For the sake of everyone in this region, either get 7-1 fixed to preserve the former viewing area or just stick with real-42. I don't know why they had to go changing it to begin with.

VHF requires much less power, hence less cost. All about the $$$.

Anyway, they're back on UHF until they figure out how to enhance the VHF signal.

If they want to reach most of essex county and southern NH they are better off on UHF 42.

The fox newcast last night looked like it was 16:9 480p, if that was high def it was terrible in comparison to 56.1 HD newscast.

+1. Definitely looks like 480p widescreen with way too much edge enhancement.

If they want to reach most of essex county and southern NH they are better off on UHF 42.

:D
I totally agree
DT-7 sucks
DT-42 Solid

OK, just to play Devil's advocate for a moment......how many of you who no longer have reception (like me) actually HAVE a VHF antenna and a VHF pre-amp similar to what you use for UHF?

I admit I don't. Based on my analog 7 reception I'm not surprised I don't get them now. I even checked the gain chart for my CM4228 and it shows exactly 0dB for VHF 7. I can't get VHF 9 out of NH either. Ch 11 (WENH) I do get but I also know the antenna has 5-6dB gain here IIRC plus I have really good LOS. If I really wanted to receive WHDH-DT I'd go get some VHF stuff to add on but with FIOS coming in a few weeks and since its only 1 channel, it doesn't make sense for me.

I'm guessing this has mostly to do with the fact that there's little to no VHF reception equipment out there amongst the digital community. Still, they should have seen this coming when all the "free" staging bandwidth was given in UHF!

Doug,
I have a RS VU-120 antenna(my main tv) on a rotor just north of you.
I can pick up DT-7 but its really low about 20 on the meter(bad breakups),DT-42 is rock solid.

As for WMUR 9 this station is a joke now like channel 50.

They are the 2 closest stations to me and i can't pick them up,but i can lock in all the other Boston stations plus 2 Providence stations rock solid.
There are 2 large hills,1 to my west that i think kills 50 for me,and 1 to my northwest that kills 9.
I can get 11 and 21 rock solid turning my antenna to the north.

My batwing antenna in the bedroom locks in all Boston stations now

..how many of you who ... actually HAVE a VHF antenna and a VHF pre-amp similar to what you use for UHF?


Here in Lyndeborough I have separate VHF and UHF antennas feeding a CM7777 preamp (dual inputs). The UHF antenna is pointing towards Needham and the VHF towards Saddleback Mountain (ch. 11). Since the VHF antenna is pointing approx 90 degrees off I didn't expect to get channel 7 after the transition. At a later date I may try and see if I can find a sweet spot in between, but then ER is over and I'm no fan of Jay Leno, so what the heck!

I agree that WHDH should have stayed on channel 42. It is silly to be the only station in Boston on VHF especially with the large number of UHF-only antennas being sold over the past few years for "DTV".

Incidentally in Ossining NY we are 30 miles north of the Empire State Building and get all three NYC VHF stations (7, 11 and 13) with excellent signal strength and S/N ratio using a CM4221 (no preamp), so don't count out receiving VHF signals with a UHF antenna.

_Paul

WMUR pulled a WZMY methinks. But hey, we (or most of us) live in massachusetts, we have another ABC affiliate down here.

If these stations wanna save money they'll have to lost viewers too.

Doug,
I have a RS VU-120 antenna(my main tv) on a rotor just north of you.
I can pick up DT-7 but its really low about 20 on the meter(bad breakups),DT-42 is rock solid.

As for WMUR 9 this station is a joke now like channel 50.

They are the 2 closest stations to me and i can't pick up,but i can lock in all the other Boston stations plus 2 Providence stations rock solid.
There are 2 large hills,1 to my west that i think kills 50 for me,and 1 to my northwest that kills 9.
I can get 11 and 21 rock solid turning my antenna to the north.

My batwing antenna in the bedroom locks in all Boston stations now
I'm interested in what 2 Providence stations you can get. Seems like afther the Boston stations shut off Friday night the Providence channels - chs. 6 and 10 especially - have been coming in a lot better.

I will be working on Cape Cod for a few months and wonder how the OTA reception is in the area, North Chatham. I understand it has away been iffy, but what about since the switch to digital?

Equipment recommendations welcome!

I'm interested in what 2 Providence stations you can get. Seems like afther the Boston stations shut off Friday night the Providence channels - chs. 6 and 10 especially - have been coming in a lot better.

10 and 64 are watchable at 45 on the meter,when its sunny and nice, if its rainy or windy,they break up now and then. I can pick up 6 and 12 at night.so maybe a slight power increase would help me.

I didn't think anybody up here to the north of mass would be able to get anything from providence, because the rhode island channels don't even broadcast towards here, or do they? only down south

why would they transmit in another market? :)

A few weeks ago I received two Providence stations in Stratham, NH. According to tvfool, it is 81 miles from my house to the transmitter as the crow flies. Came in a clear as a bell. Didn't last for more than a day or so, though.

I didn't think anybody up here to the north of mass would be able to get anything from providence, because the rhode island channels don't even broadcast towards here, or do they? only down south

why would they transmit in another market? :)

I'm right on the border with Methuen Mass.
i am on top of a hill with a clear shot to the south and southwest,
there a 2 hills northwest and west of me (see Post above on this page) that kill 2 nh stations for me.
although the stations from ri i get solid the signal strength is low and bad weather makes them unwatchable.

Now moving south to EAST BOSTON where my Grandmother gets really high strenghs on all providence stations except 36 with a $14 Batwing in her window with DUCT TAPE :D

Its wierd how this happens but i guess elevation and terrain play several factors for me with the stations i get.

A few weeks ago I received two Providence stations in Stratham, NH. According to tvfool, it is 81 miles from my house to the transmitter as the crow flies. Came in a clear as a bell. Didn't last for more than a day or so, though.

That would be the effects of tropospheric ducting (http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html). (This is a handy site to bookmark).

... I agree that WHDH should have stayed on channel 42. It is silly to be the only station in Boston on VHF especially with the large number of UHF-only antennas being sold over the past few years for "DTV".

...so don't count out receiving VHF signals with a UHF antenna.

_Paul

Somebody always has to be different.

But, as the last line says, it's very possible to get VHF-high on some "UHF-only" antennas. For that reason, I'm not going all-out for the AntennaCraft-1713 just yet. Down here I consistently get real-channel 9 WEDN(?) out of New London at 80-90% --- and that's with it 30 degrees off-angle (with the yagi-like narrow-beam XG-91). I also get the real-12 and real-13 stations out of Providence.

Once WHDH gets their act together with Reality rather than that fickle b---- named Theory, we can make some decisions. So far real-42 = 2, real-7 = 0.

Get channel 42 off the air. All it does is interfere with channel 41 and 43.

My signal meter using just rabbit ears reads 98 with the real channel 7. The fake one on channel 42 reads barely over 60 and is intermittent.

For other VHF I do have to use an outdoor antenna but all of them come in way better than the old UHF one did. Channel 11 is rock solid now and before I could only watch it on maybe 3 days a week. 9, 10, 12, and 13 though not perfect are still better than when they were on UHF.

I can't complain really. I live in the shadow of the tower farm, and I'm getting rock solid results from everybody. And this is with a 12 dollar Phillips antenna, mind you.

Also, I can see why WHDH's pre transition signal was great, it was a real flamethrower. If I'm not mistaken, it was the most powerful in the market (950KW). Is the only reason they dropped it because of possible co-channel interference?

My newer Visio auto-scans channels RF19-6 & 19-7 and states "no audio & video". My Samsung has always auto-scanned air2-101 updat0 and air2-102 updat1. There's always a black screen but the signal strength on both is strong. It occurred to me that these are the same since air2 is on uhf frequency #19. Is this so, and what are they for? Will something be on these channels eventually?

My newer Visio auto-scans channels RF19-6 & 19-7 and states "no audio & video". My Samsung has always auto-scanned air2-101 updat0 and air2-102 updat1. There's always a black screen but the signal strength on both is strong. It occurred to me that these are the same since air2 is on uhf frequency #19. Is this so, and what are they for? Will something be on these channels eventually?

They are part of the "Update TV" service that provides firmware updates to TVs and STBs. TVs and STBs shouldn't really be showing then as available channels.

whdh's VHF analog signal was a beast, no matter where I was I always got it! crystal clear and free of ghosts and snow, even with just a small piece of wire sticking out of the tv

whdh's VHF analog signal was a beast, no matter where I was I always got it! crystal clear and free of ghosts and snow, even with just a small piece of wire sticking out of the tv

Are you sure you mean VHF?

Did WPBX 68 (DT32) increase thier power yet?
I showing the highest levels i have ever seen for this station.
I know they have applied for an increase to 1000KW and its pending approval.

they filed in june 2008 and it hasn't gotten approved yet, maybe there's a reason?

WBPX transmits from the prudential tower in boston right? or is it the FM 128 tower where 44 is?

WBPX transmits from the same tower that WSBK, WHDH, WFXT, WYDN, and WMFP (as well as a few LP stations) transmit from, in the southwest suburbs.

WBPX transmits from the same tower that WSBK, WHDH, WFXT, WYDN, and WMFP (as well as a few LP stations) transmit from, in the southwest suburbs.
I'm afraid this information is inaccurate.

The WBZ-TV tower in the Needham tower farm straddling Route 128 (west of the highway) hosts WGBH, WBZ, WCVB, WSBK, WGBX, and WYDN. The other three towers in the area are east of the highway.

The three-tiered candelabra tower hosts WFXT and WLVI.

WHDH tranmits from its own, self-supporting tower.

The other stations, WBPX and WMFP are located on the tower variously referred to as the FM128 tower and the American Tower Corporation tower.

Note these are the current locations of the digital transmitters. The former analog transmitters were not necessarily co-located.

Thanks for the correction. The data I was working from was inaccurate.

The key point for the PP is, though, that WBPX transmits from the southwestern suburbs, not from the Pru.

WBPX Analog *was* on the PRU.
As Bob mentioned, the DT is side mounted to the FM128 tower.

http://www.necrat.us/wbpx_protv.html

People living right in boston must get rock solid reception on all channels even with just a dipole/loop antenna.

People living right in boston must get rock solid reception on all channels even with just a dipole/loop antenna.

one of my relatives in Boston gets all Boston and most providence stations with 70's style VHF/UHF combo wrabbit ears.:D

my aunt in Everett can olny pick up 5 stations with the bunny ears
but another tv with an RCA amplified antenna gets about 25 stations (including subs)

yeah the house we're moving to in bradford it's in a heavily wooded area, tress all around, i checked it out on tvfool, all the boston stations are under in the pink range, so i don't know if i have a shot at those.

yeah the house we're moving to in bradford it's in a heavily wooded area, tress all around, i checked it out on tvfool, all the boston stations are under in the pink range, so i don't know if i have a shot at those.

Pink/red ain't too much to fear if you're properly equipped.

I am in a "low signal area" (terrain (we're in something of a valley between the hills of NE CT and then, there's the trees) and with an XG-91, CM 7777 pre-amp, a long cable run with quite a few F-connector splicings necessary, and the CM 3044 distribution amp, I get consistent signals that are deep into the grey of tvfool results. Some of the stations have suffered with the leaves, but I'm still getting WBZ in great at -100 and WHDH at -105 dBm (on real-42, tho, I don't know what their temp. permit power is. I suspect it's less than pre-switch, but I'm probably wrong about that).

It's a matter of finding the right spot and having/getting good equipment. A lot of times, you can work through stuff. Sometimes, you're up nights, sipping coffee, staring obsessively out the window at some tree limbs that you've come to believe are the only thing between your antenna and better signal strength. You start to inquire how much a cherry picker rental costs and finding yourself humming "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK!..." I'm not at the point of cackling "Gollum!" and "My preciousssss!" yet, but... we haven't reached football season yet. ;)

It's a housing projects development so I don't think we're allowed to have an antenna outdoors and the balcony is kind of small. I might have to talk to the owners about it. We were gonna get cable but I want to try and use the converter box instead to save some money on tv. I will try an indoor antenna first of course though.

It's a housing projects development so I don't think we're allowed to have an antenna outdoors and the balcony is kind of small. I might have to talk to the owners about it. We were gonna get cable but I want to try and use the converter box instead to save some money on tv. I will try an indoor antenna first of course though.

Regarding outdoor antennas. This FCC rule prohibits restrictions on the installation of antennas. Applies to both condos and rental property.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

OK what the hell is going on with WHDH? First my UHF signal disappeared off my TV then I rescanned and picked up the VHF signal. Now the VHF signal has disappeared! Is this happening to anyone else or is it just my TV?

OK what the hell is going on with WHDH? First my UHF signal disappeared off my TV then I rescanned and picked up the VHF signal. Now the VHF signal has disappeared! Is this happening to anyone else or is it just my TV?

UHF 42 rock solid here in Salem NH
VHF 7 BAD

Regarding outdoor antennas. This FCC rule prohibits restrictions on the installation of antennas. Applies to both condos and rental property.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.htmlJust a clarification: FCC regulations limit restrictions -- regulations do not "prohibit" such restrictions.

People have satellite dishes mounted on tripods on the balconies there but I don't know if the same would count for an outdoors antenna....

There were only 4 channels in yellow that I guess I might have a shot at getting - WMUR, WENH, WUNI (spanish channel in merrimack nh, and WZMY is 15 miles away, don't know if I'll get that one). I really don't know and won't know until I try.

As for WHDH - VHF 7 is still 0% on my meter. Dipoles fully extended. Went from crystal clear analog that went all the way up to NH and now essex county can't even get it. Shame.

Just a clarification: FCC regulations limit restrictions -- regulations do not "prohibit" such restrictions.Once again, this is usually not the place to bring up such an issue- but it has been brought up quite a few times, and since it has I will say I have looked into the issue quite deeply and know a lot about it. There are restrictions placed upon condo owners in their contracts- Usually they are only allowed to place antennas in areas that are not designated as "common space" - why you often see them mounted in bricks or rails on balconies, etc. Otherwise you're usually SOL.

yeah the house we're moving to in bradford it's in a heavily wooded area, tress all around, i checked it out on tvfool, all the boston stations are under in the pink range, so i don't know if i have a shot at those.

I punched in "Bradford, MA" in tvfool.com, with a 20 foot antenna height and got 4 stations in green and 10 in yellow.

Only WLVI and WSBK are in pink.

Are you sure yer doing this right?

Once again, this is usually not the place to bring up such an issue- With respect, I think bobloblaw reminding folks that they have the right to put up an OTA antenna was actually a pretty decent contribution to the thread.

but it has been brought up quite a few times, and since it has I will say I have looked into the issue quite deeply and know a lot about it. There are restrictions placed upon condo owners in their contracts- Usually they are only allowed to place antennas in areas that are not designated as "common space" - why you often see them mounted in bricks or rails on balconies, etc. Otherwise you're usually SOL.Yes, your understanding is correct. Another very common, allowed limitation (and coincidentally another reason why you'd see antennas mounted on bricks or in flower pots, for that matter) is a prohibition on breaching any building material in the installation, i.e., the masonry, siding, or foundation -- thereby being limited to reusing existing breaches, or leaving a window open.

Bill Holbrook - Just wanted to reiterate my previous comments and those of others that appeared earlier in this thread. While I appreciate the effort of WFXT to do local HD news, the picture is simply atrocious! It actually looks worse than prior to the "HD" transition! Its obvious that an extremely excessive amount of edge enhancement is being used which is just ruining the picture quality. This same excessive EE can even be seen on my D* local SD feed. I'm not sure if this is because you're using non-HD cameras in studio, but I hope its something you can rectify. Right now it looks to me like 480p wide with loads of edge processing, certainly not even close to HD. I wouldn't even put it in the ED category in its current form.

From my perspective, WHDH is the gold standard in local HD broadcasts and what all other stations should strive to achieve from a video production standpoint - clear, crisp, true HD quality. Just outstanding.

Doug,

I agree with what you said and hope Bill can post as to what is going on. I have actually found I am watching less now because of the PQ

With respect, I think bobloblaw reminding folks that they have the right to put up an OTA antenna was actually a pretty decent contribution to the thread.Condos/coops are different from houses to the effect that you have "associations" to deal with and you have no particular "right" to do anything. Once again, common area are yours, but if you sign your rights away you lose them. All the law requires is that you are offered some source of equivalent TV reception (as in my case, Comcast was the sole offering for many years until FIOS became available last year).

Is WHDH's digital 42 signal weaker for any of you since they put it back on the air?

I can get 56 better.

People have satellite dishes mounted on tripods on the balconies there but I don't know if the same would count for an outdoors antenna....

There were only 4 channels in yellow that I guess I might have a shot at getting - WMUR, WENH, WUNI (spanish channel in merrimack nh, and WZMY is 15 miles away, don't know if I'll get that one). I really don't know and won't know until I try.

As for WHDH - VHF 7 is still 0% on my meter. Dipoles fully extended. Went from crystal clear analog that went all the way up to NH and now essex county can't even get it. Shame.
Hi:

I think that you mean WNEU-DT 34 in Merrimack, NH, a Telemundo station, rather than WUNI-DT 29 Worcester, MA, a Univision station.

Hi:

I think that you mean WNEU-DT 34 in Merrimack, NH, a Telemundo station, rather than WUNI-DT 29 Worcester, MA, a Univision station.
Has WUNI-DT been off the air or with a weak signal since last weekend? I can't receive the station in Pawtucket. Also WMFP-DT is very weak since then, too.

This is the tvfool for the address. As you can see the majority of the boston stations are pink with very low dB's (-1). It's a heavily wooded area almost like the woods.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d618af293312f12

Condos/coops are different from houses to the effect that you have "associations" to deal with and you have no particular "right" to do anything.OTARD applies to condos just as it applies to other circumstances. I've lived in condominiums for over 20 years -- a total of five -- and was President of the condominium here for a while. OTARD actually came up during my term of office. We were subject to it. Without a doubt.

Once again, common area are yours, but if you sign your rights away you lose them.What are you talking about?

All the law requires is that you are offered some source of equivalent TV receptionPlease provide a citation to this, since it doesn't appear to be in my copy of the law.

This is the tvfool for the address. As you can see the majority of the boston stations are pink with very low dB's (-1). It's a heavily wooded area almost like the woods.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d618af293312f12

You are correct, lousy reception; there's no way you'll be able to get any stations with Noise Margins less than zero.

My recommendation is to put yer antenna out with the trash and get FiOS installed, sorry...

i never asked for a recommendation

That's one of the unique things about posting on the Internet: It doesn't matter what you ask for: Discussions will follow their own paths.

That's one of the unique things about posting on the Internet: It doesn't matter what you ask for: Discussions will follow their own paths.

Agreed. Discussions are like children - no matter what you do, they're going to grow up, leave home and do their own thing.

Condos/coops are different from houses to the effect that you have "associations" to deal with and you have no particular "right" to do anything. Once again, common area are yours, but if you sign your rights away you lose them. All the law requires is that you are offered some source of equivalent TV reception (as in my case, Comcast was the sole offering for many years until FIOS became available last year).
A condo association (nor anyone) can enter into a contract with an individual or other entity that contravenes Federal law, or any other law for that matter. Any section of a contract restricting the rights and contrary to Federal law is void and not enforceable even if it was signed by the individual home owner. A law trumps all. The OTARD law also does not state anywhere that a HOA can get around the OTARD law by offering another equivalent source of TV reception. Allowing choice of service is precisely one of the reasons the OTARD law was passed in the first place. The law does allow the HOA to place restrictions on "common areas' but if you as a property owner in a HOA neighborhood wanted to put an antenna that met the size restrictions in a privately controller area (OTA or DBS) you could regardless of whether or not the HOA provide Comcast, Cox FIOS or something else deemed "equivalent. There are some provisions for the HOA to put an equivalent reception device (i.e. a centrally installed antenna) but none that allow for HOA force on to an owner what it deems to be “equivalent” reception service.
Once again, this is usually not the place to bring up such an issue- but it has been brought up quite a few times, and since it has I will say I have looked into the issue quite deeply and know a lot about it. There are restrictions placed upon condo owners in their contracts- Usually they are only allowed to place antennas in areas that are not designated as "common space" - why you often see them mounted in bricks or rails on balconies, etc. Otherwise you're usually SOL.

For someone who had a gripe about this topic coming up and who states to have researched the issue deeply, your statements indicated you are misinformed about the application of OTARD.

Sorry if I missed this in the thread.

What are WHDH long term plans for which RF to broadcast on?

I know some people had problems when WHDH switch to RF 7. I also read they later started to broadcast back on RF 42, while also broadcasting on RF 7.

It was my understanding that RF 42 was only temporarily but TVFool.com is showing RF 42.

Sorry if I missed this in the thread.

What are WHDH long term plans for which RF to broadcast on?

I know some people had problems when WHDH switch to RF 7. I also read they later started to broadcast back on RF 42, while also broadcasting on RF 7.

It was my understanding that RF 42 was only temporarily but TVFool.com is showing RF 42.

i am n R.I. and have been having problems with them also. On june 12th when they went to VHF 7 i could no get them at all. I can struggle them in on UHF 42 however. Uness they increase power if they return to VHF 7 i won't be able to receive them W/O an outdoor ant . I can receive all other boston channels operating on UHF.

i am n R.I. and have been having problems with them also. On june 12th when they went to VHF 7 i could no get them at all. I can struggle them in on UHF 42 however. Uness they increase power if they return to VHF 7 i won't be able to receive them W/O an outdoor ant . I can receive all other boston channels operating on UHF.

looks like from all the postings VHF7 is really hard to pull in if you are outside 495 for the most part.
I'm on the mass/NH line and vhf7 is very spotty,uhf 42 is rock solid.

looks like from all the postings VHF7 is really hard to pull in if you are outside 495 for the most part.
I'm on the mass/NH line and vhf7 is very spotty,uhf 42 is rock solid.I'm near Lowell and can get both great using a home made quad bay bowtie antenna in my attic.

I also have a small tv with a converter box and UHF antenna so I'm wondering what their long term plans are?

looks like from all the postings VHF7 is really hard to pull in if you are outside 495 for the most part.
I'm on the mass/NH line and vhf7 is very spotty,uhf 42 is rock solid.
Like the others here, I can get WHDH-DT on 42 very strong, but barely on 7 with very frequent breakups. Also regarding Boston area stations, since the June 12th changeover, I cannot get WMFP-DT 18 at all - are they on lower power of changing their transmitter? Anyone in the Providence area or south of Route 495 getting the station at all? And WUNI-DT 29 is on very low power until the beginning of July due to transmitter repairs, so many viweres cannot get the signal until then according to the station.

I think WMFP went down to 25kW but don't quote me on that, anyway, lowell isn't in essex county is it? that seems to be where people are having problems, south of new hampshire and northern massachusetts, salisbury, lawrence, methuen, haverhill, bradford, groveland, plaistow

UHF 42 is still working OK for me.

hows everyone doing with WMUR? what is the ERP now? 6kW on channel 9? not even a blip over here LOL.

I think WMFP went down to 25kW but don't quote me on that, anyway, lowell isn't in essex county is it? that seems to be where people are having problems, south of new hampshire and northern massachusetts, salisbury, lawrence, methuen, haverhill, bradford, groveland, plaistow

UHF 42 is still working OK for me.

Lowell is in Middlesex County.

-t

Lowell is near 495 and 3 north of Boston.

I must be one of the lucky ones--VHF 7 comes in stronger than UHF 42 in Arlington (both in the 90+ range).
WMFP-DT also comes in fine, and all the majors except WLVI is near the cliff (macroblocking/dropouts) :confused:

No WENH or WMUR, though.

Is WBZ digital off the air?

hows everyone doing with WMUR? what is the ERP now? 6kW on channel 9? not even a blip over here LOL.

I'm in Salem NH not even a blip here with WMUR
They must have like a 10 mile range.Just like channel 50 at 7.3KW
They were stronger on thier temp frequency




As far a WMFP i noticed a signal drop as well

Is WBZ digital off the air?
We had some trouble this morning caused by a lightning strike at the transmitter that destroyed quite a bit of equipment. All is back to normal now.

which direction would you guys consider the strongest stations/best aim on this map? west or east? it looks like i won't have any chance at the boston stations, even after putting up 25 feet (2nd floor). The weak UHF is probably from being surrounded by large oak trees. I checked the place out myself.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3daa05f4993f5d74

It's in a somewhat hilly area, but i don't think that's the problem. It's mainly all the huge oak trees in the area.

It's in a somewhat hilly area, but i don't think that's the problem. It's mainly all the huge oak trees in the area.

The oak trees can be taken care of with a chain saw.
I have a Husqvarna model with 18" bar...

which direction would you guys consider the strongest stations/best aim on this map? west or east? it looks like i won't have any chance at the boston stations, even after putting up 25 feet (2nd floor). The weak UHF is probably from being surrounded by large oak trees. I checked the place out myself.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3daa05f4993f5d74

It's in a somewhat hilly area, but i don't think that's the problem. It's mainly all the huge oak trees in the area.

Get some 1/4 sticks have have a fireworks show under the trees:D


My hills to my west and N are my issues
My Aim is southwest for boston stations NNW for 9(whenever they increase power),11,21,60

Can anyone please verify if WGBH is still running their analog nightlight service. Reports were that it was supposed to shut off on June 26.

Once again, no HD for the 4th of July Concert on WBZ. Come on!!! There's absolutely no excuse now, especially after the switchover. We who did it first, does it worst.

Lame.:(

Can anyone please verify if WGBH is still running their analog nightlight service. Reports were that it was supposed to shut off on June 26.

Still on the air as of 9:30 PM July 4th, and on their 237,178th rerun of the This Old House special on DTV conversion. :)

(Edit: actually about 1,056 times by now, maybe a few more since it's just a tad short of 30 minutes.)

Once again, no HD for the 4th of July Concert on WBZ. Come on!!! There's absolutely no excuse now, especially after the switchover. We who did it first, does it worst.

Lame.:(

This may sound trivial but one thing I've noticed about channel 4 HD the past few days is that it is labeled as WBZ-DT while channels 5 and 7 are labeled as WCVB-HD and WHDH-HD. I'm not sure if it's always been like that (I've had my current TV since Nov) and I've never noticed it or if it did happen a few days ago. The info button does show a 1080i input for WBZ but I'm wondering if it is an upconversion. I wonder this because on last night's 6:00 news both 5 and 7 were in 16:9 while 4 was letterboxed to 4:3. Also as pointed out above the concert was not broadcast in HD.

Is anyone else having trouble receiving WGBX? I'm in southern NH and WGBX models stronger then many Boston stations (TVfool and FCC) and yet I almost never receive it even though weaker stations (WHDH, WFXT, WLVI and WBPX) come in fine. Per FCC data WGBX DTV coverage should have improved.

I Emailed station asking if they were transmitting at full rated power and using permanent antenna. Replied they were. This is really disappointing. Put a lot of effort into upgrading outdoor antenna last summer. PBS is our favorite.

As far as WHDH I hope they stay on UHF. We have separate VHF Hi and UHF antennas. I offset them so we don't need to use rotor, VHF pulls in both NH stations and UHF all Boston station except WHDH if they shutdown UHF.

Since "search" doesn't seem to be working, my apologies if this has been asked/answered elsewhere. The 4th's Capital concert was announces as being broadcast in 5.1, but WGBH did not carry it in 5.1, either OTA or on Comcast. Does GBH do 5.1? I can't believe they do not.

This may sound trivial but one thing I've noticed about channel 4 HD the past few days is that it is labeled as WBZ-DT while channels 5 and 7 are labeled as WCVB-HD and WHDH-HD. I'm not sure if it's always been like that (I've had my current TV since Nov) and I've never noticed it or if it did happen a few days ago. The info button does show a 1080i input for WBZ but I'm wondering if it is an upconversion. I wonder this because on last night's 6:00 news both 5 and 7 were in 16:9 while 4 was letterboxed to 4:3. Also as pointed out above the concert was not broadcast in HD.
You should not attach any significance to the -TV, -DT, or -HD after our call letters. When we first went on the air with the digital transmitter over 10 years ago, I typed "WBZ-DT" into our digital encoder as the station identifier, and we've been using it that way ever since. Now that analog transmissions are gone, we are identifying ourselves as "WBZ-TV," and so I have changed the encoders (for WBZ and WSBK) to reflect that.

Once again, no HD for the 4th of July Concert on WBZ. Come on!!! There's absolutely no excuse now, especially after the switchover. We who did it first, does it worst.

Lame.:(
At switchover time we did not do anything other than shut off our analog transmitters (in the case of WSBK; in WBZ's case we changed our programming to the analog nightlight educational material and we'll shut down on July 12th). Doing that did not give us any additional high definition capability.

The program producer of the 4th of July concert provided a standard-definition feed. Unfortunately, the economy being what it is (both nationally and broadcast industry-specific) neither CBS nor WBZ was able to justify the significantly increased cost of an HD production.

I have trouble receiving WGBX, but only during wet or windy weather. If the wind sways some trees located about 100 feet in front of the antenna I get pixelation and signal drop out. If it rains lightly but isn't windy, I don't seem to be affected too badly. I always seem to get interference when I want to watch Waking the Dead. I looked into getting cable, but there is no analog or digital package from Comcast that gets me 44-1, only World, Create, and Explore.

I am using an older CM 3677 that spent the year from 1986 through 2007 in my father's attic, but want to upgrade to something larger which may help pull in the signal. I'll also have the trees cut down once the bog that I call a lawn dries out (or freezes).

I'll also have the trees cut down once the bog that I call a lawn dries out (or freezes).

Good, I'm glad to hear this.
Email me and I'll come over with my chainsaw & pickup to haul away any hardwood tree segments for firewood...
:)

The Wizard,
My Jotul Oslo stove and significant other who loves the warmth during the winter would protest if you were to take our wood away!

Is it true and/or a possible consideration that a fireworks display is something that renders with many "blocky" artifacts visible via HD-cam -> HDTV, and none visible via SD-cam -> HDTV? thank you...

Is it true and/or a possible consideration that a fireworks display is something that renders with many "blocky" artifacts visible via HD-cam -> HDTV, and none visible via SD-cam -> HDTV? thank you...

I have no idea but very disappointed they weren't in HD but I got to see them live and to me they were the best ever

At switchover time we did not do anything other than shut off our analog transmitters (in the case of WSBK; in WBZ's case we changed our programming to the analog nightlight educational material and we'll shut down on July 12th). Doing that did not give us any additional high definition capability.

The program producer of the 4th of July concert provided a standard-definition feed. Unfortunately, the economy being what it is (both nationally and broadcast industry-specific) neither CBS nor WBZ was able to justify the significantly increased cost of an HD production.Bob, I was only making the point that in these days of digital transition, HD production should be the norm, especially for a special event like our 4th from the Pops, arguably, the best 4th celebration in the country. Come on WBZ/CBS, if you're not shelling out a little extra dough for events this, then why does HD exist?:confused:
PBS' and ABC's 4th coverage made CBS' look amateurish by comparison.

Is anyone else having trouble receiving WGBX? I'm in southern NH and WGBX models stronger then many Boston stations (TVfool and FCC) and yet I almost never receive it even though weaker stations (WHDH, WFXT, WLVI and WBPX) come in fine. Per FCC data WGBX DTV coverage should have improved.

I Emailed station asking if they were transmitting at full rated power and using permanent antenna. Replied they were. This is really disappointing. Put a lot of effort into upgrading outdoor antenna last summer. PBS is our favorite.

As far as WHDH I hope they stay on UHF. We have separate VHF Hi and UHF antennas. I offset them so we don't need to use rotor, VHF pulls in both NH stations and UHF all Boston station except WHDH if they shutdown UHF.

I'm in Salem NH and WGBX is rock solid on windy days a random dropout but nothing major
As far as channel 7 goes i hope they stay on UHF 42 that is solid but Vhf 7 is really spotty
and this is using an older radio shack VU120 antenna on a rotor

I have trouble receiving WGBX, but only during wet or windy weather. If the wind sways some trees located about 100 feet in front of the antenna I get pixelation and signal drop out. If it rains lightly but isn't windy, I don't seem to be affected too badly. I always seem to get interference when I want to watch Waking the Dead. I looked into getting cable, but there is no analog or digital package from Comcast that gets me 44-1, only World, Create, and Explore.

I am using an older CM 3677 that spent the year from 1986 through 2007 in my father's attic, but want to upgrade to something larger which may help pull in the signal. I'll also have the trees cut down once the bog that I call a lawn dries out (or freezes).

What community are you in? Of course 44.1 is on the system most likely channel 16.

I have to wait for the PDF to show up on the FCC website before I can confirm it 100%, but it appears that WHDH has filed to move to channel 42 permanently.

- Trip

Stratham, NH. Last night it was fine until the weather started moving between Boston and my house.
My TV Fool info:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d497b6b6b3a392b

This is what Comcast has available: No WGBX.
1 Channel 1 On Demand
2 WGBH-2 (PBS) Children & Family
3 HSN Lifestyle
4 WBZ-4 (CBS)
5 WCVB-5 (ABC)
6 WCSH-6 (CBS)
7 WHDH-7 (NBC)
8 WUNI-27 (Univision) Multicultural
9 WMUR-9 (ABC)
10 New England Cable News News & Info
11 WENH-11 (PBS) Children & Family
12 WLVI-56 (CW)
13 Access Channel
14 WSBK-38 (IND)
15 WBPX
15 WPXG-21 (ION)
16 WFXT-25 (FOX)
17 WMEA²
18 WZMY-50 (MyTV)
19 WNEU-60 (Telemundo) Multicultural
20 WMFP-62 (IND)
21 WUTF-66 (Telefutura) Multicultural
22 Access Channel
24 Disney Channel Children & Family
24 Disney Channel * Children & Family
25 Nickelodeon Children & Family
25 Nickelodeon * Children & Family
26 ABC Family Channel Children & Family
28 MTV Music
29 VH-1 Music
30 FX Lifestyle
31 TBS
32 Home & Garden TV Lifestyle
32 HGTV * Lifestyle
33 TNT Lifestyle
34 E! Entertainment Lifestyle
35 USA Network
36 Lifetime Lifestyle
37 A&E Lifestyle
38 The Learning Channel Children & Family
39 Discovery Channel News & Info
41 Fox News News & Info
42 CNN News & Info
43 CNN Headline News News & Info
43 CNN Headline News * News & Info
44 C-SPAN News & Info
44 CSPAN * News & Info
46 CNBC News & Info
47 The Weather Channel News & Info
47 The Weather Channel * News & Info
49 ESPN Sports
50 ESPN2 Sports
51 NESN Sports
52 Comcast SportsNet Sports
53 Bravo Movies
54 Food Network Lifestyle
54 Food Network * Lifestyle
55 Spike TV Lifestyle
58 History News & Info HD ON
59 AMC Movies
60 Cartoon Network Children & Family
61 Comedy Central Lifestyle
62 Sci-Fi Channel News & Info
63 Animal Planet Children & Family
64 TV Land Children & Family
65 Versus Lifestyle
66 The Golf Channel Sports
67 Travel Channel Lifestyle
71 QVC Lifestyle
96 WWDP-46 (Shop NBC) Lifestyle
183 Jewelry TV by ACN Lifestyle
186 TruTV
200 MoviePlex Movies
201 Sundance Movies
202 Flix
203 Encore Action Movies
204 Encore Love Movies
205 Encore Mystery Movies
206 Indieplex Movies
207 Encore Westerns Movies
208 Hallmark Channel
208 The Hallmark Channel
209 WGBH World ² Lifestyle
210 National Geographic Channel Music
210 National Geographic *
211 style. Lifestyle
212 Independent Film Channel Movies
213 Turner Classic Movies Movies
214 TV One Multicultural
215 Women's Entertainment Lifestyle
216 Oxygen Lifestyle
217 GBH Kids ² Children & Family
218 PBS Kids Sprout Children & Family
218 PBS Kids Sprout * Children & Family
219 G4 News & Info
220 NickToons Children & Family
221 Discovery Kids Children & Family
221 Discovery Kids * Children & Family
222 Disney XD Children & Family
222 Disney XD * Children & Family
223 Noggin Children & Family
224 The N Children & Family
224 The N * Children & Family
225 Retroplex Movies
226 Discovery Health News & Info
227 Science Channel News & Info
227 Science Channel *
228 Nick TOO Children & Family
229 Trinity Broadcast Network ² Lifestyle
230 FitTV Lifestyle
231 i-Lifetv Lifestyle
232 Fox Reality
233 Planet Green News & Info
234 Inspirational Life
235 Gospel Music Channel Children & Family
236 The Word Network Lifestyle
237 WGBH Create ² Lifestyle
238 EWTN Lifestyle
238 EWTN Lifestyle
239 Fine Living Channel Lifestyle
240 Do It Yourself Network Lifestyle
240 Do It Yourself Network * Lifestyle
241 BBC America News & Info
242 History International News & Info
243 Biography Channel News & Info
244 Soapnet Lifestyle
245 Weatherscan Local News & Info
246 Bloomberg News & Info
247 C-SPAN2 News & Info
247 CSPAN2 * News & Info
248 ESPNews Sports
249 CSPAN 3 News & Info
250 The Speed Channel Sports
251 MSNBC News & Info
252 Investigation Discovery (I.D.) News & Info
253 Military Channel News & Info
254 Current TV News & Info
255 Outdoor Channel Sports
256 FOX Soccer Channel Sports
257 NBA TV
258 ESPN Classic Sports
259 NHL Network Sports
260 TV Games Sports
260 TV Games Sports
261 CBS College Sports Network Sports
261 CBS College Sports Network Sports
262 FCS Atlantic
263 FCS Central
264 FCS Pacific
265 NFL Network
266 Tennis Channel Sports
267 GSN Children & Family
268 CatholicTV Lifestyle
269 MLB Sports
270 Lifetime Movie Network Movies
271 fuse Music
272 Urge TV Music
273 MTV2 Music
274 BET on Jazz Music
275 VH-1 Soul Music
276 CMT Pure Country Music
277 VH-1 Classic Music
278 Fox Movies FXM Movies
279 Great American Country Music
280 MTV Jams Music
281 Logo Lifestyle
282 CMT Music
283 Leased Access ²
284 Fox Business Multicultural
285 Big Ten Network Sports
295 WYDN
297 This TV ² News & Info
301 HBO Movies
302 HBO2 Movies
303 HBO Signature Movies
304 HBO Family Movies
305 HBO Comedy Movies
306 HBO Zone Movies
307 HBO Latino Movies
321 STARZ! Movies
322 STARZ! Edge Movies
323 STARZ! in Black Movies
324 STARZ! Kids & Family Movies
325 STARZ! Cinema Movies
326 Encore Movies
327 STARZ! Comedy Movies
341 Cinemax Movies
342 MoreMAX Movies
343 ActionMAX Movies
344 ThrillerMAX Movies
361 Showtime Movies
362 Showtime 2 Movies
363 Showtime Showcase Movies
364 Showtime Extreme Movies
365 Showtime Beyond Movies
366 Flix Movies
381 The Movie Channel Movies
382 TMC Xtra Movies
399 iN DEMAND HD High-Definition TV
401 - 403 Home Theater Pay-Per-View
435 Penthouse TV Pay-Per-View
451 Playboy
451 Playboy Pay-Per-View
452 fresh! Pay-Per-View
453 Playboy español Pay-Per-View
457 clubjenna Pay-Per-View
459 SPICE:XCESS Pay-Per-View
501 Hit List Music
502 Hip-Hop and R&B Music
503 MC Mix Tape Music
504 Dance/Electronica Music
505 Rap Music
506 Hip-Hop Classics Music
507 Throwback Jamz Music
508 R & B Classics Music
509 R&B Soul Music
510 Gospel Music
511 Reggae Music
512 Classic Rock Music
513 Retro Rock Music
514 Rock Music
515 Metal Music
516 Alternative Music
517 Classic Alternative Music
518 Adult Alternative Music
519 Soft Rock Music
520 Pop Hits Music
521 90's Music
522 80's Music
523 70's Music
524 Solid Gold Oldies Music
525 Party Favorites Music
526 Stage & Screen Music
527 Kidz Only! Music
528 Toddler Tunes Music
529 Today's Country Music
530 True Country Music
531 Classic Country Music
532 Contemporary Christian Music
533 Sounds of the Season Music
534 Soundscapes Music
535 Smooth Jazz Music
536 Jazz Music
537 Blues Music
538 Singers & Swing Music
539 Easy Listening Music
540 Classical Masterpieces Music
541 Light Classical Music
542 Musica Urbana Music
543 Pop Latino Music
544 Tropicales Music
545 Mexicana Music
546 Romances Music
599 NBA TV
600 TEAMS (NBA-MLS) Preview Channel Sports
601 - 609 NBA Team 1-9
612 NBA Team HD High-Definition TV
621 - 634 MLB-NHL Game Pay-Per-View
635 Games HD High-Definition TV
679 RAI Multicultural
680 TV Globo Multicultural
681 SPT Multicultural
688 TV5Monde Multicultural
701 Zee TV Multicultural
702 CTI Zhong Tian Multicultural
703 RTN Multicultural
704 Supercanal Caribe Multicultural
705 mun2 Multicultural
705 mun2 Multicultural
706 Discovery en español Multicultural
707 Cine Latino Multicultural
708 Fox Sports en español Multicultural
709 CNN en español Multicultural
711 MTV Tr3s Multicultural
711 MTV Tr3s Music
712 Venemovies Multicultural
713 Cine Mexicano Multicultural
714 Gol TV Multicultural
714 Gol TV Multicultural
715 NFL Network
716 History en español Multicultural
717 WAPA Multicultural
718 NDTV Colorvision Multicultural
719 Galavisión Multicultural
720 ESPN Deportes
722 Sorpresa Multicultural
800 iN DEMAND HD High-Definition TV
802 WGBH (PBS) HD + High-Definition TV
803 WBPX HD + High-Definition TV
804 WBZ (CBS) HD + High-Definition TV
805 WCVB (ABC) HD + High-Definition TV
806 WFXT (FOX) HD + High-Definition TV
807 WHDH (NBC) HD + High-Definition TV
808 WLVI (CW) HD + High-Definition TV
809 WMUR (ABC) HD + High-Definition TV
812 WMEA HD + High-Definition TV
814 WSBK (IND) HD +
821 National Geographic HD +++
823 Discovery HD ++ High-Definition TV
824 Disney HD ++ High-Definition TV
826 ABC Family HD ++ High-Definition TV
828 Palladia ++ High-Definition TV
830 FX HD ++ High-Definition TV
831 TBS-HD ++ High-Definition TV
832 HGTV HD ++ High-Definition TV
833 TNT HD ++ High-Definition TV
835 USA HD ++ High-Definition TV
837 A&E HD ++ High-Definition TV
839 HD Theater ++ High-Definition TV
841 Fox News HD ++ High-Definition TV
842 CNN-HD ++ High-Definition TV
846 Universal HD ++ High-Definition TV
848 Golf HD ++ High-Definition TV
849 ESPN HD ++ High-Definition TV
850 ESPN 2 HD ++ High-Definition TV
851 NESN HD ++ High-Definition TV
852 Comcast SportsNet HD ++ High-Definition TV
853 NFL Network HD ° High-Definition TV
854 Food Network HD ++ High-Definition TV
859 AMC HD ++ High-Definition TV
862 Sci-Fi HD ++ High-Definition TV
863 Animal Planet HD ++ High-Definition TV
865 Versus HD ++ High-Definition TV
866 Science HD +++ High-Definition TV
867 TLC HD ++ High-Definition TV
868 Cinemax HD °° *** High-Definition TV
870 HBO HD °° *** High-Definition TV
872 History HD ++ High-Definition TV
875 STARZ! HD °° *** High-Definition TV
877 Showtime HD °° *** High-Definition TV
878 Showtime Too HD °° *** High-Definition TV
883 TMC HD °° *** High-Definition TV

This forum is for Boston OTA (Over the air). There is a separate forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=793008) for Comcast's services in the Boston area.

Still on the air as of 9:30 PM July 4th, and on their 237,178th rerun of the This Old House special on DTV conversion. :)

(Edit: actually about 1,056 times by now, maybe a few more since it's just a tad short of 30 minutes.)
Thanks!

Sorry to take so long to respond, I've been pretty busy. Anyways, that just confirms my 1070 mile E skip of WGBH on the 4th.

This forum is for Boston OTA (Over the air). There is a separate forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=793008) for Comcast's services in the Boston area.
I am cognizant of this. My response was to a statement made in an earlier post, that's all.

So if they are transmitting on channel 7 and 42 right now, after they shut off the VHF channel, will the signal get any stronger?

So if they are transmitting on channel 7 and 42 right now, after they shut off the VHF channel, will the signal get any stronger?

i'm not sure of thier ERP on channel 42 i think its 700kw?
check the FCC site,
If some one can chime in and post the link to the FCC page where the ERP listings are that would help.
As stated above i'm about 40 miles from the Needham towers and DT42 is solid in Southern NH

Now nicoge21 ,
where is your location? its not stated in your profile .
maybe you need a new antenna or the need to relocate your present one.

I'm moving next month to bradford, gonna try either a DB2 or a channel master 3010, on our balcony.

WHDH 42 is 948kW.


Use www.fccinfo.com for those facts.


Also WHDH-TV filed BPRM-20090706ABZ to change the digital allocation from 7 to 42 in Boston.

i'm not sure of thier ERP on channel 42 i think its 700kw?
check the FCC site,
If some one can chime in and post the link to the FCC page where the ERP listings are that would help.
As stated above i'm about 40 miles from the Needham towers and DT42 is solid in Southern NH

Now nicoge21 ,
where is your location? its not stated in your profile .
maybe you need a new antenna or the need to relocate your present one.


The FCC data is available at http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=72145

While I'm not a fan of fox 25... I'm just curious, are their studio cameras really in HD? If so they should get their money back it looks awful and if not they should stop airing their 4:3 SD ad promoting themselves being in HD.

Here's WHDH's request to give up channel 7 and instead keep 42.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=7019808615

- Trip

I'm moving next month to bradford, gonna try either a DB2 or a channel master 3010, on our balcony.

if your balcony faces southwest you should be good.
most of Bradford is at good elevation!
you will just have to experement.

From the quite obscure category -

I've noticed that WHDH finally updated their 10+ year old Emergency Alert graphic, the new one is 16:9, and quite blue.

However, I have yet to notice any other stations that have updated their EAS cards, although, an EAS test/alert is difficult to catch, at times.

While I'm not a fan of fox 25... I'm just curious, are their studio cameras really in HD? If so they should get their money back it looks awful and if not they should stop airing their 4:3 SD ad promoting themselves being in HD.

No kidding I fnd myself watching less these days the PQ just plain sucks

Here's WHDH's request to give up channel 7 and instead keep 42.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=7019808615

- Trip

Thanks for the link.

Doubtless that WHDH will get real-42 back. They tried it and it didn't work, but the more important thing, which I appreciate greatly, is that they did what needed to be done for the viewers. There probably are some stations out there who would have said, 'We put a lot of money into the new one and if you lost the channel we apologize, but that's the way it's going to be.'

With the reported problems with real-7 in multiple markets, might it be a challenge for them to recoup some of their costs by selling the 7 transmitter? It would be interesting to find out what exactly is causing the problems for digital transmission on 7.

They might move the channel 7 transmission gear down to Miami.

- Trip

if your balcony faces southwest you should be good.
most of Bradford is at good elevation!
you will just have to experement.

With any kind of luck, you should get satisfactory results. I'm just up the road here in Haverhill, and have a large U/V fixed antenna in the attic and get all the Boston channels OK. Plus I get channels 9, 11, and WZMY out of NH with decent signal strength.

Could there ever be more programming on some of the more minor channels (56 and 38?)

Back in the day 38 had plenty of sports but I know it moved to cable (red sox...)

I know they are owned by some of the major companies but it seems like there's potential for more.

Outside of Phantom Gourmet there's not much original content on 38

with wlvi did they move out of that office next to the boston globe? I only ask because I've been in the area a number of times and there is hardly that much for cars there.

They might move the channel 7 transmission gear down to Miami.


WSVN already has a digital transmitter for RF-7. Granted, Sunbeam probably doesn't have nearly as many new complaints in Miami as they do for WHDH or channel sevens in other markets, as WSVN's pre-transition digital channel was on RF-8.

In other news it appears WHDN-LD has started broadcasting on RF-38 as expected. Both it and the old channel 26 have been mapping as 6-1 for a while already.

WSVN already has a digital transmitter for RF-7.

But not one big enough to make the 160 kW they've asked for, not as far as I know.

They could combine the WHDH gear into it.

- Trip

They could just send it up to CHLT in Sherbrooke that will need one to flash-cut to DTV in August 2011.

I wonder if they had already thought of that. If not, I want a commission from that sale!!! :p

Could there ever be more programming on some of the more minor channels (56 and 38?)

Back in the day 38 had plenty of sports but I know it moved to cable (red sox...)

I know they are owned by some of the major companies but it seems like there's potential for more.

Outside of Phantom Gourmet there's not much original content on 38

with wlvi did they move out of that office next to the boston globe? I only ask because I've been in the area a number of times and there is hardly that much for cars there.


As far as the WLVI studios goes... they are no longer next to Globe headquarters, the owner of channel 7 bought them out about 4 years ago and they moved all operations to the channel 7 studios (why you see 7 news @ 10 on 56).

And regarding original content on WLVI, I doubt it. There is hardly any original content on WHDH, which is the owner. But channel 38 also has Community Auditions, but I agree there should be more local content on Boston TV.

they should at least take down the old station id stuff. I mean there's the boston globe right there and then the hq for greater media radio

Looks like starting in late June WBZ-DT's video bitrate has dropped from roughly 16.6mbps to 12.5mbps. This is as seen on fios. What's up with that?

Looks like starting in late June WBZ-DT's video bitrate has dropped from roughly 16.6mbps to 12.5mbps. This is as seen on fios. What's up with that?
I will look into it. We have not changed the bitrate leaving the studio.

If it helps, I can narrow the time frame down to somewhere after 6/16 - that day I recorded The Mentalist and it was still the normal bitrate. The next CBS recording I have is Harper's Island on 6/20 and that is at the reduced bitrate.

Hey there bostonians,

Anyone else have difficulties getting TV38. I got a Terk hdtvi antenna, works great on every other channel expect 38.
No problem with 7 WHDH like other are having.

WSBK is supposedly running at 135 kW on channel 39, but I never see even a blip of it except at night when the skip rolls in. I think that's the highest they can go to prevent interference with other stations in the area.

Anyone else have difficulties getting TV38.
I'm in Southern NH, having problems with WSBK and WGBX rarely able to receive either. Other Boston and NH stations come in fine except WZMY and WYDN which I'm not interested in.

To steved1990, I usually watch it for crappy movies or old episodes of CSI Miami.
There is really no good local programming now at all , even on WGBH.

I'm in Southern NH, having problems with WSBK and WGBX rarely able to receive either. Other Boston and NH stations come in fine except WZMY and WYDN which I'm not interested in.

yeah same here, i can only get it at night when the tropo is in my favor

I'm having a wierd WSBK issue with 2 Venturer converter boxes 1 in Salem NH the other in East Boston at my grandmothers.

The issue is evey 4 or 5 days the boxes will lose signal on that 1 channel going into the menu to check RF 39 it shows a solid signal.
This has been going on the last month or so.
A rescan brings it back then in a few days its gone again.

No other channels are affected,
Any thoughts or ideas?

I haven't done a whole lot of critical viewing since I haven't had the PJ turned on over the last week what with summer finally showing up and all :cool: but recently the last few times I tuned in the 10PM and morning newscasts on the Elite (53") it seemed as though they finally got smart and greatly reduced the amount of EE being used on the studio shots. They certainly don't look nearly as offensive to me as they did only a week or so ago. The field shots are still pretty rife with EE but those are almost surely from 480 cams anyway. Still, I wish someone would realize that a natural looking upconverted 480p picture beats an overly enhanced one any day...

Anyone else agree or do I need to update my prescription? ;)

I haven't done a whole lot of critical viewing since I haven't had the PJ turned on over the last week what with summer finally showing up and all :cool: but recently the last few times I tuned in the 10PM and morning newscasts on the Elite (53") it seemed as thought they finally got smart and greatly reduced the amount of EE being used on the studio shots. They certainly don't look nearly as offensive to me as they did only a week or so ago. The field shots are still pretty rife with EE but those are almost surely from 480 cams anyway. Still, I wish someone would realize that a natural looking upconverted 480p picture beats an overly enhanced one any day...

Anyone else agree or do I need to update my prescription? ;)

I stopped watching for the most part now because of the PQ but I do watch the first 5 minutes just to see what is going on but really haven't paid attention to the PQ all that much but Maria in red looked good last night. I will have to watch more and see if it has improved the field shots just plain suck

I can't get WLVI either, except once in a blue moon some blips of it pop up on channel 41 lol

the only channel i really watch is THIS-boston anyway, and fox for the simpsons and cops.

WLVI asked to increase power yesterday with the FCC as a response to reception complaints. So stand by, I guess.

- Trip

edit: ok it's 690kW on channel 41, so when does it approve?

WLVI asked to increase power yesterday
WLVI comes in about half the time here in Milford NH. An increase in Tx power ought to help but 550 to 690 is not all that much. Wish WGBX would do the same.

I haven't done a whole lot of critical viewing since I haven't had the PJ turned on over the last week what with summer finally showing up and all :cool: but recently the last few times I tuned in the 10PM and morning newscasts on the Elite (53") it seemed as thought they finally got smart and greatly reduced the amount of EE being used on the studio shots. They certainly don't look nearly as offensive to me as they did only a week or so ago. The field shots are still pretty rife with EE but those are almost surely from 480 cams anyway. Still, I wish someone would realize that a natural looking upconverted 480p picture beats an overly enhanced one any day...

Anyone else agree or do I need to update my prescription? ;)

Don't change your prescription. WFXT looks loads better than when they first went HD. They now look in line with the rest of the Boston stations...They definitely changed something.

Don't change your prescription. WFXT looks loads better than when they first went HD. They now look in line with the rest of the Boston stations...They definitely changed something.

If only they could get rid of the black side bars on their 4:3 content and make fox 25 stylized bars like 4 & 5 do (even though I think 5's bars are ugly).

If only they could get rid of the black side bars on their 4:3 content and make fox 25 stylized bars like 4 & 5 do (even though I think 5's bars are ugly).

Looks like they had that taken care of last night. :)

Anyone notice in the past week or so, the 10PM news on WLVI has very "scratchy" audio at best? Seems almost too-compressed or something, not too sure. Any ideas?

Anyone notice in the past week or so, the 10PM news on WLVI has very "scratchy" audio at best? Seems almost too-compressed or something, not too sure. Any ideas?

Yes, I have noticed it. It's like that on verizon fios too.

The transmitter for WLVI is in the middle of needham tower isn't it?

I pick up the local PBS station WENH on either the UHF or VHF antenna. When I combine these two feeds (currently I'm still experimenting and have two feeds one VHF, one UHF) how might that affect the signal quality of WENH? Should I get a notch filter for the UHF antenna output to filter 7-13? Just curious. We are 19 miles from WENH tower with pretty darn good sightline. comes in on both the old VHF and the new UHF (antenna direct 2 bay UHF). Planning on replacing the old (big) vhf/uhf beast-ie with a smaller hi-band VHF antenna.

is the band really crowded on the northeast? How many overlapping stations do we have out here? I know WCVB and WTXX, WFXT and WTIC, WLNE, WEKW, and WEDW, WZMY and WPME, WLWC and WGBY, WDPX and WGGB, and WSFB and WCBS. Why weren't these spread out so much?

Are you using a mast mounted preamp? I use a CM 7777, it has separate VHF and UHF inputs. We are using separate VHF antenna offset from UHF so we are able to receive NH and Boston without using the rotor.

Are you able to receive both WMUR (9) and WENH (11) on the VHF antenna? If so and preamp only has a combined VHF/UHF input you can use a VHF/UHF splitter to combine both antennas.

WLVI's tower is on Cabot Street in Needham, off Route 95, on the same tower as WFXT.

is the band really crowded on the northeast? How many overlapping stations do we have out here? I know WCVB and WTXX, WFXT and WTIC, WLNE, WEKW, and WEDW, WZMY and WPME, WLWC and WGBY, WDPX and WGGB, and WSFB and WCBS. Why weren't these spread out so much?
Your are correct - the DTV bands are very crowded in the Northeast due to the fact that we have many TV stations located over a relatively small area compared to other parts of the country. And the fact that there are fewer frequencies available compared to analog (DTV does not use channels 52 to 69, and chs 2 through 6 are not great at all for DTV broadcasts), makes overlapping of coverage areas common.

Not that it would ever be politically, financially, or perhaps even logistically viable, but could the entire Boston/Manchester/Providence/Worcester area be adequately serviced (let's put the mark at 95%) by the antenna farm at Needham? In other words, could the four areas be made into one DMA, with one set of affiliates for each network, and with some consolidation (call them mergers) of compatible independent channels? Rewording it another way, based just on the physics, are the antennas well-placed and thereby capable, perhaps with power output increases, to adequately (95%) cover the current service area of stations based in those four cities?

Not that it would ever be politically, financially, or perhaps even logistically viable, but could the entire Boston/Manchester/Providence/Worcester area be adequately serviced (let's put the mark at 95%) by the antenna farm at Needham? In other words, could the four areas be made into one DMA, with one set of affiliates for each network, and with some consolidation (call them mergers) of compatible independent channels? Rewording it another way, based just on the physics, are the antennas well-placed and thereby capable, perhaps with power output increases, to adequately (95%) cover the current service area of stations based in those four cities?
The curvature of the earth is the limiting factor here (keep in mind the coverage areas of the non-Boston cities goes way beyond the cities themselves). All of the other restrictions you mention are equal deal-killers.

based just on the physics, are the antennas well-placed and thereby capable, perhaps with power output increases, to adequately (95%) cover the current service area of stations based in those four cities?

On the NH side both WMUR and WENH make extensive use of translators to cover NH, out to Keene and the north country. Not sure if Boston stations do the same to provide coverage of Western MA. New England topology is a problem, radio signals don't go through mountains. Low Power translators are more cost effective then a single very high power transmitter.

The curvature of the earth is the limiting factor here (keep in mind the coverage areas of the non-Boston cities goes way beyond the cities themselves). All of the other restrictions you mention are equal deal-killers.I find that to be hard to believe, because the issue raised was that the spectrum in the northeast is so crowded. How could it be crowded if the different cities were so far away from each other?

New England topology is a problem, radio signals don't go through mountains.This seems more plausible to me.

Low Power translators are more cost effective then a single very high power transmitter.Nothing about consolidating Boston, Providence, Manchester and Worcester would necessarily need to change that. Indeed, that might make it more technically feasible. And I know that a lot of people in Providence (at least) would prefer to have Boston stations instead of their own, if they had to choose one or the other.

On the NH side both WMUR and WENH make extensive use of translators to cover NH, out to Keene and the north country. Not sure if Boston stations do the same to provide coverage of Western MA. New England topology is a problem, radio signals don't go through mountains. Low Power translators are more cost effective then a single very high power transmitter.

You're right. It is really hilly in the state of MA. I look over the 3D transmitter maps and most of essex county is in cyan and dark blue, meaning you'd be better off using an antenna on the roof, but hey, alot of people in the north seem to be doing fine with rabbit ears.

Maybe down the road the stations that nobody can get will jump on the sub-channel wagon, or maybe not, translators too. DTV is still young, there's alot of bugs in it but in time I'm sure it will be just as good if not better then analog.

Maybe down the road the stations that nobody can get will jump on the sub-channel wagon, or maybe not, translators too. DTV is still young, there's alot of bugs in it but in time I'm sure it will be just as good if not better then analog.

Adding digital sub-channels will do nothing to improve reception of a station over the air. If you can't get 38.1, you won't be able to get 38.2 either...

is the band really crowded on the northeast? How many overlapping stations do we have out here? I know WCVB and WTXX, WFXT and WTIC, WLNE, WEKW, and WEDW, WZMY and WPME, WLWC and WGBY, WDPX and WGGB, and WSFB and WCBS. Why weren't these spread out so much?

It is quite crowded. And despite even my own kvetching, maybe it's pretty near as good a channel allocation as they can get.

Adding to yours, there are existing & permit requests from 3 (count 'em, THREE) stations for real-41 in the Boston-Hartford/New Haven/Springfield markets. WLVI is currently broadcasting on it and is requesting more power, WEDY(?) the CPTV station in New Haven/Bridgeport is requesting a re-allocation to 41 from real-6, and a station in Springfield is now requesting a re-allocation to channel 41.

More and more, it's like here in the NE you're going to have to do a Faraday screen/shield around your antenna to severely restrict your reception direction. Rear "reflector grids" like what is on the XG-91 aren't enough to combat the co-channeling. Tuners receiving a blippage of a differing signal on the same channel go on strike and show nothing. It's pretty sad for high channel-concentration areas, b/c most people aren't technically inclined to experiment/construct/test stuff, nor do they want to bother.

Adding digital sub-channels will do nothing to improve reception of a station over the air. If you can't get 38.1, you won't be able to get 38.2 either...

Methinks that nicoge21 is referring to a situation where another channel that has very good saturation broadcasts another channel on one of their substations. This is most often done among 'sister stations' owned by the same parent company. E.g. WGGB in Springfield broadcasts their own ABC feed on 40.1, and they carry the FOX 6 feed on 40.2.

I've also read of instances around the country (Louisiana-Texas) where this has been done by competing TV stations as a matter of public service.

I place no confidence in stations here in the northeast, other than 'sister stations' to do this.

Methinks that nicoge21 is referring to a situation where another channel that has very good saturation broadcasts another channel on one of their substations. This is most often done among 'sister stations' owned by the same parent company. E.g. WGGB in Springfield broadcasts their own ABC feed on 40.1, and they carry the FOX 6 feed on 40.2.

I've also read of instances around the country (Louisiana-Texas) where this has been done by competing TV stations as a matter of public service.

I place no confidence in stations here in the northeast, other than 'sister stations' to do this.
The biggest problem with doing this is that the total bandwidth possible for a given frequency has a static maximum so each subchannel added potentially takes quality away from the others. So while some of you might be able to receive more programming than you can now, we'll most definitely see posts complaining about lousy picture and/or audio quality.

Looks like starting in late June WBZ-DT's video bitrate has dropped from roughly 16.6mbps to 12.5mbps. This is as seen on fios. What's up with that?

Just to stir up the pot a little here, I was cleaning up the channel lineup on my HD Tivos yesterday and happened to notice there were now TWO channels "38-1" listed. The first WSBK-DT is listed as the expected RF39, but the new one that appeared (denoted with an asterisk) showed RF30!! :eek:

I'm not really a conspiracy theory type of person, but wouldn't it make sense for WBZ to consolidate the TV38 programming onto the WBZ-DT carrier and shut off the WSBK-DT transmitter? Especially in this economy and with 38 not really showing any first run HD programming (Jeopardy and Wheel don't count!) I could see how they might just decide to go back SD as a sub-channel on RF30. I don't think its really coincidence that the bit rate just happened to go down by the amount that it would take to fit in a decent quality SD sub-channel. And as a future FIOS customer, I'm not really too excited to see the bit rate of the HD programming going in the wrong direction, either!

Anyone with an OTA tuner that displays bit rate see the same decrease? (I don't know if there's a way to get my HD Tivo to display this, I'll have to look into it.)

I am planning on using the CM7777. Channel 9 is weak. Could be the 300' tall, 1/4 mile long ridge to the west. Also the 25 year old rotor is dead and the multiband VHF/UHF/FM antenna is pointed northeast (roughly 30 degrees), so WMUR is kind of way off to port side of that heading. Very little VHF in that direction, except Ch 8 which comes in in all but lousy weather (56 miles) and (44 UHF) WCSH 6 flickers in and out (there is a small UHF array on this old antenna but some elements are missing. Ch 11 would probably come in with a coat hanger. I kind of like the idea of a rotor but I really want to point a 1713 or similar south towards Boston and amplify that.

Are you able to receive both WMUR (9) and WENH (11) on the VHF antenna? If so and preamp only has a combined VHF/UHF input you can use a VHF/UHF splitter to combine both antennas.

Hey T Schmidt, does the CM pre/combiner designate one input at VHF and one as UHF?
If so I would surmise that each input has a notch or bandpass filter on so as to eliminate any frequencies not specific to each input.. For example anything from CH11 would not pass through the UHF input. Kind of reaching here,.,,

DOH DUH!!

Optimum filtering for rejection of out-of-band signals

From a description I found on line of the CM7777

I meant the stations that had signal coverage problems could run as a sub-channel on another affiliate. Yeah, TV38 running as a sub-channel on WBZ, that would be interesting to see. Or WZMY on WFXT.

No Fox in the Seacoast? Looks like we are shut out. Even though WBZ shares a hill top with Fox and others. Weak signal. If not for Patriots football I would never watch the network of lowest common denominator editorial standards. But... the antenna project may be dead in the water if the boss can't watch TB on Sundays in fall and winter. Uh, Oh.

does the CM pre/combiner designate one input at VHF and one as UHF?
CM 7777 has switch selectable input, either combined or separate VHF and UHF. My understanding is circuitry uses separate VHF and UHF amps that are combined at output stage rather then input.

We use separate VHF and UHF antennas so I had to open up the preamp and flip the switch. We are well positioned. I offset the VHF antenna by -105 degrees relative to UHF. That way when UHF is pointing to Boston VHF is aimed at WENH (11). WMUR (9) is off axis but is so strong it doesn't matter.

Interesting sidebar. Last night was able to receive WLWC out of Providence RI. Tropo conditions must have been ideal. Still no joy on WSBK (38) and WGBX (44). I keep checking TVfool to see if either are planning to increase coverage.

/tom

I offset the VHF antenna by -105 degrees relative to UHF. That way when UHF is pointing to Boston VHF is aimed at WENH (11). WMUR (9) is off axis but is so strong it doesn't matter.

Sounds like you are using a rotor or is the array static.? Both of your VHF targets are to the east and north but aren't there also VHF amongthe UHF to the south?

Sounds like you are using a rotor or is the array static.? Both of your VHF targets are to the east and north but aren't there also VHF amongthe UHF to the south?
We use a rooftop antenna with rotor, at the time I set it up last summer planned to use it when WHDH went back to VHF. Luckily that does not seem to be happening, they are staying on UHF. Also need it for WZMY (RF 35) but they are a no show. Was able to receive analog fine but not digital. Having multiple TVs make rotor use a pain so we try not to use it if at all possible.

There are some off axis VHF and UHF orphans but they are stations we are not very interested in. WMTW (RF 8) out of Maine comes on occasionally; it is on almost the same azimuth as WENH. WPXG (RF 33) out of Concord comes in better then WBPX (RF 32) out of Boston but that requires moving the antenna. There are a bunch of Spanish stations we are not interested in. All in all seem to have picked a good location when we built our home 30 years ago.

Here is our TVfool data:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3daeadc5cfe63f46

With antenna aligned statically receive: WGBH, WBX, WCVB, WHDH, WMUR, WENH, WFXT, WNEU, WMFP. WLVI and WBPX come in occasionally and WMTW, WSBK, WGBX rarely.

According to latest Tvfool: WMFP, WPXG, WBPX, WLVI and WYDN (can’t receive now) all plan increases. Too bad that does not seem to be happening for WSBK and WGBX.

Just to stir up the pot a little here, I was cleaning up the channel lineup on my HD Tivos yesterday and happened to notice there were now TWO channels "38-1" listed. The first WSBK-DT is listed as the expected RF39, but the new one that appeared (denoted with an asterisk) showed RF30!! :eek:

I'm not really a conspiracy theory type of person, but wouldn't it make sense for WBZ to consolidate the TV38 programming onto the WBZ-DT carrier and shut off the WSBK-DT transmitter? Especially in this economy and with 38 not really showing any first run HD programming (Jeopardy and Wheel don't count!) I could see how they might just decide to go back SD as a sub-channel on RF30. I don't think its really coincidence that the bit rate just happened to go down by the amount that it would take to fit in a decent quality SD sub-channel. And as a future FIOS customer, I'm not really too excited to see the bit rate of the HD programming going in the wrong direction, either!

Anyone with an OTA tuner that displays bit rate see the same decrease? (I don't know if there's a way to get my HD Tivo to display this, I'll have to look into it.)
Sorry to burst your conspiracy theory, but WBZ has not decreased its video bit rate. Our video rate averages 16.5-17.5 mbps, depending on content. We are working with Verizon to find out what, if anything, has changed on their FIOS service.

We have no plans to combine stations into a single DTV feed.

That's great news, Bob. Thanks for the clearing things up!

I figured it was just an odd series of coincidences conspiring with my imagination so glad to see this was actually the case!

This made me wonder, are cable and other providers who carry your digital signal required to provide a minimum or unchanged bit rate? Just curious, really.

According to latest Tvfool: WMFP, WPXG, WBPX, WLVI and WYDN (can’t receive now) all plan increases. Too bad that does not seem to be happening for WSBK and WGBX.

where does it say that? I know WGBX has planned to go to 1000kW but it never happened it seems.

I know WGBX has planned to go to 1000kW but it never happened it seems.
I wish WGBX would increase power. WGBX and WSBK usually have SNR of about 13/14 dB on our Sony TV. Atmospherics were good last night and both came in at about 16.

As far as coverage changes that is based on TVfool, Current+Pending report compared to Current database. I fat fingered WMFP, but TVfool models WPXG, WBPX, WLVI, and WYDN stronger.

If you look at RabbitEars.info they all have applications to increase coverage area. I'm a little fuzzy on some of the FCC termology. Have not been able to find the secret decoder ring.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3daead1d6ecdfd6f

/tom

If you look at RabbitEars.info they all have applications to increase coverage area. I'm a little fuzzy on some of the FCC termology. Have not been able to find the secret decoder ring.

You could always ask. I'm the guy behind the site and I do read here. :)

- Trip

I'm the guy behind the site
I'm the new kid on the block. I assumed everyone but me knows what they all mean. I checked your site but could not find a tutorial for the FCC illiterate.

Specifically I don't understand the various license
DT-LIC (I assume that is current Digital License)
DT-APP (Digital request for change ?)
DT CP-MOD (some sort of modification)
DS-APP ??
DX-APP ???
DP=CP
LD-LIC (I assume Low Power license)
LD-APP

I'm sure I missed some but you get the idea.

I'm the new kid on the block. I assumed everyone but me knows what they all mean. I checked your site but could not find a tutorial for the FCC illiterate.

Specifically I don't understand the various license
DT-LIC (I assume that is current Digital License)
DT-APP (Digital request for change ?)
DT CP-MOD (some sort of modification)
DS-APP ??
DX-APP ???
DP=CP
LD-LIC (I assume Low Power license)
LD-APP

I'm sure I missed some but you get the idea.

If you hover over the label, it should pop up what they mean.

LD is Low-powered Digital. DS-STA is a Digital STA (Special Temporary Authority to run with facilities that differ from those for which they are licensed). DX is an auxiliary (backup) facility.

LIC means it's LICensed. CP means they have a Construction Permit to increase power or otherwise modify their facilities. CP-MOD just means they had to MODify their Construction Permit. APP means they've APPlied but not yet received a permit.

Does that help? :)

- Trip

Does that help?
Yes - thanks. I did hover before but I must have been too quick.

/tom

That's great news, Bob. Thanks for the clearing things up!

I figured it was just an odd series of coincidences conspiring with my imagination so glad to see this was actually the case!

This made me wonder, are cable and other providers who carry your digital signal required to provide a minimum or unchanged bit rate? Just curious, really.
Let me correct my previous statement, and apologize for my error. The figures you saw on FIOS (of 12 mb/s video on WBZ) were correct. And it isn't FIOS's doing, it is ours.

We have not reduced our encoding bit rate, but we have installed a new MPEG encoder which encodes using a variable bit rate, so sometimes the rate will change depending on picture content. Specifically, upconverted standard definition video or low-motion, less detailed HD video will require a lower bit rate.

When I checked our encoding after your first post I happened to be doing so during an HD program, so the encoder was using the full 17.5 mb/s or so alloted to it. But later I noticed that during an upconverted standard definition program the rate could drop as low at 9.5 mb/s. The black wings on the sides, plus the redundant bits the upconverter inserted, allow the new, advanced encoder to create the compressed MPEG stream with far fewer bits. (For the geeks reading this - wait, that would be ... all of you! - our older encoder, still in use as a backup, is a Harris Unicoder; the new encoder is a Harris NetVX.)

The upshot is quality has not been reduced, but at times fewer bits are required to do the same job the older, constant bit rate encoder did. With full motion, high detail HD video the full bit rate is still required and still used. I hope this explanation is clear enough.

The answer to your other question is no, cable systems are not required by the FCC to retransmit broadcasters' signals at their original bit rate. If that were the case, cable systems would be unable to utilize more advanced compression technologies such as MPEG-4. The standard cable systems must follow, however, is that they must not "materially degrade" the images they retransmit. Note that this requirement applies to retransmission of over-the-air broadcasters' signals, not cable-only network channels.

Bob,

As always thanks for keeping us informed, educated, and up to date. I, for one, don't mind being called a geek at all.

SMK

Thanks, Bob. That certainly explains things with the bit rates. I'm not sure I'd want to have to prove "materially degraded" during a legal proceeding, it seems pretty subjective! I realize the cable guys can't retransmit bit-for-bit due to bandwidth limitations and/or differing coding methods, so I was just curious how the quality of programming was ensured over these mediums. Thanks for the insight.

I, for one, don't mind being called a geek at all.

Me, either. You know what they say after all, "The geek shall inherit the Earth!" :)

I realize the cable guys can't retransmit bit-for-bit due to bandwidth limitations and/or differing coding methods, so I was just curious how the quality of programming was ensured over these mediums.

Just to clear up some misonceptions, the MPEG payload of the ATSC RF carrier is 19.393 Mb/s (rounded off to 19.4). The payload of a 256 QAM signal is 38.8 Mb/s, so two broadcaster's 19.4 Mb/s MPEG streams will fit very nicely. There is no reason for a cable operator to rate shape or reduce an OTA broadcaster's MPEG stream as long as they are carrying just two HD streams.

As far as "coding", the ATSC signal is demodulated and the MPEG-II stream, plus the Dolby Digital audio is remodulated onto a QAM carrier. There is no decoding or re-encoding done.

As far as monitoring quality, most broadcasting folks have cable at home and keep a close eye on cable quality. Plus, the broadcasting engineers know the phone numbers of their cable counterparts. MPEG analysers and other test gear are owned by both parties for use when needed.

Now that said, when it comes to the HD feeds from cable only type programmers the cable operators can and do play games.

Mallego

I have Philips MANT940 antenna. I have all channels in Boston area in my scan except 5-1 WCVB. I have 70-75% signal strength in all channels. I have rescanned but same channels get scanned except 5-1 WCVB. Please tell me if I am missing anything.

NP

I have Philips MANT940 antenna. I have all channels in Boston area in my scan except 5-1 WCVB. I have 70-75% signal strength in all channels. I have rescanned but same channels get scanned except 5-1 WCVB. Please tell me if I am missing anything.

NP

It would help if you gave your location and what you are using for the tuner, is it a converter box? If so, what model?

I did a scan earlier and WMFP is coming in at 45% clear and stable. It has RTN on both 62.1 and 62.2. I don't know if it's the tropo or what! lol. This is with the philips UHF loop/dipoles. (no amp).

First time I ever picked this channel up. (RF 18).

According to the WJAR web site, WJAR's digital transmitter work is complete as of June 20 and the station is transmitting antenna is at the top of their Rehoboth, MA tower with more power. Is anyone viewing TV over the air in the Boston area noticing any difference since June 20 with WJAR's signal, and for that matter, WLNE's signal, as they are also on WJAR's tower just slightly below WJAR's antenna? Here on the Pawtucket/Attleboro border, I do not notice any difference, and the signal level for both WJAR and WLNE are still equal (very strong).

I still don't get WJAR in Lunenburg, MA even though I get WPRI out of RI at 61%.

I live 8 miles west of Boston and I have always been able to receive WJAR with my antenna. As for WLNE I can get it at times... most of the time I just get random pixels.

has WLVI been approved yet for power increase

We moved today. Using my neighbors wireless until monday. Anyhow, here's what the box picked up with just a UHF loop/VHF dipole antenna. (RCA ant111 no amp). All are 60%-80% with no dropouts. No boston stations unfortanetly. WZMY also comes in at around 80% but if I aim the antenna for it everything else dissapears.

WMUR - (VHF 9)
WENH (VHF 11) x3
WUNI - (UHF 29) x2
WNEU - (UHF 34)

I'm suprised at how good the new hampshire stations come in up here in bradford!!

What does the "X2" and "X3" mean in your post?

Hey, Do any of you know when WGBH's Ch 2 and WGBX's Ch 44 On Air Bug Logo changed a bit, not the channel 2 and channel 44 logos but the PBS logo that appears about 5-10 minutes after the ch 2 an 44 logos came on during PBS' Adult Programming, that got changed a bit because back in 2002, when this package debuted, the PBS Logo just only showed The P-Heads Logo in a white circle, but somewhere between December 25, 2008 and January 26, 2009, there is now a text saying:"PBS" that has now just been added to the On Air Bug When they air PBS' Adult Programming, can anyone help me figure out when this happened between December 25, 2008 and January 26, 2009? here are some links to why this happened: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxvg3l5HqGc, video.google.com/videoplay?docid···on&hl=en, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XISRR5TVYqQ, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp4Aaeuk···=channel, type me back if anyone of you has answer for me!

-Bstn268

Did a quick check on TVfool, Bradford NH:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d582ffa3552431b

Might want to check out VT stations.

Plug in your exact address to get more accurate prediction.

Interesting you are able to receive WZMY. It is only 15 miles away from me and cannot receive it. Looking at the terrain map there are some hills in the way.

What does the "X2" and "X3" mean in your post?

The sub-channels.

WNEU goes as high as 90%
WENH - 88%
WMUR - 85%
WUNI - 62%
WPXG (ion?) - 25%

Did a quick check on TVfool, Bradford NH:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d582ffa3552431b

Might want to check out VT stations.

Plug in your exact address to get more accurate prediction.

Interesting you are able to receive WZMY. It is only 15 miles away from me and cannot receive it. Looking at the terrain map there are some hills in the way.

I'm in Bradford Massachusetts, not NH, and I'm also 15 miles away. They have a low ERP (7.3kW), that's why people have trouble getting it.

I'm in Bradford Massachusetts, not NH, and I'm also 15 miles away.
That makes sense, don't bother with VT stations. :)

What I find curious about WZMY is even with low ERP and intervening hill TVfool models signal strength reasonably high. -81.3 dBm. Have never been able to receive digital signal.

It's low power because of WPME-DT in Lewiston, Maine and WVIT-DT in Hartford, Connecticut, both on channel 35. But really, why not move back to channel 50 and increase power? Or another vacant channel? The analog signal reached as far as boston I'd imagine, the DT signal is non existant down there.

It's even spotty in Derry.

If only I can remember where the WPME-DT site is in Maine? As for WVIT-DT (NBC) channel 35 of New Britain, CT? Their site is Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, CT. You get an awesome view of their tower when driving by on US Route 6 between Fienemann Road and the Colt Highway cutoff (to CT Route 10). The WTIC tower is right next to WVIT's. It hosts the transmitters of WRCH-FM 100.5 (Lite 100.5), WTXX-DT (CW) channel 20, WEDH-DT (PBS) channel 45 and WTIC-DT (FOX) channel 31.

NHPTV to Replace Channel 11 Antenna

Viewers May Experience Temporary Interruptions in Service During Changeover

(Durham, July 24, 2009) — New Hampshire Public Television’s Channel 11 antenna at Saddleback Mountain in Deerfield, NH, is slated to be replaced with a new antenna which will extend the range and reception capability for NHPTV’s viewers. During the week of the switchover, NHPTV will likely experience brief outages and will be off the air for most of one day. The new antenna will allow NHPTV to increase power which will improve reception and extend NHPTV’s signal to many viewers who have had difficulty watching NHPTV over the air since the digital transition.

Keene, Littleton and Pittsburg will not be affected by this work but Hanover will go off the air whenever Channel 11 does.

New Hampshire Public Television completed its conversion to digital in February and has been transmitting digitally on channels 11 (WENH-Durham), 48 (WLED-Littleton), and 49 (WEKW-Keene) and 50 (Hanover).

For questions or updates about the antenna replacement, go to NHPTV’s website www.nhptv.org or call (603) 868-1100.


WENH is off the air right now it seems.

I was getting ch 11 rather solid last night on my OTA TV at home, but I was getting ch 10 from RI as well, so I figgered the ionosphere was at work.
Lately I've not been able to get either 10 or 11 with any regularity.

So this looks like good news; I'll check the signal strength on 11 tonight...

WENH is off the air right now it seems.
Yup - off for me today.

They were not sure the exact date due to all the rain.

According to the permit they are increasing power and switching to a directional antenna - optimized to NE. Looks like Western and Southern coverage says the same but won't know until they fire it up.

BTW: picking up 27 out of Worcester last night even though UHF antenna was misaligned. Boston stations are 147 degrees for us, Worcester is 184.

WUNI 27 in worcestor is @ 85% for me right now. Granted it's a spanish channel and I don't even watch it. Telemundo is pretty strong too. Weird.

I need to work on getting WZMY. Maybe I should attempt to build another coat hanger DB4.

http://i27.tinypic.com/2gtb0xi.jpg

http://i25.tinypic.com/212tzyt.jpg

I have no idea what direction the signals are coming from here.

The best thing about WZMY is their Reno 911 show.
This is arguably the best show on free TV.
Upgrade to a good outdoor UHF antenna and you should be able to get it reliably!

The best thing about WZMY is their Reno 911 show.
This is arguably the best show on free TV.
Upgrade to a good outdoor UHF antenna and you should be able to get it reliably!

Regarding WZMY, does anyone know if there are any plans afoot to upgrade the signal from 480i?

Regarding WZMY, does anyone know if there are any plans afoot to upgrade the signal from 480i?

I was told last Christmas just before their switchover no.

WENH was back up as of last night.

Here in Milford NH signal is stronger then before.

Pool. I'll check it out.

WENH still blasting in the 90's here. Gotta love antiques roadshow. Do you get the ION station from Concord? I got some specs of it once and never seen it again.

Do you get the ION station from Concord? I got some specs of it once and never seen it again.
Yes but it involves using the rotor so we don't usually bother. We get WPXG the ION station out of Boston about half the time. They have requested an increase in power. When that happens signal goes from -99.1 dBm to -84.6. Ought to come in all the time then.

to Rob Yankowitz,

Rob, it seems Jeopardy in 38 is in SD at least half the time the last few weeks. What gives?

SMK

to Rob Yankowitz,

Rob, it seems Jeopardy in 38 is in SD at least half the time the last few weeks. What gives?

SMK
I don't think it was quite as bad as your impression. We had two issues recently that forced us to play back the SD versions. One was caused by a commercial change that required a last-minute re-feed, and we were unable to take the HD feed. The other was simple human error on our part.

This Friday's show will be in SD, also caused by human error.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

WBZ showed a Pats pre-season game tonight.
So they switched CBS programming to Ch 38.
The Mentalist is one of my favorite shows so I checked it out at 10 PM and was DISMAYED to find that 38 was broadcasting it in 4:3 aspect ratio.
I'm watching OTA on my Samsung plasma and the Info button says 1080i 16:9 but it is clearly letter-boxed down to 4:3.
I'd switch over to ch 12 but I don't have my high-VHF antenna yet.
I'm guessing ch 4/38 is using summer interns to toggle the controls after 7 PM or so.
This is sad...

WBZ showed a Pats pre-season game tonight.
So they switched CBS programming to Ch 38.
The Mentalist is one of my favorite shows so I checked it out at 10 PM and was DISMAYED to find that 38 was broadcasting it in 4:3 aspect ratio.
I'm watching OTA on my Samsung plasma and the Info button says 1080i 16:9 but it is clearly letter-boxed down to 4:3.
I'd switch over to ch 12 but I don't have my high-VHF antenna yet.
I'm guessing ch 4/38 is using summer interns to toggle the controls after 7 PM or so.
This is sad...
You are guessing wrong...
We had a problem with the audio on the HD side, so we were forced to switch to upconverting the SD signal. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Last night must have been unusual. For the first time I received two channel 6-1's WCSH and WLNE. Also I got the following channels for the first time.
WMTW, 8NWSNOW, WLWC, WZMY, and WMFP. Of course they are not there this morning.

Last night must have been unusual.
We picked up WCBB (RF 10) out of Maine for the first time. They are 125 miles away.

On a side note did anyone notice 2, 4, 5 were off air for a little while last night, then came back up at reduced power, then finally back to normal?

We picked up WCBB (RF 10) out of Maine for the first time. They are 125 miles away.

On a side note did anyone notice 2, 4, 5 were off air for a little while last night, then came back up at reduced power, then finally back to normal?

I didn't receive any unusual channels. But it seemed that there were so many technical difficulties last night. Channel 38 airing CBS programming in SD, for some reason on channel 5 you could only hear the music portions of the audio, not the voices, and for some reason channel 25 was coming in very pixelated.

We picked up WCBB (RF 10) out of Maine for the first time. They are 125 miles away.

On a side note did anyone notice 2, 4, 5 were off air for a little while last night, then came back up at reduced power, then finally back to normal?
WBZ (channel 4) did not have any transmitter issues last night. We were not off the air or operating at reduced power at any time.

@RYankowitz - Can we expect more live 16x9 video as was showcased on WBZ during today's coverage of Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral?

On a side note did anyone notice 2, 4, 5 were off air for a little while last night, then came back up at reduced power, then finally back to normal?

UFOs can cause that, especially when they're hovering in the Needham/Waltham area...

WBZ (channel 4) did not have any transmitter issues last night. We were not off the air or operating at reduced power at any time.

So the minute or so long blackout at the end of the 1st quarter wasn't a problem at the station? It seemed like right as it was about to cut to commercial and I changed channels to 5 to make sure it wasn't my HD Tivo acting up, and it was fine. Must have been a source issue then, I guess?

So the minute or so long blackout at the end of the 1st quarter wasn't a problem at the station? It seemed like right as it was about to cut to commercial and I changed channels to 5 to make sure it wasn't my HD Tivo acting up, and it was fine. Must have been a source issue then, I guess?
That's correct. We had a problem in our master control room. I suppose any loss of programming can be interpreted as being "off the air," but the previous post seemed to imply transmitter trouble, which was what I was addressing.

@RYankowitz - Can we expect more live 16x9 video as was showcased on WBZ during today's coverage of Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral?
Yes you can. We are moving toward getting more widescreen coverage on live shots. We are in the process of rolling out a full complement of new field cameras.

Before you ask, HD from the field is quite a way off.

WBZ (channel 4) did not have any transmitter issues last night.
Thanks for the heads up.

Must have been really weird atmospherics last night. 2,4,5 went away completely for a little while. Other Boston stations were fine. Then came back at much lower SNR assumed they were on backup transmitters. Perhaps 15 minutes later back to normal.

Maybe there was really was a UFO over Needham as previously posted. :)

/tom

Yes you can. We are moving toward getting more widescreen coverage on live shots. We are in the process of rolling out a full complement of new field cameras.

Before you ask, HD from the field is quite a way off.

Bob - I think most would agree that well produced (and shot) anamorphic 16x9 480p can look very nice. (And by well produced I mean without all the excessive EE- keep it "natural"! A certain other local station that just went HD does this and their field shots want to make me puke.) I certainly hope most realize that local stations can't have a full complement of HD field cameras on hand these days!

Oh, and thanks for the update above. Glad to hear it wasn't a transmitter problem.

Bob - I think most would agree that well produced (and shot) anamorphic 16x9 480p can look very nice. (And by well produced I mean without all the excessive EE- keep it "natural"! A certain other local station that just went HD does this and their field shots want to make me puke.) I certainly hope most realize that local stations can't have a full complement of HD field cameras on hand these days!

Oh, and thanks for the update above. Glad to hear it wasn't a transmitter problem.
Just to be clear: the issue with HD in the field isn't with the cameras. The tough part is getting the HD signal back to the station. There is a large installed infrastructure of truck-to-receive site and receive site-to-studio microwave equipment that has to be replaced or upgraded in order to accomplish this, and it is a very expensive proposition.

Questions for RYankowitz:

Since June 12th transition, I no longer receive any TV Guide program data.

I understand that WBZ is currently the 'TV Guide On Screen' host station in the Boston area.

Was WBZ the host prior to June 12?

Any thoughts on what changed?

Questions for RYankowitz:

Since June 12th transition, I no longer receive any TV Guide program data.

I understand that WBZ is currently the 'TV Guide On Screen' host station in the Boston area.

Was WBZ the host prior to June 12?

Any thoughts on what changed?
We are the TV Guide On Screen host station in the Boston market. We have been carrying the TVGOS signal on our signals for several years. Until April or May or so, the host station on Comcast was WGBH, but at that time changed to WBZ. Other than that, nothing has changed and we continue to carry the signal.

How are you trying to receive the signal? OTA, cable, or satellite?

Reception is OTA and WBZ is a solid 10 on the meter.

Set has NTSC and ATSC tuners.

Did you transmit TV Guide on channel 4 analog prior to June 12th?

Did Macrovision get creative with their software recently?

I have a feeling that I was receiving the guide via analog and the ATSC tuner doesn't want to deal with it.

Hi, I'm sorry if this was covered before, but this thread is pretty long. I only watch OTA HDTV really during football season. Everything was fine in feburary. Yesterday, I turned on my tv, and the signal was good for all channels. Only problem is that CBS (WBZ-DT) has no sound!!! The signal is strong, and the picture is pretty clear, but no sound can be heard! All other channels have sound and picture.

I live in Newton. My equipment didn't change, nor did my location change. I tried two seperate antennas, and had my TV rescan several times...same problem.

I appreciate any help...really want to resolve this before football season starts :(

Reception is OTA and WBZ is a solid 10 on the meter.

Set has NTSC and ATSC tuners.

Did you transmit TV Guide on channel 4 analog prior to June 12th?

Did Macrovision get creative with their software recently?

I have a feeling that I was receiving the guide via analog and the ATSC tuner doesn't want to deal with it.
We transmit the TVGOS signal on our digital stream using both the legacy SCTE 127 format and the digital format intended for ATSC. Nothing in the system has been changed recently, so you may want to contact Macrovision for additional help.

Hi, I'm sorry if this was covered before, but this thread is pretty long. I only watch OTA HDTV really during football season. Everything was fine in feburary. Yesterday, I turned on my tv, and the signal was good for all channels. Only problem is that CBS (WBZ-DT) has no sound!!! The signal is strong, and the picture is pretty clear, but no sound can be heard! All other channels have sound and picture.

I live in Newton. My equipment didn't change, nor did my location change. I tried two seperate antennas, and had my TV rescan several times...same problem.

I appreciate any help...really want to resolve this before football season starts :(
Check to make sure you do not have your television set to the SAP (Second Audio Program) channel. Quite a few televisions have a SAP or Audio button on their remote controls, and it is easy to accidentally push it.

Also, if you have a Panasonic television, you may be having a problem caused by the television's incorrect interpretation of the TVGOS signal. The fix is the same: switch to the SAP channel and then back again. This is supposed to be a permanent solution - you should only have to do it once.

Check to make sure you do not have your television set to the SAP (Second Audio Program) channel. Quite a few televisions have a SAP or Audio button on their remote controls, and it is easy to accidentally push it.

Also, if you have a Panasonic television, you may be having a problem caused by the television's incorrect interpretation of the TVGOS signal. The fix is the same: switch to the SAP channel and then back again. This is supposed to be a permanent solution - you should only have to do it once.

I'm such an idiot, that was the problem...SAP!!! Thanks a bunch!!! Saved me a lot of brief.

We transmit the TVGOS signal on our digital stream using both the legacy SCTE 127 format and the digital format intended for ATSC. Nothing in the system has been changed recently, so you may want to contact Macrovision for additional help.

Did WBZ transmit TV Guide signals on channel 4 analog prior to June 12th?

The TV set manufacturer is saying that the TV Guide info was received via the NTSC tuner (not the built in ATSC tuner) and I now need to buy a converter box, capable of receiving TV Guide (e.g. converting it to Channels 2 or 3 analog).

However, those boxes are only SD.

Is it my imagination or has WGBH decided not to broadcast the next episode of History Detectives ("WPA Mural Studies; George Washington Minature; Japanese Balloon Bomb") in HD?

They're showing "Viewer Favorites" instead.

Did WBZ transmit TV Guide signals on channel 4 analog prior to June 12th?

The TV set manufacturer is saying that the TV Guide info was received via the NTSC tuner (not the built in ATSC tuner) and I now need to buy a converter box, capable of receiving TV Guide (e.g. converting it to Channels 2 or 3 analog).

However, those boxes are only SD.


WBZ had been transmitting the TVGOS signals on channel 4 analog for a number of years prior to the analog shutdown.

Perhaps a converter box could be used simply to provide the TVGOS signal to the set, while you continue to use the set's ATSC tuner for HD reception. A splitter before and a combiner after the converter might do the trick.

Robert,

Thank you so so much for the follow up / clarification.....it does appear that the analog shut down is the culprit .

Post June 12th, I also noticed that the the current program being viewed, as well as time clock synch. signal (clock has lost 6 minutes over the summer and can't be set manually) is also missing from the screen that shows station specific PSIP info..

Being able to view the current program and the right time was nice however, I only used the TV Guide occasionally for additional program info (not control)....so I probably won't bother with adding a converter box.

Thanks again.

PS: Here in Marblehead, with a DIY indoor antenna, I can receive all the Needham stations fine. Thought you might like to know that WBZ is the only one that is a solid 10 on the signal meter (with no fluctuation). WGHB is a close second (9.5, minimal fluctuation) ,then channels 44, 5 and 38 (8/9 with some fluctuation). ....25 isn't too bad but 7 needs some help (5/7 with lots of fluctuation).

They're showing "Viewer Favorites" instead.
That's code for the program will be continually interrupted for them to beg for money.
C'mon enough with the FREAKIN pledge drives. :mad:
It seems like this is the third month this has been going on either from PBS or the local affiliates. Sorry had to get that off my chest.

Pledge drive over the summer? Really?

The even stupider thing about WGBH's "Viewer's Favorites" is that they don't even tell you what they are!!! I might consider watching some of the old shows, such as Julia Child, but if I don't even know it's on, why am I going to tune in???? Give us a schedule at least.

SMK

Really!

(Side note: I did catch part of an episode of The French Chef this weekend. The screen was practically round! Was that a reflection of the original filming? Was it normal? or did someone have the camera set wrong?)

FOX 25 Boston is broadcast 16:9 inside of a 4:3 image

Sample footage

http://www.mediafire.com/?5noznjezwuj

When they did this is turned off closed caption for the deaf.

WWE Wrestlemania 25 will be shown on NBC networks all across usa on August 29th. Enjoy it to everyone who gets WHDH.

Is it my imagination or has WGBH decided not to broadcast the next episode of History Detectives ("WPA Mural Studies; George Washington Minature; Japanese Balloon Bomb") in HD?

They're showing "Viewer Favorites" instead.

Nope - Many already know you have tunnel vision

Is it my imagination or has WGBH decided not to broadcast the next episode of History Detectives ("WPA Mural Studies; George Washington Minature; Japanese Balloon Bomb") in HD?

They're showing "Viewer Favorites" instead.

There's been a lack of sync with the PSIP and the programming for several nights now on GBH. Last night they had brief versions of the John Denver, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison specials on over "Best of '50s Doo-Wop."

Also noticed this morning that WBZ's weather is now HD 16:9. (This may have been changed a while ago, as I haven't done much watching of the news of late.) Nice to see forward progress on any HD content.

Nope - Many already know you have tunnel visionBah!

Also noticed this morning that WBZ's weather is now HD 16:9. (This may have been changed a while ago, as I haven't done much watching of the news of late.) Nice to see forward progress on any HD content.
We just completed the installation of the last part of the HD weather system last week, so you didn't miss the debut by much.

Robert, the clock during the Early Show is two minutes fast.

WWE Wrestlemania 25 will be shown on NBC networks all across usa on August 29th. Enjoy it to everyone who gets WHDH.

It's really a special about it
www.nbc.com/news/2009/08/10/wrestlemanias-25th-anniversary-special-on-nbc/

Most ppv's like this are three hours. I highly doubt that NBC would allow something that long. So this is going to be clips or something small that's live.

Has anyone else noticed the annoying change in volume for many of the commercials?

It's really a special about it
www.nbc.com/news/2009/08/10/wrestlemanias-25th-anniversary-special-on-nbc/

Most ppv's like this are three hours. I highly doubt that NBC would allow something that long. So this is going to be clips or something small that's live.

It's just a one-hour special, with mostly highlights of the pay-per-view held this past April in Houston.

I receive Fox 25 o.k. in the winter but not in the summer. By reading the thread, I concluded it is because of the tree foliage in the summer, but last night there was the NFL on 25, albeit a low signal. Do they power up for the NFL and does anyone know if FOX will get more power period? I live in Boylston near Worcester. Thanks for any info.

does anyone know if FOX will get more power period?
WFXT has a construction permit. Don't know status of upgrade.

Trip's http://www.rabbitears.info/ site is a great resource. Use the search feature to examine local status.

If you have not already done so check out http://tvfool.com/ to estimate receive signal strength.

By way of comparative WFXT comes in fine here in Southern NH. I do have problems with WSBK, WGBX, WLVI and BBPX.

/tom

WFXT has a construction permit. Don't know status of upgrade.

Trip's http://www.rabbitears.info/ site is a great resource. Use the search feature to examine local status.

If you have not already done so check out http://tvfool.com/ to estimate receive signal strength.

By way of comparative WFXT comes in fine here in Southern NH. I do have problems with WSBK, WGBX, WLVI and BBPX.

/tom

I receive Fox 25 o.k. in the winter but not in the summer. By reading the thread, I concluded it is because of the tree foliage in the summer, but last night there was the NFL on 25, albeit a low signal. Do they power up for the NFL and does anyone know if FOX will get more power period? I live in Boylston near Worcester. Thanks for any info.

WFXT went to full licensed power in the spring. I am in Manchester, NH and have always receieved their signal but the strength on the meter did improve substantially after the increase in power. If you are receiving WBZ and WCVB, a possible problem is FOX61 (WTIC) in Hartford who also increased their antenna height and power and unfortunately share DT 31 w/WFXT. Their signal just barely reaches you:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1250847.html
Possibly an outdoor antenna would solve the problem if you are able? Good luck!

I do have an outdoor antenna, a Terrestrial Digital 42xg UHF hdtv with quad shield coax cable. Antenna.web says I'm 27.5 miles away and I point the antenna where it tells me - I get all the Boston channels including 38.1. The one other I do not get in the summer is 56.1, that is why I wonder about foliage. I guess the power increase has not helped me for the summer - maybe at night like last night it will be better. The antenna is up about 15 feet - can't really change that. Any other ideas? Thanks again.

I do have an outdoor antenna, a Terrestrial Digital 42xg UHF hdtv with quad shield coax cable. Antenna.web says I'm 27.5 miles away and I point the antenna where it tells me - I get all the Boston channels including 38.1. The one other I do not get in the summer is 56.1, that is why I wonder about foliage. I guess the power increase has not helped me for the summer - maybe at night like last night it will be better. The antenna is up about 15 feet - can't really change that. Any other ideas? Thanks again.

that's funny.. out here in Brimfield I get 56 at around 50% and it's stable. 5, 25 and 38 I don't and I know the Hartford stations kill the reception of them and I believe that's also my issue with 38. Kinda surprised you don't get 56 being closer. I use to also get them in Auburn too before I moved (my parents also did until they got cable again this summer).

As long as I can receive 7 to watch Dylan Dreyer.. I'm happy! :D

A quick followup on the TVGOS stream. I have a dual tuner TV (NTSC and ATSC) with cablecard connected to Comcast in Nashua NH. I've been receiving TVGOS data on an analog host channel (used to be WGBH then switched to WBZ CBS) and this analog channel is transmitted by Comcast on an unused channel 98. It's been working for 4 years with only minor issues but as of 8/17 (last week) I have not been receiving any tvgos data. The diagnostic screen shows it can't find the host channel after it reset and rescan but it does still receive a clock signal on that channel and it does get some TVGOS data packets. I know this because if I go into TVGOS and although there's no listing data my channel lineup is still stored and if I do a search for i.e. sports programs I will see a list all the way through 8 days although it is missing some channels.

Does anyone know if there's either a problem with a feed to comcast or a change to the feed?

A quick followup on the TVGOS stream. I have a dual tuner TV (NTSC and ATSC) with cablecard connected to Comcast in Nashua NH. I've been receiving TVGOS data on an analog host channel (used to be WGBH then switched to WBZ CBS) and this analog channel is transmitted by Comcast on an unused channel 98. It's been working for 4 years with only minor issues but as of 8/17 (last week) I have not been receiving any tvgos data. The diagnostic screen shows it can't find the host channel after it reset and rescan but it does still receive a clock signal on that channel and it does get some TVGOS data packets. I know this because if I go into TVGOS and although there's no listing data my channel lineup is still stored and if I do a search for i.e. sports programs I will see a list all the way through 8 days although it is missing some channels.

Does anyone know if there's either a problem with a feed to comcast or a change to the feed?
A quick correction to your story. Channel 98 is not an unused channel; it's a "virtual" channel that points to the host TV station's analog channel (in this case, WBZ on channel 4). It only exists to support users like yourself with cablecard sets.

WBZ is still feeding the TVGOS data on both our HD and analog feeds.

Sometimes the mapping of the virtual channel gets changed, for various reasons. And sometimes that mapping problem only happens in one particular town or area, so other viewers won't see a problem. I'll pass this along to my colleagues at Comcast and let them have at it. They have been very good at finding and correcting this issue once they receive notice of it.

Please let me know if the problem is resolved, or PM me with your contact information so Comcast can get in touch with you directly.

A quick correction to your story. Channel 98 is not an unused channel; it's a "virtual" channel that points to the host TV station's analog channel (in this case, WBZ on channel 4). It only exists to support users like yourself with cablecard sets.

WBZ is still feeding the TVGOS data on both our HD and analog feeds.

Sometimes the mapping of the virtual channel gets changed, for various reasons. And sometimes that mapping problem only happens in one particular town or area, so other viewers won't see a problem. I'll pass this along to my colleagues at Comcast and let them have at it. They have been very good at finding and correcting this issue once they receive notice of it.

Please let me know if the problem is resolved, or PM me with your contact information so Comcast can get in touch with you directly.


Thanks for the quick response Robert! I'll PM you with my info. I still can see WBZ on 98 so I know the mapping is there (or so I believe). I appreciate all your help.

John

It looks like Ion is going into bankrupcy...I have to wonder if they dissolve what would end up buying them out...having that amount of stations nationwide would be interesting to say the very least.

It looks like Ion is going into bankrupcy.
I didn't realize they were in financial trouble.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aYV7U84_mowg&refer=technology

Both WPXG (NH) and WBPX (MA) have FCC applications to dramatically increase coverage area. Guess I shouldn't hold my breath. We receive WPXG fine but it requires rotating the antenna. WBPX is spotty so 4.5 dB increase in signal strength would be welcome.

It looks like Ion is going into bankrupcy...I have to wonder if they dissolve what would end up buying them out...having that amount of stations nationwide would be interesting to say the very least.

It would certainly be nice if they might use the channel allotments to eliminate the absurd amount of co-channeling, especially here in the northeast (NYC-HARTFORD-BOSTON).

But, that's probably not going to happen. If they don't recover, I'm sure some entity or other will buy it out and put something on the air and sell their ad time to Rid-X, the Clapper, etc. But to be fair, Ion didn't have a bad selection (MASH, Quantum Leap, Babar, Jacob Two-Two, & Sitting Ducks, on Qubo for my nephew, etc). Maybe they put too much into syndicated shows? Too many sub-channels and paying for each's content? "The economy" did them in? I do tend to think the low-rent picture quality put them at a decided disadvantage in terms of viewership, all four channels in 480p. Might (have) help(ed) to consolidate.

It looks like Ion is going into bankrupcy...I have to wonder if they dissolve what would end up buying them out...having that amount of stations nationwide would be interesting to say the very least.
That actually is kind of old news now but Chapter 11 will probably save the infomercial I mean Ion network. The two things that did them in were mountains of debt and appearing to run infomercials 25 hours a day. Chapter 11 will take care of the former and hopefully someone in ION management will realize that over half their programming can't be infomercials if they want to have a significant number of viewers.

I do tend to think the low-rent picture quality put them at a decided disadvantage in terms of viewership, all four channels in 480p.

Ion 68.1 has been in HD for a while now, 1080i I think, OTA.

Wipeout was preempted this evening by local coverage of the passing of Ted Kennedy. I don't see any indications that WCVB plans to show the episode at some other time.

Wipeout was preempted this evening by local coverage of the passing of Ted Kennedy. I don't see any indications that WCVB plans to show the episode at some other time.

Same thing for Primetime: Crime. I was kind of pissed that they did that.