I missed House this week because baseball game ran long. I found this site to watch it in case anyone else needs it
http://housemdvideos.com/seasons/video.php?s=06&e=06

Hmm.. gotta put that link in my PopCorn Hour.

You can get House and many, many more current and old TV shows and movies at Hula.com.

The most recent episode is on my link. They wait eight or ten days to show latest episodeon Hula or fox sites

I believe you mean Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/), not Hula.. :p

i believe you mean hulu (http://www.hulu.com/), not hula.. :p

hulo hula hopdedola what ever:d:d:d

Here's a little tidbit of info that would help explain a possible difference of audio levels between networks: Fox allows a +19dB (analog metering) peak-limit standard, which allows 5dB more headroom than other networks, according to Joe Earle, dialog and music mixer for Fox's Glee. He notes that taking advantage of the extra headroom makes Glee's audio competitive with that of commercials. However, even though Glee is mixed a little hot, it doesn't necessarily mean that all Fox programs are.

edge,

I switched my antenna lead to go directly into my display's antenna input.

Entering 26.1 gets me WAIQ which would mean that their PSIP info is correct. Entering 27.5 got zip.

This isn't the first time Tivo has done something similar. I've gone though this several times with them with other station combination changes. Given the frequency of this happening, its obvious that they've got something screwed up in their software.

I got off the phone with them a few minutes ago and their rep instructed me to do another channel scan. That hasn't worked the other times I've had a similar problem but its possible that they've changed the logic in their firmware where this will work. I'll post if it does.

Looking at the bigger picture, the only show I watch on PBS is This Old House. So its not like they carry compelling programming any more.


Edit: Channel scan did not correct the problem.

The annoying thing is that this happens every few months but with different channel combinations. aaargh.

Has anyone been able to come up w/ a fix for this?

zho40,

I gave up on Tivo fixing the problem and use my satellite receiver to tune the OTA versions of PBS.

Is WCOV OTA down?

Is WCOV OTA down?

I have had trouble with WCOV and WSFA for the past couple of days.

I have had trouble with WCOV and WSFA for the past couple of days.

Add WNCF to that list. Their normally shallow signal seems much worse since yesterday.

Got a glimpse of Fox 6 (Bham) and their new HD news set (since WCOV carries their morning news, although in SD). Got to say the Birmingham
TV market continues to disappoint (when I was young cable brought in Bham, MGM, and Mobile/Pensacola...we always laughed at how poor the BHAM stations looked). The set has what appears to be a
BLACK AND WHITE city skyline behind the main anchor desk. They must have
spent hours figuring out how to make that HD pop!

Got a glimpse of Fox 6 (Bham) and their new HD news set (since WCOV carries their morning news, although in SD). Got to say the Birmingham
TV market continues to disappoint (when I was young cable brought in Bham, MGM, and Mobile/Pensacola...we always laughed at how poor the BHAM stations looked). The set has what appears to be a
BLACK AND WHITE city skyline behind the main anchor desk. They must have
spent hours figuring out how to make that HD pop!

It's called "Raycom." What did you expect from the company who puts sub-$10k HD camcorders in their stations? :confused:

In the last few days, I've been having breakup with OTA with channel 32, WNCF .

Anybody else?

I gave up on 32 and use 22-1/2. WSFA has been lousy for the past few days also.

We've had unusual atmospheric conditions the last few days, especially between dusk and 8-9pm...all the Montgomery OTA stations (measured from my remote location) had intermittent signal drops/losses during that time...

As the weather cleared the signals stabilized again at, or near, 100%...temperature inversions and low clouds tend to play havoc on digital signals when received from 40 or more miles away...causing multipath conditions which does more harm to digital signals than it did to our old analog signals...

I don't think you were harsh enough. Cable companies are pathetic in Montgomery. When I moved my family here from Orlando, we lived with my parents for a few months until we found our own house. I saw first hand how horrible Charter was and vowed to never buy service from them. It wasn't just the lack of HD but the service. Billing errors and struggling to correct those, PPV football games that wouldn't work half the time but you still got charged for them. Then they charged something like $35-50 for a in home service call to fix there connection to the house. Brighthouse in Orlando never charged for any type of in home service call.

I went with Dish Network when we moved into our house and have been pretty happy for the most part. 80+ HD channels and one of the best DVRs I have ever used. Only problem I have with Dish Network is the rain fade happens too often for a company that claims it doesn't happen that often.

I would have chosen DirecTV but, they don't offer Montgomery locals at all (SD or HD). Dish Network only had the locals in SD when we signed up but, they added HD not long after. DirecTV claims that they have 94% of the country's locals yet they still don't have Montgomery's. I just don't buy that claim. I know Montgomery isn't a huge city but, it is not the smallest either.

I agree with you though, if you have a nice HDTV and home theater, satellite is the only way to go in Montgomery. I'm trying to get my parents to switch because they hate Charter but, they just don't want to deal with the switch for some reason.

I'm a little slow, I'm sure, but has anyone watched Dish Channel 212 "Dish Earth"?

Pretty cool.

Montgomery is 118th out of 210.

http://www.tvb.org/rcentral/markettrack/US_HH_by_DMA.asp

I don't know what Charter's problem is with APT digital/HD. Just another example how bad Charter is. There's no excuse not to have a local in HD. Don't look for the CW in HD here any time soon. That actually is not the locals fault. Montgomery is a smaller market and the CW hasn't rolled out HD for us yet. Charter does have it in HD for Birmingham as the CW produces its channel in HD for that market.
I would think all the affiliates can get access to the SD and HD feeds, it's just a matter of the local channel ponying up the dough to buy the right equipment. Is it different for CW?

I would think all the affiliates can get access to the SD and HD feeds, it's just a matter of the local channel ponying up the dough to buy the right equipment. Is it different for CW?

It IS different with CW. The result is a CW decision, not the local station.
I'm not totally up on the whys, but the top 100 markets actually get a
feed that difffers somewhat from the 101+ markets. Locally (it is my understanding) WNCF has very little "local hands on" of CW. The feed is received and routed through a "spot box" which inserts and plays out the local commercials. These local commercials actually have to be shipped out in advance to the insertion center via electronic or physical means. This is then downloaed into the Montgomery spot box by the insertion center as a sort of playlist with the programming. Since all this is done in advance of the broadcast day, WNCF kinda acts like a babysitter for the transmitter. They do have the ability to "break in" as they do at 9pm to run the local news we produce for them (and they might drop in other local programs as well...I just don' know) but the whole 100+ model is quite differnt from a "normal" affiliate/network set up. I'm sure other factors play in to this relationship, and it may not apply to all 101+ stations, but again I'm not up on that.

WGSA, WWMB, and KNIN.

What do these stations have in common? They air two different CW feeds on their over the air signal. All were UPN affiliates before the merger.

As WAKA-DT 8 stated, there are two different things going on with CW.

In markets 1-100, it's a normal station-network relationship. Network provides network programming, local station airs syndication and local programming to fill the rest of the schedule.

In markets 101-210, however, this situation is different. The CW network has purchased across the board rights to syndicated programming that is then pre-packaged for air in all of those markets. This feed is only made available to local stations in SD at this time, being designed for digital subchannels and analog cable.

In the case of the three stations at the beginning of my message, those stations already had invested heavily in HD gear from their UPN days as well as in syndicated programming to fill out the non-network time. Rather than scrapping all of that, they are the only three markets in the 100-210 range that have a CW-HD feed. But they also show CW+ in SD on a subchannel.

Now I've been told by a very reliable source that CW+ in HD is coming in the future, but no solid timeframe was given.

WAKA-DT 8 gave you the more technical side differences, this is the legal/contractual difference, I suppose.

- Trip

Thank you Trip. I learn something new every day. (Today is: Don't live in a small market, lol!) Don't feel bad though, I went from market 40 to 187. We don't have an NBC, or a CW or My Network or ion or even a This or America One station. :(

Look David Woods, et al-

At 3:56 P.M. the DAL@GB game came back from a commercial and is in SD! Check your logs, it happened!

I'm turning it over to ABC and watching NASCAR. I didn't buy a HD TV for nothing. David Woods lost a viewer for the day.

here we go again!:eek::):eek:

In October I received a message from Charter on my Cable box about 5 new HD channels that we would receive in October including Disney HD.It even listed the channel numbers.Here it is Nov. 16th and none of these channels seem to be there.Does anyone have any info on this?

We had a new roof installed last week, so I hooked my DIY antenna (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16659460#post16659460) back up to the HDHomerun to see if my in-attic reception had changed for better or worse. (I installed a pre-amp since I last posted about this, btw.) I saw a slight improvement in signal quality, but still couldn't pick up 12 or 32/22. But, I got excited enough again to look into building a single channel VHF Ant for 12. While I was reading, I noticed a major flaw in my current build. The reflector needed to be 4" from the whiskers, and I had them much closer. I fixed that today, then did one more thing I should've done a while back. I took a laptop into the attic crawlspace with me so I could watch the levels myself as I positioned the antenna. My wife had watched them prior to this. She did a fine job, but the information exchange was rather high latency.

I found a pretty good spot. I now get 12 and 22 with very good signal strength and quality, but 8 is spotty at best. I don't know if I'll be able to find a better placement up there, but I'm much happier with it's current performance. If I can't fine tune it enough to get everything, I'll probably add another antenna at some point soon.

We're planning to cut the cable programming off soon, and just use OTA and the Internet for content. It was going to be easy to make the disconnect call, until Knology added 10 new clear QAM channels. Science Channel and BBC America will be tough to say 'bye' to after just gaining them.

Can you show us pics of the VHF antenna?

thanx

I replaced some older cables with new monoprice.com RG6 quad-shielded cables hoping to get a little more db particularly on the Bham stations. I maybe got 1db gain. I also thought that signal strength got better as the weather turns colder. I'm getting the opposite. Maybe it's the leaves falling this time of year and I will see better numbers in the winter.

Can you show us pics of the VHF antenna?

thanx

I never built the VHF antenna, I was just looking into it. Once I fixed the reflector on my UHF ant, I was able to pick up 12. I was going to use these instructions (http://www.wfu.edu/~matthews/misc/dipole.html), which might give you an idea what it would've looked like. I'm just a little disappointed I don't have an excuse to make one now. But only a little. I've just about had my fill of finding my way across that crawl space. :p

Wooohooo!

Saturday 1 1/2 hours before the games started the bulb on my 52" Mitsubishi DLP went out.
I went to BB and picked out the Panasonic TC-P50S1 (1199.00). Got it up and running about 30 minutes into the game. I wasn't very happy with the picture. It was pale and dim. Today I returned it and got the Panasonic TC-P50G10 for 200.00 more.
Man am I happy. What an awesome picture!

What's going on? I was all set to watch the Alabama game on WCOV and Ark/MS. State is on. The on-screen guide and today's newspaper lists the Alabama game for WCOV.

WCOV really screwed this one up. How can you show the out of state game!? It's on channel 446 on Dish.

son of a **************88*and#####@32#$%^^&9
0h well it is Chattanooga you can see it on the computer ESPN 360 AL 14 Nooga zip

Ok its on now first quarter gone 20 to zip

It's finally on WCOV.

WZDX in Huntsville had the same problem with the Alabama game on 54.1, but the other game was unaffected on 54.2.

It appears it was an SEC issue. Not WCOV.

Hey I thought this was funny.The first quarter was just about over and they switched to the Bama Game. Shortly after and till 47 seconds to go in the game they ran a banner about the problem they had with the SEC network. Every time it came across the
screen it messed up the HD picture.Not gripping but hey the problem was fixed leave the picture alone. I just had to laugh. I still love my Fox wcov

I guess they figured that enough people would jump on the SEC network that they'd be more careful next time.

Who's carrying the Iron Bowl next week?

It appears it was an SEC issue. Not WCOV.

The satellite that provides the feed to all SEC network stations was working correctly. When I saw FOX20 had the wrong game on I switched to CW21 in B'ham and they had the Bama game on from the beginning.

I kept watch on Fox20 until they finally "corrected" their feed problem then switched back to Fox20.

As others noted, their crawler that blamed the SEC network for the problem forced them to transmit in SD while that stupid crawler was on...and whoever hastily typed up the crawl message must have believed we were all in the hospital because they thanked us for being "patients"...they much later changed that to "patience"..:D

So I believe it was a local station problem or they had bad information on what satellite feed was to send them the Bama game...Birmingham CW21 evidently had the correct information, or their station engineers were on top of any problem.

CBS has the Iron Bowl

what I tried to say they fixed the problem but then screwed the hd picture by keeping the crawl message going off and on the rest of the ball game. I guess they came in and changed the feed and typed the message and went back home for the day wait a second there goes the crawl again!

I'm glad WCOV finally fixed the issue but, there was no reason to run that apology crawl for the entire game. Once or twice after the problem was fixed would have been fine but, to continue to ruin the HD image with your crawl was just stupid. It created a second problem just so you could apologize for the first one. Where was the crawl to apologize for messing up the HD image? I have no problem with them showing it a couple of times but, coming out of every commercial break was a bit much, especially at the cost of the HD image. That was just a dumb decision. Plus, once the problem was fixed no one could care less about your apology since we could finally see the game. They should have been running that crawl before they fixed the issue, just to let everyone know that they were aware of it.

Also, please spend some freaking money and update your equipment so that you can do your crawls in HD. I don't care what it cost, you have a responsibility to your viewers to get it right. Plus, it is not like this is new technology.

The satellite that provides the feed to all SEC network stations was working correctly. When I saw FOX20 had the wrong game on I switched to CW21 in B'ham and they had the Bama game on from the beginning.

I kept watch on Fox20 until they finally "corrected" their feed problem then switched back to Fox20.

As others noted, their crawler that blamed the SEC network for the problem forced them to transmit in SD while that stupid crawler was on...and whoever hastily typed up the crawl message must have believed we were all in the hospital because they thanked us for being "patients"...they much later changed that to "patience"..:D

So I believe it was a local station problem or they had bad information on what satellite feed was to send them the Bama game...Birmingham CW21 evidently had the correct information, or their station engineers were on top of any problem.

WJTC in Mobile had a trouble slide while the pregame show was going on. The feed was restored by kickoff.

I guess CBS has all their HD cameras tied up at Football games. The Thanksgiving Day Parade is in SD while NBC has it in HD.

It appears it was an SEC issue. Not WCOV.

No it wasn't just WCOV. SEC channel here is WTVY, which is a CBS affiliate. They got to the Bama game with 7 minutes left in 1st quarter. Crawler said it was a satellite problem from the ESPN feed.

I guess CBS has all their HD cameras tied up at Football games. The Thanksgiving Day Parade is in SD while NBC has it in HD.

every year cbs is not in hd

Apparently Knology had all 8 of their Starz channels free (and available via clear QAM) from the 25th-29th. They are still up as I type this post. Wish I'd have known earlier - I'd have set a few items to record on the HD station while I was away. :/

Brighthouse new HD CHANNEL 326 Fox News

Brighthouse new HD CHANNEL 326 Fox News

Yes. Julie Banderas...Jane Skinner..Jamie Colby...and more..very nice HD too. :) as we can see the distribution feed here in the office.

Yes. Julie Banderas...Jane Skinner..Jamie Colby...and more..very nice HD too. :) as we can see the distribution feed here in the office.

Thats exactly what I was trying to say {Julie Banderas...Jane Skinner..Jamie Colby...and more..very nice} :D:D:D:cool::cool:

[QUOTE=jtrippe;17629301]Thanks for the info. We added a post on MTR (www.montgomerytvandradio.com) and gave a shout out to you.[/QUOTE
Thank you

Brighthouse new HD
322 SPD HD
325 CNN HD
326 FOX NEWS HD
327 AMC HD

WHOOPEE KEEP IT COMING:D:D

Maybe in 10 years the cable companies will be caught up with Satellite.

Maybe in 10 years the cable companies will be caught up with Satellite.

at twice the price to boot......

Maybe in 10 years the cable companies will be caught up with Satellite.

Don't think so. The per customer cost to deliver programming favors satellite.



By the way, is anyone else in Wetumpka having a lot of dropouts with Channel 12 WSFAHD?

only so much hd there. Most is streched sd or reruns:p

Science hd also new on Brighthouse today

Science hd also new on Brighthouse today

what channel number?

what channel number?

channel 323

Wish Knology would get FOX News in HD

Hey yall,
I'm receiving Encore HD on channel 81-2. It is gorgeous 1080i (as per the info button on my LGTV). Why is this? I don't subscribe to this channel, so has anyone else been receiving this?

That's probably its QAM channel. Give them time . . . they will encrypt it.

Hey yall,
I'm receiving Encore HD on channel 81-2. It is gorgeous 1080i (as per the info button on my LGTV). Why is this? I don't subscribe to this channel, so has anyone else been receiving this?

Checked yesterday/today and it was STARZ-HD leftover from their free weekend.

I ordered Terminator Salvation on Directv PPV 1080p and recorded it on the DVR. Surprisingly it didn't eat up a ton of space like I thought it would.
Picture is awsome!

Sure is quiet around here. Roll Tide!!!

Sure is quiet around here. Roll Tide!!!


Sure is...I'm still burping gator and tiger stew...now we need to add some beefy horns to that broth...

Roll Tide!

Checked yesterday/today and it was STARZ-HD leftover from their free weekend.

Yeah, I ended up getting to Record some neat HD movies off of it thanks to that. Saves me from having to buy the BDs. :)

Brighthouse has made a few changes to there web site. They are promising more HD in early 2010. I checked out Birmingham Brighthouse HD and there is a ton of it. I am curious about there video on demand HD!

Last night I was at another home where the owners have a high def display and are using standard def signals. Since they want to use the full screen, they use an aspect ratio that stretch the signal to fit the screen. This is the 3rd home recently that I've seen this.

Anybody else come across this?

Last night I was at another home where the owners have a high def display and are using standard def signals. Since they want to use the full screen, they use an aspect ratio that stretch the signal to fit the screen. This is the 3rd home recently that I've seen this.

Anybody else come across this?
Oh yes I see this a lot. It seems that consumers do this for two reasons: 1) they're too stupid to realize they need a high-def package and just watch all the SD content stretched, thinking THAT is what HD is, and 2) they realize it's not HD but don't want to shell out for an extra package/antenna/HD cable box or whatever, and they stretch it to fill the screen because they "paid for that screen and want to use it."

It's a huge pet peeve for me and I've crusaded against stretch-o-vision everywhere I can but it's a lost cause because people just don't seem to think it looks bad.

Last night I was at another home where the owners have a high def display and are using standard def signals. Since they want to use the full screen, they use an aspect ratio that stretch the signal to fit the screen. This is the 3rd home recently that I've seen this.

Anybody else come across this?

Many folks, myself included, have HDTV's and HD programming...but like and use the DISH DVR options that allows the screen format for SD programming to be stretched or zoomed to fill the screen, or to use black or gray borders around a SD 4:3 screen...

So yes, we do use the stretch options, but only on SD channels...the HD channels are viewed in "Normal" mode.

My daughter and her family have a great looking HDTV but don't subscribe to HD programming, but the SD channels look great on that TV and it has the "Convert 4:3 programming to 16:9 display" option and it does not look "stretched"..

If it isn't in HD I don't watch it.
My Guide is now set to HD only.

I have to say though my Friend has a Sony XBR9 and Charter. We know how many channels Charter has in HD. :rolleyes:
I have to admit his tv does an excellent job of filling the screen automatically.
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference in SD/HD on his TV.

Last night I was at another home where the owners have a high def display and are using standard def signals. Since they want to use the full screen, they use an aspect ratio that stretch the signal to fit the screen. This is the 3rd home recently that I've seen this.

Anybody else come across this?


Yea, my kid and my father in law do this all the time..when I ask why, they say they don't like the black bars in the picture.. the don't seem to care that everyone is really FAT..

Actually, in my case they both have HD access.. which is a shame.. My father in law doesn't like the extra "stuff" on the HD business channels..so he watches the sd with wrong aspect ratio..

Bob,

Is it CNBC that he watches?

yea, he also did not like the extra "HD Wing" on FOX Business..

Can't figure that out.

The extra information that you see on the HD version is very useful.

He must be doing something other than stocks.

yea, he also did not like the extra "HD Wing" on FOX Business..

Don't try to fight it. Few purists exist. If we didn't lock out the controls for the big-a plasma in the WAKA lobby, our own employees would be watching us in stretched SD (I find the plasma in the conference room switched that way all the time).
Guess we must be HD snobs.

I can't stand folks that stretch content "to fill the screen they paid for".

It is like watching Charmed on TNTHD. You know the girls need a sandwich, but you don't want to see them that fat :)

I can't stand folks that stretch content "to fill the screen they paid for".

It is like watching Charmed on TNTHD. You know the girls need a sandwich, but you don't want to see them that fat :)

Many of the newer HDTV's have built-in firmware to convert 4:3 programming to 16:9 displays without looking like stretch-o-vision...Mine does not do that but my daughter has a new Sony with this feature, they use Dish Network too but do not subscribe to HD programming...but it looks almost like HD on their TV...I was amazed at the quality because I thought it really was HD programming..

new Brighthose HD CHANNEL 328 Bravo hd .Great more streched and reruns HD

Any word on Knology offering more HD channels?

new Brighthose HD CHANNEL 328 Bravo hd .Great more streched and reruns HD
Unless something has changed recently, Bravo doesn't stretch SD content. I don't think any of the NBC-Universal channels stretch SD content on their HD channels.

Any word on Knology offering more HD channels?

My bill with the annual price increase just says more coming in 2010. Also they will be now showing the live games on the NFL network starting thursday according to their message board on channel 30.

May not be stretched but for my money no big deal

Many of the newer HDTV's have built-in firmware to convert 4:3 programming to 16:9 displays without looking like stretch-o-vision...they use Dish Network too but do not subscribe to HD programming...but it looks almost like HD on their TV.....

That only works if the Tv has a "zoom" mode..I have Vizio VA26L in my home office..the genius of a rocket scientist that designed it left out the zoom mode..with this set you can only stretch the picture horizontally..works good with the anamorphic composite analog output of my directv HD receiver..not so good with my SD only dish 381 and discovery ch.... :(

Anyone care to throw in their theroy of why I can get WAKA 8-1 OTA flawless on Dish but almost doesn't exist on Direct? Same antenna on both.

WSFA, WCOV, and WNCF all work fine. HR21/700

Just speculating.

WAKA's signal isn't all that strong and on the Direct tuner, it falls below its threshold to tune it. The Dish receiver has a better tuner that can handle a lower signal.

Well I thought maybe my antenna got turned but the numbers don't support that.



Direct Dish
8-1 29% 75%
12-1 100% 95%
20-1 65% 79%
22-1 0% 62%
26-1 100% 92%
29-1 39% 64%
32-1 50% 65%
45-1 100% 85%

My bill with the annual price increase just says more coming in 2010. Also they will be now showing the live games on the NFL network starting thursday according to their message board on channel 30.

Unless they add something good and soon, I think I might be dropping them for Direct TV. I pay way too much for what they are offering.

I want all sub-channels to be eliminated. That opinion was not allowed to be expressed in the poll.

If you don't mind answering this....why do you want all subs eliminated? For us OTA only enthusiast this is a way to have more channels to watch and enjoy. OR, do you think everyone should have cable or satellite? Personally I am ticked off that WSFA will be dropping RTN from their network. Surely I am not the only one?

This morning was the first time I have received WCOV in over 3 months....and on the backside of my antenna at that. Have they done something to increase power from when I lost their signal over 3 months ago?

If you don't mind answering this....why do you want all subs eliminated? For us OTA only enthusiast this is a way to have more channels to watch and enjoy. OR, do you think everyone should have cable or satellite? Personally I am ticked off that WSFA will be dropping RTN from their network. Surely I am not the only one?

I can probably answer that. Because they steal bandwidth from the -1 channel to make the others. Degrading the -1 picture.

Because they steal bandwidth from the -1 channel to make the others. Degrading the -1 picture.

In WAKA's case, with the latest generation high-efficiency encoders, you would not be able to tell any difference should we take the bandwidth used for radar and give back to the HD. It would take quite a bit more than is available to make a noticeable difference. That does not hold true for those using older less efficient encoders. And in FOX network's case with what they are doing, subchannels are even less of an issue.

If you really want an eye opener, use TSReader on certain stations there to find out exactly where the bandwidth is going. You might find a surprise. Or two.

Another totally useless poll as the only option that SHOULD be on there isn't.

Option #1: We don't need sub-channels, they are a waste of bandwidth.

What's really irritating about that is the paragraph describing the poll even has the line "are these (channels) even necessary?


As I stop the think on it, there is another obvious option that should be on there.

Option #2: I don't know what a sub-channel is

Seriously, you would think with the number of polls being put on the internet people would begin to understand population sampling at least a tiny bit. But, I guess every example is a "don't do this" example.

I've been thinking about your post for a few days and thought I'd actually go read the poll to try to figure out the point you're trying to make. In my opinion, they're just trying to figure out what people's preferences are. Its not like the locals are going to drop a subchannel. If anything, they'll just change what's on it. Its you're desire to want to drop subchannels with the belief that it'll improve performance (which is what I also thought until Bob's post).

I don't know how many polls you've come up with, but I can tell you that as careful as you are to design one, there'll always be someone that will complain about why you didn't include this or that.

Jim, Talk about a skewed poll, see here:

http://rolloverorgettough.com/

Notice no selection for "ROLL OVER".. well, there is, but it doesn't exactly work the opposite of "GET TOUGH" :rolleyes:

(it has been changed somewhat towards more balanced since it was first launched)

Bob,

Time Warner just wants an excuse to go up on their rates beyond the cost increase.

Cable has got to be having a tough time with satellite eating their lunch.

Does anyone with a Tivo Series 3 on Bright House have updated programming information for the new channels? I haven't gotten any yet. It seems to be taking longer than usual.

I just cut off the premium HD tier from my cable subscription. Once they removed HD Net and HD Net movies from that "HD Tier" lineup, I didn't think it was worth the extra money. They can have Hallmark Channel with their stretched programming and MAV TV. MGM is okay, but most of its movies are old "B" grades you've never heard of. Smithsonian HD is pretty good. Universal is okay, too, but here lately has shown nothing but the HD versions of TV shows that didn't last very long on the networks.

Well, I for one, am really ticked off that WSFA is dropping RTN. I am OTA only and the more channels the better. Not to mention I watch RTN quite a bit. Have emailed my local channels here in Ozark to try and get them to pick it up since 2 of them have no subs at all. One is the sister station of WSFA.

And as far as a sub taking away from the main channel I don't believe that you could detect the difference with the naked eye. So JMCecil quit your belly aching! Sounds like he works for a cable or satellite company. IMO

Well, I for one, am really ticked off that WSFA is dropping RTN. I am OTA only and the more channels the better. Not to mention I watch RTN quite a bit. Have emailed my local channels here in Ozark to try and get them to pick it up since 2 of them have no subs at all. One is the sister station of WSFA.

When is this drop of RTV occurring? Does anyone have a date?

And as far as a sub taking away from the main channel I don't believe that you could detect the difference with the naked eye. So JMCecil quit your belly aching! Sounds like he works for a cable or satellite company. IMO

If your screen is big enough, you can tell. If subs take away enough, you can tell even on a small screen. (My local PBS compresses their HD down to 11 Mbps and it makes graphic transitions on the News Hour unwatchable.)

- Trip

If you don't mind answering this....why do you want all subs eliminated? For us OTA only enthusiast this is a way to have more channels to watch and enjoy. OR, do you think everyone should have cable or satellite? Personally I am ticked off that WSFA will be dropping RTN from their network. Surely I am not the only one?
Sorry, I didn't see this until the consolidated e-mail for this thread showed up in my inbox.

The answer is simple. It ruins HD broadcasts on the main feed. Especially live HD. I don't even bother watching football or basketball on NBC anymore. Although, it isn't as obvious on a regular scripted show, the audio gets hiccuped and you can see the same occassional interruptions and smearings/blockings that live broadcasts suffer from. You probably thought those things were just "normal" broadcast issues. Also, on bigger screens, you can really see the bit-starved picture. When you compare it to properly broadcast HD it is tremendously different.

If you don't mind answering this....why do you want all subs eliminated? For us OTA only enthusiast this is a way to have more channels to watch and enjoy. OR, do you think everyone should have cable or satellite? Personally I am ticked off that WSFA will be dropping RTN from their network. Surely I am not the only one?

Well, I for one, am really ticked off that WSFA is dropping RTN. I am OTA only and the more channels the better. Not to mention I watch RTN quite a bit. Have emailed my local channels here in Ozark to try and get them to pick it up since 2 of them have no subs at all. One is the sister station of WSFA.

And as far as a sub taking away from the main channel I don't believe that you could detect the difference with the naked eye. So JMCecil quit your belly aching! Sounds like he works for a cable or satellite company. IMO
I'm not sure why I should quit bellyaching. I CAN see the difference very clearly and it is distracting to the point where I quit watching a specific channel until it gets fixed. I have no idea why they ruin a channel that 5 million people are watching so that 6 people in Clovis can watch a 1965 re-run that they can get on DVD for $2.

When you compare it to properly broadcast HD it is tremendously different.

Then you should see uncompressed HD @ 1.5 gb/s directly out of a production studio / truck on a 65" professional plasma .. :) All OTA is inferior when compared to that, and naturally so.

Then you should see uncompressed HD @ 1.5 gb/s directly out of a production studio / truck on a 65" professional plasma .. :) All OTA is inferior when compared to that, and naturally so.
I vote for that as the default feed to all our homes :D. However, I know that a lot of the production people are tired of hearing how crappy the signal that gets to the end user is. They bust their bunns to make a great image and audio experience only to have it destroyed on the distribution end.

I know that a lot of the production people are tired of hearing how crappy the signal that gets to the end user is. They bust their bunns to make a great image and audio experience only to have it destroyed on the distribution end.

Yessir, dealing with HD everyday I see it firsthand..it's bad enough that some stations butcher their HD with subchannels and "hidden" ;) streams to begin with.. but then especially cable and satellite get ahold of it. Sadly, most never get to see what real HD is supposed to look like until they get blu-ray.:(

Jim, Talk about a skewed poll, see here:

http://rolloverorgettough.com/

Notice no selection for "ROLL OVER".. well, there is, but it doesn't exactly work the opposite of "GET TOUGH" :rolleyes:

(it has been changed somewhat towards more balanced since it was first launched)
Nothing like the cable companies looking out for the consumer. The irony of that poll is tremendous.

Sadly, most never get to see what real HD is supposed to look like until they get blu-ray.:(

Funny you mention blu-ray because I've yet to see a setup in an electronics store that looked better than what I get with DirecTV. Either they're not setting those demos up right or I'm just too picky but the pictures are just as blocky and smeary as some of the stuff I see on satellite TV, sometimes moreso. Right now my pinnacle for HD quality is MGM HD. It's spectacular.

Funny you mention blu-ray because I've yet to see a setup in an electronics store that looked better than what I get with DirecTV. Either they're not setting those demos up right or I'm just too picky but the pictures are just as blocky and smeary as some of the stuff I see on satellite TV, sometimes moreso. Right now my pinnacle for HD quality is MGM HD. It's spectacular.

Most of the box store configurations are multi-monitor configured. In other words, one player hooked to 10+ TVs. Also, the TVs are set to "colorful" eye bleed mode, because loud, bright colors sell TVs. The combination is a degraded signal to a device that is improperly calibrated. However, I am not a huge BR fan. I thought HD DVD was much better. And neither is significantly better than a DVD on a less than a 45" TV when viewed from more than a few feet. In fact the choppy pans can be even more pronounced.

My 2 cents

Hey guys,
I have a problem. I have the internet coming into one side of the house and I just got a bluray player for Christmas on the other side of my house where the tv is (which uses the internet to stream movies from youtube, netflix, etc). I have Knology internet/cable and want to just join the main cable coming in from the street to the cable going to the tv on the other side of the house and split the internet/tv cables there (behind the tv cabinet and out of the way). If all this makes no sense then my short question would be, the knology junction box attached to the side of my house apparently uses a special key to open it. Why is this? Is there a way to open it or should I just call Knology and get them to help me out?
Thanks
Drew

Drew,

Sledge hammer.....no, please don't.

What kind of player did you get? Some have a built in wireless feature that may just need programming if you have a wireless network.

JimP
Sadly it's one without wireless. Per my wifey, the one with wireless was a big jump in price and out of our budget. But I'm not worried about it, my thoughts are to replicate whatever's occuring in that little box to behind my tv that way I can just have the modem/router near the blu ray and wa lah, it's solved.

Unless Knology is different from every other cable service I've had, I do not think you need to even get in that box. You should just be able to move the cable modem to any cable outlet in your house and it will still work. If you also have a TV at the outlet just get a cable splitter from Radio Shack. Once again, I do not have knology but this is how it has been with every other cable service I have had.

Thanks RollTide and good luck in Pasadena

I'll give it a try and post back.

Drew,

Presuming that you already have a wireless network setup and also assuming that you are only wanting to download extras and firmware updates, a linksys wireless bridge would be the easieast approach. You basically plug the BluRay player into the wireless bridge via a short ethernet cable. Then it will wirelessly connects to your existing router.

If you intend to download streaming video which requires more bandwidth, then a hard wired connection would work better.

Unless Knology is different from every other cable service I've had, I do not think you need to even get in that box. You should just be able to move the cable modem to any cable outlet in your house and it will still work. If you also have a TV at the outlet just get a cable splitter from Radio Shack. Once again, I do not have knology but this is how it has been with every other cable service I have had.

An exception worth noting is that with Brighthouse, they use a device that looks like a splitter but on it it says something to the effect that the leg going to the modem is stronger. For some reason, I'm thinking that the modem needs 10dbs more signal. As fluky as digital TV can be with either too strong or weak a signal, I'd pay particular attention to any tiling or freezing on your display.

Although I said that this is with Brighthouse, I'm not so sure it doesn't also apply to other cable carriers.

An exception worth noting is that with Brighthouse, they use a device that looks like a splitter but on it it says something to the effect that the leg going to the modem is stronger. For some reason, I'm thinking that the modem needs 10dbs more signal. As fluky as digital TV can be with either too strong or weak a signal, I'd pay particular attention to any tiling or freezing on your display.

Although I said that this is with Brighthouse, I'm not so sure it doesn't also apply to other cable carriers.

That's called a "Tap"

Ok, here's what I did and it was just shy of JimP's original suggestion. I forced my way into the box and there was (what I assume is) a tap on the signal going to the tv. So, I just split it behind the tv, with the untouched signal heading to the modem, and other to the back of my tv and it works beautifully, streaming Netflix and Youtube. Because nothing says "I'm bored" like watching YouTube on your tv via bluray player. It's like using your Ferrari for it's superior heated seats. Or something.

Thanks guys

Hey guys,
I know this forum appreciates technical articles but I was wondering what people's comments on this little article would be

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091229/ap_on_en_tv/us_free_broadcasters_in_peril;_ylt=Ar_PO_ohxhauOjMteR0PLsqs0 NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFpb2RpbTJzBHBvcwMzNgRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX21vc3R fcG9wdWxhcgRzbGsDYnJvYWRjYXN0ZXJz

Let me know.
-Drew Woods
WCOV

Well, considering my DirecTV bill is going up $5 in Feb 2010 and I'll have one less channel to show for it*, I say to hell with the idea of channels charging a fee to be carried.

Capitalism is "evolve or die". If it means dropping affiliation from broadcasters, so be it. If it means only one TV station can thrive in a market the size of Montgomery, so be it. Maybe the stations will drop down to SD-only with coverage only in small areas instead of regional.

More than likely the recession will reverse course in 5-10 years and everyone will forget about this concept of abandoning the TV stations.

(* - DirecTV announced that most packages are going up $4/month, effective February 2010. DVR fees are increasing $1 at the same time. A few months back DirecTV dropped Versus in a carriage dispute and there are no signs of it returning. Most of the new HD expected with the new satellite that just launched won't be turned on until April at the earliest.)

Drew

I guess the tradeoff for the stations is loosing their license to broadcast OTA in order to generate other revenues by charging for content that you could only control through cable or satellite. If that were to happen, my question which is probably more political than anything else is why wouldn't the cable and satellite companies not just get the content directly from the networks and skip the locals all together?

Their weather programs dont seem to be hurting. :rolleyes:

I believe that in the next few years we will see traditional OTA disappear in favor of national channels carried by cable and satellite providers. The frequency spectrum now used by OTA broadcasters will provide much more revenue for other uses, including internet and mobile phone devices. The technical capability to inject local advertising into national broadcast feeds exists now, so that would fill the gap left by the absence of local OTA. Small businesses that now advertise on local OTA channels would probably resort to an alternative method of advertising, like the internet, or maybe even provide a spark to keep printed media, like local newspapers, alive. The local newspaper industry is sinking faster than OTA broadcast media.

One local channel per market (like PBS/APT) would suffice for OTA to provide local weather and news.

This is just one model of how the future may look, and is just my opinion...and you know what that say about opinions...they are like ........., everyone has one.:D

Has anyone else lost channel 66.5 which is ESPN2 HD on QAM with Charter? It seems to have disappeared from my channels list. If anyone has any idea if it's changed or been removed or anything that'd be great. I still get ESPN HD on 69.3 so I don't know why ESPN2 would disappear. I would like to avoid running the auto scan again since it takes forever to lock out channels I don't want on my TV. Thanks in advance for any help.

I have noticed since the bowl games have started that the quality of espn is awful for me on Brighthouse. I watched a cbs one yesterday and it was beautiful. Network difference in broadcasting?:confused:

Has anyone else lost channel 66.5 which is ESPN2 HD on QAM with Charter? It seems to have disappeared from my channels list. If anyone has any idea if it's changed or been removed or anything that'd be great. I still get ESPN HD on 69.3 so I don't know why ESPN2 would disappear. I would like to avoid running the auto scan again since it takes forever to lock out channels I don't want on my TV. Thanks in advance for any help.

nevermind...figured it out. the channel still exists. for some reason it just disappeared from my tv's channel list and there's no way to manually add it back without doing a full scan again.

I have noticed since the bowl games have started that the quality of espn is awful for me on Brighthouse. I watched a cbs one yesterday and it was beautiful. Network difference in broadcasting?:confused:

Same here, but ESPN's picture on Brighthouse has never been as good as CBS. It was almost a pleasure to switch to the LSU game on ABC after watching AU on ESPN. I don't know where ESPN's picture degrades in the pipeline, but by the time it gets to my screen, it looks very grainy compared to the locals.

The only bad thing about a 106" screen is you notice everything.

Same here, but ESPN's picture on Brighthouse has never been as good as CBS. It was almost a pleasure to switch to the LSU game on ABC after watching AU on ESPN. I don't know where ESPN's picture degrades in the pipeline, but by the time it gets to my screen, it looks very grainy compared to the locals.

The only bad thing about a 106" screen is you notice everything.

I guess I accidentally cursed the locals. Sugar bowl (Fox) on Brighthouse keeps having video pauses that don't seem to affect audio. I called a Dish subscriber to verify it wasn't a feed issue.

same here on brighthouse also ota fox

can anyone give me a name of a good Dish installer in the Millbrook area.

Also would be interested in the 722 vs 722k dvr setups. tks

722k demo in case you haven't seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_76boIpA2dw

922 Demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACaG3fwiYEQ&NR=1

chuck,

The guys over on 231 going to Wetumpka from Montgomery did mine.

Thamks Jim-would you reccomend them

As long as they're owned by the same people that owned them in Sept 2008, yes.

Interesting NFL game schedule.
WCOV Montgomery Fox Saints vs Panthers
WAGA Atlanta Fox Falcons vs Bucs

WAKA Montgomery CBS Steelers vs Dolphins
WGCL Atlanta CBS Steelers vs Dolphins

Jim, going over there on tuesday to see how it looks. Thanks

WSFA 6:00 news talked about 12-3 (Retro TV) going away.

They said they are using the bandwidth to start up a Mobile TV network for hand held devices. :confused:

WSFA 6:00 news talked about 12-3 (Retro TV) going away.They said they are using the bandwidth to start up a Mobile TV network for hand held devices. :confused:

yep..takes about 1.8 mb/s of bandwidth to do so..

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=atscmph

No plans for WAKA to do so at this time however. :)

WSFA 6:00 news talked about 12-3 (Retro TV) going away.

They said they are using the bandwidth to start up a Mobile TV network for hand held devices. :confused:

Yeah and I heard it is an uber expensive upgrade because of all the hardware you have to add.

It does require a new exciter in addition to the MPEG-4 encoder gear. I'm not sure what else, if anything, it needs.

- Trip

All this for a mobile-friendly version of the channel's existing programming, or does this involve proving new content or cable channels OTA like MediaFlo?

Minimum costs to add mobile is over $100k and that is without any redundancy.and..requires MPEG4 encoding, additional multiplexers, and replacement of the exciters..and if you sell it seperately, requires automation and traffic-billing software costs.

One small fact is that a lot of network and syndication contracts prohibit carriage of the programming on secondary sources like mobile. Doesn't mean it isn;t happening tho.

I have a MediaFlo receiver, it's coverage is far superior than the mobile signals currently available here.

WSFA must have some deep pockets.

I'm really impressed that they jumped on HD local news and look to be adding mobile support. I don't see a need for mobile, but I always choose them for local news due to HD.

WSFA must have some deep pockets..

Indirectly, Yes.... as they are owned by Raycom whose corporate HQ is in Montgomery.. you should be able to figure that one out. :)

http://www.raycommedia.com/about/

WSFA must have some deep pockets.

I'm really impressed that they jumped on HD local news and look to be adding mobile support. I don't see a need for mobile, but I always choose them for local news due to HD.
You answered a question I never got around to asking. ;)

WBRC Fox 6 in B'ham has gone HD for news recently. The other evening they showed a clip of some news story, and it was an 4:3 image with some different red pillar bar graphics. Up in the far right hand corner was a WSFA news logo! :D

I'm not really all that surprised that a Montgomery station went into HD news, for what it's worth. When I saw WTVA in the tiny market of Tupelo-Columbus, MS had gone high def for news, I knew it was hitting the mainstream. ;)

Okay, here are a couple of articles that will shed light on the “Pearl Project”/”Pearl Group,” of which Raycom (owner of WSFA) is a part of, and their general plans for mobile DTV. You may also be shelling out some cash in order to watch. It may possibly also include bi-directional transmission.



Here's a quote:
“Executives for some of the groups confirmed their participation and spoke in general about Pearl, but declined to speak on the record or provide details prior to a planned formal announcement of the initiative prior to or possibly during the Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas.”

(http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/12/02/daily.6/)
http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/12/02/daily.6/
http://www.mobilizedtv.com/mobile-tv-predictions-for-2010


Tim

Hey guys,
We're (WCOV) currently setting up the connection to start broadcasting the Fox News at 9 (produced by WSFA) in good ole' HD. Stay tuned :)

Hey Drew...how about a little more power directed my way down here in Ozark. Getting harder to receive WCOV lately. Really like watching 20.3, THIS.

WSFA should be embarrassed by the craptastic mush that they try to pass as HD. I avoid them like the plague during the regular season, but unfortunately with the playoffs I have to either endure the pixels blooming one at a time, or not watch at all.

WSFA should be embarrassed by the craptastic mush that they try to pass as HD. I avoid them like the plague during the regular season, but unfortunately with the playoffs I have to either endure the pixels blooming one at a time, or not watch at all.

I had folks over for the game. We had a great discussion on video compression artifacts complete with examples.

I had folks over for the game. We had a great discussion on video compression artifacts complete with examples.
When people who don't really care/know anything about the HD thing ask "is there something wrong with TV?" it's a clear indicator that it isn't just me being hyper sensitive. My wife asked me if the tube was burning out :P

Hey Drew...how about a little more power directed my way down here in Ozark. Getting harder to receive WCOV lately. Really like watching 20.3, THIS.

What is our signal strength down there? Contact me at drew@wcov.com so that we can figure out how to get you some better reception. Unfortunately my hand is not on the digital power throttle nor is there a directional beam we can point towards Ozark like a laser but we need people to give us updates on our signal especially in the fringe areas.

FYI What I do from here is talk to our engineer and figure out what we can do to better our signal and practical ways to do it. Keep in mind that digital is still pretty new and we're going to be working out the kinks for years to come. (Kinda like color tv, however Charter cannot get their local spots in color to save their life. And there's my anti-cable moment of the day)
-Drew

I just received an email from former WRJM explaining what happened with them. I will post it on our website. (www.montgomerytvandradio.com) However, they claim that they are now transmitting OTA on channel 48. I cannot pick it up in Wetumpka. Is anyone picking up this channel? If so, what kind of signal strengths are you getting? It's now called WIYC a nd carries the American Music Video Network.

We have a large UHF/VHF antenna at the 40 foot level pointed right at them.
There is absolutley NO RF on channel 48. Once again, "YOU LIE" (not you, JT...but it was just such a great line, I had to use it).

We have a large UHF/VHF antenna at the 40 foot level pointed right at them.
There is absolutley NO RF on channel 48. Once again, "YOU LIE" (not you, JT...but it was just such a great line, I had to use it).

Thanks for the report. I've emailed them back and challenged them on the OTA claim. I'll post what I find out.

Hey, Drew, just wanted to let you know that here in southern Opelika, I can pick up WCOV pretty well with an attic antenna. Even though the antenna is actually pointing at Columbus, 120 degrees away! You're the only Montgomery station it will pick up, and you come in better than Fox-54 out of Columbus.

Good going!

I saw Mark Wilder with WSFA last night at the Montgomery Chamber's annual dinner. I spoke to him about their bandwidth, and the pixelation we all get in sports broadcasts. He said at one time they could ramp up the signal (shift bandwidth) for sports events, but now they were locked in. I asked if some of the 12.3 bandwidth would go to 12.1. He said no and that the bandwidth would all be used for the new mobile tv product.

I told him about this forum. He knew nothing about it.

CNBC HD on Brighthouse 324 for those who care!

WSFA should be embarrassed by the craptastic mush that they try to pass as HD. I avoid them like the plague during the regular season, but unfortunately with the playoffs I have to either endure the pixels blooming one at a time, or not watch at all.

How are you getting your signal...OTA, satellite or cable? If satellite or cable, which provider?

I'm wondering if the feed WSFA provides Dish Networks is at a higher bandwidth than what goes out OTA. Anyone know?

Spoke with my contacts at WIYC this morning. The OTA signal was not live yet. However, they are testing it on channel 67, not 48 today.

How are you getting your signal...OTA, satellite or cable? If satellite or cable, which provider?

I'm wondering if the feed WSFA provides Dish Networks is at a higher bandwidth than what goes out OTA. Anyone know?

I can tell you that WAKA feeds fiber to Dish for SD (the only local station to do so) but OTA for HD. I was told by Dish that all local HD signals are OTA.
I'm sure we will push for a fiber HD feed when our agreement comes up. I'm big on fiber.

We also feed fiber for SD to Knology and Charter (as all locals do) but we are the only local station to feed fiber for HD to Knology and Charter. We really pushed for a fiber feed to Brighthouse but I gotta tell you they don't play well with others.

CNBC HD now on Brighthouse 324 for those who care!

Spoke with my contacts at WIYC this morning. The OTA signal was not live yet. However, they are testing it on channel 67, not 48 today. Please let me know if anyone picks this up. I've got an article going up with lots of new info. regarding WIYC today. There will be subchannels and HD in the near future. www.montgomerytvandradio.com

So they're testing an illegal signal?

- Trip

Operating a digital signal on channel 67 would be illegal. Operating on channel 48 and mapping to 67-1 would be completely legal.

- Trip

Operating on channel 48 and mapping to 67-1 would be completely legal.

- Trip

I think this is what they are doing.

I can tell you that WAKA feeds fiber to Dish for SD (the only local station to do so) but OTA for HD. I was told by Dish that all local HD signals are OTA.
I'm sure we will push for a fiber HD feed when our agreement comes up. I'm big on fiber.

We also feed fiber for SD to Knology and Charter (as all locals do) but we are the only local station to feed fiber for HD to Knology and Charter. We really pushed for a fiber feed to Brighthouse but I gotta tell you they don't play well with others.

Who does your fiber work inside plant and outside plant?

Just wondering because we do Fiber and we are local with all equipment to do so including Fusion Splice.

Who does your fiber work inside plant and outside plant?

Just wondering because we do Fiber and we are local with all equipment to do so including Fusion Splice.

So far the end user has been responsible. For internal work, corporate issues the vendor.

Check out the new article (http://montgomerytvandradio.com/2010/01/13/wrjm-where-are-you-part-ii-the-answer/) explaining what happened to WRJM and its future.

OK, so they have someone to write flattering stuff. With 50kw, I doubt they will maintain 2nd in households.
Am I missing something about their programming? Is this something wanted(not that everything we air is wanted) by the broadcast viewer?
BTW, still no RF detected.

OK, so they have someone to write flattering stuff. With 50kw, I doubt they will maintain 2nd in households.
Am I missing something about their programming? Is this something wanted(not that everything we air is wanted) by the broadcast viewer?
BTW, still no RF detected.

I just wanted to pass along their response. I would much rather have MyNet back. I'm not a big Country fan. No one seems to know if and when Montgomery will get MyNet back.

How close can the channels be because WMCF is at 46.

How close can the channels be because WMCF is at 46.
I don't see why two channels apart would pose a problem, it certainly didn't in Birmingham in the analog days, when one in eastern parts of the city had some higher powered stations on 40, 42 and 44. If anything, with digital it ought to be less of an issue.

I'd love to know how all that works out in this digital era, to be honest. :)

How close can the channels be because WMCF is at 46.

There are no interference concerns aside from adjacent and co-channel.

Adjacent channel stations have to be co-located or at least nearby (such as WDBD-40 and WUFX-41 in Jackson MS on the same tower). Then there's a doughnut-shaped area in which you cannot have an adjacent channel. So if WIYC was on 47 instead of 48, thus making it adjacent to WMCF, it could not be located where it is. The two would have to be closer together.

- Trip

Just wondering because it's very hard to pickup 95.1 The Fox in Montgomery East because WLWI bleeds on every station when your near the Cumulis Tower.

Dish Network SD locals

Anyone having a problem with them? Probably not but a friend of mine is having problems and the idiot CSRs keep telling them they are working on it.

48% signal strength on 110 Transponder 6 with a 625 DVR.

Where is your friend's location? The locals are on SpotBeam and your friend may be in the fringe area.

Just a guess.

Where is your friend's location? The locals are on SpotBeam and your friend may be in the fringe area.

Just a guess.
Millbrook

Question for Brighthouse users:
The last week I have had problems with my local fox channel from about 7 to 8 pm. So much pixilation unwatchable. I checked my OTA on this channel and there was no problem.I am trying to see if everyone has this problem or just me.Thanks

Question for Brighthouse users:
The last week I have had problems with my local fox channel from about 7 to 8 pm. So much pixilation unwatchable. I checked my OTA on this channel and there was no problem.I am trying to see if everyone has this problem or just me.Thanks

I hadn't seen anything but the odd video lag issue lately. I have seen some intermittent pauses with no video or audio, but they were really brief (<2 seconds ish). Just long enough to omit an important detail in a program.

Speaking of Brighthouse...anyone know if they are offering multistream cablecards? (M Cards) Ceton finally has their new toy coming out and I'd really like to get one for my HTPC. http://www.cetoncorp.com/products.php

I don't see a raise listed.

Hey guys,
FYI it appears as though our transmitter's down. Bear with us while we fix it.

I don't see a raise listed.

:D

By the way, I've been going crazy making coverage maps for the last few days, and I made one for WAKA. Load this on a fast computer and internet connection:

http://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php?appid=1250653&map=Y

Hope you like it. I also made one for WCOV:

http://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php?appid=1292241&map=Y

The maps are run assuming a receive height of 13 feet rather than the FCC standard 30 feet in order to better reflect reception by indoor antennas, which means on an outdoor antenna, the maps will appear pessimistic.

Enjoy! :)

- Trip

I don't see a raise listed.

I hope we all see a raise this year. :)

Obama said............

Obama said............

You lie ;)

Little Birdie told me Directv is getting close to having Montgomery Locals.

You lie ;)
Unnecessary--Our preident is doing the best he can, with many obstructionist congress people, a hostile media, and the legacy Bush II left.

Unnecessary--Our preident is doing the best he can, with many obstructionist congress people, a hostile media, and the legacy Bush II left.

What color are those goggles your looking through? :rolleyes:

Unnecessary--Our preident is doing the best he can, with many obstructionist congress people, a hostile media, and the legacy Bush II left.

I disagree completely with your uninformed comments. However, this is not a political forum so please keep your political opinions to your self. I think the other comments were meant to be funny, not political. Correct me if I am wrong though.

I think the whole last year has been....oh, sorry. Anyway--to divert us away from this I've learned WIYC (WRJM) has applied to R E D U C E their power even more...now down to 16kw. It seems (maybe) their aim is headed toward being a "just barely" station. This will req

uire them to put a certain level signal over their city of license (Troy) and entitle them to cable carriage (never liked the work entitle....oh sorry....) in the market, which they can arrange by alternate methods. So another chapter unfolds in the saga. And no, still no RF on 48.

What would keep a station from dropping OTA and just going with cable and satellite distribution? They'd get rid of a lot of regulation, cost, etc.

What would keep a station from dropping OTA and just going with cable and satellite distribution? They'd get rid of a lot of regulation, cost, etc.

Cable and satellite would no longer be required to carry them.

- Trip

I disagree completely with your uninformed comments. However, this is not a political forum so please keep your political opinions to your self. I think the other comments were meant to be funny, not political. Correct me if I am wrong though.
I certainly expected that comment. I've very aware this is not a political forum, and I want it to stay that way, however, if this guy can call the president a liar, I can certainly state my position. And, no Scott, I am not wearing goggles! Now, I suppose it's time for me to be banned....

I disagree completely with your uninformed comments. However, this is not a political forum so please keep your political opinions to your self. I think the other comments were meant to be funny, not political. Correct me if I am wrong though.

Of course they were meant to be funny. But as with most jokes of a political nature, they are only funny if you agree with the underlying political assertion being made. If you don't, it's insulting. Politics and forums are a nasty combination.

Back on topic...

Does anyone else have problems with WNCF on Knology? Sometimes it's unwatchable for me. Oddly, when I have a crap signal from Knology it tends to pick up fine on the Antenna, and vice-versa.

Straximus,

That's the satellite people screwing with your signal. :)

Straximus,

That's the satellite people screwing with your signal. :)

lol. Shifty ****ers, aren't they? ;)

Little Birdie told me Directv is getting close to having Montgomery Locals.

Is this more than a rumor? I'v contemplated switching to Dish for locals. (I have a UHF only antenna right now and was perfectly satisfied until WSFA switched to VHF.)

Have not noticed any problems with WNCF on Knology here behind Gunter Annex.

Is this more than a rumor? .)

Yes. :)

WIYC has a test pattern up on 48. I'm getting decent signal from it.

Yes. :)

Great news. Timeframe?

WIYC has a test pattern up on 48. I'm getting decent signal from it.

Nothing in Wetumpka. Where are you located?

Montgomery, Forest Hills Area.

Not a peep out of 48 here.
East Montgomery.

For comparison (since I believe they transmit from nearly the same location), here's what I get signal wise on my HDHomerun from 22 and 48. My antenna is pointed toward 22, since I barely get a peep from 32.

Ch 22:
Sig Strength: 74%
Sig Quality: 57-60%

Ch 48:
Sig Strength: 74%
Sig Quality: 64-69%

Currently, they are transmitting a single channel (Test Pattern with the letters WIYC-DT) in SD (720x480 res) using 19.256Mbps, which if I'm not mistaken is 100% of a broadcast station's available bandwidth. Not that this has any bearing on what the final broadcast will resemble, of course.

I tried to get it at my parent's house in Lake Forest but got nothing. The CW was 74%.

I wonder if they are 'hiding' the channel, like 32 was doing with CW a year ago (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15763770#post15763770).

You said you have the HDHomeRun, do you have it on the same network as a Windows machine? If you download TSReader Lite and try it with your HDHomeRun, it can tell you all about the stream. I collect data from it. :)

- Trip

Thanks, I'll give that a try tomorrow and let you know what I find. :)

If you need any help with it, PM me or post here and I'll do what I can to help you.

- Trip

Well, WAKA's encoder was punished by the Grammys last night, and still came through looking pretty good! If the show had been on WSFA, it would have looked like apple sauce (would it even be recognizable?)!

I guess all those long dead air spaces were the network cutting inappropriate Language?
It was really bad during the M&M/Little Wayne skit.

Well, WAKA's encoder was punished by the Grammys last night, and still came through looking pretty good! !

Looked pretty bad here on the local who runs HD+ 1SD + Mobile Dtv on my 26" on cable..I won't comment on how it looked on my 65"...

I guess all those long dead air spaces were the network cutting inappropriate Language?
It was really bad during the M&M/Little Wayne skit.

Trash in=trash out. CBS was pretty heavy on the button last night....because when trash tries to air, CBS has no choice but to trash it. We had our finger on the button too, just in case CBS missed something.

Glad I was brought up better.

What about Lady GaGa's almost bare Arse?

Of course if we hit our button we've got it loaded with Ethyl Merman's "Everything's Coming Up Roses".

Here are the exported results for WIYC from TSReader Lite, for anyone who'd like to interpret them.

Of course if we hit our button we've got it loaded with Ethyl Merman's "Everything's Coming Up Roses".

That would've helped in a few places!

WIYC...He-He..Kinda hard to receive 4:2:2 video.....when dtv uses 4:2:0..and a few other things are wrong, like really screwed up pids..no TVCT..Someone doesn't know how to set up an encoder and mux.

Straximus is seeing where the rest of you can't because TSReader will decode 4:2:2 Video.

Wow, that is a mess. No AC3 audio, screwy PIDs, no PSIP...

- Trip

Oh, there's PSIP there, just that it's DVB and not ATSC... My hunch It's a Motorola encoder. Just like the one I spent most of the weekend playing with...

Might as well not have PSIP, for all the good DVB data does for ATSC receivers. ;)

- Trip

Isn't DVB the European digital standard? What's a station in Alabama doing with one of those encoders?

Plenty of this gear is switchable. Does both DVB and ATSC.

- Trip

Isn't DVB the European digital standard

http://www.dvb.org/

WIYC...He-He..Kinda hard to receive 4:2:2 video.....when dtv uses 4:2:0..and a few other things are wrong, like really screwed up pids..no TVCT..Someone doesn't know how to set up an encoder and mux.

Straximus is seeing where the rest of you can't because TSReader will decode 4:2:2 Video.

yes, but remember: It's Your Country !

They are just playing coy...the whole market is waiting to see WIYC!

What a promotional gimmick ! I'm so excited....and I just can't hide it....

Some small progress at WIYC. They've set the video to 4:2:0, but it's still DVB. The test pattern is gone and they are transmitting music videos. I'd do another capture, but they seem to be making lots of changes right now. The signal keeps vanishing for 5-30 seconds at a time before returning. I'll check again this evening.

I'm able to lock in on 48-1 now(no sound of course)with indoor antenna. Steady right now.

Granted I'm using a Dish Receiver for my Digital Tuner but it sees nothing on 48.

Granted I'm using a Dish Receiver for my Digital Tuner but it sees nothing on 48.
I have a indoor silver sensor antenna pointed south-southeast with Z420 box and signal is still steady. Located behind Gunter Annex. Getting sound from Knology's channel 3 for now. Just don't like this new country music. Give me Hank Snow and that era with blue grass. LOL..

Some receivers are more tolerant of incorrect transport streams and will decode
properly with only the PAT/PMT present. Others require full and proper PSIP
with correct MGT &TVCT tables to decode properly. Some will decode the MPEG audio being sent while others will only decode AC3. Until they get their stream straight all bets are off.

I have a indoor silver sensor antenna pointed south-southeast with Z420 box and signal is still steady. Located behind Gunter Annex. Getting sound from Knology's channel 3 for now. Just don't like this new country music. Give me Hank Snow and that era with blue grass. LOL..

I'm not far from you. I'm close to Alabama Christian Academy on Waresferry Road.
My Antenna is about 30' in the air.

No WIYC in Wetumpka but I have a Dish receiver.

Was it my gear or did WNCF go dark last night just as Lost was coming on? My tivo didn't record any of the premier last night. I thought it was my brighhouse cable being screwy but I couldn't pick anything up on antenna either.

No problems with WNCF for me during Lost through DiSH Network. It recorded just fine.

Recorded fine from Knology's HD, but I'm lost with Lost...

No problem OTA. I though this was the season for answers? I enjoyed last night, but nothing was answered for me and I was left with new questions. Hopefully things will get wrapped up.

Flip the Switch WCOV. Nascar Qualifying is in HD!

Eeewww audio problems for the Colts/Saints videos in the Superbowl, I hope they fix that soon

Network issue, not the Wacky Engineer..:)

Not a single hickup on WGCL Atlanta. :cool:

Checked out 48-1 and they have sound and some PSIP data now.

Checked out 48-1 and they have sound and some PSIP data now.

Can Dish receivers pick it up yet?

Also, they changed their name again. It was AMV, now its Country something.

Step one: Pick a name for your network and stick with it.

Step two: ???

Step three: Profit.

BTW, is it showing up on receivers as 48-1 or 67-1?

It locks in at 48-1. The Country Network. They had a color pattern on 48-2 for awhile but gone now. Also noticed tonight RTV is on 12-2. Peter Gunn is now showing.

Whatever they are doing at WIYC is crashing MythTV when I try to tune it there. That's a full stop for me since all of our TV viewing is done through Myth. VLC is more tolerant and plays it just fine.


Here's an export from TSReader Lite of their current setup, if anyone is interested.

I remember hearing that some receivers choked when the video is given as 1920x1088 instead of 1920x1080.

- Trip

I've been keeping an eye on 12-2 this evening. So far, no RTV. They've been showing the repeat of the news, Oprah, and now Storm Stories. All of this is consistent with the programming they've been showing on 12-2 when not showing Doppler 12 Storm Vision Weather. It seems like they may have just replaced the Weather blocks of programming with RetroTV, which is fine by me.

I guess we'll know for sure at 10pm when the weather programming would normally start.