Okay, cool. Let me know when they kill the channel 4 signal.

- Trip

My LG TV is now receiving DT34 with a strong signal. However, my DirecTV HR20-100 DVR is still using DT4 which is flaky. The HR20 can't scan for channels as it relies on info from DirecTV on which frequency it should tune to for a particular channel. Don't ask why they did that, it's a discussion that has been going on in the other forums for some time.

If I'm watching WIVT on the HR20 and the channel disappears I'll know why. :)

WIVT had to install a new transmitter for use on digital 34. It came from KGPE in Fresno, CA(another Newport owned TV station) and was used for their analog signal, so that's why it wasn't availible until June. I have no clue if you have to use tower crews to install that or not. But it definetly involved work at the antenna site and not the studios.

(the FCC files just say install new "transmitter" and didn't go into more detail)

Their STA for operation on ch 4 expires tomorrow, so the timeframe for ch 34 going on air makes sense. I'm curious if ch 4 does go silent by 11:59PM tomorrow, as that's when their STA expires.

WBNG cannot overlay 16:9/HD scrollers on their digital signal, they have to switch it over to 4:3/SD in order to do this. All the stations in Philadelphia are now able to overlay 16:9/HD graphics, but not until recently. The first station to be able to do it back in 2007 only could because they moved into a new building/studios wired from scratch with all brand new equipment. So don't hold your breath for small town stations like WBNG to get that equipment anytime soon. Things like HD local news, HD scrollers/station IDs, HD syndication are a long ways away for any stations in the Southern Tier.

The red scrollers at the top are EAS warnings, and they are controlled by Time Warner. If you change the channel next time you see it, you'll notice that all channels have it. That is a special signal that is sent out by the local cable headend and hardware in the cable box displays it on the screen. Nothing to do with any local channel's feed. SA boxes do that very nicely. Motorola boxes... they lock up both tuners in your DVR, interrupt your recordings, tune to a specified channel, and LOCK it so you cannot change the channel, while a scroller is placed on top of a crappy local infomercial station that you are forced to watch till the signal lets you take control of the box again. The only way to kill it is to pull the plug. It's AWFUL. And your recordings are ruined.

Thanks for that info.

I'll check Wednesday to see if my HR20-100 can tune WIVT DT34.

It will be interesting to hear of residents complaining that there precious ATSC converter boxes can't get WICZ DT any longer. Until they perform a rescan for channels.

The red scrollers at the top are EAS warnings, and they are controlled by Time Warner. If you change the channel next time you see it, you'll notice that all channels have it. That is a special signal that is sent out by the local cable headend and hardware in the cable box displays it on the screen. Nothing to do with any local channel's feed.
But I have Directv and watch WBNG via my antenna that is connected to my Directv HD DVR - no Time Warner equipment involved. How does this jive with what I'm 99.9999% certain I saw and what you wrote? I'm not trying to be a smarta$$, I'm just curious.

The red scrollers at the top are EAS warnings, and they are controlled by Time Warner. If you change the channel next time you see it, you'll notice that all channels have it. That is a special signal that is sent out by the local cable headend and hardware in the cable box displays it on the screen.

I'm confused. This is Off The Air Broadcast, not cable. How is Time Warner involved?

But I have Directv and watch WBNG via my antenna that is connected to my Directv HD DVR - no Time Warner equipment involved. How does this jive with what I'm 99.9999% certain I saw and what you wrote? I'm not trying to be a smarta$$, I'm just curious.

Hmmm, I'm not sure then! I've seen those kinds of warnings before on the boxes in the area, and I thought they were EAS. I guess not... I guess it was something with WBNG.

I am very interested in when WIVT changes over, because I will have to make a phone call to an elderly family member and instruct him to rescan, in order to get WIVT back. Since he was close enough to get ch 4, I'm sure 34 won't be a problem either, since he gets WSKG on digital 42 just fine. Thankfully he is close enough, in Binghamton(near the high school) to get by with a simple indoor non-amplified VHF dipole and a bowtie for UHF clipped onto one of the dipoles.

With WIVT moving soon from 4 to 34, has anyone heard a time table as to when we might see WBGH NBC on 34-2? NBC in SD is better than NBC in LP analog...

I'd like to know the timeline for this as well.

To those seeing WIVT on 34 now, is it still DD 2.0, or did they upgraded to DD 5.1? Just curious.

Until my HR20 updates to use DT34 I can't answer the question.

Getting Searching for Signal on my D* HD DVRs this morning on 34. I presume they turned off the channel 4 transmitter. Just have to wait on Tribune now to update their database so we can get WIVT again.

And then hope that DirecTV updates their database in a timely manner.

Okay, cool. Let me know when they kill the channel 4 signal.

- Trip

Channel 4 is gone.

Awesome. RabbitEars has been updated to reflect this.

- Trip

I just re-ran antenna setup on my HR20 and lo and behold WIVT is up.:) The signal strength is much higher here than what DT4 provided.
That was a very well orchestrated changeover.

I just re-ran antenna setup on my HR20 and lo and behold WIVT is up.:) The signal strength is much higher here than what DT4 provided.
That was a very well orchestrated changeover.

The signal strength is much higher than TVFool would lead you to believe.

Here's a link on Ch 34's website concerning their transmitter.
http://www.newschannel34.com/content/dtvinfo/default.aspx

The signal strength is much higher than TVFool would lead you to believe.Maybe TVFool needs to make additional measurements.

I'm wondering if I can now change my antenna to something a bit smaller.
But, then WBNG (DT7) and WICZ (DT8) have the lowest signal strengths, 55 to 65%. I suspect that multipath would become a problem. So, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

FYI, the signal strengths for WIVT (DT34) and WSKG (DT42) are 75-85%.

Amazing how this thread is probably the best source of information about WIVT that exists, short of driving to the station and talking with one of the very few people left at that station.

It only took digging through the FCC's site to find out all this information. I guess their STA does expire on midnight tonight!

Now I get to call and explain to my great uncle how to rescan his DTT901 boxes... hope it goes well.

Here's a link on Ch 34's website concerning their transmitter.
http://www.newschannel34.com/content/dtvinfo/default.aspx

Maybe TVFool needs to make additional measurements.

I'm wondering if I can now change my antenna to something a bit smaller.
But, then WBNG (DT7) and WICZ (DT8) have the lowest signal strengths, 55 to 65%. I suspect that multipath would become a problem. So, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

FYI, the signal strengths for WIVT (DT34) and WSKG (DT42) are 75-85%.
I've gone to separate antennas, HD9032P for UHF and YA1713 for Hi Band VHF. There's much less mass than the full band HD8200U antenna. The UHF gain is about 3db higher, and the Hi VHF gain is 1db less.

I'm able to receive channel 18 in Elmira semi reliably. The Channel Master antenna was working marginally until the leaves came out. Then I lost WSKG on 42 (and UHF 34).

Jim

so has this date been public all long but WIVT would not share this on the website? If the 4 permit expried last night, then they would have had to file for an extension if this was not completed by that date correct? The time frame of August-October was terrible on their part. At least in my opinion.

so has this date been public all long but WIVT would not share this on the website? If the 4 permit expried last night, then they would have had to file for an extension if this was not completed by that date correct? The time frame of August-October was terrible on their part. At least in my opinion.
The transition from 4 to 34 was originally scheduled for April, but the politicians forced them to reschedule by extending the February analog turn-off date.

I just re-ran antenna setup on my HR20 and lo and behold WIVT is up.:) The signal strength is much higher here than what DT4 provided.
That was a very well orchestrated changeover.
I reran my antenna setup this morning right before I left for work at 7:30 and 34 came in then, so Tribune, D* and WIVT really had it all together. Unfortunately I didn't have time to post before I left for work, but I see you figured it out for yourself. :) What are you getting for signal strength on your HR20? I'm getting 95-98% (used to get 70-75% when they were on 4).

I had emailed my contact at Tribune at the beginning of the month, but they didn't get back to me until this week and led me to believe they hadn't done anything, but I'm assuming they did. You will have to most likely resetup any Series Links you have for WIVT (if you have any since I know you have WABC).

The red scrollers at the top are EAS warnings, and they are controlled by Time Warner.
I was just watching the CW on 12.2 via my antenna and the red scroll came across the top announcing the flash flood warning in affect for tonight. Now obviously 12.2 is not in 16:9 HD, nor was the show on 12.1 at the time, so we answer the question of whether the red scroll can be done in HD by WBNG, but we can - I think - definitely say that those red scrollers are not controlled by TW, or at least not exclusively.

And some pretty good boomers going off here now too.

... What are you getting for signal strength on your HR20? I'm getting 95-98% (used to get 70-75% when they were on 4).
...My DT34 signal strengths on my HR20 fluctuate between 75 and 85%. Much lower when they were on DT4. Remember I have Crocker Hill between the towers and my antenna in Chenango Bridge. You probably have a more direct line of sight in Vestal. I haven't set any SLs for WIVT as I also have DNS for all four networks, which I'll keep as long as I can. :)

I think - definitely say that those red scrollers are not controlled by TW, or at least not exclusively.



I'm not sure why he would say they were controlled by TW in the first place. A quick search on EAS shows this:

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

EAS is government cotrolled by the FCC. Time Warner has nothing to do with it at all. There isn't any mention of TWC anywhere. This link also says that EAS isn't just used for weather alerts...it's used for any alert that the government might want to get out to the public in a hurry....

I've seen messages on the SA boxes before, where it's overlayed on every single channel. So I guess that could be some other kind of system besides EAS, but it was for severe weather. Cable systems with Motorola, when the box auto-tunes and locks to the channel that displays the crawler, "EAS" shows up in the LCD display in front. So cable systems also have some kind of equipment to broadcast EAS alerts or force you to view the message, be it a scroller overlay on the output from the cable box to your TV, or forcing you to watch a specific channel that the message is scrolled on.

My DT34 signal strengths on my HR20 fluctuate between 75 and 85%. Much lower when they were on DT4.

How does this compare to DT42?

How does this compare to DT42?DT42 is also 75 - 85%.

It sure was nice watching this week's Defying Gravity without all the micro breakups every 30 seconds or so with the old channel 4 transmitter.

Yes, the picture is very stable, even here in Chenango Bridge. (Although I'm still stuck in the mindset to record ABC from DirecTV.)

Any word when NBC will be added as a subchannel to WIVT?

I've heard "not too distant future," but I guess that's open to interpretation.

When it does happen, will they letter box the content? I ask rhetorically!:)

How many people in the binghamton area are receiving WETM18 and if you dont mind, what antenna setup are you using? I would like to pick this station up but my current antenna is not up to par. thanks!

I haven't tried yet as it would require either a rotor or a second antenna.

What antenna do you have now and have you aimed it toward Elmira?

See N2VWZ's post #2270 above for what he's done.

I was just channel surfing and noticed Live with Regis in HD on WIVT. They must have gotten their equipment installed to allow them to record and air syndicated HD. We'll have to check the other syndicated HD shows (Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy) on WIVT to see if they too are in HD now.

(I will admit the PQ of Regis doesn't look the best, but it does look better than widescreen SD to me, so I think it is HD. Just as 2.5 Men in HD doesn't look as good on WICZ in syndication as the first runs do on WBNG.)

...
(I will admit the PQ of Regis doesn't look the best, but it does look better than widescreen SD to me, so I think it is HD. Just as 2.5 Men in HD doesn't look as good on WICZ in syndication as the first runs do on WBNG.)WABC PQ for Regis is also a little soft. I think that's because Regis doesn't want his wrinkles to show that well. :)

I stayed around long enough to check if the Ellen show at 10 was HD but it was 4:3 SD (maybe because it was a repeat from the spring?). I'll try to remember to check Wheel and/or Jeopardy tonight.

To anybody that's interested- we now have The CW on 36.3. You'll have to re-scan to pick it up.

Cheers,
TLS

Too bad it won't be HD. Just like The CW on 12-2 here in Bingahmton. I guess it's better than not having it.

Edit, to add that Wheel of Fortune on WIVTDT (34-1) is SD.

The key word in the title of the show "Live with Regis and Kelly" is the word "Live." As in, no need to record and play it back, if it's shown live at 9AM.

- Trip

Wheel of Fortune on WIVTDT (34-1) is SD.
Yeah I saw that. Program description said it first aired 3/19/09 and was a repeat just like Ellen, while Regis was new today. Maybe that's got something to do with it. I've got an email into my WIVT contact.
The key word in the title of the show "Live with Regis and Kelly" is the word "Live." As in, no need to record and play it back, if it's shown live at 9AM.
- Trip
Yes it's live, but it's not a network show like GMA or The View or Evening News, but rather is a syndicated show that could be on an NBC affiliate in one city, CBS in another, ABC in another, etc. Last we knew (or I knew) was that WIVT did not have the ability to "receive or deliver" syndicated HD programs, though I believe they were working to rectify that.

Maybe they can now "receive and deliver" live syndicated HD (like Regis), but not record and deliver taped syndicated HD (like Wheel or Jeopardy).

I won't be home to see Regis tomorrow - any chance someone can tune in to see if it's HD or not? Suppose I could record to see for myself tomorrow night. (Kinda wish I had paused it and taken a picture and posted here just so you all didn't think I was nuts!)

To anybody that's interested- we now have The CW on 36.3. You'll have to re-scan to pick it up.

Cheers,
TLS

How 'bout that. Actually, no need to rescan with a Zenith 901 converter as long as 36 is programmed.

OK, so I recorded Regis today and just checked it and upon further review, it's 16:9 SD. But I guess at least that's something that it's widescreen as it always used to be letterboxed 4:3.

When I saw it yesterday I was trying to get my 3 year old out the door to daycare and me off to work without being late and I didn't have time to really look at it other than to see it was 16:9.

(And yes, this is coming from WIVT via my antenna connected to my D* HD DVR.)

I recorded Regis today from WABC, DirecTV ch 396. As I said before the PQ is soft, but better than SD. I think Regis wants it soft to hide his wrinkles. :)

I may remembet to record it from WIVT and report next week.

Yeah it would be nice to have a comparison between known HD (from WABC) and WIVT.

Looks like we'll need to wait until Tuesday to check PQ.
The Jerry Lewis telethon is pre-empting a lot tomorrow.

The PQ of "Live with Regis & Kelly" on WIVT looks the same as with WABC. Soft to protect Regis.:)

Yeah today's Regis on WIVT looked a little better than last weeks, but still soft like you say.

I was a little surprised that today's season premiere of Ellen was SD. I wonder why Regis is the only syndicated HD WIVT is airing?

Ellen has supposed to have been in HD since last year.

Maybe it is the difference between "live" and syndicated?

Ellen has supposed to have been in HD since last year.

Maybe it is the difference between "live" and syndicated?

Bingo. Live is fed live at 9AM. Ellen is fed at 6AM with an 8AM refeed, and thus must be recorded for air later in the day.

- Trip

But why wasn't Regis in HD on WIVT since January when it went HD? I believe something must have changed/been installed at WIVT recently to allow them to receive and retransmit syndicated Regis in HD. Or else something changed in how Regis is distributed.

I wonder when WIVT and the other stations here will be able to record syndicated HD for later showing? I ask rhetorically. :)

Speaking of HD syndication, I noticed Seinfeld was in 16:9 on WICZ when I was in the area this weekend. I can't really tell if it's real HD or not, and there is a big debate over Seinfeld's syndication episodes and how they aren't really "HD", but Sony remastered them and stations with the proper equipment can show the remastered versions now.

WICZ has the ability to do Syndication HD.

Oh yeah, I have noticed that Seinfeld was HD at 11pm?

Now, when will the station studios be set up for HD news?

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.



I haven't had such great luck with the new WIVT--channel 34.1--transmitter up in Oxford, NY:

We used to receive them at 100 percent signal strength, with only occasional dropouts/errors (mostly in the Summer months); the other Binghamton affiliates still register at maximum, while PBS comes through in the mid-seventies...

Now, however, we can't pull them in; signal strength is down 75%! Our new maximum hovers around 25...not even enough to organize an image. I can only conclude they're not broadcasting at the same output level, or have moved their transmitter behind an obstruction. We've fallen off "the digital cliff!"

Any word on whether the station's still testing? Or is this the level of performance I can expect from them from now on?


Thanks,

--Jack

What antenna are you using? My antenna was marginal at best on WIVT's ch4, but now that they have moved back to ch34, it has been rock solid. Now when the leaves on the trees fall, that might change.

What antenna are you using? My antenna was marginal at best on WIVT's ch4, but now that they have moved back to ch34, it has been rock solid. Now when the leaves on the trees fall, that might change.



It's a rooftop model, though I'm not precisely sure of the type (degree of directionality, etc.) I'll do some research and see if can can type it. But it's the same equipment, and in exactly the same orientation we were previously able to pull in 34.1 with at 100 percent, so I'd be surprised if the issue were the antenna. It still manages all the PBS stations at 75 percent, and CBS and Fox at 100...

Here's a good resource for availability of OTA.
http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=1
And there is this one.
http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

But, you probably knew of at least one of these.

Thanks for the links. For the record, I've done a full sweep with my antenna, which is amplified and on a rotater...re-scanning all the while with my digital tuner and that aforementioned 25 percent remained the max from 34.1...

Whatever's changed, it certainly hasn't been to my advantage!





Here's a good resource for availability of OTA.
http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=1
And there is this one.
http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

But, you probably knew of at least one of these.

Just a thought. Try it without the amplifier and see if it helps. I might be overpowering the tuner.

Anyone know anything about WKTV (NBC out of Utica) and Time Warner? I'm in Oneonta, and the lack of NBC in HD is ridiculous.

Maybe the Syracuse/Utice discussion thread has something.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17154820#post17154820

yeah i checked there first. no new news. i just sent a letter off to the station manager. so i'll see what he has to say.

We think we found the problem with the audio on the CBS stream- do any of you guys still hear the "popping" or "ticking" on the right channel ? Thanks

TLS

Thanks for the links. For the record, I've done a full sweep with my antenna, which is amplified and on a rotater...re-scanning all the while with my digital tuner and that aforementioned 25 percent remained the max from 34.1...

Whatever's changed, it certainly hasn't been to my advantage!

I know of several people on outlying areas of Chenango & Tioga counties who totally lost 34 once they switched back to physical 34 from physical 4. I'm in Apalachin and before on ch 4 they were 100% ... now the same setup shows them around 70% .... while PBS used to be weakest at 80%, granted my antenna is nothing special, but they seem to now have the worst coverage of any Binghamton station. We can hope they are not at full power, but I'm betting their digital coverage is nothing like the analog was. My friend in western Tioga county now has no ABC reception with top of the line antenna/amp. He was not happy! And no he can not get Elmira 36 either.

Just a thought. Try it without the amplifier and see if it helps. I might be overpowering the tuner.




Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

I know of several people on outlying areas of Chenango & Tioga counties who totally lost 34 once they switched back to physical 34 from physical 4. I'm in Apalachin and before on ch 4 they were 100% ... now the same setup shows them around 70% .... while PBS used to be weakest at 80%, granted my antenna is nothing special, but they seem to now have the worst coverage of any Binghamton station. We can hope they are not at full power, but I'm betting their digital coverage is nothing like the analog was. My friend in western Tioga county now has no ABC reception with top of the line antenna/amp. He was not happy! And no he can not get Elmira 36 either.



It's ridiculous; mine being a seventy percent drop. I've only seen a flicker from 34 since the change. About thirty seconds of pixelated image and garbled sound. Nothing since.

If it isn't a power issue, could the transmitter itself be in a new location? And was 34 not using a dedicated, digital transmitter before?

I may give the station a call, see if they can offer an explanation. Fingers crossed that they're in a "warm-up" phase, just waiting to kick their equipment into full power. Of course, not knowing anything about broadcast technology, it's a good bet that makes no sense whatsoever.


Thanks for your input,


Jack

To my knowledge the transmitter location hasn't changed.
When they made the transition from freq 4 to freq 34 I didn't do anything to my antenna. In fact, as I stated earlier, my reception has been perfect.

How far are you from the tower? And, you didn't say what antenna model you're using.

Althou the location is the same ... it is not the same antenna, you would expect the Ch 34 antenna would be at a higher (beter) location up the tower than the ch 4. It appears that the VHF signals are propagating this area better than UHF, 12 & 40 are 100% and 34 & 46 are in the mud with a Channel Master CM4228 + 7777 amp, (about as good as it gets!) You can play the this model vs that model antenna, but if there is almost no singal with this setup, the minor improvements of another is not going to cut it.

JackN, please let us know what the station has to say ... Tnx

Maybe the higher elevation of the transmitter is why my Winegard 7084 is getting 34 better now than when they were using ch 4. Did I mention that I have a hill in between my antenna and the towers, which are 9 miles away as the bird flies?

any one know why the early show on CBS is not in HD on WBNG? Is this CBS or WBNG?

Because the Early Show is not produced in HD.

- Trip

Did anyone else notice a lot of minor breakups during Fringe last night (9/17)? About every 5 minutes there would be a minor video breakup and then sometimes a minor audio breakup that my AV receiver would pickup (the display changes on the front when the audio stops or starts). I honestly couldn't hear the audio breakups, nor was the video breakups bad enough to make it unwatchable. Just wondering if it was WICZ or the Fox feed.

I just took a look at my recording of the NY Fox feed (DirecTV ch 396) and saw/heard no problems.

Did anyone else notice a lot of minor breakups during Fringe last night? About every 5 minutes there would be a minor video breakup and then sometimes a minor audio breakup that my AV receiver would pickup (the display changes on the front when the audio stops or starts). I honestly couldn't hear the audio breakups, nor was the video breakups bad enough to make it unwatchable. Just wondering if it was WICZ or the Fox feed.

Just watched Fringe recorded from TWC using HTPC & QAM Tuner. Fringe was 100% no breakups at all. :)

I just wish WICZ would tone down their volume on the local commercials .... rough on the old ears! :mad:

Just watched Fringe recorded from TWC using HTPC & QAM Tuner. Fringe was 100% no breakups at all. :)

I just wish WICZ would tone down their volume on the local commercials .... rough on the old ears! :mad:

If you recorded it on a HTPC then why are you watching commercials?

[QUOTE=bidger;17207814]If you recorded it on a HTPC then why are you watching commercials?[/QUOTE

You must have a real fast remote finger if you completely miss every commercial:D

Actually I have my commercial detect s/w set to pass the first and last second of the commercials just to make sure I don't miss a single second of Fringe.... also the local channels flipping from widescreen to non-widescreen tends to fool the s/w at times which means I have to lift the remote & actually push a botton :(

Did anyone else notice a lot of minor breakups during Fringe last night? About every 5 minutes there would be a minor video breakup and then sometimes a minor audio breakup that my AV receiver would pickup (the display changes on the front when the audio stops or starts). I honestly couldn't hear the audio breakups, nor was the video breakups bad enough to make it unwatchable. Just wondering if it was WICZ or the Fox feed.



Looked clean to me. What I see a lot of with Fox is their clumsy or forgetful transitioning back from local SD and regional ads to primetime HD; it can take them minutes on end. One night, they failed to swtich over for twenty minutes... It's either a technical problem, or human error on their part. I dropped them an e-mail about it, and things improved for a while...but then got dodgy again.

And another thing: On a few occasions, I thought I detected compression in their signal to an extent where the color was dropping out of the image. Last season during "Fringe," for example: Flesh tones faded out a time or two, while the rest of the image was stable. Manifested the same way on different tuners, so it seemed to be their signal...

What I see a lot of with Fox is their clumsy or forgetful transitioning back from local SD and regional ads to primetime HD.



Classic example of this: The first few minutes of the season premiere of House were SD...before they eventually kicked it over to hi def. Annoying!

And what about the INCREDIBLY annoying volume shift between SD (commercials) and HD (when they actually remember to switch to it)...

I guess I'll continue to use NY Fox for my recordings. :)
I seem to forget about watching our locals. :(

And what about the INCREDIBLY annoying volume shift between SD (commercials) and HD (when they actually remember to switch to it)...




Yep, pretty bad. They're the only affiliate that has this problem. 34 (ABC)--when I got them--transitioned smoothly, as does WBNG. You'd think FOX would be able to sort this out; fix the hardware...or at least get quality help that could be troubled to be on the stick for prompt switch-overs.

This brings up the question of why aren't the switch overs automatic? I ask rhetorically!!

Answer: $$$

this happened on Fox last night during Hells Kitchen too

I am looking to buy my first home, I almost bought this location in vestal just based on their tvfool:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d8ecd07297dcb03

just take a look :- )

this happened on Fox last night during Hells Kitchen too





Last season, it took them twenty minutes--an all time record!--to kick Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles over to HD for the beginning of the primetime block.

Did anyone else notice a lot of minor breakups during Fringe last night (9/17)? About every 5 minutes there would be a minor video breakup and then sometimes a minor audio breakup that my AV receiver would pickup (the display changes on the front when the audio stops or starts). I honestly couldn't hear the audio breakups, nor was the video breakups bad enough to make it unwatchable.
I again had the same minor issues with the 9/24 Fringe. I don't get it because my signal strength for WICZ is 98 - 100%, and I never have these glitches with Hell's Kitchen or So You Think You Can Dance or 24 or the defunct Prison Break or Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles. I only have these issues with Fringe, and I seem to recall having them last season too with Fringe. I just don't get it.

That does seem weird.
But, then you need to consider the name of show. :D

I again had the same minor issues with the 9/24 Fringe. I don't get it because my signal strength for WICZ is 98 - 100%, and I never have these glitches with Hell's Kitchen or So You Think You Can Dance or 24 or the defunct Prison Break or Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles. I only have these issues with Fringe, and I seem to recall having them last season too with Fringe. I just don't get it.




Yes: I noticed one, minor instance of image breakup, w/no audio distortion.

Anyone know what happened to my OTA 34.1? It has been gone for at least a month now.

Anyone know what happened to my OTA 34.1? It has been gone for at least a month now.

Have you done a rescan since it was moved from VHF 4, to UHF 34? This i the first thing I would check.

Yep, that's the first thing that I did as well. I used to get abc almost perfect and now I get nothing. I also used to pick up fox pretty good and now that only comes in once in a while. Could it be my antenna?

Yep, that's the first thing that I did as well. I used to get abc almost perfect and now I get nothing. I also used to pick up fox pretty good and now that only comes in once in a while. Could it be my antenna?




We lost them as well, after years of getting them at 100 percent strength. Supposedly they're still there, with a new transmitter. I can punch up diagnostics for 34.1 and detect a signal (now 22 %; not sufficient for picture/sound), but at a fraction of the former strength. So they're either more obstructed in a new location, or just not broadcasting at the same power. This "digital cliff" aspect of going digital is a significant drawback, with its "all or nothing" reception. How many who bought coverters were shocked to find they couldn't receive the digitally transitioned versions of the local affiliates they'd long viewed in decent analog quality?

This is weird. I actually receive WIVT better now that they transitioned to ch 34.

This is weird. I actually receive WIVT better now that they transitioned to ch 34.




I never received them anywhere but 34.1 (digital), until they put the new transmitter in place.

What you thought was 34.1 before the transition was actually 4.1. They used frequency 4 when they went digital. Your TV used the PSIP information to display the channel as 34.1. This is why many had to rescan their TV after they put their new transmitter on line to get the new frequency.

I could never tune 34, when it was on ch 4, but now it tunes well. Oddly today both 40.1 and 40.2 do not go above about 20% signal. Everything else works well though.

How many who bought coverters were shocked to find they couldn't receive the digitally transitioned versions of the local affiliates they'd long viewed in decent analog quality?
Just as a flip side, my grandma could not receive some of the Rochester digital stations while analog was still on, but once analog was shut off she was able to get them all in digital. I'm sure that's of little comfort to you, but the analog shut off did help some people too.

Also, your problem really has nothing to do with the analog shut off - your problem has to do with WIVT changing their digital channel from 4 to 34 which was done about 2 months after the analog shut off. Maybe try a rescan again to see if it helps now?

We lost them as well, after years of getting them at 100 percent strength. Supposedly they're still there, with a new transmitter. I can punch up diagnostics for 34.1 and detect a signal (now 22 %; not sufficient for picture/sound), but at a fraction of the former strength. So they're either more obstructed in a new location, or just not broadcasting at the same power.
If I'm reading all the info right, WIVT's new digital 34 transmitter is broadcasting at 345 kw compared to 1.5 kw for their old digital 4 transmitter. The new 34 transmitter is 278 m Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) compared to 263 m HAAT for old 4 transmitter.

Maybe their new broadcasting power is too strong for your equipment? Maybe try an attenuator? Plus the transmitter is now 15 meters (about 50 feet) higher on the tower now, so I can't see how that could hurt anybody. I understand your frustration with no longer being able to get their signal. Just trying to provide info to help determine why.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=WIVT

JackN: Where are you located? An attenuator might be the answer.

I appreciate everyone's input. If it helps to determine whether an attenuator might help, when I monitor the 34.1 signal--to weak for detection with auto channel scan--it "pulses," pops in at a weak 22 percent, dops away completely, comes back to 22. There's no steadiness to it whatsoever. Stronger signals may bob subtly, but never show such sharp dropoff...

Wouldn't attenuation blunt an already weak signal, make it harder to tune?


Thanks again,


Jack

Yes, the attenuator can reduce the signal, which if it is overloading the tuner can help. Or it will attenuate the multipath (ghosting) enough to allow the tuner to lock on.

JackN: where are you located? Perhaps there is another signal close to you that is impacting 34.1 (like maybe a 33.1 or 35.1?) that didn't impact 4.1 before. Just a thought.

At least it's a little closer than NYC and has made it into some part of upstate NY....

http://www.multichannel.com/article/356760-FiOS_TV_Takes_On_Time_Warner_Cable_In_Central_N_Y_.php

I have a former coworker, who has gotten a waiver from WICZ so he can receive Fox via DirecTV. But, DirecTV says he also needs a waiver from WOLF (Hazelton, PA). He called WOLF and they had no idea that my coworker is considered to be in their DMA. His zip is 13903.

His location is such that he can't get WICZ OTA (he's close, but multipath is impossible) and he certainly can't get WOLF (57 miles away).

I had him email Ellen Filiapak at DirecTV. He hasn't got a definitive answer yet.

I'm in zip code 13903 and when I first signed up for DirecTV I got a waiver from WICZ to get Fox out of NYC. That's all I needed, I wasn't required to get one from WOLF.

I just installed a QAM PCIe card (MyGica X8550A) in a Vista Ultimate 64 machine but I can't seem to get any HD channels unless I use the OTA antenna. I would prefer to get them from my TW cable connection- any ideas why the scan for digital channels comes back empty?

Thanks in advance for any help.

I live in the hills of the Southern Tier of NY and believe I have a multi-path issue which may be caused by a cheap Maganvox digital TV tuner I purchased from Walmart over a year ago.

In the evenings I can pick up all the local channels and some out of town ones as well. However, because I'm picking up two signals( one in the air and another being bounced off the trees with leaves) my picture freezes and I lose audio. In the mornings it appears to work better.

Can someone here recommend a superior tuner which would help me overcome the interference caused by the elevated ridge between TV broad cast tower and my Winegard Antenna 7084?

Your help would be appreciated.

I just installed a QAM PCIe card (MyGica X8550A) in a Vista Ultimate 64 machine but I can't seem to get any HD channels unless I use the OTA antenna. I would prefer to get them from my TW cable connection- any ideas why the scan for digital channels comes back empty?

Thanks in advance for any help.If that PCI card is anything like the tuners in TVs, you may need to run a separate scan for QAM and OTA. Double check the manual.

I live in the hills of the Southern Tier of NY and believe I have a multi-path issue which may be caused by a cheap Maganvox digital TV tuner I purchased from Walmart over a year ago.

In the evenings I can pick up all the local channels and some out of town ones as well. However, because I'm picking up two signals( one in the air and another being bounced off the trees with leaves) my picture freezes and I lose audio. In the mornings it appears to work better.

Can someone here recommend a superior tuner which would help me overcome the interference caused by the elevated ridge between TV broad cast tower and my Winegard Antenna 7084?

Your help would be appreciated.I found that by moving my Winegard 7084 25 feet down the peak of my roof, I got rid of a lot of multipath. Also, a slight change in azimuth may help to block the multipath interference. Your best bet on a tuner would be one in a new TV. :)

What do you mean moving the Winegard 25 feet down the peak of my roof? Did you lower it? My Winegard 7084 attenna sits on a rotar five feet above my roof of my ranch style home. Should I lower it?


Also what does Azimuth mean? Thank you for the help.

Forgot to mention, I'm operating out of the Oxford area (South)...

And interestingly, I was able to grab a stable version of 34 for the first time since the switchover yesterday (Octover 7th), which I'm assuming has to do with the loss of foliage from the trees. It's up to about fifty percent strength, with no bobbing. Fine for one tuner, but another model isn't able to tune it.

Keep you posted.


--Jack

What do you mean moving the Winegard 25 feet down the peak of my roof? Did you lower it? My Winegard 7084 attenna sits on a rotar five feet above my roof of my ranch style home. Should I lower it?


Also what does Azimuth mean? Thank you for the help.Azimuth means rotating the antenna a little (should be easy with the rotor). When I said moving the antenna down the roof I meant I moved it from the south end of my roof to the northern end.

A quick note of interest to you all. A former co-worker has been trying to get a waiver for WIVT. It was granted, but for some reason DirecTV said he needed a waiver from WOLF as well. He's been in a few heated conversation with the people at WOLF as he's about 70 miles from them.

Anyway, at the same time this has been going on, he called DirecTV to see about replacing an old Samsung TiVo. They sent a POS R15 which didn't work well at all. So he called again and they replaced it with, get this, an HR20-700 HD DVR. Now that unit has an ATSC tuner, so he pulled out his old UHF bowtie antenna and jury rigged it. Well, he got all of the locals here.:) So I guess the waiver for WIVT isn't needed any longer.

What the chances of getting a waiver for WBGH-CA? I alerdy tryed once and they denied me.

I don't see WIVT putting up there new digitial subchannel for nbc anytime soon

WBGH is our low power NBC affiliate, right.
I see no reason why a waiver to receive WNBC from NY shouldn't be granted. Have you called DirecTV to see what they say?

I haven't called directv yet, but i will tomorrow when i reapply for the waiver and ask why they denied me last time.

Getting a waiver for WBGH should be almost automatic. At least it was for me. Actually I don't think it's D* call, but rather each individual station that says yes or no.

This might be a helpful page on D* site.
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIFnorail.jsp?assetId=P4880022#h:586.436

They told me they couldn't give a definite answer but the lady said the last person most likely forgot to put down we don't get locals in are area from directv.

I find out soon if i get WNBC soon or not....i keep trying to get it.

WBGH is a strange station when it comes to getting a waiver. Where I live you need a waiver to get NBC, but go less than a half a mile from me, into the city of Binghamton and an address there is eligible to receive NBC via NYC automatically.

It's really strange how they choose who is/isn't eligible.

Has anyone else noticed a drop in their signal strength for WIVT?

When they first put their new transmitter online and switched to channel 34, I was getting them at 100%. I hadn't checked my signal strengths in a while, so I checked and now I'm only getting them at 82%. I'm not having any problems with the channel coming in (no pixelation, no dropouts, etc), and all my other signal strengths are as good as always (100% for WBNG and WICZ and 90% for WSKG). I've made no equipment changes either. I'm wondering did WIVT reduce its power output or something?

Again, I'm not overly concerned since I'm not having any issues getting their signal, I'm just curious.

Currently, my ch34 signal strengths on my HR20 are fluctuating between 65% and 70%. These are what I've seen before.

Has anyone else noticed the audio/video sync problem on WIVT. I record Regis and Kelly (don't laugh) and the audio lags the video by about a half second. I'll try to see if the later shows are also bad. It might just be the syndicated shows.

I don't record Regis, but I do record quite a bit of their primetime and have not noticed any problems.

Prime time does look fine. It may just be this one show.
Record Regis and see if it is the same for you.
Of course it will be fixed then.:)

WABC NY is also fine.

Time to send an email to WIVT.

I'm getting a tad bit fed up with the fees for the HD DVR from Time Warner ($18.47/month according to my last bill), So I'm considering replacing it with a TiVo.

I have found out that TWC is charging $2.54/month for a cable card, and you need to obtain a tuning adapter (free) in order to access/record the SDV channels, other than that I don't know much about how well they work.

Is anyone using a TiVo on TWC in STNY area?

Any issues or annoyances compared to the TWC DVR?

Also, any thoughts on the 'lifetime service' option that TiVo offers? I understand its tied to the unit itself, but haven't been able to find information on what happens if the unit dies and needs to be replaced?

Thanks to anyone that can provide any info.

Here's the TiVo Community Forum.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/index.php?s=
They can answer some of your questions.

I have found out that TWC is charging $2.54/month for a cable card, and you need to obtain a tuning adapter (free) in order to access/record the SDV channels, other than that I don't know much about how well they work.

Jim's correct in directing you to TCF, but I don't know how much you'll find specific to this area as TiVo seems to be more metro-centric, more subscribers in bigger cities. A couple of questions: did TWC confirm there's a tuning resolver at their office and did you ask whether the cable card was M or S series? I believe M is for multiple streams and S is for single, which would mean you'd need to S for dual tuners. You can check at TCF or TiVo.com if that's correct.

I have been looking over those Tivo forums, but couldn't find any information related to our geographic area. Seems that some areas of the country work differently with the rebroadcast/copy type flags, and I'm not sure what STNY-TWC may limit.

I did know about the differences in cable cards - single vs multi-channel. I had specifically asked the Time Warner rep about the cost of the multi-channel card, so I'm assuming they gave me good info ;-)

As for the tuning adapter - I don't know if they stock them in their offices or not, however there is a form on their website you can use to order one.

I have been looking over those Tivo forums, but couldn't find any information related to our geographic area.

Which confirms what I posted:

...but I don't know how much you'll find specific to this area as TiVo seems to be more metro-centric, more subscribers in bigger cities.

In all the time I was at TCF Jim and a user from Ithaca are the only members I recall that were geographically close.

As for the tuning adapter - I don't know if they stock them in their offices or not, however there is a form on their website you can use to order one.

It's your call, but I would get confirmation that you will physically have one on the date of your install before proceeding.

I did some searching on the forums, found someone that said they were in the Binghamton area - talked about the issues they had dealing with TWC back in February of this year, if I remember right.

But, since it looks like those forums don't notify you by default when you get a PM, he may never see the note ;)

The audioi/video sync problem still exists.

Anyone else noticing?

Anyone know if fios is coming to the elmira/corning area soon? I noticed twc just bumped up the internet speeds and i thought they might of done that for a reason.

The audioi/video sync problem still exists.

Anyone else noticing?
I recorded yesterday's Regis and experienced the sync problem. Seemed like the audio was 1-2 seconds ahead of the video. Is that what you're experiencing?

The sync is so far off, but I see if as an audio delay from the video.

I sent an mail, but have yet to receive an answer.

Today's show is fine. I guess this is my answer. :)

Has anyone else noticed a drop in their signal strength for WIVT?

When they first put their new transmitter online and switched to channel 34, I was getting them at 100%. I hadn't checked my signal strengths in a while, so I checked and now I'm only getting them at 82%.
I checked my signal strengths again today and WIVT was back at rock solid 100%. No changes on my end, maybe they are still fine tuning the new transmitter.

I checked my signal strengths again today and WIVT was back at rock solid 100%. No changes on my end, maybe they are still fine tuning the new transmitter.




Like others, I'd seen a substantial dropoff since the switchover...but some increased stability and strength in reception in recent weeks that I attributed to loss in foliage, etc. But even at best, I was still down about fifty percent from where I was before the change (100%).

I'll take another look tonight for any improvement; thanks for the tip.

I've found that the loss of foliage can increase multipath, at least at my location. I think the leaves tend to attenuate the qhosts allowing the tuner to lock in the main signal. Tough to verify this fall as I had a bunch of trees removed this summer.