I was watching Bob Patterson and Drew Carey last night and during both programs the picture would scramble a bit every so often as if it was losing signal(strangely this would cease when the commercials ran). I checked my signal strength for WCVB and it was pretty strong (around 92). Anyone notice this or have any thoughts as to why this was happening?

eags,

I noticed it last night and have seen this for a while now as well. And you're right it does not happen when in upconverted 4:3 mode. I wonder if it's a local problem or a network problem. I have not seen other threads from other geographic areas complaining about it so maybe it's a local (WCVB) problem.

Thanks for the reply Richard. Normally I would automatically conclude it was a WCVB problem but the fact the commercials looked ok puzzles me. I am going to call WCVB today and see if they know anything.

Anyone notice problems with WHDH (NBC, channel 7) digital last night? Every 15 minutes or so it would swap the channel number to 42 causing my STB (an E* 6000) to drop the signal. In the past I noticed that the channel mapping is flaky on this channel when you scan it (it flips between 7-1 and 42) but last night was the first time it started causing problems during viewing of the programs.

Interestingly, once channel 7-1 went away and channel 42 appears, the subchannels under 42 were completely broken. The STB listed 23 subchannels (non of which appeared to work). After about 5 minutes channel 7-1 would return and work for another 10 minutes. Drove me crazy during Will & Grace, had to go to analog.

Anyone notice problems with WHDH (NBC, channel 7) digital last night?

Glad it wasn't just me. Exactly the same thing for me as well on my E*6000. Not sure what WHDH was doing but hopefully they'll get it squared away.

I experienced the same problems with NBC last night, I ended up watching the analog channel.

Anyone know what happened to WHDH? No signal here in Newton. Anyone else or is it just me?

Originally posted by eags
Anyone know what happened to WHDH? No signal here in Newton. Anyone else or is it just me?

No WHDH and still no WFXT in Tewksbury.

Originally posted by MikeD


No WHDH and still no WFXT in Tewksbury.

No WHDH-DT in Attleboro as well. Maybe they're upgrading so we can see Leno in HD. :D

Ok, I'm done dreaming:(

It looks like WFXT-DT is still at half power here.

Unlike WFXT which is giving me a signal strength of 0 to 22 with no usable signal, WHDH has a signal strength of 76 which is rock solid, but with no associated picture. I have tried re-scanning with both the program guides on and off, and it has not resulted in any usable picture. I am glad I'm not the only one having trouble.

SMK

I don't have NBC or FOX either. I don't miss NBC at all because I won't watch NBC until they pass through HD programming

Here in Lexington I am missing some channels too!

Channel 59 Manchester seems to be missing most if not all the time lately.

Channel 19 (digital) is still virtually never on air.

Channel 31 is half way on! I get it fine on my DTC-100 at sig level 46, but not at all on my Panasonic tuner. (DTC-100 normally gets sig levels above 75 for this.)

Channel 42 is transmitting but no picture. And I can tune 42-1 42-2 etc up to at least 42-10, but nothing there.

Only good news is 20 and 30 are solid as ever, and ch 57 WENH-DT is coming in great in the cool fall weather.

Has anyone else had issues with WBZ 4-1 lately? I have signal strangth in the low 70's, but am having lots of issues with the signal freezing, or breaking up. I found it happening often during the Patriots yesterday, and the Emmys last night were almost unwatchable.

20-1 is coming in fine with signal strength in the high 80's to low 90's.

WFXT (31-2) only has strength around 40, but i was able to watch the Worls Series last night with no problem.

7-1 has not been coming in at all.

Bob Hess, anything you're aware of that would account for my 4-1 issues?

Hi All,
Bob haven't read the forum for last couple of weeks and just noted that you were experimenting again with the aspect ratio. Glad to see that you have gone back to 4:3. As to WCVB having framing breakups, I have seen that also and was able to verify that it was happening on more then one type of STB. Hope WCVB is monitoring their signal. The stations that are on again off again, don't have much to offer anyway at this time. To bad WGBH is not on, I'm sending my donations to WENH. We should reward those stations that do HD.

Thanks, hope everyone is well.

Pat

Here's the tote sheet down in Taunton:

WBZ (70-90%)
WCVB (55-70%)
WHDH (0-15%/no picture)
WGBH (60-70%/when transmitting)
WFXT (0%)

I can't wait for the Rhody stations to go digital (hopefully May 1st).

I wonder if WLVI is still planning to go Jan. 1st (according to Titantv)?

Just checked and WHDH is back on 7-1 with DISH. I'm getting a 70% signal. Still no FOX, WBZ is at 60%, many dropouts, can't watch it. ABC is at 75% on 20-2

Getting

WBZ-DT 91-94 no dropouts (the demons of changing OAR must have been excised)
WHDH-DT 75-76 (lousy picture)
WCVB-DT 20-2 84-86
WFXT-DT 00%
WENH-DT too late to tell


On Dish 6000. Will check on DST-3000.

Tim

Originally posted by lwhitman
Has anyone else had issues with WBZ 4-1 lately? I have signal strangth in the low 70's, but am having lots of issues with the signal freezing, or breaking up. I found it happening often during the Patriots yesterday, and the Emmys last night were almost unwatchable.

Bob Hess, anything you're aware of that would account for my 4-1 issues?

What kind of receiver are you using? Anyone having problems with the Sony HD-100? Our Sony HD-100 has just developed a problem receiving 4-1. We're trying to figure out if it is the receiver or something we're doing. I have not had any other reports of reception problems from HD-100's or anything else.

Bob

***WBZ DTV Hotline - 617-787-7043***
[This phone rings in our master control. Call to report programming or other problems that you think may be originating from us.]

Bob Hess: I guess different brands of receivers operate differently. I have both the DTC100 and the SR-HD5. The Mits receiver gets about 10-15% more signal than the DTC100 when connected to the same display. And the DTC100 maps WBZ to 30-1 and WCVB to 20-1 while the Mits maps 4-1 and 5-1. There are no OTA discriptions in the DTC100 (just regular programming) while the Mits has complete programming discriptions. The DTC100 however is way faster than the Mits. The Sony probably has its own unique advantages and disadvantages.

Originally posted by Bob Hess:
What kind of receiver are you using? Anyone having problems with the Sony HD-100? Our Sony HD-100 has just developed a problem receiving 4-1. We're trying to figure out if it is the receiver or something we're doing. I have not had any other reports of reception problems from HD-100's or anything else.

Bob



Bob,

I am using the DTC-100. Up until the last week or two, WBZ was coming in with a signal in the high 80's with no dropouts, similar to WCVB.

Recently, WBZ's signal has been very erratic, fluctuating from the mid 30's to the mid 80's, with many freeze-outs and drop-outs. My other stations are still as they were, with WCVB in the high 80's to low 90's, and a very solid picture. Even FOX, which is in the low 40's isn't showing the same kind of dropouts.

Any ideas?

Thanks.
Larry

Originally posted by lwhitman




Bob,

I am using the DTC-100. Up until the last week or two, WBZ was coming in with a signal in the high 80's with no dropouts, similar to WCVB.

Recently, WBZ's signal has been very erratic, fluctuating from the mid 30's to the mid 80's, with many freeze-outs and drop-outs. My other stations are still as they were, with WCVB in the high 80's to low 90's, and a very solid picture. Even FOX, which is in the low 40's isn't showing the same kind of dropouts.

Any ideas?

Thanks.
Larry

Larry,

I have a DTC-100 at my place in Hopkinton. Works great on an indoor antenna. What kind of antenna are you using?

Bob

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bob Hess
[B]

What kind of receiver are you using? Anyone having problems with the Sony HD-100? Our Sony HD-100 has just developed a problem receiving 4-1. We're trying to figure out if it is the receiver or something we're doing. I have not had any other reports of reception problems from HD-100's or anything else.

Bob

BOB--
Since I got my second Sony HD-100 after they made the fixes I've had no problems. You got your's just before I returned my first one which had all sorts of drop out issues. I re-purchased May I think and it's worked well except with ch. 20.1. Have the time I have to use a set top UHF antenna instead of my rooftop one to pick them up.

Was it just me or did WHDH's picture quality seem to be much improved when they came back on the air last night. Uprising was the best quality they have put out. Admittedly their usual picture is so bad that any thing is an improvement.
Funny thing is that they went off the air again right after.

Jay

Originally posted by Bob Hess


Larry,

I have a DTC-100 at my place in Hopkinton. Works great on an indoor antenna. What kind of antenna are you using?

Bob

Bob,

I'm using the Terk TV50. It's not great for analog signals, particularly UHF, but had been fine for digital until last couple of weeks. Now only on 4-1 am I having trouble.

Larry

I use DTC100 and TERK50 and I have no problem with WBZ-DT in north Framingham.

Originally posted by lwhitman


Recently, WBZ's signal has been very erratic, fluctuating from the mid 30's to the mid 80's, with many freeze-outs and drop-outs.

Any ideas?

Thanks.
Larry

What you are describing sounds like multipath interference. Your DTC 100 is getting 2 signals with the lower signal (30) being the secondary multipath signal, which it tries to lock onto causing picture breakup.

What has changed over the past couple of weeks is the leaves have fallen off the trees. Those leaves contain moisture, which tends to deflect the OTA signal. In your case this was a good thing because it was preventing the secondary signal from being detected by the DTC 100. Short of gluing the leaves back on, there are a couple of things you can try.

Verify the antenna mast is Plumb (this is key) and the antenna is pointed in the correct direction. A few degrees in either direction can make a significant difference. Assuming there is no problem here…

Reduce the level of the signal from the antenna going into your DTC 100 by using an antenna attenuator. The theory is to reduce the level of the secondary signal to the point where the STB does not try to lock onto it, while maintaining enough of the primary signal to produce a steady picture. Remember this is digital and the picture quality is not dependant on how strong the antenna signal is. As long as you have a steady signal, the picture will be the same when the DTC reads signal strength of either 60 or 80

Originally posted by lwhitman


Bob,

I'm using the Terk TV50. It's not great for analog signals, particularly UHF, but had been fine for digital until last couple of weeks. Now only on 4-1 am I having trouble.

Larry

Larry,

The Terk TV-50 is one of the worst outdoor antennas you can buy for digital television. It is not a directional antenna and, as a result, it will pick up multiple reflections from all directions. The reflections, seen as ghosts in an analog picture, will absolutely kill the digital signal.

The best antenna you can buy for your location is the Channel Master 3021 4-bay bowtie. It is probably cheaper than the Terk too. You can order it from Stark Electronics in Worcester (www.starkelectronic.com) for around $25. For your location in Natick, DO NOT use an amplifier.

Bob

Originally posted by Bob Hess


Larry,

The Terk TV-50 is one of the worst outdoor antennas you can buy for digital television. It is not a directional antenna and, as a result, it will pick up multiple reflections from all directions. The reflections, seen as ghosts in an analog picture, will absolutely kill the digital signal.

The best antenna you can buy for your location is the Channel Master 3021 4-bay bowtie. It is probably cheaper than the Terk too. You can order it from Stark Electronics in Worcester (www.starkelectronic.com) for around $25. For your location in Natick, DO NOT use an amplifier.

Bob

Thanks for the advice, Bob. Will the 3021 pick up VHF stations? I've seen other posts in the forum that say it only picks up UHF stations. Can you mount it in the attic, or does it need to go outside?

Has anyone been able to pick up WMUR recently? How about WENH? Both digital stations appeared to be down last night - just wanting to verify.

Glad to see WHDH-DT is back - picture even looks a little better.

Originally posted by lwhitman


Thanks for the advice, Bob. Will the 3021 pick up VHF stations? I've seen other posts in the forum that say it only picks up UHF stations. Can you mount it in the attic, or does it need to go outside?

Larry,

The 3021 is UHF only. If you need a VHF antenna also, try a small combined VHF/UHF Radio Shack or one of the Channel Masters. From Natick, I would think an attic antenna would work fine.

Bob

Does anyone know why WFXT no longer broadcasts Fox programs such as Boston Public and Ally Mcbeal in widescreen since they did the upgrade?
HDTVGalaxy is still listing them as 480P widescreen in their HD program listings!
http://www.hdtvgalaxy.com/broad.html

If they went back to sending their signal at 720P that would at least explain why I'm locked into a 4:3 picture on all of their progaming now. Not that I'm complaining because that is much better than the 14:9 or whatever they were using.

I would like the full screen Fox programing back however! Anyone heard any thing on this?

TIA---- Jay

Originally posted by JOtteman
...since they did the upgrade

Jay,

I don't think the upgrade is done. WFXT-DT is still very, very weak!

(Also WMUR-DT Manchester, NH , Channel 59 mapping to 9-1, is still off the air,
and WENH-DT Durham, NH, Channel 57 mapping to 80-3, is back after having some power problems last week at the transmitter [Channel 11 has a back-up generator, Channel 57 does not]. )

--Jim

Originally posted by jimg


Jay,

I don't think the upgrade is done. WFXT-DT is still very, very weak!



--Jim


Jim--

Just checked my signal level on my Sony HD100 and I'm only showing a level fo 82-85 where I'm generally up around 95 so you may be right about them not being at full power still.
They did go back to full screen at least on Boston Public which I am watching now.

Jay

Still no WFXT here in Northborough.. 0 signal strenght

Boston Viewers:

Escape from Alcatraz airs this Saturday, November 17, at 1 PM in HDTV on WBZ, 4.1. This is the first of several movies we will be airing locally from high definition video tape. The first two minutes of the movie will air in the upconverted format due to a problem with the tape. The rest of the movie will be full, widescreen, beautiful HDTV.

Bob

Originally posted by Bob Hess
Boston Viewers:

Escape from Alcatraz airs this Saturday, November 17, at 1 PM in HDTV on WBZ, 4.1. This is the first of several movies we will be airing locally from high definition video tape. The first two minutes of the movie will air in the upconverted format due to a problem with the tape. The rest of the movie will be full, widescreen, beautiful HDTV.

Bob

Bob, sounds great! Do you have the list of the other movies that will be shown in the future?

Finally, "Bob Hess' Saturday Afternoon at the Movies!"

Great news.

Do you have any plans to promote this event? It would be kind of nice if some of the area retailers would put that baby on with the logo right there for everyone to see.

Just a thought.

We really have no plans to promote it. Probably something we could stand to do better! Good idea that I will pursue.

I will get a list of movies and tentative dates and post.

Bob

Originally posted by Bob Hess
Boston Viewers:

Escape from Alcatraz airs this Saturday, November 17, at 1 PM in HDTV on WBZ, 4.1. This is the first of several movies we will be airing locally from high definition video tape. The first two minutes of the movie will air in the upconverted format due to a problem with the tape. The rest of the movie will be full, widescreen, beautiful HDTV.

Bob

Darn! Now I really want that HD PVR. I'm away this weekend. Thanks for posting this info Bob. Please do post the schedule when you can find it. Hopefully, things like this can be re-broadcast at least 1 more time?

Did someone forget to flick the switch for The Drew Carrey Show last night at WCVB? The show airing before (According to Jim) was in HD but not Drew Carrey.

The Drew Carrey episode was live. I suspect no HDTV on this one cuz it's normally filmed then transferred to HD. ABC probably doesn't have the infrastructure (cameras, switchers etc) for a live HD broadcast.

Hey Bob, have you fired up that TU-HDS20 yet? I'm still having a problem where 4-1 appears in the guide but programming only received on 30-1. Also, do you have any comments regarding the recent FCC DTV guideline revisions and how it may affect our market here in Boston?

Originally posted by Doug G
... the recent FCC DTV guideline revisions ...

Doug,

Could you post a link to the FCC DTV revisions?

Originally posted by Doug G
Hey Bob, have you fired up that TU-HDS20 yet? I'm still having a problem where 4-1 appears in the guide but programming only received on 30-1. Also, do you have any comments regarding the recent FCC DTV guideline revisions and how it may affect our market here in Boston?

Doug,

Actually, it is still sitting in the box. I just have not had time to play with it but I will soon.

Regarding the FCC guideline, business as usual at WBZ. 24/7, full power.

Bob

Mike - There's a huge thread over in the HDTV Programming forum which has the link. HTH.

WCVB-DT will reduce the operating hours shortly. My understanding operation will be 4Pm to 12 Midmight 7days.:(

Originally posted by brandish
WCVB-DT will reduce the operating hours shortly. My understanding operation will be 4Pm to 12 Midnight 7days.:(
That is disappointing to hear. I'm afraid that WCVB won't be the only station to take advantage of the new relaxed regulations. I see this as a big step backward in terms of the advancement of HDTV among the masses. And this in a year where ABC took such a giant step forward in terms of their commitment to HDTV.
As a television salesperson, my job is hard enough to show people the wisdom of buying HD sets now rather than waiting several years. Probably 85% of the people I talk to about HD think that there is currently no HD programing available. The other 15% thinks there is much less available than there actually is.
These new rules will only delay the move to HD. It's beginning to look as if NBC was the smart one the whole time.

Jay

Originally posted by brandish
WCVB-DT will reduce the operating hours shortly. My understanding operation will be 4Pm to 12 Midmight 7days.:(

Ross, will this be the operating hours until 2006 when all the analog stations will supposedly be eliminated? This is bad news for me. I just got rid of cable and WCVB-DT is my only ABC outlet. From my condo, I cannot get an acceptable picture on WLNE.

WCVB-DT will reduce the operating hours shortly. My understanding operation will be 4Pm to 12 Midmight 7days.
************************************************

What the F***?

Hey you MGRS, I have a great idea. Lets go back to Black and
White broadcasts, save some money, lay off some workers,
etc.

Get a smaller screen-it looks sharper!

Originally posted by SPel699187@aol.com
WCVB-DT will reduce the operating hours shortly. My understanding operation will be 4Pm to 12 Midmight 7days.
************************************************

What the F***?

Hey you MGRS, I have a great idea. Lets go back to Black and
White broadcasts, save some money, lay off some workers,
etc.

Get a smaller screen-it looks sharper!

Even better, let's just eliminate TV altogether and go back to AM radio!!!!!

You can send messages to both WFXTDT and WHDH using their web site.

WFXTDT, click on “Your Ideas” at http://www.fox25.com/default.htm

WHDHDT, at http://www.whdh.com/contact/

I asked WFXTDT why I can no longer get WFXTDT, No reply.

I asked WHDH when would the tonight show be in HD. They replied. I again replied and said I’m sorry they can’t afford the equipment, but understand that their budget is tight being that many people are switching to WBZ & WCVB both for HD and non HD as thanks for showing HDTV.

Maybe I should also send messages to NBC and FOX. :rolleyes:

I just got the following reply from WFXT-DT:

Thank you for your email.

WFXT had planned to have our digital transmission back to regular power by now,
but because of circumstances beyond our control, we have been forced to delay
our plans. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a timeline for when our
transmission will return to normal.

We thank you for your patience, and apologize for the inconvenience.

I also sent them a message this morning. I too received the same reply. Hopefully they get the point. We will see.

I work one exit down on RT 128 from their studios. On my trek's to Best Buy I pass their building, which is getting a major makeover. Maybe their "circumstances beyond our control" are the $$'s for the studio expansion? I miss The Simpsons on the big screen Sunday nights in DTV....

---Andy Garabedian

Andyg,

I’m glad you sent WFXT-DT a message. I think it lets them know what the demand for DT is.

There are rumors that NBC will broadcast parts of the Winter Olympics in HDTV. We all know that WHDH-DT does not broadcast anything is HD. I let them know using http://www.whdh.com/contact/ and NBC at http://www.nbc.com/nbc/footer/Contact_Us.shtml that I would like them to.

Mike

WCVB-DT is my only ABC outlet as I do not receive cable and WLNE is unviewable from my location. So I was a bit more than dissappointed when WCVB-DT did not come on the air this afternoon until about 5PM. I thought the hours of operation was 4PM-midnight. Well, they did go off the air at midnight. PLEASE WCVB, be consistent!!! I understand the cost problems associated with transmitting a redundant signal (for some) but if you say you will come on at 4PM, please come on at 4PM. Thank you!

Is wcvb-dt broadcasting at a lower power level than they were at the begining of the month? Thanks to the hints above, I was able to tune in cvb last night but the signal was not strong enough for my 6000 to lock in. This means I was able to add the station, but the signal wasn't strong enough for me to see anything on -01 or -02. Maybe I dont need to climb out on the ladder and move the antenna just a smidge? If I knew it was a problem with them, and not me, I'd be ok. I really dred dragging my buddy out and doing all the tweaking attempts only to find out the problem is not on my end.

tia

Cab,

I had no problem with WCVB-DT last night. I don't know about the power but I think you are closer then me. It is going to be a pain to adjust an outdoor antenna because they are only on the air around dark. Have you tried using a map to find your baring to Needham? I think they are near exit 19 on 128. I think you have to add 15 deg to a magnetic compass. Maybe someone else knows more about that.

Mike

Thanks Mike

As far as I know, the antenna is pointed correctly. When it was installed at the beginning of the month, it worked great for wcvb. Just a day or 2 later, I started having problems. I was thinking maybe it just needed to move like .5 to 1 inch more to the right. Now, given that they are only broadcast during x hours, I'm reluctant to move the antenna. I get 4 and 7 ok when I tune to those stations. Bob Hess at WBZ suggested the antenna be adjusted to tune channel 44 (analog) to the best possible signal. That's what we did. Although now that I think about it, I haven't looked at 44 since then. I'll try that. Ugh, this stuff is such a science with regard to just being pointed slightly off the mark gives you no signal. It's tough for the layman to do on their own. You are right. I am only about 10 miles from the towers as the crow flies. I would have thought I'd get a great signal on all of them.

thanks for the info

Cab,

You know how I like to promote the $18.00 RS double bow-tie antenna. :) You may want to it a try.

Mike

thanks, been there, done that. I have a channel master 3021 double bow tie mounted outside and pointed at the towers.

It was a real bummer our ABC affiliate didn't start transmitting their digital signal until late afternoon on Friday. What a bonehead move. As it turned out, THE college game of the year could only be watched digitally starting with the 3rd quarter or so.

Just some advice: maybe start transmitting a little earlier on holidays and weekends or when Nebraska is down 35-3?

Luckily, the CBS game was HD so I wouldn't have watched it until the end of the CBS game anyway...

Still, kind of a mini "Heidi" incident. I'm sure this won't be enough for them to rethink their strategy but interesting something like this occured so quickly after they cut transmission hours.

At least living in Boston you had the option of watching analog ch. 5. In Taunton, my only option is digital 5. This 'reduced hours thing' really bites the big one!

Mike,

The direct connect vs. jointenna for the NH feed messed up my other stations, particularly 20-2, so I pulled the feed (pre-amp, jointenna, and all). Alias is backup. Goodby WENH until I mount an outdoor antenna way up high.

I just wish we had a reliable way to know what 2-01,2,3 are broadcasting and what it is. Also wish the other nets (besides CBS) were on small dish sat.

My setup is getting me good readings on digital stations (excepting Fox), and I'm getting good analog all around EXCEPT Channel 7. Any ideas?

Tim


Tim

Last night, I'm watching MNF and at midnight, our wonderful Boston ABC affiliate shuts down the digital transmission.

I understand the concept of keeping costs down but, holy schnikees, some common sense needs to be used! C'mon, at least wait to shut down until whatever happens to be on at midnight finishes.

Thank you. I feel better.

Originally posted by jeff43
Last night, I'm watching MNF and at midnight, our wonderful Boston ABC affiliate shuts down the digital transmission.


They don't even give a sign off. Just pull the plug!!! :mad:

Thanks for voicing your experiences regarding the shut down.

Last night, I went downstairs for my midnight snack (during Monday Night Football).

I returned to find my plasma screen dark.

My guess was the local ABC channel pulled the plug but it seemed to dumb to believe.

I surfed back to the non digital channel and there was the football game.

I hope they at least finish the game before shutting down in the future.

Originally posted by MikeD
They don't even give a sign off. Just pull the plug!!! :mad:

I sent them a message about Monday Night Football by going to http://www.thebostonchannel.com/ and clicking the dropdown next to Contact WCVB.

Here's the text of my e-mail to WCVB's station management:

I'm writing to complain about Monday night's broadcast of MNF. I can't believe you cut the signal prior to the end of the game! Some of your viewers' ONLY method of receiving Channel 5 is your digital broadcast via their digital set top HDTV tuners because they only have a UHF antenna. No VHF antenna. No DBS satellite. No cable. One of the reasons we got our DTV tuners is to free ourselves from the cable monopoly, and we get a much better picture in the bargain.

Please, please, please - use common sense when using the privilege granted to you by the FCC by allowing you to cut back the hours and power levels of your digital broadcasts. Don't pull a "Heidi" in the middle of a network broadcast (and I hope you know the history of the infamous "Heidi" incident during the 1968 AFL playoff game between the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets...). Believe me, if things like this happen in the future, I (along with dozens of other Boston area DTV viewers) will let my local congressmen know my feelings when it comes time for the Congress to debate the FCC's plans to take back spectrum that was GIVEN to you FREE as part of the DTV transition.
--

I would suggest a copy also go to each and every one of the FCC commisioners (or whatever they are called) and admonish them for a very lame policy decision.

Well stated Jon. Unfortunately the programming execs at WCVB care more about saving $$$ than they do about their digital viewers who are being shortchanged big time. The MNF fiasco is just one example. Last Saturday WCVB-DT came on the air almost an hour late during the Colorado-Nebraska game. And this coming Saturday's big Miami-Virginia Tech game at 1PM will be a noshow at 5-1. And also forget about anything earlier than 4PM New Year's Day. They sure picked a good time to cut back on their broadcast schedule. Merry Christmas ch.5!!!

Gentlemen,

What DTV channels can I get in Malden, please ? I had CM 4028 installed with rotor this morning and Panny STB locked on 31-2. But the screen was totally black. I thought there should be 5-6 DTV stations available (that what antennaweb.org shows)

thanx !

Originally posted by atmosfera
Gentlemen,

What DTV channels can I get in Malden, please ? I had CM 4028 installed with rotor this morning and Panny STB locked on 31-2. But the screen was totally black. I thought there should be 5-6 DTV stations available (that what antennaweb.org shows)

thanx !

You should be able to get the following:

(1) 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, 19-4 (WGBH-only on Thursday from 8-4PM and Friday from 4-8PM)

(2) 20-1 (WCVB-on 4-midnight daily)

(3) 23-1 (Ch.66)

(4) 30-1 (WBZ)

(5) 31-1 (WFXT)

(6) 42-1 (WHDH)

Also WLVI is scheduled to go digital Jan. 1 but I forgot what channel they will be on.

I also sent WCVB a e-mail about my disappointment in their decision. They need people to by HDTV sets to watch their programming, but they do not want to air their DTV programs. Very irresponsible. First WFXT, now WVCB. Hopefully WBZ will not fall into WCVB's mentality. So far WBZ/CBS seems to have embraced DTV. Kudos to WBZ....

---Andy Garabedian

I think that a major problem here is that the local newspapers do not bother to list DTV stations. The average person probably doesn't know that programs are being broadcast in HDTV, so why spend the money for an HDTV receiver?

I have sent an email to the Globe ombudsman about this and I suggest others complain also.

My email to the ombudsman received no reply, including no automated reply, which makes me wonder if this operation is still alive. Also, the boston.com contact page (http://www.boston.com/help/contact_manager.shtml) lists no obudsman. Maybe I should send to the Arts Editor.

- Michael Bate

Originally posted by MichaelBate
...the boston.com contact page (http://www.boston.com/help/contact_manager.shtml) ...

You can click on "Feedback" on that page. It said: "We will respond to all inquiries within two business days."

It looks like NBC will be broadcasting the Winter Olympics in HDTV (http://www.nbcmv.com/pw2/main/dnr.cgi?cmd=detail&query_id=55562).
We should ask WHDH if they will also broadcast in HDTV or do the same as the Tonight Show?

Go to http://www.whdh.com then click “Contact” to send whdh a message on what you think they should do. ;)

This is this reply I got from Channel 7

As you know, at this time WHDH broadcast digital in SDTV (480i) format. I have budget proposals before management/ownership to purchase the equipment that will allow us to pass through NBC's HD shows. I am crossing my fingers that this budget will pass, and WHDH will soon be able to offer HD in the future.

Thanks for your patience,
Jim Shultis
Director of Engineering

Originally posted by steverobertson
...budget proposals before management/ownership to purchase the equipment that will allow us to pass through NBC's HD shows.

I think LOTS of email may help the budget but I’ve been wrong before.

I think that not only channel 7 but also channel 5 which I have sent several with no reply. Lets face it these are 2 bit stations that don't care about anything other than there bottom line just like the rest of corporate America.

Originally posted by steverobertson
This is this reply I got from Channel 7

As you know, at this time WHDH broadcast digital in SDTV (480i) format. I have budget proposals before management/ownership to purchase the equipment that will allow us to pass through NBC's HD shows. I am crossing my fingers that this budget will pass, and WHDH will soon be able to offer HD in the future.

Thanks for your patience,
Jim Shultis
Director of Engineering

That's a start anyway. Now if they could just increase their signal strength so us poor slobs down here in S.E. Mass can pick it up on a regular basis. Living in a condo, I can only use an indoor antenna and while I can get useable signals on WCVB and WBZ, I can only get 20-30% on WHDH which is useless. Sometimes if the atmospheric conditions are right and all the stars are lined up properly, I can get a 50% but that's rare.

Originally posted by steverobertson
Lets face it these are 2 bit stations that don't care about anything other than there bottom line just like the rest of corporate America.
I'm perplexed by this comment. If they didn't care about the bottom line they would most likely be out of business quite quickly. Your right, just like the rest of corporate America, if you don't watch the bottom line then you go belly up to nobodys benefit. I think they are taking the prudent path, even if we don't like it, to stay in business.

Yes, we all want HDTV, and we all want it now. Let's show them a positive way that HDTV can help their bottom line and that should persuade them. ..

Benj,

thank you very much. I was able to get 30 (WBZ4 1080i FULL but it really comes as 4X3 with black bars on the sides on 16X9 screen) and 42 (NBC 480i). Maybe my location "prohibitive" of getting other channels. Will try to scan tonight again :)

Originally posted by atmosfera
Benj,

thank you very much. I was able to get 30 (WBZ4 1080i FULL but it really comes as 4X3 with black bars on the sides on 16X9 screen) and 42 (NBC 480i). Maybe my location "prohibitive" of getting other channels. Will try to scan tonight again :)

WBZ (30-1) is broadcasting an upconverted 1080i signal. Watch during primetime (8PM-on) and most of 'BZ's programming is full 1080i hidef (w/o black bars). WHDH (42-2) transmits a 480i signal only.

Its good that youre getting 30 (WBZ-4) and 42 (NBC-7). ABC-5 which is channel 20 is now only broadcasting in the evenings, so try after 4 or 5pm. Fox-25 which is 31 on the digital lineup is actually broadcasting on such low power that I doubt even people in their transmitting tower could receive it. I used to get Fox in the upper 80s till they started to do something with their tower. Then they said it would be back up in a week and its been low now for more than a month. I only get occasional blips from them.

Sal

Steve:

I agree completely that these stations have to watch out for their bottom line. But let's not forget that these stations are already transmitting on one set of frequencies and have essentially been given (at taxpayer's expense) another set of frequencies to broadcast a digital signal on with the understanding that they would be doing so 24/7 by the end of 2002. Now, they are crying poverty and the FCC has agreed they can back off. It's really a pity that they have so quickly cut down their hours. It's also a pity that NBC and it's local affiliate have never even paid lip service to broadcasting an HD signal, despite that being the intent of the new broadcasting spectrum. If they had paid for this extra frequency alotment, I would be much more lenient in my views of what they are doing with it.

SMK

But let's not forget that these stations are already transmitting on one set of frequencies and have essentially been given (at taxpayer's expense) another set of frequencies to broadcast a digital signal

Yes I agree, but in all reality, it did not cost us taxpayers anything, it is just unrealized or defered revenue for the government. However, it does cost them real money to broadcast both signals and there was significant up front cost for new transmission equipment. Until there are enough digital receivers for them to shut off the NTSC transmission they are strapped with double the overhead cost of transmission.

Regardless of what you and I would like, this is what they have to deal with.

Let's consider this. Everyone complains about WHDH not broadcasting HD. The number I see being thrown around is about $100,000 to transmit the digitial signal for a year. If the cost to WHDH of an HD encoder is $75-90,000, would you prefer a full 24 hour SD digital broadcast or lessened hours and have them put the money saved into getting the encoder? (assuming they would)

Regards,

Originally posted by Benji


WBZ (30-1) is broadcasting an upconverted 1080i signal. Watch during primetime (8PM-on) and most of 'BZ's programming is full 1080i hidef (w/o black bars). WHDH (42-2) transmits a 480i signal only.

But Benji......let us not forget "The Young and The Restless" which is broadcast in glorious HDTV every day, M-F, from 12:30-1:30 PM.

Bob

Good news for Directv subscribers in Boston area.
The winter olympics games will be HD on NBC and HDNet.
http://www.tvinsite.com/broadcastingcable/index.asp?layout=story&doc_id=58591&display=breakingNews

Just contacted "station management" at WHDH through their web site. I said that this would be a great opportunity to begin repairing their reputation among the Boston HD community and possibly even win back some viewers (albeit temporarily) like me who have abandoned their network in favor of HD programming on other networks.

But I ain't holdin' my breath......;)

Just prior to going asleep last night, I checked, as I always do, the signal strength of WFXT's digital feed.

Every other night over the past few months, the signal has been zero for me. Last night it was up to 20%. I did not have time or desire to get into the attic and adjust my antenna.

Does anyone know if they are back up?

mikep

Originally posted by Bob Hess


But Benji......let us not forget "The Young and The Restless" which is broadcast in glorious HDTV every day, M-F, from 12:30-1:30 PM.

Bob

Sorry Bob Hess, how could I forget Y&R?

Originally posted by wkhz
Good news for Directv subscribers in Boston area.
The winter olympics games will be HD on NBC and HDNet.
http://www.tvinsite.com/broadcastingcable/index.asp?layout=story&doc_id=58591&display=breakingNews

This is not likely since at this point in time, WHDH doesn't even have the necessary hardware to pass thru an HD signal. Paraquoting from an earlier post, the station Chief Engineer is lobbying to get HD equipment into the station's budget. Don't hold your breath...

Originally posted by Benji


This is not likely since at this point in time, WHDH doesn't even have the necessary hardware to pass thru an HD signal. Paraquoting from an earlier post, the station Chief Engineer is lobbying to get HD equipment into the station's budget. Don't hold your breath...

This is why I said it is good news for DirecTV subscribers who get HDNet free.

Has anyone else been having audio problems on 23.2? 23.1 is ok for me but 23.2 have been having audio problems on my setup. I have no audio problems on 2.2, 2.3 when they are broadcasting.

Though they were one of the first DTV stations in the area on line, I didn't know anyone wathed Channels 23.

Tim

I’m not a big fan of tv shopping either but want to know if my tv is having problems or is it the station.

I used to watch 23 when they were still WHUB and broadcasted The Next Generation and BU hockey games. Now I tune in every now and then to make sure they havent switched to showing something else. You are right, audio is bad on the second channel... even the picture sometimes has "sparklies" in it.. kinda like when you watch a mis-aligned C-band signal.

Sal

Thanks Sal for the info.

Originally posted by Sal
I used to watch 23 when they were still WHUB and broadcasted The Next Generation and BU hockey games.

I remember Barney Miller too. Pretty ecclectic mix. Sorry it changed.

Tim

Does anyone know if AT&T cable is offering HDTV in the Boston area?

No, they are not. In fact, their FAQ about digital cable disparages HDTV by pointing out that you need equipment costing $2-3000 to receive it. I hate them.

makes me glad I dumped cable when I moved ... DirecTV costs me less and I get more ... (still can't get the Sat B signal yet ... sigh!)

Usually I wouldn't post a response from an email, but since it was not signed by a particular person....Here is the response I received from WFXT regarding their digital transmission status.


WFXT had planned to have our digital transmission back to regular power by now, but because of circumstances beyond our control, we have been forced to delay our plans. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a timeline for when our transmission will return to normal.

We thank you for your patience, and apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you for your email.

Got to watch the entire MNF game last night on our ABC affiliates digital feed. No stoppage of signal at midnight like last week. I'm glad they decided it was the appropriate thing to do.

Heck of a game, too.

Because of the location of my house I can not get channel 23. Can anybody tell me what they have there and what is the format ? 1080i, full, upconverted ?

Thanx

Channel 23 multicasts two glorious, full color, digital renditions of...

HOME SHOPPING NETWORK!!!

And, at a mind-boggling 480i super-high-resolution, with full FM-quality sound so amazing you'll just have to hear it to believe it!

Uh, is the audition over? Do I get the job hawking useless stuff over the public airwaves? Do I get the employee discount?

Sorry, just couldn't resist. Now you know how I feel about WHUB-DT taking up space in my channel listings...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by atmosfera
Because of the location of my house I can not get channel 23. Can anybody tell me what they have there and what is the format ? 1080i, full, upconverted ?

Thanx [/QUOTE

Here's the lowdown on WFUB-DT (formerly WHUB-DT):

Network Service: HSN- shopping - to be Telefutura- Spanish 1/14/2002
ID: Marlborough MA
Owner: Univision Television Group

Both 23-1 and 23-2 seem to be 24/7 home shopping at the moment, and they are broadcasting 4:3 in what appears to be 480i.

Thanx Chip ! I guess I am not missing much :) Shopping in HD - sound exciting :)

Hey gang,

You have not heard much from me in recent months but rest assumed I'm still alive and watching. Like all of us I'm downright angry at WCVB-DT's choice to move to a limited schedule and to not pay any attention to what is on when the pull the plug at 12 midnight.

And, like a few or you, I have also emailed WCVB asking for consideration here but as always they simply ignore us. I just sent an email to Ross Kauffman who is a retired engineer working on a contract basis for WCVB (or at least he was). Ross was fairly active here on AVS as many may recall but has recently gone silent. I asked Ross to shed some light on why WCVB would do such a stupid thing and if he could assist us in getting them to re-think this decision.

Take Care Everyone and Happy Holidays.

I am not sure if Ross has that kind of pull at WCVB, but he does seem to still be in the loop when it comes to any breaking information. Ross was the one that announced it in this thread a few weeks ago of the WCVB decision to cut hours. WCVB seems to have softened this decision a bit the past week. Saturday afternoon, they came on early during the Miami-Virginia Tech game, and Sunday they came on in the morning during the Sunday news programs. They also stayed on the past two Mondays until after the MNF game ended. I hope they continue to exhibit some consideration when there is something of mass interest on, especially in news and sports. I can live without the weekday pre-4PM lineup of programs.

Ross did reply to my email, very quickly in fact, here is what he had to say:



Richard:

I'll answer your last question first. Yes the FCC has given more
flexibility in operating hours for DTV stations. New FCC rules state that DTV operation must include prime time hours ~7Pm to 11PM. I have attached the FCC press release dealing with the relaxation of the rules.

Yes WCVB-DT shut down in the last portion of a football game. For that WCVB apologizes. Management has given WCVB-DT operations more flexibility so shut down will not take place in the middle of a program or sporting event.

Additional broadcast time will be added for weekend sporting events as required.

Operating hours will be 4Pm to 12 M. The signoff time is flexible for
completion of a program as mentioned above.

For those interested, WGBH-DT is coming in on my DTC-100 as follows: HDTV on 19-2, ch. 2 on 19-3 and ch. 44 on 19-4. On my Mits SR-HD5: HDTV on 19-1, ch.2 on 2-1 and ch. 44 on 2-2 and 2-3.

On my Dish 6000 I am receiving WGBH-DT: 19-1 HDTV, 19-2 ch. 2 and 19-3 ch. 44.

After recondsideration, the managment of WCVB-DT has decided to resume a full time schedule of DTV broadcasting.

:p

Ross: You've just made the 1000 HD STB owners in the Boston area (according to WGBH's archaic figures) very happy. Happy Holidays Ross!!!

Benji,

I assure you there are more than 1000 STB owners out there. I have talked to every one of them.

Bob

Thank you WCVB!!!!

Tim

Originally posted by brandish
After recondsideration, the managment of WCVB-DT has decided to resume a full time schedule of DTV broadcasting.

Awesome!

Originally posted by brandish
After reconsideration, the management of WCVB-DT has decided to resume a full time schedule of DTV broadcasting.

:p

ROSS-- Please pass on our thanks and appreciation to WCVB management. It's nice to see them do the right thing, and not necessarily the most profitable thing.

Jay

Tanx Ross!

Thanks Ross and WCVB!!! This is great news.


Any news when WSBK-38 (UPN) or WLVI-56 (WB) will start broadcasting in digital?

Sal

Sal,

WSBK should be on the air in the spring. We have not set a date yet.

Bob Hess
Director, Broadcast Operations/Engineering
WBZ-TV/WSBK-TV/WLWC-TV/WBZ-AM/WODS-FM

***WBZ DTV Hotline - 617-787-7043***
[Call only to report problems. Rings in our master control room]

Thanks Bob!

Cant wait to see Enterprise in Digital. Can you tell us whether UPN/WSBK will be doing 480i digital or 480p or 1080i upconverted? Hope they'll also do letterboxed-Enterprise as Widescreen on the digital channel :)

Whatever happened to the tour of the facility?

Sal

Originally posted by Bob Hess
I assure you there are more than 1000 STB owners out there. I have talked to every one of them.

Bob,

What is a realistic estimate of the number of HDTV capable TVs is the Boston area? BTW, My TV has the HD receiver build in so I don't have a STB but don't forget to count people like me. :)

Mike

Originally posted by Sal
Thanks Ross and WCVB!!! This is great news.


Any news when WSBK-38 (UPN) or WLVI-56 (WB) will start broadcasting in digital?

Sal

Sal, According to Titantv.com, WLVI is slated to go digital Jan. 1.

Can anybody tell me what is on channel 19 please. I've been getting DTV for a couple of weeks. Very impressive ! To whatever reason I am not getting channel 19. I've checked on antennaweb.org and it shows that the position of antenna should be almost the same as say channel 20. I am getting channel 20 really strong but channel 19 never appeared during autoscan. I've attempted to add it manually - no luck. I can not get 23 because of the obstacle - brick building across the street. My antenna points towards Needham towers and I can get 20, 30, 31,42 (no channel mapping is turned on my Panny). Should I be able to get anything else ?

Thank you !

Channel 19 is WGBH and it's on the same tower as channel 20 and 30. The reason you probably can't receive it is because they have a limited broadcast schedule. I forget the exact schedule but I know they're on the air on Friday nights.

/Matt

I believe WGBH-DT 19 is in a test period and are only broadcasting on Thursday from 8-4PM and Friday from 4-8PM.

Originally posted by MikeD


Bob,

What is a realistic estimate of the number of HDTV capable TVs is the Boston area? BTW, My TV has the HD receiver build in so I don't have a STB but don't forget to count people like me. :)

Mike

Mike,

I don't have a clue but let's look at it this way:

Assuming that the Boston market has 2.196% of the total television households in the US, and assuming that the Consumer Electronics Association is correct when they said that 150,003 DTV receivers were sold as of June, 2001, do the math.....2.196% of 150,003 = 3,294.

Now, (1) more receivers have been sold since June, (2) a good chunk of the country still does not have DTV and (3) Boston is a high tech market....so, based on all of that, I would round the number up to 5,000.

Bob

Originally posted by Sal
Thanks Bob!

Whatever happened to the tour of the facility?

Sal

One of these days, construction will be done and we can do a tour. I won't forget.

Bob

Originally posted by Benji


Sal, According to Titantv.com, WLVI is slated to go digital Jan. 1.

What is the digital station for WLVI? Jan 1 is around the corner.

Tim

Originally posted by rudolpht


What is the digital station for WLVI? Jan 1 is around the corner.

Tim

Tim, Again according to Titantv.com WLVI-DT is scheduled to use channel 41 Jan. 1, 2002.

Benji

thanx for info guys !

Bob who are the lucky ones to get a tour of TV station facility ?

Originally posted by atmosfera
thanx for info guys !

Bob who are the lucky ones to get a tour of TV station facility ?

This goes way back into the archives of this thread. This is a tour of the Boston WBZ DTV transmitter facility in Needham. When we do it, anyone reading this thread will be invited.

Bob

Serious lip sync issues on 002-2 (DST-3000), but still testing.

Tim

Thanks Benji. Could have checked out TitanTV myself.....

Tim

Did anyone else lose the digital signal last night sometme before the pops concert on WCVB? I watched part of the 5 or 6 pm news on WCVB digital and then went to tune back in for the pops concert and there was no strong signal. My 6000 wouldn't pick it up. It kept bouncing from 0 to high 40's low 50's for me and would not lock. bummer! I would have loved to see the concert in digital / HD if they broadcast it that way.

Originally posted by cab
Did anyone else lose the digital signal last night sometme before the pops concert on WCVB?

I watch mostly wbz but I did notice that wcvb changed from 20.1 to 5.1 when I switch to it last night. 5.1 came in good but I don't remember what time I looked at it. Maybe or maybe not this had something to do with your problem.

Hi all, been lurking here for a couple of months trying to decide when to make the jump...

Count me as number 5001 (in a couple of weeks) (hint hint for wifey).

I wish to thank all of the posters on this board for all of the quality information!

Please keep up the passionate advocacy!

What's PSIP?

Does this have to do with programming info getting into the APG? I have no progamming info for any of the local digital stations. Should there be? The APG picks up the info from DirecTV for the local channels.

Someday I need to decide to dump paying for those and the CATV as well! If could only get SAT B dialed in...

Originally posted by MikeD
I watch mostly wbz but I did notice that wcvb changed from 20.1 to 5.1 when I switch to it last night.

Sure enough. 6000 users update your favorites.

On the concert, the picture quality was pretty crappy (thought I was looking at analog.

PSIP is the standard to map channels to their analog equivalent and to give guide data. Currently some STBs map based on sat fed Advanced Program Guide data, some rely on PSIP. For example 20-1 was mapped to 5-1. PSIP also provides guide data, but no area stations are currently sending it (that I know of).

Tim

Originally posted by rudolpht
PSIP also provides guide data, but no area stations are currently sending it (that I know of).

I get a little guide info from 7.1. (program name, duration, remaining time).

Originally posted by cab
I would have loved to see the concert in digital / HD if they broadcast it that way.

Channel 20 was ok for me. (I guess tweaking for the low-power channel 31 has paid off!)
However I did notice that WGBH channel 19's testing was interrupted. Hmmm... Another Needham power problem?

--

Note the Pops was a repeat of last year (probably because of financial reasons.) It was good SD, but not HD. Oh well, maybe next year it'll be in HD.

Originally posted by cab
Did anyone else lose the digital signal last night sometme before the pops concert on WCVB? I watched part of the 5 or 6 pm news on WCVB digital and then went to tune back in for the pops concert and there was no strong signal. My 6000 wouldn't pick it up. It kept bouncing from 0 to high 40's low 50's for me and would not lock. bummer! I would have loved to see the concert in digital / HD if they broadcast it that way.

The Pops Concert was not produced in HD.
I watched the entire program from start to finish without problems!

Originally posted by MikeD
I get a little guide info from 7.1. (program name, duration, remaining time).

Mike,

What STB or HD card? I get the sat info on the APG and "Local Programming" on Dish. Interesting the station that can't do HD would be sending guide info.

RAP,

APG does a heck of a lot more than map the sat locals, it gives giude info for stations not carried by DirecTV.

Tim

WCVB goes back to full time digital transmissions, WSBK goes digital this spring and WLVI early next year. You gotta love Boston...

I do have a question for Bob Hess, though. Bob, any insight you can share as to possible NFL HD games this season?

APG does a heck of a lot more than map the sat locals, it gives giude info for stations not carried by DirecTV.

Interesting. The APG on my DTV-1080 shows all the DirecTV and the SAT locals channels. All OTA channels (including the digital ones) report "regular programming.

Originally posted by RAP
Interesting. The APG on my DTV-1080 shows all the DirecTV and the SAT locals channels. All OTA channels (including the digital ones) report "regular programming.

RAP,

Then either you are not hitting the satellite, don't have locals setup by zip correctly, or the DTV-1080 has a programming guide but not APG.

See this & refrenced thread for more APG info
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27190&highlight=APG

Good luck,
Tim

Originally posted by rudolpht

What STB or HD card? I get the sat info on the APG and "Local Programming" on Dish. Interesting the station that can't do HD would be sending guide info.

Tim,

For OTA, I use the turner build into the Sony 34xbr2. I'm not sure all systems display the same thing. What is display on mine is the following:

Program Title (only WHDH has this)
Program rating (they all say "unrated")
Time of day
Channel number
Station call letters (ie WBZ-DT, they all have this)
Aspect ratio (ie, 4:3, 16:9)
SD or HD
Text area (most are blank but WHDH has the following: "No program information is available, Duration time XXX, Time remaining YYY")

Mike

This snowy Sunday morning I can get WBZ & WHDH with no problems, however, WCVB keeps breaking up with a week single, I live about 20 miles from the antenna. Maybe they have snow on their antenna. I don't on mine. :)

Originally posted by MikeD
This snowy Sunday morning I can get WBZ & WHDH with no problems, however, WCVB keeps breaking up with a week single, I live about 20 miles from the antenna. Maybe they have snow on their antenna. I don't on mine. :)

WCVB-DT operates from the same antenna as WBZ-DT. Currently WCVB-DT operates at less than half the power of WBZ-DT. That will change in another few weeks when WCVB-DT will double output power.

I'm sure the weather is having some adverse effect on your WCVB-DT reception. That should not be an issue when the higher power operation begins.

Then either you are not hitting the satellite, don't have locals setup by zip correctly, or the DTV-1080 has a programming guide but not APG.

The satellite point is interesting. If this info is on SAT B (119) I'm definitely having trouble with that one but I would imagine the data is transmitted from the original SAT A (101) satellite as many people don't have the oval dish yet. I have very strong signal from SAT A.

I did the ZIP code set up. The wizard prompted for Manchester, NH and Boston channels. Maybe I have to run this again.

APG for sure...

I put a new yagi up yesterday. Great signals from all three Boston stations. Although WHDH went to hell last night and was not watchable. Snow had just started? This morning (still light snow) the WHDH signal is highly variable and not watchable due to drop outs. The WHDH signal has always been variable with some drop out and lip sync problems that's why I got the new yagi. Is this a WHDH issue or is this symptomatic trying to get WHDH from my area?

Originally posted by Marcel
Hi all, been lurking here for a couple of months trying to decide when to make the jump...
Count me as number 5001 (in a couple of weeks) (hint hint for wifey).
I wish to thank all of the posters on this board for all of the quality information!
Please keep up the passionate advocacy!

Welcome to HDTV! :D

Originally posted by brandish


WCVB-DT operates from the same antenna as WBZ-DT. Currently WCVB-DT operates at less than half the power of WBZ-DT. That will change in another few weeks when WCVB-DT will double output power.

:rolleyes:

hmmmm ..... if this is true, why is it I can't get a peep out of WBZ on my receiver and WCVB blasts in?? I'm using a TERK indoor antenna (rooftop is not an option!). I can receive WCVB 100% of the time, WHDH 80% and WBZ not at all (receiver comes up with "channel not available")

Plus I have a question for any TU-HDS20 users out there .... how can you get WGBH on channel 19-1 (or -2)? It didn't map when I did the zip code setup, and when I try to enter it manually, I get switched to NTSC 19 (which happens to be some sort of spanish channel OTA......) ... How can WGBH broadcast on OTA 19, when there is some other transmitter already broadcasting on that channel????

As far as the AGP goes, after I set up the channels using my zip code, all station info (including info for providence channels) is displayed as per usual ....

Now if I could only get Sat B (119 deg) to work .... sigh!!

Originally posted by MikeD
Program Title (only WHDH has this)

Sounds like WHDH is doing PSIP and Dish 6000 not picking it up. Thanks Mike, pretty interesting.

RAP,

Would try to run the local setup again. Should force an update. Every local you have checked should give sat based guide data. Note some channels will have 3 entries (Analog OTA, Sat, and Digital OTA). Picking the later should give you the guide data.

Tim

jhoppy1

I have the TUHDS20 and have a question on what channel you are using to try and get WBZ. The mapping that the STB gives you is wrong for channel 4 for some reason. The channel to use is 30-1 NOT 4-1. I would imagine that this may get fixed someday so that it is 4-1 but until then, you have to manually enter 30-1.

Hope that is your problem.

Dan

I haven't seen anything posted here about WFXT is actually broadcasting in 480p! It's not HD, but it's sure a lot better than the crap upconvert we had been seeing.

I watched parts of Dark Angel and 24 whenever they were on (Friday?)

Maybe they've been doing this for a bit and I've just missed it..?

In regards to WSBK + WVLI -- Are there other UPN/WB stations digital already? To they broadcast any HD or SD content, or is everything just digital upconverts?


A side note: On Saturday I put up my dish and am finally getting HDnet... I'm going into programming overload with the sudden addition of Fox, HDnet and HBO... :)

Hello all you hdtv fanatics ! Been lurking and reading (not getting any work done - thank you) This is my first post. thought I would let you all know what is going on down here in Falmouth on the Cape. After speaking to a "specialist" I was told I would be wasting my $$$ trying to get digital ota signals from where I am. Well I am here to tell you that he was dead wrong !! I researched quite a bit and finally decided on a wineguard hd8200 antenna. The installer thought I was crazy too - the thing looked like a 747 going up there. I put it up about 13ft off my roof. Put a CM pre-amp and a cm rotor then tied the sucker down good preparing for the next noreaster. I am now watching 4.1 - 5.1- 7.1 - 23.1- 23.2 all the time plus 2.1 - 2.2 - and 2.3 on friday nights in both my home theatre (ecp4100) and in my liv rm (elite 510) and everthing is coming in real strong, with very few drop outs. If folks down here could see what I have there is no doubt they would be lining up at cash registers to get it. Add me to your very happy list of stb owners (5002 I think) Have a great holiday season everyone.

John

are you getting wfxt in boston we are not getting it here in attleboro
gene

Originally posted by dan70cuda


I have the TUHDS20 ... The mapping that the STB gives you is wrong for channel 4 for some reason. The channel to use is 30-1 NOT 4-1 ... you have to manually enter 30-1.

Dan

Hi Dan

I've tried manually entering 30-1 and the STB resets the channnel to 4-1 .... I have gotten WBZ once (for about 30 seconds:D) but never again .... how do you manually enter 30-1 on your set to get it to stay??? Same for 'GBH, can't put in 19-1 and get it to stay ......

Jim

Disable channel mapping - this will solve it ! The actual channel where the station transmits is different from a "call" channel.

Originally posted by brandish


WCVB-DT operates from the same antenna as WBZ-DT. Currently WCVB-DT operates at less than half the power of WBZ-DT. That will change in another few weeks when WCVB-DT will double output power.

I'm sure the weather is having some adverse effect on your WCVB-DT reception. That should not be an issue when the higher power operation begins.

Ross,

I just noticed this now. With the new FCC rule on hours of operation this is the last thing I thought I would have seen. Please don't take this the wrong way, but why the change of heart from WCVB-DT (increasing the power)? This is a step in the right direction. Also, very glad WCVB-DT is back on the good schedule for hours of operation.

Jim

I do not know why you can not enter 30-1 manually and I can. I do have the problem with channel 19-x and how they revert to 19 but I figured it was Boston PBS not using the digital channel yet.

If I enter the old mappings for channel 5 (20-1) or for 7(42-1) they will revert to 5-1 & 7-1 but for 30-1 it does not revert and locks into the signal no problem.

I do not know what to say. As per the suggestion to disable channel mapping from atmosfera, I do not know how that is done. Maybe taking the zip codes out of the menu for OTA ?

Just for the record, my box was manufactured in 9/2001 and has the 7.4 software.

Dan

Well, I still can't WBZ :( .... I did disable the guide (go to OPTIONS and select ANTENNA ... disables the Sat guides and allowed me to input 30-1 ... still nothing) .... It appears my unit automatically maps 30-1 to 4-1. Why, I don't know ... PSIP supposedly is not enabled at WBZ ... I'm pretty sure it is a reception problem, not an equipment/settings problem ... I got about 10 seconds of programming last night (woo hoo!) from WBZ .... I must live in hole here in Weymouth (I can't even get OTA NTSC channel 4 worth anything, either!!) ... well, until I get a better antenna setup, I will have to be content with ABC and NBC ...

BTW ... to disable channel mapping (I don't recommend it though), go into SETUP and remove (deselect) your area (in our case Boston ... unless you've selected Manchester)

Jim, how far away are you from the tower? The Terk is not recommended for situations where there's multipath. You probably should go with a directional antenna. People have had great success with the CM-4228 and even the Radio Shack indoor double bow-tie. Do you have clear line-of-sight to the tower? Obstructed?

I use a Dish 6000 from about 15 miles out and have trees in all directions but south-west. I get all the digital stations from Boston rock-solid and they now all map correctly with PSIP:

19 => 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 (only up Friday nights)
20 => 5.1
30 => 4.1
42 => 7.1

I've got a Winegard 9095 with a CM pre-amp up over the chimney.

Originally posted by jhoppy1
Well, I still can't WBZ

Jim,

Call me: 617-787-7050

Bob Hess
Director, Broadcast Operations/Engineering
WBZ

***WBZ DTV Hotline - 617-787-7043***
[Call only to report HDTV on-air problems. This phone rings in our master control room]

Can anyone out there recommend a satellite installer that knows what they are doing? I want to put in a second 18 inch dish to receive the DirectV HD satellite.

I live in Walpole

Thanks in advance

I have had "The Antenna Man" do work for me three times, and was very happy with him. Not sure how far he travels (he is in Beverly, MA) but you could try him ...

phone: 800-339-8353

A search *might* turn up another positive review or two, but I cant remember if they posted it or just told me by email.

WCVB-DT is now operating at full power and PSIP is enabled. I am interested in any comments on changes in reception and/or PSIP issues which might have occured.

I now find that my Mits SD-HD5 STB does not operate off PISP OTA but gets the program Guide from the DBS PISP.

Originally posted by brandish
WCVB-DT is now operating at full power and PSIP is enabled. I am interested in any comments on changes in reception and/or PSIP issues which might have occured.

I now find that my Mits SD-HD5 STB does not operate off PISP OTA but gets the program Guide from the DBS PISP.

Ross,

I do not get any guide info on my Sony 34xbr2. I do get some guide info from whdh. You can see an earlier post about the whdh guide info I get.

I let you know about reception the next time it snows. :)

Ross, I am now getting a stronger signal on ch. 5 than ch. 4. Do you know if ch. 4 is having any transmitter problems? My ch. 5 signal seems to be about 10-15% stronger than it was but ch. 4 (at this point in time) appears to be somewhat weaker. My Mits SR-HD5 has been receiving all digital stations on their analog channel # all along. I get WGBH on 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 (and 1 exception 19-1), WBZ on 4-1, WCVB on 5-1 and WHDH (when I can get it) on 7-1. On my DTC100, programming still comes in at 19-2, 20-1, 30-1 and 42-2. I still get no APG info on the RCA. I've been receiving APG info all along on my Mits.

Out here in Framingham, I am not seeing any changes in reception this morning. I havent checked in the evenings, so is the high power only in the evenings or all day?

Sal

I don't see any real difference in WCVB-DT (that's good since reception has always seemed fine) other than it is now remapped to 5.1 instead of 20.1. I'm not sure if it should be working with PSIP, but I get no guide info on 5.1. In fact the only Boston station I get guide info for is WHDH-DT on 7.1, but even then it's sporadic at best, sometimes working one minute and then gone the next. However, in a recent e-mail exchange, Jim Shultis said they were troubleshooting a problem with the guide at the studio.

Has anyone heard anything about when Fox25 will be going to full power again?

-j

Is channel 19 up ? can not get it. 20 is weak in Malden - takes more time for Panny to lock on it.

Has anyone heard anything about when Fox25 will be going to full power again?
=============================================

Fox has not been very user friendly to us early adopters.

Originally posted by jeffw
Has anyone heard anything about when Fox25 will be going to full power again?

-j

The 2006 deadline maybe??? :mad:

Andy:

You hit the nail right on the head!

Does anyone with a Sony HD100 receive the DTV guides? I know this was a problem in the past, but I am assuming Sony has not resolved this issue. Just checking...

---Andy Garabedian

Was it just me or was the broadcast of ER fouled up last night.

The signal on 7-1 cut out frequently and I went back to plain old channel 7.

Later , the tonight show broadcast was just fine.

No. My recently purchased Sony HD-100 (one month old) does not provide me a guide for any of the local digital broadcasts.

Does anyone know if these units (or any of the available HD receivers) are "upgradeable" in the field (via flash)? I am too spoiled with my Tag AV32R upgradeability.

mikep

I just joined the ranks this weekend. I purchased a Mits 55809 and I am waiting for delivery next week.

I have been lurking for about a year and reading as many posts as I can. I noticed there a few people on the board who live near me, Uxbridge, Charlton, etc.... I was wondering if a couple of you could email me with your hardware setups. I was wondering how you are making out with receiving ota hd channels this far out of "civilization". If I ask anyone who lives inside of 495, they just laugh and tell me to move.

At the local stores, they tell me it can't be done. But then they tell me that hdtv means you can watch a dvd on it. Or that an antenna is a clothes dryer their grandparents had on their roof.

jcovell - I couldn't remember exactly where Douglas was so I quickly glanced at a map. Seems like you're probably 30 miles from the Needham towers, give or take a few. The best advice I can give you is to get a quality antenna. Use a CM3021 (or 4228 if you need the extra gain) available from Stark Electronic in Worcester, you can order via web and have it shipped. Also, given your distance its probably better to mount outside and high up, choosing a line of sight which is as clear as possible. As a last resort, consider adding a high-quality preamp like a Wineguard or CM at the antenna. Choosing the right receiver can also help, a recent test of sensitivity between a Samsung SIR-T150, the Zenith DTV1080 and the Panasonic TU-HDS20 (which I have) showed the Panasonic to have the best OAR reception in terms of holding a signal at low signal-to-noise ratios, with the current reference standard being the Samsung. The Zenith reception was poorer than anticipated, and it made no mention of the Mits/Tosh/Hughes boxes.

I recently moved to Andover from Franklin, which is probably 5-10 miles further from the towers as the crow flies, and I have absolutely NO reception problems using a CM3021 mounted inside my attic. In my previous location I had tons of problems using a RatShack VU-90 VHF/UHF antenna, so getting the right antenna counts for a lot. With WCVB-DT and WBZ-DT transmitting at full power now, I can't see any reason why you can't pull these channels in at your location.

I believe there's another gentleman here who lives out Charlton way, I bet he'd have some excellent advice, as well. Bob Hess, who lives in Hopkington receives all the DTV stations from there using simply a RatShack indoor double-bowtie.

Don't get frustrated, the payoff is TOTALLY worth it. Good luck!

Here is my recent antenna experience.

I recently moved about a quarter of a mile down the street. In my old house I had a radio shack 100" Yagi in the attic. I could receive digital versions of 4,5,7,25 and sometimes digital 23 all with a very good signal. Last winter I did have multipath problems on the very clear cold nights, but most times the reception was excellent.

In the new house I figured I could down size the antenna and still get a good signal, and perhaps not have the multipath. It was a bad decision. I bought a CM four bay and put it in the attic. I could get a good stong signal on 42 (7dt) but not the others, I moved it to different locations and could get a good signal on one station but not others, even though they were on the same tower. I decided to go back to a YAGI model. Last week I swapped the CM for a 60" Performance Antenna modified Yagi . I was immediately able to pull in (ch20 and 30) (ch4&5DT) but could not get 42 any longer. I also received ch19 (ch2dt) on their friday night broadcast, both 2.2 2.3 came in very well. Yesterday I tried some further adjustment and swaps but could not get either of the antennas to pull in all of the stations reliably. I finally put the Yagi back up and tuned it for reception of CH20&30, and then tried various combinations of connecting the CM bowtie in parallel. I was able to find a spot in the attic that the combination of the two antennas would receive 42 and 20 and 30 all with strong signals.

What I found, was what others have said, moving the antenna only one or two inches may make a big difference in signal reception. I think the real solution is to get the antenna out of the attic, but that will have to wait until spring.



Just to update. The antenna combination faild the multiple day test. I have removed the CM Bowtie antenna. With just the YAGI I get good reception of 20, 30 (over 100), and last night a solid 53 for ch31 which suprisingly had no breakups or sound gliches. I was also able to receive WGBH last Friday very good. I will have to go back and work on a WHDH solution

jcovell,

I live in Hubbardston which is about 50miles or so as the crow flies from Boston, in a VERY hilly area not too far from Mt. Wachusett. I can get all of the Boston stations except WFXT which is low power with a roof top antenna with an amplifier. I also have a 2nd antenna on the roof pointed towards Springfield getting WGBY hooked in via a jointenna. I use a Dish 6000 reciever for OTA; one antenna is a UHF/VHF dish type from Stark Electronics and pretty old, the other is a standard 6' UHF/VHF outdoor antenna from radio shack. Both pick up the signals about the same regaurdless of the antenna and where they point, the dish type had been up there first so I just left it there.

WGBH when it comes in, is flakey, but I think it's from there end since it bounces between 60 - 70% until 10oclock then levels out clean like they boost the power since it hits 80%, WBZ at 80%, WCVB comes in rock sold at 90%- 100%, WHDH is about 80%, WHUB is at 78%, WFXT when I did get it was 70%, but now nothing steady, and WGBY is about 60 - 70% depending on conditions.

-Mike
mloebl@hotmail.com

Just received the following from Jim Shultis at WHDH:



Derek,

We have purchased our HD encoder, and will be sending out 1080i later this week. At this time we have not received the NBC HD receiver- it should arrive at the end of December. So, later this week, upconverted 1080i 24 hours a day (similar to WBZ's upconverted programs), and once the receiver arrives, Jay Leno and Crossing Jordan in true HD. <and of course whatever Olympic programming NBC feeds us in February>

Thanks for your interest and all your patience.

Jim


Excellent news!!!
-Derek

Praise The Lord--there is a GOD!!!!! Thank you Jim Shultis and thank you WHDH. Boston can now take its rightful place as a major league HDTV city.

Great News!!! Let's Get PBS online full-time and we'll be the HD capitol of the world!!

Jim,

I was thinking about you last week and planned on sending you a quick note at some point soon. Thankfully, Derek found the time and he got the great news.

Last week my wife asked me for the 50th time what I wanted for Christmas ..... I think I just got what I wanted.

Thanks for staying on management's case and working hard to get WHDH on the HD bandwagon.....! It only took about a year and a half.

Thanks from all of us in HD Boston land.

jcovell,

I just sent you a private message. Contact me. I only live a few minutes from you. I use a ratchack antenna in the attic with a CM 12dB amp. I can get WBZ, WHDH, WCVB, HSN, PBS, and WFXT(when they were at a higher power) in the high 80's to mid 90's out of a possible 100 on my Sony HD100.

--Andy Garabedian

Great news from WHDH.

With PBS testing (and making progress) - I think there is a new PBS HD program, 'River Of Iron: Dreams Of A Grand Canyon Railroad', December 23rd on PBS, we'll see if the flagship is back in flagship status.

And to paraphrase the old time comics on a few posts back... that's no gentleman from Charlton, that's Richard, and he's always on target.

Great news!!!!!!!!!

Tim

Tim,

You're always good for a chuckle or two, have a wonderful holiday season and if Bob EVER pulls off the darn tower tour/cookout maybe we will get to meet for real.

Take care

Do you think if enough of us emailed wgbh we could get them to come off the friday night schedule to give us that show in hd ?

John

Originally posted by jalferes
Do you think if enough of us emailed wgbh we could get them to come off the friday night schedule to give us that show in hd ?

John

Good Luck! So far the only responses I've seen/heard-of from the flagship have been canned e-mails which basically say "buzz off - we'll get to it on our schedule". To be fair, they are still experimenting with getting their multicast setup working. On Friday nights it is interesting to watch their progress: last week they were able to broadcast an HD test pattern on 2-3 while simultaneously showing GBH on 2-1 and GBX on 2-2. I haven't seen anything on 2-3 other than the test pattern but I'm hoping they are in the process of setting up the national PBS HD-loop which includes some new HD material once or twice a week and lots of cool looking demo material more often.

I think their scheduled date to go full-time is still May of '03. Can someone confirm?

Originally posted by ismeltitudeltit

On Friday nights it is interesting to watch their progress: last week they were able to broadcast an HD test pattern on 2-3 while simultaneously showing GBH on 2-1 and GBX on 2-2. I haven't seen anything on 2-3 other than the test pattern but I'm hoping they are in the process of setting up the national PBS HD-loop which includes some new HD material once or twice a week and lots of cool looking demo material more often.


Jeez! I've been wanting HD test patterns. Do they show anything other than standard SMPTE colorbars? I sent them an email a couple of weeks ago asking that they broadcast test patterns on one of the channels, but never got any response other than the canned "thank you for your interest". I'll have to check it out next Friday when I get back in town...

Originally posted by jonlgauthier


Jeez! I've been wanting HD test patterns. Do they show anything other than standard SMPTE colorbars? I sent them an email a couple of weeks ago asking that they broadcast test patterns on one of the channels, but never got any response other than the canned "thank you for your interest". I'll have to check it out next Friday when I get back in town...

I heard HDnet is looking at doing some broadcasting of test patterns.

buz

I live in southern R.I. and can get everything from needham tower except the fox station. Is that still broadcasting from 25.1?

Jeffrey:

Fox's antenna and transmitting facility are currently undergoing (unending) renovations. They are transmitting at very reduced power. I cannot receive their signal in northern RI.

SMK

I'm beginning to wonder whether these "unending renovations" are renovations at all. What kind of renovations allow low power transmission? In light of WCVB's decision to cut transmission time (since reversed) I wouldn't be surprised if this was just a cost cutting measure by WFXT to save money by transmitting at low power.

Originally posted by Richard_P_Harvey
You're always good for a chuckle or two

I'm glad you took it in the spirit it was intended. Happy Holidays and a 24x7x all stations new Year,
Tim

Originally posted by jonlgauthier


Jeez! I've been wanting HD test patterns. Do they show anything other than standard SMPTE colorbars? I sent them an email a couple of weeks ago asking that they broadcast test patterns on one of the channels, but never got any response other than the canned "thank you for your interest". I'll have to check it out next Friday when I get back in town...

They just show the colorbars (at least that's what I saw last Friday). I just found out (from the Programming forum) that they also started showing the PBS HD loop. Have to tune in this Friday and see what THAT'S all about. It's interesting that they can squeeze an HD channel and two SD channels into a single 6 Mhz freq. I wonder what the theoretical maximum is? I recall that a typical analog channel translates into about 100 Mbps of data. Given that an HD data stream is about 19 Mbps and an SD data stream is probably much less, I'm sure that even with all the overhead they can cram a whole lot in there. It's amazing what can be done with digital OTA.

Holy cow... this thread has grown quite a bit...

I finally did move my antenna outside, but I don't believe it is high enough (a tree is in they way, preventing any more height). I believe my dedicated UHF inside the attic still gets better reception.

I haven't been watching HD much (blame TiVo... ;) ), I and I get fairly poor reception (snow) on 38 (just to watch Enterprise).

Since I'm wary of installing an antenna myself at the top of the gable, anyone have any suggestions for installers? Do installer typically install antennas, or do they expect you to provide your own (my Quantum got banged up a little in the move to the outside)?

Good to hear that WBZ is testing, and the WSBK and WLVI will be on the air soon...

I want an HD version of TiVo now!

Originally posted by jalferes
Do you think if enough of us emailed wgbh we could get them to come off the friday night schedule to give us that show in hd ?

John

We'd have to first email the low-power channel 19 to "vacate the channel" as they are in the process of transitioning to channel 40, and they have "squatters rights" on channel 19.

Then it would be a matter of lobbying WGBH-DT to finish their testing and start regular broadcasting. (The good news is that the testing appears to be going great. From testing these past couple of weeks, they've already demonstrated SD, HD, closed-captioning, etc. with only the need for a few minor tweaks such as lip-sync.)

And finally, it'll be time for the real effort to get them to do HD. But the question is
"how high" high def?
They've already tested two SD channels as well as a HD test pattern the week before last.
Last week was a single SD channel and a somewhat compressed pass-through of the PBS-HD feed. [Good, but not great; also it is prone to motion artifacts.]
In late September, "Evolution" was HD at the full 19.4Mbps. [About as good as we can expect to get OTA.]

Given the limited amout of HD programming available for WBGH-DT (and the 19.4Mbps limit).

What would be a reasonable prime-time request?
HD exclusively in prime-time?
HD exclusively only when there is an HD program? lower quality HD + single SD channel prime-time?

I clipped this from an old article on HDTV:

* 480 interlace, 30 fps: 2-6 Mbps
* 480 progressive, 60 fps: 4-10 Mbps
* 720 progressive, 60 fps: 6-16 Mbps
* 1080 interlace, 30 fps: 10-18 Mbps

I thought that GBH's plans were to offer 2-4 SD channels geared towards educational/community service programming during the day and then step up to a single HD channel during prime-time (when there is HD content). Makes sense to me. Their testing seems to indicate that they are trying to use a single transmitter for both channels 2 and 44 and at the same time cram the HD loop in there too. Perhaps this will be an interim cost saving arrangement until they can get the GBX-DT transmitter going.

They started it this afternoon (Wednesday). HD is coming finally to our last hold out. Maybe as early as next week.

WFXT digital is back up to power! Sorry if this is old news. Coming in strong out in worcester.

Confirmed !! recieving full signal in Falmouth way down on the Cape !! HOORAY !!!

Fox looks great, but WHDH (7) is totally dark now. I'm getting 100 signal strength on 7-1, but no picture.

Anyone else?

-j

WFTX is up :) but WHDH is presently down, at least up here. :(

I'm not getting a signal from Fox here in Northborough, all the other channels are fine, NBC is blank.......

WFXT coming in weak here in Newton but stronger than before. Still not strong enough for me to pull in a picture though(topping out at signal strength of 57 on my DTC-100)

WFXT is DEFINITELY coming in stronger now. I used to get it around 65- 70% with a lot of multipath. Haven't touched the antenna, but getting it at 78 - 80% and rock solid so far :)

-Mike

Solid 64-65 here in Newton now!!! I have a picture now!

89-90 in Burlington with a Dish 6000 :)

-- Steve

WHDH-DT is playing around. Saw it up for a few moments, with gray bars and two sub-channels. Not sure if it was 480i or other, wasn't on long enough for me to check. Since it had gray side bars, assuming it was 1080i.

The good news is that the movie, King David, will air in HDTV on WBZ-DT on December 23.

The bad news is that the movie will air from 3-5 AM.

If you have a HD recorder, you win!

This movie will not air on WBZ's analog channel, just the digital. The reason for the lousy hours is that we simply do not have a time slot available for it. Rather than not air it at all, we decided to air it for those that care to watch at that hour.

Bob

Yes! WFXT-DT between 65-73 here in Boxborough & a gorgeous picture. Hopefullp back to 480p vs. all upconvert.

On the WHDH front, signal pegging 100 (on 42) but blank on TV. Maybe we'll get a Leno treat tonight.

2 nice Christmas presents,
Tim

I checked mapping on both the Dish 6000 and Tosh DST-3000. Still shows 42 mapped to 7-1.

Bob Hess,

Thanks for still showing the way for all Boston stations.

Tim

Yes, WFXT is up again with sufficient signal strength and WHDH has no picture but with strong signal here in Framingham.

No gift of Leno tonight but fingers still crossed for Christmas.

Thanks WFXT in the mean time.

Tim

I was receiving high 80's of signal for both WHDH and WFXT last night but no picture on either of them.

From the posts above, I appear to not be alone when it came to WHDH, but others appear to be receiving WFXT programming. What time was this for you?

My Sony HD100 mapped FXT to 31.1 but nothing was there at 10pm. I tried remapping around midnight and still nothing.

I did not try remapping before I left this morning, but there was still no picture on 31.1. Am I alone with this problem?

mikep

I was getting WFXT at 7pm and I checked again and had it at 10pm too. Signal dropped under 50 sometimes but then popped up over 60 for most of the night here in Newton. WHDH was black all night.

whats up with 42-1 ? Cannot get it for two days. Panny shows "signal found" channel not available ? anyone else ?

Hi

I am also getting a signal on WHDH but no picture on the DISH 6000. On the HiPix it also shows strong signal , but no picture. The auto program feature of the HiPix is not including 42-1 or 7-1.

WFXT is coming in very strong now. Much stronger than I have had before. Also WGBH is testing the demo loop again this morning and 1 SD channel. The HD looks really good. Does anyone else see 2 SD channels? They have done that in the past, but right now I'm showing 2-1 HD and 2-2 SD on both the Hipix and DISH6000. I hope they dont do 2 SD channels!

Anyone know if 23 will continue to air HSN? I think I remembered that this was temporary pending their sale to a South-American channel?

Sal

Originally posted by Sal
Hi

Also WGBH is testing the demo loop again this morning and 1 SD channel. The HD looks really good. Does anyone else see 2 SD channels? They have done that in the past, but right now I'm showing 2-1 HD and 2-2 SD on both the Hipix and DISH6000. I hope they dont do 2 SD channels!


Sal

My understanding is that WGBH had to send one of their SD encoders to their sister station in Springfield so that they cannot currently do two SD channels

Originally posted by brandish


My understanding is that WGBH had to send one of their SD encoders to their sister station in Springfield so that they cannot currently do two SD channels

I hope WGBY doesn't start squishing down their feed to add SD subchannels because it looks GREAT right now. I put up a 2nd antenna just to get the PBS HDTV from WGBY since WGBH is so far behind.

-Mike

Originally posted by Prelude2k


I hope WGBY doesn't start squishing down their feed to add SD subchannels because it looks GREAT right now. I put up a 2nd antenna just to get the PBS HDTV from WGBY since WGBH is so far behind.

-Mike

This sounds like a great idea to me. How do you attached both antennae to your receiver? Are they connected in serial? parallel? What sort of "Y" connector allows for two inputs and one outputs, yet does not multiplex the signals together?

Six months into this home theater thing and I feel as though I have barely scratched the learning curve.

mikep

what is the channel mapping for PBS HDTV please ?

HSN, channel 23 will be off the air soon (January 14 if I remeber correctly) It is being replaced by TELEFUTURA, a 24 hour Spanish station and affiliated to UNIVISION.

Originally posted by mikepa


This sounds like a great idea to me. How do you attached both antennae to your receiver? Are they connected in serial? parallel? What sort of "Y" connector allows for two inputs and one outputs, yet does not multiplex the signals together?

Six months into this home theater thing and I feel as though I have barely scratched the learning curve.

mikep

I use a Jointenna I got from Starks Electronics in Worcester. It filters out all UHF channels but channel 58 (WGBY), but it does have a little bleed over into channel 56. Basically it has three connectors; one input to filter out all UHF but channel 58, one input for all channels but 58 I believe, and then the output to the reciever. The one i got has a short somewhere since it didn't work until I took an allagator clip and shorted it on the inside, I was way on a trip when I got it and out of the return period so stuck with it.

Also unfortunetely my 2nd antenna is UHF and VHF so I do have some noise on the VHF channels since this jointenna doesn't block VHF, however all the VHF channels out of Boston I watch have a UHF digital counterpart so it's not big deal to me.

-Mike

Originally posted by MikeD
WFTX is up :) but WHDH is presently down, at least up here. :(

:)
WHDH is now up. It looks like in HD frame with gray bars. The program info no longer has program title and time info like it did when they were in SD. Must be something about the HD converts???

It looks like 7.1 is HD and 7.2 is SD. I like it. :) :)

Originally posted by MikeD
It looks like 7.1 is HD and 7.2 is SD. I like it. :) :)

I am getting 7-1 on the Dish 6000 & the DST-3000. No 7-2 or 42-2

Crossed fingers for Leno tonight.

Tim

I cant confirm for the 6000 yet (antenna not picking up 42 at all) but the HiPix is getting 42 on both 7-1 and 7-2. 7-1 with grey bars and looks better than 7-2 which is with black bars.

Whats the point of broadcasting an upconverted feed and a standard feed of the same channel?

Also WFXT looks nice. Does anyone know whether they went back to broadcasting 720p?

Sal

with the Dish 6000 I'm getting 42-1 with a good picture with grey bars and 42-2 which is just blank.
Still no Fox!!!!

PSIP changed on the 6000, now 42-1 upconvert and zip on 42-2.

7-1 on DST-3000 and blank local channel on 42-2 (no 7-2 mapping).

Leno is still SD but fingers still crossed. Hope's it's not someone forgeting to flip the switch.

Tim

Originally posted by Sal
Whats the point of broadcasting an upconverted feed and a standard feed of the same channel?

So they can show HD when NBC has it and when they only have SD, home TVs can zoom it if they want to. Many HDTV can not zoom a 4:3 SD picture in a HD frame.

No HD Leno tonight but it looks like something soon. :)

This is awesome and long awaited news. It's nice to see that WHDH will finally live up to its call letters (High Definition Home).
Eagerly anticipating the first true high-definition broadcast,

--Marc

Only getting a signal of about 34% down in Taunton, using a RS ST-antenna but getting a beautiful picture on 42-1 on my DTC100. I did not know that HD could be broadcast using grey sidebars. I turned on too late to catch LENO but from the preceding posts I guess LENO is still in SD. If I remember correctly, I think Jim Shultis said WHDH was attempting to get an HD decoder from NBC. Must not have received it yet. At least W(HD)H is making the effort. Thank you WHDH and Happy Holidays.

Does anybody know what's going on and when WGBH-DT will have channel 19 full time????

From the FCC web site I gather that WCEA-LP was trying to move their ch 19 to 40 but has given up on this. (Though 40 listed as owned by Paxson has been simulcasting their 19).

They are listed as moving to 58 on their construction permit still.

And now, they seem to be trying to move to channel 3! I assume this is some temporary measure due to ch 58 delays, or maybe a plot by the MPAA to interfere with our VCRs!

Maybe I keep missing it, but I always hear others talk about these great promos that CBS has for its primetime shows. Apparently, there's even a new one that showcases CBS's HDTV sports coverage that aired last night during CSI.

Now, I recorded CSI with my HiPix and just previewed it quickly. No HDTV CBS promo (commercial) can be found.

Bob Hess, are you guys not passing through these HiDef promos and/or commercials from CBS? Maybe with my bad luck, I always miss it somehow.

Anyone else in the Boston area ever see these supposedly great looking segments?

Dino

I have and they look AWESOME!!! Havent heard about the sports one though.

Originally posted by jhe
And now, they seem to be trying to move to channel 3! I assume this is some temporary measure due to ch 58 delays, or maybe a plot by the MPAA to interfere with our VCRs!

No, it's just FCC's contribution to the "Economic Stimulus Package"...

1) it'll create jobs and overtime for cable technicians to deal with the interference created when the signal interferes with the cable box's channel 3 output.

2) it'll create sales of cable boxes that output via composite or svideo instead of RF.
2a) ...and possibly sales of TV sets that don't have composite or svideo inputs!

3) WCEA-LP is going to have to lease equipment/tower space, etc. to broadcast on channel 3.

Originally posted by DMILANI
are you guys not passing through these HiDef promos and/or commercials from CBS? Maybe with my bad luck, I always miss it somehow.
Anyone else in the Boston area ever see these supposedly great looking segments?
I get CBS-HD from 3 different stations. WBZ and KIRO from Canadian satellite and WCBS-DT over the air. Only KIRO from Seattle shows these HD promos on a regular basis. New York and Boston insert local commercials when the promo is on the network. Seattle apparently can not insert local commercials so they air the promo instead.

I'm again receiving WFXT-DT on 25-1, but its completely unwatchable. There are what appear to be continuous encoding breakups (you know, the typical green blocks/lines, pixelization, freezes, etc) on this channel about every 10-15 seconds on average. I know its not a reception problem since never once did my channel banner reappear (indicating my panny TU-HDS20 had lost and re-locked the signal like when I had some multipath/reception issues in another location.) I watched CSI in its entirety without a single dropout, artifact, or other oddity.

I have noticed the occassional problem which I always chalked up to an encoding glitch at the source, but they've always been mainly on WCVB-DT during HD content (not upconverted local stuff) and only very, very rarely on CBS. For example, there were lots of these "glitches" during Alias last Sunday. (Can anyone with a non-panny receiver confirm this?!) I just got the unit back after having the HW mods done to address the fan and audio dropouts, I hope I didn't get it back in worse shape than I sent it. If Fox has indeed gone back to 720p I really hope this isn't some kind of local 720p to 1080i upconvert problem in my unit...that would be a real bummer.

Anyone else seeing this or have any thoughts?

DougG,
I'm having generally poor reception problems all over the band (near your location). I do very occasionally get FXT signals/picture, totally unwatchable.
I'm having terrible signal problems with WHDH, cannot get a steady signal, it bounces constantly from bad (0%) to good (80%). But it's all over the map. The other Needham stations are not as bad but I'm getting many dropouts - unwatchable as well. I haven't any true HD OTA in quite a while. When the signal is steady, it's all upconverted SD.

I just upgrade the antenna to the Winegard 8 bay bow-tie to put this problem to bed but... The antenna is in the attic of an attached garage so it's only on top of one story structure as opposed to the attic on a two story house. Maybe it's time for an amplifier.

well, relocating the antenna a fair distance and getting very close to an outside wall has made a marked improvement. Signal is mostly steady ~75% (normal to good range on the Zenith) with only occasional excursions into the "bad range" and occalsional pixelization and drop outs. I'll see how it looks at night when it is usually better.
FXT-DT is now coming in and is generally watchable.

I have the original version of the Panasonic TU-HDS20 and I am also have problems with WFXT-DT in Littleton MA. I was able to watch them before their recent "power drop", but I am seeing the same things you mentioned.

Originally posted by Doug G
I'm again receiving WFXT-DT on 25-1, but its completely unwatchable. There are what appear to be continuous encoding breakups (you know, the typical green blocks/lines, pixelization, freezes, etc) on this channel about every 10-15 seconds on average. I know its not a reception problem since never once did my channel banner reappear (indicating my panny TU-HDS20 had lost and re-locked the signal like when I had some multipath/reception issues in another location.) I watched CSI in its entirety without a single dropout, artifact, or other oddity.

I have noticed the occassional problem which I always chalked up to an encoding glitch at the source, but they've always been mainly on WCVB-DT during HD content (not upconverted local stuff) and only very, very rarely on CBS. For example, there were lots of these "glitches" during Alias last Sunday. (Can anyone with a non-panny receiver confirm this?!) I just got the unit back after having the HW mods done to address the fan and audio dropouts, I hope I didn't get it back in worse shape than I sent it. If Fox has indeed gone back to 720p I really hope this isn't some kind of local 720p to 1080i upconvert problem in my unit...that would be a real bummer.

Anyone else seeing this or have any thoughts?

same here, i was able to watch FOX at 55% or so signal strenght before the "powerdown", but now it is unwatchable, the signal jumps from 0 to 50% but it never locks in, just terrible!

For those who missed the first post, WBZ will be airing the movie "King David" Sunday morning from 3-5 AM for those night owls and those with HD recorders. Sorry, we are unable to air the movie at any other time. The movie will be in HD and will only air on WBZ-DT. Regular programming will be on the analog channel.

Bob

Is the WGBH transmitter in the same location as WBZ, WHDH, etc? I'm getting severe multipath with 75% of the signal, while WGBY is at 50% and crystal clear and going MUCH farther for me and thru the Berkshires. Was just curious since the other stations are rock solid.

WFXT has been pretty clear to me with about 75% of the signal, but I do get occasional drops once or twice and hour for no apparent reason.

-Mike