Hey guys,

Another Andover person signing on. I am curious what the Attic Antenna's look like. Does anyone have any pictures?

Originally posted by Steve O
More sound weirdness during the Patriots game today. It would get really loud for a few minutes then go back to normal. It happened maybe 5 or 6 times during the game. Did anyone else hear this? I wonder if it was in the source, all of the broadcasts from the local affiliate, or just the digital broadcast?

-Steve

That clearly originated on their end. It corresponded exactly to when they brought up the bottom score bar - I imagine they switch a processor in-line to scale the picture to make room for the score graphic, and they didn't have the audio balanced right. Something like that.

That clearly originated on their end. It corresponded exactly to when they brought up the bottom score bar - I imagine they switch a processor in-line to scale the picture to make room for the score graphic, and they didn't have the audio balanced right. Something like that.Wow, you're right! I can't believe I didn't put two and two together while I was watching it.

-Steve

Originally posted by RichB
I was getting an 80% signal on 38-1 last night with drop-outs. This only happens on 38-1.

Also, What ever happed the 56-1?

-- Rich

This is frustrating, Enterprise is finally in HD, but unwatchable due to repeating dropouts. My signal strength is 100 for a wide range of antenna rotations. WBZ-DT doesn't get any dropouts.

Problem occurs on both my Toshiba DST-3000 and MyHD recorder.

Bob Hess-
Any status on UPN's digital transmission dropout problems? A lot of hi-def and Enterprise enthusiasts are sad about this.
Spearse

Might some of the problems this week be due to the increased solar flare activity? I have no trouble with 38-1, and was starting to get 56-1 okay last week, but this week 38-1 signal is lower and 56-1 is too low.

Check this story if you don't know what I am talking about:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/10/29/solar.storm/index.html

Keith

I continue to get the dropouts on my Samsung tuner and my HiDTV computer card. The audio is still out of synch as well. You'd think they could get that fixed after three weeks. Oh well.

Frank

I've been having issues with 38-1 of late as well... well before the solar flares became an issue.

My normal 96% signal has been fluctuating down as low as 80% then immediately bouncing back up to 96% ... it doesn't cause a loss of video but I get little digital glitches and pixellation because of it and an occasional loss of audio. It's quite annoying, especially when trying to watch the 10PM news with my favorite TV personality Sara Underwood.

I'm having similar issues with 38.1. Frequent breakups are the norm. I do not get these breakups on any other Boston channel.

I had drop outs on 38-1 during Enterprise as well.

My receiver is registering DD on CSI tonight, is this true? I did not think the scripted shows were in DD, only sports and special events.

Here in Lincoln I have no 4.1 7.1, 25.1, 38.1 of course 56.1.

Is this the solar flare or just me?

Anyone else have trouble getting 44? 2 comes in on at 100%. I get all the other stations great (except CH7/42 in the past week).

Thanks

Turned on WBZ for the first time in a few weeks.

The clock was right!

Woohoo!

Yes, it is little things like that that help build confidence.

Originally posted by woz
My receiver is registering DD on CSI tonight, is this true? I did not think the scripted shows were in DD, only sports and special events. Since the high def telecast of the NFL on Sunday, WBZ-DT has had DD 5.1 turned on. However, the sound is coming thru left and right front speakers only...no center channel and no rear channels.

Last evening I was getting ALL of the Boston channels with high signal-strength, including 56-1 (only approx 40%), down here in R.I. ---- but the strange thing was that I was also getting channel 75-1 ?? [and the programming was a duplicate of 56-1]

Anyone else notice channel 75-1?
[I have a Zen1080]

Keith
Warwick, RI

Also receiving 75-1, there was a 56-2 for a while, picture no sound. The reception was still marginal. Anyone have any idea when they are going to ramp up their power.

Blade on UPN in HD Friday nite 8:00 PM!

Anyone having any lip synch issues with Leno? I am having problems with my two DTC-100's. I don't watch very often, but the last few times I have (over maybe two weeks), the following has occurred. When WHDH switches to the HD feed, there is a slight pop and the audio is a fraction of a second ahead of the video. At the commercial interruptions there is another slight pop and now for the commercials they match up. As soon as they switch back to Leno there is another pop and again the lip synch issue.

Anyone else having this problem? If so, what box(es) do you have?

TIA

SMK

Does anyone know why most of the Boston DTV stations broadcast with black bars on 4:3 material? Any suggestions on how to prevent uneven wear on my 16:9 RPTV without distorting the image too much (I'm assuming I'll have to forget about OAR from now on)? TIA

mike

You should have an orbiter mode on your RPTV and if contrast is set below sun searing levels you will not have a problem unless you leave TV on and watch 24x7 all 4:3 material.

OAR is the correct aspect ratio. WE don't want to go back to blow up & crop pseudo-ratios.

Thanks for the reply; I know that this post is slightly OT. I've used VE to reduce brightness and contrast from torch mode. It was after watching the the Sox-A's and Sox-Yanks series that I noticed a very slight 'tinting' in the 4:3 area. That's when I realized that all the stations except GBH/GBX were broadcasting with black bars. (I guess I'm not the most observant guy, since I can't remember when/if they all switched from gray). I don't believe that my set has an orbiter, so I'm getting a bit paranoid about burn-in.

Do these stations broadcast with black bars because people like them? Or is there some technical reason?

I've fiddled with the output settings on my STB (Samsung SIR-T150) and zoom modes of my set (Sony KP51-HW40) but can't find any compromise that looks good except OAR....maybe I can use this as leverage with my wife to replace the set with an LCD or DLP model ;-)

For a long while -- WHDH-DT42 (aka Ch 7) was putting neutral gray bars on all 4:3 content. I don't know why they stopped. While most HD -- 16:9 issues may go away when the changeover is complete, we all know there will be 4:3 content for a long time and screen burn is a big concern!!

If anyone ever takes a poll -- cast my vote for grey bars. untill then ???

Yikes. I am getting awful audio dropouts on Alias. Anyone else?

yep. Wasn't sure if it was OTA or Comcast.

I had no major problems with Alias tonight (OTA). Maybe 1 or two dropouts.

This sucks..

I tried 3 Small Antennas this weekend and the only station I can get is 42 (NBC) which comes in about 40%. Looks and sounds good but I can't get anything else. I am on the third floor in what used to be the Attic. All the Analog stations are unwatchable. :(

I wonder if a big Attic Mount antenna would even do anything, I have an unfinished room behind the closet that I could mount it in.

Any recommendations? :mad:

TTA,
I grew up right next to Boston so I could always use the built in antennae (remember when TVs had antennas? :) )or a little set top antenna. I now live in Southern NH and tried using some RCA set top antenna with amp built in figuring it'd be plenty to get me HD signal....No go to say the least. I also posted a year or so ago asking about antennas and was slammed as if everyone should know about the big honkin attic/roof antennas. Basically, since you're probably 15 miles southeast of me I'd guess that a cheapo roof antenna from Radio Shack would work at least to test with (maybe 30$ tops) . I have one and get everything except WSBK without an amp. I believe it was like 20$ plus a pole and some RG6. Have no fear, go grab one and hook it up right in the viewing room to test how it works. Then you can upgrade if need be or stick the thing up in the attic / on the roof. You can also try one of the double bow-ties antennas people talk about but I think you might be a bit far for it to work well for you.
-Trouble
Also I take from your name youre a Turbo TA fan? Sweet ride, I'd buy one in a heartbeat if they were resonably priced!
-Trouble

I am so puzzled. I am still having dropouts on 4.1. This is a new problem. I haven't been having any problems until just recently. Has something changed? Could it be the leaves (or lack thereof)???

Anyone getting WNDS I was receiving it early last week. Now it it shows a signal but no picture. Using a zenith hdv 420.

Herb

I have also stopped getting picture on wnds last I checked. Sound seems to work as you state.
-Trouble

Speaking hypothetically...

If someone had to go away yesterday and couldn't watch (or even set the VCR to record) the Pats on MNF last night, would it be in violation of any laws to borrow a D-VHS tape of the game?

Again hypothetically, does anyone have a tape of the game?

Dave

Originally posted by D_Doherty
Speaking hypothetically...

If someone had to go away yesterday and couldn't watch (or even set the VCR to record) the Pats on MNF last night, would it be in violation of any laws to borrow a D-VHS tape of the game?

Again hypothetically, does anyone have a tape of the game?

Dave Dave...I have an HD recording of the game starting at 9PM and ending at 12:30AM right after the winning TD. Taped using a Mits HVHS and the Mits Promise Module.

I live in north of boston, about 15 miles to the towers. I was able to receive PBS-HD at 2-2 up until last evening. While I was testing different positions for my SS I no longer able to auto-scan the 2-2, nor 2-1 or 2-10. Any one experienced the same thing? How I can get the chennel back? I am using a samsung ts160.

thanks,
Sam

I rotated my antenna about 7 degrees and now 4-1 and 38-1 are coming in fine. I think everything else still works. It is weird since I haven't touch the antenna for over six months. I live fairly near the towers in Needham but I guess it could be related to the time of the year.

Originally posted by samlooker
I live in north of boston, about 15 miles to the towers. I was able to receive PBS-HD at 2-2 up until last evening. While I was testing different positions for my SS I no longer able to auto-scan the 2-2, nor 2-1 or 2-10. Any one experienced the same thing? How I can get the chennel back? I am using a samsung ts160.

thanks,
Sam

The picture on 2-2 disappeared for a while last night, but the audio was there. It was back later that evening.

Vic

Did anyone have any problems last night watching 8 simple rules my signal was terrible with little dots over half the screen.

Originally posted by High Def 03
Did anyone have any problems last night watching 8 simple rules my signal was terrible with little dots over half the screen.

I noticed the same problem

Originally posted by steverobertson
I noticed the same problem Steve...time to get those OLD eyes checked.

Originally posted by Troubleshooter
TTA,
I grew up right next to Boston so I could always use the built in antennae (remember when TVs had antennas? :) )or a little set top antenna. I now live in Southern NH and tried using some RCA set top antenna with amp built in figuring it'd be plenty to get me HD signal....No go to say the least. I also posted a year or so ago asking about antennas and was slammed as if everyone should know about the big honkin attic/roof antennas. Basically, since you're probably 15 miles southeast of me I'd guess that a cheapo roof antenna from Radio Shack would work at least to test with (maybe 30$ tops) . I have one and get everything except WSBK without an amp. I believe it was like 20$ plus a pole and some RG6. Have no fear, go grab one and hook it up right in the viewing room to test how it works. Then you can upgrade if need be or stick the thing up in the attic / on the roof. You can also try one of the double bow-ties antennas people talk about but I think you might be a bit far for it to work well for you.
-Trouble
Also I take from your name youre a Turbo TA fan? Sweet ride, I'd buy one in a heartbeat if they were resonably priced!
-Trouble


I did just that, I bought a 6 foot Roof/Attic Antenna and put it in the unfinished room I have behind my closet. Believe it or not the little RCA bunny ears still got better reception...:confused:

I moved the big antenna to my spare bedroom and leaned it up aginst the wall across the bed and was able to get about 40-45% of ABC. Good enough to watch the game, the sould would blip for about 1/2 a second every 10 min or so but looked great.

Does anyone get Fox? Or is that even available? I still really only get ABC, NBC and PBS. :(

Do have a UHF or VHF/UHF combo antenna?

If you've got a combo antenna, a UHF only might do a better job. You also should be pulling in CBS as well. FOX is at lower power.

WNDS back on last night. Strange things about DTV.

Herb

The channelmaster 4 bay and 8 bay UHF antennas work very well.

This is getting downright annoying. UPN has a rock-solid signal strength, but they are transmitting errored frames every 7-10 seconds. I'm very sure it's on their end.

Bob Hess it sure would be great if you could acknowledge if there is or isn't a perceived problem in operations there--

Spearse

Originally posted by spearse
This is getting downright annoying. UPN has a rock-solid signal strength, but they are transmitting errored frames every 7-10 seconds. I'm very sure it's on their end.

Bob Hess it sure would be great if you could acknowledge if there is or isn't a perceived problem in operations there--

Spearse

Ditto here, 83% signal-rock solid, but breakups every 7 to 10 seconds on all my receivers, HiPix, MyHD, E86, TS160. I gave up on 38.1 about 3 weeks ago, figured that they would figure something out sooner or later...

Jim

Originally posted by elbig
I rotated my antenna about 7 degrees and now 4-1 and 38-1 are coming in fine. I think everything else still works. It is weird since I haven't touch the antenna for over six months. I live fairly near the towers in Needham but I guess it could be related to the time of the year.
Same here in So. NH. I hadn't moved the antenna in months and tonight -- had trouble on all channels. A slight (10 degrees??) adjustment brought everything back in. Sun Spots?? Cold weather?? Bare Trees making for different multi-path patterns?? Lots'o rain ?? I dunno !

Lip-Synch with Leno?

I posted this last week and got no replies. I did not watch Leno again until last night and the same thing happened. Watching the news on WHDH lip synch was perfect. As soon as they switched to the HD feed from NBC, there was a slight clicking, and the synch was off. The audio was about 1/2 second faster than the video. At the commercial again it was back to normal, but as soon as Leno came back on, they were out of synch again. I have 2 DTC-100's and have seen it with both of them. Anyone else with this issue?

TIA

SMK

I don't watch Leno so I can't corroborate your situation but I do get lip synch problems on a regular basis. It is annoying. I have a Sony HD200. I don't know if it is my end or at the station. I think the problem is on their end.

Originally posted by spearse
This is getting downright annoying. UPN has a rock-solid signal strength, but they are transmitting errored frames every 7-10 seconds. I'm very sure it's on their end.

I haven't had any problems with dropouts on 38-1, but have a severe lipsync issue ... seems about a half to full second delay in the audio portion ... seems to only happen with the HD programming. Audio in the regular programming seems fine .... I'm using a zenith sat hd520 receiver ...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vfrjim
[B]Ditto here, 83% signal-rock solid, but breakups every 7 to 10 seconds on all my receivers, HiPix, MyHD, E86, TS160. I gave up on 38.1 about 3 weeks ago, figured that they would figure something out sooner or later...

Same here on MyHD 100 for both SD content and Enterprise :(
Guess I'll get out my DTC100 and readjust the antennae, but, sure seems like a problem at the source. Can anyone who has had this problem positively confirm that they have solved it and how?

Mark H

I think the problem lies in the naming of the thread:

Status of Boston DTV Tower???

Obviously, the tower is just fine. It is the stations that are not working :)

Seriously,

How about a new thread:

Status of the Boston Stations

and update the first page with a summary list of stations and their status.

Example:

4-1: No Problem
38-1: Drop-outs on most receivers
56-1: Works in 10 foot radius due to low power.

Moderator: Could this be done?

-- Rich

Considering we're up to page 203 of posts, it wouldn't be a bad idea to move off to a new thread regardless of the title IMO.
-Trouble

Originally posted by spearse
This is getting downright annoying. UPN has a rock-solid signal strength, but they are transmitting errored frames every 7-10 seconds. I'm very sure it's on their end.

Bob Hess it sure would be great if you could acknowledge if there is or isn't a perceived problem in operations there--

Spearse

Agreed, this is annoying. I bet the problem is in what UPN is transmitting. My Toshiba DST-3000 seemed to be OK with Jake 2.0 Thursday, but my MyHD receiver was getting the breakups as indicated when I went to watch Enterprise and Jake 2.0 from the recording. Fortunately I had Enterprise recorded on DTivo as well so I could still watch it in SD. The last time I saw this behavior it was some kind of corruption in the data stream.

The Saturday showing of Enteprise is not in HD, I wonder if that is because WSBK can't record the HD signal for rebroadcast either?

Bob Hess probably can't help, we probably need someone from UPN to fix the problem. I wonder if other affiliates are having the same problem?

I live in Needham, have great signal strength, and also have problems with 38-1 when I watch it Wednesday night. My tuner is a Panasonic TU-DST52. The audio is not quite synchronized with the video. From trying to measure it, the audio appears to be .25 seconds delayed relative to the video. (That's an adjustment of -250 ms, or 8 frames if you are using a program like AC-3Delay Corrector.) Also, very roughly every 4-5 minutes there is a brief video dropout for a second or two, where the video becomes black but the audio continues with no interruption. If there are error frames every few seconds, then from what I'm seeing they're correctable nearly all the time.

This is pure speculation, but I'm wondering if 38-1 is transmitting a feed from UPN which has some errors from less than perfect reception of it (probably to be expected), but they don't apply error correction before transmitting it. Then the errors from their reception and our reception would be cumulative.

Is it just me, or did anyone else find the first 15 minutes of the Bills/Cowboys game *extremely* refreshing with no annoying dialogue! Great HD picture, sounds of the game, crowd, even stats with no blabber, it was great - just like being at the stadium! Needless to say I knew it would end when someone called to "complain" that there were no announcers and they switched on the 5.1. Gee, I never thought I'd actually prefer DD2.0 w/PLII over 5.1...

Hey Bob, can you guys transmit DD 2.0 on all the HD games from now on? ;)

Actually, now that I think about it....MNF would probably benefit the most from losing the center channel.... :D

Ah well.....I can dream, can't I?

7.1/42.1 reception is back for me now that real winter temperatures are here... hooray!
i still can't receive 25.1, 38.1, 56.1 although i got all 3 during the depths of last winter.

yeah, football games without announcers sound great! i remember back in the 1980s one of the networks broadcast a game like that just as a "test".

I know this is off topic but i know there are alot of sports fans on this site.
I just heard Nomar got traded to texas for A-ROD!

Source? This should be front page news right now.

boston sports radio broke the story

WEEI just reported this?

Are you kidding?

I am hearing it was a three team deal with texas,boston,aneheim i guess we get a-rod, aneheim gets nomar and texas gets estein.

Newsday has this story as a possible trade. Are you absolutely sure the weren't just talking about the trade as a possibility, or are they confirming it?

http://www.nynewsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-gms113536966nov11,0,5098009.story?coll=nyc-sports-short-navigation

i guess its being reported now there talking about it and its pretty close to done.

Bob Hess has been a terrific resource in the past for reporting digital problems. He is also head of operations for UPN. He must be busy, as he normally helps and responds to issues like this.

Spearse

Although my MyHD 100 shows the audio and video dropouts reported here on UPN38, my DTC100 doesn't! It plays as smooth and glitch free as you could want. At least in the SD programming on tonite.

So, is this a broadcast problem??? Bob Hess where are you?

Mark H

can someone recommend a HD antenna installer in the Boston area.
I'm in South Boston and too old and fat to be climbing a ladder to the 3 decker roof!

Looks like Enterprise isn't in HD this week, or someone forgot to flip the switch.

Does anyone know if there's a way to reach WSBK's control room, like the WBZ HDTV Hotline?

-j

Yeah they finally flicked the switch.

Congratulations channel 38. Your commercials are so ridiculously loud that we mute them.

-- Rich

I found it by going to UPN's website and getting their main number, then ask for him by name.
Steve

Originally posted by jeffw
Looks like Enterprise isn't in HD this week, or someone forgot to flip the switch.

Does anyone know if there's a way to reach WSBK's control room, like the WBZ HDTV Hotline?

-j

Same number as WBZ, 617-787-7043

In case anyone missed this in the programming forum, WLVI has reported that they will be picking up the HDNet HD feed for the Harvard vs. Yale football game on Saturday Nov 22.

Great news, I just received an email confirming this. First a few Pats ganes, then BC on ESPN HD, now this. Not too bad. However, since Sunday's game is the late one, i have heard other members complain that the ESPN HD feed is blacked out becuase of the local feed. So will we get the game in HD?

ESPN HD will not be blacked out here

ESPN not blacked out. Both Channel 5 and ESPN carry the game.
I believe the local OTA rights are in addition to ESPN, just like during the MLB playoffs.

Any chance that Ch 5 will carry the game in HD?

No chance, as far as I know.

Off Topic i Know:
Theo Epstein has a press conference at 2 i wonder if this is the trade everyones talking about Nomar for A-rod anyone know what the press conference is about.

I had a lot of break up last night on 4.1 and 5.1. Anyone else? Could it have been the wind?

ya i had lots of breakup on 4.1 . probably 5.1 too - i'll see the recording of that later.
i hear from a comcast HD guy that there were lots of breakups on cable. so maybe in addition to the wind affecting multipath/etc for us antenna people, apparently comcast's satellite dishes were blowing around a bit - losing sync with satellite. or something like that.

Anyone know if Channel 5 will be picking up HD feed from ESPN for Pats game Sun. night.

Looks like the Pats game will be in HD.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2003/11/16/espn_has_the_angles_covered_sideline_to_sideline/


Bruce

Originally posted by Bacffin
Looks like the Pats game will be in HD.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2003/11/16/espn_has_the_angles_covered_sideline_to_sideline/


Bruce The good news is that it's in HD, the bad news for those of us with Mits integrated sets and HVCRs is that the channel 5 signal will be the ESPN SD version. HD is only available on ESPNHD.

Bob Hess,

The audio volume seems better on 4-1 during the Miami / Baltimore game, I didn't notice volume shifts when WBZ overlays the signal.

Any news on the UPN HD feed? Any chance of getting the periodic dropouts fixed. I reliaze that this is most likely a UPN network problem rather than a WSBK-DT issue.

Looks like the Pats will be in HD again on Sunday after Thanksgiving according to the DirecTV listings.

http://www.directvsports.com/Schedules/Packages/NFLSundayTicket/

and scroll to the bottom of the page.

That is great news I just wish it was a 4pm game instead of a 1

Great news..glad it's a 1PM game and not 4!

Originally posted by Benji
Great news..glad it's a 1PM game and not 4!

Why do you have to go to bed at 4?

Originally posted by steverobertson
Why do you have to go to bed at 4? Yes

Anyone know what is going on with WBZ-DT? Seems like the signal is the same level as usual in the High 90's, but no data coming through. Do they have encoder of link problems.

On the air, full power, normal transport stream.

Try 30-1. Not remapping to 4-1 right now.

A-OK here too.

Seems to be fixed now.

...and it is. Thanks for the heads-up. Our PSIP generator had gone on strike. We convinced it of the error of its ways.

Robert, Thanks.... My DTC-100 is now happy too!

P

Anyone getting FXT (30)? Getting 100 on everything else, 0 on FXT.

Is there something wrong with Fox 25? I haven't been able to get it since Friday.

no signal -- and no football!

no fox here either!

No Fox here either. Was the Bear's game supposed to be widescreen? I hope I am not missing anything. - Hal

Argh ! Still no signal on 25-1 - I'm going to miss the Simpsons ! WTF !

Also, kudos to WLVI, who yesterday afternoon simulcast HDNET's airing of "The Game" (Harvard-Yale) in HD on 56-1 -- nice work.

Still no FOX 25-1 in Framingham on Monday....anyone know whats going on??

It's Fox what do you expect

Originally posted by WCURTIS
Still no FOX 25-1 in Framingham on Monday....anyone know whats going on?? What a coincidence! There's no FOX25 in Taunton either.

No National Championship in Blacksburg either I guess the Hokies and FOX have a lot in common the are both chumps

Originally posted by steverobertson
No National Championship in Blacksburg either I guess the Hokies and FOX have a lot in common the are both chumps Gee, whatever happened to that nice little team from Tallahassee with the feather on their helmuts. Got bitten in the arse by a group of Tigers?

At least they didn't lose to BC

Originally posted by steverobertson
At least they didn't lose to BC True, but they lost to a team that got croaked by that team that lost to BC.

Hey Steve, you want to buy a used Hughes E-86 receiver? I'm dumping DIRECTV and opting for Comcast. Got to have NESNHD.

Originally posted by Benji
Hey Steve, you want to buy a used Hughes E-86 receiver? I'm dumping DIRECTV and opting for Comcast. Got to have NESNHD.

No thanks but are you crazy going back to comcrap what is wrong with you? Stephanie campbell is going to be very upset with you. Have you seen the SD channels on Comcrap? I think you are making a huge mistake for just 1 channel.

Steve...I'm getting free installation and $400 worth of free programming. I hardly ever watch HDNet or Discovery. INHD is a suitable swap for those channels. And I don't think it will be much longer for CBS and Comcast to kiss and make up. I hardly ever watch SD programming so if those channels are krappy, it doesn't matter. And I understand Comcast is promising a 1394 box for 2004. Perfect for my integrated Mits and HVCR. By the way I might try and sell my F38310 as well, since cable defeats the purpose of having a built-in DIRECTV receiver.

Benji,

That is a great deal but I still can't believe you would drop D* for them. I guess everyone has to do what they have to do but I know I will never go back to cable. I have seen comcast on 2 HDTV's and the sd channels are just plain awful while the HD channels look great I guess if you don't watch SD anymore then the move will work out for you.

Steve...to change the subject, wouldn't it be great if the Pats went back to their old red-based uniforms. They would look much nicer in HD than those lame blue and silver based unies. I thought the Chiefs looked great in HD yesterday with those bright orange uniforms.

I am also thinking of making the switch to Comcast. I think the SD channels on D* look terrible, so I don't know how they can look any worse on comcast. The INHD channels make up for losing HDNet and DiscoveryHD, but I gain NESNHD as well as locals without OTA drop out issues (except CBS) and, in a month, Cinemax and StarzHD. A DVR is apparently coming soon and I believe comcast will be required to activate 1394 connections as of April 2004, allowing me to archive on DVHS. Goodbye D*

So will Directv ever offer Nesn in HD? It is a must!
Also what the hell happened to Fox?

Benji,

I agree with the colors I actually think LSU looks the best in HDTV.

John I have seen SD channels from Comcast on 2 different hd sets and trust me D* blows them away that is not to say that D* doesn't have compression problems but that will change this spring when the new bird goes up. Everybody should do what is best for themselves and in my case D* works for me.

I got DirecTV and it looks great. I'm in Salisbury and had to get a larger OTA antenna. Antenna Man in Beverly installed and it and did a great job. I just ordered the Sony SATHD300. I have the SATHD100 and it really never gave me any problems. I wanted the DVI output.
Up here in Salisbury the cable company is Adelphia and they dont have HD yet. I've had DirecTV since the beginning, probably like 7 years now. Good news about the new"bird" going up in the spring. Maybe NESNHD would be carried. Hope so!

I have both Comcast and Direct TV w/ locals. The Comcast box has just been collecting dust ever since the end of the Red Sox HD broadcasts. I can understand people wanting to drop DirectTV, but I would never get rid of my OTA tuner.

Perhaps we all would agree that the SD broadcasts on the OTA Digital channels OTA blow away both Comcast and DirectTV SD channels... except for Fox right now :) . I have not done a comparison between the Comcast digital channels SD programming vs the DirectTV locals. I would expect the Comcast to be better.

When Comcast carries CBS, then perhaps I would consider dumping my DirectTV/OTA tuner, but not a day before. Right now, I have both which is probably stupid. I never use the Comcast box for general use, because I hate the menu and guide and basically the general usability of the box. Perhaps I am too used to DirectTV. I need to start watching the HD Bruins games (to justify having the box), but I have not got into hockey yet this year. And the Bruins are having a great season.

If you are a football fan, would you not want to watch the Pats in HD this weekend? You can't do it on Comcast (AFAIK).

Of couse, this is all irrelevant if you can get good OTA signals (which I can in North Andover with an Attic Antenna). Go for Comcast.

Oh yeah, I also have a DirectTV Tivo, so I really really really dislike the Comcast box. The only time I have liked it is when there was a HD Red Sox, or additional out of market HD baseball game.

All comments expressed about are just my opinions. :)

Regards,
- Hal

Originally posted by WCURTIS
Still no FOX 25-1 in Framingham on Monday....anyone know whats going on??



According to some Fox folks WFXT-DT has transmission line problems (I'm assuming that's bad.) It's been down since Friday and may not be back up until Tuesday or Wednesday.

I emailed an engineer at Fox25 and got a responce today, here it is.

Hello Jim,

Over the weekend we had a section of our NTSC antenna line burn out.
This line is over 1700 feet long and is made up of roughly eighty 20 foot sections. We currently have men working on this problem 24/7 until it is resolved but it is a huge undertaking to first locate
the bad section or sections and then locate the parts for repair. These are not exactly
off the shelf parts and we may be delayed even longer if some parts need to be custom built for us. With that in mind, the decision was made to take our DTV transmitter off the air and use it's antenna for a lower powered NTSC broadcast while the repairs are being made.
We hope to be back on the air later today with both antennas but until we determine how much
more of the line is damaged and if we can fix it with the parts we have on hand there are no
guarantees.
Please feel free to forward this info, I'm sure there are many others out there with the same
questions.
Thank You
Bill Carr.



Jim

At least we know why. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

At least someone seems to know what's going on.

I remember a few years ago WFTX-DT was having formatting problems and I commented to an engineer that Fox was sending out widescreen programming and he said that I was wrong. Lol.

Is it just my setup or is Enterprise (38-1) having a lip synch problem tonight? It is so annoying. Why does it happen?

I just checked my MyHD recording, and the lip-sync looked normal too me. What STB are you using.

The good news is I only saw one breakup, so maybe UPN/WSBK have fixed the HD periodic dropout issue.

No breakups so that was nice. I have the Sony HD200.

I just checked, and FOX is back up. I was afraid I'd have to watch the football game 4:3 on 25.

SMK

Originally posted by HDorBust
I just checked my MyHD recording, and the lip-sync looked normal too me. What STB are you using.

The good news is I only saw one breakup, so maybe UPN/WSBK have fixed the HD periodic dropout issue.

I also noticed lip synch problems. Using DTC-100 -- I have no other reception issues except -- I still don't get audio on the WGBX-DT43 sub channels.

I'm out in Central Mass and I'm doing pretty good using a RCA ANT1250 indoor amp antenna.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051384648397&type=product

It's supposedly 45 db gain on it, but I'm wondering if maybe a silver sensor with a CM 7777 amp on it would work better. Using a fusion I, I get about 68-75 on 19,20,30,43 and 60-65 on 42. Fox has been down, but before when they were low power I was getting like 30. WB and UPN so far have been a waste.

I'm going to upgrade to the MyHD 120 which has a much better tuner. I was hoping that and a slight antenna upgrade and I could pull WB or UPN.

Chris

You may get UPN, but WB is too low power (for now). Richard P Harvey out in Charlton has amazing luck though.

Tim

I was wondering if anyone else is recieving either 5.1 or 25.1 tonight. I have no signal at all from those two stations - all the others are fine, but 56.1 is very weak as usual

Thanks for your reply

John

Watching it right now....

Hello Everyone,

I'm going to be moving into a condo in Ayer soon (about 2miles from the Littleton border), and looking for recommendations for antennas. I have a townhouse with a rather large attic, and rather than fighting the condo association, figured I'd try an in attic antenna. When the home inspector and I went thru, we noted it had plenty of room for at least a 7', and it's wood frame with asphalt shingles. Anyone have any recommendations for a good in attic antenna?

Thanks,

-Mike

I just checked, and FOX is back up. I was afraid I'd have to watch the football game 4:3 on 25. It was up for a while a couple of days ago, but back down today. Is it just me, or was it really down today?

-Steve

It's not just you.

I am not the expert but the Channel Master 4228 8 bay bowtie is an excellent HDTV antenna.

Regarding the audio sync problems. Saturday night I encountered the problem on 7.1 exclusively. This problem seems to be a transmission problem not a receiver problem. Does anyone concur?

Regarding antennas, I use the CM 4228 and the 7775 UHF preamp mounted about 30' up (outside) and I get all Providence and Boston stations with lots of margin. I'm about 50 miles from the Boston towers and 17 miles from the Providence towers. The UHF signal attenuation that you will experience through the roof could be significant. I also have a BIG CM Yagi antenna in the attic with a UHF/VHF preamp and I get spotty digital reception. A UHF only antenna isn't the answer for those wanting Providence stations since 12.1 is broadcast on 13 (a VHF channel). So I use the Yagi for VHF and the 4228 for UHF combined using a UHF/VHF diplexer. This may not be feasible for an installation at a condo but it works great for me.

steverobertson, how is FSU ranked compared to the Hokie/Chokies? I thought they were supposed to be playing for the National Championship? Where did Virginia come from? Oh well, there's always next year. I ran into DerekFSU at the FSU game a couple of months ago and he has an impressive setup in the parking lot. Haven't chatted in a while.

Originally posted by plasmamaniac
steverobertson, how is FSU ranked compared to the Hokie/Chokies? I thought they were supposed to be playing for the National Championship? Where did Virginia come from? Oh well, there's always next year. I ran into DerekFSU at the FSU game a couple of months ago and he has an impressive setup in the parking lot. Haven't chatted in a while. Did you get lost on your way to the Florida thread?

Yes, i did Benji just wondering how you're doing? Footballs been crazy this year.

Sure has. VT's streak of 85 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 just came to a crushing end. For this they earned a berth in the Insight.com Bowl. I almost wish they had turned it down. The way things are going they'll further embarrass VT fans unneccessarily.

Hi Kirkvolk,

I am in North Attleboro and get great reception on the Needham towers. I was interested in joining two antennas since Rehoboth is the opposite direction from Needham for me, but have been told that I will get significant multipath problems if I do this. It seems from your post that you are doing this successfully - can you please let me know what the diplexer is that you are using? Also, will this only work with a seperate VHF and UHF antenna? Can I also do this with two UHF/VHF antennas?

Thanks for any direction.

Chris10

I emailed channel Fox 25 to ask what the status of 25.1 because it did go on then back off the air, here is their reply:

Hello Jim,
We finally got all the parts in for the antenna that failed and hopefully it will be rebuilt over this week.
If all goes well we will be back at full power on both NTSC and DTV before the weekend.
Thanks
Bill Carr




Jim

Originally posted by Chris10
Hi Kirkvolk,

I am in North Attleboro and get great reception on the Needham towers. I was interested in joining two antennas since Rehoboth is the opposite direction from Needham for me, but have been told that I will get significant multipath problems if I do this. It seems from your post that you are doing this successfully - can you please let me know what the diplexer is that you are using? Also, will this only work with a seperate VHF and UHF antenna? Can I also do this with two UHF/VHF antennas?

Thanks for any direction.

Chris10

Chris,

Unfortunately what you have been told is probably true although -
Antennas have a radiation or reception patterns. They have regions that they are very good at receiving (lobes) and regions where they are not (nulls). The beamwidth of an antenna is the width in degress of the main lobe (where the antenna is designed to have the best reception). It is possible, if the geometry is right that the two antennas would not interfere with one another (i.e. if the null of one antenna is in the main lobe of the other). I think the 4228 has a UHF beamwidth of about 50 degrees. Its probably about a difference of 50 or so degrees between Needham and Rehoboth from Attleboro. If so it may work. You may need to and some narrow-band (6 MHz) UHF notch filters (to reduce the level from the Boston stations) to the antenna pointed at the Providence stations and visa-versa. Alternatively, two highly directional antennas (ones with a very narrow beamwidth) may be a more attractive solution since the more connections there are in a RF system the more reflections there are (this is bad because it acts like multipath).

What ever path you choose will not be an easy one. I struggled for years with the channel 6 tower about 3 miles away and only about 45 degrees off where I wanted to be pointed and I never got it to work to my satisfaction (thank god for digital TV). Remember that channel 12 is on channel 13 (a VHF channel) but the rest of Providence is UHF so the antenna pointed the Reehoboth needs to be UHF/VHF.

As far as what is a diplexer: It is a device with three ports. Port A passes UHF only (high pass filter connected to port C). Port B passes VHF only (low pass filter connected to port C). Port C combines the UHF signal and VHF signal. It will not work like you want to combine two UHF only antennas.

Good Luck,
Kirk

Chris,

The most reliable way to get both Boston and Providence stations would be to get two separate antennas, and run them through and A/B switch before going into your tuner rather than combining them. I believe Radio Shack even has one with a remote control, so you could flip between the two antennas without too much trouble.

You could get lucky and combining might work, but I wouldn't count on it. The only other option would be to use a series of channel filters, but that becomes both extremely expensive and complicated.

Originally posted by jckessler
Chris,

The most reliable way to get both Boston and Providence stations would be to get two separate antennas, and run them through and A/B switch before going into your tuner rather than combining them. I believe Radio Shack even has one with a remote control, so you could flip between the two antennas without too much trouble.

You could get lucky and combining might work, but I wouldn't count on it. The only other option would be to use a series of channel filters, but that becomes both extremely expensive and complicated.

I'd have to agree that this solution would be easier to implement, would be less costly, but would require Chris to switch the input between the two antenna while channel surfing (its a cost vs benefits trade). It would likely work better but would be annoying. You're right, the narrowband notch filters can get close to $100 each.

Agreed that surfing b/w Boston and Providence stations would be annoying.

Are there programmable remote controls that would be able to do the switching automatically? I don't know how feasible that is though. It would have to be able to track channel changes both through the use of "up" and "down" as well as direct entry of channel numbers...

Good luck!

Anyone know if the Pats will be in HD again this coming week against Miami. I used to have a link to a CBS page showing the game sin HD but I can't find it.

Ben

I believe I heard that they are but not 100% on that

no dice - Chiefs-Broncos is the HD game

WGBH Info!

We do not currently list any of the programming on our digital stations, other than channels 2-1 and 44-1, because we still consider them to be in the experimental stage. That is, we still only have a test license for our digital transmitter. However, because we air the the PBS HD satellite feed on channel 2-2, you can find its schedule by visiting the following web address: http://www.ptvdigital.org/dt2a_sked.html You will notice that the daytime schedule is largely dominated by the HD demo loop, while the evening schedule does contain some limited "regular" programming, some of which is in HD (High Definition) and some of which is in SD (Standard Definition). The schedule will note which programs are HD and which are SD. www.ptvdigital.org contains quite a lot of useful information about digital programming on PBS.

Many more regular PBS programs will enter the PBS HD schedule (channel 2-2) beginning December 7th. We expect the PBS HD Demo loop to be retired as of January 1st in favor of a much broader HD programming schedule.

WGBX 44 does not broadcast any programs in HD. We are exclusively multicasting on WGBX 44. Below, please see our complete digital channel line-up and where you can obtain a schedule:

2-1: digital simulcast of channel 2; schedule is the same as channel 2
2-2: currently airing the PBS HD demo loop; Schedule is at www.ptvdigital.org
2-10: test channel only; no schedule

44-1: digital simulcast of channel 44; schedule is the same as channel 44
44-2: PBS East Coast satellite feed; schedule is on www.pbs.org
44-3: PBS Kids national satellite feed; schedule is on www.pbs.org
44-4: PBS West Coast satellite feed; schedule is on www.pbs.org

Now if they could replace the West Coast PBS feed on 44-4 with the content on 2-1, and give 2-2 the full 19.3Mbps, I'd be a happy camper.

Thought they showed more then one game a week in HD?

Ben

16:9 NFL games /week

(1) CBS 1080i
(1) ESPN 720p
(1) ABC 720p
(2) FOX 480p

Is it me or is WSBK-DT not having the problems there were having for the past month+ anymore? I Tried watching 38.1 today and I did not get the glitch every 7-10 seconds anymore. Looks like they must have fixed the problem, everyone else that was having the problem, comment?

Jim

on 5.2/20.2 currently i someone popped up some windoze screens - they are adjusting some color map - for the doppler radar i suppose. 6:25 pm.

Kirkvolk & Jckessler -

Thanks for the help with this, I may just bite the bullet and go with a good UHF/VHF with a rotor.

Chris10

I just checked the signal strength on 41 (56-1) and the signal strength is pegged here in southern NH! Note that I was lucky to get 30 a few days ago.

Looks like we can finally watch Smallville et al in HD.

I wonder if it is just the atmosphere teasing us...

Seems like the Nightline (5.1) audio is on the weather channel (5.2)

Originally posted by tveli
on 5.2/20.2 currently i someone popped up some windoze screens - they are adjusting some color map - for the doppler radar i suppose. 6:25 pm.

What we get on 5.2 video is the doppler "console" feed, so you will see what the
meteorologists see/control on their Silicon Graphics workstations (note: UNIX not Windoze!).
When there are storms predicted, watch just before the evening newscasts and you'll be "looking of the shoulder" of the meteorologist as he/she does the zooming, highlighting, precipitation intensity filtering.

The audio on 5.2 is a copy of the 5.1 audio.

----

Contrast this with WPRI Providence's 12.2's WX feed where we don't see the interaction, just the effects -- an instantaneous change to the new center, the new range, etc.

Chris,

Have you tried an antenna yet that doesn't work, or are you just trying to plan? I ask because I am in Pawtucket, not far from N. Attleboro, and with a Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna in my attic pointed at the Needham towers I get excellent reception of all the Boston stations (although WLVI is sometimes a bit weak with their low-powered transmission), but get the highest signal strength for WPRI which is at 90 degrees to the direction the antenna is pointed. Using the Channel Master 4221, I get similar results. You might try a different antennas first before deciding you need the rotor.

SMK

Originally posted by HDorBust
I just checked the signal strength on 41 (56-1) and the signal strength is pegged here in southern NH! Note that I was lucky to get 30 a few days ago.

Looks like we can finally watch Smallville et al in HD.

I wonder if it is just the atmosphere teasing us...


Based on your report, I checked again, and I agree with you ... I think WLVI-DT 56-1 did increase the power. I had all but given up on them because I couldn't get ANY signal. However, last night it came in perfectly ... no dropouts whatsoever (I forgot to check signal strength though).

56-1 was running about 43% for me with no drop-outs here in Stoneham. They defininately increased the power.

-- Rich

I'm going to have to try 56.1 again. I havent tried since I got the new Sony 300. I'm up in Salisbury.

Newbie question? but does the signal strength affect the picture quality on hdtv? I have a cheap attenna but i am getting hdtv channels but i am wondering if they would come in better with a better attenna. Some of my channels come in a little dark and was wondering if the attenna was causing it? Thanks for the info.

No, if your signal is locked, a better antenna won't improve the picture.

A better antenna will likely reduce dropouts if you're getting any.

My MyHD recording of Enterprise last night was in disappointing SD. Did anyone get HD? On the bright side, it had only minor audio drop-outs and no video anomalies.

Mark H

No HD Enterprise in my house last night either. Disappointing for sure.

When UPN shows reruns of Enterprise its never in HD. Well at least so far

I have been having dropouts for the past 12 days or so but West Wing and then tonight it was really bad. I'm in the merrimack valley - anyone else having problems recently with NBC in Boston?

Experiencing low signal strength on 44, along with considerable fluctuation. Normally I get a rock solid signal. Now, no signal at all. Anyone else having same problem

Originally posted by Lyson
I have been having dropouts for the past 12 days or so but West Wing and then tonight it was really bad. I'm in the merrimack valley - anyone else having problems recently with NBC in Boston?

I noticed a few dropouts during West Wing over Charter cable, but i figured it was just Charter being Charter.

7-1 was rock solid here last night during ER. Signal strength was in the low 70's - a little stronger than normal.

WB 56.1 showed signal in the "bad". But I could never get 56.1 in Salisbury

What is up with WFXT? Down almost 2 weeks now (with 1 day up). If their analog signal went down you can bet they'ld be back up quick.

Hi All,

I am seeing no signal from Fox25, are they still having problems with their transmission line?

Chris10

Has anyone emailed WFXT recently for status?

DaveFi - It was the analog xmtr that went down and thats when they redirectled the analog feed to the digital xmtr and disabled the digital signal.

All I know is that they stated on thir Digital feed on Comast that they had a trasmisison line issue and that the engineers were working on it.
At least WBZ has 3 8" lines leading to the radiating element. :) Does Comcast actually recieve their DTV signal via antenna and not off of a feed from the control room (making the antenna issue irrellevant to Comcast)

Does anybody know if the true story is that a single 20 foot section of line burned out(to their analog transmitter), and requires repalcement causing them to use their digital emitter for their analog signal?

Tim

I don't know about Comcast in Boston, but the other night, I was getting some serious dropouts on Comcast's HD feed (either 5 or 7) every time a plane came on final for Manchester airport.

4-1 seems to be MIA on my tuner at the moment, Anyone else having
an issue rcving it?

I continually lose 4.1 on the program guide (Sony HD200). I can usually enter 4.1 and get a signal. I'll rescan and sometimes it reappears and sometimes not. It soon disappears. I am not sure what is going on.

No problem getting 4-1 down in Taunton.

Originally posted by Kenn157
When UPN shows reruns of Enterprise its never in HD. Well at least so far

still -- the "Zenith HD" Banner ran at the begininng of the show. Was it HD elswhere -- but not Boston??

25.1 back online!

Finally seeing Fox for the first time! (Got tuner and put up antenna the day before thanksgiving).

Originally posted by tcable
All I know is that they stated on thir Digital feed on Comast that they had a trasmisison line issue and that the engineers were working on it.
At least WBZ has 3 8" lines leading to the radiating element. :) Does Comcast actually recieve their DTV signal via antenna and not off of a feed from the control room (making the antenna issue irrellevant to Comcast)

Does anybody know if the true story is that a single 20 foot section of line burned out(to their analog transmitter), and requires repalcement causing them to use their digital emitter for their analog signal?

Tim

The WFXT 8" transmission line, which was repaired just before Thanksgiving, had another burn-out and the decision was made to replace all the line at the top of the Needham tower. That meant that WFXT analog had to be kept on the air at reduced power using the DTV antenna, which is capable of operation on either channel 25 or 31 (DTV). Late Friday night (after a marathon 18 hour day and just before the big blizzard!), the replacement was completed and WFXT analog returned to its regular antenna, although still at reduced power. WFXT-DT was then returned to the air at normal power on its regular antenna. Due to a problem with the line replacement that needs to be corrected, WFXT analog will have to go back to the DTV antenna early next week for a day or so. WFXT-DT will, of course, be unavailable during that time.

Your patience is appreciated during this work. Rest assured we would all rather be doing something else, preferably indoors, but this transmission line problem has had our full and complete attention during the past 2 weeks :-(

As always, your reception reports for both analog and digital signals are also appreciated.

THANKS for feedback. Much appreciated.

BTW from cbs.com:

Jacksonville @ New England (in HDTV)

BTW from cbs.com: Jacksonville @ New England (in HDTV)


I hope this is right. Directv lists Cleveland @ Denver as the HD game.

The really stupid thing is that Comcast is still (as of last night anyways) showing a test pattern while I am getting Fox digital perfectly fine over the air... You'd think somebody at Comcast would flip a switch somewhere so the cable subscribers could watch it too. It's not a huge deal for me (my set top box puts out a nicer picture anyways) but some people don't have both options...

Originally posted by wackymann
The really stupid thing is that Comcast is still (as of last night anyways) showing a test pattern while I am getting Fox digital perfectly fine over the air... You'd think somebody at Comcast would flip a switch somewhere so the cable subscribers could watch it too. It's not a huge deal for me (my set top box puts out a nicer picture anyways) but some people don't have both options...

I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday when I was flipping between CBS (Colts/Titans) and FOX (Cowboys/Eagles) OTA.

Your requests have been answered. Comcast is back in business with FOXDT-25.

Benji,

How do you like Comcast

Steve...Believe it or not I like it. Some of the programming on INHD duplicates HDNet and Discovery. Actually I still kept some satellite on my F38310. The Comcast guy didn't take my dish, only my Hughes E-86 receiver. I love the VOD. The receiver has a nice menu and graphics. The SD picture on some stations is inferior to DIRECTV. But the SD movie stations are actually better (more crisper) than DIRECTV in my opinion. The HD is a wash. I watched the Bruins in HD this weekend and that was cool. Can't wait for the Sox in HD. I hope that includes AROD!

Good I am glad it worked out for you so far. I hope that when Newscorp takes over D* he will add HD NESEN someday. It would be nice to have but not enough to make me switch not to mention all the money I have tied up in D* equipment. I can't believe he took your receiver I bet he hooked it up in his house.

Anyone having issues with 5.1/5.2?? Hope the storm didn't blow my antenna off beam.
-JR

getting 100 on wcvb-dt

FXT is down again, at least over Comcast.

They mut be having alot of problems. One of these days it will be back.

Originally posted by dtv4u
WFXT analog will have to go back to the DTV antenna early next week for a day or so. WFXT-DT will, of course, be unavailable during that time.

Your patience is appreciated during this work. Rest assured we would all rather be doing something else, preferably indoors, but this transmission line problem has had our full and complete attention during the past 2 weeks :-(

As always, your reception reports for both analog and digital signals are also appreciated.

They must still be doing some work.

sorry if this has already been mentioned (this thread is too long to scan through quickly), but i was watching alias on sunday and getting a lot of break-ups in the signal (probably because of the snow), so i switched on the analog cable television, and to my surprise, the hd and analog video and sound were synced up! has this been going on for a while?

the strange thing is that only the show was in sync (it was off by a tiny fraction of a second, but not noticeable if you weren't paying attention), but the commercials showed the usual couple second lag for the hd.

it was actually quite useful--i was able to mute the hd sound and watch the hd picture with the analog sound without missing what was happening when the picture broke up.

Anyone have trouble accessing NBC last night? I got very spotty reception.

just a heads up that the jacksonville pats game will be hd this weekend for anyone who didnt know

NBC was completely out for me last night (and this morning). I usually receive a very strong signal.

No problems with NBC either OTA or cable around 9pm last night.

I noticed a problem on D* this AM but it seemed to be working when I left for work

Did FOX HDTV signal strenght drop recently? I can't get a good signal but I get all the other OTA HD stations fine. I'm north of Boston.

/Peter

Enterprise on UPN 38 was both HD and glitch free from my MyHD recording last night. It looked very good. Sound was 2.0.

Nice holiday present!

I'm curious what, if anything, was different at the transmission end...

Mark H

Hold the champagne,

Enterprise was a re-run.
I watched Jake 2.0 and the lip-sink problem was as bad as ever.
It looked like a foreign film.

-- Rich

it's a foggy night, first time i've seen 25.1 in about a year.
7.1 & 38.1 too. not 56.1 .
also i've got a couple of adelphia's sci-am 3250s - there's stealth adelphia cable hdtv in NH now. when it rains hd it pours. ttfn,

Originally posted by tveli
it's a foggy night, first time i've seen 25.1 in about a year.
7.1 & 38.1 too. not 56.1 .
also i've got a couple of adelphia's sci-am 3250s - there's stealth adelphia cable hdtv in NH now. when it rains hd it pours. ttfn,

Please elaborate on Adelphia... Thanks in advance.

Is the WB 41-2 gone for anyone else who only recently had it? I had no signal for close to a year, then had it for about a week with zero dropouts, and now I'm back to no signal. Anyone else have this happen?

hey there HDorBust Dave. how about HDandBust. oh, maybe you are talking about another meaning of the word. regarding adelphia HD. it is available in some towns in NH but they are not advertising it. recently they sent a flyer indicating their new & improved & more expensive pricing of most all their services. at the end of that was a note that the old cost of HDTV settop boxes was <blank> and the new cost is $8.95 per month. when i saw that i called right away and said "i want" . the rep said they were all out of hd boxes currently but she put me on the list to be called when the boxes arrived, and yesterday they called, and i went and picked up a pair of scientific-atlanta 3250s. i wonder what is different between the 3200 & the 3250... i think we need a thread now for adelpha-HD in boston area. or maybe we can piggyback on the comcast-cable-HD-boston thread.

I had FOX 25.1 this weekend and early this week. First time I have had it.

I have not seen WB yet, I assumed I couldn't get it but maybe it was just down like FOX has been.

Originally posted by RScogland
Is the WB 41-2 gone for anyone else who only recently had it? I had no signal for close to a year, then had it for about a week with zero dropouts, and now I'm back to no signal. Anyone else have this happen?

I don't try it enough to know for sure, but I did notice that I was able to receive the WB much better last week than I ever had before. I'll try to check it again tonight and see if it's bad again.

Able to receive WB here in Kingston, signal is the weakest of the Boston stations. Last week the signal was stronger, don't know if was the atomosphere or the power was turned up.

Was ER NOT in HD last night. Looked liked WBZ didn't throw the switch?

Originally posted by ursa99
Was ER NOT in HD last night. Looked liked WBZ didn't throw the switch?

ER is on NBC (7-1), not CBS (WBZ 4-1). I thought it started in HD, but it was breaking up so bad I watched it on D*TV's local channel instead.

Seems to be 25-1 issues tonight. WB is very close, but still not enough juice.

Audio out of sync on Dr. No last night on UPN, anyone else notice it. SD commercials OK.

anyone else seeing a lot of problems with WBZ switching from the national to local feed (for the weather updates and commercials) during the Pats games? I'm getting a couple seconds of "No signal" black screen popping up each time they switch (even though the signal meter is reading a strong signal).

Very very annoying.

Yea, I got that too. Storm related? Who knows.

I'm having a wierd problem. I have two HD tuners: a) a Sony SAT-HD300 STB and b) an integrated tuner in Zenith C32V37 HDTV. The problem is on 25.1 the HD300 reports no signal but the Zenith is showing good signal level. Since the Zenith is not having any reception problems and the Sony is only having a problem on 25.1, I want to conclude that the Sony is defective. The only problem is that this is the 4th HD300 that I've tried and the performance is the same with all HD300's. Is there a difference in the tuners that could explain this or are all HD300's incapable of receiving 25.1? Maybe the HD300 is more susceptable to multipath so even though there is sufficient signal the HD300 cannot demodulate the signal. Is there something unique in the signal that could be causing this? is anybody having any luck with 25.1 and the HD300? I am really at a impasse. Any help that you could provide would really be appreciated.

kirkvolk - try tuning the sony to 31.1 instead of 25.1, or whatever is the real physical channel number for 25.1 . this could be a PSIP issue, not necessarily the fault of the Sony, possibly just an example of where Sony followed the spec rigorously and 25.1 is using the PSIP encoder which is known-buggy, like most all fox affiliates do apparently.

Thanks for that suggestion but I've tried it both ways 25.1 and 31 (but maybe not 31.1). I'll try it. What does the acronym PSIP refer to?

Originally posted by kirkvolk
Thanks for that suggestion but I've tried it both ways 25.1 and 31 (but maybe not 31.1). I'll try it. What does the acronym PSIP refer to? Program and Sysytem Information Protocol. Now don't ask what that means.I've got no clue!

Originally posted by Benji
Program and Sysytem Information Protocol. Now don't ask what that means.I've got no clue!

Gee I am surprised you don't know what this means;)

I've found my Zenith box to be MUCH better at handling multipath than my older Panasonic box. I don't know about the Sony design though.
What does analog 25 look like on your system?

Hey folks!

I was up in arms last week when Enterprise showed up as "pro logic" on my processor. Moreso this week when it happened again.

I called and spoke to Mr Hess. So cool to be able to get to the heart of the matter! We'll be seeing lip-synch for another month or two on 38, as they are waiting for some new gear. It seems the WSBK setup was sort of cobbled together to get it on-air.

At least, Enterprise is incredible eye-candy!

Originally posted by rjd
I've found my Zenith box to be MUCH better at handling multipath than my older Panasonic box. I don't know about the Sony design though.
What does analog 25 look like on your system?

Analog 25 is ok but is no substitute for a working 25.1

Did anybody experience problems with sound or picture on CBS last night? I was watching CSI on my MyHD MDP-100 and the signal was at 40-49% which is usually pretty stable for the card. The picture disappeared and some green streaks appeared on the screen, then the sound disappeared. Happened multiple times during CSI and on Without a Trace. I then switched over to ER which was rock solid, no audio or video issues. Switching back to CBS resulted in the same problems.

Thanks
Ben

i did see some of that green-screen stuff during CSI last night via 5.1, but only
right at the transition from commercial into the show. and a couple of sound glitches
& blockiness, as if a plane was passing overheard .

(i timeshifted it via HDR230.) i don't recall any such problems during without a trace,
although i did not watch all of that show yet...

in other news, Merry Christmas, and check this for a possible chuckle:

http://www.ihimlen.dk/flash_prutjulsang.htm

Bob Hess,

If you're out there--Viacom and Comcast annouced a deal today for the carriage of CBS on Comcast systems. The local website for Comcast list WBZ as coming soon. Are you able to disclose any information about a possible go-live date or where you are at in making this happen from a technical point-of-view?

Thank you for anything you are allowed to contribute.

Bob Hess , same question, have you spoken with Comcast engineering staff yet?

Pats on tonight on WCVB-DT

Originally posted by rudolpht
Pats on tonight on WCVB-DT Tim...not in HD on WCVB only on ESPNHD.

Bad listings.

Originally posted by Benji
Tim...not in HD on WCVB only on ESPNHD.

Why wasn't it in HD? I was REALLY bummed that it wasn't. I had some of my friends over and I felt bad that it wasn't.

What gives? I had thought that earlier in the season when there was a ESPN game broadcast on ABC it was in HD. Was boston the only market that wasn't HD? Or was it some stupid ploy to hype ESPN-HD??
:mad: :mad: :mad:

Jim

ESPNHD has exclusive rights to its HD games. Local stations that are authorized to carry the ESPN games can only carry the SD signal. This is the policy nationwide.

I have comcast, so interesting to switch between 805 and 849. The ESPNHD was a very nice picture and an AWESOME game!

The WCVB picture was horrible in contrast to ESPNHD, not even up to normal 5-1 SD quality. I sympathise with those that don't have access to ESPN, whether it be SD or HD.

Just discovered this thread. Looks rather large. Can someone point me to any details/specification on the tower. I plan to put up a antenna in my attic soon with hope of getting DTV from Boston. Is the tower a strong one ? Anyone care to guess my chance of success with a large range antenna and a zenith/lg receiver .

I'm not sure how well an attic antenna will work, but for reference I live about 15 miles north of Bedford and can get all Boston DTV stations except for WB using a roof-top antenna with a pre-amp.

Vic

Originally posted by dozens
Just discovered this thread. Looks rather large. Can someone point me to any details/specification on the tower. I plan to put up a antenna in my attic soon with hope of getting DTV from Boston. Is the tower a strong one ? Anyone care to guess my chance of success with a large range antenna and a zenith/lg receiver .

I live in Bedford NH, and use an antenna mounted in my garage rafters [The attic in my house is finished off]. I get just ok reception. Ch 4 doesn't come in too well. Ch 5 and Ch 7 are better. The time of day, and the weather effect it considerably. I use a Sony HD200 Receiver (Same as the zenith).

buz

Same here.

Live in Bedford, NH on the 3rd floor of an apartment building (which probably pretty well narrows down where in Bedford I live). I have a UHF yagi in the bedroom closet (impossibly, the best location I could find), and have fairly decent luck picking up Channels 5 and 2. 4 and 7 are a lot more dependent on weather conditions. Given the way the antenna's aimed, I rarely get the local NH stations, not that I feel I'm out very much. (Samsung TS-160.)

I just moved into a condo in Ayer, MA and put a PR7015 antenna in my attic and it works pretty well. I can get 2,4,5,7,25,38,44 and 66 with very few breakups so far. The Dish 811 finds WMUR, but can't get enough to lock in. I just moved from Hubbardston where I was on a hill with the antenna on the roof with an amp, and could get 4,5,7,11,12,38,44, and 66 rock solid, but 25 and 2 were virtually unwatchable most of the time. Right now I've got about 50' of cabling with no amplifier and I get between 70 - 85% of the signals. I'm just glad I can get them for free without having to pay Comcast for them since I prefer E*.

-Mike

Thanks for the feedback guys. I went ahead and placed an order XG91 (http://www.antennasdirect.com/LongRangeAntennas.htm). I am hoping to have it installed this weekend.

I'm watching MNF OTA on WCVB, and the local commercials are much much louder than the national feed. I'm using the stereo outputs from the Zenith HDV420 to my speakers. Anyone else hearing this?

Edit 9:57pm: My audio just clicked, and got louder, sound got clearer. Maybe it's fixed...

Originally posted by dozens
Thanks for the feedback guys. I went ahead and placed an order XG91 (http://www.antennasdirect.com/LongRangeAntennas.htm). I am hoping to have it installed this weekend.

Sorry, I just saw your post. A lot of people (including myself) are doing well with a Channel Master 4228 8-bay antenna.

Originally posted by HDorBust
Sorry, I just saw your post. A lot of people (including myself) are doing well with a Channel Master 4228 8-bay antenna.

I orginally was planning on getting the CM 4228 but decided since I was going indoors I would get an longer range antenna. Are you using your indoors or out ?

Hi All,

Has anyone had any experience using any omni directional antennas like the ChannelMaster SMARTenna ?

Thanks,

Chris10