Fox stations to carry a subchannel with no detrimental impact on the HD. It is encoded by Fox in LA or wherever and then untouched until it gets to you. Local stations are not allowed to touch it.

If a subchannel makes sense on ANY station, it's the Fox station. Don't fear it. =)

- Trip

Remember, though, that the Fox splicer allows for Fox stations to carry a subchannel with no detrimental impact on the HD. It is encoded by Fox in LA or wherever and then untouched until it gets to you. Local stations are not allowed to touch it.

If a subchannel makes sense on ANY station, it's the Fox station. Don't fear it. =)

- Trip

Channel 16 probably cancelled the analog transmitter shutdown and went to the scroll after KARK channel 4 confused the hell out of everyone at 6pm when they did cut their analog transmitter off, and found out all the dish network subscribers as well as analog antenna users lost the signal, because apparently Dish network hasnt switched over yet. They had to run a retraction after the commercial break to tell all the Dish network subscribers they were working diligently with Dish network, and the signal would be converted before February, do not worry. :)

Also, if my math is right, Fox is running 720p, which should allow enough bandwidth for a 480i sub without degrading the HD signal. Now, a 1080i station is using almost all the bandwidth...and needs it for sports to prevent macroblocking. KATV, KASN, KLRT should be able to add a sub...their HD is already degraded by running 720p :)

Remember, though, that the Fox splicer allows for Fox stations to carry a subchannel with no detrimental impact on the HD. It is encoded by Fox in LA or wherever and then untouched until it gets to you. Local stations are not allowed to touch it.

If a subchannel makes sense on ANY station, it's the Fox station. Don't fear it. =)

- TripSo, how would a fox affiliate do a local weather subchannel? Or for that matter, 480i widescreen, if they wanted to?

So, how would a fox affiliate do a local weather subchannel? Or for that matter, 480i widescreen, if they wanted to?

When Fox encodes their HD, they cap it at about 15.5 Mbps. This reserves the remaining bandwidth for a subchannel. So a Fox station without a subchannel is effectively wasting that bandwidth, because it's reserved one way or another.

- Trip

Channel 16 probably cancelled the analog transmitter shutdown and went to the scroll after KARK channel 4 confused the hell out of everyone at 6pm when they did cut their analog transmitter off, and found out all the dish network subscribers as well as analog antenna users lost the signal, because apparently Dish network hasnt switched over yet. They had to run a retraction after the commercial break to tell all the Dish network subscribers they were working diligently with Dish network, and the signal would be converted before February, do not worry. :)

Also, if my math is right, Fox is running 720p, which should allow enough bandwidth for a 480i sub without degrading the HD signal. Now, a 1080i station is using almost all the bandwidth...and needs it for sports to prevent macroblocking. KATV, KASN, KLRT should be able to add a sub...their HD is already degraded by running 720p :)
Oh that is just rich!!!

Channel 16 probably cancelled the analog transmitter shutdown and went to the scroll after KARK channel 4 confused the hell out of everyone at 6pm when they did cut their analog transmitter off, and found out all the dish network subscribers as well as analog antenna users lost the signal, because apparently Dish network hasnt switched over yet. LOL

Dish needs to get with the program.
KARK needs to do their homework.
:)

I viewed all three sources available I get KLRT.

KLRT analog --showed the warning video (audio from newscast intact)
KLRT digital --continued as normal
KLRT via E* --same as KLRT digital. Apparently, KLRT is feeding fiber to E* or E* is taking the DTV OTA.

I wasn't home to view KARK's test, so cannot comment directly.

Is E*'s receive site at Clear Channel also?

Thats good to hear about the fox subchannel NOT taking bandwidth away from the HD shows. Also, very funny what happened to KARK, I bet they were shocked to find out KARK via Dish went off the air when they'd already explained how if you had Dish you did not have to worry.....LOL:D

Is E*'s receive site at Clear Channel also?

I'm not sure. However, E*'s locals in LR are a mix-mash of analog and DTV from observing on air PQ. KKYK (-CA 20) is from analog and not KWBF-DT 42-2 (no pixelization), KATV is either from the KWBF-DT 7-1 (aka 42-3) feed or the current FTA feed via Equity, KETS feed is from DTV (the cropped "HachDee" feed is then center cut!). Not sure about KTHV, KARK, KASN, or KVTN. KKAP was dropped about a year or so ago from the "locals".

I rarely watch the locals via E* except as a backup for ABC programming (just a handful of shows) when KWBF-DT 7-1, KSPR-DT, and KTBS-DT won't lock, or distant thunderstorms reek havoc with KETS-DT's OTA feed.

Oh no, not the 1080i v. 720p debate again ;)

CBS, NBC, and PBS should just dump 1080i and go 720p for OTA broadcast. The later two rarely have affiliates and O&O's that don't multicast. I can think of only one PBS station (KERA Dallas) that doesn't multicast.

When Fox encodes their HD, they cap it at about 15.5 Mbps. This reserves the remaining bandwidth for a subchannel. So a Fox station without a subchannel is effectively wasting that bandwidth, because it's reserved one way or another.Ah. Because FOX-HD is passed from the network to the viewer unaltered @ 15.5 Mbps, it leaves the station with 3-4 Mbps to play with. But no more, because they can't muck w/ the FOX-HD signal, which has reserved space. Very good move on FOX's part to protect their picture quality.

Trip, thanks for the explanation.

I have been lurking here but never posted... first post.

I just noticed that Dish Network uplinked several LR locals for testing... some in HD, others in MPEG4 SD.
---------------------------------

ADD 5190 KATV{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 HD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP 7

ADD 5191 KTHV{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 HD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP 11

ADD 9352 KARK{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 SD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP 4

ADD 9353 KLRT{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 SD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP 16

ADD 9355 KASN{PINE BLUFF, AR} MPEG4 SD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP 38

If you want to check your signal strength for locals on D*,
These locals are currently on 99s, transponder 15:
KETS-DT 2
KARK-DT 4
KATV-DT 7
KTHV-DT 11
KLRT-DT 16

Other channels are on 99s, transponder 24.

Sat & transponders subject to change.

Are you able to view these test channels in HD?

Are you able to view these test channels in HD?


Not quite yet. They are currently hidden. The rumored go-live date is November 19, but that is just a rumor.

wow, thanks for the quick response

this may not be news to anyone, but the support guy online at dishnetwork.com said that Little Rock HD locals WILL be up before the end of the year

this may not be news to anyone, but the support guy online at dishnetwork.com said that Little Rock HD locals WILL be up before the end of the year

These predictions are taken with a grain of salt.

That said HD Locals will help those E* customers in the dark recesses of the LR DMA (Monticello, Dumas, Warren) that cannot get reliable OTA DTV from Central Arkansas or wish to not have to turn their antennas to use HD DVR's.

I'm not holding my breath though for a pre 2009 launch.

KARK-DT (4=32) signal quality is way down here this morning. Usually is around 90% but is down to 60% (lower than KWBF-DT at 72%). What's up? I can barely hold onto the signal.

Edit: Back to normal when I checked at about 2:00p.

dmatch

These predictions are taken with a grain of salt.


Yep. That's why I hesitated even posting the uplink data. I am very concerned that only two networks were uplinked in HD (KTHV and KATV). KARK and KLRT were uplinked to 77w in SD... leading me to believe that E* hasn't yet reached a deal with NBC and Fox to carry their LR networks in HD.

For right now, DirecTV remains the best choice for those needed satellite locals in HD.

If you want to check your signal strength for locals on D*,
These locals are currently on 99s, transponder 15:
KETS-DT 2
KARK-DT 4
KATV-DT 7
KTHV-DT 11
KLRT-DT 16

Other channels are on 99s, transponder 24.

Sat & transponders subject to change.

KETS-DT is on Directv? Doesn't show up on my channel guide, just the old SD on 119.

KETS-DT is on Directv? Doesn't show up on my channel guide, just the old SD on 119.That's what's on the list that was emailed to me from someone who got it from the xpndr .pdf list on dbstalk. Maybe D* hasn't made the MPEG4 ch available yet. Or maybe it's just a reserved slot for when KETS-DT gets a real transmitter going on a usable channel for DT.

That's what's on the list that was emailed to me from someone who got it from the xpndr .pdf list on dbstalk. Maybe D* hasn't made the MPEG4 ch available yet. Or maybe it's just a reserved slot for when KETS-DT gets a real transmitter going on a usable channel for DT.

Guess that's possible. Directv is only carrying PBS HD in Alaska and Hawaii, as far as I know...I have no idea why just those two states.

Oh no, not the 1080i v. 720p debate again ;)

CBS, NBC, and PBS should just dump 1080i and go 720p for OTA broadcast. The later two rarely have affiliates and O&O's that don't multicast. I can think of only one PBS station (KERA Dallas) that doesn't multicast.

I used to agree with you until I bought a 1080p 46" monitor. Now, I can definantly tell the difference between the two. Fox sports looks fuzzy, grass on baseball and football fields lack detail. PBS-HD Nature and Nova, (1080i sat feed upconverted to 1080p) is the most stunning video I've ever seen. It looked just as good on KETS when they were running 1080i with the subchannels shut down. I wish the FCC had just mandated 1080i with no subchannels, and been done with it. Again the Govt had a chance to make everything right and screwed it up.

Guess that's possible. Directv is only carrying PBS HD in Alaska and Hawaii, as far as I know...I have no idea why just those two states.Remember, just because a station has a slot reserved on the MPEG4 sat doesn't mean it will be in HD. Long term, D* may be planning to move all LR locals off the 119.


... I can defiantly tell the difference between the two. Fox sports looks fuzzy, grass on baseball and football fields lack detail. PBS-HD Nature and Nova, (1080i sat feed upconverted to 1080p) is the most stunning video I've ever seen. Some of it has to do with the individual TV and how well it deals with rescaling different resolutions to its native resolution. Yours may not rescale 720p to 1080p as well as it does 1080i to 1080p, so some detail is lost. Or, it could be partially to do with how well the input source (e.g. D* box) and your TV display a particular resolution.

this may not be news to anyone, but the support guy online at dishnetwork.com said that Little Rock HD locals WILL be up before the end of the year

You'd figure they couldn't be far behind *D. Back when *E came out with TurboHD I was misled (albiet I should have researched more) to believe the locals were in HD. So when they weren't, I canceled within 30 minutes of the install being complete. But that to me discovering U-Verse was coming and I was one of the first in the area to get it. Very satisfied (after working out the PQ issues). And don't have to worry about weather outages.

It helps for someone like my dad, who has foolishly (in my opinion only) stuck with Dish for quite a while now, to know that the LIL's in HD are more than likely coming to Dish in the near future.

EDIT: Well, let me reword that, I don't guess it was foolish, maybe it is just my lack of perceived quality out of their programming as well as their customer service history. I just tend to look down on companies that tell people to go to hell essentially when they go to the company asking for a perk or two for being loyal to that brand. I got a taste of that medicine with Apple over the past 3 days. Now I am slightly bitter towards them as well. Oh well, live and learn. To each his own. I have my taste, you have none. And any other cliche you wanna throw in there. :)

Dish Network wanted me to sign for another 2 year contract just to upgrade my receivers to newer models. I told them to take a long walk down a short pier.

I was a longtime customer but they didn't care. Just wanted to lock me into another contract.

Dish Network wanted me to sign for another 2 year contract just to upgrade my receivers to newer models. I told them to take a long walk down a short pier.

I was a longtime customer but they didn't care. Just wanted to lock me into another contract.
Pretty much my point about how crappy they are to their customers. They really need to have a policy change or to be taught a lesson by all their customers somehow.

http://cfc.katv.com/external.cfm?p=tower2&h=0

A

http://cfc.katv.com/external.cfm?p=tower2&h=0

A
Ahh, much better than what I was able to get. I figured if I left the roadway, then I would be trespassing. :) I kinda figured those were tower sections I saw along the eastern guy path.

http://cfc.katv.com/external.cfm?p=tower2&h=0

A

Thanks for the update Allen. Things look like they are progressing, and the weather doesnt appear to be creating to much havoc yet. Ive been working so much, I barely noticed it was already half way through November, and you testing will be 4 to 6 weeks away :) Let us know when you start so we can watch our little signal meters. Im looking forward to trying out your vertical polarity with a discone antenna to compare it with he reception of the other stations, just for fun.

Any word on the fiber link to DirecTv, or are you just going to wait until the transmitter goes live?

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

Thanks for the pics Allen, good to hear that KATV should be broadcasting from the new tower in Jan. 2009.

On a side note, how fortunate are the LR stations to have Shinall Mt. to put their towers on? I'm assuming if it were not for the mountain, they'd have to mount these towers on top of buildings down town and probably could not achieve the same height and coverage areas.

Nice opening to East Mississippi, Alabama including WHDF-DT 14, and WFIQ-DT 22. Watched ABC programming (Life On Mars) earlier on KTBS-DT, and KSHV-DT 44 Shreveport was in when checked @ 8:50pm.

Update @ 11:06pm Most of the Memphis DTV's are also in at this hour, plus WBBJ-DT 43 in Jackson TN (between Memphis and Nashville).

Update @ 11:36pm: Nashville TN DTV's WTVF-DT 56, and WNAB-DT 23 in...both new logs

On a side note, how fortunate are the LR stations to have Shinall Mt. to put their towers on? I'm assuming if it were not for the mountain, they'd have to mount these towers on top of buildings down town...There are other hills in the area. Fort Roots for example.

http://cfc.katv.com/external.cfm?p=tower2&h=0

A

A little off the point, but all this time I've lived here, I never knew that place was spelled "Shinall". Guess I expected "Chenal" like the road. Funny...

A little off the point, but all this time I've lived here, I never knew that place was spelled "Shinall". Guess I expected "Chenal" like the road. Funny...

That's actually been brought up here on this thread before, my understanding is the real estate developers kept the pronunciation of the mountain, but changed the spelling to "Chenal" to make the area sound more upscale. I don't really even know what that means, but I guess it worked. :)

Ahh, much better than what I was able to get. I figured if I left the roadway, then I would be trespassing. :) I kinda figured those were tower sections I saw along the eastern guy path.

I drove over to west LR to look but I chickened out when I saw that sign. When they are done I'd love to go up top of the hill & take some good photos of the towers & the city view below.:cool:

When I was a kid, we used to take fluorescent tubes up on Shinall and watch 'em glow. All by themselves. Now, that can't be healthy, can it? :)

And yep, Shinall is the correct spelling of the mountain. The Deltic Timber folks probably didn't think that sounded snooty enough for their plastic sub division and changed it to Chenal.

Shinall.....Chenal.......who cares:confused:

KLRT-DT has been uncharacteristically weak (down to about 70% from 90-92) here lately. All of my other channels seem to be fine (KATV-DT is actually better). Any ideas on what might be happening?

It's probably Shinall from an old Indian name for the mountain and Chenal to go more along with the French theme of the area. Just a guess.

KLRT-DT has been uncharacteristically weak (down to about 70% from 90-92) here lately. All of my other channels seem to be fine (KATV-DT is actually better). Any ideas on what might be happening?

Maybe KATV's new tower is blocking the signal hahaha J/K. Im to close to tell, they all real 100% here.

KLRT-DT has been uncharacteristically weak (down to about 70% from 90-92) here lately. All of my other channels seem to be fine (KATV-DT is actually better). Any ideas on what might be happening?Maybe weather. Where are you located (how far from Shinall Mtn.)?

NASA TV is currently Live in HD with the launch of the space shuttle.
AMC6 4040 V 26665 4:2:0 Mpeg2... Enjoy if you have a big dish. If not, it should be on the cable networks. Launch scheduled for 6:55.

Maybe weather. Where are you located (how far from Shinall Mtn.)?


16 miles (Benton)... decent elevations. It got a bit better yesterday but not much. It doesn't seem to matter what the weather conditions are. I may need to get a second antenna.

What type of antenna are you using?
Is it indoor, attic or outdoor?
Using a preamp?
What DTV or set top tuner are you using?

What type of antenna are you using?
Is it indoor, attic or outdoor?
Using a preamp?
What DTV or set top tuner are you using?

Homemade antenna (used 2x4, screws, washers, coat hangers and balun). Hung facing Shinnal mountain outside on my chimney.

Using my Dish Network VIP 722 for tuner.

Does your TV have an OTA tuner? If so, have you tried using it instead of the 722? The 722 OTA tuner is not the best in the world...

I will give it a try. I really hope I can use my DVR at some point, though. I'd hate to be stuck watching everything live. :( With a toddler running around the house we don't even watch live football anymore. :D

If the audio/video is breaking up on the 722 but not when you use a different tuner, an antenna with more gain and directionality may help the 722's weak OTA reception.

Last night around 6:30 when I turned on KATV at 6:30 I had audio and a solid red screen with vertical stripes. The video and audio were normal on my OTA. I thought maybe the change in the uplink to DirecTV was underway but apparently not, back to the way it was before this morning.

Anyone else notice that?

Last night around 6:30 when I turned on KATV at 6:30 I had audio and a solid red screen with vertical stripes. The video and audio were normal on my OTA. I thought maybe the change in the uplink to DirecTV was underway but apparently not, back to the way it was before this morning.

Anyone else notice that?

Nope, I was watching the space shuttle coverage most of the night. Red is an unusual color though :)

CorpITguy: If you already have an antenna on the chimney, I would suggest you might consider building a 3 element yagi with pvc pipe, and use a folded dipole for the driven element, it should give you about 6 extra db over a single X bowtie (if thats what you built), although it wont be as wide, and you might lose a little on KTHV. Im assuming you built your own to save money, but if you can spare a few bucks, either a 7777 amp on your current homebrew, or one of the new VHF-HI/UHF yagis would probably help you immensely. The latter should pick up PBS when they move to ch 7 and CW off the back from Benton, everything else will be on Shinall Mt.
Heck, even one of those $30 metro area Radio Shack yagis with the 3 swept vhf and small UHF corner reflector yagi picks up everything including KTWN-low power from the roof (20') at work on the east side of North Little Rock.

Just some ideas...but if your TV picks up the stations ok with your current antenna, and the VIP wont, a preamp is probably what you need to boost the signal level at the receiver.

I saw the red screen on KATV as well last night. Didn't look on my U-Verse, but I did look at OTA and only saw it on DirecTV. I am thinking they were playing with the new uplink method just to see where they were and something didn't go quite right.

New member here in SW White County...

I noticed last night that KWBF's analog signal (42) went off the air sometime after 9pm and is still off this morning. Have they suffered a loss or have they decided to go all digital early? At first I thought they might be just be testing but after twelve hours I think not. E*'s SD feed shows the "Temporarily unavailable" slate, so E* has not completed transitioning their receive facality to all digital OTA.

I also noticed yesterday that there is no video on 42-2, only audio. Has anyone else seen this? Although the bit rate for 42-2 sucks right now, I prefer watching it for RTN shows over E* or the analog stations. I can't receive 49 analog, 20 is weak but reasonably watchable and E*'s feed has terrible ghosts. :(

My equipment:
RatShack VU-190 XR antenna, no rotor, pointed towards Shinall
RatShack High-gain amplifier 15-2507 (to be replaced)
Samsung LN37A550 flatscreen television
AT&T HomeZone 622HZ (modified Dish ViP622 w/2wire firmware)
Philips DVDR 3575H DVD/HDD Recorder w/ATSC tuner

As of 10:20, KWBF has corrected both issues...the analog station is back on the air and the video has returned to 42-2.

New member here in SW White County...

I noticed last night that KWBF's analog signal (42) went off the air sometime after 9pm and is still off this morning. Have they suffered a loss or have they decided to go all digital early? At first I thought they might be just be testing but after twelve hours I think not. E*'s SD feed shows the "Temporarily unavailable" slate, so E* has not completed transitioning their receive facality to all digital OTA.

I also noticed yesterday that there is no video on 42-2, only audio. Has anyone else seen this? Although the bit rate for 42-2 sucks right now, I prefer watching it for RTN shows over E* or the analog stations. I can't receive 49 analog, 20 is weak but reasonably watchable and E*'s feed has terrible ghosts. :(

My equipment:
RatShack VU-190 XR antenna, no rotor, pointed towards Shinall
RatShack High-gain amplifier 15-2507 (to be replaced)
Samsung LN37A550 flatscreen television
AT&T HomeZone 622HZ (modified Dish ViP622 w/2wire firmware)
Philips DVDR 3575H DVD/HDD Recorder w/ATSC tuner
It's hard to say whether they flash cut or not since its Equity we are talking about. They aren't the most stable in regards to a watchable signal though they do what they can. If there was something wrong with their transmitter, however, I would think 49 analog on DirecTV would be off too because I think they are the same company and same transmitter site. I know they are on the digital side, just don't know about the analog. With my DirecTV box and my two HD Tuners in my PC, I see that 42-1 is still up as is 42-2 and 7-1, but there is nothing on the screen. Its just solid black. I can see the pixelated black squares jumping around and its not saying "Searching for signal" or "No TV signal" types of messages.

On a more positive note, apparently DirecTV isn't relying on OTA anymore for their uplink of 7 because its up right now on DirecTV in HD. I noticed last night during the NASCAR race that the video was a little jittery, so I switched my input to my U-Verse last night so I could watch the race without jitters. That may have been an isolated event though as it doesn't look overly jittery now. But then again its not as high motion as the race was last night.

Speaking of high motion, I just flipped past "The Price is Right" on 11 which is in HD now. For some reason when the camera panned really fast when people where going on stage or whatever that I saw a lot more macroblocking than I have ever seen on 11. Its kinda weird to see that on the OTA feed anyway. Didn't see it as much the few moments I was watching it from the satellite.

Apparently, by all of the issues we have seen lately, all of the local stations appear to have more problems than they should this late in the game. You would think that things would be a little more ironed out by now, but I guess there are always extenuating circumstances that prevent the best laid plans from being carried out. Maybe it will get fixed before the dead date.

As of 10:20, KWBF has corrected both issues...the analog station is back on the air and the video has returned to 42-2.
I don't see anything on any of the OTA channels from the Equity tower.

I don't see anything digital either, just analog 42. Computer shows an adequate digital signal but no pictures.

Edit: TSReader shows a signal but there is no PSIP or other ATSC data of any sort being sent.

dmatch

I don't see anything digital either, just analog 42. Computer shows an adequate digital signal but no pictures.

Edit: TSReader shows a signal but there is no PSIP or other ATSC data of any sort being sent.

dmatch
Yup, same stuff I am seeing here.

....You would think that things would be a little more ironed out by now, but I guess there are always extenuating circumstances that prevent the best laid plans from being carried out. Maybe it will get fixed before the dead date.Since computerization/software/firmware is so heavily involved in digital TV I would expect there will always be extenuating circumstances. NTSC analog is (soon to be was), if nothing else, dependable. ATSC sure seems to get SNAFUed a lot more.

Darn computers!

dmatch

hmm, anyone else seeing 16 fluctuate any? Seems like its a bit low for me for some reason. I usually have it pegged out, but its not right now. Its only like 4 of 6 bars on the Vista Media Center meter. The 42's are 5 of 6 bars. 4 is its usual 4 of 6 bars and comes in fine.

Interesting: I now have picture but NO sound on all three channels on the Equity signal (42-1, 42-2 and 7-1) thru the Sammy's built-in tuner, but the HomeZone and DVD Recorder act like there's no signal at all. Can't recall if I checked only the tv's tuner the first time or not...was in a rush to get to Cabot with my daughter at the time. The 7-1 video looks off to me, but that may be typical for the daytime soap feeds.

Can't speak to E*'s feed for KATV-HD as I don't have a dish pointed at 77W yet. Their feeds for KASN-SD and KATV-SD appear normal.

Nope, I was watching the space shuttle coverage most of the night. Red is an unusual color though :)

CorpITguy: If you already have an antenna on the chimney, I would suggest you might consider building a 3 element yagi with pvc pipe, and use a folded dipole for the driven element, it should give you about 6 extra db over a single X bowtie (if thats what you built), although it wont be as wide, and you might lose a little on KTHV. Im assuming you built your own to save money, but if you can spare a few bucks, either a 7777 amp on your current homebrew, or one of the new VHF-HI/UHF yagis would probably help you immensely. The latter should pick up PBS when they move to ch 7 and CW off the back from Benton, everything else will be on Shinall Mt.
Heck, even one of those $30 metro area Radio Shack yagis with the 3 swept vhf and small UHF corner reflector yagi picks up everything including KTWN-low power from the roof (20') at work on the east side of North Little Rock.

Just some ideas...but if your TV picks up the stations ok with your current antenna, and the VIP wont, a preamp is probably what you need to boost the signal level at the receiver.

I plugged directly into my TV and everything was great.... bought a 10db preamp and it helped quite a bit... but I still have fade.

I guess I'll need to buy an antenna (or just wait for 77w to come online with my channels on E* and buy a second dish to point at that location).

hmm, anyone else seeing 16 fluctuate any? Seems like its a bit low for me for some reason. I usually have it pegged out, but its not right now. Its only like 4 of 6 bars on the Vista Media Center meter. The 42's are 5 of 6 bars. 4 is its usual 4 of 6 bars and comes in fine.

We have a crew on the tower so we are running at a much lower power. No problems, just inspection and relamping.

E

We have a crew on the tower so we are running at a much lower power. No problems, just inspection and relamping.

E
That would explain it then, huh? LOL, its almost as if any time engineers at stations are planning on doing something like that which could interfere with reception, it would be a little easier to go ahead and post it up here. :) Not like asking for permission or anything of that sort, just to give a heads up so all us worry warts and TV fanatics will not think the world is coming to an end. :)


Still doesn't explain the equity problems. Oh well. It will be up when its up.

We have a crew on the tower so we are running at a much lower power. No problems, just inspection and relamping.errett, thanks.


NTSC analog is (soon to be was), if nothing else, dependable. So were rotary dial telephones. Time marches on. :)


New member here in SW White County...

My equipment:
RatShack High-gain amplifier 15-2507 (to be replaced)Balock, welcome to the forum.

You might want to replace that rat shack amp with a preamp. Like a CM7777 low noise, high gain. CM doesn't exaggerate their gain specs like RS does.

Thanks, arxaw. I plan to replace that amp as it's been nothing but trouble. I only bought it because it was available close by. It starts generating noise at odd times depending upon the gain setting and temperature, so I generally run it at a reduced gain. Unfortunately, that generates other problems when my wife wants to record Smallville on Thursday nights on KASN-DT. :)

Had to laugh...Boss was complaining the lip sync was off on her KATV soap, so I rebooted the digital converter box, and then it came up with a 80% signal with no video or audio...She wasnt happy...thought I broke her tv. Timing was incredible.

Balock, CM7777 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm)

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777pic.jpg (ttp://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm)

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/preampsetup.jpg (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm)

That's the same setup I have now except for the RS instead of CM logos. I'll probably order the CM 7777 next week...no big rush and I've got to prepare to fly out to a client site tomorrow morning.

Heard an ad from KLRT on the radio this morning while getting my morning coffee...they will be running another digital cutover test this evening during their 9:00 news hour. At least I'll be able to see if E* has upgraded their uplink.

Heard an ad from KLRT on the radio this morning while getting my morning coffee...they will be running another digital cutover test this evening during their 9:00 news hour. At least I'll be able to see if E* has upgraded their uplink.

Don't sweat it, E* is already using KLRT-DT (or fiber) and using for its local FOX feed. I confirmed this during the "digital" test last time on KLRT. I do know that KKYK is the analog feed, and I think KARK, but the rest look like the DTV feeds (based on audio levels, PQ, etc)---that said, I seldom watch E* locals, if at all.

91 Days y'all, 91 Days.... :D

Don't sweat it, E* is already using KLRT-DT (or fiber) and using for its local FOX feed. I confirmed this during the "digital" test last time on KLRT. I do know that KKYK is the analog feed, and I think KARK, but the rest look like the DTV feeds (based on audio levels, PQ, etc)---that said, I seldom watch E* locals, if at all.

91 Days y'all, 91 Days.... :D

With the economy crashing and the events of todays chaotic world, I wonder if we are all gonna be around in 91 days

Don't sweat it, E* is already using KLRT-DT (or fiber) and using for its local FOX feed. I confirmed this during the "digital" test last time on KLRT. I do know that KKYK is the analog feed, and I think KARK, but the rest look like the DTV feeds (based on audio levels, PQ, etc)---that said, I seldom watch E* locals, if at all.

Cool. It's possible that KASN is on a digital feed now...their PQ looked better this week than I recall seeing. For a while it was terrible, looking like an overexposed shot with washed-out highlights. Biggest issue I've had with E*'s KTHV feed is that the contrast/brightness make it look washed out compared to OTA (both analog and digital). KARK has always looked pretty decent to me on E* and their AETN feed looked better just the other night. I could hardly stand to watch it when it was sourced from the analog signal.

KATV for years has had a soft, relatively low saturation picture (at least to my eyes). The network feeds look ok, especially HD, but it seems that anything sourced from an analog signal is just "bland", for lack of a better term, especially locally-produced content. To me, it's noticeably different to the other local stations.

I'm the same way in regards to watching E*'s locals...if I can get it reliably OTA I will watch it there instead. Hopefully, E* will soon be able to put up more than 2 of our locals in HD (rrriiiiiggghhhtttt :rolleyes: )

Anyone catch the KLRT test tonight? I don't watch their "news", so I didn't see how it went. Just wondering.

...KATV for years has had a soft, relatively low saturation picture (at least to my eyes). The network feeds look ok, especially HD, but it seems that anything sourced from an analog signal is just "bland", for lack of a better term, especially locally-produced content. To me, it's noticeably different to the other local stations.Exactly.

katv has been like that as long as I can remember. The word "blurry" always comes to mind, on the rare occasions I've watched katv local fare. Seems the source doesn't matter; ntsc, atsc, OTA, D* or on cable. Just blurry.

Exactly.

katv has been like that as long as I can remember. The word "blurry" always comes to mind, on the rare occasions I've watched katv local fare. Seems the source doesn't matter; ntsc, atsc, OTA, D* or on cable. Just blurry.
They do that for their prime demographic which usually has cataracts anyway. Since that's their target audience, it doesn't matter if its slightly blurry. :)

Anyone else on directv notice they had the wrong station on ch 7? They were showing some game show instead of the news. Checked OTA and katv was normal news...then directv put up the "dont call us" slide. Wonder whats up? KATV back on again now at 5:26. This market is so NOT boring.

Anyone else on directv notice they had the wrong station on ch 7? They were showing some game show instead of the news. Checked OTA and katv was normal news...then directv put up the "dont call us" slide. Wonder whats up? KATV back on again now at 5:26. This market is so NOT boring.


I was going to watch the 5:00 news on KATV (via DirecTV) and noticed the same thing. I did not check OTA. Tried again at 6:00 and it was back to normal. Every time something like this happens I am hoping its related to the new uplink to DirecTV.

From ArkansasMatters.com

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news/?cid=151871

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 @09:17pm CST

The Arkansas Educational Television Network, or AETN, will be off the air Thursday.

We're told the station is making the move to digital, and that means its signal will be temporary interrupted as antenna lines are moved.

The interruption should last most of the day.
I wonder what's really going on. Not much real info as to why in the statement.

Since they are already transmitting digitally I would hazard a wild guess that this may have something to do with going on-line with equipment for the new PBS Next Generation Interconnection System (NGIS). Perhaps now we will see more HD on their primary channel.

Anyone have any info about what is really happening tomorrow?

Edit: This was also reported on KARK News at 10 PM but with no more info than what is in the quote.

dmatch

They told me when they move to ch 7 it will be down for at least a week, so hopefully you are right about the move...but it could also be they are just reaiming their big dishes to AMC21. PBS is shutting down AMC3 feeds to affiliates in a few weeks.

This was in today’s newspaper…

AETN to move equipment today
Network will be off air for gear relocation to new building

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The Arkansas Educational Television Network will be off the air today as the television station moves microwave radio equipment from an old building to a new one nearby, Deputy Executive Director Tony Brooks said Wednesday.
Brooks said AETN built a new transmitting building on Cadron Ridge north of Conway in Faulkner County. Electrical engineers must now remove the lines to and from all the antennas on the station’s tower from the existing building and reinstall them in the new building, he said.
Conway will be the only city where the station will still be broadcast because the city’s cable provider, Conway Corp., has a direct feed from the station’s studios a few blocks away.
“Everything throughout the state is fed from Cadron Ridge, so when that station is down, none of the other stations will get a feed from our studios,” he said. “We’re hoping it will only last a few hours. With the digital transition going on around the nation, those folks are in demand, so we have to get them when we can. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Brooks said the station’s new digital equipment — the federal government mandates that all television providers switch from analog broadcasts to digital broadcasts by Feb. 17 — needed a new home.
“The building was old and leaking and the new digital equipment is more sensitive to the extremes of heat or dampness,” Brooks said. “We felt it was necessary to put in this new building.”

Thanks RockyF.

I see channel 2 analog is now frozen screen and digital is not transmitting programming but still has signal.

dmatch

Thanks RockyF.

I see channel 2 analog is now frozen screen and digital is not transmitting programming but still has signal.

dmatch

I tuned in to analog 2 to see a frozen image of someone holding the children's book, The Three Bears. No image on DTV 5, and a test pattern on KETG analog 9.

Channel 2 is still on U-Verse right now. Watching Sesame Street.

Channel 2 is off on D* here, with the "dont' call us" sign up.
Channel 13-n all are 771 - Searching for OTA signal.

Channel 2 is off on D* here, with the "dont' call us" sign up.
Channel 13-n all are 771 - Searching for OTA signal.
Which is telling me that the U-Verse feed must be coming directly from Conway or something.

77w locals are online on E*.

CHNG 5190 KATV{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 HD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w UNAVAIL HIDE HD MAP 7
TO 5190 KATV{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 HD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w AVAIL HIDE HD MAP 7

CHNG 5191 KTHV{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 HD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w UNAVAIL HIDE HD MAP 11
TO 5191 KTHV{LITTLE ROCK, AR} MPEG4 HD Tp 9 EchoStar 8 77w AVAIL HIDE HD MAP 11

Only 7 and 11 are in HD, of course. All others are MPEG4 SD. On 77w, so only a few folks will be able to see them for now.

Was watching the Channel 7 news today at 6 and saw they made a special point to say that they got "new equipment" in place for the DirecTV feed that would improve their HD signal for their customers and they are working to getting the analog feed fixed soon. Well, I just had to turn on 7 to see if it was any better.

While the picture did look a little better, it was extremely choppy and behind the audio quite a bit. It took pausing and then playing a little behind to get the video close to the audio so it would be watchable. I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this problem, but no other channel has it as I flipped through a bunch. As it is right now on my HR20-700, I am glad I don't have to rely on it.

On my H20-600, I have no audio at all. Trying a reboot of it to see if that fixes it. The video doesn't look like its laggy or studdery like the HR20 is, but without audio its hard to tell anything. Surely it can't be just me on either of these issues.

EDIT: Hmm, a reboot on my H20 and still no audio on 7.

Try turning off Dolby digital on the H20...might help.

Shouldn't have to do that.

I know that' was just curious if you got audio with DD. My HR22-200 has same symtomsM but I get audio, but it burps like speed and espn do occasionally. Im convinced its something with 720p channels and directv's encoders. NEVER hear it on 1080i channels.

Steveken: It working ok now?

Dunno, haven't cared enough to try. :) U-Verse is working just fine. :)

Dunno, haven't cared enough to try. :) U-Verse is working just fine. :)

OK then. Was curious because mine started working perfectly about 1/2 way through Grays Anatomy.

KATV-HD working fine now on both my HR20-700s. Audio/Video problems seem to be corrected. Hope it stays that way.

Thanks to those who worked to get the direct linked KATV/D* feed up & running.

OK then. Was curious because mine started working perfectly about 1/2 way through Grays Anatomy.
Oh, well, then I will check. Yep, working good now. Haven't checked the other yet. Guess it just takes a little to make sure everything is working good.

thanks to those who worked to get the direct linked katv/d* feed up & running.

+1.

As you guys have noticed, we have been messing with the feed for Direct for several days. Today has been an interesting day. Our feed checked out fine to the Direct racks as of late this afternoon. The most severe issues this evening seemed to revolve around pvr type receivers from reports I have been getting. We didn't change or do anything on our end this evening to resolve the issue before it got better late this evening. Either Direct changed something or there is an intermittent failure with our feed. I am personally hoping that it was a change on Direct's end. ;) Time will tell if it is an intermittent.

For those of you on Dish, the same feed is terminated at their racks awaiting a field engineer to hook up. He should be in town next week or the week after.

A

As you guys have noticed, we have been messing with the feed for Direct for several days. Today has been an interesting day. Our feed checked out fine to the Direct racks as of late this afternoon. The most severe issues this evening seemed to revolve around pvr type receivers from reports I have been getting. We didn't change or do anything on our end this evening to resolve the issue before it got better late this evening. Either Direct changed something or there is an intermittent failure with our feed. I am personally hoping that it was a change on Direct's end. ;) Time will tell if it is an intermittent.

For those of you on Dish, the same feed is terminated at their racks awaiting a field engineer to hook up. He should be in town next week or the week after.

A

Thanks for the update. I actually haven't watched any live programming tonight but will make a point to check the Raycom game Saturday as well as the ABC game. Those are the ones I expect to notice improvement on the most.

As you guys have noticed, we have been messing with the feed for Direct for several days. Today has been an interesting day. Our feed checked out fine to the Direct racks as of late this afternoon. The most severe issues this evening seemed to revolve around pvr type receivers from reports I have been getting.Thanks Allen. KATV-HD is working fine on both of my DVRs, at least at the moment...

Doesn't look like any one has posted the link to the press release, so here it is:

DISH Network Expands Local High Definition Markets (http://dish.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=349865)

As a previous poster mentioned, it's only
ABC - KATV IN HD 7 5190
CBS - KTHV IN HD 11 5191

I have to admit that the TurboHD packages look tempting. Down here in Clark County I would have to have a hefty antenna to get OTA, so I hope that more HD locals are coming.

-Mark

Doesn't look like any one has posted the link to the press release, so here it is:

DISH Network Expands Local High Definition Markets (http://dish.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=349865)

As a previous poster mentioned, it's only
ABC - KATV IN HD 7 5190
CBS - KTHV IN HD 11 5191

I have to admit that the TurboHD packages look tempting. Down here in Clark County I would have to have a hefty antenna to get OTA, so I hope that more HD locals are coming.

-Mark

Hi Mark, You shouldnt have much trouble getting FOX, NBC, or PBS in Clark county...a good, but not huge, uhf antenna with a channel master 7777 preamp on a short mast should work there. I can get all the LR FM stations well past there, all the way to Prescott, in fact...Usually good fm car radio reception equates to usable tv from the same place with good equipment. Be nice if Dish added them all though, for conveinience if anything else.

... Be nice if Dish added them all though, for convenience if anything else.

Especially since I'm trying to sell this as a way to save money. Somehow I think the "I gotta go get a couple hundred dollars of equipment if we do this" argument will fall on deaf ears :rolleyes: Well, I'm saving up for a home theater upgrade (something the wife wants too btw), so maybe the other majors will be up by that time and I'll just do it all at once.

Hopefully the new KATV tower construction is coming along without any hiccups. Last pix I saw on their site were from November 3 and looked like they were making a lot of progress.

OK - who has dish HD and can you take a look at KATV? Rumor has it that they started taking our direct feed as of this morning.

A

OK - who has dish HD and can you take a look at KATV? Rumor has it that they started taking our direct feed as of this morning.

A
Just called my Dad to ask him since he has Dish. He said he would look at it here in a few minutes and post here probably when he is done.

EDIT: Not showing up in his list at all. Neither 7 or 11 at 5190 or 5191.

KTWN 18-2 engineer...Your dishnetwork smart card is about to expire on your KETS feed...in case you didnt see the graphic pop up covering the screen or couldnt read the Spanish it was printed in. :)

I doubt that Hossein Hashemzadeh (KTWN Supervisory Engineer as of 2007) frequents this forum.:rolleyes:

dmatch

Well...darn. Guess he will figure it out sooner or later. At least he has INN back. All the Directv news channels quit carrying news...now they are all the Obama channels...pro or con, thats all they ever have on. I found out about the gas refinery explosion in Texas on a CB radio... CNN was to worried if Hillary was going to be in Obama's cabinet to report it.

OK - who has dish HD and can you take a look at KATV? Rumor has it that they started taking our direct feed as of this morning.

A

Most likely no one on the forum who has DishHD will see KATV in HD yet. Dish is only transmitting it on their 77W satellite (one of three in their new "Eastern Arc"). Until Dish adds it to their "Western Arc" (110/119/129W), the only people likely to receive KATVHD through Dish are new HD customers and those who install (or have installed) a second dish pointing at the 77W bird.

KATV is looking as good on Directv as it is on Raycoms big dish HD sat feed. Way to go Allen.

OK - who has dish HD and can you take a look at KATV? Rumor has it that they started taking our direct feed as of this morning.

A


I just had a single Dish installed to point at 77W to get KATV and KTHV over Dish in HD. Crystal clear picture.

You won't see many folks with Dish locals in HD for the LR DMA. I'm probably just about the first person in the state to get a dish pointed at 77w since they aren't even installing eastern arc here as of yet.

I just had a single Dish installed to point at 77W to get KATV and KTHV over Dish in HD. Crystal clear picture.

You won't see many folks with Dish locals in HD for the LR DMA. I'm probably just about the first person in the state to get a dish pointed at 77w since they aren't even installing eastern arc here as of yet.

Wow. Dish needs a 77w to 119w line of site now? That should make either tree trimmers or Directv awfully happy.

I just had a single Dish installed to point at 77W to get KATV and KTHV over Dish in HD. Crystal clear picture.

You won't see many folks with Dish locals in HD for the LR DMA. I'm probably just about the first person in the state to get a dish pointed at 77w since they aren't even installing eastern arc here as of yet.

Thanks for the report!

The feeds that both Direct & Dish use are both from the same distribution amp at the Clear Channel building near their racks- One output goes to Direct's gear another output goes to Dish's gear. Both equipment racks sit right next to each other. This will help trouble shoot any issues that we or either carrier has especially here in the first week of carriage as things are getting trimmed out on both our end and theirs. We have installed a DirecTV HD receiver at the studio to monitor and will be doing the same for Dish monitoring in the near future.

A

Good deal. Thanks for working so hard to keep the customer happy. :)

I just had a single Dish installed to point at 77W to get KATV and KTHV over Dish in HD. Crystal clear picture.

You won't see many folks with Dish locals in HD for the LR DMA. I'm probably just about the first person in the state to get a dish pointed at 77w since they aren't even installing eastern arc here as of yet.How much did it cost ya? Did you already have MPEG4 equipment?

As a rule, dish isn't installing the 2nd 77w dish for any existing subs until sometime next year, probably feb.

I just had a single Dish installed to point at 77W to get KATV and KTHV over Dish in HD. Crystal clear picture.

Someone just HAD to go and prove me wrong! :p

Glad to hear the report. I have a couple of spare dishes and a twin lnb that might still work, just need to get the time to install one of them.

How long it takes for Eastern Arc installs to start happening around here depends on long it takes for the equipment to arrive at the dealers. I wouldn't be surprised if Southern Star is the first to get them.

Would an old one sat dish and lnb from DirecTV work if someone pointed at the right spot? I seem to remember someone saying one time that they were on the same freq and the only difference was the software in the box. I ask cause I am not sure if my dad has an old Dish dish laying around. Either way, how would one combine the two lines to go into one box? I am thinking I might wanna go over there and help him get up and going with this.

Thanks for the report!

The feeds that both Direct & Dish use are both from the same distribution amp at the Clear Channel building near their racks- One output goes to Direct's gear another output goes to Dish's gear. Both equipment racks sit right next to each other. This will help trouble shoot any issues that we or either carrier has especially here in the first week of carriage as things are getting trimmed out on both our end and theirs. We have installed a DirecTV HD receiver at the studio to monitor and will be doing the same for Dish monitoring in the near future.

A

The KATV Raycom and ABC games looked good today on DirecTV. No macroblocking whatsoever. It was so good on DirecTV and I was so pleased that I completely forgot to compare it to OTA. Thanks again!!!

How much did it cost ya? Did you already have MPEG4 equipment?

As a rule, dish isn't installing the 2nd 77w dish for any existing subs until sometime next year, probably feb.

Didn't cost me a thing -- just had to re-up my contract period. I just called and said, "hey, my locals are up in HD but I don't get them... I need 77w." After 30 minutes on hold (grrr) they had Southern Star setup to come do the install.

I did already have a VIP 722, so receiver equipment was no problem.

BTW, the Southern Star installer said their Dish installers in Texas have started installing 1000.4 for EA... but not in Arkansas as of yet.

...I did already have a VIP 722, so receiver equipment was no problem.If you hadn't have already had MPEG4 equipt., they wouldn't have upgraded you.

PARDON THE OFF TOPIC: Does anyone use XM or Sirius (now combined) in their car out on the woods? Want to get one, but only if it wont drop out when I drive through the woods in Southern Ar or the Ozarks. Any reason to get a XM over a sirius branded receiver?

PM replies ok. Thanks.

I checked KATV out on Directv during the OU vs TT game. It looked pretty good but not as good as 40.1 KHBS out of Fort Smith via Antenna where I watched most of the game. Definitely a noticeable difference between KATV Directv and KHBS out of FS which was better.

Would an old one sat dish and lnb from DirecTV work if someone pointed at the right spot? I seem to remember someone saying one time that they were on the same freq and the only difference was the software in the box.

The DirecTV dish itself would work, but I'm not sure about the DirecTV LNB. The dish is just a reflector, so as long as it's in good shape it will work. The LNB MIGHT work if it's an older one for Ku band.

I ask cause I am not sure if my dad has an old Dish dish laying around. Either way, how would one combine the two lines to go into one box? I am thinking I might wanna go over there and help him get up and going with this.

How to combine the lines depends on the equipment that's installed right now. Dish's current multi-lnb units, DishPro Plus Twin and the 3-LNB units, have an signal input jack to allow one additional dish. The older LNB units don't have this jack, so external signal switches must be used. Don't merely splice the lines together or use a standard OTA "splitter"...neither will work for the satellite signals.

The dbstalk.com and satelliteguys.us sites should both have info on adding your own dish and what works with what service.

I checked KATV out on Directv during the OU vs TT game. It looked pretty good but not as good as 40.1 KHBS out of Fort Smith via Antenna where I watched most of the game. Definitely a noticeable difference between KATV Directv and KHBS out of FS which was better.

Could you be more specific? What was better, the sharpness, better color, ???
Is KHBS running 1080i or 720p?

Reason I ask is I compared KATV on Directv with the actual backhaul feed from ESPN, and other than the low res local commercial inserts, I didnt see much difference. KATV does seem to have the contrast a little low and brighness a little higher than other stations, but its always been that way...Didnt affect the network HD feed for me though, as it appears that equipment is bypassed.

Could you be more specific? What was better, the sharpness, better color, ???
Is KHBS running 1080i or 720p?

Reason I ask is I compared KATV on Directv with the actual backhaul feed from ESPN, and other than the low res local commercial inserts, I didnt see much difference. KATV does seem to have the contrast a little low and brighness a little higher than other stations, but its always been that way...Didnt affect the network HD feed for me though, as it appears that equipment is bypassed.

I think KHBS runs 720p. The PQ on KATV looked Dull compared to to the KHBS OTA feed. KHBS had the nice shiny or glossy look with sharpness and crispness. Directv KATV feed looked darked down and dull compared to KHBS via OTA. Reminded me of when I turn my tv's Noise Reduction to "on"...... it takes the nice crisp image and distorts fine detail in the PQ and makes the PQ much softer which I personally cannot stand, I hate soft PQ it looks un-natural to me, the brightness of the channel also looked reduced or darkened. KATV reminded me more of a Good UPconversion than it did True HD. I still notice all of my OTA channels look a little sharper than the Directvs equivilants like KARK, THV, KLRT. However, some channels like HDNET and HD Theater usually looks just as good as my OTA HD's. BTW, this was all thru the H20, I have the FS antenna run into the H20's ATSC tuner, so I watch 40.1 thru the H20. Also, KFSM CBS 5.1 OTA is clearer and sharper than THV 11 provided by Directv. Not a huge difference in these two, but its there. I get all my FS stations via OTA, I do not get any of them thru Directv, I am designated to the LR market according to Directv HD locals.

I think KHBS runs 720p. The PQ on KATV looked Dull compared to to the KHBS OTA feed. KHBS had the nice shiny or glossy look with sharpness and crispness. KHBS/KHOG are 720p.

I have noticed the same thing on KATV-DT. The picture is soft, as if they were using a "Katie Couric" soft filter. Don't get me wrong, KATV on D* looks a helluvalot better than it did, and I'm glad they got it fixed. But it just doesn't have the "wow" sharpness as abc KHOG-DT 29-1 OTA does (same as KHBS-DT 40-1). And the difference is even greater when compared to abc OTA KSPR-DT 33-1 in Springfield (perhaps because they don't run any sub channels yet). KSPR-DT still has that "looking through a window" sharpness of HDTV.

There is enough difference that I will still watch & record ABC-HD programs on KSPR-DT, even though the MPEG2 recordings take up a lot more DVR hard drive space than KATV-DT in MPEG4.

I really think you guys are being a little overly picky on this stuff. You really have to look extremely hard to notice most of what you are talking about. EDIT: Well, except for the softness part that arxaw was talking about. That really is annoying. :)

I think you are expecting too much from such broad consumer based satellite stuff and need to keep in mind that DirecTV's re-broadcast channels are never going to be as good as OTA. If you were like Dave and getting it straight from the source distribution point, then that would be different. DirecTV just can not give the same quality on the individual channels as OTA broadcasts do because of the bandwidth constraints.

I really question if there is really enough of a difference to even matter between the two sources. If you want the "looking through a window" quality, look through a window. :) Just kidding.

In any case, the whole point to DirecTV getting the channels up on their satellites was not to get the absolute best quality picture ever (which they really could do if they had a couple more satellites up there to devote max bandwidth to every channel carried), but was more for the average consumer who just can't get such a complex antenna system up which is required in a lot of areas of the state or for those who don't know how to do it in the first place.

I don't think its really all that fair to try to compare the two apples to apples. It's always going to be a win for OTA because of the amount of other crap DirecTV crams onto their satellites.

What flavor of MPEG4 does DirecTV use? This could have an effect on sharpness of picture as compared to higher bit rate ATSC MPEG 2.

AVC (H.264 - MPEG4 Part 10), from what I have seen, can achieve significantly lower bit rates with as good a quality as a higher bit rate MPEG2. However, if pushed too low (say to about 1/2 bit rate) I have noticed that the picture, although still in the good quality range, can tend to get softer and loose that zing that is being described. If bit rates are pushed still lower the picture falls into the not-so-good range and I start to notice that banding appears in smooth gradients and a loss of detail in peoples faces and other low contrast areas of the picture.

What bit rates are used in DirecTV's HD satellite transmissions?

dmatch

What bit rates are used in DirecTV's HD satellite transmissions?Not sure,
but it takes up about 1/3 less hard drive space when DVR-ing from D* on MPEG4, vs MPEG2 OTA.

What is "Newport Television"? I just saw an ad on 16 talking about job opeinings with CW and FOX 16 and it was acting like it wasn't "Clear Channel" that owned them, but "Newport Television".

I dont have the software to compare, nor any way to access the Directv file. I can tell you the ABC source feed for sports is 720p with a symbol rate of 29270 which is twice what Speed uses (14000). PBS at 1080i uses 30000. Im thinking you halve the SR to get the bitrate, so KATV is sending the full bitrate of the feed to Directv...I dont know what they do with it. I do know Directv statmuxes its mpeg4, and appears to be running in the mode allowing for max bitrate...Dish is running more channels per transponder in comparison. CBS feed to KTHV is SR of 32000 at 1080i for comparison.

I dont know it its settings on KATVs muxer to Directv/Dish/Comcast/Equity thats making it look soft to you guys or what. Looked pretty close to the original feed to me.

Allen has a Directv HD setup now, so Im sure he will tweak up anything he sees wrong thats in his part of the chain.

Not sure,
but it takes up about 1/3 less hard drive space when DVR-ing from D* on MPEG4, vs MPEG2 OTA.Do you mean 1/3 of the space, instead of 1/3 less? 1/3 less would be 33% smaller. 1/3 of the space would be 66% smaller.

The reason I ask is I find when I re-encode using MPEG 4 (H.264) from MPEG 2 the files usually take up about 1/2 to 1/3 the space (50-66% savings) and look just as good.

dmatch

I can tell you the ABC source feed for sports is 720p with a symbol rate of 29270 which is twice what Speed uses (14000). PBS at 1080i uses 30000. Im thinking you halve the SR to get the bitrate, so KATV is sending the full bitrate of the feed to Directv...
Those satellite feeds are QPSK, you double the SR (Symbol Rate) to get the bit rate for the entire transmission. Each symbol carries 2 bits data.

The newer 8PSK transmissions delivery 3 bits of data for each symbol as does 8VSB (ATSC).

So, very ROUGHLY,

if ABC uses an FEC 3/4 (1/4 of data for error correction) that would be 29270*3/4*2 ~= 44000 Kb/s from the QPSK transmission and...

ATSC 6 mHz FEC 2/3 -> ~11000 SR *2/3*3 ~= 22000 Kb/s from 8VSB transmission

I think the actual rate accounting for overhead is about 19000 Kb/s for ATSC. Anyway, a typical full bandwidth ATSC signal is going to net about 1/2 the bit-rate of a QPSK network satellite feed.

dmatch

What is "Newport Television"? I just saw an ad on 16 talking about job opeinings with CW and FOX 16 and it was acting like it wasn't "Clear Channel" that owned them, but "Newport Television".

Clear Channel sold off their TV stations, and Newport bought most of them. Not many changes with the sale of those stations.

First guys, I'd like to say this. KATV is much much better than it has been, I'm happy with it. I think the way I worded my comparison made is sound as if KATV just did not look good but I was trying to get technical about differences I was seeing in PQ. Overall, the upgrade to KATV looks great, its just isnt quite as good as the OTA feed I have from KHBS. I will do some more comparison with primetime programming and shows. Last night was the football game and live events seem to make things stand out even more so than regular programs, at least I've noticed that. I think arxaw and I having access to both the KATV and KHBS OTA feeds has allowed us to share a similar view in comparing these two feeds. So, if I mis led anyone into thinking KATV was not better I apologize. That was not my intent in the post comparing the two.:) I'll bet when KATV starts sending out their digital OTA signal again, there wont be any difference in the PQ of KATV and KHBS via Antenna

Wow, thanks for the SR/FEC computations. Have to store those somewhere. Som given the comparion of QPSK full to ATSC half of QPSK, if the PQ looks the same, then there is a lot of breathing room on the Sat feeds...except for Speed, which would be about "just enough" :)

KATV on D* looks good. Much better than before. In an A/B comparison with the other two ABC affiliates I get OTA, KATV looks less sharp than the other two.

If one didn't have any other affiliates to compare it to, would they notice it looks soft? On network HD, probably not. But local KATV programming still looks very mushy. Always has.

KATV on D* looks good. Much better than before..... Local KATV programming still looks very mushy. Always has.

My parents like the low contrast/overly bright picture...I think KATV just sets it that way to please their primary news audience. Just guessing. Ill bet when they upgrade to HD cameras and switchers in the future, it will probably solve that "problem". I just programmed a second user profile for KATV local programming...one button push on the remote. The network stuff, like Ugly Betty and football games looks fine. Actually, the softness on football games, Nascar races, etc, it apparent on ESPNs satellite feeds as well...I always attributed it to 720p. There is a major difference on fta sat feeds between the two HD formats. Baseball was a real eye opener. The grass on ESPN games look undetailed, where you can count the blades on the 1080 feeds. Just something we will have to live with, if we have sets larger than 40" I guess.

My parents like the low contrast/overly bright picture...I think KATV just sets it that way...For years, I always thought KATV's poor color and blurriness was due to bad NTSC antenna reception. Until DTV came out.

It must just be bad equipment at the station.

Does anyone else notice that KATV-DT gets fuzzy for about 5-10 seconds once every 10 minutes or so? This happens to me both OTA and via Dish Network's HD... and it doesn't happen on any other locals.

I havent noticed it. If you are watching on a DVR, try hitting skip back once or twice, so you are watching a few seconds behind live tv. That helps on Directv receivers when they do that.

I haven't noticed it on D*.

Does it do it when viewing OTA with your TV's tuner, or just through the dish dvr?

I haven't noticed it on D*.

Does it do it when viewing OTA with your TV's tuner, or just through the dish dvr?

I've only had it hooked up directly to the TV tuner for a matter of minutes. It is likely the Dish DVR, but it does seem odd that it would happen only to KATV and not any other channels (OTA or otherwise).

OTOH, I only watch sports on KATV (all of my prime-time viewing from locals is KARK, KTHV and KLRT). It could be that ESPN is giving ABC is a bad feed. But then I would expect you all to see it. . . .

I've only had it hooked up directly to the TV tuner for a matter of minutes. It is likely the Dish DVR, but it does seem odd that it would happen only to KATV and not any other channels (OTA or otherwise).

OTOH, I only watch sports on KATV (all of my prime-time viewing from locals is KARK, KTHV and KLRT). It could be that ESPN is giving ABC is a bad feed. But then I would expect you all to see it. . . .

I see the same thing with a 722. I will have to compare it to OTA the next time a game is on. I see the same thing on the HD and the SD channel. It's real easy to spot if you look at the sports ticker on the bottom of the screen. Sometimes it is so blurry, you almost cannot read part of it.

AND KATV is the only channel that I see do this.

I can understand cameras sometimes being blurry, but not stationary graphics.

I can understand cameras sometimes being blurry, but not stationary graphics.

If the graphics are blurring, it is a compression issue.

E

I just got my Dish HD locals for the little rock area. only KATV and KTHV are up. They look great, but why are the others not on Dish when they are on Directv?

I just got my Dish HD locals for the little rock area. only KATV and KTHV are up. They look great, but why are the others not on Dish when they are on Directv?

I was on the phone, just about to get the second dish for the two HD locals and I think I have decided to go with a good outdoor antenna instead. The BW is better and I could still get reception during storms. Plus I can still use the antenna input to record HD and not take away from my other two record inputs.
Dish will only provide the main HD channel and no subchannels. Might make a difference in the future.

I hate to ask (probably has been covered somewhere), but what is the recommendation on an antenna setup for the Little Rock area? I am in west LR, south of Shinall Mtn, close to Denny/Kanis Y intersection.

Oh, and a good place to purchase the items.

I just got my Dish HD locals for the little rock area. only KATV and KTHV are up. They look great, but why are the others not on Dish when they are on Directv?

KARK and KLRT's corporate parents are each respectively still negotiating a contract with Dish to carry their HD signal. The individual stations have no say in the issue, unfortunately.

I was on the phone, just about to get the second dish for the two HD locals and I think I have decided to go with a good outdoor antenna instead. The BW is better and I could still get reception during storms. Plus I can still use the antenna input to record HD and not take away from my other two record inputs.
Dish will only provide the main HD channel and no subchannels. Might make a difference in the future.

I hate to ask (probably has been covered somewhere), but what is the recommendation on an antenna setup for the Little Rock area? I am in west LR, south of Shinall Mtn, close to Denny/Kanis Y intersection.

Oh, and a good place to purchase the items.

Well, the good news first...get a very small vhf/uhf yagi at radio shack, point it toward Redfield for KASN and KETS, and you are good to go. You are right UNDER all the other stations, so what little attenuation you get pointing the back of the antenna at them hopefully keeps them from overloading the front end of your tuner until analog shuts down. If PBS and CW are of no importance to you, a small piece of wire or unamplified UHF loop should do you for Shinall transmitters.

What Dave said, +1. Start simple. One of these, dangling behind the TV would probably work:
http://audio-etcetera.com/product_thumb.php?img=images/P/PET10-8100.jpg&w=200&h=123 (http://www.audio-etcetera.com/product_info.php?products_id=118145)

Whatever you do, do not buy an amplified antenna. You are way too close to the transmitters for one and it would overload your signal.

A friend of mine lives near Shinall Mtn and uses a piece of wire stuck in the coax jack on his Dish DVR.

What Dave said, +1. Start simple. One of these, dangling behind the TV would probably work:
http://audio-etcetera.com/product_thumb.php?img=images/P/PET10-8100.jpg&w=200&h=123 (http://www.audio-etcetera.com/product_info.php?products_id=118145)



Im 15 miles away and used one of those mounted to a piece of plywood on my roof for a long time til I got into the dx hunting bug. It picked up everything but PBS.

Does anyone else notice that when the local news station does some kind of lower-third graphic, it cuts off the HD signal? I'm not sure that's the best way to say it, but what happens is the viewing area shrinks in like it is an SD broadcast. It is very annoying. It happened again tonight on Fringe. Fox16 had a graphic--with pics of Donna and Kevin taking damn near half the screen--saying their news was staring in 4 minutes. The screen went back to full HD when the graphic went away. Thinking about writing them to say WTF...

What Dave said, +1. Start simple. One of these, dangling behind the TV would probably work:
http://audio-etcetera.com/product_thumb.php?img=images/P/PET10-8100.jpg&w=200&h=123 (http://www.audio-etcetera.com/product_info.php?products_id=118145)

Whatever you do, do not buy an amplified antenna. You are way too close to the transmitters for one and it would overload your signal.

A friend of mine lives near Shinall Mtn and uses a piece of wire stuck in the coax jack on his Dish DVR.

Im 15 miles away and used one of those mounted to a piece of plywood on my roof for a long time til I got into the dx hunting bug. It picked up everything but PBS.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried a couple of antennas, but did get the feeling that there might be too much gain in them. Though, it seems like some channels need gain and others don't (I can get KARK with just the house wiring coax connected to the DVR). I'd just like to get the big 4 LR channels reliably. I did also notice that my Sony LCD seems to pull them in better than the 722, but then I would not be able to record programs on the DVR (who watches anything but sports in real time? :D ).

I dont think what you are seeing is the other stations needing gain, but an overloading of the receiver front end by the 5 million watt Fox16 analog transmitter. I would suggest going to radio shack and buying a inline coax signal attenuator, and put that between a bow tie antenna and the DVR. Increase attenuation until your target stations quality reading (sometimes inaccurately labeled signal strength) peaks out or hits 100%, whichever occurs first.

Does anyone else notice that when the local news station does some kind of lower-third graphic, it cuts off the HD signal? I'm not sure that's the best way to say it, but what happens is the viewing area shrinks in like it is an SD broadcast. It is very annoying. It happened again tonight on Fringe. Fox16 had a graphic--with pics of Donna and Kevin taking damn near half the screen--saying their news was staring in 4 minutes. The screen went back to full HD when the graphic went away. Thinking about writing them to say WTF...

Thats exactly whats happening. None of the local stations have HD switchers (as far as I know) and have to swap over to their 480i SD switchers for any local content, then toggle back to the HD network feed which bypasses their master control.

Very evident on Today show when the weather guy says "Heres whats happening in your neck of the woods" :) Since the actual transmitter isnt changing resolution, your set still shows HD.

I would expect you will see changes made slowly once that equipment (which is currently needed to produce their analog tv channel) is no longer required for analog and they can start upgrading to HD. Im guessing most dont have room or money to run parallel master controls for analog and HD.
Hope that made sense... Anyone else feel free to correct me if Im in error.

Thats exactly whats happening. None of the local stations have HD switchers (as far as I know) and have to swap over to their 480i SD switchers for any local content, then toggle back to the HD network feed which bypasses their master control.

Very evident on Today show when the weather guy says "Heres whats happening in your neck of the woods" :) Since the actual transmitter isnt changing resolution, your set still shows HD.

I would expect you will see changes made slowly once that equipment (which is currently needed to produce their analog tv channel) is no longer required for analog and they can start upgrading to HD. Im guessing most dont have room or money to run parallel master controls for analog and HD.
Hope that made sense... Anyone else feel free to correct me if Im in error.

Its hard to say which stations in this market will advance pass the "pass-through" stage. Seemingly, there's been no real advancement since I began watching OTA DTV back in 2005. Partly due to corporate owners Nexstar, Albritton, Equity, and the recent month's economic downturn. Gannett is laying off in their newspaper division and Newport is somewhat of a mystery (except they own many of the former Clear Channel TV properties).

Of the "big four network affiliates", KARK/Nexstar will likely be the last to implement local HD. The wild card really is KATV , and whether those guys decide to go long (put in some HD studio equipment) or just run it up the middle as is usual for them (no 5.1 audio for pass-through network programming). If and when DN finally retires and the economy recovers who knows. KLRT and KTHV seem to be in a holding pattern.

Don't hold your breath for anything other than HD network programming (and live syndicated sports) for the next couple of years, this TV market seems to play down to its rural, analog cable audience.

My wife asked me just last night when the local news would be in HD. I have a feeling that whoever gets it first will be our local news channel for the next 10 years or so.

Local HD will happen in small steps.

KJRH-DT in Tulsa has local news in HD.

Some Springfield, MO and Fayetteville, Ark. stations have the capability to insert local graphics without dropping back to SD. And KFSM-DT Ft. Smith/Fay., has recently installed local equipment for time shifting in HD. This allows them to delay HD network programming and run syndicated shows like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in HD. However, they are having trouble with it right now and no one there knows how to fix it. Life in podunk.

Like I told the Lady at PBS, a $500 computer, and a $199 HD recorder, some software, and they to, could show NOVA in HD :)

The BW is better and I could still get reception during storms. Plus I can still use the antenna input to record HD and not take away from my other two record inputs.
Dish will only provide the main HD channel and no subchannels. Might make a difference in the future.

I hate to ask (probably has been covered somewhere), but what is the recommendation on an antenna setup for the Little Rock area? I am in west LR, south of Shinall Mtn, close to Denny/Kanis Y intersection.


I am over in Ferndale, about half a mile west of Kanis/Ferndale cutoff. My rabbit ears pick up the locals great, but I am up on top of a hill with direct line-of-sight with the towers on Shinall. To record OTA my rabbit ears are plugged into the dish receiver, which causes the signal to drop out when the dish has satellite reception problems during storms. I would have to plug an OTA directly into my TV to get around that, but then couldn't record ;(

Well, the good news first...get a very small vhf/uhf yagi at radio shack, point it toward Redfield for KASN and KETS, and you are good to go. You are right UNDER all the other stations, so what little attenuation you get pointing the back of the antenna at them hopefully keeps them from overloading the front end of your tuner until analog shuts down. If PBS and CW are of no importance to you, a small piece of wire or unamplified UHF loop should do you for Shinall transmitters.
It doesn't work quite that easy for me. I have tried unamplified and amplified and only the amplified seems to get the signals for me and I am a bit closer to shinall than shoeboxx. Since I got rid of Comcrap, I decided to use the wire coming into this room from the back of my house for my OTA antenna.

Even before I hooked it up using the wire running around the house, I wasn't able to get a signal. Everything just bottomed out. When I hooked up the antenna I can get all of them except 4 really high strength. It may just be where I have the antenna. I need to play with it more to find a good spot. All I know is that without the amplification I am not able to pick the channels up very well at all. At least not well enough for this VMC tuners to pick them up.

Does anyone else notice that when the local news station does some kind of lower-third graphic, it cuts off the HD signal? I'm not sure that's the best way to say it, but what happens is the viewing area shrinks in like it is an SD broadcast. It is very annoying. It happened again tonight on Fringe. Fox16 had a graphic--with pics of Donna and Kevin taking damn near half the screen--saying their news was staring in 4 minutes. The screen went back to full HD when the graphic went away. Thinking about writing them to say WTF...
KTHV can do lower thirds and weather graphics without switching back to SD. Seen it a bunch of times. I was also watching another channel the other day that threw up a 4x3 sized third without switching away from the HD feed. I can't remember who it was, but it wasn't KTHV. It really surprised me. I think it was KARK because it had their version of the DTV warning crawl along the top of the screen. I don't think its safe to say that none of them can do it because I have seen otherwise. I doubt it has anything to do with my watching them on U-Verse, DirecTV, or OTA.

...To record OTA my rabbit ears are plugged into the dish receiver, which causes the signal to drop out when the dish has satellite reception problems during storms. I would have to plug an OTA directly into my TV to get around that, but then couldn't record ;(As has been said before, the OTA tuner dish network uses in their boxes is not one of the best. The tuners built into most newer TVs are significantly better. In which case, Dave's suggestion of using an outdoor antenna might be better.

I find it odd that people won't spend a little money and effort up front for a reliable outdoor OTA antenna to get local channels people pay for on subscription services, but in better quality, and for free.

As has been said before, the OTA tuner dish network uses in their boxes is not one of the best. The tuners built into most newer TVs are significantly better. In which case, Dave's suggestion of using an outdoor antenna might be better.

I find it odd that people won't spend a little money and effort up front for a reliable outdoor OTA antenna to get local channels people pay for on subscription services, but in better quality, and for free.
I get the local channels great with indoor rabbit ears, I am hilltop to hilltop within a mile from Shinall. The problem is not reception, it is that for some reason when the VIP722 loses satellite reception and starts trying to re-acquire it interrupts the local feed also...

And in my case a little money is not how I would describe having to wire my house and install something on the roof. Particularly considering how windy it is and how many lightening strikes I get up on top of my hill ;)

I do have a reliable outdoor antenna, just don't have a reliable outdoor mounting spot that won't piss off the wife or is a good area.

I suspended my directv service on Monday once we decided to keep u-verse (which, by the way, does not count for your contract agreement which makes sense). We still have DirecTV as of today even though we told them to do it immediately. Sure hope they don't try to bill us for these extra days.

I do have a reliable outdoor antenna, just don't have a reliable outdoor mounting spot that won't piss off the wife or is a good area.

Heh heh, the perfect solution for me would be to lease land to a cellular provider to erect a cell tower, and stick my outdoor antenna there. I don't think my neighbors would appreciate that though ;)

I do have a reliable outdoor antenna, just don't have a reliable outdoor mounting spot that won't piss off the wife or is a good area.

Have you considered mounting in your attic? If you're in Little Rock, you should have no problems.

Have you considered mounting in your attic? If you're in Little Rock, you should have no problems.
If I don't have any coax running up there now, then that would be a major problem. Since I already have coax run to the comcrap linkup box on the back, then that in itself is no problem.

Just talked about the arrival of more pieces of the tower to the site on KATV a moment ago. Said its going as scheduled. Guess it might be a bit of a pain in the ass now to try to go up there to sneak a peek. :)

Have you considered mounting in your attic? If you're in Little Rock, you should have no problems.

Cathedral ceiling... There is about 8 inches of "attic", and that is filled with insulation ;)

If I don't have any coax running up there now, then that would be a major problem. Since I already have coax run to the comcrap linkup box on the back, then that in itself is no problem.

My dish service uses the coax conveniently installed by comcrap. I live in a log home, which makes running new wires just about impossible without removing the seal, which happens to be the roof ;) An outdoor antenna wire outlet does exist downstairs but unfortunately hasn't been used in over 20 years. It has long since been chewed up by critters and where it terminates at the roof level is a mystery. Running a new wire would require removing the sheet rock, at least upstairs, and so on, since there is no attic.

I think I will stick with my rabbit ears until Dish gets off their arse and offers local channels in HD.

I think I will stick with my rabbit ears until Dish gets off their arse and offers local channels in HD.
Or just get a better provider. ;) I say that tongue in cheek of course. Better is all in the eye of the beholder. I loved my DirecTV, just not the price.

I have been goofing around with my OTA antenna that I put on a pole for the past few minutes. Just can't get KARK to come above the 4 of 6 bar level on my Vista Media Center. Everything else is topping out very well though. Oh well, will watch KARK for a little. It might be stable enough to not break up as is.

I dont think what you are seeing is the other stations needing gain, but an overloading of the receiver front end by the 5 million watt Fox16 analog transmitter. I would suggest going to radio shack and buying a inline coax signal attenuator, and put that between a bow tie antenna and the DVR. Increase attenuation until your target stations quality reading (sometimes inaccurately labeled signal strength) peaks out or hits 100%, whichever occurs first.

With the suggestions provided here, I am trying a make-shift bowtie made from some scrap copper house wiring. I have it in my attic connected to some RG6 that was already run for my previous antenna escapades. My house was pre-wired with RG6 to various locations and to a central communications panel.

With some tweaking, I have a pretty good signal on the big 4, with 16 being around 100% on the 722. The Sony LCD tuner still gets them better. I am in a wooded location and the trees moving in the wind seems to affect the signal at those times. I am not sure how stable the other stations will remain.

If a store bought bowtie would work significantly better, I will try it. Is there an adjustable attenuator I could get? I do split the signal betweent the TV, 722 and my A/V receiver that I have, so I would think that there would a little attenuation there.

I am no expert in the antenna realm, but the expertise from this thread and people in the forum are much appreciated. :)

Radio Shacks attenuator is adjustable. A 2 way splitter has a 3db attenuation, 4 way splitters are considerably more, and you are correct in that you can use a splitter as an attenuator, but should terminate unused ports with a 75 ohm resistor. ~f you have room in the attic for the small radio shack yagi, I would try that. I believe they allow returns if it doesnt work for you. Another choice would be a channel master 4220 two element bowtie.

Hmm, game hasn't even started on KTHV-DT, but yet I am already noticing there is a lot of pixelation on heavy action shots. They didn't use to have that problem. Or is it my tuner? I don't think it is.

EDIT: Wow, the image is going soft every now and then too. The score bar at the top goes fuzzy a little bit and back to clear every now and then. Like they aren't running enough bandwidth to the HD side.

EDIT EDIT: Switched over to U-Verse, not happening near as much. Wonder what it is. I have a full signal on 11-1 and a powerful computer, so I don't know what it is. Take that back, while it isn't on the bar as much, it is pixelating all across the screen, thats just part of it being U-Verse I think. OTA looks much better for live football.

Is it possible to see more pixelation on Component cables than on HDMI??

War Memorial doesnt have any decent uplink facilities. The uplink is bitstarved. Directv feed is horrible. OTA isnt much better. CBS, and NBC with their 1080i sports I guess. NFL network is also 1080i, but they dont have this problem. Uplink is using 29300 SR, 4:2:2 video and Dolby E. My receiver will not decode either that video format or the new audio format, so cannot compare the uplink with the trash we are getting from KTHV.

Is it possible to see more pixelation on Component cables than on HDMI??

Noise yes, pixellation no...unless your tv's analog to digital converter is bad.

Noise yes, pixellation no...unless your tv's analog to digital converter is bad.
Well, I just asked cause it looked like there *might* be a little more pixelation on the component feed from the u-verse box, but I wasn't real sure. Could have just been the uplink at the moment I looked. It did have its moments of looking good, but they were few and far between. One thing I noticed in particular, when they went to do a replay of a play, at the very start of it, before the footage rolled, it looked pretty good, but almost immediately went very soft and crappy.

Guess KARK doesn't want us to see the Incredibles in true HD tonight. :) Its okay, just came in at the end of it anyway.

I notice the Georgia game on KTHV today has the same crappy video, going in and out of focus. Had a friend over and he doesnt even own a HDTV and asked me why I spent so much for HD when he got a better picture on cable...so I went hunting and found the same game on C band sat, using a SR of 32000. Watched both side by side, and CBS feed was SHARP, no out of focus, refocusing, grass was sharp, no macroblocking. My only conclusion is KHTV has a problem with their equipment or "THV2" is sucking to much bandwidth.

DirecTV having audio lip sync issues on the HD side of KATV. Have received multiple reports and we can observe the issue at the studio on our DirecTV receiver. Called the problem in, they are looking into it. I only have one contact with Dish HD and they report no issues. Still waiting on our Dish HD gear to show. Source stream for both is off the same DA at the Clear Channel building. Be interesting to confirm if Dish is ok.

CorpITGuy could you take a look at Dish?

No problems on my DirecTv HDDVR Allen. Lip Sync is right on. Must have fixed it quick. Looks like the fixed it by switching back to the antenna feed...Check out the football game, the graphics are going in and out of focus. It was doing that on CBS games this weekend too. If its not your problem let me know, cuz I plan to fire off a nasty email to Directv. Edit: Checking the OTA feed, and then several seconds later, the same shots on directv, and they are using the off air feed. Every place on the off air feed that has a major pixellation frame, appears on the Directv channel at exactly the same place. Im really confused now. EDIT2: Went to the ABC HD NET21 C band feed, and the game is pristine. Hope this helps you troubleshoot whatever is going on.

No problems on my DirecTv HDDVR Allen. Lip Sync is right on. Must have fixed it quick. Looks like the fixed it by switching back to the antenna feed...Check out the football game, the graphics are going in and out of focus. It was doing that on CBS games this weekend too. If its not your problem let me know, cuz I plan to fire off a nasty email to Directv. Edit: Checking the OTA feed, and then several seconds later, the same shots on directv, and they are using the off air feed. Every place on the off air feed that has a major pixellation frame, appears on the Directv channel at exactly the same place. Im really confused now. EDIT2: Went to the ABC HD NET21 C band feed, and the game is pristine. Hope this helps you troubleshoot whatever is going on.

Direct did indeed go to the off-air equity feed while they were going through encoder settings. ABC's net feeds are really impressive to see directly off C band aren't they?

I can't say with 100% certainty that it is not an issue on KATV's end, but it is most likely not. It doesn't really matter in my view who's issue it is- because it needs to be addressed and I'll do anything I can to help Direct get the issue fixed. Thank you for the detailed report!

I'll do anything I can to help Direct get the issue fixed.

And of that, I have no doubt...but with Thanksgiving weekend and the terror attacks in Mumbai, a little fuzz on a football game ranks pretty low in the grand scheme. Have a great Holiday.

FWIW, I saw KATV on Dishnet this morning and the lip sync was okay. Also, Okay on KATV-DT OTA.

EDit: This was a Dishnet SD channel.

dmatch

...I can't say with 100% certainty that it is not an issue on KATV's end, but it is most likely not. It doesn't really matter in my view who's issue it is- because it needs to be addressed and I'll do anything I can to help Direct get the issue fixed...Thanks, Allen. I wish all CEs would take this attitude, instead of playing the blame game.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. As I type this, it's snowing up here in the Ozarks.

I am having lip-sync problems on katv on Dish HD as well

DirecTV having audio lip sync issues on the HD side of KATV. Have received multiple reports and we can observe the issue at the studio on our DirecTV receiver. Called the problem in, they are looking into it. I only have one contact with Dish HD and they report no issues. Still waiting on our Dish HD gear to show. Source stream for both is off the same DA at the Clear Channel building. Be interesting to confirm if Dish is ok.

CorpITGuy could you take a look at Dish?


Hi Allenf. So sorry I did not see this message before... I was forcing myself to stay off the net, away from TV and spend time with the little guy this weekend. I'll take a look at it tonight. However, a user at DBS with E* named 'jrcart' did contact me and asked me if mine was out-of-sync and blurry (that occasional blurry problem both OTA and on Dish).

I am watching the 5:00 news on KATV right now via Dish. It is definitely having the sync issues. I switched over to antenna and it wasn't the case.

Some pixelation and lip sync on KATV-HD via E* right now. In fact, the video went to green lines and noise and the lip sync got worse a couple of minutes ago.

I think its safe to say at this point that there is a lot of work to be done on the KATV feed to both satellite operators. I can only imagine how much that must aggravate people. Just glad I don't rely on DirecTV anymore even though I do miss the sharper images from it.

Okay, I'm having a KATV-DT problem totally unrelated to Dish or lip-sync. OTA signal strength is much lower than usual, I tried to record Shrek & Grinch tonight, but there were way too many dropouts, making it unwatchable. Is this just me, or are folks having this problem?

Recording Sam Who off it right now. The few times I have checked it I haven't noticed any issues. Of course I haven't been able to check a meter on it, but its lookin okay to me. *shrug*

Looks like no Victoria Secret show again this year. CBS is advertising it, but of course our local KTHV affiliates are going to play it safe once again.

Looks like no Victoria Secret show again this year. CBS is advertising it, but of course our local KTHV affiliates are going to play it safe once again.

Another silly Arkansas tradition...censorship by local affiliates. Alternate programming by KTHV this year is a taped telethon/infomercial by St. Jude's Hospital.

Typically KASN has aired it same time as the CBS affiliates, but the titan tv listings show the usual programming for the 9pm timeslot. Also the CW (and UPN previously) has aired the VSFS a week later in HDTV. The last time I watched it in "HD" the strobe lights, macroblocking (no doubt caused by KASN's 38.2 subchannel) just made it unwatchable.

Side note, pitiful WXVT Greenville Mississippi (with a minimal, SD, low power DT station) is airing the VSFS---too bad its digital signal barely reaches Lake Village, although if there is half-way favorable tropo may give it a look see on the analog if WREG-DT Memphis won't come in.

Addendum: KSFM-DT Fort Smith is airing the VSFS, I just pulled up the listings.

Typically KASN has aired it same time as the CBS affiliates, but the titan tv listings show the usual programming for the 9pm timeslot. Also the CW (and UPN previously) has aired the VSFS a week later in HDTV. The last time I watched it in "HD" the strobe lights, macroblocking (no doubt caused by KASN's 38.2 subchannel) just made it unwatchable.

On my TV, the commercials for the VS show on CBS look incredible in HD - esp Adriana Lima with her santa hat on. Apparently, they've come a long way.

Another silly Arkansas tradition...censorship by local affiliates.

Making the business decision not to infuriate your customers isn't censorship. Censorship is when the government steps in and prevents something from airing.

A more legitimate approach is to call out the prudes who have a moral problem with other people (no one forcing them to watch it) seeing women fully clothed. What's wrong with those nuts? ;)

Not meaning to be off topic or anything, but it affects me rather greatly and probably other people too. Did anyone check out Sunday's classifieds jobs section? It was LOL funny. There are 3 pages of jobs in there......3!! The front page is always articles or something, but the inside of the front page and one complete front and back second page is it! I mean, WOW! We ARE in a recession or something. :)

Okay, I'm having a KATV-DT problem totally unrelated to Dish or lip-sync. OTA signal strength is much lower than usual, I tried to record Shrek & Grinch tonight, but there were way too many dropouts, making it unwatchable. Is this just me, or are folks having this problem?

On tonight's ABC News at 5:30 on DirecTV, the audio-video was still out of sync. However via OTA it was okay. I guess the uplink problems continue.

On tonight's ABC News at 5:30 on DirecTV, the audio-video was still out of sync. However via OTA it was okay. I guess the uplink problems continue.

Lip sync on D* seems spot on during 10pm news.

Gosh Little Rock Broadcast tv sucks. NBC's premier Christmas season starter....switching between 4:3 SD with audio and 16:9 HD with no audio. Was working fine until they popped out of network for a local news promo. I wish Obama would fire the whole FCC staff, and bring back choice. Then to make matters worse, Directv's feed goes Brrrrrrrrrrup every time a bolt of lightning flashes.

On the bright side, Section 1 of Katv's tower goes up tomorrow.

Gosh Little Rock Broadcast tv sucks. NBC's premier Christmas season starter....switching between 4:3 SD with audio and 16:9 HD with no audio. Was working fine until they popped out of network for a local news promo. I wish Obama would fire the whole FCC staff, and bring back choice. Then to make matters worse, Directv's feed goes Brrrrrrrrrrup every time a bolt of lightning flashes.

On the bright side, Section 1 of Katv's tower goes up tomorrow.

My blog post (http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com/2008/12/banned-in-central-arkansas-victorias.html) about tonight's blacked out Victoria Secret's Fashion Show made the Arkansas Times Blog (http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2008/12/no_naughtiness_allowed.aspx) earlier today.

Good news on the KATV Tower, but weather is predicted to be windy so there may not be any work done.

WVXF (SD) has VSFS on Gxy 16 C band...if your OTA doesnt grab it.

My blog post (http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com/2008/12/banned-in-central-arkansas-victorias.html) about tonight's blacked out Victoria Secret's Fashion Show made the Arkansas Times Blog (http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2008/12/no_naughtiness_allowed.aspx) earlier today.

Good news on the KATV Tower, but weather is predicted to be windy so there may not be any work done.
I really wish KTHV would read your blog post and what I said in the comments. I mean, honestly, St. Jude's stuff is HIGHLY depressing. Do we really wanna see kids that are very sick or dying??????? Conversely, we could see scantily clad women prancing around after our kids are in bed (well, mine anyway), thus brightening my viewing experience. I would think that they would want us to see content we enjoy seeing rather than content that makes us sick and depresses us!

WVXF (SD) has VSFS on Gxy 16 C band...if your OTA doesnt grab it.
You need to get a LP transmitter and run it as Pirate TV for all us in the area to watch content we WANT to watch. I bet you could get an analog transmitter fairly cheap after the shut-off date. I further bet that you would probably be able to use it to transmit things we all want to see without getting busted by the FCC. I mean, I for one would love to have an alternate source of satellite content that I can't get from these local hate mongers. :)

I suppose I could apply for a low power analog license, and just channel swap between Carribbean ABC during razorback basketball preempts, and other boob (pun intended) programming decisions... Or, you could talk the wife into one of those new high tech status symbols, the 6' dish,to plant a garden around in your backyard...

Wow..these girls are looking, well, pretty good. DVD's available hahahaha

I suppose I could apply for a low power analog license, and just channel swap between Carribbean ABC during razorback basketball preempts, and other boob (pun intended) programming decisions... Or, you could talk the wife into one of those new high tech status symbols, the 6' dish,to plant a garden around in your backyard...

Wow..these girls are looking, well, pretty good. DVD's available hahahaha
rasnfrasnbragnfragnrumblebumble

Oh well, thats what torrents are for. :)

Another off-topic post, but I have two codes for 1-hour each WiFi access at McDonalds that I got when I was playing the Monopoly game there. I have an iPhone, so I get free access. Does anyone need them? I just don't want to archive them away cause I think someone could use them if they wanted to.

The retrans-negotiations betwen Comcast and Ganett (dba KTHV) are about to start again (http://www.nlrtimes.com/articles/2008/11/27/the_times/local_news/nws03.txt). Its been three years since the last one (also involving WEHCO dba Pine Bluff Cable, Resort Cable [Hot Springs]).

This is yet another reason to have OTA capability--bypassing the cat fights between cable/sat providers and local stations.

The retrans-negotiations betwen Comcast and Ganett (dba KTHV) are about to start again (http://www.nlrtimes.com/articles/2008/11/27/the_times/local_news/nws03.txt). Its been three years since the last one (also involving WEHCO dba Pine Bluff Cable, Resort Cable [Hot Springs]).

This is yet another reason to have OTA capability--bypassing the cat fights between cable/sat providers and local stations.
huh?

EDIT: Ok, guess I am the only one who didn't understand, so I am not worried about it cause I am not on Comcast anymore and never will be if I can help it.

PARDON THE OFF TOPIC: Does anyone use XM or Sirius (now combined) in their car out on the woods? Want to get one, but only if it wont drop out when I drive through the woods in Southern Ar or the Ozarks. Any reason to get a XM over a sirius branded receiver?

PM replies ok. Thanks.
I just now saw this post. I don't do a LOT of driving through the woods or anything with my Roady2 (piece of crap if ever there was one. hehe), but when I do go up the side streets in Hillcrest, the signal doesn't go out. Plus, there are tall trees on either side of Kanis near Shackleford and it doesn't go out there. You shouldn't have too much of a problem. Pick up a used unit off Ebay and get a prepaid service card and give it a shot for a month or two to find out. :)

Just wondering, since AETN did that stuff a few weeks back to "switch to digital", when are they going to switch KETS over to 7? Is that still going to be in Feb?

They can't move to 7 until KATV vacates 7, which will likely be 02/17/09.

- Trip