I am in Ipswich, MA and I cannot get 25-1 and 38-1. Is anyone elase having problems with these two stations.

On the 24th of June I was getting 38-1 on and off while watching the Red Sox game, but now I cannot get the station at all.

I am in Ipswich, MA and I cannot get 25-1 and 38-1. Is anyone elase having problems with these two stations.

On the 24th of June I was getting 38-1 on and off while watching the Red Sox game, but now I cannot get the station at all.
Both stations are coming in strong in Raynham as of 5:06PM.

Strong in Salisbury.

E-mail on its way

Leave it to a VT fan to get rid of an HD TIVO and use such an inferior product as Comcast

Leave it to a VT fan to get rid of an HD TIVO and use such an inferior product as Comcast
You're just insanely jealous of my Criminokies!

You're just insanely jealous of my Criminokies!

That and you switching to Comcrap

Is anyone else having trouble with 44-2,3,4 with a HR10-250? I went on vacation and recorded a few shows of America's Test Kitchen. When I started watching I found that they were all "jumpy." The sound is fine, but the picture freezes for a split second every second, almost like you'd see if looking at something lit with a strobe light (but the light level isn't varying). I don't know any better way to explain it. When checking the current channels, the problem is still happening. 44-1 is fine, but 2, 3, and 4 are all this way. Watching through my Samsung 360 they are fine.

Anyone else seeing this? Since the TiVo is working fine for all other stations it is clearly not a problem with the TiVo recordings per se but it could be a problem of some sort with its ATSC receiver. In the past I have had problems with 44 not being received correctly on my old RCA DTC-100 due to some problems with WGBX's transmitter. At that time I was getting picture but no sound on 44-2,3,and 4. These problems were fixed about 1 year ago. Has something with WGBX changed again?

TIA

SMK

I am getting the exact same thing with my HR10-250. I have ALWAYS had the problem with DT-4 (Kids channel) but after seeing your note, find it now effects all WGBX sub channels except for 44-1. No problem for me either on any other OTA channels

Same here with my 44-2,3 on the HR10-250. Audio is fine but the video has a stutter to it. :confused:

Does anyone know how to contact any engineer types at WGBH to make them aware of the problem (if they are not already) and try to get this fixed?

SMK

Does anyone know how to contact any engineer types at WGBH to make them aware of the problem (if they are not already) and try to get this fixed?

SMK

I have a Sony XBR34 w/built in tuner and just checked and all 4 sub channels are okay in S. NH.

I have a Sony XBR34 w/built in tuner and just checked and all 4 sub channels are okay in S. NH.

The problem seems to be just with the HD TiVo. I also have Samsung and RCA HD receivers, and they don't have a problem either.

SMK

My Panasonic TU-HDS20 also has the video studdering problem but only on 44-4 (PBS Kids) I have to admit I removed this multicast array from my lineup along with all other SD sub channels some time ago in favor of having only the HD channels. I did seem to find that I could sometimes eliminate the problem by switching directly to 44-4 from an HD feed, but even this was unreliable at best.

The problem seems to be just with the HD TiVo. I also have Samsung and RCA HD receivers, and they don't have a problem either.

SMK
I have the HDTivo and am having the same problems with 2,3, and 4 on 44. Let's see if I can talk to someone at WGBH about fixing it.

Is anyone else having trouble with 44-2,3,4 with a HR10-250? I went on vacation and recorded a few shows of America's Test Kitchen. When I started watching I found that they were all "jumpy." The sound is fine, but the picture freezes for a split second every second, almost like you'd see if looking at something lit with a strobe light (but the light level isn't varying).

Yes! I never mentioned it because I couldn't think of a way to describe it, but yes, it is exactly like the its lit with a strobe.

A little change of subject... Channel 25.1, Anyone notice a signal strenght drop? JStanton? Jg123? I'm in Salisbury, Maybe its the trees. Winter time and football come in good. I have Satellite too which FOX is on channel 88 but its out of NY :(

I've often had that problem on one of the 44-* feeds that Comcast remaps to Channel 209. Can't remember which of the 44 subchannels it is, but it's one of them. The picture freezes, skips, jitters to near unwatchability on my 6208, a little better on the 5100.

I thought it was a signal strength issue on Comcast, but if you guys are seeing the same symptoms OTA, maybe I should quit blaming Comcast.

I have the HDTivo and am having the same problems with 2,3, and 4 on 44. Let's see if I can talk to someone at WGBH about fixing it.
I've spoken to a colleague at WGBH/WGBX, who told me they had been having a problem at the studio with the video for the Kids channel. It appears they have now fixed it.

[Weasel Text: This is an unofficial passing on of news, so you didn't hear it from me.]

Thanks for the info Bob, but unfortunately it didn't solve the problem with Channels 44-2,3 and 4 on my HR10-250

I haven't noticed a significant enough signal drop to lose the picture on 25-1. I haven't paid attention to it though. :(

I called their main number, asked to talk to engineering and left a message. I also sent an e-mail to WGBH from their web site and pointed them to this thread. Here was their response:
Hmmm, that's very strange. Reading those posts certainly indicates a problem on our end or from the HR10-250. Have you scanned or queried the HDTV Recorders & Players forum to see if others with this unit outside of the Boston area are having a similar problem?

Regardless, we'll discuss with our engineers to see what might be the problem. We'll let you know what we hear.
...
With other HR10-250 users from relatively diverse areas having the same problem likely rules out a signal strength problem or some other general interference. It may take some time to determine what's going on and whether it's our on our end or something with the Hughes.
I did scan the HDTV Recorders & Players forum and counldn't find any similar posts. At least we don't have to suffer in silence anymore. :) I hope they can straighten it out. Frontline isn't the same in strobe-time.

I'm new to the forum and HD TV. I live in East Falmouth MA which is on the upper part of Cape Cod not too far from the Bourne Bridge. Will I be able to recieve local channels in HD with on off air antenna? Is there anyone in my area who can veryify this for me. TIA!

Hello,
We ordered and are are anxiously waiting for a new 50" plasma, speakers and new components. I did some research on the forum when shopping for the plasma and speakers ... so my husband sent me back to ask you guys about an antenna ;)

We currently have Dish network and my husband just called them and upgraded our PVRs. We are west of Boston/ Rt.95/128, I guess 10-15 miles from Needham ( I believe that is were the signals originate?). Live in an area of single family homes, no known obstacles in area. Peak of attic is at 35-40 ft off the ground.

What would you recommend for an attic antenna? Will an attic antenna be enough? Any other information would be great. Thanks

A little change of subject... Channel 25.1, Anyone notice a signal strenght drop? JStanton? Jg123? I'm in Salisbury, Maybe its the trees. Winter time and football come in good. I have Satellite too which FOX is on channel 88 but its out of NY :(


Yes, I have noticed a weakened signal over the past week or so and 56.1 continues to be my biggest headache.

I just lost 2., 4., 5., 7., 44., ...

I just lost 2., 4., 5., 7., 44., ...
Power failure in Needham. Everything should be back to normal now.

Power failure in Needham. Everything should be back to normal now.


Yup all set! Thank you!

Lost signal on TV38 (39) RED SOX 12 to 1. C'mon guys I wanna watch!

Signal is coming back

Hello,
We currently have Dish network and my husband just called them and upgraded our PVRs. We are west of Boston/ Rt.95/128, I guess 10-15 miles from Needham ( I believe that is were the signals originate?). Live in an area of single family homes, no known obstacles in area. Peak of attic is at 35-40 ft off the ground.

What would you recommend for an attic antenna? Will an attic antenna be enough? Any other information would be great. Thanks

An attic antenna should work very well. I am about 40 miles from the towers and get perfect reception with an antenna in my attic. Many here use the Channel Master 4221 or it's larger cousin the 4228 which are purely UHF antennas. Currently all the Boston digital transmissions are on UHF. You are close enough that really almost any antenna should work. You may have to play around with positioning to get the best signal and to avoid multipath distortion. A somewhat larger antenna would probably also allow you to pick up some or all of the Providence stations, and with a rotor and even larger antenna you might pick up southern New Hampshire.

SMK

RoyGBiv,
Thanks for the information.

I'm about 20 miles from the stations in the boston area according to antennaweb. I was looking at antennadirect's web site and it appears that the DB2 should work just fine for my range and the DB4 would be overkill. I'd rather do that to keep it low-profile if possible, but wanted to get some feedback from others... should I go with the bigger antenna, or would this one work just fine (in rain/snow/etc.)?

model range
DB2 1-30 Multi-Directional Indoor | Outdoor UHF 14-69 11.4 dB 4" 19" 12" 2.8 lbs.
DB4 15-55 Multi-Directional Outdoor UHF 14-69 13.7 dB 4" 19" 29" 4.5 lbs.

Hello,
I want respond and reassure you that I have specific knowledge that the WGBH engineering people have recently been made aware of the stuttering or jumping video on the mentioned boxes. WGBH has a a few consumer DTV boxes (LG) and professional DTV receivers/decoders from Sencore. that monitor the DTV program streams in master control 24x7, no problems mentioned have been noted. We know from experience that STB from different vendors and generations react differently to issues with the transport stream. If any of you have doubts about whether the information you give to viewer services ever trickles down, this is a case where it was passed along for engineerings attention. GBH engineering is in the process of analyzing the DT-44 transport stream to verify. We will also look for STB boxes of similar vintage and model to try and duplicate the problem .
Thank you for your patience and support.

Thanks for the reply. Keep us posted if you can!

WGBH believes the 44-2, 44-3 and 44-4 problems may be coincident with a multiplexer software version running and configuration issue. In order to isolate the problem WGBX DT-44 is currently running on a backup program stream multiplexer as of 10:30 AM today. Those of you that have boxes that have exhibited the stuttering video on 44-2. 3 and 4 please take a look and post your findings.

Thank you

As the original poster of this problem, I will check when I get home this evening and post my findings.

SMK

I just checked and 44-2,3, and 4 subchannels are working fine. Hopefully they will stay that way.

Thanks for the help and making changes!

SMK

They look good here. Nice work!

I'm about 20 miles from the stations in the boston area according to antennaweb....

Me too, due west, on a tiny hill. But a Silver Sensor with no preamp pulls in all the Boston DTV channels. In the front corner of my family room, I got good reception, except for 25 & 38. I got another 20' of RG6, put the antenna on a bookcase in the back of the room, and now I get everything just great on a Dish 942's OTA tuner.

Joe from Brockton here

I have a Zenith Z42PX2D which has a built in tuner .. Went to Best Buy and picked up a Terk TV5 .. I can pull in HD channels:
2,4,5,7,12,25,56 all with good reception but I'm having problems with 38

Anyone from my area have an indoor antenna that is able to get 38 along with the major HD channels?

Thanks

Joe from Brockton here

I have a Zenith Z42PX2D which has a built in tuner .. Went to Best Buy and picked up a Terk TV5 .. I can pull in HD channels:
2,4,5,7,12,25,56 all with good reception but I'm having problems with 38

Anyone from my area have an indoor antenna that is able to get 38 along with the major HD channels?

Thanks
I use a Radio Shack VHF/UHF set-top antenna and pick up all Boston stations including 38-1 with strong signals. Periodically the signals will fluctuate to a point where they are unuseable but currently everything is coming in strong.

I was thinking about maybe getting my grandmother a hdtv. Basically she has a regular analog tv with ota rabbit ears....she won't get cable for some reason she thinks it will go out.....I thought of maybe a FTA thing but I don't think rewiring the house for it is an option so it leaves this.

According to titan tv it looks like they'd be 32 channels (boston area) of course much of it is from the same affliates...

How good is it? There's only a handful of stations that she gets well on hers (7nbc...maybe 25)


I have a few questions though based on what titantv states.

what is the live doppler on 5.2? obviously it's weather but is there anyone annoucing it?

is there anything on 33.1 it states it's owned by pax but nothing is listed

also I take it the local weather on 64.2 is the same like of the local doppler.

lastly what would be the cost say of maybe a 20 inch one. with or without a receiver.

thanks

mdovell...There are smaller HDTVs available in the under/$1000 price range. As for 5-2 and 64-2, 5-2 is just a dopler image of the Boston area with no voiceover. Sometimes it scans out farther than eastern NE but usually just concentrates within 495. 64-2 is the same as 12-2. It will give you weather forecasts as well as rain ammounts, wind speeds and doppler pictures. Your best bet is Comcast for HDTV. HDTV signals are not easy to come by with indoor antennas.

I am new here. I have a question I hope someone can answer. I have D* with a TivoHD. I get all the local HD channels just fine except for 7-1 with my OTA antenna. Seems to me no matter what I do 7-1 breaks up,goes out or whatever. I live in Arlington. I have tried everything to bring it in. I hear D* will have locals in HD anyway so maybe I should just wait, its very frustrating. Thank you for any help. :confused:

WGBH believes the 44-2, 44-3 and 44-4 problems may be coincident with a multiplexer software version running and configuration issue. In order to isolate the problem WGBX DT-44 is currently running on a backup program stream multiplexer as of 10:30 AM today. Those of you that have boxes that have exhibited the stuttering video on 44-2. 3 and 4 please take a look and post your findings.

Remembered reading this thread last week and keyed in all the 44-x channels on my Panny TU-HDS20 the other night and didn't notice any stuttering on 44-4, but I also noted it wasn't showing the PBS-KIDS network feed, FWIW.

All my 44- channels are now working fine on my HR10-250.

I am new here. I have a question I hope someone can answer. I have D* with a TivoHD. I get all the local HD channels just fine except for 7-1 with my OTA antenna. Seems to me no matter what I do 7-1 breaks up,goes out or whatever. I live in Arlington. I have tried everything to bring it in. I hear D* will have locals in HD anyway so maybe I should just wait, its very frustrating. Thank you for any help. :confused:
Maybe you need a signal attenuator. The signal might be too strong?

Windham, NH here.

I'm looking to get some OTA HDTV broadcast. I subscribe to the Dish Network and they do not offer local HDTV channels. I'm trying to read through all these posts to figure out what I need. I live in some what of a valley and my house sits low but my Dish Network signal is strong. After reading and checking out antennaweb, the average tower seems 30-35 miles from my home. I'm looked at the DB4 HDTV Antenna and someone else mentioned a Channel Master. Anyone have any suggestions? Anyone else on here live in the Windham?

Oh, I have the Dish Network HD box, which has OTA addition function. I guess you can store OTA channel frequencies and give them channel designations. I have a Sony 42" LCD HDTV TV too. It has a built in tuner but I'd rather use the Dish Network if possible.

So what should I be buying to get this going? Can I mount either of those antenna's in my attic? I would rather keep it off my roof. Any sugggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

Brian,

You have a PM.

Anybody experiencing issues with Boston FOX25.1 OTA HD broadcast; channel was down for me last night (still down), but had been up and running fine. All other channels are great - no signal issues whatsoever. I am on a high hill with no onstructions. Tried moving antenna, but no luck.

Want to make sure it's not just me (and keep a sense of sanity) ;)

I lost their signal during the 10:00 news and yes it is still out. Analog signal is fine.

It's tough going to bed watching Maria Stephanos in analog once you've been spoiled with HDTV :D

It's tough going to bed watching Maria Stephanos in analog once you've been spoiled with HDTV :D


She never has been in HD just digital and she looks good no matter what type of broadcast she is in

She never has been in HD just digital and she looks good no matter what type of broadcast she is in
I'll still take Molly 'the Hokie' Line any day!

Incidentally, WFXT-DT has its PSIP turned off. They can be received on 31-4 depending on what receiver you have.

Benji,

Where have you been? I bet in Jail!!!

Benji,

Where have you been? I bet in Jail!!!
Why jail??? Being a pedophile is legal. Just ask Michael J.

Why jail??? Being a pedophile is legal. Just ask Michael J.

You are sick. Did you move and drop D* yet?

Incidentally, WFXT-DT has its PSIP turned off. They can be received on 31-4 depending on what receiver you have.

What does that mean for a newbie (PSIP)?

Thanks!

-Phil

www.psip.org

Incidentally, WFXT-DT has its PSIP turned off. They can be received on 31-4 depending on what receiver you have.


Would this explain why my DTC 100 has been locking up lately whenever try to tune in?

So that's why I was getting it as 31-3 last night. Do they (Fox) turn it off often? I use a LG LST3410A and the downloaded TV Guide seems to lose 25-1 a lot.

Hello,

I'm new here and was hoping to get some advice. According to antennaweb I'm less than a mile from all the major HD local towers but yet I cannot get 5.1, 7.1, and 25.1. All the other channels are either mid to weak in terms of signal. I just purchase the outdoor OTA antenna that Directv sells as part of their HD package. The antenna is facing Needham and I'm not sure what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Rob

Hi all,

Brand new to this forum and HDTV. I've just moved to Cambridge and according to antennaweb, ~ 8.5 miles from the major network HDTV antennas. I live on a street with some medium sized trees. I am renting the first floor of a 3 story building ... the neighborhood is full of 3 story houses. I probably can't put an antenna on the roof.

Does anyone here know if I can or cannot receive OTA HDTV signals using an off-the-Best-Buy-shelf antenna? I refuse to pay the ~$60 a month that Comcast extorts for HDTV service.

Thanks for the help!

Cheers,
Lawrence

P.S. All I need is an HDTV w/ a "built-in HDTV tuner" and an antenna, right?

FYI Pats game in HD tonight according to the globe

It isn't scheduled to be HD according to TitanTV. We'll have to tune in to see.

SMK

It was in the TV column in the Globe this morning. I guess Jonathan Kraft has some type of production company that is helping channel 5 put this together. There are 2 other games that will be in HD as well, plus maybe the national game on Fox

Info here (http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2005/08/12/hd_gets_exhibition_workout/).

Quote:
"... Patriots, one of four teams doing all their preseason games in HD. ..."

First game is 7:30 tonight. Live in HD on channel 5-1, WCVB Boston.

Yes the Kraft family has their own tv production company, I have noticed them doing the Revolution games this season and showing them on WB.

heres the link to the Globe article.
LINK (http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2005/08/12/hd_gets_exhibition_workout/)

It was in the TV column in the Globe this morning. I guess Jonathan Kraft has some type of production company that is helping channel 5 put this together. There are 2 other games that will be in HD as well, plus maybe the national game on Fox
Who wants to watch a scrimmage in HD? This is Cincinnati's 2005 Super Bowl.

I want to watch in HD I know you can't from your jail cell but the rest of us would like to watch now go clean the toilets

I want to watch in HD I know you can't from your jail cell but the rest of us would like to watch now go clean the toilets
Hey you're the one with Cedar Junction in your backyard!

Hey you're the one with Cedar Junction in your backyard!

I guess that makes you my neighbor

Here's the link for Pats Preseason on WCVB-DT
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2005/08/12/hd_gets_exhibition_workout/

Yes the Kraft family has their own tv production company, I have noticed them doing the Revolution games this season and showing them on WB.

heres the link to the Globe article.
LINK (http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2005/08/12/hd_gets_exhibition_workout/)

Oops you beat me to the punch! :)

I heard CH 5 say a few weeks ago all Pats Preseason games will be in HD.

Nice telecast picture last night. Just too bad we can't get SAP audio of Gil and Gine in sync with the Hi-Def picture.

Is WFXT -DT 25.1 having any issues?

Is WFXT -DT 25.1 having any issues?

I've just bought an HDTV and had it auto-find channels. It finds all digital channels EXCEPT 25.1. Does anyone else have trouble seeing it?

HELP!!!
I live in somerville I just recently replaced my ird-e86 HD receiver with the HD tivo. Since the install my silver sensor in the attic has not picked up crappy poo. I always had a bit of a problem with the silver sensor dipping pretty low. It would go from 80+ down to 30 in a mmillisecond. Now i can not even get a signal over 10. I do need to state for the record I am at the bottom of a hill with a 30+ tree in front of my house (not that fun for the oval dish either) and also have a 5 story building at the top of the hill. But i am so damn close to the source i thought i should be fine with the SS. Am I just kidding myself or do i need to bite the bullet and get an outside antenna? Or maybe i can get away with a bigger antenna in my attic? Any tips would be helpful.


Thanks,
Joe

I've just bought an HDTV and had it auto-find channels. It finds all digital channels EXCEPT 25.1. Does anyone else have trouble seeing it?

Have not gotten 25.1 for the past day, looks like they are having problems, anyone else?

Have not gotten 25.1 for the past day, looks like they are having problems, anyone else?

It's coming in fine - PSIP and all - on my accessDTV tuner cards.

Have not gotten 25.1 for the past day, looks like they are having problems, anyone else?

I almost never watch FOX 25 except during football season. Having seen this concern, I checked last night and both on my HR10-250 and Samsung 360 I am receiving it fine in Pawtucket.

SMK

Have not gotten 25.1 for the past day, looks like they are having problems, anyone else?

I just set up a used VOOM box for OTA with a Silver Sensor. I'm in Cambridge,
and the scan for local channels step does not find 25.1. I'm also not getting a
signal for 4.1, but it does find it during the scan (anyone else having a problem
with 4.1?)

I'm hoping this is temporary- 5 and 38 are all I really want it for, but 25 may
have some good football and baseball this fall.

I just set up a used VOOM box for OTA with a Silver Sensor. I'm in Cambridge,
and the scan for local channels step does not find 25.1. I'm also not getting a
signal for 4.1, but it does find it during the scan (anyone else having a problem
with 4.1?)

I'm hoping this is temporary- 5 and 38 are all I really want it for, but 25 may
have some good football and baseball this fall.


FYI.. I'm having the same problem in S. NH on a DTC100. See Benji's comment below. Using 31-4 works for me.

Incidentally, WFXT-DT has its PSIP turned off. They can be received on 31-4 depending on what receiver you have.

My 25.1 is back now.

My 25.1 is back now.


Mine too.

My 25.1 is back now.

Still no signal for me :(

4.1, 5.1, and 7.1 come in great, but I can't even get a reading on 25.1

Can anyone give me any insight on what the OTA reception is like in Westford, MA (north end of town, near Tyngsboro)? I'm deciding whether to stay with D* for HD (and use OTA for HD locals), or jump ship to Comcast. I'm happy with D*, but want to make sure that I can get OTAs (and I'd prefer not to have a huge honkin' antenna). antennaweb results aren't promising...

Also, I was told by D* that I don't qualify for any DNS channels. I thought being in the Boston market would qualify me for Fox and CBS DNS (since they are O&O). Am I wrong?

Thanks in advance....

I'm in Ipswich which is about 25 miles from the towers and I get in the 90's reception for the Boston stations with a $25 Radio Shack antenna in my attic. I was able to get Fox and CBS last fall since they are both O&O stations. I got denied the first time. You need to call the DNS department.

I just set up my HDTV/DirecTV HD stuff this week. Using my ordinary VHF/UHF antenna, I get decent reception from Cambridge on 2.1, 2.2, 4.1 and 5.1. 7.1 is dicey and nothing else really shows up except Pax (no thanks).

Should I plan on adding an HD antenna? I had read good reviews on the Winegard, but am generally ignorant of the subject. Is it best to mount it on my standard antenna rotor mast?

Please let me know if this is the wrong place for this question, and if so, the proper forum I should post questions related to Local HD feeds over DirecTV?

I was told by a CSR that they would be offering locals by the end of the year and that they would be offering the national CBS and NBC feeds by the end of the summer.

Any truth to this?

chinatti,

Not sure why D* does not give you Fox and CBS out of NY. I live in Acton and they set me up. How long have you been living at your current address? The reason I ask is that I recently moved from Minnesota and D* did not have my records updated. Even though my bills were getting sent to MA. apparently they have different systems with different addresses. Anyway after they updated this one system with my not so new address they gave me the two HD channels.

Chris

I've only had D* service at this address.

Someone else in a different forum mentioned that I needed to submit a waiver anyway for all 4 networks, and CBS/Fox should be automatically granted. Did you have to go through this process?

Thanks....

No waiver necessary for these they just hooked me up.

Keep calling you may get a CSR that knows what they are doing.

Thanks, I will. In answer to your DirecTV HD locals question, DirecTV is flying some new satellites (Spaceway) that will provide a large number of new HD channels (mainly locals) in the coming months. The hitch is that they will be in MPEG-4 format, and all current equipment is MPEG-2. If you have only a standard HD receiver (i.e. not a DVR), then it's probably no big deal (they'll swap out equipment for you), but if you have a HD DVR (which you paid a lot of money for), it's not clear what they will be replacing that equipment with......

There's more info on the HDTV Programming forum here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=34

Or on the TiVo HD forum:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36

The bad news is that I have the HD-DVR. They better do something for me or I am going to be p$%&*(st! I paid 900 bucks for that for the sole purpose of HD and if D* can't deliever then I am going to switch to comcast.

This ilks of class action lawsuit to me.

Anyway good luck with your HD.

I hear ya. I just bought an HD TV a few weeks ago, and I was prepared to jump ship to Comcast due to the uncertainty around D* and the new channels, but they just recently dropped the HDTivo price a *LOT* (see the HDTiVo forum I referenced), so I just ordered mine - coming tomorrow with an OTA antenna..... But if I have trouble getting HD locals/networks (either OTA or DNS, I don't care), I won't be a happy camper.

Was the Sox game tonight (08/19/05) on UPN 38 in HD?

Was the Sox game tonight (08/19/05) on UPN 38 in HD?

Well let's see. If broadcasting HDTV at SD quality in pillarbox is HD, then yes.

I set up my HDTV tuner last weekend and was eagerly anticipating the Sox in
HD. I was sorely dissapointed!!!

Did anybody win a chance at winning a Cobalt? ;) Worst. Promotion. Ever.


--Joachim

None of the games from LA are in HD. For a schedule see: http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/aboutus/hd/

I live on the Framingham/Sudbury line and currently use a CM3018 with a CM SPARTAN 3 preamp. My tuner is a Humax. The antenna is aimed at about 116-118 (direction of all stations).

Most channels come in beautifully with few drop-outs. However 2-2 and 5-1, 5-2 will go through periods of heavy drop-outs (enough to make me occasionally switch to my good old analog tuner :(, hey I have to watch football somehow! ). When the signals are coming in they read 90% or above on the Humax strength meter, dropping to 0% when the drop-outs occur. My house sits in a forested area with full grown pines in line of site of the towers. Non-HD OTA reception does exhibit ghosting so I believe multipath may be causing my problem.

I am wondering if moving to a more directional (and UHF only) antenna is the right way to go. I have been considering something like a CM 4221/3021 or CM 4228.

Any help would be much appreciated!

-JJW

The bad news is that I have the HD-DVR. They better do something for me or I am going to be p$%&*(st! I paid 900 bucks for that for the sole purpose of HD and if D* can't deliever then I am going to switch to comcast.

This ilks of class action lawsuit to me.

Anyway good luck with your HD.

I would look into switching. Right now comcast in boston is a dream when it comes to locals in HD . although D* is looking into HD locals they will require ALL NEW EQUIPMENT!

Hi all,

Brand new to this forum and HDTV. I've just moved to Cambridge and according to antennaweb, ~ 8.5 miles from the major network HDTV antennas. I live on a street with some medium sized trees. I am renting the first floor of a 3 story building ... the neighborhood is full of 3 story houses. I probably can't put an antenna on the roof.

Does anyone here know if I can or cannot receive OTA HDTV signals using an off-the-Best-Buy-shelf antenna? I refuse to pay the ~$60 a month that Comcast extorts for HDTV service.

Thanks for the help!

Cheers,
Lawrence

P.S. All I need is an HDTV w/ a "built-in HDTV tuner" and an antenna, right?

$60?
HD locals are part of LIMITED BASIC service (around $10)
If you have a QAM tuner that is all you need. They WILL let you lease out an HD box with just Limited basic. <OK costs around $15-18 but less then 60)
If you are willing to toss an exta $6 you'll get discovery HD,ESPN HD,TNTHD,and INHD1 and 2,(including NESN HD)

Due to cost of adding HD to my Comcast service, I am purchasing an OTA tuner (likely LG-LST-4200A) and some type of antenna so I can receive HD OTA. Does anyone in Andover/North Andover MA area have any specific experience with antenna types they could share.

According to Antennaweb (AW), I am 26 miles from most of the Boston towers. I live on a small hill with nothing in line of sight to signals. I don't want to mount a roof antenna for cosmetic reasons and would need to run approx 60 feet of cable from antenna to tv if I were to put antenna in the attic.

AW indicates I need "blue" type antenna for optimal reception. If I interpret this correctly, AW is suggesting a large multidirectional antenna which requires an amplifier. Trying to avoid purchasing an amp since it's just one more thing to research what type to purchase and figure out where to place in the theater set up.

Thanks

I heard the ch 7 at 6 was in HD- any truth to this?

I heard the ch 7 at 6 was in HD- any truth to this?

I dont think so, lastnite it was like normal , 4:3 upscaled , which does look better than your SD pic, but nowhere near HD

I also heard (dunno if its true/possible/old/new etc) that NBC was looking to make WHDH O&O, any truths to that?

CJ

I just received my new CM4228 antenna, and I am trying to get the Boston HD channels. I live in Westford, MA (about 25 miles from the towers, with trees blocking my path). I also ordered a CM7777 preamp, but it hasn't arrived yet. I tried setting things up last night (installed in an attic), and I am able to pull in ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS - no FOX. I'm getting some dropouts, but I haven't played with anything like alignment too much yet, and I still have the preamp on order. My question was about WFXT, which I'm not getting at all (maybe 0-15 signal level noted on my HR10-250). If I understand the FCC listings, they show only a low power license for WFXT-DT, and a higher power application (but no license yet?). I hooked up an analog TV, and I get WFXT-analog (ch 25) pretty darn well, enough where I expected to see something on the -DT channel.

I'm wondering if this is because WFXT-DT is not transmitting at a high power level (yet)? Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks in advance....

I live in Hubbardston, 01452 zipcode, and I was wondering if it possible to get OTA or should I just wait for Directv to get their local HD service going.

My house is pretty high, but it is just behind a small hill. AntennaWeb makes a recommendation for analog stations but not HDTV signals. All the stations appear to be in the same direction, so a nice large directional antenna might do the trick.

I just received my new CM4228 antenna, and I am trying to get the Boston HD channels. I live in Westford, MA (about 25 miles from the towers, with trees blocking my path). I also ordered a CM7777 preamp, but it hasn't arrived yet. I tried setting things up last night (installed in an attic), and I am able to pull in ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS - no FOX. I'm getting some dropouts, but I haven't played with anything like alignment too much yet, and I still have the preamp on order. My question was about WFXT, which I'm not getting at all (maybe 0-15 signal level noted on my HR10-250). If I understand the FCC listings, they show only a low power license for WFXT-DT, and a higher power application (but no license yet?). I hooked up an analog TV, and I get WFXT-analog (ch 25) pretty darn well, enough where I expected to see something on the -DT channel.

I'm wondering if this is because WFXT-DT is not transmitting at a high power level (yet)? Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks in advance....

WFXT is indeed transmitting at reduced power. Their application to transmit at full power has been submitted months ago but their signal allocation conflicts with a Canadian station of all things...so the FCC is apparently taking their time trying to sort things out. Maybe the WFXT Chief Eng could chime in here if there are any updates???


Here is where I got this...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3912746&highlight=wfxt#post3912746

I just received my new CM4228 antenna, and I am trying to get the Boston HD channels. I live in Westford, MA (about 25 miles from the towers, with trees blocking my path). I also ordered a CM7777 preamp, but it hasn't arrived yet. I tried setting things up last night (installed in an attic), and I am able to pull in ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS - no FOX. I'm getting some dropouts, but I haven't played with anything like alignment too much yet, and I still have the preamp on order. My question was about WFXT, which I'm not getting at all (maybe 0-15 signal level noted on my HR10-250). If I understand the FCC listings, they show only a low power license for WFXT-DT, and a higher power application (but no license yet?). I hooked up an analog TV, and I get WFXT-analog (ch 25) pretty darn well, enough where I expected to see something on the -DT channel.

I'm wondering if this is because WFXT-DT is not transmitting at a high power level (yet)? Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks in advance....


I have a CM 4228 installed in the attic and pull in WFXT 25.1 just fine. You definitely want to aim the antenna. I don't have a preamp, you shouldn't need one either.

Hi,

Does anyone who has a Dish receiver with an OTA tuner receive the guide data for the Boston area channels? I don't see guide data for the channels that are not included in the Dish local programming, I only see "Digital Service". I have the 942.

I would like to drop the locals from my Dish programming but I'm not keen on losing the guide data.

Thanks.

I have the 811 and get Guide data for all the chans I can pick up with the exception of PBS-HD (subchannel 02) ABC radar (subchannel 02), and the WGBH subs (02-04) and the religion chans (60ish)

But CBS/ABC/NBC/UPN/FOX, get data all the time, took 2 days or so to come in tho!

I know that all the broadcasters want to put their logo on the screen, but I watched Bones and House on 25 last night and thought that I was getting hit by a laser beam from the FOX25 log on the bottom right . At this time when most of the broadcasters seem somewhat sensitive to making their logo a little less intrusive, Fox has to go ahead and make theirs more. Well, I don't watch FOX often, and having watched Bones and House last night probably won't make me a regular.

SMK

I just got my HDTV TiVO today - I live in Boston,South End =. I have little to no signal on half of the DTV locals going thru the TiVO. If I look at them DIRECTLY thru my HDTV, they are there, but not thru the TiVO. I called tech support, they didn't have a clue. They did have me check signal strenth - some of the stations were OK, others were below 30. Is this a common problem for this unit? I have an outside antenna (I also have an inside HD antenna, and it does the same with both).

Are any of you guys ex-Charter customers or know anything about Charter in MA?

If so, can you check out this question in the Boston - Charter thread that has been asked twice but gone unanswered?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6264494&&#post6264494

I just got my HDTV TiVO today - I live in Boston,South End =. I have little to no signal on half of the DTV locals going thru the TiVO. If I look at them DIRECTLY thru my HDTV, they are there, but not thru the TiVO. I called tech support, they didn't have a clue. They did have me check signal strenth - some of the stations were OK, others were below 30. Is this a common problem for this unit? I have an outside antenna (I also have an inside HD antenna, and it does the same with both).
It could be that the signal is too strong. You may need an attenuator. I've heard that the HDTivo's are sensitive to too strong a signal. I don't have this problem, living 30 miles outside of Boston, but I 've read about it happening before.

My reception problem was solved by changing the direction of my outside antenna - You would have thought the techs would have thought of that first.
But now I have a new problem - I'm connecting my HD DVR to my TV thru HDMI connection and to my receiver with an optical. But on the locals, I'm getting the audio just slightly out of sync with the video. It's only happening with the locals, not with the satellite feeds. Anyone have any ideas what's up?

I haven't had 7.1 for a couple days now. Anybodt else having problems????

WHDH-DT 7.1 and 7.2 ok for me.

Fine down here on the cape

Hi,

I poked around AVSForum for a bit, looking for a list of what frequencies (digital) stations are
at here in Newton MA. At antennaweb.org I found a list of the local stations (4,5,7,etc,etc)
which is handy for knowing what frequency to tune my antenna at.

But I would also like to try pulling in some further away stations. One, for example I know
of is WENH from New Hampshire. I poked through their website, and found they broadcast
digitally on 57. But is there a list of what digital stations I *might* get with the proper
antenna and some good luck? I didn't even know WENH broadcast in digital, it just occured
to me they might. What others am I missing?

Thanks,

Ben

(To be clear, I am not yet getting WENH here in Newton digitally, though I do get a watchable
analog signal with a set-top antenna, especially in the winter.)

WENH DT is on Channel 57..don't know what frequency that is. I cannot get it OTA in Boston.

Since the Red Sox made the playoffs, Channel 5 (ABC) is going to be broadcasting the game with ESPN tommorow night at 7. So no Lost.. and since it will only be a local broadcast for ABC here, Lost will still play on its normal time..

I believe the episode is already set to rerun this Saturday night again in HD. If this were Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, or Alias I would say that's the case. Yet, even if the Saturday rerun doesn't happen due to another game let's just say your local newsgroups will usually have Lost in HDTV the other shows are a question mark.

Hi,

I poked around AVSForum for a bit, looking for a list of what frequencies (digital) stations are
at here in Newton MA. At antennaweb.org I found a list of the local stations (4,5,7,etc,etc)
which is handy for knowing what frequency to tune my antenna at.

What others am I missing?



Between Boston and the surrounding areas, we pretty much have all chanels taken. I'm using good long-range Yagis, some elevation, and good pre-amps, and I can get most all there is to be gotten. (More fun trying to get the distant channels than watching since programming doesn't differ substantially.)

Problems:
1) Sometimes there are duplicates. (e.g. 21 analog in NH, and 21 (aka 36.1 digital) in RI broadcasting on the same frequency, and they are approx 180 degrees apart so tricky to tune so your set-top box doesn't get confused.
2) Strong adjacent channels cause problems getting weaker distant ones.
(e.g. 56 analog in Boston, makes it difficult to get 57 analog in Springfield, as well as 58 digital (57.1) also in Springfield.)

Happy DX-ing!

For all you Lost people the show will air after the news tomorrow night

No HD on WCVB OTA for the Red Sox. It's on in HD on ESPN.

No HD on WCVB OTA for the Red Sox. It's on in HD on ESPN.

Not surprised by that

I wonder if it's because ESPN won't let them...they want exclusive HD for this game.

I haven't had 7.1 for a couple days now. Anybodt else having problems????


I get 7.1 on my HR10-250, but for the past few days I've noticed that there are terrible lip synch issues. When I checked my Samsung 360 to see if the same thing was happening with it, I got no picture there at all. On my old DTC-100 it is fine; normal picture and no synch issues.

SMK

LOST will air after WHAT news? The 11:00? And what about INVASION??

Is WMUR carrying LOST?

Is WMUR carrying LOST?

According to the guide at 8 tonight but I can't get the HD signal so would have to go SD if I decide to record from channel 9

I'm looking at getting an HD Tivo HR10-250 from DirecTV.
Currently DTV does not offer Local channel in HD in the Boston area
However the package I'm getting also includes an over the air antenna.

I live in Melrose, MA (~10 miles from Boston)
How is the picture quality with an over the air antenna?

BTW - I called DTV customer retention and got the HD Tivo, antenna, and install for $250 after $100 rebate

Jeff

I'm looking at getting an HD Tivo HR10-250 from DirecTV.
Currently DTV does not offer Local channel in HD in the Boston area
However the package I'm getting also includes an over the air antenna.

I live in Melrose, MA (~10 miles from Boston)
How is the picture quality with an over the air antenna?

BTW - I called DTV customer retention and got the HD Tivo, antenna, and install for $250 after $100 rebate

Jeff
You should get locals no problem. As long as your signal is strong, and yours will be in the 90's, the picture will be excellent. Remember it's a digital signal over the air.

How is the picture quality with an over the air antenna?

Better quality then any HD channel D* offers.

By the way in looks like a few people are already have the D* HD Tivo HR15.

Is 25-1 still at any sort of reduced power? All of the other Boston channels are rock solid, even with all of this rain... but 25-1 suffers from a lot of breakups during bad weather. Remarkably, the FOX-HD feed on DirecTV has been much better during the weather.

Thanks,
Steve

I'm new to posting on these forums, however I have been lurking for a few years.

I finally took the plunge this weekend and bought a new Samsung 47" tv and now the fun begins.

I am looking to get information on reception capabilites in the central part of NH to either the boston market or the portland market. I currently get no digital channels out of boston (with a winegard large antenna on the roof pointed at boston) and I intermittantly get 6-1 out of portland. I get wmur digital, I get 34 digital, 11 digital and 21 digital (useless in my opinion). I would like to get CBS, NBC and FOX out of either market and would like to get other's feedback on what has worked for them.

I am approx 67 miles from the Boston towers with a large hill less than a mile south of me, so I don't expect alot of luck. I am a little over 75 miles from portland with nothing in the immediate area of me to block the LOS. Cable isn't an option (not offered in my town) and HD over satellite is also out (as I do not have a LOS to the 110 or 119 satellites).

I have already ordered a channel master 4228, hopefully will be here late this week.

From the Manchester area I can get everything from Boston with a 4228 on the roof, but I am also near the top of a hill. Even though there are some hills in the way, I am high enough that they don't seem to be a problem.

I'm new to posting on these forums, however I have been lurking for a few years.

I finally took the plunge this weekend and bought a new Samsung 47" tv and now the fun begins.

I am looking to get information on reception capabilites in the central part of NH to either the boston market or the portland market. I currently get no digital channels out of boston (with a winegard large antenna on the roof pointed at boston) and I intermittantly get 6-1 out of portland. I get wmur digital, I get 34 digital, 11 digital and 21 digital (useless in my opinion). I would like to get CBS, NBC and FOX out of either market and would like to get other's feedback on what has worked for them.

I am approx 67 miles from the Boston towers with a large hill less than a mile south of me, so I don't expect alot of luck. I am a little over 75 miles from portland with nothing in the immediate area of me to block the LOS. Cable isn't an option (not offered in my town) and HD over satellite is also out (as I do not have a LOS to the 110 or 119 satellites).

I have already ordered a channel master 4228, hopefully will be here late this week.


Welcome Litning!

I'm not that far from you and with a CM Yagi roof mount w/rotor. Luckily I have no hills between here and th Needham towers and have no problems w/all Boston Channels except 56.1. I also receive Portland 6.1,6.2,and 6.3 and 13.1 and 13.2 very well and most of the time 8.1. Of course 9.1, 11.1, 11.2, 21.1-4 and 50.1 here in NH., and 31.1(NBC) and 41.1-41.5(VT PBS) from VT (Mt Ascutney). Early morning and in the evening I can receive RI network channels.

With your CM 4228 spend the money (not expensive) for a rotor. I would think Portland will be no problem as well as VT. I know you are interested in CBS, NBC and Fox. I think either 31.1 or 6.1 for NBC and 13.1 for CBS will work fine. Fox might be your problem. I get a lock on 25.1, but seldom is the signal strength more than 75. There currently is no digital fox signal from ME.

Good luck, let us know how you make out, and enjoy your new "toy"!

Thank you. I already have a rotor so that's not going to be an issue. I just want to be able to enjoy HD to the fullest extent. I am already amazed with PBS out of durham. It would be nice however to be able to watch the pats in HD and nascar in HD when on nbc.

well, i was amazed with pbs... but it seems to have disappeared

Anyone have problems getting the game last night or anything even tonight on ABC 5-1? I'm getting all other locals no problem.

I always have a problem with this channel

It's always been rock solid for the most part here in Salem. The reason I was asking is I just recently replaced my receiver with a HR10-250. Was just curious if it was ABC 5-1 that was having the problem or me, seems OK today.

I have a real problem when it is windy out. I don't know why but even on good days I sometimes have issues with channel 5 but that is ok as I hardly watch them or ABC programing.

I also had issues with Channel 5-1 on Monday night....it seems wind also effects me as well....

Funny thing is that I am in Worcester and if the weather is pretty good in Worcester and I tune to 5-2 to view the radar....and the weather is bad in Boston....my channels often drop...

But if weather is bad in Worcester and Boston radar shows no rain.....things are usually pretty good!

One other item of note, anyone in the Worcester area picking up WMUR - FOx affiliate on 64-1? I used to pick it up with a much higher signal than FOX out of Boston but now I cannot even get a reading?

Thanks
Chris

Weather locally was fine monday and tuesday night definitely no rain although a bit on the windy side. Who knows, like you said maybe the wind has something to do with it.

"One other item of note, anyone in the Worcester area picking up WMUR - FOx affiliate on 64-1? I used to pick it up with a much higher signal than FOX out of Boston but now I cannot even get a reading?"

Thanks
Chris

Chris, WMUR is out of Manchester, NH and is ABC. 64.1 is WNAC from Providence. They are having antenna issues according to their website since Oct. 7. On Oct. 13 they said another 5 days depending on weather.

"One other item of note, anyone in the Worcester area picking up WMUR - FOx affiliate on 64-1? I used to pick it up with a much higher signal than FOX out of Boston but now I cannot even get a reading?"

Thanks
Chris

Chris, WMUR is out of Manchester, NH and is ABC. 64.1 is WNAC from Providence. They are having antenna issues according to their website since Oct. 7. On Oct. 13 they said another 5 days depending on weather.


Much thanks for the correction and the clarification on the signal.......

Chris

I need some opinions / insight.

So, I finally began unpacking my equipment last night. I moved to Windham, NH a few months ago and started hooking up my antenna last night. I have a ChannelMaster 3021 antenna and 7775 pre-amp. I placed the antenna and booster on my back (3-season / enclosed) porch. I basically leaned it up against the wall facing south and I get about 60-75% signal strength throughout the digital channels. When I mount this on my roof, do you think my strength will increase to the proper levels? What sort of gain will I get mounting it up another 20 feet and outside? Does anyone recommend finding a tall tree and mounting the antenna up there instead?

Also, because I live in central NH, do I need a better multi-directional for Worcester and Boston channels?

Brian

Hey Brian!

Mounting the antenna will almost certainly get you better reception. Not from an increase in gain (only a larger antenna or more powerful preamp will get you that), but from a cleaner signal (less multipath). I don't know that you need to go as far as putting the antenna up in a tree, but you should definitely try to mount it on your roof if you can. It should help.

Hey Paul!

Well, I have a Dish Network 811 Reciever and it feeds me levels. I moved the antenna around in the room and the level seemed to change a lot. I saw levels from 49% to 82%. Mounting this antenna won't increase the strength.... just the clarity of the reception within strength?

I think I live in a VERY low valley. I swear my area is the only area in Windham that doesn't get any cell phone service. I see poles, but no service. It leads me to believe I'm in a valley. This could suck, huh?

Brian

Exactly. There's two variables for tuning OTA HDTV. Signal strength (dictated by transmission power of sender and your distance from that tower) and signal quality (affected by signal bouncing off of stuff - multipath).

Your receiver's signal strength meter is kind of folding these two variables into one value, which is what you're seeing.

If you're in a valley, you could be in for some trouble. Don't give up hope yet. Get that antenna as high as you can, point it to reduce multipath as much as possible, and see what you get.

Exactly. There's two variables for tuning OTA HDTV. Signal strength (dictated by transmission power of sender and your distance from that tower) and signal quality (affected by signal bouncing off of stuff - multipath).

Your receiver's signal strength meter is kind of folding these two variables into one value, which is what you're seeing.

From what people have posted here in the past, while you obviously have to have a certain minimum signal strength, once your signal strength is a little more than the minimum, signal quality is much more important. It's too bad there's no easy way to detect distortion in a digital signal like there is in an analog signal, where it's directly visible in the picture.

Well, I set up the antenna today. I now get:

2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 21, 34, 38, 44 and 68 in digital. I tried portland, and so far no luck oddly enough.

This is with a 4228 and a preamp.

Well, I set up the antenna today. I now get:

2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 21, 34, 38, 44 and 68 in digital. I tried portland, and so far no luck oddly enough.

This is with a 4228 and a preamp.

Very strange you don't get Portland when you were receiving some signal before. Anyway you now get the networks you were looking for except Fox. Both Fox and WB are a few degrees east of the other Boston Channels. Also after dark, Fox in Providence may come in, 64 analog and 54.- digital, about the same compass setting as most of the Boston Channels. I have found that in the evening 64.1 is a stonger signal than 25.1. Good luck

I agree, however since I recieve the channels out of boston, I am not too concerned.

I wouldn't mind seeing 5-2 being extended out abit to cover central NH.

i am located in cambridge. every couple of months over the last year and a half, i re-try tuning in wfxt. so far, i've never had it come in well for more than a few days at a time. the last few times i've tried, i have barely been able to get any kind of signal to lock in at all.

all the other boston stations come in loud and clear.

fortunately, i get the nyc fox station via directv, still there are times when i would prefer to have the boston fox affiliate.

i know there are a few people following this thread who are knowledgeable about wfxt, so i thought i'd ask: has anything significant changed in the last six months or so (i'm wondering if it is worth getting out the ladder and making yet another attempt)? given the very clear signal i get on all the other boston stations, i'm wondering if my antenna might be in an odd spot, like a wfxt "shadow" or something... does anyone know if it is unusual to not be able to receive it in cambridge? is there some reason why their signal is so much weaker than all the other major stations? i seem to remember checking antennaweb a while back and deteremined that it was broadcast from essentially the same location as other stations that come in fine.

i am located in cambridge. every couple of months over the last year and a half, i re-try tuning in wfxt. so far, i've never had it come in well for more than a few days at a time. the last few times i've tried, i have barely been able to get any kind of signal to lock in at all.

all the other boston stations come in loud and clear.

fortunately, i get the nyc fox station via directv, still there are times when i would prefer to have the boston fox affiliate.

i know there are a few people following this thread who are knowledgeable about wfxt, so i thought i'd ask: has anything significant changed in the last six months or so (i'm wondering if it is worth getting out the ladder and making yet another attempt)? given the very clear signal i get on all the other boston stations, i'm wondering if my antenna might be in an odd spot, like a wfxt "shadow" or something... does anyone know if it is unusual to not be able to receive it in cambridge? is there some reason why their signal is so much weaker than all the other major stations? i seem to remember checking antennaweb a while back and deteremined that it was broadcast from essentially the same location as other stations that come in fine.

According to this (http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp?latitude=43%2E150350&longitude=%2D71%2E629503&magnetic_north=%2D13%2E25&range=70&sort=distance&show_expired=False&show_construction=False&show_analog=False&show_low_power=False&action=Show+Stations) site, they are only listing WFXT as only transmitting at 78 kW, where as the other major boston channels are at a substantially higher power.

I see that WFXT has an application in for 1000 kW, but I don't know when that will go into effect. Soon I hope as I can't get that channel from here in NH

I could not find this topic displayed for my area. We are using a long range UHF/VHF antenna (on the house when I bought it) for our OTA to pick up HD in Pepperell, MA. I am able to get 2 channels for high def, PBS HD and ABC HD. We are trying to pick up WBZ and WFXT. We are picking up WGBH and WCVB fine. Since WCVB and WBZ are on the same tower, am I missing something? Any ideas?

Paul,
Well, I finally mounted the antenna on Saturday. I ran all the wires and setup my receiver. I get...

2.1, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 27.1, 44.1, 44.2, 44.3, 44.4 = 75-84%

7.1, 9.1 = 70-74%


None of the other channels power over 50%. Channel 7 and 9 cut out periodically. I wonder if buy the 8 tier version of the antenna you sold me will up my signal power. Would it? I would really like Fox and WB.

Brian

Brian,

I believe 25 and 56 are still transmitting at a low power level, compared to the other stations in the region. I might be mistaken, because I haven't really kept track of the Boston OTA stuff since I went over to the dark side (cable). It's going to be really tricky to pull those in, especially if you're in a valley. I'd first try to exhaust all of your current options, which boils down to antenna direction.

As far as 9 (and probably 11) goes, you're not getting a good signal because it's in a totally different direction than the rest of the Boston stations. To try to optimize for 9 would most likely really cut down on your Boston station reception quality, which you probably don't want to do.

Not sure why 7 is giving you a hard time...

Yes, WFTX-DT is still only transmitting at 78kW ERP and WLVI-DT even less (~40kW I think.) At least in the case of WFXT-DT, their head engineer had previously posted that an increase on the current UHF channel would never happen for various reasons and not to expect any change anytime soon. I believe this is due to a proximity issue with a station in Canada believe it or not. As for WLVI-DT, not really sure, but I'd guess there are similar issues. The bottom line here is that stations which went digital first got the least restrictive channel assignments leaving only LP available for those getting into the game later (like the two stations in question above.) There are only so many channels available and since just about everyone is running two per DMA, you can see why this would be so.

As for being in a valley, tell me about it! I live in west Andover on the north facing slope of the Merrimack valley so my reception is extremely challenged to begin with. Add to that a large obstruction (Ames Hill in Tewksbury) directly in my LOS to the towers, a WAF which forces me to use the antenna in the attic (concealed), and a HD tuner which is "multipath challenged" (Panny TU-HDS20, its YPrPb PQ is second to none - and I've compared several) and I've spent more than my share of time trying to increase the reliability of my reception under any and all conditions. I've learned several things over the last few years about receiving digital OTA signals:

1) Get the biggest antenna you can which is appropriate for your location
2) Get a rotator! Here in New England where the varying landscape and quickly changing atmospheric conditions can alter multipath characteristics day to day, you NEED one.
3) Get a good quality pre-amp of the proper gain for your location

I started off with a CM3021 and a Winegard medium gain pre-amp (17dB) on a CM rotator. Then I swapped the antenna for a CM4228 - better, but not perfect. Now I'm up to an arrayed CM3021/4228 combo (vertically stacked) with same pre-amp on said rotator. Simply put, there is no single rotation vector I can receive all channels with. And even the ones that work vary from day to day sometimes. I did recently discover that the coaxial ports I had been using on my surge protector were really affecting the signal to the point where some channels wouldn't come in under any circumstances. I had only made this change several months ago and figured I'd be OK since it was after the pre-amp, but removing it and stacking the antennas last weekend has seemed to really improve my reception stability. Wish I had figured this out while the Sox were still playing since UPN38 was one of the stations I never could seem to get in that configuration.....oh well, there's always next year! :)

I do have the same problem with FOX and WB. I live in Westford close to Nabnasset lake. I have a Sharp LC37-D5U with integrated ATSC tuner which is good. I installed a RadioShack our-door antena on the top of my chiminey. Ironically, this ourdoor antenna is not much better than the indoor antena when it is moved to the outside!!. I have tested the receiption of digital channels with indoor antena moved out of my house. The same set of channels are picked up with marginally weaker signal streng that the outdoor antena. The WB singal I received is stronger than FOX. They are both OK in good wheather with quality around 60. However, during the rainning days, the FOX channel 25.1 has no signal while teh WB still works with lower streng. If I want to watch Baseball and Football games, I have to switch to Analog input. Given this fact, my first guess is that the FOX station send signal in less power(Confirmed by you people on this forum).

Another problem with digital signal is the interference from the nearby viehile. It is quiet annoying that even the stations with strongest signal levels such as CBS, ABC and NBC, be frequently interrupted by the moving viehile 200 ft away in the direction of TV stations. What can I do this this? I do not believe that reaise the antena higher will solve the problem. Can the Atenuater from Radioshack filter out these strong interference?

Reception for 5 and 7 last night sucked and it's expected with this Nor'easter but I could watch 4.1 @ 83-87%. Would a larger antenna give me more power? I can't handle this inconsistency.

I have a ChannelMaster 3021 antenna and 7775 pre-amp. Should I think about upgrading to a 4228? Would this give me more power?

Brian

First of all sorry for not posting for a while but there have been no relevent changes for WFXT that have had an impact on our DTV signal.
Yes we are still at 78 Kw EIRP for DTV. We do not expect any change from the FCC to that power level until the final change over is made. The current date for the changeover is different in the House and Senate bills (big surprise) Dec 31 2008 House and April 7 2009 Senate. Without getting into things I can't say here, we are looking to inprove our digital signal once we are allowed to do so by the FCC. I apologize to our viewers that are having issues with our signal but we are operating at the maximum allowed power level on our current license.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Bill,

Any word on the news going HD?

Would A Larger Antenna Give Me More Signal Power?

Brian,

Yes, a larger antenna would give you more signal power, but that's not the complete answer.

If you read my post from a few days ago, it's not all about signal strength. It's about signal quality as well (i.e. multipath rejection). If you got a larger antenna, it's very likely that it'd be more directional, which may in turn make pointing it a little more tricky than what you've got now.

That's why I suggested your first option should probably be to exhaust your options with your current equipment. Try some different antenna mount locations, try to point the antenna in a few different directions, etc.

First of all sorry for not posting for a while but there have been no relevent changes for WFXT that have had an impact on our DTV signal.
Yes we are still at 78 Kw EIRP for DTV. We do not expect any change from the FCC to that power level until the final change over is made. The current date for the changeover is different in the House and Senate bills (big surprise) Dec 31 2008 House and April 7 2009 Senate. Without getting into things I can't say here, we are looking to inprove our digital signal once we are allowed to do so by the FCC. I apologize to our viewers that are having issues with our signal but we are operating at the maximum allowed power level on our current license.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

That sucks for quite a few people. Being a resident of New Hampshire and an avid FOX watcher, it's a shame to have to resort to low quality satellite. I get all the other major broadcasting stations out of the Boston DMA with the exception of yours.

Thanks Paul.
The larger problem here is some channels aren't even meeting the receiver's requirments. When the level drops under 70%, the picture cuts. Even my strongest channels cut and flex from 85% down to 49% (depending on the weather). I've moved the antenna and found my strongest directions.

I'll keep poking away.

Thanks,
Brian

I, like many others on this board have such a hard time with Fox out of Boston....

I live in Worcester, which many may already know is full of hills. I am on the Northern section of Worcester at the bottom of a hill. I am using the internal HD tuner within my Panasonic 42PD25/U ED Plasma.The antenna is in the attic, actually just sitting on some boxes.

With regards to signal quality, here is what I get....


Channel 2 - 80 - 85% (very few drop outs)
Channel 4 - 80 - 85% (very few drop outs)
Channel 5 - 80 - 85% (sporadic drop outs)
Channel 7 - 65 - 70% (sporadic drop outs)
Channel 25 - 55 - 65% (on good days 70 - 75%) - With frequent drop outs
Channel 38 - 55 - 65% (on good days 70 - 75%) - With frequent drop outs

However, recently I have been getting a signal out of New Bedford, Ma for fox on 64-1. The signal quality is about 80 - 85 %????? So why is the New Bedford signal, which is not even in the direct line of sight of my CM 4228 antenna so much stronger than that of Fox out of Boston?

However, recently I have been getting a signal out of New Bedford, Ma for fox on 64-1. The signal quality is about 80 - 85 %????? So why is the New Bedford signal, which is not even in the direct line of sight of my CM 4228 antenna so much stronger than that of Fox out of Boston?

64-1 is operating at a much higher power (believe 1000 kw) versus 25-1 at 78 kw. For those w/a rotor and problems w/25-1, 64-1 is a good alternative for the Fox primetime lineup. In S. NH I only receive it during the evening, but really have had no problems w/25-1.

I am a moderator/member of another forum geared towards cars and I have created a "map" using frappr.com and it plots where people are (by zip code so that there is no real privacy issues). I think it would be nice/helpful for us to do something similar.

I have created some sites that allow you to plot where you are and where the broadcast towers are for given stations. This would give people a rough idea how far signals extend out. This would NOT take into account terrain or other obstructions, but instead actual reports by real viewers.

Here they are:

WGBH 2 (http://www.frappr.com/wgbhviewers)
WBZ 4 (http://www.frappr.com/wbzviewers)
WCVB 5 (http://www.frappr.com/wcvbviewers)
WHDH 7 (http://www.frappr.com/whdhviewers)
WMUR 9 (http://www.frappr.com/wmurviewers)
WENH 11 (http://www.frappr.com/wenhviewers)
WFXT 25 (http://www.frappr.com/wfxtviewers)
WSBK 38 (http://www.frappr.com/wsbkviewers)
WGBX 44 (http://www.frappr.com/wgbxviewers)
WLVI 56 (http://www.frappr.com/wlviviewers)

Please use your forum name only, no real name. Please also include your reception setup and approximate signal strength in the "shoutout" box. Note, no registration is required to this site. I do not run this site nor do I profit off of it. I am simply doing this because antennaweb doesn't seem to be too accurate and I want to have another method available for new people.

If you want a new map up, please let me know and I will create one.

John

Monsters Inc. seem to be not in HD this evening. Flashing a blue screen occasionally. But not HD. What gives?

it is on 9-1, just not 5-1... must be local to wcvb

I have a Sony KDE610 50" TV, and noticed that WGBH has a new logo for HD shows that sits in the lower right corner of the screen. These logos don't usually bother me, but this one has thin bands through it that make it look like it is flickering when there is motion behind it. I think the flickering would go away if the logo was a solid transulent grey, but the bands make it look pretty bad.

Is the Pats game in HD?

I am looking at non-hd ESPN coverage on channel 5. Of course, the mikes all say HD.

This stinks.

-- Rich

I'm sure it's in HD on espn... not for the rebroadcast though according to titantv.com

Does anyonen know the QAM channel for EPSN?

Thanks,

Rich

ESPN games on Channel 5 were like this last year as well. I have an ATI HDTV tuner card, which doesn't get the HD channels on cable. I live in Bedford, so I don't think there is much of a chance of getting 9-1, and attempts in the past haven't been successful.

9-1 is also showing it in non-hd...

I guess I have to get a comcast box at some point.
The QAM channel appears to be encrypted.

-- Rich

I'm sure it's in HD on espn... not for the rebroadcast though according to titantv.com

Thats why I have DirecTV. It was great in HD. Just wish it was on earlier.

I have a Sony KDE610 50" TV, and noticed that WGBH has a new logo for HD shows that sits in the lower right corner of the screen. These logos don't usually bother me, but this one has thin bands through it that make it look like it is flickering when there is motion behind it. I think the flickering would go away if the logo was a solid transulent grey, but the bands make it look pretty bad.

My DLP projector was showing the same thing. I was suspecting the display, but no other objects show this. It is very irritating, and constant on my display.

Hope they get it fixed.

I was hanging my antenna last night and it fell off my roof. Now my digital broadcast is all pixelated, audio broken up, and signal power flex from 0-85%. The signal power seems to be progressive... it builds and drops, builds and drops. I looked at the antenna and it doesn't seem to be broken. My pre-amp is bolted to the pole and that also fell 20ft. Are preamps made of coils? Did I break something? Anyone have opinion they could share with me?

Brian

Brian_C6,

Once you get your antenna situ straignten out, try optimizing you cabling. I've been playing with my setup for about 1 1/2 yr. on and off. I've finally settled on a 2ndary better location off my detached garage. This produced longer runs. I use a 7777amp and LG boxes(2) split. I'd say my cable run now has to be 125'.

I've found that mixing/matching cables AFFECTS MY SIGNALQuality. I suggest going to RS and buy their premade gold cables RG Quad 6. IT may sound ridiculious, but other then making sure you have good height AND a proper angled aim to the horizon, I found the cables to be a important variable for me..and mainly on the weaker stations.



In my setup I am currently building/installing a hinge so I can manually lower my rig to adjust the horizon angle etc. I found this to also be critical on some of the weaker stations. I use a Antenna Direct DB7 and Antenna Craft Y-10. I live in Southern Worc. in a valley. My setup is up about 30-35/40'

W/rotor I pickup all Boston/Prov including fox with NO PROBLEMS or Dropouts. Turned to the North, I can get PSB/WMUR/Chan 8 ABC out of Polar Springs ME (on some nights) To the South-Connecticut...this is what I am currently tweeking my system for. I am very close to nailing these stations also...

I hope the simple cable suggestion helps you. :D

My DLP projector was showing the same thing. I was suspecting the display, but no other objects show this. It is very irritating, and constant on my display.

Hope they get it fixed.

Saw the same thing on my dila.

Saw the same thing on my dila.

The GBH bug flicker was not showing last night...for me anyway.

Brian_C6,

Once you get your antenna situ straignten out, try optimizing you cabling. I've been playing with my setup for about 1 1/2 yr. on and off. I've finally settled on a 2ndary better location off my detached garage. This produced longer runs. I use a 7777amp and LG boxes(2) split. I'd say my cable run now has to be 125'.

I've found that mixing/matching cables AFFECTS MY SIGNALQuality. I suggest going to RS and buy their premade gold cables RG Quad 6. IT may sound ridiculious, but other then making sure you have good height AND a proper angled aim to the horizon, I found the cables to be a important variable for me..and mainly on the weaker stations.



In my setup I am currently building/installing a hinge so I can manually lower my rig to adjust the horizon angle etc. I found this to also be critical on some of the weaker stations. I use a Antenna Direct DB7 and Antenna Craft Y-10. I live in Southern Worc. in a valley. My setup is up about 30-35/40'

W/rotor I pickup all Boston/Prov including fox with NO PROBLEMS or Dropouts. Turned to the North, I can get PSB/WMUR/Chan 8 ABC out of Polar Springs ME (on some nights) To the South-Connecticut...this is what I am currently tweeking my system for. I am very close to nailing these stations also...

I hope the simple cable suggestion helps you. :D

good insight. Thanks for the help. I bypass'd my pre-amp last night and it fixed my problem. I was holding 85-87% solid all night. At least I found the problem.

Is anyone else having trouble getting WCVB-DT (5.1 / 20)?

I get every other digital channel from that same general area with 80+% signal strength and have ZERO for CVB. I suspect the problem is with my myHDTV card or software setup, but before I tear into it, I want to make sure that other people are getting solid reception of WCVB-DT.

Antenna is a silver-sensor mounted on the roof of my third floor building, with pretty good LOS to the antenna about 9 miles west of me. All other digital channels from Needham come in 60%+ and most are 80%+.

Thanks,
---Jim

I always have problems with this channel. I am glad I don't watch it very often

I can get it, but usually it's a low signal. I get 9.1 alot easier (since it's closer). Try seeing if you can get 59-1/9-1. It might work a little better for the ABC programming.

John

I've never had problems with 5.1, but for the past 2 nights I haven't been able to receive it either. I've been watching channel 9.1 but my antenna isn't directed towards that tower so I get drops.

Anyone else having 5.1 problems lately?

Brian

Has anyone had any issues with lip synch on FOX 25? I have had identical delays with both the HR10-250 and SIR T360. I don't get it with FOX 64 from RI.

TIA

SMK

Yup. Ongoing lip-synch issues from WFXT-DT for locally originating programming for a few weeks now, it seems like. National feed stuff is OK. I'm using a Panny TU-HDS20.

We have had some issues with our replacement encoder. Our other encoder is out for service. We reset it on monday and its seems ok now. Once we get our proper unit back hopefully it will be ok. Network programming comes from the splicer and bypasses our encoder and that is where the issue is.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Thanks, Bill. I just checked, and it does seem OK now. It is really nice to know that you and the other engineers monitor this forum and are interested in helping get things right. Thanks a lot!

SMK

Bill,

I have a question for you. I noticed this AM that I had 2 tv's on and one was the digital channel and the other was through my locals on Directv. My qusetion is why was there a difference in what was being broadcast both the news but one was at a commercial while the other was showing the weather?

Any word on news being in HD?

Thanks in advance

Bill,

I have a question for you. I noticed this AM that I had 2 tv's on and one was the digital channel and the other was through my locals on Directv. My qusetion is why was there a difference in what was being broadcast both the news but one was at a commercial while the other was showing the weather?

Any word on news being in HD?

Thanks in advance

The analog broadcast is probably slightly ahead of the digital broadcast. If you watch the same channel on satellite, you'll notice it's even further behind :). Or if you were watching channel 5-2, you were looking at the weather radar subchannel.

The analog broadcast is probably slightly ahead of the digital broadcast. If you watch the same channel on satellite, you'll notice it's even further behind :). Or if you were watching channel 5-2, you were looking at the weather radar subchannel.

I do know that this happens but I am talking minutes here not sedconds

It looks like they changed their logo for HD in the bottom right corner to a solid translucent image. No more flickering! Thanks!!

Has anyone had any issues with lip synch on FOX 25? I have had identical delays with both the HR10-250 and SIR T360. I don't get it with FOX 64 from RI.

TIA

SMK

I've been seeing this for weeks. I have 6412 and Mitsubishi 52625.

I'm not sure if I get the problem on my PNS 23LX50 w/o the DVR

Pete

We have had some issues with our replacement encoder. Our other encoder is out for service. We reset it on monday and its seems ok now. Once we get our proper unit back hopefully it will be ok. Network programming comes from the splicer and bypasses our encoder and that is where the issue is.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

Next question, when you switch from National feed to local feed, like the teasers for the 10PM news the volume jumps up. Kind of annoying.

WFXT is my only Boston news station. All the others are lame IMO. I rarely even watch WMUR and that is more local for me living in NH.

Pete

I agree I am a big Fox news fan now and also watch a lot more of the morning show I just wish they woulde get these into HD so that we could really enjoy all the eye candy they have to offer

I called DTV and negotiated an HD Tivo for $200 (after $100 rebate)
For another $50 I think I can get an OTA Antenna

I realize an HD Antenna is a lot better than an SD Antenna
However I would prefer the satellite feed

I live in Melrose, MA less than 10 miles NE of Boston
I believe most of our, if not all, of our major network are Owned by the network therefore I can get the NY feed.

I assume people have done this and I was interested in getting some info on the process.
What Channels can I get waivers for: NBC, ABC, Fox?
I assume I work with the network and not DTV?
What is the best thing to ask for when calling: I would image 90% of the CSR's will have NO idea what I'm looking for?
Does the network send the waiver to DTV or do I handle all of the paperwork?
How long does the process take?

THanks
Jeff

Well, CBS and FOX are O+O, so those = NP, however you may need a waiver from CBS outta rhode island (i did)

But, ABC and NBC arent O+O, so I dunno if you will have much luck there !

DId you call CBS and Fox directly?
If so do you call the Boston stations or wheree the HD feeds.
What department should I ask for?
How long does the process take?

Thanks
Jeff

Am I missing something????
Last time I checked, the only Boston O&O was NBC (WHDH-TV 7).....That's why I was told by a D* CSR (last year) I can't get HD from CBS, FOX, ABC, UPN, WB.....
orojeff....If you're in Melrose, MA....How are you able to get NYC channels? You're certainly close enough to Boston to disallow D* "distant service".... :confused:
....Or.....did I misread something along the way..?!

Does UPN28 out of Rhode Island broadcast the Red Sox games in HD.
I'm in Bristol county and do not receive UPN38 HD. But I added an antenna to my TV and I was able to pick up UPN28 digital on channel 28.1. Does this cannel show HD content and/or Sox games in HD.
Thanks

No to the Red Sox. I don't know if they show any HD programming at this point.

OTOH, with a decent antenna, you should be able to pick up all the Boston stations. I have a RS antenna in my attic just lying on the joists pointed northeast. It picks up all the Boston and Providence stations perfectly.

SMK

I've never had problems with 5.1, but for the past 2 nights I haven't been able to receive it either. I've been watching channel 9.1 but my antenna isn't directed towards that tower so I get drops.

Anyone else having 5.1 problems lately?

Brian

5.1 has been working consistently for me here in town. I live on a high point in town and use a cheap $40 indoor Radio Shack antenna and get good signal strength on all the Boston station.

But getting up my driveway in the winter is a bad price to pay for good OTA reception :(

If the C6 stands for what I think it does I have a C2 (vert) tucked away in the garage. :cool:

Sorry, I forgot about the thread

CBS and UPN are owned by viacom, O+O
Fox is owned by the Fox Television Stations Group , owned by Fox broadcasting = O+O (iirc!)

ABC is owned by Hearst-Argyle = not O+O
NBC is owned by Sunbeam Television = not O+O

Thats the best to as I can remember, I heard a rumor that NBC wanted to make boston O+O, but that = all I heard (if anyone can shed some light?)

From what ive heard (and seen) WHDH's newscasts are near the best in the nation, and there scaler is pretty good too (now if only true HD WS :/)

Edit: So D* should be able to give you CBS and FOX with no issue (depends, i needed a waiver from the CBS outta rhode island, depends on your addy!)

However, abc and nbc, you will need to phone the stations, and ask (good luck!)

5.1 has been working consistently for me here in town. I live on a high point in town and use a cheap $40 indoor Radio Shack antenna and get good signal strength on all the Boston station.

But getting up my driveway in the winter is a bad price to pay for good OTA reception :(

If the C6 stands for what I think it does I have a C2 (vert) tucked away in the garage. :cool:

I found out my antenna was slightly off.... amazing how a centimeter makes a difference when you're 45 miles away.

And unfortunately C6 doesn't stand for Corvette (Sixth Gen). I am a freestyle streetbike rider and my team is called "Core Six". We use C6 for short. I wish I had the new a real C6 though. lol!!

Brian

Got my DirecTV HD box yesterday and went to Walmart and got a Philips indoor antenna. It picked up PBS, CBS, and ABC and had to move it around to get FOX. I don't think it's the greatest antenna, so I'll probably take it back to get a better one. What do you guys recommend for indoor antennas? I have the Panasonic 42px500u that has a tuner, but I'm not sure how to use it with DTV, any feedback would be helpful.

Also, the DTV guy said they were going to start installing the new satellites on Dec 8th. They will get the locals in HD. He said they were like 40 lbs and they have to either mount them on a pole or into a roof joint. If I can get a decent indoor antenna I'd like to avoid the heavy dish.

I found out my antenna was slightly off.... amazing how a centimeter makes a difference when you're 45 miles away.

And unfortunately C6 doesn't stand for Corvette (Sixth Gen). I am a freestyle streetbike rider and my team is called "Core Six". We use C6 for short. I wish I had the new a real C6 though. lol!!

Brian

Kewl.

According to a Sky Report news article posted in the Hot off the Press sticky in the Programming forum, Boston HD LILs will be added by D* this Thursday.

CPanther95.....
That's correct....along with Tampa, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Houston....
I'm like the kid waiting for Santa to slide down the chimney on Dec. 24th....only 3 weeks early!!! :D

This is for Direct or Dish or Both?

This is for Direct or Dish or Both?

Direct TV

Next question, when you switch from National feed to local feed, like the teasers for the 10PM news the volume jumps up. Kind of annoying.

WFXT is my only Boston news station. All the others are lame IMO. I rarely even watch WMUR and that is more local for me living in NH.

Pete

Sorry for the delay in answering this, but I haven't checked the forum in a while. We do set our local volume to match the other local stations levels. however because of the HD Splicer that we use for HD Network programming we have no real handles on Network levels. Also there is a discrepency with some feeds we get from the network because the programs are mixed in 5.1 audio. Sometimes if you are listening to just stereo left/right instead of 5.1 the levels can be lower. We have spoken to them about it and some adjustments were made but I will check again to see if they are still off.

Bill Holbrook
Chief Engineer WFXT

I would guess that 80%+ of people with D* HD boxes in the Boston area can get all of the HD channels that they will make available on the new birds.

All I want is NESN and FSN in HD.

If Verizon beats D* to the punch I'm gone.

I would guess that 80%+ of people with D* HD boxes in the Boston area can get all of the HD channels that they will make available on the new birds.

All I want is NESN and FSN in HD.

If Verizon beats D* to the punch I'm gone.

I agree 100% with what you say. I am getting really tired of D's lack of HD

Makes no sense to me to upgrade at this time, as I can receive all Boston HD OTA. The only reason to do the upgrade are the local sports channels or new national HD that is only available thru MPEG-4.

Hey I'm sorry to nag, but I am thinking of getting a DVIco HDTV tuner card and indoor antenna for my dorm and I am trying to figure out if I'll get reception. My dorm is about 7 miles away from the Needham towers according to checkhd, however I am on the East-facing side of the building. If I use a Phillips PHDTV1 antenna will I be able to get channels? I'm worried about the building blocking my signal. I have no access to the roof. I'm on the 3rd story, and the building is made of steel and concrete.

I'm looking at the DVICO fusion5 gold plus bundle from snapstream which has the card and antenna for $149

I'll most likely use MCE to watch HD

I just set up my HD system and was able to get a series of HD channels last night but when I went to look at them this morning there was no signal. Do the stations turn down their signal power during non-peak times (7am)? I have not finalized the placement of the antenna so that could be part of the issue but I did not move it between the evening and the morning so that's not the explanation. Thanks for any help you can give

I just set up my HD system and was able to get a series of HD channels last night but when I went to look at them this morning there was no signal. Do the stations turn down their signal power during non-peak times (7am)? I have not finalized the placement of the antenna so that could be part of the issue but I did not move it between the evening and the morning so that's not the explanation. Thanks for any help you can give

Atmosphere has alot to do with RF reception. I would give it another day or 2 and see your results

Hey I'm sorry to nag, but I am thinking of getting a DVIco HDTV tuner card and indoor antenna for my dorm and I am trying to figure out if I'll get reception. My dorm is about 7 miles away from the Needham towers according to checkhd, however I am on the East-facing side of the building. If I use a Phillips PHDTV1 antenna will I be able to get channels? I'm worried about the building blocking my signal. I have no access to the roof. I'm on the 3rd story, and the building is made of steel and concrete.

I'm looking at the DVICO fusion5 gold plus bundle from snapstream which has the card and antenna for $149

I'll most likely use MCE to watch HD
In a situation like yours, I think there are too many variables for someone to know in advance what kind of reception you will get. That kind of building can block reception, but you are starting with a strong signal that close to Needham. You could try find out if anyone else in your dorm has attempted to get HD, or maybe borrow an antenna and tuner to do some tests.

hmm... 4-1 seems to not be showing HD? Watchin NCIS (so far the opening scene) and it was not HD. Did someone forget to flip a switch?

nevermind.. someone fixed it

...not Boston Market as in the fast food joint, but just outside Worcester county...

I recently moved to Wales MA which is a few miles beyond the Sturbridge area. Having lived in Worcester for the last 5 years I guess I've been spoiled with perfect OTA for all my HD local viewing. I'm kind of in no mans land when it comes to HD reception now. Does anyone here live out this way? If so what do you do to feed your HD habit?

I subscribed to Charter to get the movie and sports HD offerings, but they only have Fox in their local HD lineup...no where near the production quality of the Boston channels though. And all non-HD is overscanned. Yuk.

So what are my options? ExpressVu? DirectTV using my brothers address in Auburn to get the Boston locals?

Any suggestions are welcome (short of moving back to Worcester)
Happy Holidays!
Steveh-

Direct TV

DISH also starting in Jan06 sometime after the 5th, and they will be Mpeg4.

Anyone having signal strenth issues with (WHDH 7.1)? It always came in strong here in Salisbury.

...not Boston Market as in the fast food joint, but just outside Worcester county...

I recently moved to Wales MA which is a few miles beyond the Sturbridge area. Having lived in Worcester for the last 5 years I guess I've been spoiled with perfect OTA for all my HD local viewing. I'm kind of in no mans land when it comes to HD reception now. Does anyone here live out this way? If so what do you do to feed your HD habit?

I subscribed to Charter to get the movie and sports HD offerings, but they only have Fox in their local HD lineup...no where near the production quality of the Boston channels though. And all non-HD is overscanned. Yuk.

So what are my options? ExpressVu? DirectTV using my brothers address in Auburn to get the Boston locals?

Any suggestions are welcome (short of moving back to Worcester)
Happy Holidays!
Steveh-


What are you using for an outdoor antenna? With a Channel Master 4228 and a good preamp up on the roof, you shouldn't have a problem in Wales!

My CM4228 stayed in Worcester firmly planted on top of my old place. I guess anything permanently affixed to the home must remain after the sale...doh :(

So when you say I should be able to get the signal, are you referring to Boston or the Springfield and Hartford stations? I know I'm right at the limit of the 4228's range from Boston...and since I nestled in the woods at my new place, the only way I'd get above the treeline would be a 100 foot mast.

I'll give anything a try, I just wanted to get opinions from others before I purchased whatever solution I decided on.

Upgraded to the new 5 LNB dish for DTV that gets the locals in HD. It's about twice the size of the regular dishes. The tech said that DTV is being very stingy with them since they cost about $300 a piece. I am receiving abc, cbs, nbc, and fox locals in HD now. Although I received more HD channels via the indoor silver sensor I used before. With the indoor antenna I had to go to 64-1 to get fox, but I also received more PBS Hd channels. Unfortunately the indoor antenna stopped working, that's why I upgraded to the 5 LNB dish. So, basically, if you're getting decent reception with your antenna setup there's no reason to upgrade yet since no one is broadcasting using the MPEG-4 format yet.
The tech told me the satellite is lower in the sky so many people will have blockage (trees, buildings) issues. Also, the dishes are around 35 lbs, so they really have to drill them into the roof joints or attach them to a pole in the yard. They are new, so they haven't installed too many yet.
Just thought I'd post my experience...

Arcade99,

Thanks for the update how does the PQ compare to OTA?

Yeah Thanks Arcade99

I'm getting the new 5LNB dish in Jan with 2 H20 receivers.

Yeah Thanks Arcade99

I'm getting the new 5LNB dish in Jan with 2 H20 receivers.
Are you people getting new dishes and receivers requesting them from DirecTV, or do they contact you?

Note that I have created a topic for discussion of Boston DMA DirecTV:

Boston, MA - DBS (moderators must have renamed it to DBS from DirecTV)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6730460

Enjoy,

Anyone having signal strenth issues with (WHDH 7.1)? It always came in strong here in Salisbury.

I'm in Amesbury, and it seems that there are good days and bad days.
Some days it strong and clear, others its barely watchable and I have to settle for the SD signal.
I don't quite understand it since they all come from pretty much the same place, and I only have trouble with 7.1 and 56.1
Using a CM3678 with 7777 preamp.

7.1 & 7.2 Are fine now! Hey Woodyh! Howdy neighbor. Come to Salisbury sometime and check out my HD stuff. I'm right off 1A (beach Rd) on Old County Rd.

Is anyone having lip sync problems with UPN38? I must admit that I don't watch much on 38 (when the Red Sox season ends) except Jeopardy, which I watch daily. For a few months now there have been lip sync issues, which didn't bother me much until last week when my father was visiting and made about 5 comments about how terrible HDTV is if the voices don't match the faces. Still, with just Jeopardy I could put up with it. Yesterday I decided to watch the Chris Rock show, and it was just as bad. I have DirecTV with 38 coming in OTA via either a Samsung 360 or HD TiVo. The problem is present on both, and I don't think one is worse than the other.

Anyone? TIA

SMK

Dear Fox 25.1,

Please stop doubling the volume when switching from HD to SD commercials.
I know it is diffucult, but other broadcasters do it. It is so bad, that I mute them. Sort of counter-productive.

-- Rich

Is anyone having lip sync problems with UPN38? I must admit that I don't watch much on 38 (when the Red Sox season ends) except Jeopardy, which I watch daily. For a few months now there have been lip sync issues, which didn't bother me much until last week when my father was visiting and made about 5 comments about how terrible HDTV is if the voices don't match the faces. Still, with just Jeopardy I could put up with it. Yesterday I decided to watch the Chris Rock show, and it was just as bad. I have DirecTV with 38 coming in OTA via either a Samsung 360 or HD TiVo. The problem is present on both, and I don't think one is worse than the other.

Anyone? TIA

SMK
I haven't received any complaints about this in a long, long while. I'll check into it and get back to you.

Bob, any word if Comcast is going to pick up UPN 28-DT in Bristol County since we dont have UPN 38-DT here? Thanks.

Thanks, Bob, for checking into this.

SMK

Is anyone having lip sync problems with UPN38? I must admit that I don't watch much on 38 (when the Red Sox season ends) except Jeopardy, which I watch daily. For a few months now there have been lip sync issues, which didn't bother me much until last week when my father was visiting and made about 5 comments about how terrible HDTV is if the voices don't match the faces. Still, with just Jeopardy I could put up with it. Yesterday I decided to watch the Chris Rock show, and it was just as bad. I have DirecTV with 38 coming in OTA via either a Samsung 360 or HD TiVo. The problem is present on both, and I don't think one is worse than the other.

Anyone? TIA

SMK
Some preliminary results...

I saw a small, but noticable sync error on "Wheel of Fortune," and, using my most sensitive lip-sync test equipment (my wife), what may be a one-frame error on "Jeopardy." At other times of the day, and on a variety of receivers I saw results ranging from slight errors to dead-on matches. We may have some issues with different programs. I'll continue the hunt.

Happy Chriskwanzichuh to all!

Bob, any word if Comcast is going to pick up UPN 28-DT in Bristol County since we dont have UPN 38-DT here? Thanks.
I don't have any information I can tell you about at this time. I'll let you know as things develop.