I have also been interested in ABC and CBS HD OTA. I'm glad you are making progress. I hope you have everything figured out before the Indy 500!
Looking forward to updates.

I have also been interested in ABC and CBS HD OTA. I'm glad you are making progress. I hope you have everything figured out before the Indy 500!
Looking forward to updates.

We had some bad news on the STL. Apparently one of the multiplexer units (there is one on each end hooked up to the microwave radios) is bad out of the box. These units take our SMPTE310 signal from the studio & multiplex telemetry for transmitter control onto one payload signal for the STL/TSL.

Mosley is shipping us another one today (hopefully- they are based out of Santa Barbra- Yikes- fires!) so we should have the link functioning shortly thereafter with a transmitter test at the end of this week. (I hope!!!!) This is a little disappointing, as we expected a brand new $60k piece of gear to work right out of the box. (I hope this is not going to be the weak link in the chain.)

Stay tuned........

Thanks for the updates and good luck!

Thanks for the updates and good luck!

Success! Tonight we able to ge the STL working properly. We will do a full power transmitter test this Friday night (actually Saturday morning)after analog signoff @ 1 AM. We will have the digital transmitter on shortly thereafter for at least two to four hours with at least one HD stream (probably on 36.1) and a SD stream (probably on 36.2). I'd be interested in reception reports from anybody up & channel surfing at those hours (especially in the fringe areas).

Hopefully, nothing blows up!

Cheers.

What distance from the transmitter would constitute being in a "fringe area" in your estimation? Good luck btw.

What distance from the transmitter would constitute being in a "fringe area" in your estimation? Good luck btw.

To the east- Johnson City area, west-Wellsville, north- Romulus, south-Ogdensburg.

Since there is a communal antenna on top of the tower, (used by PBS, Fox & us) there had to be some give & take on the pattern. We don't have an omnidirectional pattern. From the looks of the Longley-Rice coverage predictions, it seems to favor the northeast to southeast. But this is a prediction not actual. Hence the request for reception reports.

Once we get the transmitter up, we'll be driving around the countryside (mostly to the west) taking field strength measurements most of the night, barring any transmission issues.

If there are any major coverage issues, we have plans for on-channel repeaters to fill in those areas that are not served.

Cheers.

I can't be the only one who stayed up, right? Paying for it this morning. Received 36.1 and 36.2 with signals in the low 70s. For those who didn't see it, 36.1 was a test pattern, would have come in handy for calibration, and 36.2 looked to be CBS Sat. AM Kid shows.

It's my understanding that on the 21st there's to be a "soft" transition test where all the stations shut off their analog feeds and go digital only. Maybe then I'll get to see what WYDC looks like on a digital feed.

Didn't WYDC-DT already kill their analog feed? My information has them already operating digital-only on channel 48.

- Trip

The analog feed for those of us in the outlying areas is 26, Trip. I just checked it and it's still up. Their low power transmissions take place on Market St. in Downtown Corning. When they make their transition, they'll be using the same transmitter that WSKA is using and WENY is testing, at least that's my understanding. It's on a hill and it's full power.

The analog feed for those of us in the outlying areas is 26, Trip. I just checked it and it's still up. Their low power transmissions take place on Market St. in Downtown Corning. When they make their transition, they'll be using the same transmitter that WSKA is using and WENY is testing, at least that's my understanding. It's on a hill and it's full power.

WENY, WYDC & WSKA digital all share a communal antenna not a transmitter. WYDC-DT is on the air from there and it's at the most output power that it's going to have. It is a modified analog transmitter & it's not putting out much power. As far as I know, they don't have any plan on replacing it anytime soon.

Bidger, what area of town are you in ? There was some concern on coverage in downtown Elmira, but we didn't have time to get there to measure last night.

WENY, WYDC & WSKA digital all share a communal antenna not a transmitter. WYDC-DT is on the air from there and it's at the most output power that it's going to have. It is a modified analog transmitter & it's not putting out much power. As far as I know, they don't have any plan on replacing it anytime soon.

I went by info from the WYDC Wiki so it's far from definitive.

Bidger, what area of town are you in ? There was some concern on coverage in downtown Elmira, but we didn't have time to get there to measure last night.

Southport, so I can't really help as far as the Downtown area.

Bidger: That is W26BF, and does not have a permit to operate digitally. I think that if you do not receive WYDC-DT now, you're out of luck, though I could be wrong. Someone with more knowledge of the situation would have to provide an answer.

TriLevelSync: Do you by any chance have access to TSReader or the Lite version? I ask because once everything is fired up and finalized, I'd be curious to see what the local stations look like, especially WENY.

- Trip

So, more testing TLS?

TriLevelSync: Do you by any chance have access to TSReader or the Lite version? I ask because once everything is fired up and finalized, I'd be curious to see what the local stations look like, especially WENY.

- Trip

No, we don't have access at this time. The next project is to add the CW as the third stream.

As far as WYDC-DT goes, if you're not getting it OTA now, you won't get it after "the conversion" on 6/12.

Cheers.

So, more testing TLS?

Yup, did it Saturday night. We're waiting for results from some more cable head-ends out in the fringe, but those we've heard from so far have had no reception problems. The actual coverage is pretty much what the prediction stated.

One surprise to me was how much quieter the new digital transmitter is compared to the old analog one. The old RCA had high-voltage contacts that
"slammed" in when you turned on the transmitter, along with two water pumps that cooled the Klystron output tubes. It also had a loud "hum" when it was on.

Now, the new one is solid state (and lower output power). It just has a small blower for cooling and doesn't come right on, but slowly "ramps up" when you turn it on. No more "warming up the filaments". The control is a touch screen, running on Windows (yuk). If anybody's interested, I'll take some photos next time I'm up there & post them.

It's up to management now on when to shut off the analog. My guess is Memorial Day, but we'll see what the "official" line is.

I would be very interested in seeing some photos.

I hope the solid state transmitter works out well for you. I seem to get different opinions from different people about just what they think of solid state versus tube transmitters.

- Trip

I would be very interested in seeing some photos.


+1, I would love to see it!

...As far as WYDC-DT goes, if you're not getting it OTA now, you won't get it after "the conversion" on 6/12.

Cheers.


That's too bad, I'm out south of Pine City, down in Mosherville, hills on either side must be cutting that signal off for us.

BUT, hopefully when you guys are up and running, I'll be able to get 36 in at least?

I get WENY very well out here, as well as 5 PBS stations, two are radio.

G2

That's too bad, I'm out south of Pine City, down in Mosherville, hills on either side must be cutting that signal off for us.

BUT, hopefully when you guys are up and running, I'll be able to get 36 in at least?

I get WENY very well out here, as well as 5 PBS stations, two are radio.

G2

Gary;
If you're getting WSKA-DT (on channel 30), you won't have any problem getting WENY-DT when it goes on. Apparently, some cable company headends didn't get off their a**es and check the signal when we tested last weekend so we have to do it again this weekend. More overnights.(So much for enjoying the Holiday weekend).

So, at this point I have no idea when management plans on killing the analog. As far as the Engineering department, we're ready and done. Stay tuned.

P.S. When I'm up there this weekend twiddling my thumbs overnight, I'll take some photos to post.

No chance of seeing WENY on this weekend's tests in Apalachin/eastern Tioga county, right? I'll be in town this weekend and I can take a look for it, but I don't have access to an outdoor, amplified antenna. My car has a DTV converter box hooked up to the navi, but I'm probably not gonna want to go drive around after midnight to find it:)

A profile shows I am not even close to line of sight at ~50 miles to the east of your transmitter. I can barely find Binghamton stations about 7 miles to the east, stupid hills.

No chance of seeing WENY on this weekend's tests in Apalachin/eastern Tioga county, right? I'll be in town this weekend and I can take a look for it, but I don't have access to an outdoor, amplified antenna. My car has a DTV converter box hooked up to the navi, but I'm probably not gonna want to go drive around after midnight to find it:)

A profile shows I am not even close to line of sight at ~50 miles to the east of your transmitter. I can barely find Binghamton stations about 7 miles to the east, stupid hills.

I would doubt it, too far. As you note, the terrain doesn't help either. Sorry.
What converter are you using with your navi?

I would doubt it, too far. As you note, the terrain doesn't help either. Sorry.
What converter are you using with your navi?

I use a Zenith DTT901. One of the best converter boxes for reception. Even on a small resolution(423x276 or something tiny)8bit 8'' navi screen, the picture looks pretty decent, and it even shows 16:9 format properly

I use a Zenith DTT901. One of the best converter boxes for reception. Even on a small resolution(423x276 or something tiny)8bit 8'' navi screen, the picture looks pretty decent, and it even shows 16:9 format properly

Nice. Actually, I'm waiting for this to be available:
http://www.globalsat.com.tw/eng/product_detail_00000115.htm

Cheers.

+1, I would love to see it!

I took a few pics the other night- for those of you interested, enjoy.

www.photobucket.com/TriLevelSync


Cheers.

I took a few pics the other night- for those of you interested, enjoy.

www.photobucket.com/TriLevelSync


Cheers.

The one shot of the antenna combiner looks like something out of a Frankenstein movie ;)
thanks for the pic's !

Quick question, if I'm able to get the other channels, WETM here in Mosherville
when you guys to to OTA, I'm thinking that I'll also pick up your stations
as well??

G2

The one shot of the antenna combiner looks like something out of a Frankenstein movie ;)
thanks for the pic's !

Quick question, if I'm able to get the other channels, WETM here in Mosherville
when you guys to to OTA, I'm thinking that I'll also pick up your stations
as well??

G2

Gary;
WETM transmits from another site. If you can receive WSKA-DT (Channel 30), you should have no trouble picking up WENY-DT on Channel 36 when we drop the analog.

Hmm I get WSKG 3 stations as well as two radio stations, but not WSKA :(

Possibly need to change the antenna's direction to pick that up?
G2

Hmm I get WSKG 3 stations as well as two radio stations, but not WSKA :(

Possibly need to change the antenna's direction to pick that up?
G2

WSKA (Corning) re-transmits WSKG (Binghamton) (it's called a translator)- are you picking up channel 30? If so, that's WSKA. WSKG is on a different channel.

Just checked again, it says on the screen WSKG,
the channels are 30.3, 30.4, 30.5 and the radio ones are 30.6 and 30.7

G2

Just checked again, it says on the screen WSKG,
the channels are 30.3, 30.4, 30.5 and the radio ones are 30.6 and 30.7

G2
OK, that's it.... even though it says WSKG, if it's on channel 30, it's really WSKA. WSKG direct is on channel 46. You should have no problem getting WENY-DT.

Do you get WYDC on channel 48? You might not, since it's really low power.

That sounds good :) and no, don't pickup the 48 at this time.
Thanks again!
G2

The word is that this Friday is the last day for analog OTA @ WENY.
New digital transmitter goes on for good Saturday morning.

Thanks for the heads up. NBA Finals in HD.

Sounds great, best of luck to your tech team
I'm sure you're all on pins and needles for the switch!

I'm home Saturday and leave for Clearwater FL on Sunday :(
G2

Sounds great, best of luck to your tech team
I'm sure you're all on pins and needles for the switch!

I'm home Saturday and leave for Clearwater FL on Sunday :(
G2

Thanks.... It's been a L-O-N-G HARD project which I'm happy to put to bed.

Friday night will be busy though. Up to Hawley Hill before analog signoff, shut down the analog transmitter for good, rip out the remote control hardware, run up to Higman Hill, install remote control hardware into new transmitter in time for digital sign-on. Catch breath, drink coffee, watch new transmitter for awhile
since it hasn't been on for longer than a few hours at a time........

Actually, it's the end of an era. WENY has been on the air 40 years this October.

Cheers.

What's the projection of how many analog viewers won't receive WENY digital? The last I looked, the FCC coverage map showed the digital transmitter in Elmira rather than Corning, so it's not accurate.

I'm in Tioga Co, PA - between Routes 328 and 549, seven miles south of the state border, at 1850'. By using a good UHF-only antenna and aiming it just right, I am able to get Channel 30. (I get WETM digital via a 16" antenna attached to the main antenna, which may not work when they go from 2 to 18.)

The positive side of the delays is that, with the trees now leafed out, we are going to have the "worst case" for reception (short of a heavy rain.)

What's the projection of how many analog viewers won't receive WENY digital? The last I looked, the FCC coverage map showed the digital transmitter in Elmira rather than Corning, so it's not accurate.

I'm in Tioga Co, PA - between Routes 328 and 549, seven miles south of the state border, at 1850'. By using a good UHF-only antenna and aiming it just right, I am able to get Channel 30. (I get WETM digital via a 16" antenna attached to the main antenna, which may not work when they go from 2 to 18.)

The positive side of the delays is that, with the trees now leafed out, we are going to have the "worst case" for reception (short of a heavy rain.)

You should'nt have a problem picking up WENY off air. Again, if you pick up channel 30, you will pick us up as we are much higher power than 30 (coming from the same location).

From all of the predictions, there shouldn't be much loss of off air viewers when we make the switch this Saturday. Of course, actual coverage will become apparent real fast!

Oops, I wasn't clear. I'm not expecting to have a problem receiving WENY digital. But I couldn't get watchable WSKA with the mid-range VHF/UHF antenna I was using. So, don't be surprised if some viewers in this general area report difficulties.

Oops, I wasn't clear. I'm not expecting to have a problem receiving WENY digital. But I couldn't get watchable WSKA with the mid-range VHF/UHF antenna I was using. So, don't be surprised if some viewers in this general area report difficulties.

We expect some viewers to have some difficulties at the outset. There are plans to erect a repeater to get the signal into certain areas, but where these go will depend on where we can pick up the most viewers within our DMA.

BTW, the CW will go on 36.3 in the near future. We are in the process of erecting another earth station at the studio to receive the CW. Currently, as it is on cable only, Time-Warner is receiving the CW on an earth station at their facility. Once the digital changeover is done, the CW becomes our next priority.
Hope this clears up any questions.

Cheers.

Approx. 1:35AM WENY 36.1 and 36.2 are onair, running infomercials. My antenna was pre-aimed for the best WSKA reception and WENY is not yet watchable, because of break-up Zenith 901 scanner shows the signal strength is varying, so autoscanning might not pick it up. (I used the manual feature to select and add 36).

Right now WSKA is coming in without break-up so am assuming when it's fully powered up, WENY will improve.

There's something I'm taking note of now that I didn't notice during the prior test. My TV shows 720p and 16:9 when I hit Info when tuned to 36.1, but 480i and 4:3 when tuned to 36.2. So, are we not going to get HD for CBS programming over-the-air?

There's something I'm taking note of now that I didn't notice during the prior test. My TV shows 720p and 16:9 when I hit Info when tuned to 36.1, but 480i and 4:3 when tuned to 36.2. So, are we not going to get HD for CBS programming over-the-air?

Not in the short-term. Send your e-mails to the Station GM, Pete Veto. pveto@weny.com

It's all clear to me now. The primary channel in any digital channel, xx.1, is where you'd find HD programming from whatever Network the affiliate serves. Anything above that, xx.2 and up, is SD. So TWC customers get their 5 major nets in HD and it's not an option for those us doing over-the-air. Should have known better.

Congrats TLS, I was up late but not late enough, but this morning
they are both coming in nice and clear out here in Mosherville :)
Thanks,
G2

The WENY signal sill isn't as stable here (further into PA ) as the one from WSKA. The WENY signal sometimes drops out. Otherwise, it's "watchable" ... at least with a good UHF antenna at noon on a nice cloud-free day with a light breeze. <g> But definitely no more WENY with rabbit ears on the second set.

It would be helpful to hear from WENY when the signal is at the "that's as good as it's going to get" (for now) stage.

The WENY signal sill isn't as stable here (further into PA ) as the one from WSKA. The WENY signal sometimes drops out. Otherwise, it's "watchable" ... at least with a good UHF antenna at noon on a nice cloud-free day with a light breeze. <g> But definitely no more WENY with rabbit ears on the second set.

It would be helpful to hear from WENY when the signal is at the "that's as good as it's going to get" (for now) stage.

The transmitter is at full authorized power, so that's as good as it gets.
I'm a bit puzzled though, as we are almost twice the power of WSKA, coming out of the same antenna.

We may have to take a field trip out to your neck of the woods to check it out. But first though, I see that there may be some lipsync issues to dope out on 36.1.......

Thanks, that's useful to know. The WENY signal bar maxes out a little higher, but every once in a while it retreats down into the "bad" range. Under present conditions it's an annoyance, not a deal breaker. While I don't get as many stations as I did with analog, all four networks (Fox WSYT/WNYS) + PBS are are now covered.

That sounds like multipath, actually. Have you ever had problems with ghosts on analog?

- Trip

Only once, with a VHF/UHF antenna that was pointed at Elmira, rather than at the station that ghosted (Binghamton - 12). When the antenna was turned toward Binghamton, no ghosting.

Why would WENY multipath but not WSKA, with both being broadcast from the same antenna? Also, isn't multipath usually a permanent situation, rather than something that only happens intermittently?

The change of seasons can affect multipath.
I would suspect that two stations from the same tower can present differing results.
Things like different radiated power and frequency come to mind.

BTW, how's the transition for WIVT here in Binghamton going with their transmitter transplant? I know this was going to delay the original cutoff, but with it now being 6/12 maybe it's going well. :)

BTW, how's the transition for WIVT here in Binghamton going with their transmitter transplant? I know this was going to delay the original cutoff, but with it now being 6/12 maybe it's going well. :)

I looked it up, that station in Fresno that is owned by the same parent company, they were not transitioning early. So they still don't have the new transmitter yet... so it's probably 2-3 months after they get it to install it.... before they changeover to RT 34.

jdspencer wrote:
"The change of seasons can affect multipath."

Understood that if a signal is reflecting off a hill, it could make a difference whether/not the trees are leafed out. But this is more a minute by minute change. And I am out in the boonies, which rules out something like 18-wheelers driving by.

I noticed that TWC added MSG+ HD to their lineup within the past couple days. Out of curiosity, when did they add the various HBO HD's? I'm talking about HBO, HBO2, HBO Family, etc. all in HD. I never noticed that before.

I looked it up, that station in Fresno that is owned by the same parent company, they were not transitioning early. So they still don't have the new transmitter yet... so it's probably 2-3 months after they get it to install it.... before they changeover to RT 34.That's too bad! I was hoping that I'd be able to tweak the antenna after 6/12 and possibly go to a 4228 or similar since I wouldn't need to get ch 4 any longer. BTW, how does the 4228 really work with chs 7 and 8? I know the specs say it can get the high VHF, but how well?

I noticed that TWC added MSG+ HD to their lineup within the past couple days. Out of curiosity, when did they add the various HBO HD's? I'm talking about HBO, HBO2, HBO Family, etc. all in HD. I never noticed that before.

I'm not exactly sure ... but I only noticed them in the last week or maybe 2. Since I don't get those packages...I'm not always paying attention. I have to say....there are alot of HD channels now. A quick count shows 100+ available HD channels if you include the on demand stuff and the pay channels (HBO, Max, Showtime, etc.)

That's too bad! I was hoping that I'd be able to tweak the antenna after 6/12 and possibly go to a 4228 or similar since I wouldn't need to get ch 4 any longer. BTW, how does the 4228 really work with chs 7 and 8? I know the specs say it can get the high VHF, but how well?

the cm 4228 is not favorable for vhf hi down there. especially at your place and with all the hills in general down there. the cm 4228 does not tame multipath all that well either and you have a ton of it at your place.

cm4228
-the beamwidth is rather wide on vhf high, not very directional on vhf, and you will need the added gain from a vhf design antenna. the vhf gain on ch 7-8 is in the 0 to +2 dbd ballpark.

-the uhf gain would be ok with the hd4228 but prefer the 91 xg for uhf based on the geography and multipath considerations there.

to be honest would leave everything as is with your hd7084p if reception is adequate. or install the 91 xg with the winegard ya1713 which would perform better on uhf and be enough for ch 7-8 at the home . the hd 7697 btw has more gain on ch 7-13 than the ya 1713 but less uhf gain then the hd4228 or 91 xg.

-enclosed are gain charts for the hd4228 hd to study. there is a big dip in the ch 7-8 area. therefore all the more reason to not consider the hd4228 at your home.

the 91xg ya 1713 would cost $120. $90 for the hd7697p

Thanks Rick,

How's things? I'll keep this info in mind once I get around to tweaking things.

It isn't urgent because I have DNS from DirecTV. I just like to have things in working order. :)

things are good. have a new hobby and am spending less time here.

I saw this article on Multichannel (http://www.multichannel.com/article/277632-Time_Warner_Cable_Hits_100_HD_Channels_In_Central_New_York.p hp)saying that Time Warner is offering 100 HD channels(not choices like the sneaky Comcast ads say).

"The company said it will offer 100 HD channels everywhere in its Central New York Division, including the Southern Tier,the Utica/Rome area and northern New York systems, with the addition of more HD channels later in June."

I count 90 with the addition of MSG+HD. That article mentions that News 10 Now HD and Time Warner Sports HD are some of the next HD channels to get added.

You are so lucky, Comcast in Philadelphia is going very slow with analog reclaimation and requires much more consumer action and complaints than SDV does.

Per Newchannel34's website:

What if I still can't pick up WIVT's DTV signal after following the reception guidelines?
If attempts to pick up our temporary digital signal are unsuccessful please be aware that sometime between August and October of 2009, we are planning to move our digital signal to a permanent digital channel 34. This is UHF channel where it will also be operating at significantly higher power. This move occurs after the analog shutoff date which is now set for June 2009 as mandated by the FCC.

Losing HD Net and HD Net movies really sucks. Some of the best HD programming. I just wish TWC would be honest and say that Cuban was trying to get those channels off the paid HD tier, and not because of lack of viewers.

:mad:

Hello,

Does anyone recommend Terk HDTVo outdoor antenna to mount on D* satellite arm to receive local OTA signal? Based on antennaweb charts and indoor analog reception, WETM and WENY are same compass orientation. My intention is to receive NBC and ABC digital and HD signal. Location is mid-hill, wooded north Horseheads, at Veteran town line. Comments and suggestions welcome and combiner information recommended. Present system is D* HD slimline oval dish with 3 receivers. Dish mounted on roof approx 35 ft above ground.

Thanks

I currently use the Terk HDTVO I am in Johnson City and I receive all the binghamton channels plus WSYT and WNYS out of Syracuse with the HDTVO. The antenna is expensive and you maybe better off with a cheaper antenna if you are close to the towers. I made a homemade antenna without an amp and picked up all the same stations except WNYS.

Do you mind going to tvfool.com and posting your tvfool report, so we can review your signal strengths and advise antenna recommendations

Thanks

sustorm,

Link to tvfool report:
"Pending.....need one more post per forum rules"

I am interested in a "budget" solution and definitely prefer not installing a big or expensive antenna as I only need the local OTA signal. The installer talked about a combiner that would mount on dish and separate OTA from sat. signal but thought digital may be different. Indoor analog reception was good. A neighbor has the clip style antenna on his dish and is not pleased with reception of locals.

Thanks again.

Thunderfoot

One more post to meet quorum.

Tv fool report link:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d249d8de7a7741b

What channels are you looking to receive and are you looking to share the sat. cabling?

You have an interesting location with antennas all around you, knowing what channels you are looking for will help.

My preferences in order: NBC WETM-DT 18.1
ABC WIVT or WENY 34.1 or 36.1
PBS WICZ 40.1

As a sports fan, NBC and ABC in HD are most important, PBS would be nice. My preference is to mount antenna to sat. arm and use existing cabling to three receivers. Tips on combiners and wiring appreciated.

Thanks

I suggest that you use a separate cable for OTA, as it is very difficult to combine OTA with the MPEG4 signals with DirecTV.

jdspencer,

The sat. installer indicated same, separate cable can be run from OTA then split to tv's. I was hoping to reduce wiring but overall is probably better to isolate OTA and sat.

Thanks

You can reduce the wiring for DirecTV if you can get an SWM installation. But, you'd need receivers that are SWM capable. The SWMLine dish has one output and can support a maximum of 8 tuners (DVRs count as two),

With the channels you are looking to get, any decent outdoor antenna will work. You maybe able to get away with a CM 4221 or a DB4http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=4221-HD
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=TD-DB4

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103085

Now you can make your own antenna just like this for about $20 with the attached instructions from Mclapp in the UHF antenna forum. Its acutally fairly easy to build, I made one of these in about 1 1/2 hrs and unamplified it receives all channels but one my $80 Terk HDTVO picks up and my build was not high quality.

Being that you are so close to WETM, you can pick that up with a coat hanger, so you want to focus on your distant stations. If you point of these antennas toward binghamton you should be able to pick up all the binghamton channels plus WETM without much of a problem.

You may have some trouble with WBNG and WITV because they are boradcasting on 7 and 8.

If you do you may need something like this VHF/UHF antenna.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103085

Where could I expect the best year round performance- one of the three noted antennas attic mounted or HDTVo mounted outside below satellite dish?

I can actually get an antenna higher in attic, facing Binghamton and have shorter runs to tv's plus the lower price benefit. Is HD reception likely on NBC and ABC?

Is HD reception likely on NBC and ABC?

Don't think you'll pick up NBC, but you could submit a waiver through DIRECTV.

Why do you feel he will not pick up NBC? He is 6 miles from the tower...

I have my HDTVO in my attic (asphalt shingled roof and its above the gutter line and away from any metal objects) I have had no signal reduction from rain, snow, wind or the new leaves on the trees. You do lose signal mounting in the attic but that depends on roofing materials.

You can mount any antenna in your attic but you will lose some signal. You can always try there and move it outside if you do not get the results you are expecting. This is all about trial and error

Here is my TVfool report and I pick up WIVT,WBNG, WSKG, WICZ, WNYS and WSYT all above 75% on my signal meters on my DTVPAL Plus and Samsung TV

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d249dd1ca10850d

One must remember that when it comes to TV reception it's all a matter of location.

As you can see from my TVFool report.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d249d892fd92762
That I'd need to do a lot work to get more than the Binghamton stations.
And I'm not that far from JC.

And, terrain can get in the way (pun intended).

yeah looks like you have 2 mountains in between you and the towers

Yup, I'm only about 9 miles from the towers.
And, I have the Winegard 7084p antenna on my roof.

I have to say....there are alot of HD channels now. A quick count shows 100+ available HD channels if you include the on demand stuff and the pay channels (HBO, Max, Showtime, etc.)

I made a comparison chart between DirecTV, DISH and TWC for personal use, using only national HD channels plus the RSN's for this area. Using that criteria TWC has 94 HD channels, DISH, 92 and DirecTV 74. I also broke it down as to who offers what compared to who doesn't. Maybe I'll post it one day.

Why do you feel he will not pick up NBC? He is 6 miles from the tower...

Yeah, I thought I saw Johnson City in one of his posts, but I now see Veteran is the location.

Here's a list for just nationals.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1058081

Does anyone know if WETM will be testing on Channel 18 before the 12th? I can pick up analog 18 in JC and was hoping to get digital 18 so i can have NBC in HD

NBA Finals in HD.

Doesn't look like that's the case. I got home tonight and started to watch the game live. It was SD 4:3.

I wonder if this will change anything in the HDTV spectrum for the Binghamton viewers...

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090605/NEWS01/90605024/Binghamton++Elmira+news+stations+consolidate

I wonder if this will change anything in the HDTV spectrum for the Binghamton viewers...

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090605/NEWS01/90605024/Binghamton++Elmira+news+stations+consolidate

Probably not. Many stations around the country are joining up and sharing "resources" and video feeds and stuff for stories. Although Binghamton doesn't really get many news stories from Elmira, the line is pretty defined, Tioga county is mostly part of Binghamton media, and Chemung county is where Elmira is...

Syracuse just combined about a month ago their NBC and CBS stations, WSTM and WTVH and do not believe this effected the broadcasting of DTV OTA

also, there was no mention of this on either websites for WETM or WITV

From WBNG TV:

"Action News has learned that Newschannel 34 will consolidate news operations with sister station WETM in Elmira. Newschannel 34 located on Ingraham Hill Road in the Town of Binghamton operates ABC affiliate WIVT. And NBC affiliate WBGH.
An employee tells us this morning, management laid off almost all news and production staff. Only 2 news employees were kept. Employees were told WETM, the NBC affiliate in Elmira, will take over immediately. Newport Television operates all 3 affiliates"

New FCC Ccoverage Maps are online at:
www.fcc.gov/dtv

This version does have the WENY transmitter at the correct location (Corning).

It seems that HD on 36-1 is very hit and miss. The race on Sunday was as well as one of the prime time shows. I set a recording for Jimmy Kimmel show with Heather Graham Wed. night. Not HD. Game 1 of the NBA Finals not in HD, which is stupefying. And the back-to-back eps. of the Christina Applegate series "Samantha Who" this evening not in HD. All were listed in the Guide as HD so it makes it hard to know what to expect.

It seems that HD on 36-1 is very hit and miss. The race on Sunday was as well as one of the prime time shows. I set a recording for Jimmy Kimmel show with Heather Graham Wed. night. Not HD. Game 1 of the NBA Finals not in HD, which is stupefying. And the back-to-back eps. of the Christina Applegate series "Samantha Who" this evening not in HD. All were listed in the Guide as HD so it makes it hard to know what to expect.

ABC decided to change the encoding of their signal, while not notifying some of their affiliates. They changed their audio encoding to Phased Aligned Audio which caused us to lose the audio on some of our HD feeds. (Apparently only 5.1 encoded shows.)

We chased down the problem & had to reset all the IRD's. Did that yesterday & all should be OK now.

Cheers.

ABC decided to change the encoding of their signal, while not notifying some of their affiliates. They changed their audio encoding to Phased Aligned Audio which caused us to lose the audio on some of our HD feeds. (Apparently only 5.1 encoded shows.)

We chased down the problem & had to reset all the IRD's. Did that yesterday & all should be OK now.

Cheers.

Yup. Game 2 of the Finals in HD. Thanks for chasing down the issue.

WETM will switch to high power UHF ch 18 at 12:01am June 12th. There will be no testing before that date. Rescan your boxes/tv's

Out like a trout!

I was really hoping they would have done it sooner. Ah well, less than a week any way.

WETM will switch to high power UHF ch 18 at 12:01am June 12th. There will be no testing before that date. Rescan your boxes/tv's

Out like a trout!

If we already have it showing, how does this affect the current HDTV that is
being sent now?

G2

Gary, right now it's at low band VHF freq. 2. After the switchover it will be UHF freq. 18, if I'm understanding your question correctly.

Thanks, I'll be sure to rescan for all available. I remember it flitting up to 18 and back to 2, either way the signal should still be from the same direction correct? So if I picked up
2, then 18 should also be as clear and stronger?
G2

Well, one would hope since WETM, and all the other full power broadcasters, will no longer be doing analog as well as digital. Remains to be seen though.

Any further word on when WIVT (Ch 34 - Binghamton) will get their digital transmitter installed?

their site says between august and october....

Yeah, that was buried in the "What if I still can't pick up WIVT's DTV signal after following the reception guidelines? " section for DTV Information.

So between August and October means sometime in September. :)

They really should create a section just for the transition timeline.
I'd like to tweak my antenna before the bad weather returns. :(

When you are up there tweaking, you may want to try point the antenna a slight angle upwards toward the top or just above the top of the hill that is the way of the towers. I have read in other posts throughout the forum that you can try this technique in your situation.

Yes, I had heard of that.
Do they make a mast that makes that easier?
I suspect I'll have to play with the feet. :)
I wonder if my neighbors would like a 100' mast in my back yard? :D

BTW, do you know of anyone that does antenna installation/tweaking?

Does anybody know if "TV Guide On Screen" (TVGOS) is supported in the Binghamton area?

Does anybody know if "TV Guide On Screen" (TVGOS) is supported in the Binghamton area?

Should be on WBNG.

- Trip

Should be on WBNG.

- Trip

They should Be, but knowing the technical state of affairs at WBNG, I have my doubts.

I'm not getting any guide listings on a Hi Def DVR that I just purchased. I'm seeing a bunch of advertisements for CBS programming, but no program listings.

If you're getting anything at all from it, then it's working properly at WBNG's end. WBNG has no control over the TVGOS equipment other than to be able to reboot it if it locks up. Macrovision remote controls all the TVGOS gear, so if it's not working and you are receiving packets from WBNG, blame Macrovision.

Honestly, I've heard a lot about problems with TVGOS, so it doesn't surprise me that you're having issues getting listings.

- Trip

Honestly, I've heard a lot about problems with TVGOS, so it doesn't surprise me that you're having issues getting listings.
- Trip

Thus, my reason for asking if anybody in the area is actually receiving the digital TVGOS listings.

I've upgraded the DVR firmware which is supposed to enable digital TVGOS service. I don't want to waste a lot of time troubleshooting my equipment if the problem is on the other end.

The listings are empty. I'm not even getting a channel list on the guide screen. The clock is blank.

So today I put up a second antenna pointing towards Elmira and flipped my splitter so I now have my 1st antenna pointed to Syracuse receiving all binghamton channels and Fox and MY43 out of Syracuse and I am hoping tomorrow I will have NBC out of Elmira. I can pick up analog 18 at my location so I am hoping I can pick up digital 18 when it turns on early tomorrow.

I lost very little signal strength adding the second antenna and I can't wait to see if I will received NBCHD WETM tomorrow.

Yes, I had heard of that.
Do they make a mast that makes that easier?
I suspect I'll have to play with the feet. :)
I wonder if my neighbors would like a 100' mast in my back yard? :D

BTW, do you know of anyone that does antenna installation/tweaking?

what do you need tweaked or installed. I have an installer from cortland that does good work.

The angling myth has it's issues. A tendency to improve one channel and make another worse...frequency dependent. just what you need over there...:)

does one of the legs pivit at the base

WETM will switch to high power UHF ch 18 at 12:01am June 12th. There will be no testing before that date. Rescan your boxes/tv's

Out like a trout!

They were right jolly on the spot, doing email and my tv went silent
I thought "huh must be the storm" which is raining very hard here right now ;)

THEN, I remembered your post and put that and the just after midnight timing
together and there ya go, reprogrammed the TV and 18 comes in just fine
plus 18-2 as well.

G2

no luck here, but I think its my homemade antenna, I will get up and adjust early next week and hopefully I will pull in WETM.

I got WETM CH18 here 35mi east of Binghamton but it's right on the edge we'll have to see how it holds out day to day. It would be nice to have a nice clear NBC channel again:)

Awesome mclapp, I had to disassemeble my home made antenna and when reassembled it is all out of whack, the whiskers are all crooked and bent and i think its affecting the performance.

what do you need tweaked or installed. I have an installer from cortland that does good work.

The angling myth has it's issues. A tendency to improve one channel and make another worse...frequency dependent. just what you need over there...:)

does one of the legs pivit at the baseAll legs pivot at the base to allow for the pitch of the roof. I'd really not have to reposition the legs to change the angle if that might not work. I need to wait for the ch34 switchover as they are being delayed (Aug - Oct) due to the delivery of the transmitter from CA. Right now I'm not getting ch34 at all, which surprised me since they are not going to switch over until later in the year. I suppose this is related to shutting down their analog transmitter today. My other digital channels aren't doing too bad right now, so maybe a tweak won't be needed once 34 gets their act together. All local analog has been shutdown except for ch26 which is a low power religion channel.

Ch 20 NBC is still up and running though right? Last night at 12:15 am I still received 20(NBC-CA), 26(religious), and 46(PBS) analog. 20 and 26 should still be on

I've never been able to get ch20 here in Chenango Bridge.
Dang that Crocker Hill. :)

Yeah, you're not missing much, maybe when 34 gets new tower up and its added as a subchannel, it will be worth watching

Yeah, Ch20 is NBC and there in at least 4th place among the networks.

it makes me wonder that if DirecTV ever does offer our locals in HD, will the subchannels be included? If they are, they won't be HD. Hopefully, I can keep the DNS stations, at least the ones that aren't HD locally.

BTW, anyone hearing the strange audio from WBNG with local or syndicated shows? The r/l channels are louder than normal when listening in DD2.0/PCM. I have my DirecTV receivers output in PCM because too many other channels don't output the center channel consistantly in 5.1. Not a big deal as I usually tune to WCBS.

I didnt think I had a chance, but there it is 18.1 and 18.2 OTA here in Greene.
Signal strength of 89 on DN DVR
Also getting 30.3 30.4 30.5. which must be PBS out of Elmira.
:)

I didnt think I had a chance, but there it is 18.1 and 18.2 OTA here in Greene.
Signal strength of 89 on DN DVR
Also getting 30.3 30.4 30.5. which must be PBS out of Elmira.
:)The 30.x channels are retransmissions of 46.x from Binghamton PBS.

Enjoy your good luck. I may try to see if I can get 18 here.

What's your distance to Elmira?

BTW, I get no signal for Ch34 (ch4) on either DVR or TV. Anyone else not seeing this?

Still no ch34 right now. What's the story?

Still no ch34 right now. What's the story?

What is the story with ABC, they told me way back when that there signal would be boosted as I currently have never gotten ABC OTA as the signal strength is too low currently, ABC 34 needs to get their act together!!!

What's your distance to Elmira?

BTW, I get no signal for Ch34 (ch4) on either DVR or TV. Anyone else not seeing this?[/QUOTE]

It looks like Im about 75 miles from the transmitter. WETM is still rock steady.

I had ABC this morning without a problem, remember they will not be moving to 34 until "sometime between August and October" according to their website

How many people are now receiving WETM now that its on Channel 18? I see two posts so far.

I know that ch34 won't be making the switch until they get their "new" transmitter in place. They are still using their digital ch4 one. Now, maybe thay had to reduce their ERP?

Still nothing here.

I would contact 34 to see if they have changed anything on their end, they would probably like to know that they have lost some digital customer for one reason or another

WIVT/WBGH studios and offices are located at:

203 Ingraham Hill Road
Binghamton, NY 13903
PHONE: (607) 771-3434
NEWSROOM FAX: (607) 723-6403

after their layoff i dont know if you'll get an answer but engineering staff should still be there

I sent an email to their news desk as that was the only one that seemed reasonable on their website.

We'll see what the response is, if there is one.

Edit: The reply was that there is no problem on their end.
They also linked me to several different website to help me.
All of which I had visited before.
I just found it weird that I lost WIVT last Friday (6/12) when I had it for many months before. I guess I need to check my setup for something that has changed.

That is strange that you lost your signal on 6-12, is your antenna hooked straight into your TV or into your DirectTv box?

The antenna is connected to a splitter and it feeds the TV and the receiver. Their is an HP269 preamp involved as well. Maybe the preamp is somehow blocking ch4?

seems strange that you would just lose the signal, has anything else changed outside? Neighbors put anything up or anything weird going on over there?

Nothing has changed that I can see. I haven't been on the roof to check there.

Nothing has gone up in the neighborhood.

Thanks for the concern. Luckily, OTA isn't really needed right now as I have DNS for the four networks.

I feel bad for you in your location, i guess be thankful for DNS

Now if the Greater Binghamton area can get a full power NBC and CW affiliate, that would be great. :)

Over the weekend I was in the waiting room at a car repair place on the Miracle Mile in Horseheads. They have a little "rabbit ears" tv there. It had a digital converter box on it and it was pulling in WETM just fine. :) Good to see it.

anyone know of any non-big box retailers in the binghamton area selling real antennas? By that I mean Yagi or 4/8 bay antenna's, nothing that looks pretty :-)

Is Radio Shack too big box for you?

Yeah, I am just looking for more options, the yagi antenna I am looking for is not in stock at RS and no big box stores in the area carry a decent antenna

Yeah, the Greater Binghamton area is a bit lacking isn't it?
There aren't any big box stores around here anymore. :(
Can you wait for Best Buy to open?

If you look up antennas in the yellow pages you get a grand total of 2 entries.
East End Refrigeration and Pinnacle Satellite.
Maybe they could order the one you want.
You might check Unicorn Electronics.

BTW, I see you are in JC. What do you know about Halsted Communications? I've been trying to get through their horrible voice response phone system to get my DirecTV dish relocated.
They are at 129 Brown St. I'm wondering if they have a customer walkin office.

Yeah, I can wait but I don't want to,lol, Yeah i was hoping maybe the yellow pages missed something. I just moved down here a year ago and I am not even sure where brown st is. Sorry i couldnt help, if I go down that why I will let you know.

I now know where Brown St is and I guess I'll need to take short trip into JC. Halsted Communications is the local installer for DirecTV. I'd rather deal with them directly than go through DirecTV. All I need is to relocate the dish from my carport roof to a pole mount. I may try to do it myself, but then I'd probably bump it and then need a realignment anyway.

Yeah I hear you on that one, no need to break anything.

It's great to see so much activity on this forum. I just wanted to say Hi
to jd... and n2vwz out in Chenango Bridge (yes, darn that Crocker Hill).

The line up for TWC Clear QAM's changed on February 18th. My buddy, who works for TWC, said all he did that week was rescan his Clear QAM customers' TV's. So, the February 17th old cutoff date didn't effect Cable TV? WRONG! I had to go down and rescan my Mom-in-Law's TV in Owego that week. It was good to see that they used the SAME tuning virtual channel numbers for Clear QAM 256 as the Off Air people use. Perhaps this was by FCC ruling?

12.1 WBNG-HD Physical Channel 80 (561 MHz) Interleaving I=128, J=1
20.1 WBGH-HD Physical Channel 80 (561 MHz) as above

34.1 WIVT-HD Physical Channel 79 (555 MHz) as above
40.1 WICZ-HD Physical Channel 79 (555 MHz) as above
46.1 WSKG-HD Physical Channel 79 (555 MHz) as above
46.2 WSKG-2 (SD) Physical Ch. 79 (555 MHz) as above
46.3 WSKG-CR (SD) Physical Ch. 79 (555 MHz) as above

0 Kids on Demand Promo Channel Physical Ch. 120 (771 MHz) as above

Of course, 12.2 is Analog 11 on TWC and no need to offer this SD channel in Clear QAM 256. 40.2 is in the same situation on TWC Analog Channel 8 in SD. This information comes from any full size 26-inch or larger SONY LCD from its Diagnostic Panel on TWC after a successful Clear QAM 256 Channel Scan. I pulled the info off my Aunt and Uncle's TV screen in Endicott in May.

I'm certainly looking forward to WIVT moving to DT-34 in August, BUT I KNOW that you two are NOT. The TV Fool web site declares UHF DT-34 as "in the mud" at least for n2vwz's location.

I'm looking at a new Winegard HD-7698P antenna for Scranton DT-11 NBC WBRE-DT and DT-13 CBS WYOU-DT. I already have a neighbor that lives on the top of my hill who regularly watches Scranton 11/13. He doesn't watch on our local CBS affiliate because of Pix Quality concerns on any analog/NTSC sourced video and their choice to switch 4x3 CBS source through their analog chain to put in their colored logo. (It seems that they are still sending an analog signal to TWC for Channel 2 as the TWC channel shows that colored logo when the HD programs on OTA Physical Channel 7/12.1 cannot during an HD program.)

As for 34.2 for NBC SD, I have word that they really want to do it and have permission from the NBC folks, but it will be SD, of course. I've asked them to take the 16x9 feed and letter box it into 34.2 so that all of us with 16x9 HDTV's can "zoom" and at least show a clear SD 16x9 picture, especially on the NFL football games on Sunday night. (I've done that with Analog 20 and it's better than watching a cropped picture that is pillered.)

WICZ-HD is the only Commercial (WSKG is Public TV) Station that is sourcing HD content off of a video server. They do OK with their Two-and-a-Half Men feeds at 7 and 7:30 PM. I suppose we've all seen WSKG-HD's local HD feeds for the membership drives and they certainly look decent.

Elmira-Corning is an interesting story. WETM DT-2 should be gone with the flash-cut to Digital 18. It's good to see reports that Elmira DT-18 NBC is getting their signal out. As to WENY-DT 36 from Hingman Hill just south of Corning, they may find that certain area's of Elmira are hard to cover from Hingman Hill as WSKG-FM has found out with its translator station there. WSKA DT-30 Public TV is co-located with WENY-DT 36. And how about that "CBS Coup" that 36 pulled on WBNG? WOW, the marketting value of WBNG may have dropped, although they will still have the "Big Signal" on Physical Channel 7 (but for how long?). Of course the TWC folks in Elmira-Corning will get 36 CBS HD but the Off-Air folks will only get an SD secondary feed on 36-2. I had talked to a knowledgeable WENY person earlier this year and was told that the mux couldn't do HDTV and that both ABC and CBS would be SD for now. I don't have a report from an Off-the-air WENY DT-36 viewer to confirm what really is going on there. I have a ham radio contact in Burdett, NY near the west end of NY State Route 79 on Seneca Lake's east shore, and he states that he cannot reliably get DT-36.

Check out the Media Bureau's TV Query listing on the FCC web site. You'll see that Steve Miller, before he passed away, at WICZ, filed for a "low power" DT-23. See what the Coverage Contour is. WOW. That's some predicted coverage for a 15 KW ERP signal on DT-23 for "My 8 Net" High Def. I expect the it is many years away, though. We hope that the new chief at WICZ can convince his bosses that DT-23 can bring in more revenue for the costs incurred. (I worked with his Dad at IBM and they are a convincing, hard working family!) Enough for now! Be Good!

Thanks for all of that interesting info.

How definite is that August date for WIVT going to DT-34? For me, DT-4 hasn't been all that good, so I hope the higher power of DT-34 will work well.

I had talked to a knowledgeable WENY person earlier this year and was told that the mux couldn't do HDTV and that both ABC and CBS would be SD for now.

I don't know who "the knowledgeable WENY person" you spoke with, but we are
transmitting ABC in HD with CBS in SD, along with the CW in SD coming up shortly. We are currently trying to get the mux to pass two HD streams and one SD stream with acceptable compression. Stay tuned....

Cheers

I assume that the two HD streams will be 720p.

Once you get it to work, please let the powers to be in Binghamton know so they can also give it a try.:)

I don't know who "the knowledgeable WENY person" you spoke with, but we are
transmitting ABC in HD with CBS in SD, along with the CW in SD coming up shortly. We are currently trying to get the mux to pass two HD streams and one SD stream with acceptable compression. Stay tuned....

Cheers

Interesting, but if that comes about, does it involve re-positioning the CBS feed @ 36.2 to another location or can it be done from that spot?

Now, if WYDC did a strong enough digital feed, I'd be all set. I've been diggin' on "Samantha Who?" on ABC-HD. Christina Applegate and Jean Smart are great comedic actresses.

CBS will stay at 36.2 with CW at 36.3

I assume that the two HD streams will be 720p.

Once you get it to work, please let the powers to be in Binghamton know so they can also give it a try.:)

That's an interesting question because I would also assume that both feeds would be coming across the same as well (720p)...BUT I also thought that the local affiliates didn't have control over which standard they broadcasted their feeds in...and it was decided by the networks on a national basis. I found this metric that I posted below that says all ABC owned networks are broadcast in 720p while all CBS owned networks are broadcast in 1080i. This is probably for when they have seperately owned networks in one location or at least the networks would be on separate channels. But in this case with both networks being on the same channel...how will the two channels be broadcast?

Any of the Fox owned networks are 720p - Fox, FX, Fox Sports nets, Fox Business, etc.

Any Disney owned networks are 720p - ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc.

Any NBC owned networks are 1080i - NBC, Universal, SciFi, USA, etc

Any CBS owned networks are 1080i - CBS, etc.

The Discovery owned networks are 1080i

That's why a posed the question. I kinda assumed that since the CBS affiliate was going to be SD (480i) on the subchannel, that maybe they could do 720p for CBS. Anything is possible, right?

Plenty of stations side-convert from one to another, but it has a certain amount of quality loss to it.

WCBI and WTAP are 1080i network stations that convert to 720p.
WVEC, WFAA, KVUE are 720p network stations that convert to 1080i.

- Trip

Are any other twc customers getting a channel not available try again later message? I've been getting them ever since they deployed sdv. It use to happen less frequently, but now I get them on almost all hd channels except the major networks and on some of the sd channels that require a cable box. They put an amplifier on my line because they said I had a low signal and I swapped out my box with a new one with no improvement at all. I've done some searching on the internet and read some posts from other twc customers from other parts of the country having this problem but can't find out what they did to fix it. I also noticed this happen on my father in laws television that is also in horseheads.

usually when that happens to me i go to channel 001 then back and it's fixed.

[QUOTE=brives81;16736939]That's an interesting question because I would also assume that both feeds would be coming across the same as well (720p)...BUT I also thought that the local affiliates didn't have control over which standard they broadcasted their feeds in...and it was decided by the networks on a national basis. I found this metric that I posted below that says all ABC owned networks are broadcast in 720p while all CBS owned networks are broadcast in 1080i. This is probably for when they have seperately owned networks in one location or at least the networks would be on separate channels. But in this case with both networks being on the same channel...how will the two channels be broadcast?

The Stations can change from 720p to 1080i & visa versa. There would be some degradation, but it would be acceptable.

The major problem we are having at WENY (with trying to pass two HD & one SD program stream) is with the compression algorithms used with our Harris NetVx mux. (The mux takes three separate program streams & "muxes" them into one signal for transport to the transmitter & TW Cable for distribution.

In order to get all of this in our available bandwidth, there obviously has to be some sort of compression. The Harris uses "adaptive compression", which looks at all of the program streams and "steals" bandwidth from one stream & allots it to another as needed. This is done in real time & there is a lot of "number crunching" being done.

This type of compression usually works pretty well when you have programming that doesn't have a lot of quick movement, such as news shows, sitcoms, etc. The real bandwidth hogs are the sports programs.

This brings us to our quandary here at WENY. We have to add the third stream (CW). Now, when both CBS & ABC are running sports programming in HD & CW in SD, the adaptive compression is blazing away. We're trying to keep the compression anomalies (pixelization (the "blockies"), quantization errors (the "cartoon" look) and picture freezes) to a minimum.

Believe me, the Engineering Department here at the station wants both ABC & CBS transmitted in HD (it's a matter of Professional pride now) & our contractually required CW in SD.

We are badgering Harris about how to do this with minimum technical issues & we will be "tinkering" with the mux in the coming weeks, so please be patient with us- now you know our goals.

Cheers

The person that called me from WENY on Friday afternoon January 3, 2009 has a first name beginning with "M".

All one has to do to see the effect of one HD and two SD's is watch the WSKG feeds. Since the "Create" channel has been added, they have never looked the same. As an engineer myself, I could understand the need to push the envelope and the math with a statistical MUX. (For me its ONE HD and ONE SD, Folks. That's the spec as far as I'm concerned.) I've been in discussoins about 720P versus 1080i and I was told that ABC/ESPN and FOX are Sports oriented and wanted 720P. NBC, CBS and PBS were generally not so, and wanted the advantages of 1080i, (whatever they are). I think we'll all see some interesting "MATH" happening in this new Digital World. I had a chance in Engineering School to take either Statistics or Non-linear Network Theory. NLNT won that battle hands down and I aced it. Now that I think of one of my favorite CBS shows, Numb3rs, I often wonder about that decision so many decades ago!

I hope that Harris can come up with a good answer for DT-36.

The one big issue we have in Binghamton is a station's ability to broadcast good NTSC 480i source embedded into their 1080i and 720p signals. One BIG station is having much difficulty with this while a station that used to be the Bain of Binghamton many, many years ago is the very BEST with great looking NTSC "inserts."

I received a report from my colleague in Burdett, NY at the west end of NYS Route 79 and he now assures me that he indeed gets DT-36 from Corning!

Thanks all for your input and great discussions.

Oh, and one more thing.... A recent call to WENY-DT to discuss the possibility of reception in Endicott was not returned. I was at a party last Saturday in the Town of Berkshire just west of Broome County's Greenwood Park and WETM-DT 18 came in just great (18.1/18.2) at that location, but no DT-36 from Corning at all. The ION Channel from Scranton DT-32 (64.1 through 64.4) also came in with a "pixelating" WYOU-DT 13 (22.1).

I decided to look into the "math" (statistical MUX) for this challenge.
There's an article in Broadcast Engineering magazine by Peter Putman, then president of ROAM Consulting on July 1, 2006, entitled:

"HDTV Data Multiplexing"

(I used Google with English-only responses selected in the search profile)

1080i data rate (without double quotes) was the search term.

The article was the third response listed.
I won't bore anyone by repeating what Peter stated and his example
from WPVI in Philadelphia, PA. His article seems to predict quite well
what we experience with WSKG-HD, WSKG 2 (SD), and WSKG-Create (SD).

I'm always hopeful for a math breakthrough in 2009 and beyond that would allow the current ATSC transmissions to do more. But the cost to HD PQ is high now with only two SD signals with a main 1080i HD program. Unless there's some "magical math" that looks ahead at many Frames of all the feeds and can quickly reallocate bits, trying to pass TWO HD's and an SD will be quite a challenge, indeed!

So I did some playing around with my antenna this morning, I am still unable to receive any of the Elmira stations but I was able to pick up WQPX out of PA about 50 miles to the south. I was not able to pull in any other scranton wilkesbarre stations.

I seems I have an ablilty to pick up the weaker stations and not the stronger ones, as I pick up WNYS, WSYT, and now WQPX(if pointed to the south). I really would like to pick up WETM at my location.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d618a3a5164b848

FYI, ch34 has now re-appeared with no intervention on my part.

TW is catching it's breath in regards to HD channel additions. An article on Multichannel claimed that the Central NY division(incl Southern Tier) would surpass 100 HD channels by the end of the month(June), and add News 10 Now and TW Sports in HD.

Still only at 93 HD channels by my count.

However, it's easier to cut them some slack when they already have 90+ HD channels, unlike freakin Comcast in their home city with a paltry HD channel count around 40.

TW is catching it's breath in regards to HD channel additions. An article on Multichannel claimed that the Central NY division(incl Southern Tier) would surpass 100 HD channels by the end of the month(June), and add News 10 Now and TW Sports in HD.

Still only at 93 HD channels by my count.

However, it's easier to cut them some slack when they already have 90+ HD channels, unlike freakin Comcast in their home city with a paltry HD channel count around 40.

TWC topped the 100+ HD channel count back in May. This includes ALL HD offerings (Premium, On-demand, sports, Adult, etc.)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16561684#post16561684

They don't keep their online channel lineup up-to-date. We've had TW sports in HD for about a week now.

My question is how much does it cost to get ALL HD that TWC offers.

My question is how much does it cost to get ALL HD that TWC offers.

The Digital explorer pack is something like 64.99 and the basic HD package is free...it's just a change in the box. (this includes all standard HD channels with locals..totals 60+ HD channels)

6.95 adds the HD tier which only gets you 3 more channels (not sure why this tier even exists...must have something to do with TWC contracts with these channels)

7.95 adds the sports tier which adds I think 3 or 4 more HD channels including BigTenHD, CBS College sports HD, NHLHD, NBAHD, etc.)

12.95 each for HBO/Cinemax/Showtime. All these add 25+ channels.

The rest of the HD channels reside in the on-demand section. (Premium on demand, adult on demand, sports on demand , movies on demand)

The prices might be a little off but that should give you a good idea....I haven't actually broken it down on my bill in a while. Others can chime in if they have the actual prices. The TWC website doesn't break it down very well either...you have to talk to a CSR.

My question is how much does it cost to get ALL HD that TWC offers.

The last time I looked at my bill, with 3 DVR's, Road Runner, and all but the Sports package, after taxes it comes out to about $207 per month.

Granted, I have not looked at different packages in many years, mostly due to the dearth of information online. TW wants you to call the sales dept to get package pricing.

TWC topped the 100+ HD channel count back in May. This includes ALL HD offerings (Premium, On-demand, sports, Adult, etc.)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16561684#post16561684

They don't keep their online channel lineup up-to-date. We've had TW sports in HD for about a week now.

I am not talking about ALL HD "offerings" That is the false garbage that Comcast uses to brag about having the most HD. When the reality is that they severly lag behind FiOS and DirecTV.

The article I was referring to is here, (http://www.multichannel.com/article/277632-Time_Warner_Cable_Hits_100_HD_Channels_In_Central_New_York.p hp) and it also specifically says "channels", NOT "offerings" OnDemand, Adult, PPV don't count. HD premium channels do since they are a linear channel that shows HD programming. GameHD and TeamHD are a bit of a gray area, they are PPV sports packages but are a linear channel that shows HD programming.

When you look at just HD "channels", TW does not have 100 yet. Close, but not there.

What channel is TW Sports HD on? I didn't see it last weekend anywhere in the 700s-900s.

I am not talking about ALL HD "offerings" That is the false garbage that Comcast uses to brag about having the most HD. When the reality is that they severly lag behind FiOS and DirecTV.

The article I was referring to is here, (http://www.multichannel.com/article/277632-Time_Warner_Cable_Hits_100_HD_Channels_In_Central_New_York.p hp) and it also specifically says "channels", NOT "offerings" OnDemand, Adult, PPV don't count. HD premium channels do since they are a linear channel that shows HD programming. GameHD and TeamHD are a bit of a gray area, they are PPV sports packages but are a linear channel that shows HD programming.

When you look at just HD "channels", TW does not have 100 yet. Close, but not there.

What channel is TW Sports HD on? I didn't see it last weekend anywhere in the 700s-900s.

Count 'em how you want to count 'em...that's just a matter of semantics. They say 100+...you say 90+. IMO..I totally count HD on demand. If I can sit in my house and order an HD movie on-demand...how is that any different than watching a movie on HBOHD? Again it's all a matter of opinion. Again I'm not sure if any of the companies distinguish between 'offernings' and 'channels'. That maybe something we described here. I think they all count them as channels. Noone says tune to our on-demand offering..they say tune to our on-demand channel.

The real fact is it kind of sucks for the Binghamton/Elmira market to be grouped into the Central NY division for TWC. As far as I know FiOS is not available anywhere in the former TWC STNY division. The closest I know that it is available is Syracuse and Rochester. The comparison is only good in the Syracuse market. Therefore you can't even count that if I can't order it. So in my opinion TWC > FiOS at this point given that I can't get FiOS right now.

Now let's look at DirectTV which is available in this area. For 69.95(number includes HD tier on my bill) on TWC I can get all the channels that TWC offers (minus some sports stuff and premiums). This also includes all HD channels. I don't have to step up to the next package to get more channels (with the exception of some sports and premiums mentioned before). A quick look at DirectTV's site says that I'd have to spend $77+ or even have to step up to the top package to get the same channels. And DTV does not include local channels (SD or HD) in this area without waivers and additional fees. And a big one on my list is DirectTV's internet service is NO WHERE NEAR as fast as TWC. I pay 34.95 for RR and I get 6+ Mbps down and 4+ Mbps up. Sattelite service can't even come close to that. So even if I had DirectTV, I'd still have to get RR and worry about 2 bills.

There have been many comparisons about which channels DirectTV offers vs. TWC, but for me it's about the biggest bang for my buck. And right now it's TWC. Maybe that will change, but I'm not complaining. You say they are severly lagging, but I say that they are maybe slightly behind in some areas while in others they are way ahead. All I'm saying is that I can get Digital cable, plenty of HD channels with locals, DVR services and the fastest residential internet service currently available in my area for about 110/month including taxes. That's a pretty good deal in my opinion.

BTW...I was mistaken about TW sports HD...I was seeing TWCHD (The Weather Channel HD) and thinking it was the sports channel. My fault on that one. But again TW sports shows mostly local high school and college sports which aren't even on in the summer. So if that channel comes in by fall I'd be happy. They have nothing to broadcast on it right now.

EDIT:
Saw this article tonight. They do count the on-demand 'channels' as part of the 100+ and News 10 Now HD and TW sports HD are slated to go soon.

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090707/BUSINESS/907070363/1113/

Anyone getting WIVT-DT on their D* HD DVRs today? I'm getting 'searching for signal' on both of mine. It was working fine last night for the national news at 6:30, but then this morning it was not working for Good Morning America. I've never had an issue with WIVT before. Did they switch over from channel 4 to 34 sooner than they expected?

I'm getting 34-1 on my HR20-100. From previous postings you can see I did have a problem after the transition. Then it came back all on its own.

I don't believe WIVT has transitioned to their new transmitter. The earliest for that is August.

You might try running antenna setup again. Although, that didn't solve it for me previously.

Right after I posted, I checked it again and the Ellen show was coming in, then after about 2 minutes it went out. I figured the station must be having some issues so I stopped worrying about it. Just checked again and it seems fine and I'm getting the usual 75-80% signal strength.

Now let's look at DirectTV which is available in this area. For 69.95(number includes HD tier on my bill) on TWC I can get all the channels that TWC offers (minus some sports stuff and premiums). This also includes all HD channels. I don't have to step up to the next package to get more channels (with the exception of some sports and premiums mentioned before). A quick look at DirectTV's site says that I'd have to spend $77+ or even have to step up to the top package to get the same channels. And DTV does not include local channels (SD or HD) in this area without waivers and additional fees. And a big one on my list is DirectTV's internet service is NO WHERE NEAR as fast as TWC. I pay 34.95 for RR and I get 6+ Mbps down and 4+ Mbps up. Sattelite service can't even come close to that. So even if I had DirectTV, I'd still have to get RR and worry about 2 bills.

I have DirecTV's Premium package, which is every channel they offer, premium/sports/national/HD pack/etc. If they offer it, I get it. I also have 1 HD DVR and 2 SD boxes. I pay $143.10 a month for it and to be honest it's a waste of money for me. I would love to downgrade, but will loose channels. I watch FSC a lot and you're required to have the sports pack for it, so that's $12 or $14 a month. I also watch HBO original series and that'd be another $14/15 a month. I priced it out and it would be about $3 cheaper if I added JUST HBO and the sports pack. Not worth it for me to downgrade.

On top of that I pay $54 a month for TWC Road Runner Turbo, I get 8-10Mbps down and 6-8 Mbps up. So that puts me at almost $200 a month for RR and DirecTV. My parents get TWC with their HD channels, except the premiums like HBO/Showtime and they also get RR and Digital Phone and they pay $145 a month.

Channel wise, there's 1 channel that DirecTV has that I watch that TWC doesn't while TWC has 3 that DirecTV doesn't. My contract is up in October so I'm going to wait and see what happens. Ultimately I'll probably wait until D12 launches to see what happens. By then if it's a dud like D11 has been for me (as in my viewing habits) then I'll switch.

Also to note, TWC has added MSNBC HD, HLN HD and TCM HD to its lineup already.

I read that they should be adding WGN HD and Tru HD to its lineup soon.

I had problems all morning with 34 this morning as well, has it been corrected?

I had problems all morning with 34 this morning as well, has it been corrected?

Its been steady up untill about 430PM, now it drops out every few seconds signal strength from 98 down to zero and back

it seemed to be corrected this morning

WENY OTA? It had been breaking up earlier and now don't get a "good" signal. WSKA is fine as are other channels.

no 34 today or last night

Ch 34 missing here as well.

Maybe they are doing preliminary work for the installation of their transmitter.

We were out of town for the weekend. I just got back and checked 34 and I too am getting the searching for signal via OTA. I guess they have no one there on the weekends that can fix the problem. As long as it's fixed for my wife's Bachelorette Monday night, then I'll be safe and happy.

The signal is going in and out today at my location, any word from 34?

We were out of town for the weekend. I just got back and checked 34 and I too am getting the searching for signal via OTA. I guess they have no one there on the weekends that can fix the problem. As long as it's fixed for my wife's Bachelorette Monday night, then I'll be safe and happy.I had a signal and then I didn't and now I do, such as it is at my location. I hope it's solid for your wife tonight. I'd make other arrangements. :)

I called 34 just a few minutes ago, they stated they are having transmitter problems, they are working on it but do not have an ETA on fixing the issue...

I called 34 just a few minutes ago, they stated they are having transmitter problems, they are working on it but do not have an ETA on fixing the issue...
I was just going to call them myself, but thought I'd check here first. The wife is NOT going to be happy if all of the Bachelorette doesn't record tonight. Anyone got a couch I can borrow?

EDIT: I just called the lady who answered said not to get my hopes up about it being fixed by tonight. They still have not given her an ETA on when it will be fixed (I assume they are the engineers).

maybe this will speed up the installation of their new transmitter and move to 34 but doubtful...

Do we even know if the "new" transmitter is even in town?

Doesn't ABC make their shows available on their website?
There will probably be a torrent out there as well.

Have you tried WSYR (ABC) from Syracuse? Given the good weather, I'm receiving a decent, stable signal which I'm hoping holds out through The Bachelorette.

No Luck, I can only get WNYS and WSYT out of syracuse

Doesn't ABC make their shows available on their website?
That's my wife's plan.

I even tried calling D* and explaining the situation to try and get an emergency waiver so I could get ABC out of NYC, but no luck. I knew it was a loooooong shot, but I tried anyway.

That's my wife's plan....How'd you make out?

She watched the Bachelorette online last night, so I'm still breathing.

I just called channel 34 and got the same "it's still not fixed and we still don't have an estimate on when it will be fixed."

As long as Ch34 is able to provide a signal to TWC, their OTA isn't a high priority.
May have to put up with outages until they get their digital transmitter on the air.

As long as Ch34 is able to provide a signal to TWC, their OTA isn't a high priority.
May have to put up with outages until they get their digital transmitter on the air.

Then they should grant temporary waivers to DIRECTV customers in that area. You guys might want to contact ABC corporate directly.

I already have waivers for all four major networks.
But, that's a good idea for those that have DirecTV and don't get the networks OTA.

I have received signal today but its at about 25% of its normal capacity

Finally an update on their website:

"Newschannel34 is experiencing technical difficulties with our Digital Transmitter

If you are having trouble receiving our Digital Signal on your Television, we are aware of the problem and are currently working on getting it fixed. The problem is a result of a lightning strike over the weekend. All issues shoould only apply to over-the-air transmissions. Repairs are scheduled to be completed by Friday July 17th. Thank you for your patience."

http://www.newschannel34.com/content/developingnews/story/Newschannel34-is-experiencing-technical/xiKkYC1nB0elJe3GMO8P6w.cspx

Hopefully we'll be able to see the final 2 rounds of the British Open.

...
Hopefully we'll be able to see the final 2 rounds of the British Open.Thank goodness for my DNS. :)

Anyone getting WIVT with an antenna? I checked around 6PM and nothing even though their site still says repairs should be completed by today.

Still nothing here.

I have full signal now on 34

Yes it was up last night, now it's gone again. :(

I think it went out right around 8:02PM, as that's when my wife's Bacholerette recording stopped. I tried tuning live to WIVT last night and couldn't get it either. It was out at 7AM today as I couldn't get Good Morning America. Just got home but haven't checked it yet this afternoon.

I actually got an email back from the station yesterday saying their new digital transmitter is being installed now and should be online mid August. I won't name names, but I believe the person knows what they are talking about.

yup, on and off here in Greene again

Let's hope that they get the transmitter online without problems.

Got an email from my contact at WIVT and they said the new digital transmitter should be operation the 1st week of August if not sooner. Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well. Should be interesting to see how D* HD DVRs react to the actual channel changing from 4 to 34.

Got an email from my contact at WIVT and they said the new digital transmitter should be operation the 1st week of August if not sooner. Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well. Should be interesting to see how D* HD DVRs react to the actual channel changing from 4 to 34.That will depend on when WIVT sends the change to Tribune Media Services.
We can check the Zap2It.com website for when that happens.

Maybe you can suggest to your contact that this needs to be done. :)

I also have a contact at Tribune that has fixed other zap2it.com errors for me (us), and I'll send an email to them as soon as needed if indeed the D* DVRs have a problem. I'm not sure if we'll see any indication on zap2it that WIVT has switched to digital 34 from 4 as WIVT is already listed as 34 in their online guide.

Can't hurt to grease as many wheels as you can. :)

The CBS feed has some nasty SNAPPING sounds while viewing, switching between
that and the ABC it goes away, it's very sporadic. Anyone else notice this???
G2

What receiver are you using? On my HR20 the audio through my AV receiver is weird in that the r/l rear channels are as loud as the center channel. This is during network shows, but commercials seem to be okay. DirecTV ch390 doesn't present this audio.

On my HR20 the audio through my AV receiver is weird in that the r/l rear channels are as loud as the center channel. This is during network shows, but commercials seem to be okay.
I noticed this a lot during this spring's edition of Survivor on WBNG.

Considering our shared interests, I saw this episode of World's Toughest Fixes in my guide and decided to record it. I've only watched about 15 minutes of it, but it is pretty cool so far.

2,000-Foot TV Tower (http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/worlds-toughest-fixes/3564/Overview) Looks like it will be on again at 2AM tonight.

This one could be pretty cool too: Satellite Launch (http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/worlds-toughest-fixes/4217/Overview) Looks like it premieres August 13th.

The CBS feed has some nasty SNAPPING sounds while viewing, switching between
that and the ABC it goes away, it's very sporadic. Anyone else notice this???
G2

Gary;
What brand/Model TV or converter box do you have ? Are you on TW cable or have an off-air pickup ? We've had some feedback from viewers about this & it seems to happen on some and not other tv's. Is it more of an intermittent "tick" on the right audio channel?

We don't hear it at all at the studio on any of our monitoring equipment, which leads me to think it's happening after the encoders. I personally don't hear it off-air at home on three different TV's, hence the question about TV brand.
Thanks.

Gary;
What brand/Model TV or converter box do you have ? Are you on TW cable or have an off-air pickup ? We've had some feedback from viewers about this & it seems to happen on some and not other tv's. Is it more of an intermittent "tick" on the right audio channel?

We don't hear it at all at the studio on any of our monitoring equipment, which leads me to think it's happening after the encoders. I personally don't hear it off-air at home on three different TV's, hence the question about TV brand.
Thanks.

It's a Samsung TX-S3082WH, slimfit 30" HD and yes it appears more to be on the right channel.
it's a CRT type television, images are terrific, it's only that station that has that
popping sound, showing also today.

thanks,
G2

It's a Samsung TX-S3082WH, slimfit 30" HD and yes it appears more to be on the right channel.
it's a CRT type television, images are terrific, it's only that station that has that
popping sound, showing also today.

thanks,
G2

Thanks for the info....... I've since heard it myself on a Vizio LCD.

We're working on it.....

Thanks, the CBS feed also has some of that as well, just listening to that
a few minutes ago, very strange stuff...
G2

I was camping this weekend down at Ives run which is just below Tioga PA. I was quite amazed at the digital channels I was receiving. 7 tv stations and 2 radio stations. WETM was booming in there in any direction i turned my little antenna on the RV. I was VERY happy to see WENY 36.2 come in! The only time I lost the station was when it was raining. I am not sure exactly where the transmitter is but I am going to purchase an antenna for home just to see if I can get this there! I live on between Wellsboro and Mansfield, closer to Wellsboro, but I just have to give this a try!

We are usually left in the dark with all the tranmitters up in the Elmira/Corning area... I think they forget about us being in their DMA at times.

Any further word on WIVT's transition?

Last I heard from them they said either this Friday (tomorrow) or early next week.

That's exciting. :) I'll be looking out for changes.

That's exciting. :) I'll be looking out for changes.

Jim,

I've installed a Winegard HD-9032 UHF antenna and I am able to receive Elmira 18.1 and 18.2 from Chenango Bridge. There's hope for digital 34. 18.2's programming is unique. There's no equivalent for it in Binghamton.

The bad news: There's no Binghamton UHF reception when the antenna is pointed to Elmira. I'd like to find a low loss method of combining the signals from two UHF antennas pointed in different directions.

I will be using a Winegard YA-1713 for Hi Band VHF reception.

I lost a few channels when the leaves came out, but it looks like I'll get everything back, and then some with the separate UHF / VHF antenna combination.

Jim

...
I've installed a Winegard HD-9032 UHF antenna and I am able to receive Elmira 18.1 and 18.2 from Chenango Bridge. ...What your HAGL for this antenna? I ask, because you are lower than me.

What your HAGL for this antenna? I ask, because you are lower than me.
It's about 5 feet above roof level. Probably around 30 feet above ground.

Jim

Well, I just might have to move my antenna to see if 18 can come in. Am I right in assuming that they moved back to their original frequency assignment of 18?

Multipath would be real problem with an omnidirectional antenna.

Well, I just might have to move my antenna to see if 18 can come in. Am I right in assuming that they moved back to their original frequency assignment of 18?

Multipath would be real problem with an omnidirectional antenna.

The signal propagation for WETM is really strange.

The signal strength changes dramatically with the time of day (or night). I came home from work yesterday and there was no signal. Later in the evening, the signal was back to it's original levels and kept getting stronger as time went on. By morning, the signal was banging in with a 100% signal strength reading.

These signal strength readings are from a Channel Master CM7000 converter box:

8:00 pm 18 - 22%
12:00 am 44 - 52%
7:00 am 94 - 100%
9:30 am 68 - 88%
11:45 am 0 - 4% (no picture)
6:00pm 0 - 2% (no picture)

It doesn't look like I'm going to have any reception during the day.

I'm waiting until after ch34 transitions before I get on my roof to see if 18 is viable.

I'm waiting until after ch34 transitions before I get on my roof to see if 18 is viable.

The signal seems to vary with the weather. The signal variations with time of day are not repeatable. I seem to have stronger signals with lower humidity. Rain makes it worse.

Anyone heard an estimate of how long WENY is going to be off-air and/or what the problem? I happened to be tuned to the station when it went out and, for a period, there was a strong signal with no picture. So, it didn't appear the transmitter was totally fried. (And since WSKA is on air, it's not the antenna.)

If the signal was on with dead air, it sounds like an encoder problem...

- Trip

From WENY's website:

"ALERT: WENY-DT channels 36.1 and 36.2 are temporarily off-the-air due to a lightning strike at our broadcast tower. We are working to fix the problem."

Shows how much TV I've been watching lately that I had to find out WENY by coming here.

From WENY's website:

"ALERT: WENY-DT channels 36.1 and 36.2 are temporarily off-the-air due to a lightning strike at our broadcast tower. We are working to fix the problem."

The Corning tower took a direct hit by lightning..... took out our (WENY's) STL.....Big Fox had their transmitter taken out also.
We expect to have WENY up this evening, as we had to wait for replacement parts. I don't know when Big Fox will be back up.

From WENY's website:

"ALERT: WENY-DT channels 36.1 and 36.2 are temporarily off-the-air due to a lightning strike at our broadcast tower. We are working to fix the problem."

Yes, I'd seen that. Which was not a surprise given the line of storms that were coming through at the time it went out. Should have mentioned that I knew was the cause was.

The Corning tower took a direct hit by lightning..... took out our (WENY's) STL.....Big Fox had their transmitter taken out also.
We expect to have WENY up this evening, as we had to wait for replacement parts. I don't know when Big Fox will be back up.

Thank you; it's good news that the necessary parts are available. Not that I need to know, but what does STL stand for?

Studio-Transmitter Link.

- Trip

I hope Corning tower repair goes well.

Any word on Binghamton's WIVT's transmitter?

Ok, folks..I'm in Sayre, PA at my in-laws.
Anyone know what the deal is with WETM's audio issues each time they go to NBC programming?

Any word on Binghamton's WIVT's transmitter?
I sent an email on Monday of this week but have not gotten a response.

I just sent an email to WIVT as well, I'm not holding my breath for a response.

Their STA for operation on channel 4 expires on 8/18/09 though, which is less than a week away. I could not find any new applications for an STA in the FCC database.

So I think they are only allowed to broadcast on ch 4 for 6 more days.

Finally got the STL back up last night. Everytime we got one thing repaired, we found another thing blown up. If you can't still pick us up Off-Air, you may have to do a re-scan on your TV.

Apparently, lightning hit the tower, came down the STL waveguide into the STL.
It killed the STL's modem & decoder unit & our transmitter's remote control unit.

Big Fox lost an input card to their transmitter & WSKG got off with no damage at all.

We have a 6 foot microwave dish near the top of the tower that apparently steered the lightning into the building. Big FOx & WSKG get their studio signals into the building via fiber.

Here's a pic of the damage to our decoder unit:
http://s679.photobucket.com/albums/vv155/TriLevelSync/?action=view&current=moseyblowup.jpg

cheers.

Thanks for the pictures and updates, its nice to have a local engineer in the forum

For WIVT's "new" digital transmitter, which hardware are they replacing? Does something on one of the towers on Ingraham Hill need to be swapped out? Or is all the hardware in question located within their building? Just curious.

Was anyone watching golf on this past Sunday (August 9) on WBNG when the storms came through and they put the weather alerts on screen? Most of the alerts were their normal (ie: the alert turned the 16:9 picture to 4:3, and then the alert took up about 75% of the 4:3 picture so that the actual TV program was minuscule). BUT there was an alert that ran in red along the top of the screen that listed the affected counties, but this alert left the aspect ratio in 16:9. Did anyone else see this? Is WBNG getting some new equipment installed that will allow weather alerts in 16:9 format?

I was watching WCBS from NY and didn't notice.
But, I think WBNG can't mix an SD signal (the alert) with the network HD signal. They have to switch to 4:3 SD to put it up.

Whether they are going to add the equipment to allow these inserts is anyone's guess.

I think WBNG can't mix an SD signal (the alert) with the network HD signal. They have to switch to 4:3 SD to put it up.
That's what I thought too. They did go to 4:3 when they put up the graphic of all the counties where they color each county according to the alert, but then a few minutes later they were back to 16:9 HD and along the top of the screen was a text scroll in red (either red letters or a red background with white letters) that listed the local counties and the alerts they were under. I wish I had recorded it and could then take a screen shot and post it.

I don't think WBNG has studio HD, but from your description they can insert a scroll into the network HD feed. I guess I may need to watch WBNG more.:)

Finally got the STL back up last night. Everytime we got one thing repaired, we found another thing blown up. If you can't still pick us up Off-Air, you may have to do a re-scan on your TV.


I have to say, given the amount of damage, you guys did an admirable job getting the feed back up before the work week was over.

For WIVT's "new" digital transmitter, which hardware are they replacing? Does something on one of the towers on Ingraham Hill need to be swapped out? Or is all the hardware in question located within their building? Just curious.This question has been running through my mind as well.

I have to say, given the amount of damage, you guys did an admirable job getting the feed back up before the work week was over.

Thanks... I thought I could "jeep" together a Qam feed of us off cable to get at least the ABC stream into the transmitter, but TWC uses QAM256B, which is a 30mbps signal & our transmitter needs a 19.36mbps signal (SMPTE310). So we had to wait another few days to get all the replacement parts in for the STL .

We're all learning as we go with this digital stuff. It's not like "the old days" of analog- we need to learn new "tricks".

We definitely need to come up with a backup to get the signal up to Higman Hill from Horseheads- either a second STL, a fiber feed or a way to re-clock a QAM transport stream.

I did a scan this morning at 7:30am and UHF channel 34-1 was on the air. Measured signal strength in Chenango Bridge was equal to WSKG-DT.

The periodic 30 second disturbances associated with VHF channel 4-1 on Channel Master CM7000 and DTV Pal Set Top Boxes are not present on UHF 34-1.

Jim

Have they moved or are they testing?

- Trip

Have they moved or are they testing?

- Trip

Probably testing. VHF 4-1 is still on the air. UHF 34-1 is transmitting the same feed. They were reported down for a while, but now they are back.