I finally get the WB with a solid signal ... there are three subchannels with the same programming ... first a normal one, then another without sound (so you don't need to press mute) and then another with sound again (in case you want to hear it again).

Originally posted by RScogland
I finally get the WB with a solid signal ... there are three subchannels with the same programming ... first a normal one, then another without sound (so you don't need to press mute) and then another with sound again (in case you want to hear it again).

Thanks Rick. You gave me my first laugh of the day :

I am only getting one channel from wb56 in Danvers and it must be the one without sound. I emailed the engineer over at the station and his first response was that it was working fine at his own house. This is definitely unusual where depending on where your located you get different channels.

I followed up again with the engineer and hopefully this will get taken care of.

Hey folks...I've been a longtime lurker who recently made the jump to HDTV. I have a quick question regarding Fox 25 reception. I live down in Hanson and have a decent sized amplified outdoor antenna. I have great signal on Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 44 and 56 but 25 is Pixelated with frequent dropouts. I know Bill is a frequent contributor but can someone tell me if it is generally accepted that 25 is a weaker signal. Also, any suggestions on a quick fix before football tomorrow? All help is greatly appreciated.

Originally posted by jckessler
Bill,

I know the bug issue is being dealt with, but currently the FOX 25 bug is too far down in the corner and is getting cut off. My screen has some overscan, but I don't believe it to be excessive.

I can't even see the "5" in "FOX25."
So you want the bug to take up *more* space on your screen? Haven't heard that one before...

Why does WB have more than 1 channel? Doesn't it hurt the channels quality?

Originally posted by geoff2
So you want the bug to take up *more* space on your screen? Haven't heard that one before...

I find it distracting seeing it cut off.

Originally posted by philbarr2001
Hey folks...I've been a longtime lurker who recently made the jump to HDTV. I have a quick question regarding Fox 25 reception. I live down in Hanson and have a decent sized amplified outdoor antenna. I have great signal on Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 44 and 56 but 25 is Pixelated with frequent dropouts. I know Bill is a frequent contributor but can someone tell me if it is generally accepted that 25 is a weaker signal. Also, any suggestions on a quick fix before football tomorrow? All help is greatly appreciated.

If WB has gone to full power, then 25 is lowest of all the boston channels. Most of the rest are in the 500-600kW range; 25 is down around 78kW.

The FOX 25 signal is lower power than it will be in the future. They have an application in to increase the power but the FCC has it on hold because of a confilct with a Canadian station. (I have read the actual FCC report somewhere in the AVS Programming Forum). It would seem until the confilct is squared away we will have to live with what we have. I think the conflict resolution has to do with things that only broadcast Engineers could love. Real technical stuff...

FOX25 might have to wait until the analog shutoff, at which point the could use Channel 25 for their digital channel instead of 31, their current digital channel, to increase power.

That would be the worst-case scenario.

Yee ha, 56 is UP. Very cool.

First of all there are some issues with the bug insertion on the splicer. We are working with Fox satellite services that handle the splicer to get them resolved.

Also, to Philbarr2001 are we still pixelating now that we are back up to full licensed power? We did that on thursday of the week before last. We have been up and down for some more work on our transmitter project during the past week but don't anticipate many more on the DTV side. The only one scheduled ii to replace a leaking coolant fitting.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Bill...no complaints down in Raynham. Your signal is coming through beautifully, and that's using an indoor antenna. The 5.1 soundtrack on the game is excellent. The 720p image is good, about on par with both ABC and ESPN. I still believe 1080i is a bit more crisp, but I am using a 1080i display.

Why isn't the Giants game on?

I would love to know why the giant's game is not on. The guide says that the giants should be on.

We already got screwed out of the morning CBS HD game b/c they figure we're an AFC East market and give a poo about the Jets..

Bill,

Thanks it is on now

My Dolby Digital signal keeps cutting out. It's switching between PCM and DD. Anyone else having this problem watching the game?

yep..same problem here. also, the level on the announcers is very low.. so i have my volume turned up very loud and I get blasted whenever I flip channels.

I'm averaging about 86% into my dish 811, so I dont think its a
Low signal issue.

I am so jealous ! I was looking forward to Fox HD but I guess I am just too far away. The breakups are too often and annoying making the broadcast unwatchable today. I am totally dependent on favorable atmosperic conditions which does not seem to be the case today. I am using a Blake Ariel jbx21 amplified and I am in Falmouth, Ma - on the Cape - does anyone know of a better solution from this distance ? If not I guess I will continue waiting for Ch 64 in Providence to go HD and hope they getter a better deal from the fcc than wfxt got. Would appreciate any ideas.

John

I've had signal issues with fox and I'm in West Rroxbury on the Dedham line. Today seems to be a good day. I'm afraid I don't have any good answers for you:(

I missed the early game, but the Giants/Eagles is a bit below par compared to espn/abc. It could be the feed they are getting, but the sound is low with lots of drop outs, there is heavy pixalation on edges, and the white's seem overly bright and washed out. I'm watching it 720 upconverted to 1080i via my xbr910. When the "bell" sound happens as the bottom ticker appears, it seems at a more normal level. Watchout if you have the sound turned up to compensate for the game audio!:eek:

On today's US Open Tennis men's final there was surround sound but no announcer on WBZ.

Anyone else?

I just had some wierd stuff happen with Fox HD. I was switching between ESPN HD off of dish network and Fox OTA. Everytime I recalled Fox, I saw both channels. Lots of broken horizontal lines alternating between the 2 stations. Im not sure if its my HD811 having trouble with 720. Now it seems like Fox's is SD halfway through the Drew Carrie show.

I am using a Blake Ariel jbx21 amplified and I am in Falmouth, Ma - on the Cape - does anyone know of a better solution from this distance ?

We definitely need the right conditions to receive Fox here. I have a JBX21 I'm not using if you want to try vertically stacking them. Worked pretty well for me when I tested them.

Stan

Stan - I would love to give that a try - I think it is my last hope - email me at jalferes2000@hotmail.com and we can hook up - I have a store in Dennisport and have people up that way all the time - Thanks,

John

Originally posted by BHolbrook
We will be off the air tonite at 1am on both channels including cable as we are doing a major electrical conversion tonite at our transmitter site. We hope to be back up by 5am. The only service that won't be affected is DSS as they are fed from fiber in Dedham. Let me know how you think the splicer and the 720p sgnal looks on the football game this weekend.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

The picture quality in Norwood for the FOX games was fair compared to the ESPN broadcast Sunday night. The ESPN broadcast may have set a new standard for what HD football can look like. I could notice some compression artifacts in the grass. Possibly a bandwidth issue? All in all I wasn't blown away. I watched the evening movie for a few minutes and that seemed to be pretty good. I would expect some tweaking may improve things and not too bad for the networks first HD broadcast.

I think FOX is covering the sox/yankme for Saturday. Will it be in HD?

Jim "Yankee's suck"

Originally posted by BHolbrook
We will be off the air tonite at 1am on both channels including cable as we are doing a major electrical conversion tonite at our transmitter site. We hope to be back up by 5am. The only service that won't be affected is DSS as they are fed from fiber in Dedham. Let me know how you think the splicer and the 720p sgnal looks on the football game this weekend.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Watch the 1pm game via Comcast and had lots of audio dropout. The picture looked. FYI - I also have DirecTv HD dish and had no audio dropouts watching the other Fox games.

Originally posted by jbuszkie
I think FOX is covering the sox/yankme for Saturday. Will it be in HD?

Jim "Yankee's suck"


Very, very unlikely the game will be in HD. FOX hasn't done any Saturday baseball in HD as of yet.

From what I have read no HD Baseball till the LCS and WS

Originally posted by steverobertson
From what I have read no HD Baseball till the LCS and WS
Well that sucks! That also means that I probably won't be able to watch it at a friends house in NESN HD since FOX is covering it... :(

I was looking forward to HD baseball on FOX, its the least they could do seeing as we are forced to sit through three hours of Yankee ballwashing courtesy of McCarver and Buck. As far as football goes, it looks like we'll have to settle for New York teams when the Pats are off.

It's highly unlikely Fox will do the remaining regular season Saturday games in HD. They are completely strung out with the NFL on Sunday, and probably logistically can not get HD trucks to the baseball sights. Hopefully they will rectify this for the postseason. It would be great to see a Red Sox world championship in HD.

Boston Globe yesterday says LCS and WS in HD.

Anyone have an idea as to who we need to contact at NBC Boston in order to get a waiver so that we can get DTV HD feed for NBC?

While I get it OTA, I would like to have a back up similar to CBS.

Somehow I don't feel WHDH will be in the waiver-giving mood to send viewers to WJAR.

Originally posted by Benji
Somehow I don't feel WHDH will be in the waiver-giving mood to send viewers to WJAR.

Not sure I understand your comment. DTV east coast feed would be from New York, not Providence.

Originally posted by mbtobe
Not sure I understand your comment. DTV east coast feed would be from New York, not Providence. Excuse me.I had a senior moment. I meant to say WNBC.

All I did was call Directv - they did all the paperwork and within a week I was all set - I now have east and west feeds for nbc and fox - there is a charge for each extra channel.

I agree you have a better chance of hitting the lottery every week for the rest of the year than you do getting a waiver from them but good luck call D* and they will request it for you

Originally posted by steverobertson
I agree you have a better chance of hitting the lottery every week for the rest of the year than you do getting a waiver from them but good luck call D* and they will request it for you Hey Steve, a little off subject but: VT 63, WMU 0!

Is there anyone in the Merrimack Valley who receives WB56? I checked yesterday and got a very weak signal. Its better than it was a week ago but I can't lock on.

Originally posted by Benji
Hey Steve, a little off subject but: VT 63, WMU 0!

Yes I am well aware maybe next week they will place someone other than a cupcake;)

Originally posted by steverobertson
Yes I am well aware maybe next week they will place someone other than a cupcake;) The powerful Duke Blue Devils!

Originally posted by Benji
The powerful Duke Blue Devils!

Another cupcake I hope they don't waste any HD on this. Are you going to try to get a waiver for NBC?

Any recommendations for a good ISF Calibration person in the Boston/MetroWest area? I need to get my 53" Pioneer Elite done. TIA

Jay

Originally posted by JOtteman
Any recommendations for a good ISF Calibration person in the Boston/MetroWest area? I need to get my 53" Pioneer Elite done. TIA

Jay

http://www.imagingscience.com/isf_results.cfm?temp=7&Country1=none&State1=MA&dlr_status=CAL

He will be calibrating my Sony 34" XBR960 some time in October. I've heard great things about him.

Thanks for the tip. I'll give him a call.

Jay

Nevermind my last post, I am now getting WB56 in N.Andover! Too bad Angel is no longer on.

Just to let folks know we were quite aware of some issues coming from Network on sunday's football. The first game seemed to be fine but there were some switching errors from them going into the second game. It seems the spolicer won't let them change game streams when it is on line so we need to have a local break inserted. Noone realized that. So we neded up with two different games on NTSC and DTV for a bit. Hopefully it will all be corrected by next weekend.

Also a bit of info, when the splicer is used for Network programming, you get the exact ASI stream that the network is sending. Any issues, audio levels etc are from them. But this scheme also should mean better looking signals as we do not decode,compress, and re-encode the signal to switch with local programming that many other local stations have to do. The switching is in the 270 Mbit ASI stream. We upconvert all local programming to 720P and the network 720p is then "Spliced" into the ASI stream that goes to our transmitter. Once it has the bugs worked out it should mean better pictures.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Originally posted by steverobertson
Another cupcake I hope they don't waste any HD on this. Are you going to try to get a waiver for NBC? I shouldn't need a waiver. I'm in the Providence DMA (WJAR=NBC O&O) but it would be interesting to watch the local sportscasts on WNBC and watch the Yankee demise from a New York perspective.

I used Jim doolittle on a Sony 53" RPTV and a Toshiba 57" RPTV and then tried Gregg Loewen from www.lionav.com. One really positve step of the calibration of the Toshiba was the restacking of the glare screen and the striping of the crt lenses.
Gregg did a much more involved calibration on both mt Toshiba 65" RPTV and my Infocus 7200 projector.
I think Jim's real expertise is on CRT front projectors.

Originally posted by tennberg
http://www.imagingscience.com/isf_results.cfm?temp=7&Country1=none&State1=MA&dlr_status=CAL

He will be calibrating my Sony 34" XBR960 some time in October. I've heard great things about him.

What does he charge?

Originally posted by ilpostini2
I used Jim doolittle on a Sony 53" RPTV and a Toshiba 57" RPTV and then tried Gregg Loewen from www.lionav.com. One really positve step of the calibration of the Toshiba was the restacking of the glare screen and the striping of the crt lenses.
Gregg did a much more involved calibration on both mt Toshiba 65" RPTV and my Infocus 7200 projector.
I think Jim's real expertise is on CRT front projectors.

ilpostini2:

Who would you say has more expertise with direct-view HD CRTs?

Thanks.

I'd second the vote for Gregg Loewen.

Originally posted by univibe88
I would love to know why the giant's game is not on. The guide says that the giants should be on.

We already got screwed out of the morning CBS HD game b/c they figure we're an AFC East market and give a poo about the Jets..

The Miami - Titans game was supposed to be in HD on Sunday in 2/3 of the country, but once it was moved to Saturday, that plan changed. Now whether we would have been in the part of the country that got that game, that's another story.

Overall, I cannot find a reason to complain, we got HD games Thursday, Sunday (3, 2 on Fox, one on ESPNHD for those of us not getting signal OTA) and then another game Monday. 4/5 possible games all in HD!

Anyone else have a problem with 7-1 last night?
No issues with any other networks, but WHDH 7-1 was not even registering 15 on the signal meter.

NBC Providence(10-1) was fine as was 5-1, 4-1, 25-1, etc.

I did not have any problem with 7-1 last night. I use an indoor antenna and periodically the signal strength on different stations changes somewhat and I have to re-adjust. If you are using a fixed outdoor antenna, this might be the reason for the reduced signal on 7-1.

Originally posted by tennberg
ilpostini2:

Who would you say has more expertise with direct-view HD CRTs?

Thanks.

I'd go with Gregg Loewen with all my video displays,
Not that I want to badmouth anyone else, but in my opinion I think I got more for my money with Gregg. He doesn't come cheap, but the results were well worth it. I'll be calling him soon to calibrate my bedroom 43" Samsung DLP.

Has anyone had a flat-panel LCD television calibrated? I'm wondering how the amount of improvement compares to when a CRT is calibrated. If it matters, I have a Toshiba 26" LCD. Toshiba has told me that none of the preset color temperatures correspond to 6500K.

What are the chances of fox turning up the #$%@* power

Originally posted by radco
What are the chances of fox turning up the #$%@* power

Slim and none at this point as the signal at full strength crosses into Canada and consequently the Canadian govt will not give their approval along with the FCC. Please correct me if I am wrong but I believe this is what I have read.

"at full strength crosses into Canada and consequently the Canadian govt will not give their approval along with the FCC"

Well that does not make sense.
I get all the other Boston stations,
Do they cross into the great white north??????

Ok, Fox, Turn it up just a little more PLEASE........
Football is here and ST blackout sucks!!!!!!!
and I can"t get the HD feed from the local Fox

Originally posted by radco
"at full strength crosses into Canada and consequently the Canadian govt will not give their approval along with the FCC"

Well that does not make sense.
I get all the other Boston stations,
Do they cross into the great white north??????

Ok, Fox, Turn it up just a little more PLEASE........
Football is here and ST blackout sucks!!!!!!!
and I can"t get the HD feed from the local Fox

I agree it doesn't make much sense but somebody a lot more techinical can explain this better than I but this is a fact.

Originally posted by radco
"at full strength crosses into Canada and consequently the Canadian govt will not give their approval along with the FCC"

Well that does not make sense.
I get all the other Boston stations,
Do they cross into the great white north??????

Ok, Fox, Turn it up just a little more PLEASE........
Football is here and ST blackout sucks!!!!!!!
and I can"t get the HD feed from the local Fox

My guess (and this is only a guess) is that Channel 31 (where FOX25 broadcasts its digital signal) shares a frequency with a Canandian TV station. This might not be the case for the other channels.

OK, can someone explain this to me? According to antennaweb the signals for 38-1 and 25-1 are the exact same orientation and distance with regard to my home, but 38-1 delivers a fine signal and 25-1 is useless. I use a Silver Sensor, and 25-1 is the only digital signal that even resembles a problem.

Thanks,

Mike

I think this has been discussed to death, but Fox 25-1 is running at very low power whereas 38-1 is at higher power levels. At least I think 38 is...

Chris

Since 25-1 went back to "full power" I have been getting an 88-90% signal on my HDTivo with an indoor antenna. The antenna is aimed in the opposite direction of where Needham is, to the southeast. I only get a 70% signal on 38-1.

I don't know if this has been posted or not yet..

But can we get the pats HD schedule posted like last year? And if it is already, can someone point me to the post?

Thanks,

Jim

Originally posted by Benji
I shouldn't need a waiver. I'm in the Providence DMA (WJAR=NBC O&O) but it would be interesting to watch the local sportscasts on WNBC and watch the Yankee demise from a New York perspective.

Hey Benji! Are you receiving NBCHD? Just returned from VT and checked channel 82 and it has a msg to call D*. I was under the assumption that eventhough I am in the Providence DMA I would need a waiver from WHDH in Boston.

Originally posted by bcushman
Hey Benji! Are you receiving NBCHD? Just returned from VT and checked channel 82 and it has a msg to call D*. I was under the assumption that eventhough I am in the Providence DMA I would need a waiver from WHDH in Boston. I have the same message. I called DIRECTV and waited on hold over an hour before giving up. I'll try again late tonight when everyone else is in bed.

I finally got through to the DIRECTV CSR and she authorized ch. 82 for me. No waiver needed from WHDH. It's going to be fun watching the local WNBC sportscasts as the Yanks go down! Also, I believe WNBC carries the primetime HD programming in DD5.1 which WHDH hasn't been doing.

Originally posted by Benji
I finally got through to the DIRECTV CSR and she authorized ch. 82 for me. No waiver needed from WHDH. It's going to be fun watching the local WNBC sportscasts as the Yanks go down! Also, I believe WNBC carries the primetime HD programming in DD5.1 which WHDH hasn't been doing.

This morning I called and was told I needed a waiver, so the CSR told me she would request one. After reading Benji's post, I called back and was told that I could get bot east coast and west coast feeds for $2.25 per month.
So, now I get both.

Thanks for the info.

I was told that they had to send paper work for me to sign to request a waiver for NBC. I said D* had done the waiver for CBS electronically, she said the procedure had changed. Now they had to have me sign. Has anyone else been told that it requires a signature?

Tom

I went through a similiar experience tonight, trying to get D* to turn on channel 82, the regular CSR transferred me to their eligibility desk, and she told me that they would have to request a waiver from WHDH and to my surprise the channel in Portland, ME. Portland Maine is about 80mi from my house, they must have one helluva signal to get down here. The waiver request is handled electronically and should see that the stations in a few days if waiver is granted. It will cost $2.25/mn. It's no big deal if we don't get it, as we receive WHDH OTA. It would be nice to have the west coast feed.

Herb

I called D last night to try to get 82 turned on. CSR tried to give me 82 and 83 but there must be some kind of block on those not elgible because he couldn't get it to go on. After a bit he came back on and said I need a waiver which he filed for me. For a moment I thought it was going to be easy. Should have known better. Same thing happened with CBSHD, but that one I ended up getting.

Jay

Originally posted by JOtteman
I called D last night to try to get 82 turned on. CSR tried to give me 82 and 83 but there must be some kind of block on those not eligible because he couldn't get it to go on. After a bit he came back on and said I need a waiver which he filed for me. For a moment I thought it was going to be easy. Should have known better. Same thing happened with CBSHD, but that one I ended up getting.

Jay

I had the same problem somehow theyu block it on the CSR'S if you are not eligiable and I also have a waiver request in.

Okay.. same thing we me on the waivers. So Benji, what special powers do you have at DirecTv??? :)

Originally posted by sonofjay
Okay.. same thing we me on the waivers. So Benji, what special powers do you have at DirecTv??? :)

Benji is on his way to jail for stealing a signal he should not have typical Hokie fan will do anything to get what they want.;)

Originally posted by mbtobe
This morning I called and was told I needed a waiver, so the CSR told me she would request one. After reading Benji's post, I called back and was told that I could get bot east coast and west coast feeds for $2.25 per month.
So, now I get both.

Thanks for the info.


I had the same problem with THE run-around - i called back and said I read where they would turn on Channels 82 and 83 for $2.25 a month. They did it and I have them - what's another $2.25 after spending $899 for a HD TIVO :eek:

ya, funny thing is that when I finally get a bill without all the credits...
you'll be able to hear my wife scream!

Originally posted by mbtobe
ya, funny thing is that when I finally get a bill without all the credits...
you'll be able to hear my wife scream!

I am in the same boat but o'well such is life I will let it go in 1 ear and out the other.

Originally posted by sonofjay
Okay.. same thing we me on the waivers. So Benji, what special powers do you have at DirecTv??? :) I had the power to get a clueless CSR (oxymoron?) who would have even given me NBCW if I hadn't opened my big mouth. Don't worry, you're not missing anything. WHDH has a superior image to ch. 82 plus I haven't detected any DD5.1 programming yet from WNBC. We'll all be better off when DIRECTV gives us our own local digital channels, then they can keep the New York stations.

Originally posted by steverobertson
Benji is on his way to jail for stealing a signal he should not have typical Hokie fan will do anything to get what they want.;) Hokies will beat the krap out of Coach K and his Blue Devils. Oh, wait this is football!

Originally posted by Benji
Hokies will beat the krap out of Coach K and his Blue Devils. Oh, wait this is football!

I didn't know you had access to a cxomputer in prison. You are nothing but a Hokie signal thief. I am glad to hear the channel isn't any good out of NY as like I said 7 is one of my strongest channels although I don't watch much NBC anymore

Benji is in the Providence/New Bedford MSA. As am I. I commute into Boston every day....

tcable...if I remember correctly you don't have DIRECTV. Correct me if I'm wrong. If you do, do you have ch. 82 yet?

Originally posted by steverobertson
I didn't know you had access to a cxomputer in prison. You are nothing but a Hokie signal thief. I am glad to hear the channel isn't any good out of NY as like I said 7 is one of my strongest channels although I don't watch much NBC anymore You're telling me you don't even watch Chikage or Caterina?

Originally posted by Benji
You're telling me you don't even watch Chikage or Caterina?

No I do watch them but not much more on NBC. I do like Law and Order but other than that there is nothing worth watching.

OK, I got one for everybody. What is the best way to complain to CBS for the gray side bars on their digital channel? It really bugs me.


Thanks,

Bruce

This is a corporate decision made by the CBS Network. All CBS O&O's utilize the grey sidebars. WBZ has no choice. You would have to contact CBS in New York.

In defense of gray bars, I prefer them to burn-in on my plasma.

- Rich

Originally posted by RichB
In defense of gray bars, I prefer them to burn-in on my plasma.

Same here, but for my CRT RPTV. What would be ideal IMHO would be if they would (could?) broadcast a true 4:3 signal and let the display (preferably with options for the user to select from) decide what color bars should be displayed, but that would require the display manufacturers to do something...

Anyone notice the power level on WFXT-DT is back down? At first I thought the weather was the reason but it has cleared up a bit yet the power level is bad.

It looks like it did when they were running lower power these past few months.

What is everyone currently showing for signal strength?

Thanks!
-S

Bacffin, I'm with you, the grey bars are awful and very distracting.

Yes, It bothers me that I don't have any control over it either.

Originally posted by sonofjay
Anyone notice the power level on WFXT-DT is back down? At first I thought the weather was the reason but it has cleared up a bit yet the power level is bad.

It looks like it did when they were running lower power these past few months.

What is everyone currently showing for signal strength?

Thanks!
-S

I am having no issue with WXFT, but WHDH and WBZ are acting very strange today. High of 90-92, then BAM down to 0 every couple of minutes.

I must say, I am quite dissapointed, there seems to be no consistancy from day to day. Every day, I have an issue with different channel.

I continue to get very strong signals on all the Boston digitals, but while I'm showing an excellent signal on WSBK-DT, I am getting no audio or video. It has been like this since yesterday evening.

I am having no issue with WXFT, but WHDH and WBZ are acting very strange today. High of 90-92, then BAM down to 0 every couple of minutes.

I'm going to guess this is due to the wind. I have this problem, except much worse. Too many trees around.

Chris

Originally posted by Benji
I continue to get very strong signals on all the Boston digitals, but while I'm showing an excellent signal on WSBK-DT, I am getting no audio or video. It has been like this since yesterday evening.

No problems here with 38-1.

Last couple of days WBZ-DT has been sketchy at best. Signal goes from high 90's to nothing every 15-20 seconds or so..Anyone know if the problem is with WBZ or is it just the weather?

Chris

The problem with 38-1 apparently was my ancient DTC-100's fault. We had a power failure yesterday afternoon and when the power came back, 38-1 did not. I just re-booted 38-1 (punched in 39-1) and the picture miracuously returned.

Originally posted by PinnacleDev
Last couple of days WBZ-DT has been sketchy at best. Signal goes from high 90's to nothing every 15-20 seconds or so..Anyone know if the problem is with WBZ or is it just the weather?

Chris Can't say for sure it's the weather, but we've had no problems with the transmitter.

I used to live in a high rise (20th floor) in the financial district. My Terk 36 antenna worked great in picking up all the boston HD stations perfectly. Then I moved to the South End and I figured I'd have no problem once I installed my antenna on the roof - four stories up. But even with a clear LOS to the Needham DTV towers, I get no lockable signals. The multipathing is out of control, the signals just won't stick. I don't see why this is such a problem when there were even more tall buildings in my old neighborhood. Any advice? Will any antenna deal with multi-pathing better?

WFXT-DT is fine today for me. Maybe it was the weather or wind.

Originally posted by Schlotkins
I'm going to guess this is due to the wind. I have this problem, except much worse. Too many trees around.

Chris

Chris, Are you still having these sporadic dropouts? WBZ-DT is reporting everything is fine on their end but I'm have all kinds of difficulty watching the Colts / Bucks game with dropouts....Anyone else??

Chris

was the patriots/cardinals game broadcast locally in HD today? my hd tivo seems to have started out recording in HD (the tail end of the preceding game), then popped back to SD for the pats game.

i'm not happy about that.

i assume it must not have been broadcast in hd -- was it because cbs did not have a set of HD cameras to devote to this game or what? does anyone have a schedule of remaining pats games showing which are to be in HD? is this info even known in advance or do they wait and see which games are going to be "meaningful"?

Not all CBS games are going to be done in HD this year. I believe they have committed to 3 a week. The Pats game yesterday was not one of the 3. I have no idea what criteria they use to decide which games will be in HD, but one would think that the defending Superbowl champs would be interesting to most fans. OTOH Fox is doing all its games in HD. Quite a change from no HD last year to all HD this year.

The schedule is not complete for the whole season, but you can find information at www.cbssports.com. In addition, since DirecTV has committed to transmitting all the HD games on its Sunday Ticket broadcasts, you can find the schedule there, as well. Go to www.directvsports.com and look for the Sunday Ticket schedule. It will give the channel number for the HD games, so you can tell which CBS games are in HD. Again, it's only for a few weeks in advance.

SMK

I don't really use OTA a lot now due to Comcast... I just actually hooked up an antenna this morning in anticipation of the WB shows...

How is your signal this morning? Very calm out there so if you are still having problems, it wasn't the wind.

Chris

Originally posted by RoyGBiv
I have no idea what criteria they use to decide which games will be in HD, but one would think that the defending Superbowl champs would be interesting to most fans.

I think one of the criteria for HD is absolutely no home Cardinals games.

Seriously though, this game was only broadcast in NE was blacked out in AZ due to the lack of sellout. Most of the rest of the country was receiving the Cle-Dal game which was broadcast in HD.

The HD games are usually the A, B, C games, which are determined by the number of people receiving the telecast. It's pretty unusual for any game involving a bottom-dweller to be broadcast outside the areas of the teams involved, and when the sellout blackout rule comes into effect, the number of homes reached is significantly reduced.

Hopefully we'll get the Buffalo game in HD in week 4; the game has been assigned the Nantz/Simms/Davis broadcast team, which is one of their top three.

I somehow doubt any team playing the Arizona will get to be one of the HD feeds. While it was fun to watch the game, I doubt anyone other than Pats and Cardinal fans tuned in.

I live in Westford, and have yet to get Fox 25.1
I manage to get only
2.1 ,2.2
4.1
5.1 5.2
7.1
44.1, 44.2, 44.3, 44.4
68.1

My dish 811 says it locked onto 38.1, 66.1 but when i try to watch those, i don't get any signal. they must be fluctuatiing.
what other signals can i expect in this area ?

D41 is WB and is at full power. With an indoor antenna/amp, I'm getting 80% signal out in Sterling.

Chris

This past weekend I had the same problem noted above with respect to my signal strength diving to zero every minute or so. I attribute this to the weather we had, rain and lots of wind.
What I do not understand is why I had this problem on 5.1, but not on the news channel 5.2??? 5.2 was steady as a rock.
Anyone else notice that?

Originally posted by mbtobe
This past weekend I had the same problem noted above with respect to my signal strength diving to zero every minute or so. I attribute this to the weather we had, rain and lots of wind.
What I do not understand is why I had this problem on 5.1, but not on the news channel 5.2??? 5.2 was steady as a rock.
Anyone else notice that?

That's really hard to understand since there is not a separate signal for 5.1 and 5.2. A station broadcasting digital channels broadcasts a single MPEG-2 transport stream. Embedded in the stream are the packets for all the channels, and the control information necessary to identify and separate the packets for each channel. So it's really not possible to have a different signal strength or other reception differences for 5.1 and 5.2. Possibly the weather was affecting channel 5's own reception of the program they were broadcasting on 5.1.

can someone post the complete channel lineup for DT channels ?
looks like antennaweb.org doesn't show fox for me.. so maybe its too far for me.. this is what it shows for my town.. and i have just one antenna.. so i have pointed it towards 167 degrees to get CBS/ABS/NBC/PBS2/PBS-44

green - uhf WMUR-DT 9.1 ABC Manchester NH 0° 28.5 59
* lt green - uhf WNDS-DT 35.1 IND DERRY NH 28° 10.6 35
* lt green - uhf WNEU-DT 60.1 TEL Merrimack NH 0° 28.5 34
* blue - uhf WPXG-DT 33.1 PAX CONCORD NH 3° 41.8 33
* blue - uhf WGBH-DT 2.1 PBS Boston MA 167° 21.7 19
* blue - uhf WGBX-DT 44.1 PBS Boston MA 167° 21.7 43
* blue - uhf WBZ-DT 4.1 CBS Boston MA 167° 21.7 30
* blue - uhf WCVB-DT 5.1 ABC Boston MA 167° 21.7 20
* blue - uhf WHDH-DT 7.1 NBC Boston MA 164° 22.1 42
* violet - uhf WUTF-DT 66.1 TFA MARLBOROUGH MA 206° 14.2 23
* violet - uhf WMFP-DT 18 SAH LAWRENCE MA FCC Ext 165° 22.2 18
* violet - uhf WSBK-DT 38.1 UPN BOSTON MA 167° 21.7 39
* violet - uhf WYDN-DT 47 DAY WORCESTER MA FCC Ext 165° 22.2 47
* violet - uhf WUNI-DT 29.1 UNI WORCESTER MA 234° 22.3 29

WFXT is on channel 31 and should map to 25.1. We are operating at full licensed power and should be making your location with no problems. The antenna site is the same as WSBK and WLVI and is only about a mile as the crow flies from all the other Boston stations. Maybe its time with us back to high power andd 56 on their new high power rig to have your receiver auto channel search again.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Looks like signals for both WLVI and WFXT are great, I am seeing 69-77% signal on my TS160 with no problems, day or night. Thanks for a job well done.

Jim

Originally posted by BHolbrook
WFXT is on channel 31 and should map to 25.1. We are operating at full licensed power and should be making your location with no problems. The antenna site is the same as WSBK and WLVI and is only about a mile as the crow flies from all the other Boston stations. Maybe its time with us back to high power andd 56 on their new high power rig to have your receiver auto channel search again.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Not sure what is (has) happened, but the last several days, I have been unable to lock onto WFXT, 25-1 since Sunday. Since then, I have only had a weak signal.

Strange thing, I have had a problem with WBZ (4-1) as well. Signal strength of 85-90 with nosedives to as low as 0 every minute or so.
All other signals are strong, both Boston & Providence. No changes to my antenna position or any equipment changes.

I finally decided to have my ProScan PSHD-105 (clone of RCA DTC-100) remap all the channels and get guide data (ie: 31-2 becomes 25-1). The only problem is I can no longer eliminate the analog channels. Is there a way I can get 5-1 and 5-2 without getting analog 5 (aka: 5-0) showing up?

Originally posted by RScogland
I finally decided to have my ProScan PSHD-105 (clone of RCA DTC-100) remap all the channels and get guide data (ie: 31-2 becomes 25-1). The only problem is I can no longer eliminate the analog channels. Is there a way I can get 5-1 and 5-2 without getting analog 5 (aka: 5-0) showing up? No, there isn't because WCVB sends station PSIP for its analog channel. If you notice, WBZ does not, nor do a few others. The stations that do like 2, 5, 7 and 56 force your DTC-100 (and clone) to cycle through those channels as well as the digitals.

Actually, the only way would be to go back to "no guide data".

Originally posted by RScogland
I finally decided to have my ProScan PSHD-105 (clone of RCA DTC-100) remap all the channels and get guide data (ie: 31-2 becomes 25-1). The only problem is I can no longer eliminate the analog channels. Is there a way I can get 5-1 and 5-2 without getting analog 5 (aka: 5-0) showing up?

Not to worry -- those pesky analog channels will be gone in just a few years!

:D

As of last night, 4-1 and 25-1 were both back to solid, strong signals.
I am at a loss as to the reason for the inconsistency.

I still don't get Fox.
lately, even ABC seems to be troublesom to lock on to.
and when i do get to ABC.. initially my Dish 811 receiver says..
no signal available.. iwait for a while.. and then suddenly i get 70% lock on 5.2

and strangely.. i get lock on 5.2 more often that 5.1 - but that doesn't make sense.. as they are sub-channels. but thats what i observe.

I tried to add 2 different Radio-shack amplifiers.. both are 2 piece amps..
with a in-line amp next to the antenna in my attic.. and a power option next to the TV... but when i hook those up.. i get NO signal. I tried it twice..
if I remove the amp.. i get 2.1/2, 4.1, 7.1, 44.1/2/3/4 66.1, 68.1/2/3/4
but when i hook it up.. i get none.
no signal at all.. not even 49%.. almost like it is filtering everything out. ;-(

colleague is recommending getting a winegard amp. any local stores sell them ?
is that my problem ? i.e why i don't get fox HD.
I want to get this fixed before the Pats/Seahawks game ;-) ;-)

c-geek,

Location, location, location.

If you're asking questions about OTA reception you must include your location if you want to help. Without your location it is impossible to make any recommendations.
Dave

I am in westford, MA ;-)

Your problem may well be the fact that your antenna is in the attic.
I learned the hard way, that it cuts down 40-50% of the signal. I mounted my Channel Master 4228 in the attic, and got very marginal results. Not only is there a reduction of signal, but mulipathing will effect the direction.
An amp will not likely solve your problem.

I finally gave up, and mounted the antenna on my roof, on the back of the house (to appease my wife) and now I get most channels from both Boston and Providence, including FOX, which is very strong.

C-geek,

I'm in a condo in Ayer (not too far at all from Westford) on the Littleton line and if the conditions were right, I could get 2,4,5,7,25,38,44, and 56 (75 - 80% or better) with an in attic antenna. However I get huge variance in signal strength where most of the time I'm ok, but a rainstorm will cause me to lose either 7 or 25. In my stupidity last week, I tried to change out the stand from a box I had the PR-7015 set on, to an aluminum antenna tripod to try to raise the antenna up a bit and make it more solid of a base. Well ended up moving just right and snapped off one of the elements... and I think the aluminum base in the attic is adding to the multipath so now I'm worse off than if I left the crappy box up there ;) However to get by the condo association who lets us put dishes outside, I ordered one of the Winegard Squareshooters w/AMP (SS-2000) to put outside. The PR-7015 (with a 10db gain I believe) plus cheapy radioshack amp (which boosted about 20%) would get all the stations well enough thru the roof (major multipath) then thru the trees, so hoping the squareshooter outside above the treeline will be adequete with about a 12db gain. I'll let you know how it works.

-Mike

I agree that your problems are most likely multipath.

My antenna is on my roof, and WCVB-DT was my biggest problem in the past. Rotating the antenna fixed my problem, amps did nothing.

I think some simple rules are:

1. outdoor is better than indoor
2. higher is better
3. If 1 & 2 don't work then try amps/attenuators.

Dave

c-geek,
I am near you in Littleton and I had to work pretty hard to get all the boston channels solid. I wound up with a CM3023 beam (like the 4248) about 10 feet above roof peak on a rotor with a CM7775 mast mount preamp. I now get everything. Fox, WB and NBC (25, 56 & 7) were the ones that gave me trouble.
I also get all the NH channels if I turn the beam to the NNE.

Local topography to your house (hills within a mile or so) in the direction of Needham make all the difference. Nothing you can do to improve that except use a directional antenna with more gain mounted as high as you can, aimed in the right direction. The CM7775 preamp helped in my situation but doesn't for everyone.

The symptoms you describe sound like marginal signal strength. Definitely try the antenna on the roof. Before you go to that trouble, temporarily set it up in the yard to see if it improves over the attic location as roofing materials do reduce TV signals.

Good luck,
-Scott

C-Geek,

Just realized on my way in to work this morning that you may have Nashoba in the way depending on where you live in Westford. Just takes something like that to cause troublesome multipath if you are north or west of it.

-Mike

Originally posted by mbtobe
As of last night, 4-1 and 25-1 were both back to solid, strong signals.
I am at a loss as to the reason for the inconsistency.
It's not just you. I'm in Shrewsbury and yes, I have an antenna in an attic. But I've had great signal from the Boston stations for months (almost always 100% with no signal loss). Then in the last week or so they started getting a little bad. 25-1 is almost always gone. The other stations are down to 30-60%. I checked the cabling and the antenna. Nothing odd. The analog UHF channels look very grainy now. They were VERY solid before (good enough that I preferred some of them to the overcompressed DirecTV locals). I don't know what's up.

-Steve

thats right.. Nashoba Valley ski mountain is probably in my line of sight.
shoot... that must be the reason for my problems.

Unfortunaltey. outdoor antenna is not possible due to wife-disapproval.
I guess i will have to live without Fox HD ;-(
I will also try to get the winegard amp and see if that makes any difference as opposed to Radioshack amp... although now.. that seems unlikely.

I don't know why radioshack amp just made everything so much worse.. no channels were even being received.. 0% on all channels. except channel 4.. which went from 0-9%.. am returning them today.

maybe amp is not the solution for me based on what u all have said.
the nashoba valley is the problem.

c-geek and others,

I've found that some cheap black spray paint applied to outdoor antennas and mast make them much less visually obtrusive. It doesn't affect the signals and the wife factor is MUCH improved. In fact, I now like to call my antennas "ROOF ART". :-)

-Scott

For my fellow digital neighbors in southeastern Mass and RI, WNAC-DT 64-1 is up and running.

FYI, WNAC 64-1, 64-2 is actually 54 for the first time tuning in (before PSIP remaps your tuner).

I'm getting it solid here in Littleton, MA with my antenna slightly further south than for Needham. Interesting that I can not get the other RI stations broadcasting from the same location (49,51 & 13).

Perhaps WNAC is not finished tweaking their directional antennas (if it is directional). I suspect once they do, I will no longer get them since I'm not in their intended region.

-Scott

Well got my Winegard Square Shooter SS-2000 last night... I won't have a chance to put it up outside this weekend, but threw it in the attic last night to compare it with what I have out here in Ayer. It seem to have about the same signal strength as the Winegard PR-7010 that was currently in the attic with the cheapy preamp. Some of the stations seemed to come in a bit stronger than before on the Dish 811 with suprisingly less multipath, however a bit weaker on the Fusion3. I was able to lock in to 2,4,5,25, 38,44,56,66 and 68 with 66% or more signal on the 811, while 2, 4, 5, and 44 on the Fusion (same results with the PR-7010 right now.) Channel 7 still eludes me, however hoping once it gets outide it will resolve a lot of the multipath from the attic. If I aim the antenna just right I can get channel 7, but due to the horrible multipath in the attic I can't find a happy medium anymore to get all of them (same with PR-7010 once leaves started falling.) Hopefully condo people will go kindly on it since it looks a lot like a square dish.

-Mike

Hey Folks, I am new to the forum and have a couple of OTA Boston questions. I have the directivoHD box with the $25 radioshack UHF outdoor antenna


I get great signal, like 90% on most channels, but still get Pixel/dropouts. There are trees about 20 feet form the antenna, but since the sig is close to 90% most of the time, I figured they didn't matter?

It's just that we get pixel dropouts, like 2-3 seconds, 3-4 times an hour, but not always. It doesn't really bother me but my wife is going to lose it and is going to force me to tivo Sat SD to avoid the dropouts.

Guess my question is, am I alone or do others only 15 miles from towers see dropouts?

Thanks, Marty.

I am about 20 miles from towers with an indoor antenna, similar signal strength, DIRECTV HD Tivo but no dropouts.

Marty,

Could the trees be in play with wind?

Dave

Thanks, and yes. I am watching it now and the sig goes from 90+ to 30-40 when the wind blows...CRAP! So do I need to go above the trees or maybe preamps for boost? Better antenna?

I can go much higher on the house, I just don't have the ladder to do it, are there people that install antennas? Yelowpages time I guess.

I am in Groton, MA and wouldn't you know it, CBS-HD, channel 4.1 is the one I get poor reception on. Too many audio and video dropouts are occuring on a regular basis.

I ave a silver sensor in the second floor of my townhouse. Because it is a townhouse, a roof antenna is not possible.

The Patriots are unwatchable in HD for me and my cable company, Charter doesn't have CBS-HD in their channel lineup.

Dave

Dave...if you have an unobstructed window facing in the direction of Needham, try putting your antenna in that window sill. Use a coaxial cable extention if you have to.

I live in Boston, MA. I currently have Dish Network and use a TREK antennae to get my locals in High Definition. I have no problem getting ABC, NBC and CBS - however I can not lock onto FOX. Can anyone in Boston lock onto FOX without using a massive outdoor antennae? Does anyone know if Dish will be carrying the Red Sox/Yankees in High-Def? According to antennaweb.org I should have no problem picking up Fox as it is very close to the other channels. Any help or suggestions would be welcome as I am dying to see these games in high def!

Thanks!

John

Dear _Rotten-

I get fine signal from all of of the Boston area HDTV stations with a small outdoor UHF antenna. I do have an unobstructed line of site from my Charlestown home to the tower in Needham.

Lee

I live in Canton and last night I could barely get FOX during the baseball game. Was anyone else having the same issues of dropping out? I have a Radio Shack antenna on my roof with trees in the path to Needham. I get all the other channels 2, 4, 5, 7 just fine.

marty1


I am in Bellingham, not far from Franklin. My wife also gets upset with the pixelations.

I have a channel master 4228 mounted on the back side of my roof.
Interestingly, I also have problems with 4-1. It will register 80-85 and nosedive to 10-20 every couple of minutes. By turning the direction of my antenna, I now get a solid 75 with no dropouts on 12-1, 5-1, 7-1, 25-1 and 38-1. I also get 10-1, 6-1 and 64-1.

I also have a pre amp, but I do not think it adds much at all.

You may want to try turning the antenna to see if you can zero in on Providence as well as Boston.

How far did you turn it away from Needham?

Originally posted by greenelucky
How far did you turn it away from Needham?

Not very scientific, but I would say approx 35-45 degrees. I would say, that the Channel Master I am using is the one with 8 bows, so it is far less direction sensitive than other types. Additionally, since the antenna is not at the peak of my roof (compromise with the wife) I also may be dealing with some multipath issues.

I "locked" onto the current direction via a very scientific method..I was on the roof turning the antenna pole in small increments, while an assistant checked the signal strengths on each channel. My only goal was to make sure I got one solid signal from each network without regard to whether it was Boston or Providence.

Did you move it east or west?

Originally posted by greenelucky
Did you move it east or west?


It is facing northeast, as compared to the dish which is southeast.

So me being in Canton I should try moving it west. Do you agree?

Originally posted by greenelucky
So me being in Canton I should try moving it west. Do you agree? I live about 10 miles south of you in Raynham, right off of 495. My indoor antenna is in a south facing window, aimed southeast. I get near-perfect reception on all Boston channels plus 2 Providence channels. Point is move your antenna around. You never know where that signal may be coming from.

What kind of antenna do you have?

greenelucky,

Trial and error. It is the only way to go.
To many variables, trees, buildings, roof materials, etc. Every location is different.

Originally posted by greenelucky
What kind of antenna do you have? I use a Radio Shack VHF/UHF amplified indoor antenna. There are many variations/brands of this in the market at all the electronic stores, especially Circuit City, Sears, etc. In my apartment, I get better reception from my south-facing window then I do from a west-facing window. Most of the Boston digitals are coming in at 90+% on my HD Tivo, even though it is aimed exactly in the opposite direction from Needham.

I did what everyone mentioned and move it around and it worked. Got 25-1 just fine. Now I get 7-1 dropping out so I have to play with it some more. I am considering installing a rotor. I ended up pointing it more towards Boston then Needham to get it to work. Thanks for all your help.

Is WLVI still up at higher power? I got poor reception & lost signal during last nights HD broadcast.

Originally posted by rudolpht
Is WLVI still up at higher power? I got poor reception & lost signal during last nights HD broadcast.


I presume you mean WXFT (25-1) not WLVI (56-1).

I got very strong signal with no breakups until start of 9th inning. Got so bad I had to change to 64-1 for the rest of the game. Seemed odd to me, I checked outside and there was no big wind or rain or any other change I could tell.

No problems here on either 25-1 or 56-1, except for one big problem. Sox bats are doing nothing!!!

Originally posted by Benji
No problems here on either 25-1 or 56-1, except for one big problem. Sox bats are doing nothing!!!

I agree with your conclusion, but did mean 56-1. I assumed the power did go up, because I had been having better luck receiving. Is that not the case?

My only problem with 25-1 has been the transition stuff that everyone has been experiencing (and the 0-2, praying for rain).

Tim

WLVI (56-1) is still a big problem for me too. I did notice an increase in signal strength last month, but it still registers in the "bad" zone on my signal strength meter and doesn't lock on. All the other Boston stations register at the high end of "normal" or better, so 56 is very weak in comparison.

Fox25 is the other troublesome station for me. Even though it registers a higher signal strength than many of the other stations I often get drop-outs. I wonder if there isn't something else in their signal that is more sensitive to errors?

_Paul

I get a very strong signal on 56-1 with my Fusion III, MyHD, and Zenith Sat HDS-20. I recorded Smallville on Wednesday using MyHD.

The Fusion, TT2 players both stutter playing the TS. MyHD plays it without any problems. I do not have these problems on other stations.

I think that there may be problems in the transport stream that my software players cannot handle. Maybe your tuner is having problem with the stream.

-- Rich

HD Signal in Marlborough
So I made the jump into HD world this weekend. I picked up a HD Tivo and a new dish. The direct tv channels are working great. But I can't seem to get OTA channels at all. I first started off with a Terk HDTVi antenna. But I wan't able to get a singnal at all. Then I went out and picked up a RCA ant706 indoor outdoor antenna. When I put it in my closet I was able to get PBS and some abc but nothing else. So I figure I would be better to run the antenna into my attic but once I did that I got no signal. I ideas?

I just also got hooked up with DirecTV in HD and all is nice with the exception of OTA local HD. They installed an outdoor Winegard gs-2vrd antenna but when I go to a channel, the picture never comes in. When I test the reception with the receiver, it goes between 10 to 50%.

Is the a antenna booster? or just a better antenne for me to try. I live in Pembroke, MA

I get a very strong signal on 56-1 with my Fusion III, MyHD, and Zenith Sat HDS-20. I recorded Smallville on Wednesday using MyHD.

Ooops, that didn't quote the whole thing, but oh well. I'm running a Fusion III out here in Sterling and all of my recording of G Girls work fine on the Fusion III. I wonder what's going on with that one Smallville.

On a side note, which of those options has the strongest signal Rich?

Thanks,
Chris

Originally posted by electricangels
HD Signal in Marlborough
So I made the jump into HD world this weekend. I picked up a HD Tivo and a new dish. The direct tv channels are working great. But I can't seem to get OTA channels at all. I first started off with a Terk HDTVi antenna. But I wan't able to get a singnal at all. Then I went out and picked up a RCA ant706 indoor outdoor antenna. When I put it in my closet I was able to get PBS and some abc but nothing else. So I figure I would be better to run the antenna into my attic but once I did that I got no signal. I ideas?


The HR10-250 is a sensitive OTA receiver. I went through similar trial and error that you are going through and finally settled on a Channel Master 4228 mounted on my roof. I tried the attic, but the signal bounced all over the place. I learned that attic installation can cause a signal decrease of as much as 50%. So, if the towers are 15 miles away, you need an antenna rated for 30 miles or even more, depending on your roof and attic material. A lot depends on location and terrain also.

I would recommend an outside intallation.

Anyone having troubles receiving 38-1 in SE NH, it has been MIA the last few days, no problems getting the other Boston locals. Cannot measure signal strength as the Samsung 360 STB has a worthless signal meter. If no one else id having problems, I guess it means tweaking the antenna on the roof and re-hooking my Zenith 420.

Herb

What's up with Fox pulling the HD plug BEFORE the end of the game last night. Really, really beat. It actually happened at least twice, but I could here the switchboard lighting up the first time. The second time was just before the game winning run. Does anyone look at the screen before switching?

rudolpht:

The first time they did the switch to SD, it last for several minutes, but then switched back to HD. The second time they did it was exactly when Ortiz was hitting his bloop single right into center field and the crowd going wild. It seemed to switch to the SD feed, then rewound a bit back when it switched to the SD feed. It sucked because you didn't get to see the moment as a whole.

Anyone else seeing WFXT, especially during baseball, having issues? The image seems to stutter, dropping halfwaay down the screen, then bouncing back with and audio drop at the same time. It seems to be happening both over the air (SIR-T151 via Silver Sensor) and cable (SA8000HD via Charter-Worcester). It seems to have started Sunday night, and only gotten worse. It didn't seem to happen at all during football on Sunday.

Yes it was happening during most of last night's game. Others around the country have complained about the same thing. I would think this is a FOX Network problem, something to do with the new HD-splicer equipment that FOX is using. I agree that there hasn't been any problem with the NFL games so it is a bit perplexing.

It is cosmic forces helping to aling to break the curse :)

Congrats on the most unbelievable comeback ever. The curse of The Bambino has lifted. :) Hope to see you guys at Fenway Park Sat. nite.

Go 'Stros.

I've gotten lost on if WB56 is now at a higher power, or we are still waiting for that. What is their current power level. I am in Southern New Hampshire, anyone else able to receive 56? I can get digital 2, 4, 5,7, and 44. I have on occasion received 25 and 38. However I have never received 56.

Anyone in Southern New Hampshire able to get 56 OTA?

Originally posted by TexGuy
Congrats on the most unbelievable comeback ever. The curse of The Bambino has lifted. :) Hope to see you guys at Fenway Park Sat. nite.

Go 'Stros. Five of the six Division champions are sitting at home today licking their wounds. The Cards are the only survivor. If the 'Stros win, it'll be a wildcard World Series. Correction on the curse. It's not lifted until the Sox win 4 more games.

I am in Manchester w/an older Channel Master rooftop antenna (seperate vhf/uhf) and rotor. I receive all NH channels, in Boston 2,4,5,7,25,38,44,56,66,68. WB56 has been the only problem to date, very unreliable signal. Note: I also receive 6 and 8 out of Maine and 24 out of VT. I have had no success w/RI channels

I too have no luck with WLVI.

41 reads in the middle of the bad range on the signal strength meter on my receiver, whereas all the other Boston stations are very strong in comparison.

I too can get 24, the Windsor, VT PBS station. My concern here is that their analog station is on 41, same as WLVI-DT. I wonder if this could be affecting my reception of WLVI-DT. Any experts reading this thread? Bob are you still there?

_Paul

Did any of you nice people record Game 7? I felt cheated for the lack of HD since I was out of state and had to resort to watching it on a 25" Hotel tv :( Anyone do this on a PC, I for one would appreciate it.

Thanks

Originally posted by vfrjim
Did any of you nice people record Game 7? I felt cheated for the lack of HD since I was out of state and had to resort to watching it on a 25" Hotel tv :( Anyone do this on a PC, I for one would appreciate it.

Thanks Yes, but unfortunately, it is on my HDTivo. looks fantastic!

I am trying to set my antenna to recieve Fox 25 for the game Sat. I went to 25-1 and it bounced it back to the regular UHF 25 (RCA DTC100). Does FOX 25 only send out the HIDef signal when there is a Hidef show on? Or should I be able to lock into it if I am able to get the signal?

You should be able to lock on if you are recieving a strong enough signal - not sure where in Mass you are but if you scan and pickup 64.1 which is fox in Providence - the signal is very strong and reliable - another option is ch 88 on directv -- Good luck - John

You may need to manually scan for digital channel 31, and if the signal is strong enough for your tuner it should remap it to 25-1.
Depending upon location, you may or may not be able to receive FOX from Providence.

plamar...do a channel scan then check your off-air signal strength meter to see if 31-2 was picked up. Even if you get a poor signal, it may still show up on the meter. Then you can adjust your antenna for the best signal using the meter.

Since there is no activity on this subject, I'm going to assume that I have a problem specific to MyHD tuner; but here goes anyway:

Two weeks ago I installed a MyHD tuner. All expected channels and sub channels worked fine. Two days later all of WGBX's (Ch44-Boston) subchannels violently rebooted my computer. I checked with the MyHD thread on this forum:
1. found another MyHD user with the same issue.
2. I was informed that there was a newer Beta version of the same software available.
3. Someone should contact WGBX.

I did # 2 and 3 above. (I know, nothing like two variables in a problem)
Beta Software improved my problem form a violent (bluescreen) crash to a software crash.
A day after I contacted WGBX (no answer) the problem went away. The other MyHD tuner user found that his problem went away too. (no software change).

This week the problem came back (software crash on all Ch44 subchannels).
Contacted WBGX again, and got an answer. They indicated that they have made no changes over the time period that the problem has come, gone and returned again.
Reason for this memo: I'm just making sure that folks with other tuners are getting all Ch44 subs with no problem before I decide that it is my tuner.

Thanks for any suggestions
Mike Cocorochio

Had a similar scenario earlier this year, but with a 3yrold Zenith tuner---reboot on 44 when channel surfing. Haven't noticed it recently, but I don't channel surf often and wouldn't normally be watching anything on 44.
I hesitate to check it now, since it's a pain to reset my custom channel guide after a reboot.
Can't help you specifically, but it's probably not your tuner, and more likely something in the stream. Maybe someone here can capture the stream info/header?? and tell you how to inform the station engineer.

No problems here on 44 with SIRT-151 STB. I watch 44 subchannels frequently.
-Scott

No problem with WGBX on either my DISH 811 or Zenith HDV420 set top boxes

question about the world series on fox:

i started getting WFXT in HD back around the week 1 of this NFL season (i guess that's about 2 months ago).

the quality was great. good audio. good picture.

i watched pats vs. seahawks. no problems. i watched the redsox in the ALDS, the ALCS - no problems. then, i think starting in game 2 of the world series, i started having MAJOR problems receiving WFXT. the picture was breaking up all the time, pixelating, etc. it would be good for a minute or two at at time, then would start acting up again. sometimes, the outages lasted a minute or more. it was barely watchable.

does anyone know - was WFXT having problems with their transmitter? was fox having problems with their signal? (i can hardly believe the whole country was getting a signal this bad for games 2, 3, and 4).

when i check the signal strength, i get around 50-60, which is lower than all my other hd locals, but seems very steady. so i can't really tell if that's the problem or not. ... and if that is the problem, then i am still curious if this is because WFXT changed something on their end or if it's my antenna that somehow got screwed up.

my receiver is a directivo hr10-250. directv rolled out some software updates recently that are causing some audio problems, and i'm trying to figure out whether the problems i was having during the world series are connected to this.

I use an indoor amp-ed antenna and mostly have a clear signal but occasionally have to move the antenna slightly (sometimes just an inch in either direction) to fix it. So the directional changes slightly, for me anyhow.
They definitely had an audio-related issue with an HD splitter (or something like that, as mentioned by another poster in the RI thread or the MASS thread) that caused a 'looping' problem with audio/video, but this was not as apparent to me during the later games.

dduff617,

No problems here at on Fox25 signal for World Series, other than a few glitches at the source.

I suspect multipath to be your problem. When the tree leaves fall, signal paths change. You probably have to adjust the direction or the location of your antenna. In past years I've seen this kind of problem with various channels as the seasons change. Good luck.

-Scott

dduff617,

There were a number of problems for some of the games that originated at the venue. Definitely some bad breakups that were not reception related. Are you having the problems all the time on FOX, or just during the WS broadcasts?

i don't watch fox that much - at least not on my HD Tivo. but like i said, i do remember that there were no reception issues during the pats/seahawks game (10/17).

poor performance during the world series was a bummer though - i had considered having a big group over to watch the game. fortunately, that didn't happen.

the multipath/reception theory is a good one - i will record some more fox stuff and see if the problem still exists. thanks.

it just keeps breaking up and has been this way for a few weeks now.. any info?

WHY THE HELL IS THE PATS GAME ON 4-1 BEING BROADCAST IN STANDARD DEF ????????

THE PATS GAME IS THE NATIONAL GAME OF THE WEEK ON CBS, LISTED AS HD ??????????

WHO DO WE CALL ABOUT THIS ?

Steelers / Patriots game not in HD. Wassup with that?

Is is supposed to be... whats WBZ's control room # ???

Just called their news hotline (617-783-4444) because I couldn't find the control number... "They're aware of the problem and trying to correct it...."

This is crap, I've got people over expecting HD.

Anyone know why the game is not in HD despite the previews indicating it would be? Anyone have CBS contact info for complaints?

Thanks!

The HD hotline number was posted here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2024410#post2024410

It's 617-787-7043. They're aware of it and have now fixed it.

-Steve

sha_now,

Great job! Boston we have Hi-Def.

-- Rich

The picture looks sharp now, but my tv automaticly goes into wide mode on the HD input. it looks like CBS is also streching the picture. (or it could just be me)

the score and clock are off the screen

It was just me. My reciever somehow had set the screen ratio at 4:3. I changed it and its looks great

CBS isn't stretching the picture, and the score is on the screen. Perhaps you have something set wrong.

Wonder if it was a network problem with the lack of HD since Channel 12 in Providence had the same problem. It seemed to be resolved at the same time WBZ changed over.

Is anyone experiencing dropouts with 7-1?

Originally posted by greenelucky
Is anyone experiencing dropouts with 7-1?

No but 4-1 is not coming in on Voom, but is on HDtivo (and cable).

I'm in Marlborough trying to get OTA working well but I'm having now luck with indoor units. So I know I need to get an outdoor antenna. I would love to get something like the squareshooter just becuase I know my wife would like the way it looks better than big antenna. But at this point I don't think its a option. What can people recomend and is there anyplaces near marlborough to get the antenna or good websites?

Thanks

Originally posted by electricangels
I'm in Marlborough trying to get OTA working well but I'm having now luck with indoor units. So I know I need to get an outdoor antenna. I would love to get something like the squareshooter just becuase I know my wife would like the way it looks better than big antenna. But at this point I don't think its a option. What can people recomend and is there anyplaces near marlborough to get the antenna or good websites?

Thanks

Best place for info and antennas near you is Stark Electronics in Worcester.

Getting a "0" signal on WHDHDT right now. It's been like that since I came home from work at noon. Anyone else?

Originally posted by Benji
Getting a "0" signal on WHDHDT right now. It's been like that since I came home from work at noon. Anyone else?

Yep, NO signal on it.

Same here in...Whom do we call?????

I'm guessing WHDH is doing some work on its digital transmitter. Not enough of a big deal for me to call since I get WNBCDT from DIRECTV. But I do prefer Channel 7's news to the other Boston stations. Hopefully the outage won't be long.

OK Benji, you got me.....How did you get HD-NBC??? D* told me I needed a, you know, one of those things.

Crap, I can't think of what it is called, permission from the local NBC affiliate I guess?

I got CBS-HD right away, but they would not give me the NBC...I am in Franklin, MA.

Thanks, Jim.

Jim...I think Franklin is in the Boston demographic area so you need a waiver from WHDH. My town Raynham is in the Providence DMA and WJAR is an NBC O&O station so I qualified automatically.

Ahhh, OK, well, thanks for the response. I am still waiting to be turned down :)

I got a waiver from NBC in Boston

OK Mr. Smarty-pants, here's another question for ya'll.

I just repositioned my antenna and now get a bunch of new channels, some from Providence. My question is, How do I get the program data in the guide. All I have now is the Boston Channels info, the Providence stations just say "current Programming" (or something like that).

I have re-scanned and still nothing.

It has been a week since my last re-scan.

Thanks, Jim.

Setup Providence as your secondary local stations in the setup menue I am also presuming you have the HD Tivo box as that is how I did it

steverobertson

How did you get the waiver. I am in Shrewsbury and got turned down. You can see the tower can't you.

All my local channels say "Regular Schedule" too. Anyone have any ideas?

Re due your intial setup and enter the zip codes you used before.

Originally posted by TomL
steverobertson

How did you get the waiver. I am in Shrewsbury and got turned down. You can see the tower can't you.

I was very surprised that I got the waiver but D* did all the work.

Hey Steve...Hokies=2004 ACC Champs!

Originally posted by Benji
Hey Steve...Hokies=2004 ACC Champs!

In your dreams

Well, here's my dilemma. I just purchased a new Sony 50" LCD, and I am in a little bind. Currently I have had Dish Network and have been very happy with the service and reception that they have been providing me for the last few years. The problem is that they cannot provide me HDTV locals right now except for CBS, which requires a 45 day waiver waiting period???
I can either go back to Charter, which looks like crap on my current Sony tube, or stick with Dish until they provide me HD Locals which could be 2-6 months away it seems. I don't think there would be anyway that I could get OTA because I am 35-40 miles away from any digital antennas in the Boston area. I did the www.antennaweb.org search and it did not list any available digital stations. Another consideration might be that Charter will also provide me with NESN HD, which who knows if Dish will ever pick up. I'm sure they might eventually, but it's kind of a regional channel.

Any help that anyone can provide me here would be greatly appreciated.

Unless you live in a bunker, you should have no problem getting the Boston HDTV locals with a proper outdoor antenna. Antennaweb.org is notorious for underestimating HDTV reception beyond 30 miles, and yet there are many people you regularly receive HDTV reception at a distance of 50 miles or more. Since everything in Boston HDTV is on UHF, I would suggest considering installing a Channel Master 4228 UHF antenna on your roof, and using a Channel Master Titan 7775 or a 7777 preamplifier. it isn't as difficult as you might think, and you will be rewarded terrific, monthly-fee-free HDTV!

blackngold19

Where is you location? I recieve OTA in Shrewsbury. There are people who get Boston signals in RI and NH.

I live in Leicester

I am about 35 miles as the crow flies from the Boston towers and get all of them perfectly with an antenna in my attic.

SMK

So is WLVI multicasting their SD feed? I see there is a subchannel with the same thing on the primary.

This does not bode well for the LOTR broadcast tommorow.

My appologies if this has been covered before, I have been out of the forums for a while.

A few weeks ago for two weeks I missed the recording of Smallville on my Direct TV TIVO (SD), the picture was all broken up. I remember wondering if they had switched to re-broadcasting the digital signal because the weather hadn't been bad for at least one airing.

Sure enough, the station ID was WLVI-DT when I finally got a good recording. They seem to be downconverting the HD signal to SD for at least this local channel (I suspect they may be doing the same thing with WSBK-DT, but I haven't confirmed that yet).

If there is another thread which discusses this, please provide a URL pointing to it.

Game not in HD on 4-1... people in the control room say once the Jests/Jills game ends that the Pats will switch to HD.

Thanks for giving us the info on the control room at WBZ. It kind of boggles my mind as to why they need to wait until the Jets/Bills game is over to make the switch.

At least they're aware and it's coming.

Thanks,
Steve

HD!!! Yea!

Samuel injured. Ugh.

Hey All,
Just found this thread. I am in Rehoboth, about 50 mi from Boston, and can get everything except 38. I used to when I first set up everything months ago. Not that I watch UPN a lot, but every HD channel we can get you know.. I am using a roof antennae with a rotor. It works great. We are getting RI stuff too since some of the towers are here in town. Just turned on Fox 64 recently too. How 'bout you guys?

Ah. WLVI is screwed. They're multicasting the HD feed twice and the sound is lagging on the primary feed.

Has anyone out there heard about the status of WLWC - DT22 a WB affilate out of New Bedford/RI market on when they may be up and running or if they are in fact running now at low power?

The FCC site indicates a Construction Permit status.

Also the NAB site indicates that the digital channel is 29 conflicting the FCC site has it at 22. WUNI out of Worcester transmitts at 29. Does anyone know which channel they will actually be using? or if the NAB site is a typo?

Thanks in advance for any info.

It was suggested in the Providence thread a person here would know about WLWC's status. Any new info on when it will be on the air? John

Can anyone tell me what their getting for signal strength on the D* 110 satellite? On my HR10-250, I'm getting mid to high 90s on both 101 & 119 and in the low 60s on 110. DrDon on the AVS Forum has given me some suggestions for checking the problem but am wondering if it has anything to do with the satellite footprint?

Tonight with the snow and rain, I'm getting 68/68/70 on 8/10/12. The 'normal' strength I get are mid to high 70's. I've seen in the low 80's before but that's not too common.

I get mostly low 90's on 101 and high 90's on 119 (with our 2 'local spot beams' on xponder 25 & 29 being upper 90's)

Originally posted by sonofjay
Tonight with the snow and rain, I'm getting 68/68/70 on 8/10/12. The 'normal' strength I get are mid to high 70's. I've seen in the low 80's before but that's not too common.

I get mostly low 90's on 101 and high 90's on 119 (with our 2 'local spot beams' on xponder 25 & 29 being upper 90's)

Thanks for the info. Right now I'm getting NO signal on 110 - nothing! And still getting signals in the 80s on 101 and 119.

Originally posted by bcushman
Thanks for the info. Right now I'm getting NO signal on 110 - nothing! And still getting signals in the 80s on 101 and 119. For whatever the reason, Sat. C weakens considerably between sundown and approximately 11PM. I have an indoor dish and at best get a 55% signal on C. During the 5-11 PM period, regardless of weather,the signal drops to 35-40% and is not useable. My A and B readings are always 80-100% regardless of the time. Check Sat. C after 11PM and chances are you'll be receiving a signal on it.

just wondering if anyone saw the Celtics in their first local HD broadcast last night?

Originally posted by Benji
For whatever the reason, Sat. C weakens considerably between sundown and approximately 11PM. I have an indoor dish and at best get a 55% signal on C. During the 5-11 PM period, regardless of weather,the signal drops to 35-40% and is not useable. My A and B readings are always 80-100% regardless of the time. Check Sat. C after 11PM and chances are you'll be receiving a signal on it.

Thanks Benji. Update: Even though our light flurries amounted to more than 4 inches of snow, I just came in off the roof - based on what DrDon had suggested to check to see if the signal on 110 was being effected by the 119 signal, I covered the 119 LNB with tin foil, and sig went to 0 but the 110 went from the high 50s(which is what it has been, day or night) to mid 70s. Tried moving the tin foil around to try to come to a happy compromise, and even though the 110 sig went down to the high 60s still no sig on 119. Took the tin foil off altogether, checked to see all LNBs were secured (they were) and wiped them off, and came in to find the signal on 119 was back to the 90s and the 110 sig was locked in at 75 and has remained that way! That strength is more than acceptable, but why would it now be so much higher? Anyway, fingers crossed that it stays that way - this is not the time of year to be adjusting the dish. I'll be checking it this evening to see if it stays where it is now.

Originally posted by bcushman
Thanks for the info. Right now I'm getting NO signal on 110 - nothing! And still getting signals in the 80s on 101 and 119.

Do you have an antenna diplexed into the signal?

If so, you may need to diplex it out before you feed your receiver. I had 0 on xp 10 & 12 with 50's on xp 8 when I replaced my DST-3000 with the Sony SAT-HD300. When I tried hooking up a diplexor (because the Sony doesn't have one built in like the Toshiba), all the transponders came back (I was missing some on 110 as well and one on 119). The signals from the antenna were most likely overloading the sat signals in the receiver.

Adding the diplexor fixed the problem, presumably because the OTA signals were now being attenuated before getting to the sat portion of the receiver.

My signal strength is now in the 90's on all transponders / sats. Note that I also have the Channel Master Gainmaster dish.

Dave, I'm not sure of what you mean. I am using a Phase III dish, feeding it directly into a Hughes HR10-250 (DirectTV HD Tivo). My mid 70s signal on the 3 110 transponders have now fallen into the mid 60s, just as Benji predicted in his previous posting.

Dave is talking about having your OTA signals and DirecTV signals on the same RG6 cable and that the OTA signal was interfering with the DirecTV signal (at least in his case).

His case is more atypical as most setups where diplexers are used have two, one to put the two signals together and another to separate them.

In any event, based on your previous postings this does not appear to be an issue in your case.