Maybe their flags wrong. 3.2 says WWAY HD and 3.1 says WWAY DT.

It's HD now and station ID is corrected.

Wilmington TWC feeds Jacksonville TWC. A friend in Jacksonville isn't able to get any HDTV channel except WUNJ-HD via the QAM tuner on either of his HDTVs. He was able to get all the networks with Wilmington outlets when he got his first HDTV, but no more. Does anybody know if TWC Wilmington isn't providing QAM HD channels except WUNJ anymore, if they just aren't sending them to Jacksonville, or if there might be a malfunction in the cable system that services my friend's house?

Thanks for any help.

WWAY's psip is freaky. I'm sitting hear with my info bar on watching the station ID and program title change over and over ever few seconds.

Wilmington TWC feeds Jacksonville TWC. A friend in Jacksonville isn't able to get any HDTV channel except WUNJ-HD via the QAM tuner on either of his HDTVs. He was able to get all the networks with Wilmington outlets when he got his first HDTV, but no more. Does anybody know if TWC Wilmington isn't providing QAM HD channels except WUNJ anymore, if they just aren't sending them to Jacksonville, or if there might be a malfunction in the cable system that services my friend's house?

Thanks for any help.

I know my neighbors do not recieve ANY Wilmington stations with TWC's HD STB

And it is back in SD again! Called the newsroom again. But so far it's still SD. I know it is HD on the network as my son inlaw has it on in Chicago.

GEEEEEEEZ! My favorite motor even of the year!
Here in Western NC, WLOS was in HD for the race until 5 p.m. came around (when local programming was supposed to be shown), showed their station identificaton and is now in SD during the race delay.....

Did anyone record the 5/21 episode of Heroes in HD?

I *@#'d up and forgot to record it... can't bear to watch it on the computer... need my HDTV! :)

Did anyone record the 5/21 episode of Heroes in HD?It was posted in the usenet group alt.binaries.multimedia in 720p about eight days ago.

Thanks!

[edit]

Tried my ISP's news server, only 7 day retention for binaries.

Can't seem to find any "free" news servers that work...

MarkS:

Try www.eztvefnet.org. You'll need a ********** client like Azureus to download. Should be able to find anything you need there

Thanks... managed to find the episode...

While I was thinking about it, I thought I'd pass on that WFXI FOX 8 Morehead City is on the air now. Channel 24. People have been picking it up in Raleigh and Virginia, so there's a chance down toward Wilmington you may get it. The tower is located east of Morehead City, and that would be over the water obstruction free from ILM

I recently stated I shudder whenever I see WWAY has a major event on I want to watch.

It seems like it never fails that the program goes back to SD. Well tonight at 10:30 the NFL final went to SD. And it isn't even good SD.

Why oh why does WWAY have so many problems keeping the program in HD?

I have 18 HD channels and WWAY screws up more than the rest combined!

What is wrong with expecting an HD broadcast to stay in HD?

Is it too much to ask?

I don't think so!

I decided it isn't worth the agravation and turned off WWAY and went to bed.

And I really looked forward to the NBA finals. Any bets on the next game?

Update:
Just as I was getting up to turn off the TV WWAY went back to HD. (11:05 PM) FOR ALL OF 5 SECONDS!

Isn't there anybody in the control room that watches a monitor?

I recently stated I shudder whenever I see WWAY has a major event on I want to watch.

It seems like it never fails that the program goes back to SD. Well tonight at 10:30 the NFL final went to SD. And it isn't even good SD.

Why oh why does WWAY have so many problems keeping the program in HD?

I have 18 HD channels and WWAY screws up more than the rest combined!

What is wrong with expecting an HD broadcast to stay in HD?

Is it too much to ask?

I don't think so!

I decided it isn't worth the agravation and turned off WWAY and went to bed.

And I really looked forward to the NBA finals. Any bets on the next game?

Update:
Just as I was getting up to turn off the TV WWAY went back to HD. (11:05 PM) FOR ALL OF 5 SECONDS!

Isn't there anybody in the control room that watches a monitor?

I wholeheartedly agree, and I would like to add that this is just one more in a growing list of problems which seem to be plaguing this station over the last year or so. For the most part, I have stopped watching that channel because of problems ranging from poor spelling on their graphics (I know mine might not be great, but it's not my job to put it on tv.), to quality control issues and terrible new anchors. I hope everything gets straightened out in the future, I'd like to have another reliable HD option in Wilmington.

I solved the news problem by simply not watching any local news, except sometimes weather... So far though, WWAY news seems less biased than WECT. I quit watching WECT news after they seemingly glorified/memorialized the man that pulled the gun from a police officer and fired a couple of shots at him... that was it for me...

I have found that I'm much happier now that I quit watching local news... :)

I don't watch WECT news either. Why? Because I can't pick them up anyway! LMAO!
I do watch FOX 26 news at 10 often, mainly because I can't pick up WFXI FOX 8 without break-ups.
I don't like WWAY's new radar, so I don't watch them much anymore, and the way they did John was deplorable. I see Kim left them too and went to 26.

If you like, I'll record the WECT news and email it to you...

:rolleyes:

No thanks, I'll pass! :D

OK, this has been a dead thread for a few weeks now. I have nothing to offer, but I have questions. Is there a difference in quality between WWAY and WECT lately, or is it just my set? I used to watch ABC news with Charles Gibson, but the NBC national news seems a lot better, lately. Also, please explain to me these 'new' cable boxes that you will get issued from TWC if you trade in the one you have. Currently, I have the old non-dvr HD box. The customer service guy said the new boxes were worse, but did not elaborate. Thanks.

NBC evening news broadcasts in High Definition. ABC world news doesn't. I still notice that WECT Standard def looks better than WWAY Standard definition does.

Can't help with the cable question. I have Directv and a UHF antenna servicing my HDTV.

NBC evening news broadcasts in High Definition. ABC world news doesn't. I still notice that WECT Standard def looks better than WWAY Standard definition does.

Can't help with the cable question. I have Directv and a UHF antenna servicing my HDTV.

I hav also noticed WWAY Standard def is dismal. Has been that way since we moved here 2.5 years ago.

Hello...been away from the boards for a while...

Am I the only one not pulling in 26.1 out of Wilmington?

26.1 is working fine here. Are you aimed at the tower just south of Wilmington in Brunswich county? Try a rescan or manually enter in channel 30.

Hi all. New to the forums. Just wanted to post my .02.

Rich - I agree with the WWAY SD looking dismal statement. I have an idea of what is causing it, but am not sure.

WWAY broadcasts in 720p, but their SD stuff appears to be an interlaced source. I can see the interlace lines in their SD stuff all the time....annoys the heck out of me. I suspect that they are not properly converting their SD feeds to a progressive format, but then again, I am just speculating. All I am sure of is that I can plainly see the interlace lines in every SD broadcast all the time. I usually tune to WPDE 15.1 if their is something in SD I want to watch.

Nooky - 26.1 is functioning fine for me as well.

Brad

i keep seeing one of those looped commercials that plays when your watching an on demand channels (TWC) advertising HD showcase on demand. anyone have any more info on this channel?

anyone have any ideas on when Charter is going to get CBS in HD
they have had hd channels since the beginning of this year but no CBS!!
when they first started it we were getting CBS from jacksonville or Greensboro or something but they cut that out pretty quick

Ya'll got to keep quiet when you get channels like that. Those TV station employees are reading this thread! I think you were getting the one from Greenville, as that is the closest one besides WBTW out of Florence. Maybe you could e-mail one of those stations and see if they can try to work something out with the cable comp?

I'd have to think it was a contract issue between Charter and WILM...

Call WILM and talk to Connie, the station general manager--ask her the status of Charter getting WILM in HD...

Didn't someone say that WILM was only carried by Fiber? They may not be able to run a line that far for Charter. Lots of expense involved.

Was there a channel re-map for TW in Wilmington? I seem to have once again lost CBS and TheTube in the 78- range.

My MyHD computer card seems to be receiving CBS on 78-1, while my flat panel tv is tuning it on 78-3...

Marc i just ordered 3 HR20s.

have a new Mits 73833 diamond coming soon, and a vizio 32" for bedroom. I will still hang on to my HR10-250s as well, and HD homerun. My MYHD has been decommissioned.

What are the status of the following stations.

WILM-LP DT?
THE CW?

DMA 136 and Local in Local with HD. Is that when we will see WILM-HD finally?

I miss CBS quite a bit.

Havent posted in a while but thought it was share-worthy to post my MP4 updates with directv, and new televisions joining our family.

That'll sure be a lot of DVR's in your house!

I picked up the Vizio 32xl a few weeks ago (10% Circuit City email discount for online order! :) ) Wanted something for the living room for more casual viewing--for when I didn't want to fire up the Pioneer RPTV for just 15-30 minutes of viewing.

For the money, extremely happy with the Vizio. Only problem is that the sound seems to be very compressed with a lot of treble--and I've got the treble down to 0 and it's still a bit shrill at times... The SD picture quality is totally acceptable...

Can't remember, so you can't get TW cable (re: CBS)?

Are you still using the HD Homerun to record OTA HD? If so, how are you playing it back?

Don't know about the other stuff...

I guess with the new lineups this Fall I'll start to record again, but I still have 12 episodes of "24" I haven't seen yet, and am tempted to just delete them... OTOH, I might just cut back on all tv viewing! :eek:

My 6600 video card died, which I could never get to work right for HD output anyway, so MyHD is the only way I can play HD stuff now.

Now if we could only get USA and SciFi in HD...

i built a new htpc last year with a e6420 i think it is. went with the zalman xt160 case. Using a 8800GTS card. But I havent got a hole lot of use out of the HD homerun yet. Be honest we got new floors and been remodling so to speak. Ive been using XBMC for about 4 months or so now. Furniture all arrived today but having some hickups there with some damaged pieces. directv coming on the 22nd. thats about all for now.

Me, no i dont have CBS. Im not subbing to charter to get that and i dont think they even have it. Hopefully directv will get a WILM fiber feed. I think thats what connie said a while back they were doing. I havent spoke to connie or chuck in quite some time. Im really looking forward to the xbmc linux project I think it will be the winning htpc app for some time to come.

But yeah, the mits and the vizio have joined my family as my 65311 died and sears is picking it up on the 18th or so.

USA and SCIFI as well as FX are on the list for MP4. Finally directv might be getting it right.

nc88keyz on aim. stay in touch. These forums are kinda quiet lately...specially here in ILM

I'd expect they'd quiet down a bit as the stations get better with their HD...

OTOH, WWAY seems to be having problems with HD, probably one of those massive lightning storms we had a few weeks back I suppose...

Probably not much whining because there's no prime time during the summer...

I'd expect they'd quiet down a bit as the stations get better with their HD...

OTOH, WWAY seems to be having problems with HD, probably one of those massive lightning storms we had a few weeks back I suppose...

Probably not much whining because there's no prime time during the summer...



I am just hoping WWAY doesn't have much we like to watch this winter. They can't seem to keep programs in HD.

I don't think I have watched anything since the INDY 500 and the NBA finals kept switching in and out. I, also, remember my wife commenting that Dances With the Stars wouldn't stay HD. Also a lot of their SD stuff seems to have a strange line scan problem.

Has it been bad this summer?

I too have seen WWAY programming jumping in and out of HD, but also haven't been watching much of any network this summer, except USA and SciFi. Seemed to be worse after a bad storm we had a while back, so I assume equipment damage... too bad they don't have a direct HD feed to TW Cable...

I don't know if you guys know this or not, but in order for us viewers of HD to get the severe weather statements, the stations have to switch out of HD to SD. Right now there is no equipment to allow the crawls and bugs to display while in HD. I notice WSFX switching out of HD a lot to show the crawl and banner in the top corner. WWAY doesn't seem to remember to do this though. I've seen WECT switch to SD before for this purpose also. I guess it depends on which meteorologist is in the station? The greenville stations have gotten better with switching, especially 12. 7 & 9 still don't remember to do it most times.

But I do see WWAY HD still has a problem when they first switch to HD. It is very blurry, and while I'm thinking of it, they have 3.1 labeled DT and 3.2 labeled HD now.

OK,


all along carolina beach road they are burying very thick yellow tubing. Is this fiber? What the heck is it. Its a contract company from what I can tell. No markings on the vehicles.....not att&t or anyone else that I can tell.

Anything to get excited about. Thought somone might be
in the know.

With a major Verizon presence in the city, you'd think maybe we'd be on the slate for FIOS...

There are plenty of those orange capped fiber pods around town that makes me wonder who owns them... I'm going to call that 800 number one of these days...

OK,


all along carolina beach road they are burying very thick yellow tubing. Is this fiber? What the heck is it. Its a contract company from what I can tell. No markings on the vehicles.....not att&t or anyone else that I can tell.

Anything to get excited about. Thought somone might be
in the know.

That may be natural gas lines. They buried those around the neighborhood here not long ago.

not as exciting.

Could be fiber but not necessarily for homes. They will bury either yellow, orange or blue flexible PVC tubing and then insert the fiber optic cable into the buried tubes. The color of the tubes denote what the fiber is used for. I think I remember hearing someone say a while ago that telco uses yellow where cable uses blue and long haul fiber uses orange. I might have the colors mixed up though. Not something I use everyday! :D

They've been burying the orange fiber tubes in this neighborhood lately too. Some of them are still rolled up sticking out of the ground. Others say "Fiber Optic lines" on the tip of the tube sticking out.

Will this be for TV and internet?

Hi. Moving to Wilmington in October and wondering what folks think of Time Warner's HD service? In the Triangle, it's pretty solid. Wondering how the networks and HD channels look in ILM. All the networks up to speed with Dolby Digital audio?

Let me know.

WS

WSFX (FOX), WWAY (ABC) and WUNJ (PBS) have Dolby Digital. There is no CBS signal in Wilmington, so you have no choice but to go with Time Warner to get CBS in HD, unless you move North, South, or West of Wilmington, in which case you can get it with an antenna. Maybe Directv will get hooked up by fiber one day.

WSFX (FOX), WWAY (ABC) and WUNJ (PBS) have Dolby Digital. There is no CBS signal in Wilmington, so you have no choice but to go with Time Warner to get CBS in HD, unless you move North, South, or West of Wilmington, in which case you can get it with an antenna. Maybe Directv will get hooked up by fiber one day.


No NBC?

WECT channel 6 is the NBC, but they aren't putting out Dolby Digital yet.

WECT channel 6 is the NBC, but they aren't putting out Dolby Digital yet.

Must get that changed.

What is the cheapest way to get locals in HD from TWC? Im getting ready to switch to Direct TV but I'd like to keep my locals in HD. Do i need a digital cable box? (My TV has a tuner)

Kethdredd,
Just get basic cable and connect to your HDTV if it has a QAM decoder. The local HD's are in the clear and on the cable already. Some other channels also.

I've once again lost all signal for CBS (78-3), The Tube (78-4) and FOX (78-12?), I did a rescan on my TV and came up with nothing.

Anyone know if there was a remap?

EDIT: Ok I once again have them...I don't know what the hell is going on w/ the 78- range channels bouncing in and out.

Can you describe your cable connection? That is, once it comes into the box on the side of your house, is it split in the box? Do you split it any more times in the house? What is your receiver? (in the TV, cable box, computer card, etc...)

Marginal signal strength might work most of the time, then just a few dB drop, depending on the quality of your QAM tuner, might result in no picture...

And cable signal strength varies over time...

That all said, on my Vizio, I was watching CBS most of the evening with no picture problems, so at least my signal was good.

Just like with local internet service problems, you could have a flaky connection at your house, or in your neighborhood. You can get TW to come out and measure your signal strength...

(Fox appeared to be fine also, at 78-13 I believe)

WSFX (FOX), WWAY (ABC) and WUNJ (PBS) have Dolby Digital. There is no CBS signal in Wilmington, so you have no choice but to go with Time Warner to get CBS in HD, unless you move North, South, or West of Wilmington, in which case you can get it with an antenna. Maybe Directv will get hooked up by fiber one day.

Not quite sure what you mean. With D10 up and running, Wilmington is slated for local spot beaming. Of course a delay has been announced with the spot beams, but not a bad tradeoff as they focused on getting the 70HD channels up and running.

This is a little OT since it involves Jacksonville rather than Wilmington, but I can't find a more appropriate forum.

A friend in Jacksonville gets most of his HD OTA since TWC carries only PBS in QAM (no other HD station is local to Jacksonville). He can pick up WNCT-HD with no problem, but not WITN-HD with his antenna. Don't they both transmit from the same area (just east of Grifton)? Does anybody know what the problem could be?

Thanks for any help.

Trying to watch the USC at Washington game on WWAY HD via TW but the choppy audio and video is driving me nuts!

This is a little OT since it involves Jacksonville rather than Wilmington, but I can't find a more appropriate forum.

A friend in Jacksonville gets most of his HD OTA since TWC carries only PBS in QAM (no other HD station is local to Jacksonville). He can pick up WNCT-HD with no problem, but not WITN-HD with his antenna. Don't they both transmit from the same area (just east of Grifton)? Does anybody know what the problem could be?

Thanks for any help.

There is a Greenville, NC discussion thread here. I'm in Jacksonville and get WITN
with no problem. Yes WNCT and WITN transmit from Grifton. Does he have any other problems with UHF channels? WNCT is the only VHF, all the rest of the channels up and down the coast are UHF.

Does he have any other problems with UHF channels? WNCT is the only VHF, all the rest of the channels up and down the coast are UHF.Not that I know of. He's using one of those flying saucer shaped VHF/UHF antennas that I haven't found to be very good. I'm taking him a spare antenna I have lying around later this week to see if results are better.

Thanks for your help, jspENC. Knowing somebody in Jacksonville is getting WITN-HD OTA answers my main question.

He's using one of those flying saucer shaped VHF/UHF antennas that I haven't found to be very good.

Those flying saucer things are not directional enough at our distance.
******************
THE TUBE IS NO MORE

Tune to 26.2 and check the message. DO NOT CALL WSFX or the cable company....:rolleyes:

I went to www.thetubetv.com and it says they went bankrupt. I wonder if WSFX will give us something else on 26.2 like maybe a First Alert Digital Doppler feed? Something is better than nothing. Maybe they could give us the Retro channel that they have on WRAZ 50.2

Trying to watch the USC at Washington game on WWAY HD via TW but the choppy audio and video is driving me nuts!
Well my wife told me Dances With the Stars had a lot of SD tonight. How hard can it be to keep a program in HD?
WWAY has been like this for 3 years!

Does TWC have the switched digital video system up and running? I saw we got TBS-HD and are getting MHD and Golf/Versus HD in a couple weeks. Please mind my excitement as I am jumping up and down in my seat. If capacity is such an issue why are they not adding HD channels that actually have some number of original HD programs instead of wasting space with stretched/up-converted reruns? Where are you CW-HD? Discovery-HD? Food-HD? History-HD? Weather-HD, Science-HD? CNN-HD? I think now the race is on between Dish Network/Directv to offer locals in HD and Time Warner to add anything. Which one of you three want my 80 bucks a month more? I guess in the meantime ill just have to enjoy 5 hours of Friends followed by 3 hours of Family Guy on TBS-HD, maybe hit up a few episodes of CSI on A&E-HD and I can't wait for the hours of endless VH1 storytellers on MHD.

Well my wife told me Dances With the Stars had a lot of SD tonight. How hard can it be to keep a program in HD?
WWAY has been like this for 3 years!

Where (or to whom) do we complain about the horrible HD problems with WWAY? Is it the fault of the station or TWC? IT is SO frustrating.

Where (or to whom) do we complain about the horrible HD problems with WWAY? Is it the fault of the station or TWC? IT is SO frustrating.

It's the station. Has been like that for as long as I can remember. Again tonight Dancing with the Stars was HD and then some relly crappy SD. I had hopes last year that it was going to get better,but it seems like the same old same old.


It's amazing how one channel can have 95% of the problems, and I don't think Billy (WWAY engineer) checks in here anymore.

It's the station. Has been like that for as long as I can remember. Again tonight Dancing with the Stars was HD and then some relly crappy SD. I had hopes last year that it was going to get better,but it seems like the same old same old.


It's amazing how one channel can have 95% of the problems, and I don't think Billy (WWAY engineer) checks in here anymore.

Thanks for the response. Do you think commenting (complaining) to the station actually makes a difference? I have lost a lot of respect for that station over the last couple of years; doesn't seem like they care about viewers or staff...

Thanks for the response. Do you think commenting (complaining) to the station actually makes a difference? I have lost a lot of respect for that station over the last couple of years; doesn't seem like they care about viewers or staff...


My guess is that they are just barely hanging on. I have no real facts to back that guess up it just seems that they are stretched very thin. They are owned by a family business in Savanagh Georgia and nobody has ever responded to my E_Mails down there. Also the general manager just referred me to the former engineer. I'm not sure if Billy is still there but he seemed to be trying, unfortunately my guess is they need better equipment they aren't going to get. If you go back a few pages you will see some of the messages I sent. No real results. But give it a try. They might be more responsive now.

Man, I'm really sorry. Here I was watching Pushing Daisies, thinking, wow, no foul ups, no transition problems between SD/HD, commercials in HD...

Then WHAM! The whole HD transmission goes down... the other digital subchannel is there, and the analog...

But then, you all probably figured that out...

I know they aren't owned by ABC, but wouldn't you think ABC corporate would be interested in their problems? Especially WRT prime time programming?

The last two nights Mon-Tue. Dancing w/ the stars, during the last 10 or 15 minutes of the show, the HD feed flipped back to SD. When that happened, I turned to 12.1 and they were still HD, so it isn't on ABC's end. It's a shame how WWAY has gone to pot, considering they were the best for HD in the beginning... IMO

The last two nights Mon-Tue. Dancing w/ the stars, during the last 10 or 15 minutes of the show, the HD feed flipped back to SD. When that happened, I turned to 12.1 and they were still HD, so it isn't on ABC's end. It's a shame how WWAY has gone to pot, considering they were the best for HD in the beginning... IMO


Same thing with Boston Legal. Come to think about it I can't recall seeing anything that didn't lose HD at some point. They have been first with HD but now they have more problems than all the rest of the HD channels combined. I think I will put a call in tomorrow and see if Bill Still works there.

The last two nights Mon-Tue. Dancing w/ the stars, during the last 10 or 15 minutes of the show, the HD feed flipped back to SD. When that happened, I turned to 12.1 and they were still HD, so it isn't on ABC's end. It's a shame how WWAY has gone to pot, considering they were the best for HD in the beginning... IMO



I called Billy (WWAY engineer) and left him a voicemail indicating things were no better than last fall. In fact, may be a bit worse. He was fairly communicative last year. Haven't heard from him in quite some time.

Those flying saucer things are not directional enough at our distance.Replaced with an extra Radio Shack U-75R I had. It's mounted in the attic, but the amp from the flying saucer is still in line. Aimed north, the antenna picks up WCTI, WITN, WNCT and the Jacksonville area digital channels with no problems. :)

Also if you aim toward the southwest, you should pick up WWAY 3 (ABC) WSFX 26 (FOX) and WUNJ 39(PBS) out of Wilmington. 90% of the time I keep my antenna pointed that way and can get everything but WITN with it in that position. WWAY,WECT(sometimes),WNCT,CW,WCTI,ENC,WSFX,WPXU,and WUNJ.

WFXI FOX 8 is just a bit north of due east, but with my antenna pointed at them I don't pick up other stations very well at all.

Also if you aim toward the southwest, you should pick up WWAY 3 (ABC) WSFX 26 (FOX) and WUNJ 39(PBS) out of Wilmington. 90% of the time I keep my antenna pointed that way and can get everything but WITN with it in that position.Thanks. I'll pass that info on, but I doubt my friend will agree to give up WITN. That was the main reason he wanted the antenna change.WFXI FOX 8 is just a bit north of due east, but with my antenna pointed at them I don't pick up other stations very well at all.If I'm reading FCC data correctly, it appears WFXI has been granted a construction permit for a 1000 kW digital power pusher. Or are they already broadcasting at that level on 8.1? If not, it should be a little easier getting WFXI in Jacksonville once the increase is in effect.

Thanks. I'll pass that info on, but I doubt my friend will agree to give up WITN. That was the main reason he wanted the antenna change.If I'm reading FCC data correctly, it appears WFXI has been granted a construction permit for a 1000 kW digital power pusher. Or are they already broadcasting at that level on 8.1? If not, it should be a little easier getting WFXI in Jacksonville once the increase is in effect.

WFXI is already at 1000 kW. It is usually more difficult to tune in than WSFX is for me. I guess it depends on which side of town your on. I live on the West side.

Can you describe your cable connection? That is, once it comes into the box on the side of your house, is it split in the box? Do you split it any more times in the house? What is your receiver? (in the TV, cable box, computer card, etc...)

Marginal signal strength might work most of the time, then just a few dB drop, depending on the quality of your QAM tuner, might result in no picture...

And cable signal strength varies over time...

That all said, on my Vizio, I was watching CBS most of the evening with no picture problems, so at least my signal was good.

Just like with local internet service problems, you could have a flaky connection at your house, or in your neighborhood. You can get TW to come out and measure your signal strength...

(Fox appeared to be fine also, at 78-13 I believe)

Sorry for the late response. Right now I have 2 splitters before it gets to the TV, so I'm going to see about reworking that and possibly taking my small video amplifier out of the equation to see if that helps. I get just as bad reception in my back bedroom. I will report back when I change things around...

I called Billy (WWAY engineer) and left him a voicemail indicating things were no better than last fall. In fact, may be a bit worse. He was fairly communicative last year. Haven't heard from him in quite some time.

I am still here. I did receive your voicemail Rich, and I will be looking into the problem. We have, within the last 6 months or so, added alot of new equipment and operating systems and during that time I have been working as the only Engineer here, so I have not had the time to get everything going as soon as I would like.

Sorry for the late response. Right now I have 2 splitters before it gets to the TV, so I'm going to see about reworking that and possibly taking my small video amplifier out of the equation to see if that helps. I get just as bad reception in my back bedroom. I will report back when I change things around...

Two splitters, but what kind? 1 in 2 out, 1 in 3 out?

Best case, looks like you could be reducing your signal strength to 1/4 the original input strength--not counting the amp...

I had something similar (multiple splitters), but my signal strength was getting killed, finally did a bit of re-wiring and am using an Electroline EDA-FT08000 8 port amp. Home run from the cable pod goes to a splitter, 1/2 goes to the cable modem, the other into the Electroline, then outputs to the house...

Does TWC have the switched digital video system up and running? I saw we got TBS-HD and are getting MHD and Golf/Versus HD in a couple weeks. Please mind my excitement as I am jumping up and down in my seat. If capacity is such an issue why are they not adding HD channels that actually have some number of original HD programs instead of wasting space with stretched/up-converted reruns? Where are you CW-HD? Discovery-HD? Food-HD? History-HD? Weather-HD, Science-HD? CNN-HD? I think now the race is on between Dish Network/Directv to offer locals in HD and Time Warner to add anything. Which one of you three want my 80 bucks a month more? I guess in the meantime ill just have to enjoy 5 hours of Friends followed by 3 hours of Family Guy on TBS-HD, maybe hit up a few episodes of CSI on A&E-HD and I can't wait for the hours of endless VH1 storytellers on MHD.



Where do you go to find out about any HD channels that TWC will be adding.

What a joke! Music and golf in HD? I love golf but common, an HD golf and music channel is way down there on the list of HD channels Wilmington needs. Those were propably the two cheapest HD channels TWC could add. They are a bunch of freaking crooks.

Hurry up Direct TV, I need those local HD channels so I can tell TWC where to stick their service and which pocket of mine I'll be sticking that $1700 I pay them each year.

But how do you REALLY feel? :)

I think I might switch to whoever gets SciFi and USA in HD first...and CW too... I think the best shows of the summer were Eureka on SciFi and Burn Notice on USA, not to mention Psych and Monk... put a lot--no, most--network shows to shame...

Since I dropped HBO and Sho from DISH, the only HD I get is OTA and CBS on TW...

Good to see you still around Billy. Haven't had to much luck lately picking up 3-1 in Pembroke. Maybe you can grab a pair of vicegrips and turn your transmitor in my direction a little. :D

For the last few weeks I've been getting Florence, Charleston, and Raleigh markets about every night and morning here. It just depends on which direction I aim as to what I might get!
Thanks for working on the equipment Billy. I watch your station still on a regular basis. It comes in well for as far off as I am.

About SciFi and USA HD, Directv already has them.

First the good news. Everything stayed in Hi Def for the entire time I was watching.

The bad news. WWAY HD has developed a bad case of data drops. It, at times, tears at the video, and almost constantly puts lapses in the audio. Curious for you off air guys if you see/hear the same thing or if it is somewhere between WWAY and TW. Anyway the rest of the HD feeds are doing great so I'm confident it's not an issue here.

The Indians game looked pretty good all night... oh wait, that was Fox...:D

I am trying to isolate the glitches we are seeing on our HD signal. I rebooted the encoder and checked the settings to make sure everything appeared to be good. I bumped up the bandwidth of the HD as well, so hopefully that will look a little better!

Oh baby! More bandwidth!! :)

Although maybe I shouldn't be in this day and age... I'm still amazed at how much is solved with a re-boot...

For fun every once in a while, I will switch between the OTA and TW broadcast for ABC, NBC, and Fox--so far I can't really tell any difference...

I saw pixelation on WWAY last night, but no audio problems. More bandwidth is always welcome!

I wish FOX would do something with 26-2 besides that Tube message.

I am trying to isolate the glitches we are seeing on our HD signal. I rebooted the encoder and checked the settings to make sure everything appeared to be good. I bumped up the bandwidth of the HD as well, so hopefully that will look a little better!

Billy,

Thanks for the reply. I'll see what is going on tonight. Boston Legal had a ton of dropouts last night. Video tearing and lots of audio drops.
Will let you know later tonight if it is better.

Although maybe I shouldn't be in this day and age... I'm still amazed at how much is solved with a re-boot...


I would say that about 90% of our fixes here for various things are due to rebooting. Now that most everything has a processor controlled device installed, it is nothing more than a computer.

I still remember back in the day when analog was King, and the stuff just worked. Ahhh... the good ole days.

We use the Harris Flexicoder, and while we are still not yet into the all digital realm, I have found out that Harris no longer supports the Flexicoder. So before we can even attempt to recover the money put into our digital/hd conversion equipment, it is already becoming obsolete. That box ran for around $50k (if I remember right). I have heard rumors of a company trying to put an encoder package together that will be under $10k... so we'll have to wait and see how it is received.

...I still remember back in the day when analog was King, and the stuff just worked. Ahhh... the good ole days.


Billy in the "good ole days".... :D

http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot6/images/analog1.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot6/images/analog2.jpg

Of course, back then (analog days), this is what we had for TV's...

http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot6/images/oldtv.jpg

WWAY channel 3 analog used to be hard to receive, particularly up North of Clinton on my relatives outside antenna.(There was no cable TV there) Lots of sparkling. Channel 6 came in really clear though. Today with digital it's actually cool to have an antenna!

I would say that about 90% of our fixes here for various things are due to rebooting. Now that most everything has a processor controlled device installed, it is nothing more than a computer.

I still remember back in the day when analog was King, and the stuff just worked. Ahhh... the good ole days.

We use the Harris Flexicoder, and while we are still not yet into the all digital realm, I have found out that Harris no longer supports the Flexicoder. So before we can even attempt to recover the money put into our digital/hd conversion equipment, it is already becoming obsolete. That box ran for around $50k (if I remember right). I have heard rumors of a company trying to put an encoder package together that will be under $10k... so we'll have to wait and see how it is received.


Billy,

The video tearing is gone and the audio drops are now few and far between. I's a huge difference. Thanks!

One other thing that still seems to be occuring is a loss of focus on, what appears to be, camera switches and the start of a segment. It's been some time but I seem to remember ABC in Chicago having a similar problem and going from one setting "positon" to another on the Harris Flexicoder to force faster response on the focus? Not sure if that makes sense but a lot of scenes loss focus and then recover? Exactly the same thing was happening in Chicago until a setting change was made?

No offense intended to the lone WWAY engineer, but their feed is embarrassing. When the HD feed stays up, it usually is very blurry, it seems like its constantly switching between SD and HD, until it finally gives up and goes to a horrid looking SD signal. This isn't an isolated incident, this happens constantly.

Who should we complain to?

No offense intended to the lone WWAY engineer, but their feed is embarrassing. When the HD feed stays up, it usually is very blurry, it seems like its constantly switching between SD and HD, until it finally gives up and goes to a horrid looking SD signal. This isn't an isolated incident, this happens constantly.

Who should we complain to?


I would agree with you up until Billy did some resetting last week. Other than some brief blurs everything I have seen has been in solid HD.

Is there a recent program that has been bad?

For some reason, in the past, the live programs werre always the worst. Dancing With the Stars in on tonight. I usually hear a shriek from my wife when it drops back to crappy SD. It should be a good test of the new setup as it is live and has been terrible in the last few weeks.

It HAS been terribly blurry but in the last week it has gotten better. It still needs adjusting, but it's improving on my set.

The standard def on the other hand still looks terrible. (greenish in tint)

It HAS been terribly blurry but in the last week it has gotten better. It still needs adjusting, but it's improving on my set.

The standard def on the other hand still looks terrible. (greenish in tint)

There is something horribly wrong with the SD. It almost looks like a double scan that really brings out the lines?

I still see some occasional pixelation/tearing on Dancing w/ the Star, but no audio drops on my end.
I guess WWAY doesn't do pro-logic on GMA anymore?

I still see some occasional pixelation/tearing on Dancing w/ the Star, but no audio drops on my end.
I guess WWAY doesn't do pro-logic on GMA anymore?


I was in and out but my wife said Dancing was 100% better. Didn't see any pixelation or tearing (TW cable) but I wasn't there all the time. Also saw much less out of focus.

The "double scan" I think is combing...

Let's not leave out WECT... although I was recording the 8-11 slot on WECT, in channel surfing I noticed that portions of Heroe's was window boxed, then eventually went back to full screen HD... Don't know if that is network feed related or local to WECT...

The "double scan" I think is combing...

Let's not leave out WECT... although I was recording the 8-11 slot on WECT, in channel surfing I noticed that portions of Heroe's was window boxed, then eventually went back to full screen HD... Don't know if that is network feed related or local to WECT...

Was there a crawl?
That will do it.

I have been "messin" with our HD rack and would like to ask for your input. I hope I have found the scan, interlace problem our upconverted signal was having. Seems that the reference signal going to that rack had been changed to an analog reference instead of the HD tri-level sync that should have been feeding it. There were also some settings in our upconverter that were not right, and had been wrong for a year or more I suppose. Thats what happens when you leave for a year and new fingers start pushing buttons that should not be pushed.

Explaination required:

During my absence for a year, the station was hit by an extremely severe lightening strike to our studio tower... which caused approx. $100k in damage to equipment in the studio. When that happened, there were outside engineers called in to help with the "clean-up". It is apparent to me that they were not familiar with the rack system we have here since there was alot of re-wiring done, as well as settings changed. I have been, slowly, going back over the wiring diagram (the original one!) and putting things back as they should be, but in light of recent events have not had much time to devote to this until now.

So the changes I have recently made should help restore our signal to what it was a couple of years ago. I am probably going to bump up the bandwidth one more time and see how it does, maybe tomorrow, but we are close to where it should be right now. I am trying to find the CD containing the manual on our upconverter so I can verify all the settings on it are correct. (SIDE NOTE- I hate that manufacturers are putting the service material on CD/DVDs now.)

Bottom line is I am sorry that our HD signal has not been very good as of the past year or so. But I am trying to get it working like it should be, and with your input on what you are seeing it will help me to get it there faster. :D

Thanks

See everyone. Billy's on the job. Just don't forget that the analog broadcast is still their main profit venue and what the station manager expects them to focus on first to keep maintained.

I have been "messin" with our HD rack and would like to ask for your input. I hope I have found the scan, interlace problem our upconverted signal was having. Seems that the reference signal going to that rack had been changed to an analog reference instead of the HD tri-level sync that should have been feeding it. There were also some settings in our upconverter that were not right, and had been wrong for a year or more I suppose.
Thanks



Billy,

SD looks a 1000% better!

Dammit! :D Even analog looks good now...

No crawlers on WECT during Heroe's, at least not when I witnessed the window-boxed image... I've seen that in the past sometimes... I guess when I finally watch last night's stuff, I'll see whether it was random or not...

Billy, Billy, Billy........ I don't know how many times I've heard that old lightning excuse... and the dog ate my homework... :)

Just kidding...

BTW, if I recall, in the past you guys had no way of knowing whether the power was lost on the digital xmitter--has that changed? (is it monitored now?)

Thanks for your efforts...

What a difference a day makes! Keep doing what your doing Billy!!!!!! The more buttons you press the better it gets! Standard def looks like flesh tone on the skin again.:D The same program, (INSIDER) is on WNCT 9.1 right now that is on 3.1 and they look pretty much the same now.

Billy you've got to ground that mega doppler radar there so lightning will stop trying to put it out of commission! I was watching one time when the old chief meteorologist was there, and he said the doppler got hit directly as he was on the air.

BTW, if I recall, in the past you guys had no way of knowing whether the power was lost on the digital xmitter--has that changed? (is it monitored now?)

Yes, we monitor both digital channels now, as well as the cable and off air analog signals... complete with CC.


After that strike last spring, Morris spent some big bucks re-grounding everything, as well as adding redundant grounding to the master control area.

I'm glad you guys approve opf the changes made, and like I said before, please feel free to let me know if you see any kind of problems with our signal. While it might not be top of my list of things to do, it shouldn't take me a year to get to it like it has been for this round! ;)

If anyone would like to drop by the station to get a look at our equipment and our operation here, I would be honored to show you around. Just let me know!

If anyone would like to drop by the station to get a look at our equipment and our operation here, I would be honored to show you around. Just let me know!

I dropped by to visit Billy earlier in the year (I work just down the street) and it was interesting to see the equipment room--if you have a chance, it is worthwhile to see what it takes to get a signal out...

Today will be a good test. Looking forward to watching my Tigers play at 3:30!

marc, you have msg.

Well the game was in SD and it looked pretty bad. It seemed to start out pretty sharp but reverted back to blurvision after about halfway through the first quarter. My wife who can't seem to tell the difference between SD and HD, noted how blurry the screen looked and my 6 year old claimed he couldn't see the game it was so blurry. The WWAY weather feed looks sharp.

In contrast the FL-GA game looked great on CBS.

Well the game was in SD and it looked pretty bad. It seemed to start out pretty sharp but reverted back to blurvision after about halfway through the first quarter. My wife who can't seem to tell the difference between SD and HD, noted how blurry the screen looked and my 6 year old claimed he couldn't see the game it was so blurry. The WWAY weather feed looks sharp.

In contrast the FL-GA game looked great on CBS.


I think, in this case, it has little or nothing to do with WWAY. The collegiate feeds, to me, look bad anywhere unless they are in HD and that only happens on a major network pick up. Some of the college feeds like Raycom can look pretty abysmal.

I think, in this case, it has little or nothing to do with WWAY. The collegiate feeds, to me, look bad anywhere unless they are in HD and that only happens on a major network pick up. Some of the college feeds like Raycom can look pretty abysmal.

I don't know...I didn't see too much of the game, but I did pay particular attention to the quality because one of my boys was watching it on the analog channel. I switched it to 909 for him and we noted how much better it looked. A little while later, I walked back through the room and griped about somebody switching it back to channel setting 10. Needless to say, it was still on 909 and the picture had gone back to the extreme blur of a week or so ago; what a shame.

Possibly better than HD in ILM....anyone go see Teagan and Shay at CB video tonight? She looks fine in 720p or so I hear




hehe

Yes, we monitor both digital channels now, as well as the cable and off air analog signals... complete with CC.



I'm glad you guys approve opf the changes made, and like I said before, please feel free to let me know if you see any kind of problems with our signal. While it might not be top of my list of things to do, it shouldn't take me a year to get to it like it has been for this round! ;)

!



Billy,

It seems like the blurry segments are down to very short bursts now, the picture quality is better and there doesn't seem to be any toggling between SD and HD. A vast improvement!

anyone know where I can find a list of the Dish HD channels?
I saw on their site that it has a bunch of logos but I want to see the actual list
so I can compare it to Charter Cable and see which has the better package / price

Where (or to whom) do we complain about the horrible HD problems with WWAY? Is it the fault of the station or TWC? IT is SO frustrating.

I know it's the local stations fault like WWAY when the HD goes down, but as a consumer, we don't pay WWAY. It should be on TWC to keep WWAY's ass in line since TWC cashes our checks. But those sorry SOBs just pawn of any and all responsibility on whomever they can.

If every time one of the local stations went down and we called and demanded that our monthly bill be pro-rated, eventually TWC would make sure the local stations kept the HD reception in high working order for the majority of the time.

Yes, we monitor both digital channels now, as well as the cable and off air analog signals... complete with CC.
!
Billy,

It may have been the Network but the first 25 minutes of Dancing With the Stars HD had no audio last night.

Thanks Rich, I'll check into it.

The audio problem was on our end. Our Dolby box had locked up and the MCO had to reset it to clear the problem.

The audio problem was on our end. Our Dolby box had locked up and the MCO had to reset it to clear the problem.


Billy,

I love you like a brother and I know those guys don't work for you, but 25 minutes? I wish there was a secret phone number for some responsible people to dial when this stuff shows up!

Thanks for the response. It's got to be tough to be the only guy with a wrench on the whole ranch!

I didn't come in last night until about 9PM, but the sound was all good then. The picture was better than I ever remember seeing it before too. Not one single time have I seen pixelation since the last time I posted. I'll be watching tonight for sure, and if I see anything unusual I will post.

WWAY has been showing as 46.1 all evening (OTA)

PSIP should be back up now. Sorry, I just read this post. We don't change the channel on our monitor here, so unfortunately the PSIP don't get checked like it should be. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks Billy.:) It's showing 3.1 now.

"I think I might switch to whoever gets SciFi and USA in HD first...and CW too... I think the best shows of the summer were Eureka on SciFi and Burn Notice on USA, not to mention Psych and Monk... put a lot--no, most--network shows to shame...

Since I dropped HBO and Sho from DISH, the only HD I get is OTA and CBS on TW..."

So what did happen to Burn Notice? I really liked that show and now I can't find it.

-Donb2

So what did happen to Burn Notice? I really liked that show and now I can't find it.According to the USA website, it will return with new episodes next summer.

WWAY looks bad again tonight. Billy, I hesitated to say anything as I know you must be working overtime to make things right. Please don't take it as personal criticism.

WWAY looks bad again tonight. Billy, I hesitated to say anything as I know you must be working overtime to make things right. Please don't take it as personal criticism.

Were you watching OTA or Cable? As far as I could see (Dancing With the Stars) everything looked fine over Time Warner?

I thought one time when they came back from commercial on DWTS, that it looked a little blurry again, but not a huge deal or anything. No pixelation or sound drops OTA

Were you watching OTA or Cable? As far as I could see (Dancing With the Stars) everything looked fine over Time Warner?
I have TWC. Looks ok tonight, so maybe it was a fluke.

I was at my Sister's house in Daytona Beach. TWC down there has many more HD channels and HD Movies on demand! Let's go TW Wilmington!

When the HD feed stays up, it usually is very blurry, it seems like its constantly switching between SD and HD, until it finally gives up and goes to a horrid looking SD signal. This isn't an isolated incident, this happens constantly.This is a problem with the Harris Flexicoder. Solution:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10108186#post10108186

Note that with all Flexicoders, when they're reset, "adaptive filtering" is turned back on automatically, if it was ever turned off at all. It must then be manually be turned off again.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Food HD
National Geographic HD
HGTV HD

Thanks Time Warner
Keep them Coming

When did HGTV, NGC and Food Network go on? I just happened to be flipping and saw them today. They aren't listed on the TWC website not even under channel line-up changes. Needless to say, I am very happy. :D

When did HGTV, NGC and Food Network go on? I just happened to be flipping and saw them today. They aren't listed on the TWC website not even under channel line-up changes. Needless to say, I am very happy. :D


Looks like Time Warner added 3 or so more channels in a lot of markets between the 19th and 21st. Nice little Christmas present eh?

I am in Leland and looking to receive an OTA CBS digital station. I have an antenna in my attic and I can receive 12 DT stations now but no CBS. I don't mind adding another antenna to reach out but it will need to also be in the attic. Any info on a reachable station ( City, Frequency, Direction) would be greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas to all! Thanks.

Bill

Looks like Time Warner added 3 or so more channels in a lot of markets between the 19th and 21st. Nice little Christmas present eh?

I guess I am getting a little resless. DTV has 95 HD now? With a hundred more coming? We have no NFL of any kind including leauge pass.

I have the feeling we are being left behind due to TW's reluctance to invest in VOD. A couple of HD stations with little content seems a bit feeble to me. Even most TW folks have HD on demand (movies) which we don't have.

I guess I am getting a little resless. DTV has 95 HD now? With a hundred more coming? We have no NFL of any kind including leauge pass.

I have the feeling we are being left behind due to TW's reluctance to invest in VOD. A couple of HD stations with little content seems a bit feeble to me. Even most TW folks have HD on demand (movies) which we don't have.

Any idea when we'll get HD on demand? What's the holdup, anyway?

Any idea when we'll get HD on demand? What's the holdup, anyway?

I called and got a non answer. At first the local person insisted we had it and then backed off and said it "was under consideration"
We must be one of the last as it is already on their advertising when you are browsing an on demand channel.

I am in Leland and looking to receive an OTA CBS digital station. I have an antenna in my attic and I can receive 12 DT stations now but no CBS. I don't mind adding another antenna to reach out but it will need to also be in the attic. Any info on a reachable station ( City, Frequency, Direction) would be greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas to all! Thanks.

Bill

You are definetely on the fringe of the CBS out of Dillion SC. They are on UHF frequency 56, so a channel master 4228 with a channel master 7777 pre-amp will possibly do it. In the attic is very questionable.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT418638.html

The only other CBS is out of Greenville NC. They are on VHF 10, but they are a bit further away from you.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1005845.html

I would go with the first choice. Do you receive WPDE on channel 15.1? They are on the same tower as CBS WBTW in Dillon. WPDE is the highest mounted on the tower and WBTW is a little bit lower down but they put out a million watts.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give Dillon a try with a Channel Master. I do not get WPDE with my current setup. I have not tried to move the antenna to that heading yet.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give Dillon a try with a Channel Master. I do not get WPDE with my current setup. I have not tried to move the antenna to that heading yet.

You can acquire some quite good preliminary headings at:

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx


Just remember to correct for true North.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give Dillon a try with a Channel Master. I do not get WPDE with my current setup. I have not tried to move the antenna to that heading yet.


Folks have found WPDE 16 (15.1) easier to tune in compared to WBTW 56 (13.1 ) and I think it is because their antenna is a side mount on the tower and a bit lower down. When I've received these two channels up in Jacksonville, I found WPDE quite a bit stronger too. It always comes in before WBTW does.

In addition to what Rich said about antennaweb, there is also another site now called tvfool. www.tvfool.com that is a bit more detailed.

Thanks guys. This is all great input. TVFool.com is a neat site. Much more info than other sites. I'm not sure when I will get to try this but I'll post to let you know how things work out. Thanks again.

This is a problem with the Harris Flexicoder. Solution:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10108186#post10108186

Note that with all Flexicoders, when they're reset, "adaptive filtering" is turned back on automatically, if it was ever turned off at all. It must then be manually be turned off again.

Happy Thanksgiving.


I wonder if we are back to the above? A ton of blurry sequences on WWAY today for the bowl games? Haven't seen this for quite some time but it is back with a vengeance!

I'm in the Ogden area...

I'm only getting:

3-1 WWAYHD 720p (random glitches today)
3-2 WWAYWX 480i
26-1 WSFX-DT 720p
26-2 TUBE 480i
39-1 UNC-TV 480i
39-2 UNC-HD 1080i
39-3 UNC-KD 480i
39-4 UNC-ED 480i
39-5 UNC-NC 480i


Should I be getting more? I've tried 2 different inside UHF antennas (with and without boost)

Shouldn't I get an NBC or CBS(i know we may not get that yet) or something else?

Would an outside antenna help? I have the mounting pole and cable ran already from the previous homeowner.

Either way, suggestions on a better inside antenna than an RCA from best buy, or a good outside antenna sub-$100?

You should be getting WECT for certain. (Channel 44) Once received will display 6.1 & 6.2
Definetely will need an outdoor I think. WECT is much weaker than all those others. Channel Master 4221 should do fine. There is no CBS in Wilmington. Greenville's WNCT may be receivable for Ogden, but a VHF antenna joined to the 4221 would be the only way, and over the roof at 30 ft.

Do I point the 4221 at 280'ish degrees to get WECT (looked it up online and was around that)? and I'll still be able to get the rest? (obviously i'm sure since the RCA antenna worked).

Also, can you recommend the VHF addon to get CBS?

Lastly, the pole is grounded, but I should hook the cable line from it to a surge protector and have the tv hook to that correct? Also, is there a length of cable I should stay at? 50', 75'? (won't be more than 60')?

UNC 39.1 is on the same tower at WECT, so if that is 280'ish from your house, then yes, but it is almost due west from you, so point sort of to the south of west and fine tune. You won't have to go really high up with the 4221, unless you are in a valley, and if you are kind of low in elevation I wouldn't try to get CBS.

Antennacraft Y-10 is a high band VHF. http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=Y10-7-13 Winegard makes one too. http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=YA1713
Will need a joiner... model 0549 http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm
You ground the coax to the same place your mast is grounded with a grounding block just before the cable goes inside the attic or crawlspace, not through the surge surpressor.
Long cable runs, typically more than 75' need a pre-amp added, and if you split the signal to other TV sets a pre-amp is a good idea. I don't think you will need the pre-amp for the Wilmington stations.

If I remember correctly RR is required to carry, at least, off air HD in ATSC or am I wrong? Does anybody have any experience with this? I have older sets that have no tuners for ATSC or QAM.

Thanks!

If I remember correctly RR is required to carry, at least, off air HD in ATSC or am I wrong? Does anybody have any experience with this? I have older sets that have no tuners for ATSC or QAM.

Thanks!

By RR do you mean TimeWarner cable? They do carry local network channels unencrypted, but it is still QAM.

I have their "life line" service, which is just the locals plus a few other misc. channels, in addition to the analog or Standard Def version of the locals, I can also get the digital/HD versions via my own QAM tuner (computer card).

But, the only way you could see it on your older set is with a cable box from TW--but... I don't think you'll see the digital versions of the channel unless you've got a digital box, and to get that, I'm pretty sure you have to subscribe to their digital tier...

But that will surely change in 2009 when only digital is available? (i.e., I can't imagine you'd have to get their digital tier for just locals).

Is that where you were going with your question?

By RR do you mean TimeWarner cable? They do carry local network channels unencrypted, but it is still QAM.

I have their "life line" service, which is just the locals plus a few other misc. channels, in addition to the analog or Standard Def version of the locals, I can also get the digital/HD versions via my own QAM tuner (computer card).

Is that where you were going with your question?


I am fairly sure that they also carry the local stations in atsc format. In fact when I was hooking up my new set (ntsc/atsc tuner but no qam) I was able to see the local digital stations including HD. After that I hooked up TW's HD DVR so I didn't keep the cable to tv connection. I seem to recall it is a requirement to carry all locals in their native format?

Rich, I highly suspect that your set has a QAM tuner, whether you think it does or not, or whether or not it is documented. You'll see many threads in the tv area where people are wondering whether a specific set has QAM even though the maker does not list it. Some do, some not.

I'm pretty sure cable is 100% QAM transmission method... take a look at:

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

mounted the antenna on the chimney and pointed it where i thought was west and now i get all the local channels without hiccups! if i cared about cbs i'd get the vhf addition, but 30 feet is another 10 feet up and it's not worth it to me. thanks!

mounted the antenna on the chimney and pointed it where i thought was west and now i get all the local channels without hiccups! if i cared about cbs i'd get the vhf addition, but 30 feet is another 10 feet up and it's not worth it to me. thanks!

Cool. One day you might get the urge to try it. Since you had such luck with this, chances look to be in your favor. Here's a tip. Radio station 93.3 and 107.9 FM are on the same tower as CBS just south of Greenville. If you can get a good signal from them where you are, the chances are pretty good that you will pick up WNCT 9.1 The CW is on 9.2 also

Did you get the 4 bay channel master?

I got the Channel Master Model 4221 4-Bay UHF antenna and mounted it on a pole that was already mounted on my chimney after i moved in.

Oooh i'd like to pick up the CW for a couple of shows on there and CBS would be nice to have but not a necessity. This may have to be a near-future project. I could get a VHF antenna about 22-25 feet up... would that be enough to get CBS and CW?

I get CBS via analog and the sound is perfect, but the analog video is extremely grainy and goes in and out of color/grayscale.


Should I go with the Channel 7-13 VHF Yagi with the coax signal combiner even though I can't go over 25 feet?

I have a 10 cut vhf courtesy of WRAL. Sent it for free. Thought I might be able to get greenville. Its about 26ft off the ground i would say. Only in a fluke situation have i seen it. Im near ashley high school

I could get a VHF antenna about 22-25 feet up... would that be enough to get CBS and CW?
No way to be sure but to try. If I were you, I would put the VHF on a different mast or at least seperate the two antennas by 4 feet minimum. I would get a VHF only pre-amp, run two lines down to the ground (one for each antenna) The VHF into the pre-amp power supply, then just after the output, I would join the UHF antenna together with the already amped up line with a CM 0549 combiner. Then run that single line to the TV. But for sure run two lines to the ground so you can make changes, and try different hookups until you get a signal, or the best signal. RG-6 coax, quad shield or even RG-11 would be better, but be sure you do NOT use twist on connectors for the coax if you have to make a splice.

I get CBS via analog and the sound is perfect, but the analog video is extremely grainy and goes in and out of color/grayscale.

Channel 9?

I have a 10 cut vhf courtesy of WRAL. Sent it for free. Thought I might be able to get greenville. Its about 26ft off the ground i would say. Only in a fluke situation have i seen it. Im near ashley high school

I remember you telling us that, and I thought it would work, but I had forgotten about the low power analog WILM, and that eats away at any signal you may be getting from DT channel 10. That is on the southern side of Wilmington right?

Ashley is about 4 minutes from carolina beach give or take. about 6 minutes past monkey junction.

I would too like to get CW. I get it from time to time from raleigh. but less lately.

Ive resorted to bluray/hd via htpc as of late. Not as much TV>

The new directv HDPC box has me very excited though.

The thought of media extenders and less mirroring fees is what gets me excited particularly.

i use a media server that feeds media to my htpc as well. i just like to have the news and sports on that are harder to get elsewhere in hd.

i'm not picking up cbs ota analog like i thought, it's abc 12 somewhere.

since a vhf antenna is still cheap i think i'll try it out and see if i can get cbs/cw since i have a good chance in ogden area.

I've seen some posting of channel listings available in the area for those getting the signal OTA.

Is there a place to get a comprehensive list of TWC HD channels available for those of us with a new HDTV, but just a basic cable signal? I have combed the postings here and gathered a few... Was hoping there would be a full listing somewhere. Here is what I have seen so far:


78-03 Fox
78-01 CBS

79-01 UNC-TV (PBS)
79-02 UNC-ED
79-03 UNC-KD
79-04 UNC-NC
79-05 UNC-HD

100-01 WECT (NBC)
100-02 WECT Weather
100-03 WWAY (ABC)
100-04 WWAY Weather

I know some of these are out of date, and I will be exploring to find some, but if you've got the full listing - please share?

i'm not picking up cbs ota analog like i thought, it's abc 12 somewhere.

That's coming out of New Bern NC - Their digital will be on 12 at analog cut off, so the VHF you put up will allow you to receive them as well. Their digital right now is on 48.

One thing too I just noticed is the CBS out of Florence, (channel 13) will go to VHF early next year also, so many of you will want to add VHF at that time or between now and then.
I still am hoping WECT will get on a higher tower. That signal sucks the way it is right now.

Here is what I have seen so far:

78-03 Fox
78-01 CBS

79-01 UNC-TV (PBS)
79-02 UNC-ED
79-03 UNC-KD
79-04 UNC-NC
79-05 UNC-HD

100-01 WECT (NBC)
100-02 WECT Weather
100-03 WWAY (ABC)
100-04 WWAY Weather

I know some of these are out of date, and I will be exploring to find some, but if you've got the full listing - please share?

That is also what I've got...

So I can order basic cable and get QAM HDTV channels through them and get CBS?

How much is it per month?

I noticed WSFX finally took their 26.2 subchannel off the air.

I still am hoping WECT will get on a higher tower. That signal sucks the way it is right now.
I may be wrong but I think the problem with picking up WECT 6.1 (44.1) is that they use a directional antenna (angled either a northeastern or southeastern direction). I can pick them up here in Pembroke sometimes with a rooftop amped vhf/uhf antenna 25 feet off the ground but no where near as consistently as I do WWAY 3.1 and WSFX 26.1.

I saw that to Daryl, on 26.2 - I was hoping they would put something else on there though...

WECT should consider something different, that's for sure or they will be losing a lot of viewers. I would even rather them be on VHF 6 if that's what it takes. Maybe they could get on 9 once analog ends too? I'm not sure if there is another station going with 9 or not.

Speaking of channel 9, what about WSOC-TV (ABC) in Charlotte? How far is their transmitter from Wilmington?

Speaking of channel 9, what about WSOC-TV (ABC) in Charlotte? How far is their transmitter from Wilmington?

WSKY is going to channel 9 and WSOC is vacating 9 to stay on 34.

So I can order basic cable and get QAM HDTV channels through them and get CBS?

How much is it per month?

Yes, that's what I do. It's $8.10/mo (well, TimeWarner anyway), and you'll get all the locals in HD, plus PBS is HD all day, not just 8-11 PM like OTA...

do you get CBS and/or CW with it?

CBS, yes. CW in hi-def, No...

how are all of these stupid teenybopper shows filmed in ILM and we have no freekin CW!!!!


I ask you that.

Rediculous if you ask me. ooooooh oohhhh ooooh .

Maybe we can win the macys One Tree Hill contest, travel to ILM, and kick it with the cast watching OTH in ....nope wont be HD......Gotta get your OTH on with SD in the port city!

Ok im done. Thank god for x264


Maybe we can get a CBS / HD and CW multicast HD by 2009 ?

Foxeng? Heard anything good for the port city?

We get CW, just not HD... :rolleyes:

Seriously though... I agree, they film here, but no HD!

And what ever happened to Surface?? At least that was in HD...

It's fun to watch locally filmed shows to catch the landmarks, but One Tree Hill is just too painful...

Foxeng? Heard anything good for the port city?

Nothing. Nada. Nope.

I ordered basic cable. $7/mo and no activation fee since I have internet.

WSKY is going to channel 9 and WSOC is vacating 9 to stay on 34.

I've tried to figure out WSKY-TV. Is it in the Greenville/Washington/New Bern market? They seem kind of close to Norfolk, VA and their analog channel 3 (CBS) affiliate. Is it possible to receive the analog channel 4 signal heading south towards Wilmington? :confused:

WSKY is near VA. Beach. It's signal doesn't penetrate but the northeast corner of NC. Their analog is on 4

No not possible to get analog. I've only picked it up during a ducting event, back when I was set up to get analog VHF

Now I'm confused. How can they have DT and analog on channel 4 right now? Did they cease analog transmission?

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1134625.html

If you wanna try them, the e-mail address given at their site is programming@wsky4.com. A coverage map at the station only outlines some of the counties in southeastern VA and northeastern NC.

I've seen some posting of channel listings available in the area for those getting the signal OTA.

Is there a place to get a comprehensive list of TWC HD channels available for those of us with a new HDTV, but just a basic cable signal? I have combed the postings here and gathered a few... Was hoping there would be a full listing somewhere. Here is what I have seen so far:


78-03 Fox
78-01 CBS

79-01 UNC-TV (PBS)
79-02 UNC-ED
79-03 UNC-KD
79-04 UNC-NC
79-05 UNC-HD

100-01 WECT (NBC)
100-02 WECT Weather
100-03 WWAY (ABC)
100-04 WWAY Weather

I know some of these are out of date, and I will be exploring to find some, but if you've got the full listing - please share?
I just did a scan with my TivoHD last week. These are the numbers I got:

78-03 CBS
78-13 Fox

79-02, 03, 04, 05, 07 Various UNC-TV (PBS). 07 was the HD station.

100-02 WECT (NBC)
100-04 WECT Weather
100-11 WWAY (ABC)
100-22 WWAY Weather

I don't know why my numbers are different.

If you wanna try them, the e-mail address given at their site is programming@wsky4.com. A coverage map at the station only outlines some of the counties in southeastern VA and northeastern NC.

No need to, as we are way too far down south to even think about getting a signal.

I have Time Warner Cable's Digipic package and would like to know of a cheaper way to get HD. My TV does not have a HD tuner, so if I set up a OTA What hardware am I looking for? (I'm in Castle Hayne.) I will eventually set up a HTPC to DVR HD but I'm really not sure if I'm better off with DirecTV, Dish network, etc. Any opinions are welcome.

As far as I know neither DirecTV nor Dish Network have any of the local network HD channels, which to me, is a big no sale sign!

Up here in Jacksonville this morning I was watching WSFX DT and now notice 26.2 is back up and 26.1 is now featuring Dolby Digital 5.1 surround apparently all day. I was wondering if WECT has added Dolby Digital as well? Perhaps some of you OTA viewers who can receive their signal might check on it?

As far as I know neither DirecTV nor Dish Network have any of the local network HD channels, which to me, is a big no sale sign!
I switched from tw cable to directv about a year ago, mostly for their sports programing and yes no locals in HD but can get them with my attic antenna. that is all except wilm{ch 10} which is not possible. Wasn't there talk 12-14 months ago about ch10 building a low power tower here in wilmington? I know they filed for a permit with the FCC but have not read any updates. Does anyone know if this is going to happen?

they're going to have to by 2009 right?

I checked WECT. Still no Dolby 5.1 --Why they added 5.1 on FOX is confusing, since FOX already has 5.1 during their programming.

they're going to have to by 2009 right?

No. WILM is not a full power station and not under the Feb 17, 2009 dateline.

No. WILM is not a full power station and not under the Feb 17, 2009 dateline.
so even if they did build a tower here in wilmington it wouldn't have an OTA HD signal?

so even if they did build a tower here in wilmington it wouldn't have an OTA HD signal?

According to the FCC database, WILM has a permit to build a digital station on channel 40. They until the beginning of 2010 to build it.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/view_auth.pl?Application_id=1155005&File_number=BDCCDTL-20061010ACD&Callsign=WILM-LD&Facility=167819

According to the FCC database, WILM has a permit to build a digital station on channel 40. They until the beginning of 2010 to build it.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/view_auth.pl?Application_id=1155005&File_number=BDCCDTL-20061010ACD&Callsign=WILM-LD&Facility=167819
So if it's built it should have a hd signal or not? will it be of any help for us without CBS HD? I just hope directv has HD locals soon to end the CBS SD crappy signal that it has now. Sorry for my rant.

So if it's built it should have a hd signal or not?

There is no way to be sure. You might contact WRAL and see if they have any idea, since they are the one who owns WILM.

So if it's built it should have a hd signal or not?

There is no way to be sure. You might contact WRAL and see if they have any idea, since they are the one who owns WILM.
Thanks, I'll see if they respond to my emails. If not I'll try to get someone on the phone.

So if it's built it should have a hd signal or not? will it be of any help for us without CBS HD? I just hope directv has HD locals soon to end the CBS SD crappy signal that it has now. Sorry for my rant.

The following is PURE SPECULATION on my part based on what is known in the public record. I have NOT spoken to ANY representative of WRAL, WILM, Capital Broadcasting or anyone connected in any fashion to WRAL, WILM or Capital Broadcasting.

My guess is they will have HD, but if I had to bet on when it gets built, I would say it would be after the transition because WRAL has to move from channel 53 to channel 48 and be ready to go on Feb 18, 2009. That is where I suspect Capital is putting all of their effect right now. There is currently an analog station on channel 48 in Greensboro that has to vacate and WCTI-DT, New Bern has to vacate back to channel 12 before WRAL can move so that complicates things for them. Of course once they get going on WILM, it shouldn't take long to get it up and going. The antenna that is spec-ed in the CP, I have a channel 35 version of it and it isn't that big or heavy and can be installed fairly easily (as these things go).

Moving WRAL is quite a task and do this while on the air and coordinating with operating analog and digital stations owned by someone else and has their own schedule of when things should happen. WRAL is last in line on this changes to get to channel 48. I don't envy them. So WILM looks like it will have to take a back seat for a little while since the CP is good until January 2010 and WRAL has less than 13 months to make the change to meet the Feb 18, 2009 transition dead line.

Traded emails with Peter Sockett(PSockett@wral.com), Chief Engineer WRAL-TV & WRAL-DT concerning the status of Wilmington tower. He said at the moment they are doing the structural engineering work to finish this project. He said their permit actually is for hanging a antenna on a existing tower. They hope to have all this done finished by the end of this year. He said with a little luck should be transmiting by Nov or Dec. As for a HD signal he said "YOU BET!!!". :D:D:D

Haven't looked at the FCC specs, but will WILM still broadcast at 1mw??? :) (I do mean milliwatt... not Mega)

Ok, not that low power, but darn close...

7.5 Kilowatts is I believe what I saw. It only covers Wilmington, Southern Pender, North and Eastern Brunswick and a small portion of eastern Columbus county. I guess this is just to fill the void in the CBS signals from Florence, SC and Greenville.

Here is the coverage map at the FCC for WILM-LD's channel 40 7.5 kw.

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/LD1155005.gif

I'm picking up WBTW DT and WPDE DT way up north in Jacksonville for most of the afternoon. People with antennas in Wilmington should see these too. 16 (15.1) and 56 (13.1 &.2)

Edited to add WFXB-DT coming in the strongest 18 (43.1 & 2)and video descriptive channel

Did anyone else see WSFX block/freeze a couple of times during the game tonight.... and a few more times during the commercials?

I did... from both my Charter STB and from an OTA antenna.

Pls let me know, I'm hoping to confirm that it's not my TV!

Thx!

Yes, picture became very pixelated 2-3 times over the 4 hours plus some minor audio drop out at other times (only noticeable during commercials).

OTA Antenna
Sidberry Rd (Porter's Neck Area)

There were major atmospheric conditions last night. I actually watched part of the game on
WFXB 43.1 because of the interference. Go to the Greenville NC thread and just look at what happened on cable companies and DIrectv last night because of the ducting. People missed most of the 3rd quarter.

Thank you both for the confirmation.

I have a fairly new DLP and was quite worried that it was at fault.

Is it just my eyes, or has someone been working on the color quality of WWAY?

Check out WECT too! DOLBY 5.1!!!!!! :D

Is it just my eyes, or has someone been working on the color quality of WWAY?

WWAY digital or analog? If they're improving the digital, it's at the expense of analog, which looks like poo-poo... :D

(I watch via TW cable, rarely if ever OTA now...)

Good news on DD5.1 for WECT...

WWAY digital 3.1 Standard def. I don't have a VHF antenna, so I can't take a look at the analog.

NBC in Wilmington is now available in 5.1. Just noticed when when I watched my recording of the Stars/Wings NHL game. Thanks for getting 5.1 here!!

Wendel

Is it just me or has anyone else been getting a black screen on WCET (nbc) OTA every once in a while (1/2 sec when it occurs) the last day or so. Only seems to occur during HD programming. Don't have it happening on my directv feed(sd). Not happening on any of my other OTA feeds?

Yes, I started to notice it yesterday... exactly as you describe. I tried both the TW cable and OTA feed... same dropouts...

Good to know it's just not me. Was beginning to think I had one of my large trees blowing in the wind and blocking my signal.

Is it just me or has anyone else been getting a black screen on WCET (nbc) OTA every once in a while (1/2 sec when it occurs) the last day or so. Only seems to occur during HD programming. Don't have it happening on my directv feed(sd). Not happening on any of my other OTA feeds?

I have seen it on TW cable. Seems to be quite frequent. Anybody know any engineers at WECT?

WECT was acting up when I finally pulled it in yesterday evening. Flashing on and off is what I would say best describes it. I did read on the FCC site that WECT is concerned about their small signal and loss of viewers when analog service ends. They had no solution for it however at this time, but were planning to look into one I think. They are staying on channel 44.

I have seen it on TW cable. Seems to be quite frequent. Anybody know any engineers at WECT?


They must know something is wrong as there was no more HD after around 9:00 PM everything was in SD (even SNL which is supposed to be HD) which was solid.

I first noticed the blackouts during last week's SNL, then again on Monday during Conan. Little or no problems on Tuesday through Thursday during Conan, but Friday was pretty bad.

Also, WWAY has really improved this year. Five episodes of Lost have aired, and every second has been in HD. A huge improvement from last season.

I'm a regular viewer of WWAY and I agree that they have been spot on this season with their HD programming.

Is anybody getting guide data on WWAY-DT 3.1 OTA? I just got a 42" Plasma (replaced 32XBR2 LCD) and it guide data on every channel I get except WWAY.

WECT was acting up when I finally pulled it in yesterday evening. Flashing on and off is what I would say best describes it. I did read on the FCC site that WECT is concerned about their small signal and loss of viewers when analog service ends. They had no solution for it however at this time, but were planning to look into one I think. They are staying on channel 44.

My dad was asking me a few months ago about WECT's digital signal and why he could only get the analog (from SE Lenoir Co.). Thank you for mentioning this as I'll at least have a feasible reason to provide him for the lack of 6's digi.

WECT is on a very short tower for digital and in a different location closer to Wilmington compared to their analog antenna. I do not get them but once in a while in the evenings and mornings, and I'm closer than Lenoir county. WWAY and WSFX will probably reach that area with no problem.

Daryl, Sometimes I get guide data on WWAY and other times I do not. This is about the way it is with most channels I receive however. WSFX is not much better, it will work sometimes, and other times nothing, or it is wrong altogether...

WECT is on a very short tower for digital and in a different location closer to Wilmington compared to their analog antenna. I do not get them but once in a while in the evenings and mornings, and I'm closer than Lenoir county. WWAY and WSFX will probably reach that area with no problem.

Yeah, that's exactly what my dad's getting from ILM via digital in Lenoir Co. (WWAY and WSFX more reliably, but nada from WECT). Thanks for the info!

They must know something is wrong as there was no more HD after around 9:00 PM everything was in SD (even SNL which is supposed to be HD) which was solid.

Today the PGA is supposed to be in HD and it is in SD.

Hi Richard,



Thanks for making sure we were aware of the problems. NBC has been having issues with their HD feed and our local HD satellite receiver. We expect to have the problem resolved today.



Dan Ullmer

WECT/WSFX Chief Engineer

Wilmington, NC

Daryl, Sometimes I get guide data on WWAY and other times I do not. This is about the way it is with most channels I receive however. WSFX is not much better, it will work sometimes, and other times nothing, or it is wrong altogether...
Thanks. I haven't noticed any problem getting PSIP guide data from WSFX. Can't get WECT's weak signal enough to even bother tuning in to them. I use to get data from WWAY (all in capital letters) but don't remember the last time I noticed getting any on my Sony 32XBR2 LCD (Sony's guide sux bigtime) so wasn't sure it was a problem with my Viore plasma (I love Viore's Guide).

It must be my sorry Set top box that is not decoding the PSIP right. I get WECT's PSIP just fine whenever I tune them in. I am not getting PSIP however on PBS either lately. Can anyone tune in the SAP (Spanish) audio option on PBS? I can't seem to get that either...

Damn, barely a storm rolls through, and WSFX goes Tango Uniform for HD...

Sad commentary I suppose when I'm not willing to watch the premier of a new show because the HD feed is messed up... and I was going to watch it live, not DVR'd...

Oh well... the writer's strike really helped me weed out those shows I can live without...

Damn, barely a storm rolls through, and WSFX goes Tango Uniform for HD...

Sad commentary I suppose when I'm not willing to watch the premier of a new show because the HD feed is messed up... and I was going to watch it live, not DVR'd...

Oh well... the writer's strike really helped me weed out those shows I can live without...


Note to the bean counters. HD is a fact of life how about spending a few dollars for a HD compatible character generator? I mean HD isn't going away anytime soon!

There isn't any way to do a crawl in HD right now, at least I don't think there is because all the stations I pick up have to go to SD to show crawls, and bugs. I think stations are going to have to find a way though as analog is ending and digital will be the rule, and more HD is coming out all the time. 12 in New Bern only interrupted Basketball one time, and it was for a Tornado. I saw 26 interrupt Idol briefly for a S. Thunderstorm. Not too bad though, at least they didn't stay on and repeat the same thing over and over. LOL

There isn't any way to do a crawl in HD right now, at least I don't think there is because all the stations I pick up have to go to SD to show crawls, and bugs. I think stations are going to have to find a way though as analog is ending and digital will be the rule, and more HD is coming out all the time. 12 in New Bern only interrupted Basketball one time, and it was for a Tornado. I saw 26 interrupt Idol briefly for a S. Thunderstorm. Not too bad though, at least they didn't stay on and repeat the same thing over and over. LOL

Doesn't WRAL do Weather Crawls in HD? Here, WSPA is displaying Weather Warnings at the top of the screen in HD right now during Jericho. When the time has called, they also have displayed Election Results and School Closings/Delays, as well.

WRAL doesn't show them (crawls) in HD that I know of either. They have always gone back to SD in the past, unless they have upgraded some time recently...

Sad commentary I suppose when I'm not willing to watch the premier of a new show because the HD feed is messed up... and I was going to watch it live, not DVR'd...

Note to complaining viewers. With FOX's splicer, there is no way to insert HD crawls when the splicer is on line. Only dropping back to SD can a station insert a weather crawl. FOX has been hearing from stations on this issue.

After my post, I remembered that it might be a crawl issue, but given the flaky nature of the digital xmitters here, and their apparent sensitivity to the slightest electrical storm, I assumed the worst.

However, when obvious HD commercials were run, they were completely window-boxed (i.e., the aspect ratio was wide screen), and the quality was obviously HD, not SD, and the warning bug was present (also note that they weren't running a crawler that I saw, it was only a static image for tornado watch), when going back to regular programming, it was obviously SD, not even an HD source window-boxed.

What would be the explanation for that? I would have watched if it was HD window-boxed, at least I could have zoomed the image to fill more of the screen...

That static bug on 6 and 26 is hard to read from a distance. They should go to a map system. The alert system on 3 takes up almost the whole screen until it shrinks to the bottom with that strip. If they had 20 counties in their area like the Greenville channels, they would never be able to get away with that all the time.

The alert system on 3 takes up almost the whole screen until it shrinks to the bottom with that strip. If they had 20 counties in their area like the Greenville channels, they would never be able to get away with that all the time.

It sounds like the Baron's Weather Alert system. Most stations use that system. The box will insert a small map in the left corner of radar and other rotating things, with a crawl across the bottom (called lower third) of the counties involved. Here in the Triad, we have about 25 counties we watch for weather. To run though twice, which is the recommended, it may take 30 minutes or more if most or all of the counties are included, like last night. We kept it up through the entire showing of New Amsterdam. The system is only available in SD currently. Because of the tornado watches and warnings that kept coming and going, we never were able to get off of it. Current FCC rules require stations to provide visual alerts when life is in danger like a tornado watch or warning. We don't have much choice.

It sounds like the Baron's Weather Alert system. Most stations use that system. The box will insert a small map in the left corner of radar and other rotating things, with a crawl across the bottom (called lower third) of the counties involved. Here in the Triad, we have about 25 counties we watch for weather. To run though twice, which is the recommended, it may take 30 minutes or more if most or all of the counties are included, like last night. We kept it up through the entire showing of New Amsterdam. The system is only available in SD currently. Because of the tornado watches and warnings that kept coming and going, we never were able to get off of it. Current FCC rules require stations to provide visual alerts when life is in danger like a tornado watch or warning. We don't have much choice.

It may be baron, but not positive. When it first comes in the regular programming screen shrinks to the right and top, and it's got an L banner with lightning bolts in the background and counties over it with a flashing map of whatever counties are in a warning at the time. This is during the first full run of the crawl, as the crawl repeats the second time, a good sized box pops up with their live radar in it until that repeat crawl goes through, then they shrink it to a black strip across the whole bottom of the screen with the individual counties watch and warning cycling through. (no map)

On 7 and 9 they have a small map in the left corner with a scroll going from right to left just to the right of the map. It isn't that distracting. 12 has a better setup though I think because the position of the map is lower down along with the crawl. 9 hardly ever uses their map anymore, just a crawl and it takes a while to figure out who they are saying is warned, however CW 9.2 uses the map.

Getting guide data on WWAY-DT 3.1 again but not much and it's still all capitalized. At least now I know it's them and not my tv.

Note to complaining viewers. With FOX's splicer, there is no way to insert HD crawls when the splicer is on line. Only dropping back to SD can a station insert a weather crawl. FOX has been hearing from stations on this issue.


Thanks for the clarifcation and I know you can't do anything about this but I am curious why Fox hasn't addressed this. Didn't they just pass 5 years as an HD network?

Thanks for the clarifcation and I know you can't do anything about this but I am curious why Fox hasn't addressed this. Didn't they just pass 5 years as an HD network?

Check out the "Raleigh, NC - HDTV" Thread at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=147473 . This has been a very heated topic on that particular thread and Foxeng has posted how Fox has addressed this particular issue. The link to the post is here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13317203&postcount=9091

Thanks for the clarifcation and I know you can't do anything about this but I am curious why Fox hasn't addressed this. Didn't they just pass 5 years as an HD network?

Just a reminder that I do not work for WSFX or any station in the Wilmington market. I work for WGHP, the FOX O & O in the Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem market so I have no first hand knowledge of WSFX or any station in the Wilmington market.

Does anyone know if any of the ACC Tournament games will be aired in HD on WSFX?

Not that I've been watching much of anything lately, but when I tune to either WECT or WWAY, the last few days it seems to be in SD. And the WWAY SD is looking particularly lousy.

Golf on Sat was HD, on Sunday it was SD (WECT I think?)...

FOX 26 is broadcasting the ACC basketball game in HD! :D

FOX 26 is broadcasting in HD! :D

Haven't they been?

Yes, for quite some time now...

Not the ACC basketball games, but they are today.

Well, since you edited your original post to specify basketball games... never mind...

Ok, I'm new to the forum, but I know I'm not getting any local channels in HD. Direct TV says I had to put in a waiver, and even then I would be getting channels from NY and LA, not ILM. I am in Leland, how can I get the locals in HD, watching the games and races on regular digt. sucks. Any help?

Ok, I'm new to the forum, but I know I'm not getting any local channels in HD. Direct TV says I had to put in a waiver, and even then I would be getting channels from NY and LA, not ILM. I am in Leland, how can I get the locals in HD, watching the games and races on regular digt. sucks. Any help?

It's a super hi-tech method... OTA, over the air antenna...

Good luck with the waiver stuff, maybe when hell freezes over (who knows, with global warming, maybe hell will freeze! :))

One of these days satellite will carry local stations in HD, but Wilmington is so far down on the DMA list that it will be a long, long time. Hell, we can't even get a CBS analog station with enough power to pick up OTA let alone in HD (although they do have a channel set aside and permit to erect their antenna for a digital/HD signal, but it will also be a while before that happens).

Your only choice for CBS-HD is via cable, and even then, I don't know if anyone other than TimeWarner has CBS in HD. (Well, technically you have other choices, if you can put a directional antenna up high enough, and run it with a pre-amp, you might be able to pick up WBTW Florence/Myrtle Beach, or WNCT Greenville/New Bern)

But you should easily be able to pick up WWAY, WECT, WSFX and WUNJ by antenna. But since you have DirecTV, and AFAIK their receivers don't have an OTA antenna input, you'll have to run an antenna direct to your tv--which should have a digital receiver built-in.

Not a real integrated solution, but that's likely the only way you'll see HD...

Ok, I'm new to the forum, but I know I'm not getting any local channels in HD. Direct TV says I had to put in a waiver, and even then I would be getting channels from NY and LA, not ILM. I am in Leland, how can I get the locals in HD, watching the games and races on regular digt. sucks. Any help?

ABC, NBC, FOX, PBS HDTV are all very easy to get. The channel master 4221 or 4228 will do it. CBS HD will be the hardest as Marc said. Depending on where exactly you are will determine if CBS is possible and which one might work. WBTW is UHF until next Feb when it goes to channel 13, and WNCT is and will stay on channel 10. Either way a VHF antenna will be needed at some point between now and then.

On February 17th, 2009 when WBTW goes to channel 13, I expect their signal will reach Wilmington much easier than it does now, but by then the local CBS is supposed to be already on the air.

I have had directv for awhile now and have done the waviers thing from time to time. no way no how, all will turn you down. only option is OTA but still no CBS. i'll still keep trying the waviers as maybe one will slip by. directv is to launch another sat tomorrow so maybe locals will be coming end of this year or next.

Looks like every game in HD!


http://www.timewarnercable.com/CarolinaMerge/programming/sports/ncaamulticast.html