The omnidirectional antennas generally do not work well with digital television, although you could get lucky.

Originally posted by dozens
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 ?

Outdoors, although I started with it in the attic. Too many reflections there. It is now 20 feet above the roof.

What a difference an amplifier makes. When I ordered the PR7015 Stark's actually talked me out of the amplifier because I'm only 20miles from towers; however the antenna IS in the attic. I put an amplifier on there on Monday, and I can now get 2,4,5,7,25,38,44,56 and 66. I was very surprised to receive a solid signal from 56 at 65%. Only problem I have, which could be the Dish 811 is that I can't lock into channel 5 sometimes on the first shot, it's very weird (both with and without the amplifier). If I change the channel, it sometimes takes 10 - 20s to lock into WCVB and the signal will then say 80% with NO break ups. All the other channels behave fine.

-Mike

Out of curiosity, what end of the antenna cable is the amp on? Is it at the antenna end, or at the receiver end? I got my channelmaster at Stark in Worcester and they recommended not getting an amplifier unless it was going to connected near the antenna. Any thoughts? I'm not overly concerned about improving my signal... my antenna is in my attic and I get 100% on all of the Boston channels except during heavy weather.

-Steve

The pre-amp should be installed at the antenna. The point is to amplify the signal so more signal makes it down the cable.

HDorBust:

I'm also in Nashua. I just put up a 4228 and I still can't get 25-1.

How well do you receive it?

Is FOX ED up and running yet here? I noticed it konked out a couple of months ago. I try 25-1 but I can't get a signal. I used to get a pretty strong one from FOX.

Also,
Any word on HDTV via Adelphia on the North Shore?

Question for Bob Hess

And apologies if it's been asked and answered before somewhere in those 212 previous pages of this thread...

As a new viewer (via Comcast) of WBZ-DT, I noticed early Xmas morning that the DT channel ran an HD presentation of Scrooged while the analog channel was running an episode of Martha Stewart Living. I thought it was really nice that your station did something special for HD viewers (I'd previously seen weekend Chronicle marathons on WCVB-DT, but hadn't heard on anyone else doing something like that locally), and was wondering how often this happens. Thanks!

Originally posted by k1alh
HDorBust:

I'm also in Nashua. I just put up a 4228 and I still can't get 25-1.

How well do you receive it?

It is one of the weaker stations, I think I was getting it in the 70's with my Toshiba DST-3000, whereas most other stations usually peg my meter at 100 (exception WB56, which seems to have dropped power again).

The Sony SAT HD 300 shows 25.1 in the mid normal range (about 50%). I think it has a wider scale than the Toshiba, because other stations that pegged the Toshiba at 100%, are showing in the mid good range (about 85%).

PLZ fox turn up the freek'n power,
the play-offs are coming

Anyone getting any audio noise at the beginning of the Pats/Bills game on 4-1? I keep hearing clicking like digital noise.

-Steve

I am ghetting an annoying audio crackle from the Pats game as well.

I called to WBZ HDTV hotline and they will investigate it.

Looks like they fixed it.

They kept popping in and out of HD too. Was this a national problem or just a Boston problem?

Minor quibbles considering the game. 31-0. HA!

[edit: The problems during the broadcast were national not just the local feed per this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=343104&perpage=20).]

-Steve

Anyone else have problems with signal strength and multi-path problems with CBS (4-1)? I am having problems recently and no amount of rotating and aiming my antenna will help. The picture comes in and out frequently. I ended up watching the Pats game on Analog channel, :-(

Scott
Westford, MA

This can happen depending on your location. Do yourself a favor and get Comcast cable and elinate this problem.

Originally posted by Scott Wang
Anyone else have problems with signal strength and multi-path problems with CBS (4-1)? I am having problems recently and no amount of rotating and aiming my antenna will help. The picture comes in and out frequently. I ended up watching the Pats game on Analog channel, :-(

Scott
Westford, MA

No problem here. Check your connections, you never know.

Do yourself a favor and get Comcast cable and elinate this problem

Some people cannot get Comcast, plus I would not want cable unless they provided the local channels unencrypted so that I could time shift them, kind of a waste if I could not record them.

You can record the local channels from Comcast, only not in HD. Unfortunately there is no way to HD record presently except from OTA. If you're having a problem receiving OTA digitals just to watch and not time-shift, Comcast is the only answer.

Originally posted by Benji
You can record the local channels from Comcast, only not in HD. Unfortunately there is no way to HD record presently except from OTA. If you're having a problem receiving OTA digitals just to watch and not time-shift, Comcast is the only answer.

Check out LG's LST-3410A. It can record HD and because the local channels on Comcast are unencrypted the QAM tuner should be able to pick them up and allow you to record them. If you want to do OTA as well then you will be an A/B switch since it only has 1 input. Speaking of which does anyone know of an IR controlable A/B switch ?

For Bob Hess: Why is there a delay switching from local feed to CBS feed? Notice a 5-10 sec green pixel display between switch overs.Just got BZ on Comcast this week. PQ on the Denver-Green Bay game was superb. Pats game was superb when CBS was feeding HD from network, and not problems with feed.

Is anyone else having trouble received WHDH-DT lately? Seems like a week or so ago I starting having trouble with it. The signal is still there, but it drops out at times. All the other stations, include the low power WLVI and WFXT signals are just fine.

Bob Hess-

WBZ is sending all audio DD 5.1 (even for 2.0) again, which means we can't process it for Pro-Logic II properly. I suppose this is a glitch?

Originally posted by dozens
Check out LG's LST-3410A. It can record HD and because the local channels on Comcast are unencrypted the QAM tuner should be able to pick them up and allow you to record them. If you want to do OTA as well then you will be an A/B switch since it only has 1 input. Speaking of which does anyone know of an IR controlable A/B switch ?

Radio Shack used to make one, I would imagine they still do.

No problems with WHDH except the lip sync issue I often have.

SMK

Ah. WBZ sound problem is getting annoying. Being limited to just front L+R on Dolby Prologic programming is a bummer.

Guys-

Just looking for what you all consider the best antenna for this area to pick up the local HD signals.

I live in plymouth, approx. 25 miles south of Boston (might be a little further).

I bought some roof top mount at radio shack (looks like a flying saucer) but the only channel I get without a problem is WCVB-DT, everything else is very spotty, especially in the evening.

Also, any help on testing the signal, I have the Hughes HTL-HD D*receiver and there is no signal meter on it for OTA signals.

Thanks guys

PS - Benji, I hope to hear from you.

zippydmm...not sure the 'flying saucer' shaped antenna is the best option. If you're using a rooftop mount, maybe you're better off going with a conventional VHF/UHF antenna (probably more expensive). As an alternative, have you thought about going with Comcast cable just to get the HD package (includes digitals 2, 4, 5, 7 and 25)? I have both Comcast and DIRECTV. I have a limited package on DIRECTV just to keep NFL Sunday Ticket and ESPN Gameplan. HD is an added expense no matter which way you decide to go.

Benji-

Believe me, I didn't want to put an antenna on my house so I already looked into my cable provider. Unfortunately for me, I can't get Comcast, I am stuck with crappy Adelphia. Their CSR's don't even know which way is up, and even though they advertise for HD programming, they are out of boxes until god knows when. DUH.

So I am stuck trying to get an antenna that gets me my locals in HD. Plus according to what I can see, there isn't any cable company that carries WBZ-DT/CBS (meaning Pats playoff games), it's antenna only for that one.

The antenna I got from Radio Shack is multi directional, I don't think thats what I want. They have one more that I can try that looks like a real antenna, but I am nervous about pointing it, since I don't have a signal meter (any ideas on that).

Also, any suggestions on an antenna that works in the Boston area from others would be of great help.

Thanks.

PS-Thanks again Benji.

Originally posted by Scott Wang
Anyone else have problems with signal strength and multi-path problems with CBS (4-1)? I am having problems recently and no amount of rotating and aiming my antenna will help. The picture comes in and out frequently. I ended up watching the Pats game on Analog channel, :-(

Scott
Westford, MA

Scott,

How are you narrowing it down to a multi-path problem. I had a problem with 4-1 where I had too much signal strength and the signal level fluctuated wildly (which looked like multipath). I added an attenuator in line and fixed my problem (with Bob Hess' help). I think the front end of the receiver was getting clobbered and the AGC circuit in the TV was trying to compensate.

zippydmm,

I believe the signal meter is active in your box, you just need to know how to turn it on. Check the hardware section for instructions.

Dave

Zippydmm,

I am about 30 miles south of Boston in North Attleboro using a rooftop 8 Bay Bowtie I am able to get all of the Boston channels on a E* 6000 with very few problems. Right now I get 2,4,5,7,25,38,44 and 56 digitally. I am not getting WPRI out of RI but that is mainly because they are a VHF signal and the antenna I am using is UHF. I had the same luck with a Samsung 151 that I recently replaced.

Good Luck,

Chris10

Anybody know if the local new will be broadcast in HD or SD widescreen soon?

Thanks

Originally posted by Need bb
Anybody know if the local new will be broadcast in HD or SD widescreen soon?

Thanks This will probably be a long wait. The local stations will only changeover their equipment through attrition, and not just for the sake of having HD.

zippydmm...if you put up a normal rooftop antenna, just make sure it faces WNW of your location. The towers are on Highland Avenue in Needham, just off of Rt.128.

Thanks for the help guys, got up early today, returned the "flying saucer" for a normal looking antenna at Radio Shack (VU-120 XR), put it up faced it WNW (;)) and all is good. I get 2,4, 5, 7, 38 I don't get 25 or 56, but for now I am very happy. I will adjust for 25, but I don't think they are HD anyway. I know the signal for the other channels is strong because I put it up this morning during a driving snow storm with heavy cloud cover and got a very clear, crisp picture. (Bring on the NFL playoffs in HD, woohoo)

One other question, hehe, do you think I need a amplifier for the signal?? It comes in very nice now, but I want it to be strong even during dificult conditions (not sure snow and clouds is, but I think it would be).

Any comments appreciated.

Special thanks to Benji and Chris10.

D_Doherty, I have a Hughes HTL-HD D* receiver, it does not have a signal meter for OTA signals from what I can see, for the life of me I don't know why they left that accessory off this model, my mistake for buying on impulse.

zippydmm,

sorry, foggy memory. the rumor was that it was to be enabled in a firmware upgrade.

Dave

Hi Zippydmm, IMHO, an amplifier would not be needed unless you are also pulling analog signals in with that same antenna. Digital being digital, either you have it or you don't. Are you seeing any artifacts, or picture freezing, that warrants an amp?

Originally posted by D_Doherty
zippydmm,

sorry, foggy memory. the rumor was that it was to be enabled in a firmware upgrade.

Dave

That would be great, but I am lucky if I could tie my shoes correctly.

I would have no idea how to do this and it seems Hughes doesn't like to talk to people in person as I get moved all around their automated CSR's when I call them.

Ok, just got my antenna up in the attic. I am able to pickup 5.1 with a "weak" signal according to my OTA tuner (LG LST 3510A). Why can't I tune 4.1 and 7.1 which are in the same compass orientation ? Would adding a pre-amp help ? The cable is directly connected, probabably 40-45 feet long.

Originally posted by zippydmm
Thanks for the help guys, got up early today, returned the "flying saucer" for a normal looking antenna at Radio Shack (VU-120 XR), put it up faced it WNW (;)) and all is good. I get 2,4, 5, 7, 38 I don't get 25 or 56, but for now I am very happy. I will adjust for 25, but I don't think they are HD anyway. I know the signal for the other channels is strong because I put it up this morning during a driving snow storm with heavy cloud cover and got a very clear, crisp picture. (Bring on the NFL playoffs in HD, woohoo)

One other question, hehe, do you think I need a amplifier for the signal?? It comes in very nice now, but I want it to be strong even during dificult conditions (not sure snow and clouds is, but I think it would be).

Any comments appreciated.

Special thanks to Benji and Chris10.

D_Doherty, I have a Hughes HTL-HD D* receiver, it does not have a signal meter for OTA signals from what I can see, for the life of me I don't know why they left that accessory off this model, my mistake for buying on impulse. You're welcome. WFXT and WLVI are very weak stations and almost impossible to pick up unless you are in a perfect location. I get unuseable signals on each. You've got the important stations. Digital signals fluctuate from time to time, and reception may be impaired from the elements. If you're getting consistently good reception I wouldn't mess with the antenna again. Congratulations on joining the HD club! Now go Patriots!!!!

benji;

when will wfxt and wlvi increase power,
it has been 3 years of excusses

Originally posted by kirkvolk
Scott,
How are you narrowing it down to a multi-path problem. I had a problem with 4-1 where I had too much signal strength and the signal level fluctuated wildly (which looked like multipath). I added an attenuator in line and fixed my problem (with Bob Hess' help). I think the front end of the receiver was getting clobbered and the AGC circuit in the TV was trying to compensate.

Kirk, channel 2, 4, 5, 44 are all supposed to be with a compass bering of 152 degrees. I get exceptional HD reception on chanel 2 and 5, clear and rock solid. channel 4 and 44 have problems, I can see ghosts on analog as well. I do get better channel 4 digital reception when I turn the anntenna to 100 degrees (probably on a "reflected" signal). They are all supposed to be coming from the same tower...

You maybe right that the siginal could be too strong as I do have a amplified distribution system from the outdoor anntena.

Scott

Originally posted by radco
benji;

when will wfxt and wlvi increase power,
it has been 3 years of excusses My opinion...2006 when the transition from analog to digital is supposed to be complete.

Channel 25 is a joke I can't remember the last time I received their signal

Originally posted by steverobertson
Channel 25 is a joke I can't remember the last time I received their signal Comcast...Comcast...Comcast!!!

Originally posted by Benji
Comcast...Comcast...Comcast!!! Benji, Comcast does not offer HDTV yet in my area so it's not even a choice. I've been using DireTV and outdoor anntenna with a roter since day one. Until Comcast have equivalent service to what I got today I am not even going to consider them as an option.

Regards,

Scott

Scott..have you called Comcast to find out when they will offer HD?

Appartently my internal compass isn't calibrated correctly. I thought I had my new antenna set to NNW, however when I printed off the map from www.antennaweb.org I realized I was off a bit. It's amazing how sensitive some signals can be, if you are off a little bit, you don't get them at all. I re-positioned my antenna, based on the map, towards the signals I wanted to get and bam, I get all stations inlcuding 25 clear as day, no artifacts or squiggles (that's my new technical term).

Again, thanks for the help guys. NFL in HD in four minutes, I can't wait.

Rcn in brookline, MA is redicolous, my friend has a tv with HDTV built in and they wont give him HDTV broadcast for certain channels unless he rents their HDTV box for an outrageous price. I dont know the policy for Comcast which i pray is better if anyone knows

WBZ sound problem is now fixed. DD 2.0 working as normal.

Thanks to whoever fixed it.

Hi Everyone,

Been reading through this thread most of the day and have learned a lot. I am about to make the jump to OTA HD and was hoping for a little input. I am in JP about 5 miles from the Needham Towers and was wondering if there was a good local store to get the coaxial cable / mounting rod and other stuff I will need to set up an antenna (a MC4221 or MC4228 which I will order online most likely). Does Radio Shack have everything that I will need?

Thanks for any input,

Steve

Originally posted by Roodi
I am about to make the jump to OTA HD and was hoping for a little input. I am in JP about 5 miles from the Needham Towers and was wondering if there was a good local store to get the coaxial cable / mounting rod and other stuff I will need to set up an antenna


YouDoIt Electronics is right near you and just off 128.
[under the towers :-) ]. They don't carry ChannelMaster but have
comparable stuff... And have all the cable, mounts, etc...

Originally posted by dozens
Ok, just got my antenna up in the attic. I am able to pickup 5.1 with a "weak" signal according to my OTA tuner (LG LST 3510A). Why can't I tune 4.1 and 7.1 which are in the same compass orientation ? Would adding a pre-amp help ? The cable is directly connected, probabably 40-45 feet long.

I'm south of you on the border and can get all
of the above. It took a little care in aiming the antenna to get 7-1 with
the others. If I don't point correctly when I have 7-1, I lose 2-*. I am
using a RS amp.

Originally posted by jjk58
I'm south of you on the border and can get all
of the above. It took a little care in aiming the antenna to get 7-1 with
the others. If I don't point correctly when I have 7-1, I lose 2-*. I am
using a RS amp.

What RS amp did you get ? I just pciked up 15-1108, "High-Gain Antenna-Mounted Signal Amplifier". It looks like it adds 26db gain. I haven't installed in yet...too tired, will try it out tommorrow.

Originally posted by dozens
What RS amp did you get ? I just pciked up 15-1108,
It was either that one or a sister amp that was similar. I had it prior
to playing with OTA tv. I intend on picking up the CM antenna and
amp the next time I get down to worcester. (yeah, I know about ups... :-) )

Originally posted by aboom
Rcn in brookline, MA is redicolous, my friend has a tv with HDTV built in and they wont give him HDTV broadcast for certain channels unless he rents their HDTV box for an outrageous price. I dont know the policy for Comcast which i pray is better if anyone knows
Eh? Does it have a cable-compatible HDTV tuner built-in? Because, my understanding is that these TVs (which adhere to the OpenCable standard, I believe), aren't yet available to the public.

Hoping for a little help. I'm in NW Merrimack, NH (near you Dozens?) and stuck with Adelphia :rolleyes: which currently only offers ABC, NBC & PBS on basic HD. Picture is great on my Samsung HLN437W, but who knows if they'll get CBS in time for the Pats games (i.e., Super Bowl!). I'm not crazy about going to a dish, and don't even know if they could get a good signal through the trees, so I'm considering OTA.

I'm researching the Samsung SIRT351 decoder, but best price is ~ $320. Any suggestions? Also, suggestions for type of antenna...can I get away with a multi-directional? Attic? Pre-amp needed? Thanks!

geoff2,

Integrated Mits TVs can display unencrypted QAM (cable) signals. I can do it now with Comcast.

The standard you refer to is to allow people access to premium channels w/o having to rent a box.

Dave

Originally posted by perrycom
Hoping for a little help. I'm in NW Merrimack, NH (near you Dozens?) and stuck with Adelphia :rolleyes: which currently only offers ABC, NBC & PBS on basic HD. Picture is great on my Samsung HLN437W, but who knows if they'll get CBS in time for the Pats games (i.e., Super Bowl!). I'm not crazy about going to a dish, and don't even know if they could get a good signal through the trees, so I'm considering OTA.

I'm researching the Samsung SIRT351 decoder, but best price is ~ $320. Any suggestions? Also, suggestions for type of antenna...can I get away with a multi-directional? Thanks!

That Samsung unit is fine. I don't think you'll have good luck with a multidirectional antenna, though. Multidirectionals typically don't work well with digital TV, especially as you get farther from the towers. I'd get something like the Channel Master 3021 or 4228 and point it towards the Needham towers.

Anyone have trouble with 5-1 this weekend? I usually get this rock solid but for some reason my signal was all over the place.

Originally posted by D_Doherty
geoff2,

Integrated Mits TVs can display unencrypted QAM (cable) signals. I can do it now with Comcast.

The standard you refer to is to allow people access to premium channels w/o having to rent a box.

Dave Dave...what digital channels can your Mits pick up from Comcast? I've tried on my Mits but come up empty.

Originally posted by steverobertson
Anyone have trouble with 5-1 this weekend? I usually get this rock solid but for some reason my signal was all over the place. Steve...I've been watching WCVBDT on Comcast but I recorded the Sugar Bowl last night from OTA and had no problems.

Thanks Benji I was surprised that I had a problem both saturday and Sunday nights. I usually have a rock solid 100 on the meter.

Steve...if you get a 100 and were having problems, it had to be multipath. Channel 4-1 is my strongest station and occassionally I have that problem with them.

Benji,

In September I had the following:

83.05 History
84.02 WFXT
85.01 WCVB
85.02 WHDH
88.01 WGBH
87.01 ESPN
90.01 Newsworld Int.

Since then Comcast has added WBZ but I haven't checked lately.

An aside, my gripes about the the Mits integrated tvs:

1. Scanning for QAM channels is PAINFUL!
2. It is either OAT DT or QAM DT but not both
3. NTSC channels not integrated with ATSC channels
4. No signal meter
5. Cannot record 256 QAM channels to D-VHS, with #1 is why I rarely check the QAM stations.

Dave

Originally posted by D_Doherty
Benji,

In September I had the following:

83.05 History
84.02 WFXT
85.01 WCVB
85.02 WHDH
88.01 WGBH
87.01 ESPN
90.01 Newsworld Int.

Since then Comcast has added WBZ but I haven't checked lately.


D_Doherty - Can you your QAM singals again ? I have a QAM tuner in my receiver and it can not tune ESPN HD because it encrypted/scrambled.

Sorry, I should have pulled that out, I went by an old list.

ESPN is encrypted, I did a scan when INHD1 & 2 came on line and ESPN was gone then.

Originally posted by perrycom
Hoping for a little help. I'm in NW Merrimack, NH (near you Dozens?) and stuck with Adelphia :rolleyes: which currently only offers ABC, NBC & PBS on basic HD. Picture is great on my Samsung HLN437W, but who knows if they'll get CBS in time for the Pats games (i.e., Super Bowl!). I'm not crazy about going to a dish, and don't even know if they could get a good signal through the trees, so I'm considering OTA.

I'm researching the Samsung SIRT351 decoder, but best price is ~ $320. Any suggestions? Also, suggestions for type of antenna...can I get away with a multi-directional? Attic? Pre-amp needed? Thanks!

perrycom - we are close by. I picked up a 91XG from antennasdirect.com, installed it in my attic and was able to ABC from Boston. I was unable to to CBS or NBC which I found odd because they broadcast from the same tower. I plan to add a preamp and will try again. I use to live in Merrimack and certainly don't miss Adelphia !

Working from South Bedford (NH), I can fairly reliably get ABC, but CBS and NBC are more hit-and miss by comparison. I'm using a RS UHF Yagi mounted inside a walk-in closet (since it's an apartment and I can't put it outside), with a RS pre-amp.

I think I get CBS more often than NBC, and WGBH more than the other two.

More often than not, it's moot, since Comcast carries most of those on HD cable now.

Originally posted by dozens
perrycom - we are close by. I picked up a 91XG from antennasdirect.com, installed it in my attic and was able to ABC from Boston. I was unable to to CBS or NBC which I found odd because they broadcast from the same tower. I plan to add a preamp and will try again. I use to live in Merrimack and certainly don't miss Adelphia !

Thanks for the reply. Let me know how you make out!

Ack! WBZ sound is screwed up again.

What seems to be happening is the station doesn't switch back to DD 2.0 after a DD 5.1 sports event.

Call them or go to their web site and post a message. it should be resolved fairly quickly. http://wbz4.com/feedback/

Pick WBZ-TV Technical Broadcast Issues from the drop-down list.

Thanks. I think Bob Hess and others monitor this thread fairly regularly, but I used that link.

Originally posted by DaveFi
Thanks. I think Bob Hess and others monitor this thread fairly regularly, but I used that link.
Hi Guys,

I am no longer with WBZ/UPN38. Still working for the same company but not in New England. I know that there are a few guys at WBZ that monitor AVS Forum. I'll pass your comments along. Have not checked into this thread lately so my apologies if questions directed to me have not been answered.

Bob

Bob,

Thank you for all your help in the past and I want to wish you the best of luck in your new job, you will be missed here.

Bob...aren't you going to let us know where your new assignment is?

Thanks Bob for all of your help. You will be missed!

Bob, best of luck in your new job.

Ah well. Good luck.

Probably why WBZ-DT sound is still screwed! They need to learn how to switch back to DD 2.0 after a DD 5.1 event.

Originally posted by mgpt6
Bob, best of luck in your new job.

Same, but you need to come back for an alumni station tour ;)

WBZ sound is fixed (last night). Hopefully it won't take them 3 days to fix after the next sporting event.

Originally posted by jckessler
Thanks Bob for all of your help. You will be missed!

Ditto!!!

And if you find yourself doing tower construction, testing with low-power, etc. etc. let us know --
we should be able to muster-up a few voodoo attenuators, along with an economy size bottle of Excedrin.

Is anyone having any trouble with WGBH? All of the 2-* signals from Boston have been perfect for me all along and then all of a sudden... gone.

-Steve

Originally posted by perrycom
Thanks for the reply. Let me know how you make out!

perrycom and others in southern NH. I am now having very good success receiving HD OTA. I wasn't having too much luck until I added a preamp. I am getting channels 19, 20, 23,30,31,35,39,42 and 59. Not sure why I am not getting channel 41 (WLVI).

I have following:

91XG from antennasdirect.com, installed in my attic
Winegard AP-4800 preamp, +26 dB
LG LST 3510A receiver.

41 is much weaker than the rest. That's probably why you don't get it.

Has anyone had more problems than usual with Fox 25? For the past year I have been able to receive it with sporadic dropouts but lately I cannot get it at all. All my other Boston DT channels are STRONG with the usual exceptions of FOX andWLVI. I'm unable to get FOX at all. I live in central Mass and have an external CM 4228, and a CM Amp. Anyone else experiencing same type of issues? Any idea when FOX will be increasing power?

I live 10 miles away and can't get this channel but other than football I really never watch so it really doesn't matter much to me

I have a 4228 w/ pre-amp with two HD tuners connected. I get all stations including 25.1 on one tuner and all stations except 25.1 on the other. Weird???

I have no problem getting perfect reception on WFXTDT...on Comcast.

Originally posted by Benji
I have no problem getting perfect reception on WFXTDT...on Comcast.

Like I said I don't watch Fox except for football so I don't care

Anybody else experience signal drop from WBZ4 when they transition from HD to SD commercial and back to HD?

I notice the picture freezes up for a couple when they go from CBS to a local feed.

Originally posted by elbig
Anybody else experience signal drop from WBZ4 when they transition from HD to SD commercial and back to HD?

I only notice this when they go to local commercials (switch between the national feed and local feed).

Bob Hess leaves, and the place goes to all hell!

a little off topic but right neighbourhood , im looking for a projector and projector accesory store in Andover /wilmington area anyone have an idea, i read about it on this forum years ago but cant remember the name and location
otherwise waitng patiently for the pats game!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't rag too much on WBZ- Bob said some of the staff are monitoring this thread (Hi Guys!;)).

Since I don't watch OTA anymore- I have noticed on Comcast that WBZ is glitchy- it cuts out occasionally and pixelates. Could be a localized problem.

Will the Pats be in HD tonight?
Spearse

YES!

Still getting annoying "no signal" messages when WBZ switches to local commercial breaks during nation HD programming. I wonder what has changed, since this wasn't a problem a few months ago.

I know CBS has been having problems tonight, but did everyone else lose the HD broadcast of the Pats game with less than a minute to go in the half?

The half time show is on in HD, so whatever problem CBS is having, they must have fixed it (for now).

Originally posted by jckessler
Still getting annoying "no signal" messages when WBZ switches to local commercial breaks during nation HD programming. I wonder what has changed, since this wasn't a problem a few months ago.

Agree, very annoying. I've noticed it over the last week and have been
wondering what's changed. I attribute some of the pixelization to
weather conditions but not the commercial changes.

--
on tonight's game, it looks like cbs added a couple more HD cameras.
The 'cable-cam' shots are great.

I very much prefer 720p, I wish more stations would start broadcasting in it.

I generally liked the cable cam. Although at times it was hard to follow the action down field as the wide angle lense made even 20 yards seem like 100. Adams filed goal looked like he missed it by a mile from the cable cam. Its funny, sometimes I felt like I was watching a video game because of the unusual camera angles.

I like the view from the skycam, but the fisheye effect is a bit much. It's really difficult to tell how far down the field things are taking place, and its often difficult to see exactly what's happening. I'm guessing it will take them a while to get down appropriate skycam usage patterns.

On field goals, it's the by far the best perspective.

Originally posted by jckessler

On field goals, it's the by far the best perspective.

Given the 'closeness' of some of the field goal attempts yesterday, I
would like to see the networks give us a PIP view of field goal
attempts using an insert of a 2nd camera looking at the uprights from
the sideline.

I *like* the PIP idea. I have never seen that before.

Is your antenna on a rotor? I'm in Merimack ( just North of Nashua) and i get all the networks out of boston ( PBS,ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX,UPN) without problem

I did put the outdoor antenna on a rotor, and reception does depend on which way I point the antenna. It's not a very good antenna ( Radio Shack UHF/VHF ~4' radius), but idt seems OK. The antenna is ~ 20' off the ground.

I'm new to this ( got the Samsung T351 last week) I do like the program guide that appears on most of the channels ( als , not PBS)

Originally posted by elbig
I *like* the PIP idea. I have never seen that before.
Neither have I, that's why I would like to see it :-)

Hi all,

Bob Hess having left the building, the task of monitoring and replying to this thread has fallen to me (to be honest, I have been lurking here the past four years).

I am in charge of the WBZ-TV/HD, WSBK-TV/HD, and WLWC-TV/[soon-to-be]HD transmitter sites (and WBZ-AM, in Hull, MA, but that's radio, or TV without pictures, so it doesn't count here). I was involved with the reconstruction of the tower, and installed both the WBZ and WSBK HD transmitters.

I live in New Bedford, 43.1 air miles from the WBZ tower. I use the following antennas, no pre-amps, roof mounted at about 18 feet:
VHF: Antennacraft Permacolor 3BG17 (97" FM/VHF)
UHF: Channel Master 4228 (8-bay multi-bowtie panel)

I can receive all Boston HD's and WPRI's from Providence. Occasional breakups on WLVI-DT, otherwise everyone else is solid just about 24/7. In all fairness I'll 'fess up to using a spectrum analyzer to align the antennas.

Today's question: who among you out there is watching on the Cape OTA? What equipment do you have and how's the reception?

Thanks...

Robert Yankowitz

Welcome aboard you have big shoes to fill and I am sure you are up to it.

Where did Bob disappear to?

Mr. Yankowitz - Does CBS choose to broadcast in 1080i because it is cheaper to do then 720p or is there a technical reason ? Back during wildcard weekend when games were being shown on CBS and ABC I could definitely noticed a difference between the two formats.

Mr. Yankowitz, Welcome. We'll try to be gentle. First question: Have you been reading any of the comments about getting "no signal" during the switch between HD programs and SD commercials? ANy comment?

Thanks.

Mr. Yankowitz, a big welcome and the hope you will be as responsive as Bob was. It is a tough forum and the technology is not yet perfect so we are all in this together.....WBZ has always been a leader in treating the folks in this forum with replies to questions.....I hope you continue this outstanding tradition that Bob created. Welcome and I look forward to reading your future responses to our continuing questions.

1. Bob will do fine. It's bad enough my kids think I'm an old moron without all that "Mr." stuff.
2. You guys have got to at least pretend to get a life. Three answers in under 1/2 hour, in the middle of the day??!
3. SteveRobertson: Very big shoes. He wears a size 11. Mine are considerably smaller. Sacramento.
4. Dozens: I can't answer for the big boys at CBS, but there has been a running debate over which is better looking - interlaced high-resolution or non-interlaced lower-resolution. No definite conclusions.
5. Elbig: I have been reading the posts (as I said, I've been lurking all along). We'll see what we can find out.
6. PinnacleDev: Flattery and compliments will never hurt.

Bob,

Since we're flooding you with questions... I'll continue.. :)

There is something different about CBS's broadcast vs other's. My HD card (FUSION II) only works with CBS in software mode. The Fusion has a hardware mode which looks better and takes up less resources.
Hardware mode works for every other station Like PBS and NBC which broadcast in 1080.

Do you know of any difference between your broadcast and say NBC's?
I'm sure is an issue on Fusion's end, but it would be nice to give them some
hints on where to look. I get sound but no picture.

Oh. and my 2cents is that 720p looks better.. at least for football... :)

Go pats!

Thanks,


Jim

Jim,

Sorry, but I have no comparative information between ourselves and the competition. But...

How's WSBK? That I can check.

Originally posted by RYankowitz
How's WSBK? That I can check.
I believe that UPN is fine. I'll check again tonight, but other
than the weak signal (i think it comes in weak..), It comes in as expected..

Jim

Hi all i was wondering if you could tell me which gives TRUE HDTV. Comcast or Directv. Overall what one is better?

Bob,

I too welcome you to the forum. I don't post often but read alot and always follow this thread.

Today's question: who among you out there is watching on the Cape OTA? What equipment do you have and how's the reception?

I am 77.4 miles (as the seagull flies) from the Needham towers. I've been receiving a signal since BZ increased power a couple (few?) years ago. I had tried when they were testing but reception was very intermittent.

Equipment:
Channel Master 4248 w/ 7775 pre-amp on 10' mast on 5' tripod on roof.

Stacked (vertically) Blake JBX21A antennas being tested. Use same pre amp and just mount to my deck. This array is down for the winter.

RG-11 Quad Shield from roof antenna

OTA Receivers:
MDP-100 MyHD card
RCA DTC100
Sony SAT-HD200

HDTVs:
Samsung HLN617W dlp TV
Samsung 15" LCD
Sharp 30" LCD TV

I would rate the reception as 80-85% reliable. Fog sucks. Clear dry air is pretty good. When there are clouds between me and the towers it's great but that usually does't last very long.! For some reason when I have intermittent signal problems with WBZ-DT , WCVB-DT is strong. Honestly we watch mostly CBS so I'm most familiar with your signal. MyHD usually reports between 65-90 on it's signal strength meter.

I've been following the comments about WBZ switching between the network and local feeds. I've seen this problem for a couple months now. The volume is always much louder from bz than CBS. When switching from BZ to CBS I get a freeze - pixellization and sometimes audio POP! The freeze also is seen as loss of signal on the HD200.

If you need any more info let me know. If you visit the Cape this summer bring your spectrum analyzer!:D

Stan

Stan,

Thanks very much for the response. We have a potential new viewer on the Cape and we'd like to entice him over to the dark side, so this information will help.

To all: Regarding the breakups between upconverted SD and HD--

This is caused by a timing problem between the upconverter and the rest of the equipment. We are trying mightily to resolve it before SPD (Super Bowl Day), and I think we will succeed.

Bob,

Good luck persuading the potential viewer. If he'd like to try a Blake or two I think I'm willing to sell them now that I have Comcast as a backup.

Stan

Originally posted by RYankowitz
We are trying mightily to resolve it before SPD (Super Bowl Day), and I think we will succeed.

I'm hoping for better by this sunday... :-)

==
FYI, 4-1 reception in general last night was pretty bad. Everyone else was
solid (including fox).

joe

I was having severe problems with Fox HD last night. I had to watch 24 in SD. 4-1 was a bit flaky as well but watchable. Is it me or have things gotten worse lately? I recall in the fall I was having frequent problems all over and then it generally became very solid. Lately however it seems to have gotten unreliable again.

I always have problems with Fox thank God after Sunday I won't have to watch them anymore

I had less problems with 12-1 last night then 4-1, I think that is a FIRST, atleast they are aware of the problem. No problems with 25-1.

Jim

Anyone experiencing problems with channels 2 and 44 last night. Signal was bouncing all over the place with frequent breakups. All other Boston statio, even 56, I'm in SE NH.

Dispite all the wind, the never-present WB 41-x came back real strong for me last night.

The audio glitches on CBS 30-1 are pretty embarrassing (especially when showing off HDTV at Patriots gatherings), so it's good to see they're working on it. I can never hear what they say during the last scene of a sitcom when they only come back for a few moments before the credits start ... I miss the joke, and hear the laughtrack.

Regarding PBS 43-x ... I get a strong signal, and the video comes in fine. The audio comes in fine for the first subchannel (I forget if that is -1 or -2). However, all the other subchannels sound like they are coming thru a strobe-light ... non-stop audio dropouts, so I only hear every other second of audio.

Regarding PBS 19-x ... I get -2 and -3 fine, but I wish I could get rid of whatever the next (blank) subchannel is ... when I scroll thru channels, I get stuck at that blank screen for a few moments.

I find the PBS problems to be annoying enough that I've stopped watching their re-runs, but I'm happy that WB is back (for now).

What's the current status of WLWC-HD?

I'm in Taunton, maybe 5 miles form the transmit site :)

Tim

Hi All,

Anyone having trouble with Ch 7 over the past couple of days? I recently replaced a Samsung 151 with an E* 6000 and it was working fine until Monday night. Now I get no digital signal for 7 when I scan but I do get 42-1. When I try to switch to 42-1 it reads about an 87% signal but I get no picture/sound.

Any ideas would be great.

thanks,

Chris10

Try 42-2. Sometime programming appears on that.

WHDH-DT: Monday around 12:30 pm - no picture. Since Monday night the picture is back but it takes about 5 seconds for my Mits HD5 to lock in (100 on the signal meter).

WHDH PSIP is screwy. It regularly bounces between being mapped to 7-1 and 42-2 on my Zenith tuner. I suspect that is making it difficult to receive on some tuners.

(Reason #2754 I think remapping should go away.)

Originally posted by RScogland
The audio glitches on CBS 30-1 are pretty embarrassing (especially when showing off HDTV at Patriots gatherings), so it's good to see they're working on it.

Tell me about it, I had 20 guys over to watch the last Pats game, and they kept asking me why the picture was going out (it was a CBS problem) and then when something exciting was happening, some of the guys sitting in the path of my OTA antenna would jump up and block the signal causing the picture to drop out. They would then make fun of this "great tv".

They asked me why don't I move the antenna. I explained it has to be attached to the HD receiver. They then asked what does it aim at the dish? (I have Directv). I had to explain no, toward the tv towers in Needham. They just didn't get it.

Yes, they thought the picture was great, they thought the eye in sky long view was the fault of my HD stuff...duh! Anyway, I don't think I converted anyone over to HD.

The only good thing is I'm getting Comcast HD next Tuesday, so I can ditch the crappy OTA antenna! However, I will be watching the AFC championship alone, rather than deal with the wrath of my friends when the picture screws up!

I am new to OTA. About a week ago I got my antenna up and got all the Boston stations except WLVI. For the last couple days I have had touble tuning some stations (I guess I am not alone). Other then winds blowing an antenna around does weather effect the signal ? BTW - My antenna is in the attic so wind should not be a problem for me.

Atmospheric conditions can definitely affect reception, making signal stronger or weaker. Also if the atmospherics are right, you can get interference from distant stations. So if for example Hartford channel 30 starts getting too strong around here, people may have problems with WBZ-DT, which also transmits on channel 30. Or wet/snow covered ground can affect multipath conditions as well, and affect your reception.

Digital is tough because when things start going wrong you just get dropouts, and its difficult to tell what's causing them.

I have a Dish 6000 as well and have had issues with WHDH since Monday. Last night the video froze up with 10 minutes left on West Wing but the audio was fine. This morning it seemed to be just black when I left for work.

- Dave

Originally posted by duggan
I have a Dish 6000 as well and have had issues with WHDH since Monday. Last night the video froze up with 10 minutes left on West Wing but the audio was fine. This morning it seemed to be just black when I left for work.

- Dave

I have Comcast (807) and had the same problem last night. This morning I had the "just black " problem as well....What that seemed to be was when it went from a "national" to a "local" feed (new/weather during TODAY and some commercials) the sound and picture would drop. I originally thought it was a problem with Comcast (newly installed yesterday) but seeing as OTA and SAT is experiencing the same problem, it must be WHDH......

--Kevin

The SAT feed was fine, only the Digital OTA feed which is probably the same as the Cable HD feed were having problems.

I have a Sony HD-200 and starting several months ago the guide loses the HD (x.1) channels. I can watch them by manually entering but they either don't show up when I remap or they just disappear. Sony support has been useless so far. Is it a local transmisson problem (psip or something) or is it my box?

I am also on the cape in Falmouth and haven't read the forum for a while, but have had pretty good results with the jbx21 that I got from the folks at hometheatre1.com. I put a rotor on it and a cm 7775 amp and get all stations most of the time. Yes, even 25.1 and 56.1 - I do get dropouts on 56.1 sometimes but 25.1 is definitely a watchable channel. I am using Bob Hess's favorite reciever, the dtc100. I set my Brother in Law up with the same antenna and amp as Stan in Harwich and he has very good results as well with his hughes E86. And if you bring your spectrum analyzer to Stans please be sure you plan a trip to Falmouth as well :)

John

QUOTE:
I have a Sony HD-200 and starting several months ago the guide loses the HD (x.1) channels. I can watch them by manually entering but they either don't show up when I remap or they just disappear. Sony support has been useless so far. Is it a local transmisson problem (psip or something) or is it my box?
____________________________________________________________

I have experienced no similar problems with my Sony HD 200. It must be your receiver.

Jay

I'm new to HDTV (OTA Samsung 351 STB to RS 8' VHF/UHF antenna on a rotor) . I'm just playing a bit to see what's available, and get the Boston stations including PBS 44 and 2. The samsung has the ability to play in letterbox or full or (some other name for screen size)

I'm playing the video on a composite monitor, so it is letter boxed and not up to the HD resolution. That said, the clarity of digital OTA TV is impressive

What I've noticed is that many stations broadcast SD in digital. The PBS stations that broadcast in SD manage to command the Samsung 351 to stay in SD format ( full screen on my old 4x3 composite monitor) The other station (NBC CBS ABC) broadcast a box in a box, i.e., with bars on top and bottom.

Can anyone geve me a clue as to what the PBS stations are doing that gets the signal in the "correct' 4x3 format. On the PBS subcarriers, when they broadcast in 16x9, the signal correcly appears in 16x9 leaving bars on the top and bottom of the screen. So,not only does PBS use the sub carriers ( is this the correct term) they also manage to distinguish between 4x3 and 16x9 "automatically".

I'm trying to figure out where the "automatic' part coes in

TIA

--G

The PBS SD stations are sending a 4:3 480i signal. Any letterboxed material on these channels is 4:3 with black bars (top and bottom) embedded in the signal.

Most of the other stations are sending out a 16:9 picture. When they send out 4:3 material, black or grey bars are added to the sides at the station, and then sent out. When this gets letterboxed by the STB on your end, there are black bars all the way around. Your STB can not distinguish between true 16:9 material, and a 16:9 signal with black bars added at the station.

Most boxes offer some way to crop the sides of the HD stations if you're outputting using composite or S-video, so the picture will fill the screen properly, but I'm not sure how to do that on your box. You'll probably have to play around with the settings.

wfxt-dt 825 was off on Comcast saturday at 4pm, hope back for NFC game Sunday night

Originally posted by jckessler
The PBS SD stations are sending a 4:3 480i signal.

OK... thanks, I think I've got it

So the PBS are sending out ATSC digital 4x3 480i signals

The other stations are sending out ATSC digital 16x9 (1080i or 740 p) signals and use black bars on the sides when the source material is 4x3.


Next question, the only locals I've seen with a "bouquet" of channels are PBS ( ch 2 and 44) and channel 5 ( they have the doppler radar on the second channel)

Anyone know if the other channels are planning on using this "bouquet" feature in the nead future/

TIA

Originally posted by mgpt6
wfxt-dt 825 was off on Comcast saturday at 4pm, hope back for NFC game Sunday night WFXT-DT is currently off the air all together.

Looks like WFXT-DT is back on, seems to be stronger in signal strength.

Jim

First time I have seen WFTX-DT in quite some time. Maybe the FCC is finally letting WFTX-DT broadcast with more power!

I actually got 56 DT llast night, (both subchannels) did power go up?

Originally posted by rudolpht
I actually got 56 DT llast night, (both subchannels) did power go up?

Are you also getting 75.1? Looks like WLVI-DT is sending out bad PSIP info for the last month, I emailed them but they have not addressed it yet.

Jim

Hey Bob (WBZ). When are you going to solve the "no signal" problems between broadcast and commercials? It is rather annoying and it has been going on for a while. I hope it is corrected soon. Thanks.

Originally posted by vfrjim
Are you also getting 75.1? Looks like WLVI-DT is sending out bad PSIP info for the last month, I emailed them but they have not addressed it yet.

Jim

Jim,

Yup.

Getting it last night must have been an atmospheric fluke. Tango Uniform today.

Tim

Originally posted by elbig
Hey Bob (WBZ). When are you going to solve the "no signal" problems between broadcast and commercials? It is rather annoying and it has been going on for a while. I hope it is corrected soon. Thanks. Assuming you are referring to Bob Hess, Mr. Hess is no longer at WBZ.

Benji, actually I was referring to Bob Yankowitz who took over for Bob Hess. I didn't remember his last name but I did recall he was Bob (which makes it easy for all of us to remember since Bob Hess was so helpful). Are others are experiencing the same "no signal" with commercials on WBZ.

Benji, actually I was referring to Bob Yankowitz who took over for Bob Hess. I didn't remember his last name but I did recall he was Bob (which makes it easy for all of us to remember since Bob Hess was so helpful). Are others are experiencing the same "no signal" with commercials on WBZ.

The problem is definitely at our end, and we are still working on it. As I said before, we intend to have it resolved by Super Bowl day.

BobY,

I was getting a lot of signal breakup during the last ~2 minutes of the
game. The rest of the game had been nice and solid. I ended up
switching back to cable to not miss any game and to eliminate the
uproar in the living room due to the LOS...

Do you know of an issue on your end of the transmission chain or
should I just chalk it up to coincidence and atmospherics?
(and mr. murphy?)

joe

since we have somebody in the know here now, let me ask a question that has bothered since I got my Mits 4 years ago. Why doesn't the station correct the color saturation on the outgoing transmissions? Not only does the colors vary between stations but it also varies between programs?

Baffled!

/Peter

Originally posted by Ferrari328
since we have somebody in the know here now, let me ask a question that has bothered since I got my Mits 4 years ago. Why doesn't the station correct the color saturation on the outgoing transmissions? Not only does the colors vary between stations but it also varies between programs?

Baffled!

/Peter

I can't say I've seen that myself.

We send our programming two ways:[list=1] Upconvert to high-definition our NTSC analog signal.
Pass-through the CBS high-definition signal.[/list=1]
In both cases the signals travel untouched by human hands. Adjustments to picture parameters just aren't practical once the signal has entered the compressed (MPEG) domain. On the other hand, the standard definition source material (from the analog side of the control room) can be adjusted, and we do our best, but the NTSC system isn't known as "Never The Same Color" for nothing.

Originally posted by jjk58
BobY,

I was getting a lot of signal breakup during the last ~2 minutes of the
game. The rest of the game had been nice and solid. I ended up
switching back to cable to not miss any game and to eliminate the
uproar in the living room due to the LOS...

Do you know of an issue on your end of the transmission chain or
should I just chalk it up to coincidence and atmospherics?
(and mr. murphy?)

joe

The transmitter tells me it was happy all through the game (probably a Pats fan), which is also an indication it received an uninterrupted transport stream. I'll check with the studio to see if they had any problems from the network, but since the forum hasn't erupted with complaints I'm guessing it was Mr. M visiting your house.

Is there any plans for WBZ to have the local news in HD or widescreen.? Some other stations in the country are starting to transition.

Bob, could you provide some info on how the signal is transmitted from the studio to the tower and then up to the antenna on the tower? What kind of antennas are on the towers, etc. I have always been interested in the towers but didn't know anybody who knew this info.


Thanks

Originally posted by Need bb
Is there any plans for WBZ to have the local news in HD or widescreen.? Some other stations in the country are starting to transition.

Bob, could you provide some info on how the signal is transmitted from the studio to the tower and then up to the antenna on the tower? What kind of antennas are on the towers, etc. I have always been interested in the towers but didn't know anybody who knew this info.


Thanks

Nothing on the horizon (yet) for local HD origination. That will require replacement of all cameras, switchers, tape and disk recorders, etc. Very big bucks.

We send the signal to the transmitter via a microwave STL (studio-to-transmitter link) on either the 6 or 13 gHz band, using a radio known as a TwinStream made by Microwave Radio Corporation in Billerica, MA. (MRC started life as part of M/A-Com, Microwave Associates, also a local company. MRC is the dominant broadcast microwave radio provider in the industry). The TwinStream is two radios in one; transporting both the analog and digital signals. The digital signal is sent already compressed as MPEG (known as SMPTE-310M) at a 19.39 mBit/second rate, and it is injected directly into the transmitter.

The transmitter (more properly, the exciter) modulates this signal using the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) method, also known as 8-VSB (8-level Vestigial Sideband) and amplifies it to whatever level the station is licensed for.

That signal, in WBZ's case, about 35 kilowatts, is send up the tower via a coaxial cable. At that power level, the coaxial cable is constructed as a solid copper pipe 8" in diameter, with an inner conductor, also solid copper, about 2" in diameter. The inner conducter is suspended by teflon stand-offs. The cable, also known as transmission line, is made in roughly 20' lengths. Each piece connects to the others via a flange with nuts and bolts around the circumference. The transmission line is pressurized with either nitrogen or dehydrated air to keep it free of moisture, which does not get along with high voltages. (Go to http://www.dielectric.com/broadcast/catalogs/CoaxialTransmissionLine.pdf for a closer look at this.)

At the top of the WBZ tower is a 100' pole, 4 feet in diameter, containing the two UHF antennas, one upper and one lower, used by WBZ-DT, WCVB-DT, WGBH-DT, WSBK-DT, WGBX-TV and WGBX-DT. Because there are several adjacent channels in this group (19 and 20, 43 and 44) we have them split among the two antennas.

The antennas produce gain by concentrating the transmitted energy in a beam towards the horizon (and not wasting any toward the ground or the moon). This gain, less some loss in the transmission line, produces the 725 kilowatts you've seen us refer to as our transmitted power (also known as Effective Radiated Power - ERP).

Enough for now, I think. I'll be happy to bore you with more detail if you wish. Just let me know...

<i> The transmitter tells me it was happy all through the game (probably a Pats fan), which is also an indication it received an uninterrupted transport stream. I'll check with the studio to see if they had any problems from the network, but since the forum hasn't erupted with complaints I'm guessing it was Mr. M visiting your house.</i>

I was seeing a lot of glitches throughout the game while watching it via Comcast cable (in Somerville). Sound would drop out for a few seconds, screen went black a few times, and a number of times the screen would freeze on a pixelated image.

Enough for now, I think. I'll be happy to bore you with more detail if you wish. Just let me know...

Not all boring...quite a literate overview in fact. Thanks.

Is there any backup power at the transmitter yet? Until that happens DTV will be viewed as the step child. Have the transmission line leaks been fixed or is the compressor still running overtime? Do you have any large screen monitors yet? Is the site still a rather lonely place or is it now teeming with eager technicians?

Thanks for being so communicative.

Lee

Bob,

You rock!

Seriously, I'd like to say thank you on behalf of all of us 'bleeding edgers' out there for taking the time to monitor and post on this forum.

Originally posted by jjk58
BobY,

I was getting a lot of signal breakup during the last ~2 minutes of the
game. The rest of the game had been nice and solid. I ended up
switching back to cable to not miss any game and to eliminate the
uproar in the living room due to the LOS...

Do you know of an issue on your end of the transmission chain or
should I just chalk it up to coincidence and atmospherics?
(and mr. murphy?)

joe

The studio reports no knowledge of any problems at the end of the game. (We like to say, "The trouble's leaving here fine!")

Originally posted by lee eiseman
Is there any backup power at the transmitter yet? Until that happens DTV will be viewed as the step child. Have the transmission line leaks been fixed or is the compressor still running overtime? Do you have any large screen monitors yet? Is the site still a rather lonely place or is it now teeming with eager technicians?

Thanks for being so communicative.

Lee

A couple of questions of my own:
[list=1]
Who are you?
How do you know so much about the transmitter site?
Where have you put the hidden cameras? I've searched everywhere but I can't find them (although I'm getting suspicious of those new Sony air fresheners).
[/list=1]

Anyone know if Star Trek should be in HD this week?

It looks like it's in a 16x9 window in a 4x3 windowshade....

dewdrops,
The broadcast OTA signal had the same anomalies as Comcast.

Anyone know if Comcast will carry UPN HD?
Spearse

Trek was in hd tonight. Anyone getting a signal on either fox or 2.1 both dead right now. Hope they are dead as I just activated a sammy 160 from D*.

2-1 is ok here, but fox is black.

Anyone else having issues with 25-1 this evening ? I get 'searching for signal' and the same results when I did a digital channel re-scan. Still getting all other channels at normal levels. I hope this is not another transmission line problem.... last time it took them several weeks to get it sorted out.

25-1 is also black for me. Last few months "BAD" signal signal strength, last couple of days better signal but still pixilization, tonight no signal at all! Note: FOX engineers have submitted to FCC many times to increase power but FCC has denied all requests from what I have been told. Something about increasing their DT power will cause additional interference with neighboring channels. Anyone have definite reasons as to why Fox 25-1 is not at full power?

I shot an email to fox's 25.1 head engineer to find out status, will report back with info. BTW, it has been off since atleast noon time, it was on earlier this am when I checked.

Jim

BTW, it has been off since atleast noon time, it was on earlier this am when I checked.
Yeah my TIVO only got 'Searching for Signal' when it tried to record the Simpsons at 6:30 and 7:30, so this doesn't seem like a small problem. As a Simpsons fan, I pray it gets fixed soon.

You all should see WFXT-DT back on-air now. The repairs of a few weeks ago left an easter egg in the main transmission line that bit us last Saturday. We were able to keep the DT up until weather conditions allowed us to fix the main line Wednesday. Now all is well (fingers crossed!).

Thanks for trying to watch. Please bear with us; HD will be here before you know it!

Will the big game be upconverted sd or true HD wide screen? I just put up a new antenna and got a great signal for CBS (CH 4.1) but I have not seen anything but upconverted sd. I am new to OTA transmission.

Chip

Originally posted by stefuel
Will the big game be upconverted sd or true HD wide screen? I just put up a new antenna and got a great signal for CBS (CH 4.1) but I have not seen anything but upconverted sd. I am new to OTA transmission.

Chip

Great, glorious, wide High-Definition.

Originally posted by vfrjim
I shot an email to fox's 25.1 head engineer to find out status, will report back with info. BTW, it has been off since atleast noon time, it was on earlier this am when I checked.

Jim

Jim,

Any news as to when 25.1 will be upgraded to more power? Do you have any information on this?

Regards,

Chris

Bob Yankowitz

I'd love to know more about the actual workings of the whole Digital TV thing.

I had previoulsy been under the impression that each station had it's own physical antenna on the tower. I guess I'm wrong.

I'm patiently awainting the upgrade of the WLWC transmit site in Lakeville!

That and NBC getting out of the blocks on upgrading the Providence transmit site in Rehoboth.

IT still amzes me that with all fo those signals on the same tower, the only one I recieve consistiently is WBZ and/or WGBH.

Where can we find out eh radiating power of the various stations, and the FCC updates. I know that they were posted here in the past.

Tim

Originally posted by tcable
Bob Yankowitz

I'd love to know more about the actual workings of the whole Digital TV thing.

So would I.

I had previoulsy been under the impression that each station had it's own physical antenna on the tower. I guess I'm wrong.

The stations that are operating from the combined antenna on our tower are WBZ-DT (30), WCVB-DT (20), WGBX-TV (44), WGBX-DT (43), WGBH-DT (19), and WSBK-DT (39). Also on the tower are WBZ-TV (4), WCVB-TV (5), and WGBH-TV (2). Channels 4 and 5 share a common antenna.

I'm patiently awainting the upgrade of the WLWC transmit site in Lakeville!

The transmitter site is actually in East Freetown. We are still awaiting FCC approval to begin construction.

Where can we find out eh radiating power of the various stations, and the FCC updates. I know that they were posted here in the past.

Go to http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3246728#post3246728post3246728 for JHE's excellent collection of FCC information.

Tim

Bob,

Any plans this year for Sox HD games on 38?

anyone else having problems with 4-1 (30)?

I'm receiving everything else (19/20/39/42/43) just fine this morning,
but no ch4-1. It's like it's not there. I've adjusted the antenna (did
everything but drive the van over it...) with no change. Although, I
did improve a couple of the others a little (better sig strength).

The T165 is showing NoSig (and OutOfService in the add channels menu).
Normally, if I'm close, there is in indicator that flashes indicating some
signal but not enough for a lock. But it's not getting anything, nada, zip...

4-1 s usually the easiest to get... Also, I may have lost it a couple of days
ago and did not realize until this morning when I went to check for wfxt.

jjk58 - no issues with me with WBZ-DT at all.... other than the fact during national programming the switch between the national feed to the local feed (and vice-versa) will cause a no signal freezing error for me... which takes 5-10 seconds for my receiver (sammy SIR TS-160) to adjust to... it sucks coming out of local breaks in football games. It will also sometimes freeze my stb completely, with need for an unplugging or reset. I hope this problem is solved by next Sunday for the Superbowl... I won't be home to monitor my STB and I don't want my box freezing while on WBZ-DT and ruining my recording of the game.

You all should see WFXT-DT back on-air now. The repairs of a few weeks ago left an easter egg in the main transmission line that bit us last Saturday. We were able to keep the DT up until weather conditions allowed us to fix the main line Wednesday. Now all is well (fingers crossed!).

Thanks for trying to watch. Please bear with us; HD will be here before you know it!

dtv4u, thank you for the update, and thank you for checking it... all is well on this end now with 25-1....

While you're checking in... can I ask you a question about another issue I am having with Fox 25's broadcasts ? This may seem a little anal on my part, but it's been happening with your station for awhile, and it's really quite annoying.

The issue is with your commercial spot sets, and the timing of them. More specifically, my issue is with Fox 25's syndicated run of the Simpsons (3 times daily), and how your commercial breaks are often times effectively RUINING the shows.

With many sitcoms and shows (like Seinfeld or Drew Carey), there is a a second or two to fade to black when a segment ends and they go into a commercial break. That is not the case with the Simpsons... with the Simpsons, a punchline to a joke or an important piece of dialogue is always uttered immediately at the end of a segment, followed not by a fade, but rather an instant and quick out right to a black frame into a commercial set.

For example...

-Homer has a critical situation at his computer... he says "What happened to my drinking bird ? Oh ! Marge ? Lisa ? Flanders ? (he looks around panicked, then the segment ends) - and then BAM, quick as a whistle there's a black frame and the commercials begin.

But with Fox 25 (I have never experienced this phenomena with another fox affiliate in the several other places I have lived) often times the last 1 or 2 seconds of a Simpsons segment will be CUT-OFF !

Here's how the same scenario often times goes on Fox 25...

-Homer has a critical situation at his computer... he says "What happened to my drinking bird ? Oh ! Marge ? Lisa ? Flan...BAM, quick as a whistle the commericals come, cutting off the last 1-1.5 seconds of the segment. No black frame, just programming being cut off when the Fox 25 commercials begin, prematurely.

I know radio uses inaudible tones to automatically time and fire their commercials... I don't know but I assume this is a similar scenario with tv... could this just be a case of poorly placed tones or badly selected key frames to go to commercial with ? I'd say it was just a fluke but it normally happens daily with at least one segment of one of the Simpsons episodes you run... as a huge fan and daily watcher of the show, it's really quite annoying to have to see some of the best "in to commercial" jokes cut off and ruined. And it's been happening for awhile, I can remember this for a few years now. And it is isolated only to Fox 25... the national feed on Sunday does not have this problem. When I visit relatives in NY, ME, or PA the Fox stations there do not have this problem with their syndicated Simpsons episodes.

Any idea what might be causing this ? Is there a solution to this ?

I know that TV stations these days try to maximize time and minimize any dead/black air time at the end of segments, even as little as a fraction of a second. There's definetely a push to make sure no time is wasted... if you can gain a second per show throughout the day, that's an extra 30 second spot at the end of the day to run another commercial. I've got no problem with that, I just don't want to see it happen at the expense of the programming... and it does when you're dealing with a show like the Simpsons that does not have a faded laugh track with fade to black into commercial.

That's what I'm wondering... is this a technical problem or human error that can be corrected ? It would seem like a minor issue, but in the case of the Simpsons, it really can ruin a segment.

Al I know is that WLWC is next to the lake near 140 :) at that point East Freetown and Lakeville are pretty close. close enough to aim an antenna at anyhow!

ANy ide of the permit status? The FCC is ready to come down on WJAR for their delays, and you still await your first permit.

Is there a large amount of power loss form the transmit building to the radiating element?

All I even needed to know about digital was zero's and ones :)


Tim

Originally posted by tcable
Al I know is that WLWC is next to the lake near 140 :) at that point East Freetown and Lakeville are pretty close. close enough to aim an antenna at anyhow!

ANy ide of the permit status? The FCC is ready to come down on WJAR for their delays, and you still await your first permit.

Is there a large amount of power loss form the transmit building to the radiating element?

All I even needed to know about digital was zero's and ones :)


Tim

We anticipate the FCC will issue the Construction Permit Real-Soon-Now, which has been our anticipation for several years, so, in reality, who knows?

The losses through the transmission lines and other elements between the transmitter and antenna are largely dependent on the height of the tower. In the case of the WBZ-DT antenna, on top of a 1,200 foot tower, they add up to about 16%.

Originally posted by PinnacleDev
Jim,

Any news as to when 25.1 will be upgraded to more power? Do you have any information on this?

Regards,

Chris

Bill Carr from 25.1 responded to my email this am, here is his response:

Hello Jim,
My opinion on the subject of a power increase on 25.1 is that it is at least a couple years down the road. We don't expect delivery of a bigger transmitter until the last half of this year, after installation
of that, it could be 2006 or later before we are running at full power depending on the FCC and
the ever changing timetables for reclaiming the NTSC frequencies.
Thanks
Bill Carr



Also, thank you to Robert and the WSBK-DT team for fixing the audio issue this AM, I would hate to miss my shows today.

Jim

No audio on 38.1 last night or this morning, anyone else experiencing this problem or do I have a buggy box. Just installed a Samsung 160 to replace my Zenith HDV 420.

Originally posted by herb s.
No audio on 38.1 last night or this morning, anyone else experiencing this problem or do I have a buggy box. Just installed a Samsung 160 to replace my Zenith HDV 420.

Should be fine now, I reported it to WSBK this morning and they fixed it within 5 minutes.

Jim

Originally posted by vfrjim
Should be fine now, I reported it to WSBK this morning and they fixed it within 5 minutes.

Jim

Jim - How do I contact WSBK if I see a problem ? In general, can people post the email/phone# they use to report problems to stations. If more people knew how to report a problem things might get fixed sooner.

You can call the WBZ master control/HDTV hotline to report problems with WSBK.

They run the best HDTV ship in Boston. If only the other stations would publish a number
to report problems.

***WBZ HDTV Hotline - 617-787-7043***

Thanks Jim, will check things out when I get home tonight.

Herb

Originally posted by RYankowitz
We anticipate the FCC will issue the Construction Permit Real-Soon-Now, which has been our anticipation for several years, so, in reality, who knows?

The losses through the transmission lines and other elements between the transmitter and antenna are largely dependent on the height of the tower. In the case of the WBZ-DT antenna, on top of a 1,200 foot tower, they add up to about 16%.

Considering that I took a peek at theat PDF on the conductor that is used to the Radaiting element, I'll guess that 16% is acceptable. I'd also hate to see the electric bill for the tramsmit site alone! that's a lot of continuous power.

If one were to get to the Radiating element, would it be physically warm to the touch, and is it made of any special material(s)

One of these days I'd love to see about arranging the nickel tour :) It would be interesting to myself and my Father-in -Law (he's an EE, and I'm just network admin geek!)

I'm not familiar with the FCC regs on this topic, but is is possible to do the ground level work before starting work on the tower? (building a new shack at the tpwer abse, and doing some preliminary equipment installs) I'll assume that if there is to me a new element installed on the tower, that requires the FCC.

Are all 3 Boston Viacom stations managed from the single control room, with separate microwave (or orther) links to the transmit sites?

Is WLWC LOS to Boston? or is it hopped through a repeater?

Thanks for all of the answers.


Tim

Bob,
To refresh your memory on a question I asked...

Originally posted by jbuszkie
Bob,

Since we're flooding you with questions... I'll continue.. :)

There is something different about CBS's broadcast vs other's. My HD card (FUSION II) only works with CBS in software mode. The Fusion has a hardware mode which looks better and takes up less resources.
Hardware mode works for every other station Like PBS and NBC which broadcast in 1080.

Do you know of any difference between your broadcast and say NBC's?
I'm sure is an issue on Fusion's end, but it would be nice to give them some
hints on where to look. I get sound but no picture.

Jim

And your response..

Originally posted by RYankowitz
Jim,

Sorry, but I have no comparative information between ourselves and the competition. But...

How's WSBK? That I can check.

I finally got around to checking WSBK. I works like it should. Only CBS
is "different"

Also.. Is anyone getting CBS from Providence? I tried the other day but I got no signal.


Jim

I get CBS 12 from Providence. I am only 10 miles from the tower though. Usually is around 94% for me. I must say WBZ 4 sounds and looks better.

Originally posted by tcable
Considering that I took a peek at theat PDF on the conductor that is used to the Radaiting element, I'll guess that 16% is acceptable. I'd also hate to see the electric bill for the tramsmit site alone! that's a lot of continuous power.

In the neighborhood of $20,000/month.

If one were to get to the Radiating element, would it be physically warm to the touch, and is it made of any special material(s)

It's not an issue. In a perfectly operating antenna, 100% of the power delivered to it is converted into RF energy, so there would be nothing left to generate heat. In practice we come pretty close to that, and, considering the power is spread over a good amount of metal in the antenna, any heat would be very hard to detect. Especially 1,300 feet up with the wind blowing, carrying away any of that heat.

One of these days I'd love to see about arranging the nickel tour :) It would be interesting to myself and my Father-in -Law (he's an EE, and I'm just network admin geek!)

One of these days. When the weather gets better.

I'm not familiar with the FCC regs on this topic, but is is possible to do the ground level work before starting work on the tower? (building a new shack at the tpwer abse, and doing some preliminary equipment installs) I'll assume that if there is to me a new element installed on the tower, that requires the FCC.

You'd be right on both counts.

Are all 3 Boston Viacom stations managed from the single control room, with separate microwave (or orther) links to the transmit sites?

Is WLWC LOS to Boston? or is it hopped through a repeater?

All three stations have a common master control room at the studio in Boston. Their signals are distributed to their respective transmitter sites via microwave and fiber optic links. WLWC needs a double hop for its microwave Studio-Transmitter Link. Freetown's a bit far, and the Blue Hills are in the way, for a direct shot from the studio.

Thanks for all of the answers.

Thanks for all the questions.

Tim

This stuff is fascinating.

Thanks for both the questions and the answers.

I started an Adelphia HDTV in NH thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=356624

I am in Pawtucket and only a few miles from the Providence CBS station (WPRI) transmitting tower and get perfect reception with a signal strength about 90 using a RS VHF/UHF antenna pointed towards the Boston towers and therefore about 90 degrees away from the direction of the Providence tower. WBZ definitely looks better and I watch it all the time instead as WPRI is also broadcasting the Taunton weather radar signal and another version of the same programming in SD on two sub channels.

SMK

Originally posted by RoyGBiv
I am in Pawtucket and only a few miles from the Providence CBS station (WPRI) transmitting tower and get perfect reception with a signal strength about 90 using a RS VHF/UHF antenna pointed towards the Boston towers and therefore about 90 degrees away from the direction of the Providence tower. WBZ definitely looks better and I watch it all the time instead as WPRI is also broadcasting the Taunton weather radar signal and another version of the same programming in SD on two sub channels.

SMK Also, WPRI-DT carries the SD signal for most of the CBS-HD programming. Basically all they carry in HD are the NFL games.

I don't think this belongs here but I wanted to mention that DirectTV plans on broadcasting local Channel 4 CBS HD starting just before the big game. It will be on a channel between 80 and 89. I look forward to comparing OTA and DirectTV HD.

Originally posted by elbig
I don't think this belongs here but I wanted to mention that DirectTV plans on broadcasting local Channel 4 CBS HD starting just before the big game. It will be on a channel between 80 and 89. I look forward to comparing OTA and DirectTV HD. They will not be broadcasting Ch. 4 but rather WCBS-DT from New York. In order to be eligible for this channel you must have the Boston locals and not be in the class B receiving area of WPRI from Providence. If you are you will need a waiver from WPRI.

Having trouble receiving 2.1 up here, anyone else experiencing same problem, I had few problems with 2.1 before changing boxes, from hdv 420 to srt-160; coincidence or what,

I just love DTV - when it works. I have been happily watching 19, 20, 30, 31, 42 and 43 for some time now. I am SW only about 5 miles from the BZ tower and partially obstructed by trees at the antenna. I have been using a 4 bow-tie Winegard for a few years now and it has proven reliable and good at eliminating the multipath stuff that plagued me with dipoles and yagis.

I have seen 31 go off the air a couple times in the last couple weeks but that was pretty clear. I saw some local-network glitches during the AFC playoff game but the DTC-100 recovered pretty quickly.

What is driving me nuts lately though is the signal quality for 30 has plummeted. All the other signals on the BZ tower register 80-90+ (out of 100) on the DTC100 signal quality meter but the 30 signal is consistently in the 20-50 range (by some miracle it locked in at 70 for the AFC championship). I have tried rotating the antenna to see if I can get it away from the multipath (I assume) without any luck. I sent a note to Bob Y (thanks for the time you took to reply, Bob) asking if 30 had changed power or antenna (no). I had already moved the antenna 75' away from the house and up about 25 feet last summer to try and clear an elevation about 500' N from me. That worked then and still works for all but 30.

I have to think people living in Boston with all the tall buildings must have an awful time with DTV and multipath if I - out here in this pastoral setting within sight of the tower am having fits.

It has occurred to me I may have too much 30 and maybe an notch attenuator would help but I am grasping at straws now.

Benji, thanks. I was just relaying what I heard when I called D*. I am not sure if I am considered within the class B area of WPRI. I leave Wellesley about 50 miles from Providence. I don't easily pick up their stations.

elbig...the actual # of viewers nationwide who will be elibible to receive the DIRECTV carriage of WCBS/KCBS is so tiny that it is sort of rediculous that they are even doing it. For example I believe you living in Wellesley would still need a waiver from WPRI and probably would not receive it. The few people who will benefit by this can already pick up their local CBS O&O with an antenna and don't need it. This whole topic is basically a non-issue.

2.1 signal came back late last night. Signal strength in the 90 range. Isn't technology great. Will e-mail WGHB and see if they have explanation.

I just checked DirecTV's website, and found that that I am classified as getting "class B" reception of WPRI, so I may need the waiver to get the national WCBS-DT. Where and how do I apply for a waiver from WPRI?

Originally posted by RScogland
I just checked DirecTV's website, and found that that I am classified as getting "class B" reception of WPRI, so I may need the waiver to get the national WCBS-DT. Where and how do I apply for a waiver from WPRI? I can't answer that. But the chances of WPRI granting any waivers I would think are non-existant. They are already broadcasting their digital channel and will probably carry the Super Bowl in HD, as well as WBZ. Your best bet is getting Comcast (if available) or going the antenna route.

I actually did get the waiver (for Dish) but it took many weeks and some higher level CBS intervention.

Originally posted by rudolpht
I actually did get the waiver (for Dish) but it took many weeks and some higher level CBS intervention. Tim...WPRI-DT has been OTA since last summer. I'm guessing your waiver came prior to the launching of their digital channel. Might make a difference now.

True.

I already have the best roof antenna I can get, and it gets me WBZ perfectly, and acts as if WPRI isn't even there. Marblehead is quite far from Providence, so I hope they don't stand in my way. I'm going to try regardless, once I find out how.

Rick. Pleeze let us know how to request a waiver as well.
Thanks,

D41 hasn't turned up the juice yet right? Actually getting it here after I moved my indoor antenna to another location...

Thanks,
Chris

Hi,

I am in North Attleboro and am getting about a 96% on WBZ and around a 75% on WPRI. The sound is definitely better on BZ but I have had nights with better video reception on WPRI.

Chris10

My apologies because this is off-topice, but I'm desperate and figured this would be my best bet at getting in touch with someone in the Boston area. I just bought an open-box Samsung SIR-T151 with no remote. If one of you guys has one that I could borrow for a day--heck even a few minutes--so I could learn the remote into my universal, that would really help me out. Please PM me if you can help--I live in Boston and work on the North Shore in Wenham. Thanks!

Channel 4.1 is MIA as of about 4:00 PM this afternoon. Anyone else having problems. Still able to get 56.1, which usually the weakest signal of the Boston DTV's.

Originally posted by herb s.
Channel 4.1 is MIA as of about 4:00 PM this afternoon. Anyone else having problems. Still able to get 56.1, which usually the weakest signal of the Boston DTV's.

Just checked the transmitter (and off-air receiver) and everything is looking normal.

Thanks Bob, will fire up and try again.

sorta, kinda.

Just an advance notice. We have put in the fix for the problem you've been seeing during transitions to and from CBS HDTV programming.

Still working out the bugs, though, so while the transitions are clean, some other things might not be for a bit. Bear with us while we clean up the mess.

I'll let you know when we are done.

Bob, tried to get 4.1 again still no signal, also seeing same thing on 2.1, all other Boston signals OK. Any explanation that can cause this kind of problem, using a CM 4221 antenna with CM preamp going a Samsung 160 STB. If all else fails I'll try putting back my Zenith HDV 420 this weekend so I have a shot at the superbowl.

Originally posted by RYankowitz

Just an advance notice. We have put in the fix for the problem you've been seeing during transitions to and from CBS HDTV programming.


I noticed this tonight and was very happy to see the improvements

keep up the good work!!

joe
(now if we could only get more locals on charter cable...like cbs...
I could throw away my antenna...)

I'm out in Sterling over 35 miles from the towers. With an indoor antenna and a fusion I, I'm banging in 12.7 dbs or 87% on my meter here... no problems at all.

Chris

Good to see the fix to WBZ HD transmittion. Here's keeping our fingers crossed that there are no problems during the Super Bowl. I'll have a mutiny from the 30 people coming to watch the game at my father-in-law's house. He works for a tv/appliance store and is having a 55 inch HD tv brought home, so I'm bringing my Zenith 420 and antenna over Saturday to hook her up!

Eujin,

I am not a Samsung user, but you should be able to find "codes" for your universal remote even if you don't have the original. What kind of universal remote is it?

There is support for virtually all universal remotes at:

www.remotecentral.com


Good luck, and if you need further help or have questions, feel free to PM me.

SMK

I'm in the process of setting up HDTV for my parents and bought a Motorola HDT100 receiver and decided to connect it to their existing antenna in the attic ( ~ 10+ years old). [Pretty ASCII diagram below]

I was able to get the following channels (I tried 1/25 & 1/27):

-WGBH-DT 2.1
-WGBX-DT 44.1
-WCVB-DT 5.1
-WHDH-DT 7.1

but not WBZ-DT 4.1 (Superbowl of course!)

According to Antennaweb.org they all seem to be on a common antenna given direction (219)and distance (7.0 miles).

My questions are:

1. Was WBZ-DT broadcast issues, mentioned on the board the problem?
2. Perhaps a new antenna and pre-amp to get the remaining signals: 25.1, 38.1, 56.1
3. Should I just get a professional in here and have them fix it all. If so, could anyone give me a recommendation for someone within or near rt95/128?

Thanks in advance for any help!

David

************************
The signal goes from the antenna through 2 splitters; a 1-2 then a 1-4. I've drawn some crude ascii art below. The cable comes from one of the 4 splitters.

.........................|------> [SPT 1 to 4]
.........................|
[ANT] --> [SPT 1 to 2] --/--> [~100-200ft cable] --> [TV]
.........................|
.........................|------> [SPT 1 to 4]


************************

Check this out http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040129/nyth089_1.html

The splitters are bad... secondly, running 100-200 feet of cable without an amplifier at the antenna isn't recommended. First, try to remove the splitters and run the cable straight down and see what you get. CH56 is the hardest to get so use that for a reference. I'm assuming that you are running coax down?

/Peter

Originally posted by Ferrari328
The splitters are bad... secondly, running 100-200 feet of cable without an amplifier at the antenna isn't recommended. First, try to remove the splitters and run the cable straight down and see what you get. CH56 is the hardest to get so use that for a reference. I'm assuming that you are running coax down?
/Peter

Thanks for the response. Especially using CH56 as reference.

After some further research, this evening I am planning to do the following:

0. Bring a small TV upstairs and directly connect it to the antenna, to accurately point the antenna and to make sure I can get a decent analog signal. If I can't get a good analog signal I doubt that I'll be able to get a good HD signal. (not sure if that is an accurate conclusion though)

1. Eliminate the splitters so there is only 1 cable running from the antenna to the TV. Hopefully the signal will be decent and no one put a staple into the coax over the years. I should be able to get similar analog reception on a TV downstairs as I did upstairs. If not then step 2.

2. If that doesn't solve the problem I'll look into an amplifier. Any suggestions? If the amplifier doesn't solve the problem I suppose I'll have someone check the signal to see if there is interference on the coax line.

3. Coax is being run down from the attic, but it is 10-15 years old. Not sure if that makes any difference.

I'll update tonight the results.

Thanks!

If you're only seven miles from the transmitters, don't mess with amps. You absolutely should not need them at that close of a range.

If you're analogs UHFs look OK you should get good DTV reception.

Originally posted by steverobertson
Check this out http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040129/nyth089_1.html I wonder if this means DIRECTV will be delivered by telephone cable to subscribers? I'm not sure I see any advantage if it's business as usual (dish, etc.) except that we would pay everything to Verizon instead of seperate bills.

Originally posted by Benji
I wonder if this means DIRECTV will be delivered by telephone cable to subscribers? I'm not sure I see any advantage if it's business as usual (dish, etc.) except that we would pay everything to Verizon instead of seperate bills.

I think the advantage will be 1 bill but more importantly discounts in a bundeled package at least that is the way I read it. I think For D* it is a great way to go after the cable companies

If DIRECTV ever picked up he NESNHD telecasts, I'd drop Comcast in a second and stick with DIRECTV. Until that happens, this new deal with Verizon does nothing for me. It may be an advantage to DIRECTV-only subscribers however.

Originally posted by Benji
If DIRECTV ever picked up he NESNHD telecasts, I'd drop Comcast in a second and stick with DIRECTV. Until that happens, this new deal with Verizon does nothing for me. It may be an advantage to DIRECTV-only subscribers however.

That is the only channel I want D* to pick up after that I really don't care. With Rupert running the show maybe we will see it someday but it is not enough for me to go back to cable. I agree it is good for D* subs

I don't think we'll see NESN, but I do see one advantage: If it's delivered via phone lines, no more need for the outdoor satellite antenna. I might consider this just so I never have rain fade again. But also think of all those people who didn't get DirecTV because of the satellite. Might be a good deal. It's something I may have to look into. It would finally give Cox some competition. Cox got into the phone business, now Verizon is getting into the cable business.

SMK

Having some audio dropouts on 4.1 CBS4 tonight during CSI. Anyone else?

Roygbiv, can you tell me which RS antenna you are using as I am in Pawtucket as well. Thanks

i dont think we need to get hd nesn to see the sox, isnt it just inhd? i was under then impression that nesn was only broadcast in hd during games thru inhd.

Originally posted by alczervik2
i dont think we need to get hd nesn to see the sox, isnt it just inhd? i was under then impression that nesn was only broadcast in hd during games thru inhd. There is no NESNHD channel. Games that NESN televises in HD are shown via INHD2 in the New England area only. There is no other way of getting that signal. If DIRECTV or DISH were to carry INHD2 nationally, I doubt the NESNHD games would be part of those transmissions.

Originally posted by Benji
There is no NESNHD channel. Games that NESN televises in HD are shown via INHD2 in the New England area only. There is no other way of getting that signal. If DIRECTV or DISH were to carry INHD2 nationally, I doubt the NESNHD games would be part of those transmissions.




It's funny how Lyngsat shows that NESN-HD is located on Satcom C3 TP14, my guess is that they signed an agreement so that NO ONE else but INHD2 could carry it.

http://www.lyngsat.com/sc3.shtml

Anybody out there get the CBS HD channel this AM I didn't

Originally posted by steverobertson
Anybody out there get the CBS HD channel this AM I didn't

Nope, I am getting a x721 message on both channels 80 and 81. On hold now with D*

Originally posted by wkehn
Nope, I am getting a x721 message on both channels 80 and 81. On hold now with D*

Good luck lets us know how you made out

Originally posted by jckessler
If you're only seven miles from the transmitters, don't mess with amps. You absolutely should not need them at that close of a range.

If you're analogs UHFs look OK you should get good DTV reception.

Success!

I am now able to receive the following channels:

WGBH 2
WGBH-DT 2.1
WBZ 4
WBZ-DT 4.1
WCVB 5
WCVB-DT 5.1
WHDH 7
WHDH-DT 7.1
WPRI 12
WPRI-DT 12.1
WPRI-DT 12.2
WFXT 25
WFXT-DT 25.1
WGBX 44
WGBX-DT 44.1
WGBX-DT 44.2
WGBX-DT 44.3
WLVI 56
WLVI-DT 56.1
WLVI-DT 75.1

Couldn't get:

WSBK 38
WSBK-DT 38.1

This didn't make too much sense as it is on the same antenna as 2,4,5,7. But it is tuff to complain at this point.

Here are the steps that I took to get there:

1. I brought the HDTV receiver upstairs, connected it up directly to the antenna. I let the receiver program itself and it got all the channels I listed above.

2. Once I knew the reception was ok, I isolated the cable to the TV downstairs and connected it directly to the antenna, bypassing the 2 splitters.

3. I was able to get all of the same channels I got upstairs.

4. :D

Thanks for the advice all!

David.

I received ext 721 message this morning. Called D* was told I needed a waiver from WPRI. That they will request one on my behalf, and it could take up to 45 days. So, nothing I could do, after some venting of how stupid this was I hung up, then "poof" channel 80 turned on. I do not know how long it will stay?

I just checked channels 80/81 this morning here in good 'ole Bolton. Receiving 80 fine, 81 is x721 as expected.

Originally posted by TomL
I received ext 721 message this morning. Called D* was told I needed a waiver from WPRI. That they will request one on my behalf, and it could take up to 45 days. So, nothing I could do, after some venting of how stupid this was I hung up, then "poof" channel 80 turned on. I do not know how long it will stay?

Yep, same story here although they kept telling me WMUR in Manchester and not PRI, I wonder what is different? Antenna web says I am 60+ miles from MUR and less than 20 from PRI.

Mythical, how are you getting 80 in Bolton?

It looks like it will stay. My profile on D* has been update to include:

Network: CBS HD_*