Hello - Can someone recommend a good HDTV Antenna. I am currently using one that was provided when I had voom. I have this connected to the built in tuner on the television. I have not been able to get CBSHD and ABCHD comes and goes. I was looking at the Terk TV36. Thanks to anyone who responds

Originally posted by akadennis
Hello - Can someone recommend a good HDTV Antenna. I am currently using one that was provided when I had voom. I have this connected to the built in tuner on the television. I have not been able to get CBSHD and ABCHD comes and goes. I was looking at the Terk TV36. Thanks to anyone who responds Just about everybody's favorite indoor antenna for HDTV reception is the Zenith (or Gemini) Silver Sensor. I have one in Brooklyn and I get just about everything (not WCBS though...). You can find them for around $25 online. Terks have a bad rep. Good luck, Dan

After the combiner went up, I was happy with the increase in signal strength I was getting, except for UPN. I lost that completely. So I tried stacking my Silver Sensors to see how that would improve things. BIG improvement on everything, except WABC went completely dead. So I can't win. Of course, I'll take ABC over UPN, but is this the way things are going to be? Are we giving up analog only to force consumers into cable and satellite? I suppose it's only us city dwellers and those of us in the outer lying areas who have these problems...but... Am I whining? I don't want a pony, I just want my deserved free air waves!

A few questions about the Silver Sensor -

From my window only I have line-of-sight to the ESB. If I were to get a Silver Sensor would it need to be pointed towards the window or in the direction of the ESB?

If the latter, how well will it pick up a signal if I'm about 50 ft from the front of the building, which is composed of brick, concrete, and steel?

I get the major HD stations through cable but we don't get UPN or WB yet and was looking at this as an option. My TV has a built-in ATSC tuner.

Thanks.

May have missed it, but has anyone estimated how long it typicially takes to tweak a combiner?

There's such variations in reception, no signals, etc., etc., that I sometimes suspect an organized group of workers have decided to 'milk' the combiner tweaking for overtime as long as possible. Used to get the trade tower from my Midtown location but can't tune any HD station now. -- John

The combiner is tweaked. You are experiencing Digital UHF from ESB.

Originally posted by ElVee
I'm in Jersey City, a mere 4 miles away from ESB (according to 2150 and antennaweb), and do not get even a whiff of channel 13. All other locals come in rock solid at about 70 degrees. I can rotate my CM4228 almost 10 degrees in either direction and still get them. Channel 13 is supposed to be at 64 degrees for me and I've rotated the antenna, in 1 degree increments, from 50-80 and get nothing.

Can we get a definitve answer to if/when WNET channel 13 will be on the combiner?

ElVee, I get Ch13 (the main channel and 2 sub-channels) pretty solid in JC with a Silver Sensor indoor antenna.

I am directly on the NY Harbor, though.

Originally posted by wojtek
ElVee, I get Ch13 (the main channel and 2 sub-channels) pretty solid in JC with a Silver Sensor indoor antenna.

I am directly on the NY Harbor, though.

I'm only about 1 mile from the Hudson River. Antenna-wise, I'm 1.9 miles from the old WTC ground zero site and 3.9 miles from ESB (think a right triangle, with WTC being the right angle).

According to 2150, they're at 60.3 degrees while everything at ESB is at 70.6 degrees. Again, I get everything from ESB rock solid. Maybe because channel 13 is at low power (2.66 Kw at 309 ft)?

My CM4228 is mounted on the roof of a 4 story brownstone. While I don't have a direct view of ESB, the building that is blocking my sight is one of the Newport towers, whbich is probably 1.5 miles or so away.

By the way, with this antenna turned towards Philly, I've been able to get channel 3 (78 miles away) on occasion, so I'm surprised that I can't even get a whiff of 13.

In the meantime, I guess I'll keep trying to rotate the antenna.

Thanks.

Originally posted by ElVee
I'm only about 1 mile from the Hudson River. Antenna-wise, I'm 1.9 miles from the old WTC ground zero site and 3.9 miles from ESB (think a right triangle, with WTC being the right angle).

According to 2150, they're at 60.3 degrees while everything at ESB is at 70.6 degrees. Again, I get everything from ESB rock solid. Maybe because channel 13 is at low power (2.66 Kw at 309 ft)?

My CM4228 is mounted on the roof of a 4 story brownstone. While I don't have a direct view of ESB, the building that is blocking my sight is one of the Newport towers, whbich is probably 1.5 miles or so away.

By the way, with this antenna turned towards Philly, I've been able to get channel 3 (78 miles away) on occasion, so I'm surprised that I can't even get a whiff of 13.

In the meantime, I guess I'll keep trying to rotate the antenna.

Thanks.

Maybe you can try the Silver Sensor. Best Buy had these, and if it does not work you can always return it. Amazing little indoor antenna.

Anyone know whats up with WPAX 31.1.

Originally posted by DanC-P
Just about everybody's favorite indoor antenna for HDTV reception is the Zenith (or Gemini) Silver Sensor. I have one in Brooklyn and I get just about everything (not WCBS though...). You can find them for around $25 online. Terks have a bad rep. Good luck, Dan

Thanks for responding Dan - I am in Brooklyn also and get everything but CBSHD and ABCHD comes and goes. My signal strength ranges from 54 to 87. 87 being Fox and 54 being ABC and NBC. I don't know if an indoor antenna will do the trick, granted I have not tried the ones you mentioned. I did try 2 Terk indoor antennas and returned them both. Do you know where I can purchase the Zenith or Gemini? By the way which one do you have?

lately on the D* HD feed of WNBC- there's a pink, green, or purple tinted stripe accross the top of the picture. I am currently aimed at philly so i'm not sure if its D* or WNBC- are you guys seeing it OTA? My wife put on will and grace last night and i almost had a coronary that my display was in need of repair. Switching to another channel showed it's was only WNBC.

George Thompson- do you know anything?

Help!! I still can not get WNBC channel 28 OTA. Everything else from NYC is coming in at > 80%. Is this a multipath issue or simply the signal pattern? I noticed a few other people posting here can not pick up WNBC. I noticed many of them reporting from towns basically in a straight line east between me and NYC. This is leading me to believe the problem is the transmission signal pattern.

What's happening with ABC? No signal on 7-1,-2. Picture and sound appear on 45-1,-2 and no re-direct to 7-1,-2.

michaelk - D* takes an offair feed for WNBC-DT. It most likely is something they are inducing. It is not what is seen in L-Control. (Local Control).

Signalseeker- I have not seen a detailed contour map for ESB Ch28, so I can not give you an explaination. I have a feeling that there is a difference between a predicted contour and an actual one from what I see here, however slight. Also remember that ground effects due to terain play a major part of your reception.

GT

Originally posted by Signalseeker
Help!! I still can not get WNBC channel 28 OTA. Everything else from NYC is coming in at > 80%. Is this a multipath issue or simply the signal pattern? I noticed a few other people posting here can not pick up WNBC. I noticed many of them reporting from towns basically in a straight line east between me and NYC. This is leading me to believe the problem is the transmission signal pattern.
I've never gotten a glimmer of a picture from WNBC-DT, either before or after the combiner. (WCBS-DT, WNYW-DT and WABC-DT are usually reliable.) Since the combiner went on, I've picked up WWOR-DT a couple of times with break-up and, on just one, fleeting, rainy night, I picked up WPIX-DT with break-ups. For me, then, the combiner hasn't made any difference except that my WABC-DT signal isn't as strong and reliable as it was after they boosted power in late summer at the Conde Nast Building. Oh well, as they say in Haiti, "...plus ca change,..."

Originally posted by akadennis
Thanks for responding Dan - I am in Brooklyn also and get everything but CBSHD and ABCHD comes and goes. My signal strength ranges from 54 to 87. 87 being Fox and 54 being ABC and NBC. I don't know if an indoor antenna will do the trick, granted I have not tried the ones you mentioned. I did try 2 Terk indoor antennas and returned them both. Do you know where I can purchase the Zenith or Gemini? By the way which one do you have? I have the Zenith, but I am told they are absolutely identical -- some get branded "Zenith" while others go under the 'Gemini" brand name. I have read a lot of stories of people having very little luck with a wide variety of indoor antennas (especially Terks) before getting excellent results with the Silver Sensor. I wouldn't give up yet on indoor antennas! I got mine online (through a private seller listed on Amazon). You might try a search on this thread though as there was a discussion not too long ago about where they can be purchased in NYC. I got best results when I moved the antenna up to the third floor -- try that if it's an option.

Good luck,

Dan

I have had very good results with the radioshack double bow tie indoors. The fact that it is flat makes it really flexible in terms of placement options. I hung it in my window with some fishing line and a plant hook. When the shades are closed you don't even notice its in the living room.

Thank you George and S2. It has been driving me nuts trying to get WNBC, thankfully I can get it on D*, though I prefer the OTA signal. Soon after the combiner went live I got WNBC in at a high percent >80, for about 3 days and since then nothing. Go figure.

Originally posted by George Thompson
michaelk - D* takes an offair feed for WNBC-DT. It most likely is something they are inducing. It is not what is seen in L-Control. (Local Control).

Signalseeker- I have not seen a detailed contour map for ESB Ch28, so I can not give you an explaination. I have a feeling that there is a difference between a predicted contour and an actual one from what I see here, however slight. Also remember that ground effects due to terain play a major part of your reception.

GT
thanks!

now i know to call Directv to complain.

Originally posted by s2silber
I've never gotten a glimmer of a picture from WNBC-DT, either before or after the combiner. (WCBS-DT, WNYW-DT and WABC-DT are usually reliable.) Since the combiner went on, I've picked up WWOR-DT a couple of times with break-up and, on just one, fleeting, rainy night, I picked up WPIX-DT with break-ups. For me, then, the combiner hasn't made any difference except that my WABC-DT signal isn't as strong and reliable as it was after they boosted power in late summer at the Conde Nast Building. Oh well, as they say in Haiti, "...plus ca change,..."

According to this site, if you're getting WABC-DT, I'm not sure why you're not getting WNBC-DT from your Latitude and Longitude. Take a look and see what I mean:

http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp?latitude=41%2E2781&longitude=%2D73%2E8746&magnetic_north=%2D13%2E25&range=150&sort=distance&show_expired=False&show_construction=False&show_analog=False&show_low_power=False&action=Show+Stations

Maybe a different type of antenna would help?

/steve

Something strange is going on tonight. I'm in central NJ and always get NY NBC and ABC perfectly. NBC's been cutting out all night and ABC is reporting as 45-1 rather that 7-1...just as others are reporting.

Tom

Originally posted by ElVee
I'm only about 1 mile from the Hudson River. Antenna-wise, I'm 1.9 miles from the old WTC ground zero site and 3.9 miles from ESB (think a right triangle, with WTC being the right angle).

According to 2150, they're at 60.3 degrees while everything at ESB is at 70.6 degrees. Again, I get everything from ESB rock solid. Maybe because channel 13 is at low power (2.66 Kw at 309 ft)?

My CM4228 is mounted on the roof of a 4 story brownstone. While I don't have a direct view of ESB, the building that is blocking my sight is one of the Newport towers, whbich is probably 1.5 miles or so away.

By the way, with this antenna turned towards Philly, I've been able to get channel 3 (78 miles away) on occasion, so I'm surprised that I can't even get a whiff of 13.

In the meantime, I guess I'll keep trying to rotate the antenna.

Thanks.

Still can't get channel 13.

I'm starting from scratch.

Antennaweb says that channel 13 is at 70 degrees from me and at frequency 13. 2150 says channel 13 is at 64 degrees and is at frequency 61. I tend to believe 2150 because it seems more up to date.

Can anyone tell me which frequency is correct?

Don't know about WNBC which I'm getting perfectly well in NE Queens. But for the last few evenings, WABC has not been remapping to Ch. 7.

Originally posted by ElVee
Still can't get channel 13.

I'm starting from scratch.

Antennaweb says that channel 13 is at 70 degrees from me and at frequency 13. 2150 says channel 13 is at 64 degrees and is at frequency 61. I tend to believe 2150 because it seems more up to date.

Can anyone tell me which frequency is correct?

It's 61. But they are broadcasting at low power and aiming south. You're probably too far west to receive it until it goes on the combiner.

Originally posted by ElVee
Still can't get channel 13.

I'm starting from scratch.

Antennaweb says that channel 13 is at 70 degrees from me and at frequency 13. 2150 says channel 13 is at 64 degrees and is at frequency 61. I tend to believe 2150 because it seems more up to date.

Can anyone tell me which frequency is correct?
Channel 13 Analog is on VHF13; antennaweb apparently isn't giving you info on Channel 13's digital signal on UHF61.

The info used at 2150.com is purely the FCC database info; and it's not exactly the most accurate data all the time -- believe it or not -- especially when things are being changed by the station. But what else can you rely on if the FCC doesn't even have it right? :) Hopefully someone in the know will answer. (Not saying the info is definitely wrong, of course; just mentioning the FCC data isn't quite up to snuff all the time.)

But for sure, VHF13 is not the digital signal.

Originally posted by tld
Something strange is going on tonight. I'm in central NJ and always get NY NBC and ABC perfectly. NBC's been cutting out all night and ABC is reporting as 45-1 rather that 7-1...just as others are reporting.

Tom

Funny thing---my wife complained to me this AM as she sat down to watch some stuff she'd recorded off of 4-1....and noticed that Medical Investigation has some sections of b/t 3-6 minutes of black screen or no sound. When I checked my signals from all the NYC OTA stations most everything is a solid 100 on my Hughes E86.

Also---I started getting an *almost* lockable signal on digital 36. I didn't get a chance to go to Doug's site. What's 36?? :confused:

Originally posted by jaypb
Funny thing---my wife complained to me this AM as she sat down to watch some stuff she'd recorded off of 4-1....and noticed that Medical Investigation has some sections of b/t 3-6 minutes of black screen or no sound. When I checked my signals from all the NYC OTA stations most everything is a solid 100 on my Hughes E86.I recorded Medical Investigation on D* and had the same dead spots you mentioned on your OTA.

So far I still cannot recieve NBC via the OTA since the combiner when up. I receive CBS, UPN and FOX rock solid on OTA. How is that possible if they are all on the combiner?

Originally posted by dswallow
Channel 13 Analog is on VHF13; antennaweb apparently isn't giving you info on Channel 13's digital signal on UHF61.

The info used at 2150.com is purely the FCC database info; and it's not exactly the most accurate data all the time -- believe it or not -- especially when things are being changed by the station. But what else can you rely on if the FCC doesn't even have it right? :) Hopefully someone in the know will answer. (Not saying the info is definitely wrong, of course; just mentioning the FCC data isn't quite up to snuff all the time.)

But for sure, VHF13 is not the digital signal.

Thanks Doug.

So, unless we hear otherwise, I should be able to get channel 13's digital sinal on UHF61?

It's odd, because the HR10-250 does not list it as channel 61. In fact, when I add Philadelphia as my second local area, the PAX channel 61 from Philadelphia shows up instead.

Originally posted by Gary Quiring
I recorded Medical Investigation on D* and had the same dead spots you mentioned on your OTA.

So far I still cannot recieve NBC via the OTA since the combiner when up. I receive CBS, UPN and FOX rock solid on OTA. How is that possible if they are all on the combiner?

Are you able to get ANY signal on 4-1 according to your STB? I'm pretty sure there are others in your area on this board who can get NBC OTA. Try the Central Jersey Forum if you get a chance. Also, as George said a few posts before this one I'm not sure exactly what NBC's contour map looks like for their signal coverage....but Matawan isn't *too* far from me....so you should get SOME sniff of a signal.

How's your signal on ABC-OTA?

AFA the issue with Medical Investigation and WNBC, I also had a chance to watch an episode of "Joey" recorded off of 4-1 and the volume was all mangled....voices were nearly inaudible while laugh tracks and background noise were booming. Then the picture went from 16:9 to 4:3.

Originally posted by jaypb
Are you able to get ANY signal on 4-1 according to your STB? I'm pretty sure there are others in your area on this board who can get NBC OTA. Try the Central Jersey Forum if you get a chance. Also, as George said a few posts before this one I'm not sure exactly what NBC's contour map looks like for their signal coverage....but Matawan isn't *too* far from me....so you should get SOME sniff of a signal.How's your signal on ABC-OTA?
I am not techie on the signal strength and how it works. My logic is if they are all on the same combiner how is that I get some? I am using a HR10-250 for my OTA.

2-1 Rock solid
4-1 Zero
5-1 Rock solid
7-1 Zero
9-1 Almost rock solid
11-1 Flaky at times

Gary, just up the road from you in E Brunswick, I get NBC on 4-1 pretty solid.

It's been discussed here previously, but very simply -
each station on the Combiner has its own individual power limit
and its own individual frequency.

Even though all the signals are emanating from the same location, frequency differences can play a huge difference in the quality of
reception. This is especially true when it comes to the reception
of multipath signals.

Also, although WNYW-DT transmits from the Empire State Building,
it is not part of the Combiner project, the station has its own antenna
on the building. The FCC has authorized the station to increase its
power to become the most powerful station in the market, but I believe
that the increase has not happened as of yet.

Gary

Originally posted by Gary Quiring
I am not techie on the signal strength and how it works. My logic is if they are all on the same combiner how is that I get some? I am using a HR10-250 for my OTA.

2-1 Rock solid
4-1 Zero
5-1 Rock solid
7-1 Zero
9-1 Almost rock solid
11-1 Flaky at times

What type of antenna are you using? Pre-amp? One level home? Outdoor antenna? I'm sure you probably heard these questions before....but as someone who's been through the TORTURE of gleaning OTA signals I *tried* not to leave ANY stone unturned before I FINALLY gave up on gleaning the signals (For me, it was the Philly market back in 2003/2004 before the NYC OTA's lit up again....)

I posted about problems with CBS before.

I dont get it 4-1, 5-1,7-1,9-1,11-1 no problems. Signal strength is still good. CBS was rock solid last night for hours not a single dropout.

Today I turned it on and my signal strength is way low and I get no signal.

I know its raining but how could this possibly be if all the other channels dont have issues.

They even fixed 58-5.

I just dont understand. The CM4228 should have fixed all this.

Anyone else having issues with 2-1. I am in Mountainside,NJ. That is right about 20 miles from the ESB.

I started thinking and realized I stoped receiving ABC when it went up on the combiner. Prior to the combiner I had a pretty good signal on many days. I cannot find a listing of the channels but started looking for a signal on any channel. I found a strong signal on 45-1 which turns out to be ABC. I don't know why but my 7-1 does not work. The signal strength for 45-1 is good but I get no digital identifier like I do on the other channels.

What channel is NBC on? I tried antennaweb.org but I don't see ABC or NBC in digital.

Anyone know how to tell the HR10 Tivo where ABC really is? I tried clearing the channels and I also did a power cycle with no luck.

This is good news, as my main interest in OTA is to build a MythTV box. I was not going to invest in the hardware until I was certain I could receive the primary networks on OTA.

WNBC-DT broadcasts over Channel 28.

Originally posted by Gary Quiring
I started thinking and realized I stoped receiving ABC when it went up on the combiner. Prior to the combiner I had a pretty good signal on many days. I cannot find a listing of the channels but started looking for a signal on any channel. I found a strong signal on 45-1 which turns out to be ABC. I don't know why but my 7-1 does not work. The signal strength for 45-1 is good but I get no digital identifier like I do on the other channels.

What channel is NBC on? I tried antennaweb.org but I don't see ABC or NBC in digital.

Anyone know how to tell the HR10 Tivo where ABC really is? I tried clearing the channels and I also did a power cycle with no luck.

This is good news, as my main interest in OTA is to build a MythTV box. I was not going to invest in the hardware until I was certain I could receive the primary networks on OTA.

Gary i've also had problems getting WABC-DT since the combiner. i'm only .75 mi from the ESB but when ABC broadcast from Times Square it was solid. now it almost never comes in.
The channel mapping issue sounds like a PSIP problem-either your tuner isn't reading it or ABC's PSIP generator is screwy. that's only a guess-anyone else having the same problem? Maybe George T. has some info. ?


jim

Originally posted by Gary Quiring
I started thinking and realized I stoped receiving ABC when it went up on the combiner. Prior to the combiner I had a pretty good signal on many days. I cannot find a listing of the channels but started looking for a signal on any channel. I found a strong signal on 45-1 which turns out to be ABC. I don't know why but my 7-1 does not work. The signal strength for 45-1 is good but I get no digital identifier like I do on the other channels.

What channel is NBC on? I tried antennaweb.org but I don't see ABC or NBC in digital.

Anyone know how to tell the HR10 Tivo where ABC really is? I tried clearing the channels and I also did a power cycle with no luck.

This is good news, as my main interest in OTA is to build a MythTV box. I was not going to invest in the hardware until I was certain I could receive the primary networks on OTA.

I'm having the same mapping problems the last few days with ABC-DT and the HR10-250. I would assume that it's a temporary problem. We had that a few weeks ago and it was resolved. Hopefully they fix it before 'Lost' on Wednesday. (don't know if it's new, for anyone interested)

Same problem with ABC re-mapping to 7-1 from 45-1 on my hdtivo. It's really annoying when this happens. I might have to start switching all my ABC season passes to directv ch 86.

I contacted channel 13.
The HDTV signal is directed at Newark so it can only be seen by a few viewers in that immediate area.
They are planning on moving the HDTV signal to the Empire State Building
later this year, but no definite date has been set.
Of course I was reminded I could shell out more money to the cable companies and get the broadcast from them. No thanks

Originally posted by tstatguy112
I contacted channel 13.
The HDTV signal is directed at Newark so it can only be seen by a few viewers in that immediate area.
They are planning on moving the HDTV signal to the Empire State Building
later this year, but no definite date has been set.
Of course I was reminded I could shell out more money to the cable companies and get the broadcast from them. No thanks

I'd think Jersey City would have a chance to get channel 13 HD. I'm not in an exact direct line from midtown to Newark, but pretty close.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.752686%2C-74.077829&spn=0.119629%2C0.226858&z=5&hl=en

Originally posted by kcn823
Same problem with ABC re-mapping to 7-1 from 45-1 on my hdtivo. It's really annoying when this happens. I might have to start switching all my ABC season passes to directv ch 86.

Me too! Except that I am using a Toshiba DLP TV with built-in tuner. Used to get ABC at 7-1, but now there's no signal, even though the signal meter shows good signal strength for channel 45. Cleared out my settings and rescanned many times with no luck.

Same problem here with 7-1 now remapped to 45-1. I noticed this problem last friday when I recieved the "F" update for my Hd-Tivo. Maybe this has something to do with it ???

Originally posted by bs77
Same problem here with 7-1 now remapped to 45-1. I noticed this problem last friday when I recieved the "F" update for my Hd-Tivo. Maybe this has something to do with it ???

Same here on my HD TiVo. No problems on my 921 though.

What the hell is up with NBC any more. It seems to wait for important prime time shows to cut out on me. I was getting it perfectly since they went to the combiner, and my system certainly hasn't changed. Any one else have this problem lately? As I said earlier, I'm in central NJ.

It's not like the signal starts getting dodgy or anything either...it goes from perfect to totally gone, and then comes back later on.

Tom

Originally posted by tld
What the hell is up with NBC any more. It seems to wait for important prime time shows to cut out on me. I was getting it perfectly since they went to the combiner, and my system certainly hasn't changed. Any one else have this problem lately? As I said earlier, I'm in central NJ.

It's not like the signal starts getting dodgy or anything either...it goes from perfect to totally gone, and then comes back later on.

Tom

I've had 10-15 minute dropouts on all NBC shows since Friday (Medical Investigation, Trial by Jury and Croosing Jordan). WTF?!

Wow...am I glad it's not just me! Get this...after I lost NBC tonight I checked my signal strength and I had a steady 80%. It's got to be something on their end.

Tom

Originally posted by dturturro
I've had 10-15 minute dropouts on all NBC shows since Friday (Medical Investigation, Trial by Jury and Croosing Jordan). WTF?! I am not sure if OTA is effected tonight (Monday) but Medium via D* has been on/off all evening.

Originally posted by Gary Quiring
I am not sure if OTA is effected tonight (Monday) but Medium via D* has been on/off all evening.

Oh it's an OTA issue as well. Once again the wife complained when Las Vegas was all SNAFU'D once again. Numerous black screen issues, as well as the standard 16:9 to 4:3 screen at least 3-4 different times.

:mad:

Guess it's unanimous. ABC remapped to 45-1 and 45-2. Don't worry about Lost Mikeny, it's another repeat. The best thing about the past weekend was getting to switch back and forth between the hd feed on CBS 2-1, and the national feed of a different game on 2.

at 4:14 am on 3/22/05 all the over the air digital channels are down.

except for:
Channel 44 - WNYW-DT (FOX)
Channel 36 - I believe Univision (spanish) - don't know the call letters
Channel 53 - WFUT-DT Telefutura (spanish)
Channel 51 - WNJN-DT (PBS)
Channel 29 - WFME-DT (Christian programming)




WCBS-DT, WNBC-DT, WABC-DT, WWOR-DT, WPIX-DT, WPXN-DT, WXTV-DT (spanish - channel 40) are all down.

at 4:14 am on 3/22/05 all the over the air digital channels are down.

except for:
Channel 44 - WNYW-DT (FOX)
Channel 36 - I believe Univision (spanish) - don't know the call letters
Channel 53 - WFUT-DT Telefutura (spanish)
Channel 51 - WNJN-DT (PBS)
Channel 29 - WFME-DT (Christian programming)




WCBS-DT, WNBC-DT, WABC-DT, WWOR-DT, WPIX-DT, WPXN-DT, WXTV-DT (spanish - channel 40) are all down.

I am sorry, I meant to post this in the NYC OTA thread, but instead created a new thread,

In that case, I would like to change the thread's name to "all the over the air digital channels are down in New York City"

I figured out how to change the name of the thread. All is O.K>

I just checked my digital channels via Cablevision, SA4200HD box at 4:25 a.m. and:

Channel 702 (WCBS-DT) = down
Channel 704 (WNBC-DT) = live
Channel 705 (WNYW-DT) = live
Channel 707 (WABC-DT) = live
Channel 713 (WNET-DT) = live - this is irrelevant because it is not available over the air


I guess this means that Cablevision receives the digital feeds of WNBC-DT and WABC-DT via fiber optics directly feed from the station.

WNYW-DT and WCBS-DT are received by Cablevision using conventional means (antenna)

I just checked my digital channels via Cablevision, SA4200HD box at 4:25 a.m. and:

Channel 702 (WCBS-DT) = down
Channel 704 (WNBC-DT) = live
Channel 705 (WNYW-DT) = live
Channel 707 (WABC-DT) = live
Channel 713 (WNET-DT) = live - this is irrelevant because it is not available over the air


I guess this means that Cablevision receives the digital feeds of WNBC-DT and WABC-DT via fiber optics directly feed from the station.

WNYW-DT and WCBS-DT are received by Cablevision using conventional means (antenna)

Originally posted by jaypb
Also---I started getting an *almost* lockable signal on digital 36. I didn't get a chance to go to Doug's site. What's 36?? :confused:

WNJU-DT. Telemundo Spanish. Been on the air from the same site as WFME-DT 29 (religious) for a while at low power.

- Trip

Originally posted by Trip in VA
WNJU-DT. Telemundo Spanish. Been on the air from the same site as WFME-DT 29 (religious) for a while at low power.

- Trip

In keeping with the spirit of Telemundo I say.....Gracias.

:D

My Sony HD100 gets ABC at 7-1 just fine. My HD Tivo doesn't, but remaps to 45-1. Seems like a HD Tivo problem. What's the fix?

Threads Merged.

Frustrating thing has been happening since Friday night. I usually record NBC OTA in the NY area on 4.1, and the last 5 NBC HD shows I've tried to record all show in the now playing list as being 1-hour recordings, but in reality are about 40-50 minutes long and are missing random parts of the shows.

I'd love to blame 3.15f for this, but it's apparently just NBC! 24 and CSI:Miami taped just fine last night, e.g., along with HDNet and several SD channels.

The shows I lost were Medical Emergency and Law & Order: Trial by Jury on Friday night, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Crossing Jordan on Sunday night, and Medium last night (Monday).

Anyone experiencing anything similar? I'm wondering if I should switch my seasons passes to NBC on D* instead? I've been recording NBC OTA since last fall with no problems, until this week-end.

Thanks.

/steve

Frustrating thing has been happening since Friday night. I usually record NBC OTA in the NY area on 4.1, and the last 5 NBC HD shows I've tried to record all show in the now playing list as being 1-hour recordings, but in reality are about 40-50 minutes long and are missing random parts of the shows.

I'd love to blame 3.15f for this, but it's apparently just NBC! 24 and CSI:Miami taped just fine last night, e.g., along with HDNet and several SD channels.

The shows I lost were Medical Emergency and Law & Order: Trial by Jury on Friday night, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Crossing Jordan on Sunday night, and Medium last night (Monday).

Anyone experiencing anything similar? I'm wondering if I should switch my seasons passes to NBC on D* instead? I've been recording NBC OTA since last fall with no problems, until this week-end.

Thanks.

/steve

Originally posted by jaypb
Oh it's an OTA issue as well. Once again the wife complained when Las Vegas was all SNAFU'D once again. Numerous black screen issues, as well as the standard 16:9 to 4:3 screen at least 3-4 different times.

:mad:

My recording of Law & Order CI from Sun, 3/20 had the same symptoms. Bad timing also, like during the opening scene when they found the "vic".
You need to try to figure out who died. :eek:

Originally posted by sluciani
Frustrating thing has been happening since Friday night. I usually record NBC OTA in the NY area on 4.1, and the last 5 NBC HD shows I've tried to record all show in the now playing list as being 1-hour recordings, but in reality are about 40-50 minutes long and are missing random parts of the shows. I'd love to blame 3.15f for this, but it's apparently just NBC! 24 and CSI:Miami taped just fine last night, e.g., along with HDNet and several SD channels. The shows I lost were Medical Emergency and Law & Order: Trial by Jury on Friday night, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Crossing Jordan on Sunday night, and Medium last night (Monday). Anyone experiencing anything similar? I'm wondering if I should switch my seasons passes to NBC on D* instead? I've been recording NBC OTA since last fall with no problems, until this week-end.

Thanks.

/steve

Funny you say that, because I've become so fed up with the 4.1 anomalies that I switched my "L&O Trial By Jury" SP to 82 (the DirecTV HD feed) and it lost about 10 minutes or so of last week's episode. There were two 5-minute blocks of blackness from the satellite feed. It's the only HD NBC show that I have an SP for, so I don't know if it's happened on others.

Originally posted by sluciani
Frustrating thing has been happening since Friday night. I usually record NBC OTA in the NY area on 4.1, and the last 5 NBC HD shows I've tried to record all show in the now playing list as being 1-hour recordings, but in reality are about 40-50 minutes long and are missing random parts of the shows.

I'd love to blame 3.15f for this, but it's apparently just NBC! 24 and CSI:Miami taped just fine last night, e.g., along with HDNet and several SD channels.

The shows I lost were Medical Emergency and Law & Order: Trial by Jury on Friday night, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Crossing Jordan on Sunday night, and Medium last night (Monday).

Anyone experiencing anything similar? I'm wondering if I should switch my seasons passes to NBC on D* instead? I've been recording NBC OTA since last fall with no problems, until this week-end.

Thanks.

/steve

Yes, the same thing happened to me last night with Medium on my HR10-250. It only recorded about 40 minutes, and the middle of the show was missing.

Is anyone else not able to get the WABC digital broadcast at 7-1 and 7-2 on the HR10-250? I have not been able to bring it in since last Wednesday or Thursday. I read somewhere here that it was remapped to 45-1 and I was bringing that in, but then I rescanned my channels and now that won't come in either. This happened before when the Combiner first went up, I couldn't bring in CBS at 2-1 . The remapped channels coming through doesn't help either because there is no guide information for them.

Post #4813 merged in.

Originally posted by GoldenBoy
Yes, the same thing happened to me last night with Medium on my HR10-250. It only recorded about 40 minutes, and the middle of the show was missing.

I posted this over on the Tivocommunity forum as well, and apparently it's been happening to a few folks, even recording NBC via D* and Cablevision. Guess the problem is with the NBC East source broadcast from the ESB.

I'm relieved to know it's not something with my set-up, but sorry to hear others are having problems as well.

/steve

I have been having the same trouble with NBC. I noticed that 4.1 cuts out ramdomly and at the same time D* ch.82 (NBC-HD) is offline. But D* ch.4 (NBC-SD) works fine. So it appears it is strictly an NBC digital problem.

Just checked my HR10-250 and 7-1 is back where its supposed to be :)

I did do a rescan a couple of hours ago, dont know if that had anything to do with it.

Originally posted by GoldenBoy
Yes, the same thing happened to me last night with Medium on my HR10-250. It only recorded about 40 minutes, and the middle of the show was missing.

It's not just a problem with D*, I had the same drop outs on my 921 with last night's Medium. I see tonights Will & Grace recorded the full show. It was in SD so I wonder if it's NBC HD equipment? Anyone have NBCs engineering dept phone number?

7-1 is back for me as well!

Tony

L&O:SVU recorded OK last night (Tuesday), so I"m hopeful NBC NY fixed whatever was wrong yesterday.

/steve

I have 7-1 and 7-2 back as well.

Mine is back, too. 7-1 OK. But I still switched to DirecTV's HD locals, for my season passes,just in case.

Originally posted by RZ
Mine is back, too. 7-1 OK. But I still switched to DirecTV's HD locals, for my season passes,just in case.

D*'s HD locals are rebroadcast from the same transmitter you're getting your OTA from. They do NOT have a fiber connection. The only way this would save you is if the problem was from your antenna.

dturturro,

RZ was referring to the recent ABC-DT OTA remapping problem which has plagued the HD Tivo.

It had nothing to do with the antenna.

If you had your recordings scheduled to record "7-1" you would have recorded nothing, even with a signal strength of 100 at uhf 45.

RZ was just questioning the future reliability of the Tivo's remapping.

Does anyone know what happened to WNYE Ch. 24? It seemed to have split into 24-1 to 24-4 with no video signal since few days ago.

Originally posted by RZ
Mine is back, too. 7-1 OK. But I still switched to DirecTV's HD locals, for my season passes,just in case.

Just my luck :(

I switched my season passes from 7-1 OTA to Directv 86,
I was very dissaponted to find out that Lost & Alias didnt record last night!!

The heavy wet snow we got covered my dish and the signal went out

I didnt notice this to afterwards because I was watching OTA which wasnt affected by the snow!!! Go Figure.....

I just cant win :(

Originally posted by sluciani
L&O:SVU recorded OK last night (Tuesday), so I"m hopeful NBC NY fixed whatever was wrong yesterday.

/steve

Any reports on WNBC-DT HD OTA from Wednesday night?

Wednesday night's L&O was OK. Wife reports tonight's "Joey" was OK as well.

/steve

It wasn't HD for me. Black bars on the left and right.

Mike

Last nights trial by jury by way of MyHD recording has audio problems. Little tiny clicks or breakups.


edit: Program got worse further in

Haven't watched TBJ yet, but I was flipping channels last night and noticed that there were also audio problems with Medical Investigation, which was on NBC HD from 9-10.

The weather in the NYC area was fine last night, so it appears there are still some unresolved NBC equipment problems, dating back to Friday, 3/18, by my reckoning.

/steve

The program was not HD about 2/3 through. Whatever they are going through over there I hope they get it worked out. This is going on two weeks now.

I had to dump Medical Investigation, TBJ and Leno due to the audio break ups.

Elsewhere, viewers indicate that NBC's digital 5.1 audio breakups were 'cured' by switching a receiver to PCM, or using plain stereo out from a receiver/cable converter. -- John

Cheers Mates, First time posting here. Searched the forums and didn't find my answer. What is the deal with WNBC-DT. I am 45 miles north of ESB and behind a hill. I get everything except WNBC. It just sits at 49% then will jump to 60 for a second then then back down to 49. Maybe bounce to 0 for a second. Do you gents think this is a problem with my antenna aiming or is that signal level just too low.

WCBS 69%
WNBC bounces 0%-60% sometimes with picture
Fox 67%
WABC 70%
WWOR 74%
WPIX 64%
WFME-D(29.1) 70%
WXTV(41.1) 75%
WNJN 63%
WFUT 63%
WNJU 49% no picture currently - not that I need this station

So gents, antenna aiming? I peaked on WABC when I set it up yesterday.

Michael.

Anyone else seeing WNJU (71-1?) on their STB programming guide??

I did a rescan the other night (as I was having issues with 4-1) and my STB (D* RCA DTC210) acquired WNJU's signal....but it's in the guide as 71-1 (right after SHO-HD for you D* users). I believe it is analog 47 (and digital 36) but it comes up on my guide as 71-1.

Odd. Is that the "national designation" for this spanish network ("Digital" 71)?


:confused:

Originally posted by John Mason
Elsewhere, viewers indicate that NBC's digital 5.1 audio breakups were 'cured' by switching a receiver to PCM, or using plain stereo out from a receiver/cable converter. -- John


Yeah, by the time I suspected that might help I had erased the file. Not much of a cure but at least you can watch the show without endagering your sanity. Glad to have confrimation it would have worked!

Originally posted by jaypb
Anyone else seeing WNJU (71-1?) on their STB programming guide??

I did a rescan the other night (as I was having issues with 4-1) and my STB (D* RCA DTC210) acquired WNJU's signal....but it's in the guide as 71-1 (right after SHO-HD for you D* users). I believe it is analog 47 (and digital 36) but it comes up on my guide as 71-1.

Odd. Is that the "national designation" for this spanish network ("Digital" 71)?


:confused:

Shows up on my E* 811 as 71-01 WNJU.

Originally posted by mciaio
Cheers Mates, First time posting here. Searched the forums and didn't find my answer. What is the deal with WNBC-DT. I am 45 miles north of ESB and behind a hill. I get everything except WNBC. It just sits at 49% then will jump to 60 for a second then then back down to 49. Maybe bounce to 0 for a second. Do you gents think this is a problem with my antenna aiming or is that signal level just too low.

WCBS 69%
WNBC bounces 0%-60% sometimes with picture
Fox 67%
WABC 70%
WWOR 74%
WPIX 64%
WFME-D(29.1) 70%
WXTV(41.1) 75%
WNJN 63%
WFUT 63%
WNJU 49% no picture currently - not that I need this station

So gents, antenna aiming? I peaked on WABC when I set it up yesterday.

Michael.

I would try aiming the antenna while trying to receive WNBC. Even though ABC and NBC are transmitting from the same antenna on the ESB, the difference in channel frequency ( Ch45 vs Ch28 ) do affect the propagation and the amount of reflected signals received. It sounds like you are getting a lot of multipath on NBC as evidenced by the deep fades to zero and peaks to 60% in signal strength. If possible you might try moving the antenna a few feet up or down on the mast and see if this makes any difference. As a last resort you might try moving the antenna to a location a few feet away. At UHF frequencies, the signal wavelength is only on the order of a foot or less, so a small change in antenna location can make a big difference.

It seems that you must be in a pretty good location if you can receive all these stations from Mahopac. I can barely receive WNJU at all and I am at least 25 miles closer to their transmitter.

I was watching Superman 2 yesterday on Turner Classic Movies and in one scene one of the guys goes barrelling into the broadcast tower on top of the Empire State Building causing it to crash to the ground. Was I the only one who started crying, "Come on. After waiting that long for the combiner? There goes my HDTV!" :(

Originally posted by ElVee
I'd think Jersey City would have a chance to get channel 13 HD. I'm not in an exact direct line from midtown to Newark, but pretty close.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.752686%2C-74.077829&spn=0.119629%2C0.226858&z=5&hl=en

Anyone having any luck getting WNET channel 13 in HD yet?

Originally posted by Taget
I was watching Superman 2 yesterday on Turner Classic Movies and in one scene one of the guys goes barrelling into the broadcast tower on top of the Empire State Building causing it to crash to the ground. Was I the only one who started crying, "Come on. After waiting that long for the combiner? There goes my HDTV!" :(

That's just too cruel of a thought to even consider!

As far as i know there is'nt one person in Nassau and Suffolk who receives 13 in HDTV, how many million is that? Six people in Newark receive 13 in HD, all on the same street, but keep those checks coming in, to pay for that fancy building on the westside. I'm referring to OTA.

Originally posted by LINDELLTOM
As far as i know there is'nt one person in Nassau and Suffolk who receives 13 in HDTV, how many million is that? Six people in Newark receive 13 in HD, all on the same street, but keep those checks coming in, to pay for that fancy building on the westside. I'm referring to OTA.


And let's not forget that Channel 13 was allowed to buy Channel 21 because they had the deep pockets to get them into digital transmission. Anybody see
WLIW-DT lately? Nope

Originally posted by mondesign
I would try aiming the antenna...It sounds like you are getting a lot of multipath on NBC as evidenced by the deep fades to zero and peaks to 60% in signal strength. If possible you might try moving the antenna a few feet up or down on the mast...

It seems that you must be in a pretty good location if you can receive all these stations from Mahopac. I can barely receive WNJU at all and I am at least 25 miles closer to their transmitter.

Thanks for the input, I just got down from the roof, I moved the antenna up about a foot on the mast and re-aimed. Some signals went down and some went up, but now I am getting all the channels watchable. Funny thing is I came home last night and was able to watch SNL with only minor drop outs. I couldn't even watch WNBC yesterday morning. I guess time of day makes a difference.

WCBS was 69% now 62% get on E* anyway
WNBC was 0%-60% sometimes with picture now 67%
Fox was 67% now 70%
WABC was 70% now 73%
WWOR was 74% now 78%
WPIX was 64% now 69%
WFME-D(29.1) was 70% now 70%
WXTV(41.1) was 75% now 79%
WNJN was 63% now 63%
WFUT was 63% now 61%
WNJU was 49% now it didn't rescan in

Right now picture on 9-01 seems to be frozen but working on 5-02. Maybe just my crappy E* 811 STB.

My reception is in big part to my Channel Master 4228 and Channel Master 7775. My house is at about 650 feet above sea level. It's a three story house and the antenna is on a 10 foot mast. That puts the antenna at about 700 feet. The antenna is pointed right at a couple of tall trees 100 yards in front of it and a 900 foot hill 1000 yards in front of it. I consider reception of HDTV a freakin' miracle here. It's got to be the antenna, gotta be the best one you can get.

Take a look:

hdtv.computers-unlimitedny.com

My 11.1 was out this evening. UHF33. I didn't see any other mention of this...Is this just me?

Originally posted by seldenpat
My 11.1 was out this evening. UHF33. I didn't see any other mention of this...Is this just me?

Had problem too. Just tried it at 23:15 and I got it

Silver Sensor/cabling question:

I picked up the antenna and was able to get 4.1, 7.1, 9.1/9.2, 11.1 - signal in the 60s. Can't get CBS or WNET - signal strength too low in the 20s.

I would like to move the antenna near the window and this would require me running about 30 ft of cable to do so. Would this be a problem? Would I need an amp?

I'm less than 2 miles away from ESB and from the window I have line of sight to the antenna. However the location of the TV is deep inside the apt so I'm guessing that's why I have limited reception.

Thanks in advance.

You can always add the amp later. I would try just the cable first and see what happens.

As you probably already know, the amp needs to be located at the antenna end, not the receiver end, if you do have to use one.

/steve

30 feet isn't really THAT long of a cable run. Make sure it's RG-6, preferably Quad shield. That will minimize loss/interference.

30 feet isn't really THAT long of a cable run. Make sure it's RG-6, preferably Quad shield. That will minimize loss/interference.

You probably won't get WNET until it moves to the ESB.

Anyone having trouble with NBC tonight. 9:10 PM

It is probably due to the torrential downpour. I received NBC without problem though. 11.1 was a bit flaky.

For me, the rain means better reception. I got 38 steadily and 33 with breakups. The last time I got any signal at all on those channels was the last another night of heavy rain a month or so ago.

I'm having trouble with the audio on WWOR-DT--it's very choppy. Anyone else? My signal is good, so I imagine it's at the source.

Originally posted by trekkerj
I'm having trouble with the audio on WWOR-DT--it's very choppy. Anyone else? My signal is good, so I imagine it's at the source.
Yes, I got the same thing during Veronica Mars.

Originally posted by Unoriginal Nick
Yes, I got the same thing during Veronica Mars.

Same for me too.....BTW...for months I've been getting audio dropouts on 5-2.
Anyone else get that too?

I live in Manhattan on the 25th floor of a high rise. I bought the Sony KDE 50" and want to get the antenna for HDTV -

Will I be able to get HDTV through the antenna with all the buildings around?
Is HDTV through the antenna better or worse than through the cable company?

Threads merged.

Originally posted by mw390
Same for me too.....BTW...for months I've been getting audio dropouts on 5-2.
Anyone else get that too?

Why are you even watching 5-2? That's low bandwidth SD.

Can anyone recommend the best value antenna to get for manhattan apartment buildings.

Also, do I need to hang the antenna out the window?

Originally posted by jkellynewyork
Can anyone recommend the best value antenna to get for manhattan apartment buildings.

Also, do I need to hang the antenna out the window?

I also live in a Manhattan high-rise.

You are entering very interesting and frustrating "terrain!"

First, I assume that from where you are located, you do not have line-of-sight to the top of the Empire State Building - i.e., you can't see it from one of your windows.

Even if you had line-of-sight, you will be plagued by multipath signals. They are signals from the transmitting antenna being reflected by various buildings between you and the the antenna. That complicates things, but in a perverse way can help you. You can, as I, aim an antenna to pick-up a strong/quality multipath signal.

My living room windows face West and I have placed a Silver Sensor indoor antenna on the window sill and point it South/Southwest.

The Silver Sensor is available on-line and at Sears. The important thing is to make sure that you can return the antenna ($20-$30 or so) if it doesn't do the trick for you.

Digital UHF reception can be difficult and to non-engineers incomprehensibly illogical.

I would not consider an antenna with an amplifier. You would more than likely overload the front end of your tuner with too strong of a signal.

Experimentation - walking the antenna around your apartment will be the drill.

Hope this helps.

Gary

Excellent Gary!! Thank you very much. I am on east 87 street and facing the west side and I dont see the Empire State Building, but I will try out what you say.

I am very excited to compare the difference between HDTV and regular analog cable tv!!

hi & welcome jkelly-!!!

i have to echo Gary's advice. i also have the Silver Sensor & it works VERY well with a little fiddling. mostly trial & error to find a sweet spot where you can pick good signals. i'm not familar with your Sony display but it does have a built-in ATSC tuner? otherwise you'll need to invest in an outboard tuner.
whether HD is better OTA or cable/satellite gets debated a lot--i have Directv for the big four networks and i honestly can't see any significant difference-but that's just my opinion. i can tell you your efforts in getting OTA signals will be worth it! up to 6 chs. with at least some HD content(7 when[if] WNET-DT gets on the combiner). i can say that the SD content on the digital chs DOES look cleaner than anything on cable-just remember you'll be stuck with pillar boxing(black or gray bars on the sides) on non-HD programming. part of the signal-usually can't be stretched. good luck with it all!!

jim

I live in Central New Jersey (50 miles from ESB), and I get WOR, WPIX, FOX, CBS, ABC all in the 80-90 strength range. However, I cannot get the NBC much above 60, mostly 50's which is not enough to prevent occasional breakups.

Being that these are all transmitted from the same location, can someone advise on why this would consistently be this way.

I've been struggling with my Silver Sensor for months. Able to get most channels, but always missing one or two because of multipathing. So the other night I tried stacking two Silver Sensors to try to reduce multipath. It helped increase reception to most, but I still lost others. I tried a lot of different angles before I finally gave up and got caught up in a program. About an hour later as I was lying there, one of the Silver Sensors fell off the high book shelf it was on. Since it was stacked with another one, it was just dangling there, and the other antenna flipped on its side, still at the top of the book shelf. So, for kicks, I ran through the channels - and I get them ALL, perfectly. So do I leave these things hanging off the side of my book shelf forever? Perfect HD takes priority over "the look" of my apartment anyday.

Originally posted by Swisher
I've been struggling with my Silver Sensor for months. Able to get most channels, but always missing one or two because of multipathing. So the other night I tried stacking two Silver Sensors to try to reduce multipath. It helped increase reception to most, but I still lost others. I tried a lot of different angles before I finally gave up and got caught up in a program. About an hour later as I was lying there, one of the Silver Sensors fell off the high book shelf it was on. Since it was stacked with another one, it was just dangling there, and the other antenna flipped on its side, still at the top of the book shelf. So, for kicks, I ran through the channels - and I get them ALL, perfectly. So do I leave these things hanging off the side of my book shelf forever? Perfect HD takes priority over "the look" of my apartment anyday. A good story that shows that reception is more art than science. Dan

Sorry to interupt this thread.....

****A moment of silence to those brave souls who lost their lives on September 11th while working at their NYC tower stations so that we would have better reception.****

"B'casters Hall honors 9/11 techs"
By DAVID HINCKLEY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The New York State Broadcasters Association sounded a note of poignancy last night as it announced the first 29 inductees to its Hall of Fame.

Alongside broadcast giants like Walter Cronkite and CBS founder William S. Paley, the association inducted six men it calls the "9/11 Engineers," television engineers killed while working at their tower stations in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

They are Steven Jacobsen of WPIX/Ch. 11, William Steckman of WNBC/Ch. 4, Gerard (Rod) Coppola of WNET/Ch. 13, Isaias Rivera and Bob Pattison of WCBS/Ch. 2 and Donald DiFranco of WABC/Ch. 7.

It seems that channel 4 signal is not as strong the past week . The signal is 4 bars on my Samsung 451 With break ups. Has anybody else having this problem. All the other station from the ESB are strong and steady.

Originally posted by Swisher
I've been struggling with my Silver Sensor for months. Able to get most channels, but always missing one or two because of multipathing. So the other night I tried stacking two Silver Sensors to try to reduce multipath. It helped increase reception to most, but I still lost others. I tried a lot of different angles before I finally gave up and got caught up in a program. About an hour later as I was lying there, one of the Silver Sensors fell off the high book shelf it was on. Since it was stacked with another one, it was just dangling there, and the other antenna flipped on its side, still at the top of the book shelf. So, for kicks, I ran through the channels - and I get them ALL, perfectly. So do I leave these things hanging off the side of my book shelf forever? Perfect HD takes priority over "the look" of my apartment anyday.

I am constantly moving my SS. One day they are all good then the next day, one or two are flakey.

I've had strange multi-path issues with CBS since the beginning. Basically when it rains the CBS signal goes from a solid 100 to a fluctuating unusable mess. I've posted this condition awhile back and others have mentioned similar problems.
I've tried a VHF/UHF combo and a RS corner reflector and they reacted identically. I recently installed a Wineguard SS-1000 (same mast, same height, same coax) and with todays rain I am now claiming success! The WCBS Signal is rock solid. I believe the SS-1000 is circularly polarized so it reacts differently to multi-path. Also, analog UHF stations show less ghosting than with the other conventional antennas. FYI
-Phil

Originally posted by HoundBaby
It seems that channel 4 signal is not as strong the past week . The signal is 4 bars on my Samsung 451 With break ups. Has anybody else having this problem. All the other station from the ESB are strong and steady.

Yes,

NBC-DT has been weaker for me (high 50s at best) over the last few days but UPN-DT has been much worse.

It was only about 2 weeks ago that NBC-DT became reliable for me. (mid 60s) I wonder if they are still tweaking.

UPN has been breaking up all week, with dramatic drop offs from the 50's.

I usually get that in the 70s but I find that it gets much worse during the weekends. (I have seen this many weekends in a row, not even talking about today) Do they cut power on the weekend?

For the record, I still can't see video on Channel 33 for PIX but at 12 it's in the 60's.

FOX, ABC and CBS are all in the 70's to 80s.

Just checked NBC 4.1 still at 40% with Breakups. It was at 70%/ 80% a week ago with no problems. Just checked WPAX 31.1 it is back up. at 70 % with no breakups. All the other channels from the the ESB combiner 2.1,7.1,9.1,11.1 have no problems. All reading 10 bars or 100% on my Samsung 451 receiver. There must be something up with 4.1.

I thought Star Trek Enterprise was an HD broadcast? Watching on UPN HD and it is in SD.

the repeats on sunday are not in HD

Has anyone else seen audio lip sync problems with Ch 21.2? I first noticed it on Friday and it seems to have continued all weekend. The 21.3 subchannel seems to be fine, so I dont think it is my receiver.

Why is that, I wonder? Are the repeats not a national feed, so local UPN doesn't have the tape/equipment to play it back in HD? Is it more expensive in some way to broadcast HD and not worth it for a repeat?

Anyone gotten through to CBS to see if they'll switch here from standard Thur-Fri afternoon programs to the 1080i (true-HD) CBS network feed of the Masters? I've called, left e-mails, but haven't heard. -- John

I have a Samsung SIR-T165 STB. It has the latest version of firmware (134?). Tonight when I tried to tune in 5-1 or 9-1, the STB would lock up and I had to disconnect the antenna to change to other channels. When it locked up, there was a glimpse of video and sometimes the audio turned into "echo." The SD co-channel 5-2 and 9-2 worked fine. Other channels including 2-1, 4-1, 7-1, 50-5 all worked fine so I don't think the STB has a problem to display HD. Both 5-1 and 9-1 worked fine until tonight.

I am also having problem with 25-2 and 25-3. There used to be only one digital channel 24-1 from WNYE but it became two subchannels a few weeks ago. The STB displays "Stereo Sound" on the screen but not video. There is actually no sound when I turn the volume up. At least 25-2 won't lock up the STB but 25-3 will.

Is this only a SIR-T165 problem? I just did a rescan and it didn't help.

Ykavs I had the same problem with my T 165. Slow to start up too. Had echo on 5-1, I turned it off and then back on and the echo went away. I didn't have any problems recording 24. I haven't tried channels 25-2 or 25-3, but 9-1 relocated to 5-2 the last time I did a scan.

acebreathe, thank you for the information. 5-2 is SD version of 9-1 (UPN).

5-1 and 9-1 are back to normal tonight. The problem for 25-2 and 25-3 (channel 24) is still there.

By any chance, does anyone know what was different in the signals for 5-1 and 9-1 last night?

Originally posted by ykavs
5-1 and 9-1 are back to normal tonight.

By any chance, does anyone know what was different in the signals for 5-1 and 9-1 last night?

I don't know about the signal levels but the audio on Veronica Mars was choppy once again.

Yes, the sure were. I emailed WWOR about that, but haven't heard back. I hope Enterprise isn't like this next week. Only a few more of those to go, they could at least have good audio. Luckily the delay introduced by my TiVo matches the OTA broadcast delay almost, so I was able to use an alternate audio source and maintain decent lip sync.

The audio is still choppy during "Veronica Mars" on UPN. This is the third week in a row.

beat me to it. I emailed upn9.

Originally posted by trekkerj
beat me to it. I emailed upn9.

So did I. The more corroborating emails they have, hopefully, the more likely they will look into it. Just for the sake of comparison with those having similar issues, I am viewing Veronica Mars on my HD Tivo and listening to it via my Yamaha RX-V795. Don't know if it is supposed to be broadcast in Dolby Digital, but the Yamaha indicates Dolby Pro Logic.

Originally posted by monetnj
So did I. The more corroborating emails they have, hopefully, the more likely they will look into it. Just for the sake of comparison with those having similar issues, I am viewing Veronica Mars on my HD Tivo and listening to it via my Yamaha RX-V795. Don't know if it is supposed to be broadcast in Dolby Digital, but the Yamaha indicates Dolby Pro Logic.

Got back an email from UPN 9 this morning. Hopefully this issue will get resolved:

--
Thank you for your recent email. We appreciate that you have taken the
time to write to us and notify us with your concerns regarding our
transmission. We have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate
personnel and begun checking our feeds. Thanks again for contacting
us.



Sincerely,
Viewer Services

Here's my response:
Thank you for notifying us of your concerns. We will pass along your
information to the proper personnel and if necessary check with our
distributor. Thanks again for your contacting us.



Sincerely,


Viewer Services





Maybe this will be taken care of. The only shows on UPN I watch are Veronica Mars and Enterprise. I don't know if it's just been Veronica Mars with the problem, as Enterprise has been in repeats until this Friday, so we'll see.

can you guys post the email you use for UPN? The one I try on their website gets bounced by a fox server someplace.

I want to email them to ask that they carry the Yankees in HD now that the Yes network does.

I just go to upn9.com, hit "contact us" at the top of the page, and use the 'programming' email link.

that's what i tried last week but it got bounced- i guess maybe i was just lucky...

let me try again...

Originally posted by trekkerj
beat me to it. I emailed upn9.

Me too. I got this back:

Thank you for your recent email. We have received several complaints regarding this and are investigating the problem. Thanks again for notifying us with your concerns.

Are the WPIX home games in HD?

I can't get strong enough signal for WPIX-DT OTA to check it my self.

Originally posted by icemannyr
Are the WPIX home games in HD?

I can't get strong enough signal for WPIX-DT OTA to check it my self.

Yes, it's in HD.

Originally posted by icemannyr
Are the WPIX home games in HD?

I can't get strong enough signal for WPIX-DT OTA to check it my self.

Yes and they looked very sharp. Too bad they don't carry most of the home games. They have to share it with MSG and FSN's Cablevision channels :mad:

Newbie here in bayside, queens 11 miles from empire state building...

want to buy that sanyo 32" and was wondering if i'll have problems getting ota hdtv with a zenith zhdtv1hdtv/uhf antenna. here's the catch:

my apt faces north, ie., i can't see the empire state building. will i get hdtv reception? right now on my 19" analog tv, i get mediocre analog reception with rabbit ears so i use my apt's time warner cable line w/o a stb to get the local channels, at no charge of course.

Originally posted by PDPnNJ
Yes and they looked very sharp. Too bad they don't carry most of the home games. They have to share it with MSG and FSN's Cablevision channels :mad:

Ahhhh....damn! I forgot they were on Ch.11 today. IIRC, they are on again tomorrow as well.

Seeing them in HD will be a first as (like most of the area) it's my first MLB season with 11-1.

:p

I caught a bit of the Mets game on PIX-HD. Looked good. I couldn't see much difference from what I am seeing on YES-HD on Directv for the Yanks.

Originally posted by dan57
I caught a bit of the Mets game on PIX-HD. Looked good. I couldn't see much difference from what I am seeing on YES-HD on Directv for the Yanks.

Yeah, with all the Directv PQ bashing threads I thought the OTA Mets games would be better than the YESHD games. They look the same to me.

Originally posted by dm145
Yeah, with all the Directv PQ bashing threads I thought the OTA Mets games would be better than the YESHD games. They look the same to me.

Keep in mind, WPIX is multicasting on 11-2 as well. Not sure if it's totally separate feed or just a different audio feed with the same video feed since right now 11-2 is also broadcasting the game in HD but in Spanish.

However, I agree with you. D*'s PQ is not that bad like other people may think.

However, I agree with you. D*'s PQ is not that bad like other people may think. I find the Directv PQ to be exactly the same as OTA. Are we blind, or do the others have dish issues?

Originally posted by sabt
Newbie here in bayside, queens 11 miles from empire state building...

want to buy that sanyo 32" and was wondering if i'll have problems getting ota hdtv with a zenith zhdtv1hdtv/uhf antenna. here's the catch:

my apt faces north, ie., i can't see the empire state building. will i get hdtv reception? right now on my 19" analog tv, i get mediocre analog reception with rabbit ears so i use my apt's time warner cable line w/o a stb to get the local channels, at no charge of course.

hi sabt

i'm afraid all i can suggest is give it a try & see if it works. does the Sanyo TV you mention have a built-in ATSC tuner? if not you'll need an outboard tuner @$2-300.
i CAN tell you that the Silver Sensor is VERY good indoor antenna-its worth a try. make sure you can return it if it doesn't work.
if you have the $'s you might consider an HDTV with ATSC & QAM digital tuners. then your TWC cable drop will give you all the UNscrambled digital cable chs. as of now that includes(i think) the big 4 networks(no WB or UPN yet) plus PBS, Disc HD & TNT-HD. good luck with what you choose!!

jim

Originally posted by dm145
Yeah, with all the Directv PQ bashing threads I thought the OTA Mets games would be better than the YESHD games. They look the same to me.

I thought the same thing as I looked at the grass at Shea (didn't say to myself, "Wow, I can see individual blades!") as well as the crowd in the background (they didn't look "clear")

For my money, I STILL haven't found comparable PQ to the HDNET College baseball games I saw in 2003....though I do wish I was able to see the MLB games that were on HDNET back in 2002 :mad:

Originally posted by HDntheCity
hi sabt

i'm afraid all i can suggest is give it a try & see if it works. does the Sanyo TV you mention have a built-in ATSC tuner? if not you'll need an outboard tuner @$2-300.
i CAN tell you that the Silver Sensor is VERY good indoor antenna-its worth a try. make sure you can return it if it doesn't work.
if you have the $'s you might consider an HDTV with ATSC & QAM digital tuners. then your TWC cable drop will give you all the UNscrambled digital cable chs. as of now that includes(i think) the big 4 networks(no WB or UPN yet) plus PBS, Disc HD & TNT-HD. good luck with what you choose!!

jim
thx jim. The sanyo does have an atsc tuner. originally i was using a regular antenna that came with an older tv. I was getting HD in cbs, abc, fox, and wb. when i was watching cold case (cbs) and jack&bobby (wb), i wasn't impressed with the HD. I thought something was wrong cause it didn't look like HD, just regular dtv; I guess that's how it is on a 32" tv.

then i tried the cable line and i got all the channels in HD plus pbs and discovery. discovery hd and pbs is amazing...now that's HD!!!! the hd for the major networks suck...

is the HD pic quality from the cable different than OTA??? i couldn't tell the difference with the networks...

Originally posted by sabt
the hd for the major networks suck...
.

You must watch

American Idol
LOST
Desperate Housewives
CSI:Miami

Then come back and talk about HD.

Originally posted by PDPnNJ
You must watch

American Idol
LOST
Desperate Housewives
CSI:Miami

Then come back and talk about HD.
I saw Idol...not bad HD; not great either...haven't seen the others but overall, network HD is no comparison to Discovery or PBS...that's a shame...

Also, NBC says, through various HD tv listings, they have their primetime programming in HD...i'm not getting the HD they are promising...(Las Vegas on Monday was not HD, contrary to what was listed in HDTVgalaxy.com)

The stuttering audio was still around during "Veronica Mars" again. :(

Please, anyone with an update of their own efforts at receiving PBS in HD or an update on the state of preparations to broadcast PBS in HD around the metro area -- Please do post up whatever meager bits of news or comment you've come across this past month!
There have been no WNET- HD updates from any members these 4 weeks (and certainly not any official word - their record remains unblemished on that count, even as their appeals for member support ring out - all in 480i natch).

Thanks guys!

PBS HD from NJN was coming in stronger than usual yesterday at Freq 8 (58-5) and Freq 51 (52-5, I think). Did they boost the signal? Stength was in the mid 60s. It normally cracks the 50s every few minutes which gives a nice pixelated frozen screen.

Last night it was clear and steady though in the 60s..

I am in Secaucus, NJ. What, and where, is a good antenna to get to pick up OTA HD stations? I can see most of midtown manhattan from my window. There are a few trees in the way but for the most part I can see midtown fine.

My OTA HD-Tivo recording of last night's "House" on Fox mysteriously ended after only 46 minutes. Wondering if I've got a Tivo problem, or if there was a transmission problem with FOX-HD last night?

I'm in Westchester county, about 20 miles NE of the ESB. My Fox signal strength is usually 90-92 out of 100.

Anyone else experience anything similar?

/steve

Originally posted by muadib
I find the Directv PQ to be exactly the same as OTA. Are we blind, or do the others have dish issues?

I think it depends on what your display resolution and viewing distance is. On my 50" plasma at about 10 feet, OTA signals are definitely sharper than their D* equivalents, but not so much so that I'd be unhappy if I could no longer receive OTA.

D* is apparently doing a much better job of not "overcompressing" these signals than in the past. 6 months ago, the difference was much more obvious, in my opinion.

/steve

anyone know if channel-9 will be doing their Yankee games in HD? They dont bother to reply to any of hte emails i've sent

NYC pre combiner was farily worthless to me, I had intended to aim around back at NY when the combiner got done. But with the lack of PBS in high power on the combiner, I am perfectely content with aiming my antenna at philly and getting D*'s big 4 NY from the sat, but if channel 9 is actually going to do the games in HD, maybe i need to go upstairs and aim back towards new york.

Can't get NJN again. Last night must have been an atmospheric anomaly when it was coming in.

Whats with 31.1 PAX

I can't be the only one tuning in for Revelations at 9pm can I be??? :confused:

Once again.....no HD on 4-1....or at least not from the get-go....amazing!
:mad:

Edit: It went to a commercial....at 9:11 (eerie) and when it came back at 9:14 it was in HD.

Anyone else having reception issues with FOX (WNYW) tonight? It may just be atmospheric, but FOX is usually one of my strongest signals. Tonight I was getting major breakups.

Originally posted by sluciani
My OTA HD-Tivo recording of last night's "House" on Fox mysteriously ended after only 46 minutes. Wondering if I've got a Tivo problem, or if there was a transmission problem with FOX-HD last night?

I'm in Westchester county, about 20 miles NE of the ESB. My Fox signal strength is usually 90-92 out of 100.

Anyone else experience anything similar?

/steve Had no problem recording House Tuesday night, but I'm not using a tivo. The transmission was fine so you may have a tivo problem.

my hd tivo worked fine for house.

same problem with revelations, it goes to HD after first commercial. Its kind of annoying and it is the second time they did it wrong

Originally posted by shappyss
same problem with revelations, it goes to HD after first commercial. Its kind of annoying and it is the second time they did it wrong

NBC has had this happen a few times with ER and Las Vegas as well. I guess flipping a switch at the correct time is a little beyond their ability:eek:

Did not catch the game but I am guessing no Yankees in HD on 9-1 last night?

Originally posted by dm145
Did not catch the game but I am guessing no Yankees in HD on 9-1 last night?

Nope! Considering the Mets are available in HD on PIX and we know there are HD cameras at Yankee Stadium you'd think this would be a no brainer.

Originally posted by dturturro
Nope! Considering the Mets are available in HD on PIX and we know there are HD cameras at Yankee Stadium you'd think this would be a no brainer. Considering it is on UPN it does not surprise me. They also do not broadcast the repeats of Enterprise in HD over the weekends which makes no sense.

Pardon my intrusion with this post. I am an occasional poster and NOT a spammer. (Search my name and see)
I'll post this only once with the hope it won't get deleted. If somebody needs this, this price is REALLY doing them a favor.

I'm moving from NE NJ to NW NJ...house to townhouse. I need to get rid an antenna tower kinda soon.

I'm selling a 30' aluminum tower for $200 ~~~~~CHEAP~~~~~

It is in (3) 10' sections (M-13) (retail: $232.95 ea plus shipping)
It has a center tower mount to lock in a mast (CM-1300).(retail: $33.95 plus shipping)
It also has a hinged base system. (HB-13) (retail: $171.95 plus shipping)

Missing is the CHB-13 Footing Assembly which I had to leave at my old residence because it was sunk in concrete. Glen Martin has a website and it can be purchased there. I also provided the link to demonstate the bargain price I am offering this thing for.

You pickup. I'm in Little Falls, NJ.
It should fit into a pickup truck just fine.
Tower was shipped to me on a crate. I don't want to go through that trouble to ship it out. I'm TOO busy prepping my house for sale.

This thing assembles pretty easy. Once the tower is together and wired, you basically walk it into it's upright position and screw on some big bolts to the hinge plate. I also have the bolts and washers.

Note: This tower got slightly damaged when I first received it. Apparently the fork of a lift truck banged into a could of cross sections. I removed some and replaced some. Tower is okay...see pic.


Tower was initially purchased at...
http://www.glenmartin.com/catalog/page7.html

I can be contacted the quickest at
shamrock2020@webtv.net

I'm leaving my OTA NYC local signals too. :( Allamuchy, where I'm going, has no OTA receptions at all.

Now I have to decide between Cablevision and DIrecTV for HDTV locals for my new location. DirecTV I'm familiar with. Where I I get good feedback about Cablevision's general HDTV delivery and quaility??????

Hi Harry.

Originally posted by HDugan
Where I I get good feedback about Cablevision's general HDTV delivery and quaility??????

Cablevision's Yahoo Group (http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/cablevision_digital/)

It's not surprising UPN did not broadcast Yanks in HD despite the fact that there are HD cameras in place. After all CBS took the same tact last year when they broadcast the games. Anyone know why CBS does not rebroadcast their CSI weekends in HD? Is it a syndication issue?

Originally posted by acebreathe
Anyone know why CBS does not rebroadcast their CSI weekends in HD? Is it a syndication issue?

Just a guess. They don't have qualified personnel to flip the switch ? :)

I believe you're talking about the "CSI" broadcasts that play late night on WCBS-TV.

Those telecasts are syndicated buys and have nothing to do with the primetime broadcasts on the CBS Television Network.

Although the facilities for the local, owned station, WCBS-TV and the feed headquarters for the CBS Television Network are both under the same roof on West 57th Street in Manhattan, they are two separate entities.

Unfortunately, just because the network can originate "CSI" in HD has nothing to do with Channel 2.

Hope this helps.

Gary

Just tuned in to 11-1 (Sunday) at 1:30 and it's not in HD. Was yesterday's WB game in HD???

There must of been a problem the Mets are in HD now.

Thanks for the info Gary. I thought it was a syndication issue but I had hoped that maybe the digital feed from DT56 would be HD.

JAYPB, the Mets were in HD, Channel 11 to day Sunday.

Sunday's Met's game was in HD as was Saturday's. However. right before Piazza hit the 3 run scoring double, it had switched to SD. It switched back to HD shortly after. Might have been SD for 10 minutes...... Would have been nice to see the double, the only good Met highlight for the day in HD.

Originally posted by johnnyhd
Sunday's Met's game was in HD as was Saturday's. However. right before Piazza hit the 3 run scoring double, it had switched to SD. It switched back to HD shortly after. Might have been SD for 10 minutes...... Would have been nice to see the double, the only good Met highlight for the day in HD.

Thanks. This would've been around the time I tuned in. When I *thought* it wasn't in HD I went outside for the rest of the day.

:D

Was the Enterprise alternate showing on Saturday in HD?

No...actually I tuned in on Sat night thinking it was friday night and no HD. It took a while but I realized that it was Sat night. I cant understand why Enterprise is only in HD in NY on Friday nights.

the same thing from the UPN in philly.

I dont understand it.

Do they send tapes to the affiliates or to they stream it live at the time? If its live maybe they are too cheap to pay for the extra satellite space to send it HD for hte alternate showings? Just aguess.

Very disappointing.....The only showing of the last few episodes of Enterprise in HD pre-empted by the Yankees in SD. They could at least give us the re-run of Enterprise on Saturday in HD to make up for it. So, with UPN going HD just in January and now the final episodes be pre-empted each week by the SD Yankees, we've actually had very little Enterprise in HD in NY.

are you in NJ? Philly's UPN has a very good signal. Other then that, i dont know what to suggest. Sorry.

At least the finale will not be preempted, but I would have loved to see last weeks and this weeks mirror universe episode in HD. I'm sure they will be released on HD-DVD in a couple of years.

Congratulations to UPN9 for fixing the Veronica Mars audio after only a month and a half.

Is 5-1 and 5-2 off the air? And last night too?

Coming in fine here, Spider-Man in HD is on now.

Mike

Anyone else notice weird screen issues at the beginning of Harry Potter on 7-1?? Top 1/2 of the screen was black with green "x"s or "+" signs. Never saw that before.....
:confused:

I've finally come to realize that my 5-1 and 5-2 are also down and my formerly high numbers (65-70) are down to 42- 48 which is too low to get proper (or any) reception.

Fear that I'm starting to encounter UHF attenuation from the coming of Spring.

Anyone aware if Fox ever came up to full transmission power that was threatened for the Super Bowl but never happened?

For the last several days I've been receiving New Jersey Public Television on Channel 50 here in NE Queens. 5 bars on my Samsung receiver. The HDTV programs are really beautiful. Months ago I got it in the same way; then it disappeared.

Does anyone know if this is a seasonal climate thing, or have they boosted their power?

Especially until WNET goes on the air this is a nice thing to have. Any news about them, by the way?

Mel

I also received a station, WLNY on Channel 57, I never received before last Thursday. It may have something to do with the good weather we got that night though. I have not received the signal since.

Incidentally, WNJN on Channel 51 used to be mapped to 50-1 to 50-5, I got a 50-6 channel since last week but my Samsung T-165 always report there is no "AV" signal on 50-6.

Originally posted by TVjazzman
I've finally come to realize that my 5-1 and 5-2 are also down and my formerly high numbers (65-70) are down to 42- 48 which is too low to get proper (or any) reception.

Fear that I'm starting to encounter UHF attenuation from the coming of Spring.

Anyone aware if Fox ever came up to full transmission power that was threatened for the Super Bowl but never happened?

WNYW-DT is not as of yet at full power. Engineers are working on it.

I've heard no date mentioned for the ramp up.

Gary Press

Thanks for the update, thin k I have to go a noch higher on the antenna, usung an 8 bow with a winegard preamp rated for 45 mile, I'm 35 miles and having problems.

Anyone recommend an antenna rate 50-75+ for DTV reception. In this wonderful OTA world, and with probable UHF attenuation from trees this Spring my reception is completely flipped. Once had great CBS, no NBC, great fox, great ABC strong WOR and WPIX. NOW, all those once strong are no barely available and NBC is my strongest signal with WPIX right up there.

This is since the end of Winter and beginning of Srping... BAsically in the last 4-6 weeks...

Any advice for an antenna??

Originally posted by ykavs
I also received a station, WLNY on Channel 57, I never received before last Thursday. It may have something to do with the good weather we got that night though. I have not received the signal since.

Incidentally, WNJN on Channel 51 used to be mapped to 50-1 to 50-5, I got a 50-6 channel since last week but my Samsung T-165 always report there is no "AV" signal on 50-6.

The -6 subchannel is a channel setup to send out a specific program to a NJN customer. It's not PBS programming nor is it anything of general interest to most viewers.

It in testing phase now. There is nothing being programmed on that channel for general consumption.

I apologize, I am a newbie and I did not go through all 240 pages of posts.

Can someone suggest an indoor antena for HDTV OTA reception. I am in Maspeth QUeens. Since I am in the city, will any HDTV antena do the job?

Originally posted by aerosnow88
I apologize, I am a newbie and I did not go through all 240 pages of posts.

Can someone suggest an indoor antena for HDTV OTA reception. I am in Maspeth QUeens. Since I am in the city, will any HDTV antena do the job? The Zenith (or Gemini) Silver Sensor is a hands-down favorite. It's cheap, and it works.

I'm out here in Commack on LI and the Silver Sensor works for me. I just don't get NBC or the WB in HD but that's fine as I don't watch alot of those networks to begin with.

Originally posted by Gary Press
WNYW-DT is not as of yet at full power. Engineers are working on it.

I've heard no date mentioned for the ramp up.

Gary Press Wow I had no idea. What about NBC, ABC, UPN (WOR) and WB (WPIX). Are they at full power or still in a test mode?

Originally posted by Gary Quiring
Wow I had no idea. What about NBC, ABC, UPN (WOR) and WB (WPIX). Are they at full power or still in a test mode?

All of the stations currently on the Combiner have been running at full power. We all await WNET-DT to finally become a part of the Combiner Project.

There's been no word about when!

Gary Press

Wait I thought NBC DT was not at Full power on the Combiner. Was I misled?

Frustrating. I have a fairly large RCA antenna in my attic (2 story house) and get CBS fine, but nothing else from Syosset. If someone in Commack can get most channels with a SS, I should be able to get all with my attic antenna. Oh well. I've given up.

Originally posted by POWERFUL
Wait I thought NBC DT was not at Full power on the Combiner. Was I misled?

You have been misled!

According to George Thompson, as of 2/17/05, WNBC-DT has been transmitting at full power - 200KW ERP using an omnidirectional pattern
from the Combiner atop the ESB.

Gary

skyhawk223 try the Silver Sensor. I picked one up at Sears, before I used that I got what you were getting, after getting the Silver Sensor do a full channel scan and you should get what I'm getting.

Originally posted by Gary Press
You have been misled!

According to George Thompson, as of 2/17/05, WNBC-DT has been transmitting at full power - 200KW ERP using an omnidirectional pattern
from the Combiner atop the ESB.
Omnidirectional except at my house. :rolleyes:

I have the same problem with NBC. On all the other station's from the combinder I get a signal of 10 on my Samsung 451. With NBC 4.1 and 4.2, I get 4 or 5 bars with a lot of break ups. It must be a NJ problem. Or they are not at full power.

Originally posted by skyhawk223
Frustrating. I have a fairly large RCA antenna in my attic (2 story house) and get CBS fine, but nothing else from Syosset. If someone in Commack can get most channels with a SS, I should be able to get all with my attic antenna. Oh well. I've given up.

I feel your pain!!!!!

I am in Brooklyn 10 miles away from the combiner and I have only gotten WPIX once (when they turned it on for the wizard of Oz I got PIX with no problem nearly 80%) since then not a peep. I have a squareshooter on my roof and all the other channels are 80% or better but for some reason WPIX is a no show... talk about frustrating. I had a Radioshack double bay hanging in a window on the first floor and got nearly the same reception I do now with the roof mounted squareshooter. Frustrating? Yes!!!!

I tried the SS. No luck.
Anthony, at least you get the rest of the channels. I'm stuck with CBS, of which I watch zero programs.

skhawk223, There are a lot of things that can interfere with recpetion in an attic. Anything metal is a killer. this would include foil backed insulation on the walls. I have an A/C trunk in my attic directly in line with the antenna direction. All of the other factors that have to be contended with also come into play. That said, I am in East Northport, and receiving all stations perfectly. No drops, no interference. I have a roof mounted uni-directional antenna.

2 cents - I don't agree with all this trial and error stuff. There is a very small difference in cost between the indoor antennas and an outdoor antenna. My thinking is to go with the setup that is most likely to be successful and cause the least amount of aggravation.

Joe, I don't appreciate pot shots directed at me, for as I told you in the LI thread I don't feel its wise for someone who plans on moving to a different locale to spend money and time on an elaborate setup. If I'm OK with what I get then let me be that way and not knock what I'm suggesting.

Skyhawk223, did you move the antenna to different locations in your room/ house? Or how about putting the antenna in a different location in the attic like Joe here suggested. I find that the higher you are the more likely you are to encounter more digital channels. You said your in the attic of a two story house, are there tall trees or buildings near you? Any of those can and will effect your ability to receive the digital channels. One last question what is your experience with an antenna before HDTV?

First of all, I was not taking a pot shot at you. That is not my style. If I have a problem with someone I address it straight on. The comment was not directed at you in any way. My comment was addressed to the situation in a very general way. People end up spending a lot more in time and aggravation just trying things out. Try to not be so sensitive. No harm meant.

Another newb here (staten island). So from what I read the Zenith sensor does the trick. Does this mean I have to put it in the attic if I live in a 2 story? And where do I buy this locally in case I have to return it. Also can someone please elaborate on getting the unscrambled cable channels from a cable line? I've got a tv with a built in ATSC tuner.

Originally posted by ziggy60
Another newb here (staten island). So from what I read the Zenith sensor does the trick. Does this mean I have to put it in the attic if I live in a 2 story? And where do I buy this locally in case I have to return it. Also can someone please elaborate on getting the unscrambled cable channels from a cable line? I've got a tv with a built in ATSC tuner.

As a general rule of thumb, higher is better. The benefits may be offset by metal in the attic, excessive line runs, etc...

Start close to the set, see what you get, then try a temporary line run to the attic and compare.

Individual results will vary.

Originally posted by ziggy60
Another newb here (staten island). So from what I read the Zenith sensor does the trick. Does this mean I have to put it in the attic if I live in a 2 story? And where do I buy this locally in case I have to return it. Also can someone please elaborate on getting the unscrambled cable channels from a cable line? I've got a tv with a built in ATSC tuner.

hi ziggy

as far as UNscrambled digital cable chs. go your TV needs a QAM digital tuner. ATSC tuners, in general, are for over-the-air(OTA) digital chs. the trend seems to be for new HDTVs to have both. your TV's owners manual should tell you. if the tuner is QAM capable just attach the cable drop & run a ch. scan. keep in mind the ch. #'s will not be the same as Time-Warners(i assume that's your cable co.) ch. #'s. good luck with it.

jim

Thanks for the help. So I got a Terk HDTVi from BB and I'm getting a signal in the 80's on some channels and 70's on others. Is that what I should expect now? The PQ was good but not stunning. My TV (Sharp Aquos 37) didnt display the signal (1080i, 720p). Then I tuned to 50.5 and finally saw a stunning picture. Not sure what ch. that was.

another newbie question.

If I get the antenna that snaps on top of the DTV Satellite, will that receive the OTA HDTV channels?

Originally posted by ziggy60
Thanks for the help. So I got a Terk HDTVi from BB and I'm getting a signal in the 80's on some channels and 70's on others. Is that what I should expect now? The PQ was good but not stunning. My TV (Sharp Aquos 37) didnt display the signal (1080i, 720p). Then I tuned to 50.5 and finally saw a stunning picture. Not sure what ch. that was.

50-5 is PBS out of NJ (Montclair ?!?!). It's the HD subchannel for the Montclair NJN station (50:1-4 are the other subchannels showing non HD material).

Originally posted by aerosnow88
another newbie question.

If I get the antenna that snaps on top of the DTV Satellite, will that receive the OTA HDTV channels?

It depends on about 4,254 other variables such as:

Where you are located.
How high about Sea Level you are.
What kind of receiver you are using.
How many trees/obstructions are in your area.

Etc..., etc...., etc...

Conventional wisdom around these parts is that the snap on antennas are garbage. But, they have worked for some....but I'd gather those folks are *close* to the signal source with no other issues to worry about.

I'm in maspeth Queens, i would say fairly close to the source (assuming empire state building?)

Has anyone else been successful with this?

Just trying alternatives as the Zenith silver sensor aint working in th apartment I'm in.

Thanks

Originally posted by ziggy60
Thanks for the help. So I got a Terk HDTVi from BB and I'm getting a signal in the 80's on some channels and 70's on others. Is that what I should expect now? The PQ was good but not stunning. My TV (Sharp Aquos 37) didnt display the signal (1080i, 720p). Then I tuned to 50.5 and finally saw a stunning picture. Not sure what ch. that was.

What channels had the 80s and 70s? It sounds like they may have been analog channels since they did not indicate the video resolution. Depending on where you are on S.I. you may need more or less antenna.

Originally posted by netman
What channels had the 80s and 70s? It sounds like they may have been analog channels since they did not indicate the video resolution. Depending on where you are on S.I. you may need more or less antenna.

Oh they are digital alright, but the Sharp only displays "digital" and the sound (stereo, surround, etc). I also noticed an improvement in the signal once I moved the antenna closer to the window. All channels looked good regardless of the signal tho.

Of course ur on SI and I'm out in the sticks on LI so the TERK/ SS wannabe will work for you. I just want the SS to pick up WPIX Friday so the Yanks/Mets game will be in HD. For those Mets fans not in the know WWOR does not broadcast the Yankees games in HD, but of course YES does. WPIX doesn't seem to be in the UHF spec and that is a reason if any to find a good VHF antenna. Would anyone recommend the TV2 from TERK? I heard it has the longest dipoles of any VHF antenna.

WPIX-DT, in addition to VHF channel 12, the station transmits on UHF channel 33.

Gary

Originally posted by POWERFUL
Of course ur on SI and I'm out in the sticks on LI so the TERK/ SS wannabe will work for you. I just want the SS to pick up WPIX Friday so the Yanks/Mets game will be in HD. For those Mets fans not in the know WWOR does not broadcast the Yankees games in HD, but of course YES does. WPIX doesn't seem to be in the UHF spec and that is a reason if any to find a good VHF antenna. Would anyone recommend the TV2 from TERK? I heard it has the longest dipoles of any VHF antenna.

aww, put up a real antenna an' quite yer whinin'

Long Islanders, if you're having trouble and can't receive everything from the combiner I suggest that you visit LNL in Syosset. Based on your location they usually know exactly what you need--and in my case it was less expensive than what I thought I needed.

LNL is at 235 Robbins Lane - Syosset, NY 11791, 516-681-7270. No connection except as customer.

I have a RS 15-1718 (A) antenna that has been sitting in the garage for some time now. Could that work? It says on the side of the box "Radio Shack Archer Long Range Super Color Special", and I want to know if any one in this forum thinks its a good idea to try this antenna in my attic? The RS website says its rated for 120 miles.

Originally posted by POWERFUL
I have a RS 15-1718 (A) antenna that has been sitting in the garage for some time now. Could that work? It says on the side of the box "Radio Shack Archer Long Range Super Color Special", and I want to know if any one in this forum thinks its a good idea to try this antenna in my attic? The RS website says its rated for 120 miles.

Antenna distance ratings are usually pretty silly but 120 would indicate they consider it a "fringe" antenna. If it does UHF you can't loose anything by trying it. Of course, if I were you I would put it out on the roof and get the extra performance but you should at least try it somewhere. If it does not do UHF, don't bother however.

edit: I looked it up and see it does UHF. What I would do is buy a cheap rotor and put that thing up on the roof. The rotor is well worth the expense in time saved setting the direction even if you never move it after the first setting.

Wow, here's some bad (if not unexpected) news about WNET-DT:

Dear Mr. Turturro,

Thank you for your letter. I believe that we hope to have HD up and running throughout the area by the end of 2005.

Sincerely,

Terry Hickerson
Thirteen Member and Viewer Relations
(212) 560-2888

What was the question and what exactly did they mean by "running throughout the area" by the end of 2005? Does that mean OTA, when they join the combiner, or that another cable or satellite companies is going to pick them up?

Yes, it's about the combiner. The last time I e-mailed they said they already wewre up and running in the downtown area. Of course, that only helps about 5 people. After that the estimate was the end of Q2. Now we're talking about the EOY. Why can't WLIW-DT go back to HD until then I don't know.

I just got Dish Network last week and while I like the HD content, I want more - to justify buying an HDTV. So, I'm looking into an antenna to pick up the locals (or anything else) in HD. I live in Middlesex, NJ (central). I'd like to avoid spending too much on an antenna since I had to convince my wife to get Dish in the first place...and to let me buy an HDTV. Any suggestions? I see the Zenith ZHD-TV1 (indoor) is only $17 on Buy.com but will that get me enough channels with good - excellent reception? Any suggestions are appreciated.

What channels can I pick up? I assume ABC,CBS,NBC.

I also found the Winegard ss-2000 for $99 based on recommendation from checkHD.com. I'm not sure if it is overkill or not.

Does anyone know if tonight's Mets/Yankees game on WPIX will be in widescreen HD? I see it's on WOR- channel 9 also but I can only get WB in HD. Thanks.

Mets home games are in HD so I ASSUME the Mets Yankees game will be also (on WPIX). Yankees home games on UPN9 are not in HD (Why I just don't understand). Since they will be receiving the Mets feed it might also be in HD but personally I doubt it.

Yankees and Mets are on WB11-HD. Don't know if it's the same equipment as YES-HD. It looks 1080i, but the audio is fake 5.1 -- announcers in all channels -- and out of lip sync. Very un-YES!

Originally posted by hphase
Yankees and Mets are on WB11-HD. Don't know if it's the same equipment as YES-HD. It looks 1080i, but the audio is fake 5.1 -- announcers in all channels -- and out of lip sync. Very un-YES!

Well, there's always UPN!:rolleyes:

Originally posted by dturturro
Well, there's always UPN!:rolleyes:
Yeah, they did take the YES feed, but only in SD.

It took playing the Mets to see the Yanks in HD but it was worth it, even having to listen to Seaver. I didn't think it was possible but he's more lame now than he was when he was with the Yanks. Saturday we have Fox. Is the WB got Sunday as well?

Do you guys think WB could lower their "info bar" a little more so maybe it'll go across the batters face and not just his helmet? :rolleyes:

The PQ is much worse than the YES-HD games and every time they throw that WB logo across the screen after a replay it pixelates. The audio is very poor, coming out the rears twice as loud as the front. Someone called it fake Dolby Digital. I agree.

It was good to listen to Seaver analyze every pitch and swing again. He's a little over-the-top but I do like him. However, there's no such thing as a "Rising Sinker". I don't care how he tries to spin it. :D

At least WB is providing HD games. I applaud them for that but please chop info bar and fix the audio.

Originally posted by r8d
I just got Dish Network last week and while I like the HD content, I want more - to justify buying an HDTV. So, I'm looking into an antenna to pick up the locals (or anything else) in HD. I live in Middlesex, NJ (central). I'd like to avoid spending too much on an antenna since I had to convince my wife to get Dish in the first place...and to let me buy an HDTV. Any suggestions? I see the Zenith ZHD-TV1 (indoor) is only $17 on Buy.com but will that get me enough channels with good - excellent reception? Any suggestions are appreciated.

What channels can I pick up? I assume ABC,CBS,NBC.

I also found the Winegard ss-2000 for $99 based on recommendation from checkHD.com. I'm not sure if it is overkill or not.

Check out the Central NJ OTA thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=233490&highlight=nj) . I'm in Middlesex County as well. Follow the link and post some more specifics over there such as which town you are in, if you have a lot of trees around, etc...

Someone is BOUND to be in your neck of the woods. If you are indeed in Middlesex County you have a GREAT chance of being able to pick up Philly OTA stations as well with a rooftop/attic antenna. Even the Silver Sensor (the ZHD-TV1 is the stepsister/cousin of that antenna) *may* be able to pick up either NYC or Philly stations OTA....depending on your local terrain/enviornment (at least from my experience where I am in Middlesex). I have the ChannelMaster 4228 with a CM pre-amp and can pick up most if not all of the NYC OTA stations....and a decent amount of the Philly OTA stations (in addition to the NJN offerings).