Hi All

Does anyone know where the WB and UPN antennas will be located?

Henry

Originally posted by annisquam
Hi All

Does anyone know where the WB and UPN antennas will be located?

Henry

UPN channel 39 is already there on the WBZ tower in Needham. Bob Hess is just waiting for the transmitter (or to get it installed, if it has arrived. It was due around April.)

WB channel 41 still has no FCC Construction Permit but is going full speed to get ready last I heard, and the tower is listed at the ch 56 location, in Needham very near the WBZ tower. (I think it is the other big one with guy wires.)

So both towers already exist. We're just waiting for FCC paperwork for WB and a transmitter for UPN.

Any more news on this Bob Hess and Mr. Ratner? I'm just going by your past info and the FCC filed application data.

WSBK's transmitter is due to arrive in a couple of weeks. As you all know, we operate a combined master antenna system on our tower in Needham. We await a fairly long lead time component called a combiner port which will connect the antenna to the transmitter. I have been projecting a summer on-air date. We may beat that. As I did with WBZ three years ago, I will keep you all informed with updates on WSBK as well as our third station, WLWC.

- Bob

Originally posted by Bob Hess
WSBK's transmitter is due to arrive in a couple of weeks. As you all know, we operate a combined master antenna system on our tower in Needham. We await a fairly long lead time component called a combiner port which will connect the antenna to the transmitter. I have been projecting a summer on-air date. We may beat that. As I did with WBZ three years ago, I will keep you all informed with updates on WSBK as well as our third station, WLWC.

- Bob

Great news Bob! Sounds like the transmitter is on schedule. On my list at
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131725
I got channel 39 listed for Jul-Aug time frame. Sounds like you could make it!

Newcomers should note we've been through all this before waiting for channel 30! Dates do slip. (At least for Bob Hess channels! They don't slip for the rest only because they won't tell us date estimates as early as Bob does, not to mention that Bob has the most channels sharing one tower around here!)

That combiner port thingy Bob mentioned above sounds a lot like the kind of thing they made before for channel 30 and they cut one thing wrong at the factory and we all had to wait while a new one was made.

Originally posted by jhe


That combiner port thingy Bob mentioned above sounds a lot like the kind of thing they made before for channel 30 and they cut one thing wrong at the factory and we all had to wait while a new one was made.

You have a good memory. We also had a problem with Channel 44. Hopefully the manufacturer will get this one right.

Bob

Originally posted by Bob Hess
As I did with WBZ three years ago, I will keep you all informed with updates on WSBK as well as our third station, WLWC.

- Bob

It is great news & of course we can't wait.

3 years? Are we getting old. Thanks for your commitment.

Found this looking for your third DT station, good page.

http://www.bostonradio.org/radio/tvdial.html

Tim

Originally posted by Troubleshooter
Is it just me with constant drop outs with WGBH?

It's not just you. It just started last week.

MMcM, Thanks for the info...I just put the antenna up last week so I never saw GBH without the glitches...I'm less bummed out now :)
-Trouble

Is there any rhyme or reason to WHDH's putting Leno on in HD or SD? Friday night, Leno was in SD. I didn't watch earlier in the week. It seems to vary weekly, and I never know what to expect when I turn it on.

Any info?

SMK

Originally posted by MMcM


It's not just you. It just started last week.

Over the weekend I got perfect glitch free reception on channel 57 WENH-DT. When I watched 19 WGBH-DT I also got more glitches than usual. I am quite sure it was due to the wet ground and analog 19 coming into my antenna from more directions.

Has anyone else bothered to complain to the FCC about this?

In checking for updates to my station list for Boston area, from the FCC database I noted the following:

1 WCEA-LP had a request in to broadcast on channel 3 which was rescinded.

2 WCEA-LP still has a CP to get on the air on channel 58.

3 Currently:

WCEA-LP seems to be licensed to broadcast on channel 19 till 2007.

WGBH-DT also can broadcast for "unlimited hours" under their construction permit on channel 19.

Am I missing something here?

As if the other channel 19's weren't bad enough. Last night around 8PM I got a nice blank grey screen on 19 WGBH-DT.
Signal strength was fine.

Anybody else see it come back? or know what broke?

I wanted to watch the last part of the Nature of Life series that had been running. Fortunetly I was able to hook up the 2nd antenna that points to the west and get WGBY, which looks MUCH better than WGBH since they are currently running only an HDTV feed. Was a great series, really showed off the benefits of Hidef for nature programming.

-Mike

Mike,

I agree. I watch WENH-DT on the nights it comes in also for the full HDTV feed, whenever possible. Springfield is out of range for me except in summer bounce conditions.

I really wish the FCC would let WGBH act as one channel with WGBX. Then they could use one channel for 4 low def feeds, and the other for 1 full BW HDTV channel. Bet it violates the regulations though, so they will go with 1 quasi HD and 1 low def on each.

jhe,

I'm lucky where I am now until I move, I can use a jointenna for an antenna pointing east for Boston and one west for WGBY. I can't get WENH-DT from where I am, though their analog channels 11 and 52 come in fine, maybe when they go full power... Though I do have an issue with chan 19 on Mt. Greylock off the back of the antenna pointing east, it's not too bad and bearable, and with WGBY being watchable, it's not a major issue for me. I do wish they could do that with WGBX, but your right, it probably won't happen.

-Mike

WGBH-DT seemed to be back to normal last night, with both
sub-channels working.

:confused: Does anyone know if the Stanley Cup championship will be broadcast in HD?

Howie

If the SC Championship is broadcast in HD, after tonight's game, it doesn't look like the Fleet Center will need any HD equipment!

Originally posted by jhe
In checking for updates to my station list for Boston area, from the FCC database I noted the following:

1 WCEA-LP had a request in to broadcast on channel 3 which was rescinded.

2 WCEA-LP still has a CP to get on the air on channel 58.

3 Currently:

WCEA-LP seems to be licensed to broadcast on channel 19 till 2007.

WGBH-DT also can broadcast for "unlimited hours" under their construction permit on channel 19.

Am I missing something here?

Hi guys,

I've been lurking for a while on these hdtv threads. Thank You all for some really great information.

I have a few things to add...

I am also seeing glitches on WGBH-DT. It's frustrating because the loop that they're showing seems to have excellent picture quality (better than I've seen on ABC,CBS, or Leno). After seeing the info here that another UHF-19 is also being transmitted from the Pru. (WCEA), I figured that is probably the cause of my glitches. So I connected the RF-passthru on my SIR-T150 to the ANT2 input on my Tosh. TV and sure enough channel 19 had a very snowy, but substantial picture on it.
Maybe I'm just pointing out the obvious, but I thought it was interesting enough to share. For curiosity sake, I think I'll check the other UHF frequencies to see if I'm getting any sort of analog signal from an alternate source.

Also, I have a newbie question...
(my terminology might not be accurate here)
WGBH-TV and WHDH-DT are both using 2 sub-channels (2.1, 2.2, and 7.1, 7.2). My STB tells me that 2.1 is HD, 2.2 is SD, 7.1 is HD, and 7.2 is SD. I thought that the broadcaster had the choice of transmitting one HD channel "OR" 3-or-4 SD channels, and not a combo. of the 2. In other words, if 2.1 is HD, then how is there any bandwidth left over for 2.2?

Thanks, and keep up the flow of good information.

WGBH and WHDH are significantly compressing the HD signal. It was very obvious during the Oympics. If you compared the signal from HDNET and WHDH (which were showing the same broadcast at the same time), the HDNET signal was clearly superior.

SMK

WCEA-LP vs. WGBH-DT

WCEA-LP only has a secondary status on Channel 19, meaning they have
to turn off their transmitter if it interferes with WGBH, which of course it
does whenever WGBH-DT in on the air.

LPTV stations were given an opportunity to gain "Class A" status in late 1999. To do this, they had to fill out some paperwork and demonstrate a number of things. WCEA's owners missed the deadline and thus their application to gain this status was dismissed (see http://www.cmdconsulting.com/fcc%20pubs/da001229%20corrected.PDF ). Thus, they remain in secondary status.

The owners have a construction permit to change to channel 58, but are trying to get a different channel since all channels 52 and above are going to go away, meaning only that they will have to again change frequencies in the near future. The CP was issued, then rescinded due to an processing irregularity, but is still under consideration at this time.

rjd,

Thanks for the added information regarding the WCEA-LP mess.
That explains why they were trying to get channel 40 and channel 3 allocations a while back.

It also goes to prove they should be switching off when channel 19 digital is on!

When WGBH-DT first came on air, I noticed they did that just about 3 minutes before WGBH-DT came on the air.

Lately I have confirmed several times, they were not doing that! Of course maybe they were switching off at the same instant that the digital was coming on, so I would not be able to tell.

So one day when I was having extra glitches on WGBH-DT I called someone closer in Boston and he was able to confirm an analog picture on 19 during the WGBH-DT broadcast.

No idea how often this happens, but sometimes I get digital 19 about as good as other Needham stations and other nights I don't.

There is no question WGBH-DT HD is inferior. I have Hipix recordings of California PBS HD station material. WGBH is side-by-side much worse PQ based on same material. What a shame, to wait for 2 years for WGBH to go on the air, and now to broadcast inferior bitrates...what confuses me is I show 45mbps on 2-1, I thought that was supposed to be full bitrate??

And to top it off, I get the same 15sec audio/video glitch others are reporting. I use a Hipix. Doesn't anyone at WGBH ever look at their own signal?

Spearse

When I called WGBH, the people I spoke to were unaware that WCEA was staying on-the-air, so perhaps they don't watch their own signal.

Did anyone notice the washed-out appearence of some of the outdoor scenes during "The District" on Saturday night? It looks to me like it was probably in the production not in the broadcast. I neglected to switch over to the analog broadcast and see if it showed up there too...

Richard P. Harvey,

Was in your neck of the wood on Sunday (drive through new plaza). It amazes me that you are getting reception that far out.

Hope all is well,
Tim

Originally posted by rudolpht
Richard P. Harvey,

Was in your neck of the wood on Sunday (drive through new plaza). It amazes me that you are getting reception that far out.

Hope all is well,
Tim

Me too! I was at a couple of schools for basektball tournaments. Lots of high and low spots. Nice country. I suspect Richard lives on one of the high spots.

Bob

Did anyone out there have trouble receiving the digital signal on channel 7 this morning? All the other stations were fine but I got a blank screen on 7.

Thanks in advance

Originally posted by steverobertson
Did anyone out there have trouble receiving the digital signal on channel 7 this morning? All the other stations were fine but I got a blank screen on 7.

Thanks in advance

They seem to be having some equipment problems lately. I've been having problems with 7-1 on and off for the past few weeks but I could always get 7-2. Now 7-2 is black also.

Bob Hess,

How's channel 39 coming? Did your transmitter get delivered on schedule?

Also, any news on the low VHF stations yet?

Can anyone in the Boston area with an RCA DTC-100 verify for me if they are receiving programming info from the local Boston digital channels? I have had my receiver for about 6 months and periodically receive some PSIP programming info from WHDH (lately it has become more frequent) but other than station IDs I get nothing from the other Boston stations. I'm wondering if this is just the way it is or if my receiver is faulty.

My DTC-100 performs exactly as you describe. WHDH is the only channel I have ever noticed programming info on.

Originally posted by sbuckler
My DTC-100 performs exactly as you describe. WHDH is the only channel I have ever noticed programming info on.

Same with my DTC100 receiver.

BOB HESS: Are you aware that the area RCA DTC-100s are not receiving programming info? Is this because this info is not being broadcast or the information is not compatible with our receivers? I have a Hughes E-86 that gets all local program info but I believe that is fed us from DIRECTV.

Originally posted by wkhz


Same with my DTC100 receiver.

My Sony HD100 does not display any info for any of the local digital channels.

Was picking up all of the Boston stations in Exeter NH with good signal strength with Zenith 1080. Now channel 7 and 25 have disappeared. HYave they moved the antenna for these or is it a problem with my receiver?

Bill Gaw2: I am picking up both 7 and 25 as of 8:49AM with stronger than usual signal strength in Taunton. I am about 35 miles SE of the Needham towers.

I just got to my summer home in Kennebunkport, ME. Put an 80" CM antenna in my attic and pointed it to Boston (towers are 90+ miles away). Last night I got all the networks fine (including 3 in HD). Tonight ABC (5-1) is just coming in and breaking up while CBS stays pretty strong. Fox and NBC are strong enough to lock in but not great. Anyone else have a problem with ABC 5? Thanks

anyone else having trouble with WFXT often changing
back and forth from channel 25 & 31. it's most annoying,
as it takes a couple of seconds for me to hit "exit"
on the remote and have the display return. i end up
missing some seinfeld jokes!

is this being caused by some software glitch
in my sony 34xbr2 or is WFXT doing something goofy.

or maybe is it being caused by my being at the
fringe of reception? (recently i upgraded my
antenna to CM4248 and added a winegard 4800 preamp,
and now i can get channel 7.1&7.2&25.1 most of the time).

/e

Originally posted by Benji
BOB HESS: Are you aware that the area RCA DTC-100s are not receiving programming info? Is this because this info is not being broadcast or the information is not compatible with our receivers? I have a Hughes E-86 that gets all local program info but I believe that is fed us from DIRECTV.

Benji,

We do not transmit guide information. Perhaps at some point in the future. WHDH does and I see it fine on my DTC-100 although I haven't looked at it for some time.

Bob

Tveli,
Not sure what you mean by WFXT switching back and forth between 25 and 31.
Channel 25 is analog WFXT and 31 is its digital counterpart....

Mark H

I think he means that WFXT is truning PSIP on and off or that they are haveing PSIP problems. My DTC-100 seems to stay pretty stable with WFXT PSIP. So hard to figure what his problem is.

Pat

Tveli,

I get the same thing with my Samsung on channel 57 sometimes. On days when it is very weak it will sometimes tune in and display as 57 for a few seconds, before it figures out the map and shows 80-3.

On the Samsung this has no effect on the picture. If your tuner is more affected, try to disable the mapping.

One thing I've noticed is that some preamplifiers are particularly sensitive to temperature: they get noisier when the air is warmer. If you have
a mast-mounted preamplifier, this could affect your reception. This could
be why there's been more people reporting drop outs lately. :confused:

I originally had a radio shack UHF in-line preamp for my antennas in
an unheated attic. In the freezes of January, the analog signals at
the upper end (44, 56, 68) came in very good. In the summer, they
were unwatchable (they were there, but very noisy). I "upgraded"
to a Winegard preamp when I set up my HDTV and performance is
better, though WHDH's channel 42 transmitter is noticeably more choppy
now than it was last winter. I will either have to improve my station, or
wait for them to go to full power.

As an aside, the lightning storms the other night made for some interesting effects on the reception.

WHDH has plenty of power.

I expect dropouts are more caused by the leaves this time of year. If they are between you and the transmitter they cut the signal noticably, and with multipath, you get the same thing as an increase of multipath, even if you still have lots of signal.

Then the summer bounce signals from far away stations will also degrade signals.

After getting discouraged that WGME and WMTW in Portland won't be high def for some time, as I posted earlier, I decided to point my attic antenna in the opposite direction a couple of nights ago. From Kennbunkport, ME, I suddenly had all 5 networks from Boston, with ABC, CBS and PBS all sending HD programming. Fox and NBC were coming in great, too. I am 93 miles from the transmitters. Now after 2 days of great reception, I've had two days of signal strength so low, I can't get a picture on any Boston station. Am I relying on tropospheric conditions or are there any others out there this far away from Boston getting regular reception? Thanks

thanks for the comments, folks. i do think the switching
back & forth between the virtual & physical channel numbers
for WFXT may well have something to do with my being
at the fringe of reception area, and the antenna being indoors ...

in other news, i have real trouble receiving channel 7!
i've got one antenna position that gets 2,4,5,23,25 reliably... but not 7... only when conditions are at
their best can i pick up 7. usually i am able to receive
7 when Leno is on. i wish letterman was in HD !

i've gotta figure a way to get this antenna placed
outside discreetly! will it all just be "temporary"?
in 2006 will i need to replace my high-gain UHF antenna
with a high-gain VHF one???? ;)

WHDH is running 344kW, about 1/3 of their full license power.
I've got a big hill in the way. That, coupled with additional
pre-amp noise at the high frequency, is the problem. My guess
is my system probably needs about 3db more margin to make
it reliable. That would leave room for the additional preamp
noise in the warmer temperatures. (Incidently, on very very cold
days in the winter, reception is better than on warmer days in the
winter, even from one day to the next; so the leaves have nothing
to do with it!). Also, keep in mind that I can observe the behavior
of the system using the analog stations: it is clearly a system noise
problem, not interference from distant stations.

The authorized power of the DT transmitters were crafted based
on the existing coverage of the analog counterparts: the station
owners will end up with virtually the same grade A/B contours they
have on NTSC. Since 'HDH is running a lot less power than this
theoretical equivalent, their contours are significantly smaller.
I have absolutely no problem receiving analog ch. 7, but their digital
signal is unreliable.

When (if?) the ch. 42 transmitter goes to full power, it will fix my probem
(that is, if I don't improve my set-up first). The third option, that big hill
moving out of the way, is probably less likely.

Hi Steve,
The conditions that you are seeing are very common coastal conditions brought about by a temperature inversion. This causes a ducking effect that keeps the signal close to the earth and bends it over the normal electrical horizon for UHF. The normal electrical horizon for most of the Boston stations is about 55 to 60 miles. 93 miles would be to close for F2 layer effects, which would be you reception hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles. F2 layer would be skip conditions and not the duckting caused by the temperature differences with the ocean and cold/warm fronts or both. In my ham radio days I used to talk to people as far away as Maryland from cape code using less then 10 watts of power and a small 4 element beam taped to a pole. Hope this was a good explanation.

Pat

hi! thanks for the responses, folks.
i'm fairly well inland but i do agree that temperature
inversion affect is sometimes happening in-line between my home
& the transmitters.
additionally my channel 7.1/7.2 reception problems will
probably be mostly cured if they go to full power instead
of their current 1/3 power...
/eli, about 55 miles from the transmitters...

[i]

i've gotta figure a way to get this antenna placed
outside discreetly! will it all just be "temporary"?
in 2006 will i need to replace my high-gain UHF antenna
with a high-gain VHF one???? ;) [/B]

tveli,

Where are you located?

Bob Hess
Director, Broadcast Operations/Engineering
WBZ/WSBK/WLWC

eli,

You are as far from WHDH-DT as I am from ch 57, and if you aren't on a hill, you may have the problems I do.

When the atmosphere reflects, that signal can be stronger than my direct signal. That is why on some nights I have to tilt my antenna upward up to 30 degrees.

When the atmosphere is not reflecting, the antenna works best horizontal.

When the two signals are equal, I have to wait for the weather to change, or put up with lots of glitches.

Thanks for the responses. Signals were strong last night and today. I even got to see what Fox's 480p widescreen looks like with "24" last night (better than 480i stretched - but nothing near HD). Since all my reception is "reflected", is the concensus that tilting my antenna up will improve reception?

hi Bob Hess - i am in merrimack NH ,
in the soughegan river valley.
and hey, thanks for all the great work!

jhe - yes, sometimes i notice tilting my antenna
upwards about 20 degrees is crucial for me to get
channel 7 or channel 25. the atmosphere is our
waveguide :)

WBZ web site now has an HDTV menu button with info on the HDTV channel and HDTV schedule.

Now the general public that has never heard of avsforum can find out that HDTV exists.

WGBY is now multicasting 4 different PBS feeds, and no longer broadcasting the national PBS HDTV loop :( I hope when HDTV programming comes on, that they will switch to that opposed to keeping these channels. None of the channels coincide with WGBY channel 57, PBSYou was one of them which I've seen on Dish. Not sure what the others were of.

-Mike

Originally posted by jhe
WBZ web site now has an HDTV menu button with info on the HDTV channel and HDTV schedule.

Now the general public that has never heard of avsforum can find out that HDTV exists.
jhe,

Same stuff that has been on our web site for a l o n g time. Just a button to make it easier to find. Also out of date, I see. We now operate with 725,000 watts.

Bob

Bob Hess,

I guess the button helps.
Still can't find your tower construction pictures though.

Originally posted by jhe
Bob Hess,

I guess the button helps.
Still can't find your tower construction pictures though.
Tower pictures have never been on the WBZ site. They will be on the Boston Society of Broadcast Engineers site in a month or so (www.sbe11.org).

- Bob

Bob Hess,

Thanks. I'll be watching for them.

Where's WHDH-DT?? Seems like someone flipped the wrong switch and 7-1 and 7-2 are M.I.A. All other digital stations are showing their normal signal strength on my Hughes receiver, but 42 is coming in at "0". Hope this is resolved before this afternoon's Preakness!

WHDH is back.

Tim

Originally posted by Bob Hess

jhe,

Same stuff that has been on our web site for a l o n g time. Just a button to make it easier to find. Also out of date, I see. We now operate with 725,000 watts.

Bob

Much easier to find!!! Now we're talking. In no time WBZ tv will broadcast their primetime news and segments in HD like WRAL-DT in NC. Anyone see the article in the June Sound and Vision? Nice article!

I can dream cant I??? Bob Hess??

wbz reception a little spotty in methuen ,
just got up this morning and ,voula,it is snowing big time in may

HDTV prpgramming is coming to WB which is to be on air in Boston area this summer. Good news.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=141208

Interesting test loop WCVB-DT now

I saw that too and came in around the time of the 101 Dalmations trailer. Got a kick out of the engineer doing "Take" about 20 times, hehehe

-Mike

When I turned CSI on last night around 9:30, the lip sync problem was so bad that I had to switch to the NY feed. The same thing happened to me last week while watching CSI. However, between now and then, I have watched many other HD shows on WBZ without the problem.

When I turned CSI on last night around 9:30, the lip sync problem was so bad that I had to switch to the NY feed. The same thing happened to me last week while watching CSI. However, between now and then, I have watched many other HD shows on WBZ without the problem.

hey there woz,
any relation to the santa cruz Woz(niak) ,
the original apple engineer.

i watched both CSI last night on WBZ and
noticed zero lipsync problems. however i was
listening to the analog audio rather than the digital audio.

unfortunately, no relation that I know of.

My wife was watching the program with me, and she did not notice the lip sync issue. She usually is more picky about this than I am, but I think the fact that she ws very tired allowed her to overlook the problem. Anyway, it was very annoying to me.

Looks like channel 19 will be able to leave WGBH-DT alone soon and try broadcasting on channel 3.

Maybe channel 3 will interfere with 4 and force some more viewers into digital! Or it could be another Hollywood plot to keep people from using channel 3 on their VCR's.

I assume if it works, it will replace their request to move to channel 58.

FCC says the ch 3 Special Temporary Authority runs till November.

Originally posted by jhe
Looks like channel 19 will be able to leave WGBH-DT alone soon and try broadcasting on channel 3. FCC says the ch 3 Special Temporary Authority runs till November.

Effective now? (Hopefully ... so I can freely use the channel up/down arrows without worrying about analog-19 locking in during the NonDigtial-19 hours requiring a channel re-scan!) If not now, any idea when? I hate analog-19!!!

RScogland,

Wish I knew! You might try calling the station? I guess they can start up anytime between now and November?

The FCC database is in kind of a mess:

There was an announcement of this along with many other stations for LP class A and translators, which lists it only as "proposed" and says you have 30 days or something to file objections.

Then under station info they still list the older application as rescinded. This I ignored because I have seen this area out of date before.

Finally the "Special Temporary Authority:" is listed as "granted" on the latest dated application which is where I saw the November expiration date, and I think it was May 15 as the grant date.

So even just taking the two recent items, there is a conflict here! Or maybe it means they can start up today but might have to stop if someone objects in the next 30 days?

hi... to interested folks in southern NH & elsewhere -
i moved my antenna from bedroom up into attic with some interesting changes in reception. previously i could get 4&5 100% reliably, with signal strenth
up to the "r" in "strength" - 70% or 80%. also previously
i could get 25 from mid-evening, and
7 sometimes from LATE evening .
with antenna in attic , and pointed more towards
due south than southeast , i still get 4&5 solid,
and now 7.1 solid too! but *zilch* for 25.1 .
that's a good tradeoff i suppose.
btw, this is all with channelmaster 4248 antenna
& 4800 preamp.

tveli,

Did your antenna in the attic just move up, or sideways too?
Could be you can tweak it a bit with 4-6 inch height variations too.

I also checked my signals last night: Reception was great and I received an identifiable logo for WTNH channel 8 analog (New Haven CT), for the first time.

So I took my super calibrated test dipole (a fully collapsed rabbit ears antenna) and my meter (Sencore) and went to a nearby hilltop (the hill Siemens is on in Burlington, near the mall, approx 12-13 miles from Needham towers) to try to see what my signals would be like if I had line of sight, or close as I could get to it.

Antenna was about 12 ft AGL.

Here's what I measured for some key channels around here in order (I'll skip the analog ones except the strongest, case anyone local wants to check likelihood of preamp overloading.):


channel signal Dbmv

25 (analog) +10
07 (analog) + 6
--------------------------
19 (digital or mix) + 6
20 + 4
30 - 1
--------------------------
42 -12
31 -13
23 -14
--------------------------
57 (off air)
59 -22


I should mention these numbers could be a bit low for the UHF end, due to a few trees in the path.

I have just moved in the Manchester, NH area and I am curious if it would be worth it to get a HD STB (I have the TV). If I can only get one station then no, but if I can receive the Boston programming it may well be worth the investment to check out actaul HDTV.

Any thoughts? Is there good reception in Manchester, NH for OTA HDTV?

hi jhe! my antenna moved sideways by about 10 feet too.
indeed when i had it in the bedroom, i found sweet spots
by moving the antenna up 6 inches or a foot.
you received a new haven station last night - wow!

if fox shows something interesting some night i'll probably
try to find a sweet spot so i can get channel 25.1 .
possibly i just haven't found the right angle to point
the antenna to find 25.1 given the antennas new location...

emcglynn, Manchester dude. i am barely 10 miles south
of manchester and can receive 2.1,2.2,4.1,5.1,7.1,7.2 reliably using channelmaster 4248 & 4800 preamp. so i think
you have a decent chance of being able to get these stations
too, especially if you are on a hill. (manchester has a big hill!)

one possible approach for you is to buy a settop box from
tweeter in manchester, try it for 30 days with various antennas, and return it if you can't get any signals.
i think you'll *definitely* need a good outdoor antenna...

btw, forget about WMUR-DT in NH, their DTV picture stinks
due to the awful stretching they have introduced. also they don't
pass through ABC's HD programming.

tveli, I assume your antenna is indoor? Does the preamp actually help? I live in Malden in an apartment, I will buy a Plasma if I can get 3 HD channels...well maybe I will do it if I can get 2. ;) But I heard preamp just amplifies everything, therefore it amp the multipath, noise, etc. How much is the preamp?

thanks

hey there 2600 dude.
oh yeah the preamp helps big time,
even though it amplifies the noise too.
but it's gotta be a quality preamp (like winegard)
and it's gotta be for UHF. i have a radio shack
preamp too but it is massively noisy.
the winegard uses the coax shield & lead to xmit
the dc power up to the preamp which is mounted
as close to the antenna as possible.
my antenna is indoor now in the attic - previously
in a bedroom.

you live in malden? i would expect you could get
all the boston dtv channels from there with a decent uhf
antenna, maybe without a preamp. i think the preamp
was about $40.

i'm all for you joining us in DTV-land but if you'd
like to rap via email i can try to talk you out of buying
a plasma display. imho they ain't ready for prime time.

for example, compare side-by-side at tweeter etc or wherever - a direct-view CRT or even a RPTV with whatever plasma, all rendering a 1080i demo signal,
and then maybe all of them rendering a 480p dvd signal.

Originally posted by emcglynn
I have just moved in the Manchester, NH area and I am curious if it would be worth it to get a HD STB (I have the TV). If I can only get one station then no, but if I can receive the Boston programming it may well be worth the investment to check out actaul HDTV.

Any thoughts? Is there good reception in Manchester, NH for OTA HDTV?

I agree with tveli, you need a good outdoor antenna. With that you should have great signals. You are about the same distance from Needham as I am from Manchester, and I actually get channel 59 as easily as channels 20 and 42!
When 59 will have HDTV to watch is another question.

Of course every location is different and you could have some problems like too much local signal to use a preamp, etc but there is plenty to watch on your local PBS at channel 57 at a minimum, so you should automatically get 2 stations. 59 upconverts are still better than analog, especially for locals, and with a tuner like the Samsung you can fix their stretch!

tveli,

thanks for the info. Currently my TV is dying on me, that's why I want to buy a new one. I looked at XBR 40", $3000 from CircuitCity.

I am looking at the Panny 42" 16:9 Plasma which is $5640. Should be free shipping, no tax, and hopefully 20% off, if not, 15% off. So I am looking at around $4800 with wall mount. I want a Plasma because it's cool. ;) I uderstand if I am not watching at least 480p material, it will look bad. My co-worker has a 50" plasma w/ sat. He showed me the crappy channels, good channels, and channels I watch the most. But I am blew away with the DVD. He does not have HD Sat yet, so I assume if I get DTV, it will be out perform or at least DVD quality. Also, Cable companies is going to have DTV by Jan 1, 2003. ATT said they will reserve the DTV channels, but probably not put anything on yet, which SUCKS!!!!!

The XBR is huge!!!!! I will have to buy new TV stand, and everytime I move, it will be a big trouble. I also want to use the Plasma for PC too. I am thinking of building a HTPC with Tablet wireless PC.

Anyhow, back to antenna and preamp. My apartment, with the building's antenna or my cheap indoor antenna, I get FOX25, UPN38, WB56, WGBH66 and WBZH44 (don't quote me on those channel names hehehhhe) depending on the weather and time. Actally, the cheap antenna can pick up a few more clean channels like NBC and CBS I think. I am talking about only analog channels since my myHD card has not arrive yet.

The building is 6 floors high, so I thought the building antenna should be better than my "2 sticks" cheap antenna, but I was wrong.

So I wonder if I buy the preamp, can I really get all the Boston channel?

I heard people say, when you get digital channels (DTV), it's either you get completely clean picture, MPEG artifacts, or no picture at all. Is that true? So I will not have snow or ghost?

Can't wait to get the myHD card to try it out!

Originally posted by aleet2600
I will buy a Plasma if I can get 3 HD channels...well maybe I will do it if I can get 2.

If you live in Malden you will not need a pre-amp.

You will LOVE a good plasma & HDTV & DTV. (Hit the plsma forum here, it's a great resources and honestly addresses the pros & cons of plasma). Goin from an RPTV to plsma was a literal eye opening experience.; Fantastic. Incredible detail, and you can really use as a comp screen. They would have to pry my 50" Pioneer 503CMX from my cold dead fingers. Craig at CellarCinemas not too far away has great prices and will do install/calibration. The downside is crappy analog signals look really crappy.

I use HiPix and have both Dish (2) & DirecTV HD STBs. MyHD getting good reviews too. It would be a great setup.

Good Luck,
Tim

hey there aleet2600 - fwiw, you might want to compare
the 34xbr2 with the xbr700 side-by-side with an HD
picture. tweeter in nashua has this setup.
the 34xbr2 kicks ass on the xbr700.

i'm sure the plasma forum here has more knowledge to impart
than little old me. but i think the 42" plasma you mentioned
does not render HD. so that could suck, if you are into
HD viewing rather than just 480p viewing.

as for your question about all-or-nothing DTV, no it is
not actually true that you will get all or nothing.
indeed you will see no snow and no ghosts. but when
the dtv signal is marginal you may see "blockiness",
or a line of green squares across the screen, or the
picture may freeze for a second or two! that's
what my tv does, anyway.

Bob Hess,

We just got the news from WGBH that WGBX-DT 43 will be on June 17 at 9AM for a month of testing.

Does this mean channel 39 is getting close to ready too?

Yes, I just ot this e-mail from WGBH about WGBX, it is supposed to broadcast HDTV 24/7 for a month!

Dear Viewer,

We are pleased to announce that WGBH will begin testing on our second HDTV
station WGBX-DT43 on June 17,2002. The station will carry the same programming
as WGBH 44. The testing schedule is as follows:

Starting Monday June 17,2002 9am
24 hours a day
7 days a week

This is a one month test, following which WGBX-DT43 will be off air for some
time. We will send additional announcements when further testing is scheduled.
Get your DTV tuners tuned to DT43!

Sincerely,
WGBH Audience and Member Services

Originally posted by jhe
Bob Hess,

We just got the news from WGBH that WGBX-DT 43 will be on June 17 at 9AM for a month of testing.

Does this mean channel 39 is getting close to ready too?
Right now, it appears that 38.1 will be on the air in August.

The transmitter is being installed right now. We await some antenna related equipment, specifically a custom built combiner port which allows us to plug the transmitter into the same master antenna system that is used by WBZ, WCVB, WGBH and WGBX.

- Bob

Is there a resource which might provide a programming schedule for the HD content on WGBX this month?

With the seeming lack of authoritative info on this upcoming month of 24/7 digital testing (notice I didn't say 24x7 HDTV) on WGBH-DT 43, I decided to cross-reference the WGBH-44 schedule

WGBH 44 schedule June 17th (http://www.wgbh.org/schedules/daytv?month=06&day=17)

with the "HD" listings in the recent post on upcoming PBS DTV


Upcoming PBS (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1118851&highlight=wgbh#post1118851)

so I just did the first week. This is my best guess of what might be HDTV...

tuesday 6/18 3pm - Nova: Tales From The Hive

wednesday 6/19 2:30am - Nova: Japan's Secret Garden
3:30am - Thomas Eakins: Scenes From A Life

thursday 6/20 3:30am - American Family
1:00pm - Nova: Japan's Secret Garden

saturday 6/22 3:00pm - Nova: Japan's Secret Garden

sunday 6/23 4:00am - Thomas Eakins: Scenes From a Life.


Anybody know better?

Mark H

channel 43 came on this morning about 2 minutes
early (8:58 AM).
I watched and waited for 10 minutes or so, but there was no
picture by the time I had to leave for work.

The signal was about 10 db weaker than channel 44 at my location.

It's about 11:12 AM and WGBX-DT is on the air. PSIP info indicates that they are calling it ch 2-1 SD and 2-2 SD. I wonder if they are intending to solve their ch 19 problem by putting Ch 2 (19) HD programing on Ch 43?

Signal in Tewksbury is a solid 94 on the old DTC-100.

Pat

Good news, 43 is alive and well, but they're showing the
two SD channels (2 & 44) they've been showing for the last couple of days.

I guess we'll have to wait till this afternoon to see if channel 19 is going to be showing the HD PBS feed. At 5 pm, PBS-HD will be showing "Tracks Ahead" (with the Great Austrailian Rail Road featured).

Now since channel 43 contains (virtually-mapped) 2-1 as SD digital 44, and the (virtually-mapped) 2-2 as SD digital 2,
any ideas what channel 19 will virtually-map to?

(I hope it isn't the default PBS virtural channel 80-3 since that is what channel 57 New Hampshire is using!)

Got 43 as 2-1 (showing the same as 44) and 2-2 (showing the same as 2) on my Dish 6000 OTA tuner. Problem is that it also generated bogus mappings for channels 69-1 through 69-17. Signal is coming in nice and strong, though. It will be interesting to see what they show on 19.

clueless: no go for channel 44.1/44.2/43.1/43.2 here in southern NH . meanwhile 2,4,5,7 are wall to wall and treetop tall, and 25.1 is solid enough but without the strength of 2,4,5,7.
maybe 43.1&2 will work late at night when
atmospheric/mish-micheals conditions are better.

(editing post later after renting a clue): hey, ok, i guess atmosphere/mish
conditions are fine now - i do see WGBX on 2.1 and WGBH on 2.2 . both in 4:3 SD. ok, but
i'll miss Rudy Maxa travelogue @ 7:30PM each night!

newbie logging in from So. NH (nashua).

Started gettting WGBX-DT today -- it maps itself into 2-1 and 2-2, with 2-1 showing 'GBX-SD and 2-2 showing 'GBH-SD. If this is so, what did (does) WBGH-DT 19 map into ?? I was never able to get any hint of a DT channel at 19 -- during the day (with a fairly small roof top on the garage and without the benefit of being able to point) I was only able to get a poor but clearly identifyable Hispanic Analog Station at 19. It would be really great if the PBS-HD programming would appear on 'GBX-DT, since I have had no luck getting 'GBH-DT and, while WENH-DT comes in loud and clear if I point to Durham, I'm pointed at Boston (no rotor) and just can't get a good lock without climbng the roof and giving up the all Boston channels. If anyone is closer to Boston, can you tell me -- is 19-DT on the air?? what does it map into?? what does it show ?? true HD or multi-casting ?? is it a weaker signal than most??

Quick update: I get 'BZ-DT, 'CVB-DT and 'FXT-DT loud and clear. 'HDH-DT just doesn't male it most nights -- when will they go full power? Even with the antenna point away from Manchester, 'MUR-DT is strong signal, but sometimes not looking good -- suspect their problems, not mine. Tonight's ABC programming was true HD tonight for the first time that I've noticed. Too bad it was such a poor print of Goldfinger!

I sure hope they don't stick to this overlapping PSIP channel assignment, I really think it is going to confuse people.

Pat

On my Hughes receiver, ch.2 is coming in on 2-2 and ch.44 on 2-1 but only if I punch in 43-1. If I try and access the menu, 44 dissappears from 2-1. This really can get confusing. Why isn't 44 mapping to 44-1? And where did WGBH-HD dissappear to?

I'll second that inquiry from Benji, what the heck happened to WGBH-DT on 19? I've never had a problem receiving them, but last night between 8-9 PM, nada. Seems like they've been gone for a week or so, now? I even re-scanned on my Panny since it can get funny when PSIP or other changes occur, but this didn't help either.

I'm also now receiving the GBX/GBH SD programming on ch 43 (mapped to 2-1 and 2-2 respectively) and all other stations (4-1, 5-1, 7-1/2, 25-1, 80-3) are receiving fine as well. (I even managed to get 80-3 out of Durham with my antenna facing due south, no doubt thanks to the reflectivity of those huge thunderheads which rolled through last night!)

Checked again last night for 43 and got a nice blank screen again.

Then I made the mistake of rescanning on my Samsung tuner and now I get a nice blank screen with a message saying that the channel is not in service for both 43 and now 19 too!

Signals are fine, and work great on my old Panasonic tuner in spite of the mappings to 2-1 and 2-1 for both. Only turning the antenna tells me which I am really tuned to!
Very confusing.

But nothing seems to make the Samsung recognize the packets.
So now I guess we got hit by the problems Samsung owners have had in Texas etc.

Bob Hess,

You got a Samsung tuner you can loan to channels 43 and 19?

Also did you cut your power down on 30? Seems to have gotton a lot weaker.

Originally posted by jhe
Signals are fine, and work great on my old Panasonic tuner in spite of the mappings to 2-1 and 2-1 for both.
Which model? TU-DST50/51? I definitely don't see this on my TU-HDS20.
Only turning the antenna tells me which I am really tuned to!
Very confusing.
Umm, not sure what you mean? I thought all DTV antennas are on the same tower in Needham?

So is anyone receiving WGBH-DT on ch 19? Now I'm totally confused.....:confused:

I have never liked PSIP/re-mapping. It never seems to work right for all channels, and I could care less what a channel is called, because the important thing is to be able to watch it. On my ProScan PSHD-105 I was able to pick up 19-2, 19-3, 20-1, 30-1, 31-2, 42-2, 42-3, 43-2, 43-3 (I delete all the 23-x channels since they're useless). I don't think my antenna will allow 57-x or 59-x and I don't think they have much to add to what I can already pick up anyway.

I'm a huge fan of throwing analog channel 19 off the air because when I tune into it during non-digital 19 hours (usually by accident) it always messes up my ability to keep 19-2 & 19-3 working in my system without a re-scan.

Last night, 19-2 & 19-3 was just 4:3 programming that had dropouts every 2-3 seconds. The same programming (also in 4:3) was being shown on 43-2 & 43-3, but without any dropouts. I hope that the good (yet repetitive) 16:9 programming doesnt go away from the PBS stations.

Originally posted by jhe
Bob Hess,

You got a Samsung tuner you can loan to channels 43 and 19?

Also did you cut your power down on 30? Seems to have gotton a lot weaker.
We do have a Samsung built commercial tuner in our transmitter building (which houses all of the DTV transmitters including 43). We'll take a look at the mapping.

No change to WBZ-DT. Still full power 24/7.

WSBK-DT transmitter installation going well.

WLWC-DT still awaiting FCC permit.

- Bob

Bob Hess,

Thanks. Maybe I need a new code download from Samsung.

Doug G,

My Panasonic is the old TU-DST50.

I have bad multipath, so even though the channels are on the same tower, I can't get them with the same antenna aim. the multipath is affected by frequency, so the best aim is custom for each different channel.

Originally posted by Doug G
I thought all DTV antennas are on the same tower in Needham?

Doug,

DTV channels 2, 4, 5, 44, and soon 38, transmit from one Needham tower.

DTV channels 25, and at some point 56 and 68, transmit from another Needham tower.

DTV channel 7 transmits from a Newton tower. All of the towers are within a mile or so of each other.

Bob

Well, "Nova: Tales from the Hive" was on for awhile at 3pm today in its SD letterboxed format, but, not the HD version. I guess its too early in the testing process to expect the whole enchilada :0)
After about 1/2 hour of "Hive", it was a little exciting to see my Sampo 16x9 screen filled out edge to edge with a HDTV titling test sequence. Maybe that proves WGBX-DT 43 is capable of passing a HDTV signal.

Mark H

Originally posted by Delicious2
With the seeming lack of authoritative info on this upcoming month of 24/7 digital testing (notice I didn't say 24x7 HDTV) on WGBH-DT 43, I decided to cross-reference the WGBH-44 schedule

WGBH 44 schedule June 17th (http://www.wgbh.org/schedules/daytv?month=06&day=17)

with the "HD" listings in the recent post on upcoming PBS DTV


Upcoming PBS (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1118851&highlight=wgbh#post1118851)

so I just did the first week. This is my best guess of what might be HDTV...

tuesday 6/18 3pm - Nova: Tales From The Hive

wednesday 6/19 2:30am - Nova: Japan's Secret Garden
3:30am - Thomas Eakins: Scenes From A Life

thursday 6/20 3:30am - American Family
1:00pm - Nova: Japan's Secret Garden

saturday 6/22 3:00pm - Nova: Japan's Secret Garden

sunday 6/23 4:00am - Thomas Eakins: Scenes From a Life.


Anybody know better?

Mark H

Now I cannot tune 19 or 43. My Samsung SIR-T150 unit shows a signal lock but no picture. I am able to view shows via my accessDTV card in my PC.
19.1 is exactly the same as 43.1: picture, sound and PSIP 2.1 WGBX-SD
19.2 and 43.2 shows: 2.2 WGBH-SD

I sure hope this gets fixed soon as I would like to use my Samsung to view WGBH programming.

For me, Ch 43 remaps to 2-1, which is SD. Ch 19 gives weak signal. This is on a DTC100. I'm getting very frustrated.

Yup, it appears that 43-1 is mapping itself to 2-1 in both the DST3000 & Dish 6000.

Tim

I also have the Samsung SIRT-150 and cannot lock onto either 19 or 43. Previously mapped 2-1 is now GBX 44 and 2-2 GBH. I tried to rescan channels just after 8pm last night and lost these channels as well.

Titan TV listed GBH as showing the Japan Garden Nova edition as HDTV, but my wonderful local public broadcaster decided to to shut down the HD it would normally broadcast on GBH 2 because they are testing on a different channel. Can someone explain the logic of this ? I would rather have one PBS that does HD than 2 that do not.

Thought I would join in the fracas of channel 43 reports.

On my old Panny TU-DST50, channel 43 does not map at all--
same problem I used to see with WBZ until Mr. Hess & company
fixed it there.

Channel 19 maps to 2.1 and 2.2, with 2.1 identifying as "WGBX-DT"
and 2.2 as "WGBH-DT".

Channel 43 has no map, and displays 43.2 & 43.3 (no 43.1).
43.2 is the same programming as 2.1, 43.3 same as 2.2.

Also, the audio on the WGBH side was the analog signal's SAP audio,
making the WGBH side unwatchable.

Since digital reception out here in the boonies is far better than
analog reception, it's a set back to have to watch WGBH over analog
again. Hopefully they will get these issues fixed!

Here's two theories as to why 19/43 are carrying the same stuff:
(a) They have some sort of limitation in their STL and only have enough
capacity to feed both transmitters the same programming
or
(b) They are using the 19 signal as a reference for the 43 signal to get
them working the same way.

But hey, the only thing we're missing out on is the PBS demo loops.

43's signal strength is slightly better than WHDH's, and below the other
stations. Occasional break ups, though not as frequent as WHDH. Other
Boston stations.

I reported the problem to Toshiba and to WGBH. Still waiting for a response.

SuttonHT - what firmware version is on your Samsung?

My firmware version is 1.6 I just downloaded the uddate to 1.8 but I havent had time to send it to the box yet. I currently get "no Signal" on 43, 19 and 2 however there is a strong signal. Can anyone with a Samsung tuner and version 1.8 firmware confirm receiving a signal from PBS?

I can confirm that I can't get 19 or 43.

My Samsung unit was delivered with version 1.8 code.

I have firmware version 1.8 dated 9/25/2001 on my Samsung. Eventhough I get a strong signal on 19 and 43 with the green light channel lock, I get the no signal message.

Reply from WGBH concerning the mapping problem:

Dear Mr. Snyder,

Thank you for your e-mail. We spoke to our engineering department and they tell us that both channels are transmitting and we have received e-mails from viewers that are getting both channels. Other viewers have had the same problem as you with their Samsung receiver and when they switched to another receiver they got both channels with no problem. We will be mapping the same way for the next 3-4 weeks. Thanks for the information that you are sending us and thanks for your patience while we are in this testing phase!

Sincerely,
WGBH Audience and Member Services




This means that no one with a Samsung receiver can get 19 or 43 for the next month. This is an odd reaction to the problem - do nothing. Still waiting to see what Samsung has to say.

-Scott Snyder

As of this morning, WGBH is carrying the correct audio, not the SAP audio, on DT19/DT43.

Originally posted by scottsfs
Reply from WGBH concerning the mapping problem:

Dear Mr. Snyder,

Thank you for your e-mail. We spoke to our engineering department and they tell us that both channels are transmitting and we have received e-mails from viewers that are getting both channels. Other viewers have had the same problem as you with their Samsung receiver and when they switched to another receiver they got both channels with no problem. We will be mapping the same way for the next 3-4 weeks. Thanks for the information that you are sending us and thanks for your patience while we are in this testing phase!

Sincerely,
WGBH Audience and Member Services




This means that no one with a Samsung receiver can get 19 or 43 for the next month. This is an odd reaction to the problem - do nothing. Still waiting to see what Samsung has to say.

-Scott Snyder

To those of you with Samsung receivers, believe me, you aren't missing anything. There's no HD to be had on anything digital coming out of GBH. All we're getting is analog ch.s 2 and 44.

WGBH Audio back to SAP again. Will they ever get it right?

I got the same reply from GBH about the Samsung Box. My reaction was also the same...puzzlement. Are they implying I should go buy a new receiver so I can watch PBS ?

One step forward....two steps back.

Sure would be nice if channels 19 and 43 would post here a bit more info about their transmissions and Samsung tuner boxes.

I can understand if they are busy testing other things, and don't want to deal with the little issues yet, but I would really like to know:

1 Do they intend to get this fixed on their end after the 30 days when presumably they start broadcasting some HDTV again that we want to watch? Or should I rewire my system to use another tuner as my main tuner?

2 Is the problem on their end or a defect in the way Samsung tuners decode the PSIP or packets, in which case we should all be clamoring for Samsung to give us a code update!

It's been a while, and there are other bugs that need to be fixed on the Samsung end: My unit can freeze and cause "stuck pixels" requiring quite frequent power down resets. ( My original RCA DTC-100 was like this too when it was new but RCA did fix it on the 3rd or 4th code update.) Besides, I'd really like Samsung to make the remapping switchable, which could help with the confusion with multiple channels mapping to the same numbers.

One other question occurs to me for WGBH channels:

I assume we are getting only 1 station for a while. Till fall? till Jan? or till the deadline next May?

During this time is there any reason we couldn't keep 43 and turn off 19, to get rid of the interference problems from analog 19? That station seems very slow about moving to it's new channel.

Since I have the Samsung tuner and currently am not receiving PBS, i was just wondering about the mapping issue.....is GBX mapping to 2-1 and GBH to 2-2 for everyone?

Does this mean PBS plans to broadcast 3 signals when all is done, an sd version of GBH, an SD version of GBX and one HD PBS national feed? I would think that digital 43 would map to 44-1 if they follow the convention all of the other broadcasters have been using.

SUTTONHT,

Regarding mapping, there seems to be a lot that doesn't quite work. Blame the FCC and or ATSC for not finishing the basics in the standard, and inventing such a bad concept!

My Panasonic TU-DST-50 maps 2-1 and 2-2 for both 19 subs and for 43. Can't even tell what I am on for sure! I think it tunes to what ever was last if I ask for 2. When I ask for 19 or 43 it goes there and rewrites the mapping.

I understand even my unit with newer firmware works differently and grabs the 2-1 and 2-1 for the first one. Then it uses either 19-1 and 19-2 or 43-1 and 43-2 for the second one tuned, skipping the remap.

My Panasonic and my RCA DTC-100 never mapped the same way either back when I had that model: Some stations that had xx-2 in use would show as xx-3 on the other tuner.

I don't think the remap number issue is the Samsung problem because it always worked fine for me when both WGBH-DT and WENH-DT were using the channel 80-3 number together. I had no trouble tuning to either one with the same shared number.

WGBH could be mapping duplicates for now because they don't yet have another feed or PSIP box perhaps?

As to the Samsung, I think the problem is either something not set up right at WGBH, the data stream on the edge of the picture in channel 44 analog, or it could be some other defect in the Samsung box. Some other thread here said that Samsung has a defect and gets confused from Nielsen data in the analog channel if it isn't stripped out before it is digitized by the station. Samsung ought to fix that for sure!

Originally posted by jhe
One other question occurs to me for WGBH channels:

During this time is there any reason we couldn't keep 43 and turn off 19, to get rid of the interference problems from analog 19? That station seems very slow about moving to it's new channel.

The new channel (3) began operations earlier this week. It seems there are a lot of cable boxes that don't like it. Think about it......

Originally posted by Bob Hess


The new channel (3) began operations earlier this week. It seems there are a lot of cable boxes that don't like it. Think about it......

Great news Bob, at least for channel 19 reception from your tower! I've been checking channel 3 off and on and I think channels 2 and 4 may be too strong and block it in my tuner, but I'll try again and aim more carefully now that I know it is there!

Of course you could just switch off analog 4 now, since everbody watches you on channel 30 now, and problems solved!

Or, maybe the little 19 could move from 3 next to their original channel plan and use 58 now that the auction is canceled?

maybe I missed something? If the new channel is going to show up on Channel 3, how is that going to work with vcr's, cable boxes, etc. Dont you normally still setup those units to broadcast in your home on either channel 3 or 4? It's been a while since I setup a vcr, but I seem to remember having to pick channel 3 or 4 for the vcr / cable box to output to?

thx

Anyone know if there's been a change in ERP or status of WVCB-DT on ch. 20?? I am no longer receiving them, and have not experienced any reception changes to other stations (2-1/2, 4-1, 7-1/2, 25-1.) I never had a problem picking them up before so I'm at a loss to explain this. Also, ENH out of Durham was weaker than normal last night, wonder if they're again having problems and reduced the power?

As for the PBS debacle, my Panasonic HDS20 (now at rev 8.10) no longer sees any DT on ch. 19. Yesterday morning all I could receive was a very faint channel which sounded to be Spanish-speaking in origin and today I no longer receive even that. But how could it have been the old 19-LP if Bob says they've moved to ch 3? I'm receiving both GBH2 and GBX44 SD broadcasts via DT43, so I guess I'm really not missing anything. Now if someone reports that they started doing HD on 19 again, then I'll have to do something I guess!

I have my antenna (CM3021 with Winegard medium-gain pre-amp) installed on a rotator in my attic and was wondering whether the heat could be increasing the thermal noise to the point where its causing a decreased SNR? Any antenna experts out there feel free to chime in. I'll do anything to avoid having to put this thing outside on my chimney (WAF, need I say more?)

I just want to add my voice to those complaining about losing the HD that was showing on Ch 19. Sure, it was mostly repeats, but I still liked showing it to people who visited. GBH is losing exposure and goodwill with the current situation.

WCVB-DT coming in fine (paid programming) pegging a hundred on my DST-3000 & 85 on my HiPix card.

Tim

Am I the only person getting SAP audio instead of normal audio on
2-2/43-3 (The WGBH feed)? I get WGBX fine, but WGBH is unwatchable
because of this.

I see lots and lots of comments about the Samsung tuner mapping
problem, but no one seems to mention this SAP problem. Maybe it's
just my box?

Doug G,

Channel 3 analog is broadcasting, but the station can't be very happy with it, even ignoring the vcr and cable box problems:

In Lexington, I get a snowy but watchable picture on analog 19 but in B/W on my portable with rabbit ears. On my outdoor tower I get a local quality color picture with minimal snow.

On channel 3 my portable shows some added noise but can't even be sure there is a station there. It is a mix of 2, 3, and 4. With my tower I can get no sign of a channel using my vcr tuner. But with my old Sony NTSC tuner I can see a very snowy B/W picture with vertical bars drifting across it constantly from channels 2 and 4. I got channel 8 from New Haven better a few weeks ago!

So, I guess that may explain why channel 19 is still on the air on 19 as well as on 3 for now? So we still have to hope they remember when to shut off 19 analog, and some viewers will still have to rescan frequently.

Originally posted by rjd
Am I the only person getting SAP audio instead of normal audio on
2-2/43-3 (The WGBH feed)? I get WGBX fine, but WGBH is unwatchable
because of this.

I see lots and lots of comments about the Samsung tuner mapping
problem, but no one seems to mention this SAP problem. Maybe it's
just my box?

I have noticed this as well and reported it to WGBH. So far their reponse was to tell me to "turn off the SAP button" to listen to the stereo audio channel. I have told them that I think HDTV only has one audio track - the Dolby Digital audio - and that they may be doing something wrong. Hopefully I'll get a better response this time.

Anyone have this problem on 7-1 tonight (Monday). Right after the guy from Jackass was interviewed, there was a commercial break. After the commercials were done, the picture was totally black, audio was normal.

I flipped over to 7-2 and everything was OK....

I have a Samsung 150.........

JP

Last night I had to watch the movie on channel 59 for the first time. Channel 20 had some weak sound levels.

Jeff Peake - ya i saw that same problem with 7.1
during Leno last night - ,
picture was blank, audio was ok.
and i too switched over to 7.2 instead.
i have sony 34xbr2 ...

After a couple of months with absolutely no issues or glitches, I started having problems receiving *some* signals yesterday and this morning. I can get WBZ and WCVB (with some pixellation) without problems, but last night I couldn't get 2-1, 2-2, 7-1, 7-2 or 25-1.

I have a Samsung SIR-T150 which has the LED "signal lock" light and it was having a hard time locking into WHDH, FOX and WGBH. I have had problems with multipath in the past, but it usually only occurs with windy conditions (maybe something to do with the clear night/full moon...I hope?).

Was anyone else in the MetroWest area having similar problems? or is my setup or possibly even my STB going bad?

-mike

Originally posted by mml7
After a couple of months with absolutely no issues or glitches, I started having problems receiving *some* signals yesterday and this morning. I can get WBZ and WCVB (with some pixellation) without problems, but last night I couldn't get 2-1, 2-2, 7-1, 7-2 or 25-1.

I have a Samsung SIR-T150 which has the LED "signal lock" light and it was having a hard time locking into WHDH, FOX and WGBH. I have had problems with multipath in the past, but it usually only occurs with windy conditions (maybe something to do with the clear night/full moon...I hope?).

Was anyone else in the MetroWest area having similar problems? or is my setup or possibly even my STB going bad?

-mike

Read some of the prevous posts here. The Samsung box does not currently work right with channel 2 since 43 came on the air. If you get it at all, it will disappear if you do a channel scan, so I'd suggest you not do it. 43 and 19 are currently both mapped to 2-1 and 2-1.

As to channel 7: How are you tuning? Do you select channel 42? They often have PSIP glitches that make the 7 mapping dissappear at times. If you use 42 it should find it and show 42-1 sometimes and 7-1 at others.

The bulk of your problems could be multipath, esp with the lock light showing a problem. Can your antenna see above the trees? The amount of rain we've had lately makes everything more reflective and or blocks more RF.

Some of us wrote about the Samsung Channel 2 problem and the response from Channel 2 was not encouraging. I have written to Samsung but so far no response from them.

Originally posted by jhe

Read some of the prevous posts here. The Samsung box does not currently work right with channel 2 since 43 came on the air. If you get it at all, it will disappear if you do a channel scan, so I'd suggest you not do it. 43 and 19 are currently both mapped to 2-1 and 2-1.


I actually haven't had any issues with 43 and 19 up until last night. I haven't tried channel scanning, and by the time I really got into testing last night, I think that WGBH was off the air.

As to channel 7: How are you tuning? Do you select channel 42? They often have PSIP glitches that make the 7 mapping dissappear at times. If you use 42 it should find it and show 42-1 sometimes and 7-1 at others.

I have generally be tuning into 7-1 or 7-2, but have noticed that WHDH (or Samsung) doesn't seem to have their act down yet. When I tuned in manually to 42, I get a signal lock, but no picture. This is perhaps what was affecting others last night.

The bulk of your problems could be multipath, esp with the lock light showing a problem. Can your antenna see above the trees? The amount of rain we've had lately makes everything more reflective and or blocks more RF.

I'm hoping that's all that it is. I've had problems with multipath before - but usually only on very windy days. Unfortunately, I'm in an area where a roof mounted antenna is not possible and am using an attic mounted Winegard PR8800. I do have a clear sight line to the towers, however. When I've had multipath in the past, I can't remember ever losing FOX, NBC and PBS all at the same time (with severe, intermittent pixellation on ABC). What I'm really afraid of is that my Samsung is dying given that it gets hot enough to fry an egg...

thanks, jhe.

mike

mml7, I have the SIRT150 and actually got both 43 and 19 as channels 2-1 and 2-2 up until I did a rescan. From that point on I have not been able to tune either channel through channels 2, 19, or 43. It seems to be some type of mapping issue, and doing a rescan loses the map !!!

My panny runs pretty hot also. Before I relocated it to a position with
greater ventilation, it would die from heat. Turning it off to let it cool
down would usually bring it back. Most electronics will act flaky due to
heat well before the heat does any permanent damage, so you get
sort of a warning sign.

I live a little bit further from you and am also using an indoor antenna
(CM4228) with a Winegard "Spartan" pre-amp. I haven't noticed any
changes to my reception in well over one month: chs. 2/19, 4/30, 5/20,
25/31, 44/43 are solid. Ch. 7/42 is marginal. My antenna is optimized
for the channel 7 tower (but its still not good enough!).


-Bob

I was able to get through the member services people at 'GBH and spoke to a person in the engineering department. Here is what he said:

(1) GBH currently only has one HDTV capable STL, thus they are forced
to carry the same information on both the ch. 19 and 43 transmitters.
He expects to get the second STL up and running in 2 to 3 weeks.
They were under a deadline to get the ch. 43 transmitter on-the-air,
and thus energized it before the STL for it was ready.

(2) They were unaware of the audio problems on the 'GBH stream, and
will look into if this is a simple fix.


-Bob

Originally posted by mml7
After a couple of months with absolutely no issues or glitches, I started having problems receiving *some* signals yesterday and this morning. I can get WBZ and WCVB (with some pixellation) without problems, but last night I couldn't get 2-1, 2-2, 7-1, 7-2 or 25-1.

I have a Samsung SIR-T150 which has the LED "signal lock" light and it was having a hard time locking into WHDH, FOX and WGBH. I have had problems with multipath in the past, but it usually only occurs with windy conditions (maybe something to do with the clear night/full moon...I hope?).

Was anyone else in the MetroWest area having similar problems? or is my setup or possibly even my STB going bad?

-mike
I live in Hopkinton. No problems at my place. Check your antenna. Might just be marginal RF now affected by the leaves on the trees. The channels you are having problems with operate at lower power levels than WBZ and WCVB.

Bob
WBZ (and others)

hi, i see some people talking about aberrations in
signal reception over the last few days. i have noticed various oddities too - trouble with 4.1 which usually
is my strongest signal. it's likely that my attic antenna position has settled a bit, but additionally i believe that weather conditions have been a bit different lately. one thing for sure, the long days are interfering with evening reception before it's dark.

also, the flight path to manchester for jetliners is quite nearby and directly in the direction to the needham/etc towers. i lose the picture and/or sound for a second or so almost every time a plane flies overhead, on all channels! and there are many evening flights.

i'm ready for HDTV on cable. all the big cable tv companies promised congress/Mccain they'd offer it by Jan 1 2003 ! pardon my skepticism but 'bring it on' .

WGBH-X is screwed up with my Zenith 1080. At first was only getting 2-2 but it was actually WGBX 44. Then I reprogrammed 19 and 43, and for about 10 minutes was getting 2-1, 2-2, and 44 corectly. Then they all went blank, and am now picking up only 2-2 at 19-2 and WGBX at 43-3.
Anybody else having problems.
Bill

Bill, I am getting similar results. It seems the GBH and GBX feeds are playing musical chairs with the virtual channel numbers.

Hi, I live about 60Mi from Boston in central RI. I've got a MyHD card installed in my HTPC. Still waiting for HDTV broadcadsts here. Looks like Oct/Nov. Seems stations filing and getting extensions. Would I be able to pick the Boston HDTV broadcasts with a good rooftop antenna? I'm in one of the higher elevations. If so, any recommendations?

Gregg

Lost WGBX audio yesterday. I now get SAP audio of WGBH on 2-2,
and no audio on WGBX/2-1.

For others who have lost WGBH/X completely, the station does believe
it has to do with the fact that both stations are mapping to the same
virtual I.D. It seems different boxes handle this differently. The DST-51
maps the first station and ignores the map for the second one, hence
ch. 19 maps to 2-1/2-2 and ch. 43 remains unmapped.

In any case, the station restated that they plan on resolving this issue
when their second HD STL is in place, 2-3 weeks.

The audio problem seems to be specific to my type of box. I spoke with
Panasonic, who tells me they will "repair" my DST-51 under warranty if I
send it to them. I get the distinct feeling they will return to me unchanged,
telling me that they could not duplicate the problem.

I don't have AC-3 equipment, do I'm depending on the baseband audio
outputs to be driven by the correct streams. Perhaps that is the problem.

DoctorG,

If you are on a hill Boston channels (or at least 20 and 30) should be no problem. You will need a good antenna and preamp. I'd suggest looking at the big Delhi, or if you want UHF only check the Channel Master 4248 or the Blake JBX-21. An 8 bay Channel Master might work well for you too.

I get channel 57 from NH at about 60 miles about 90% of the time. Some weather conditions kill it, but it is very watchable most of the time. And I am in a dip behind hills.

rjd,

Channels 19 and 43 both mapping the same way is definitely not the problem, at least with the Samsung Tuners:

On my Samsung tuning between channel 19 and 57 at times when they were both mapping to channel 80 caused no problem. It would tune and reset to either real channel I tuned to always.

Also, as an experiment, I scanned without the antenna, to clear out everything on the Samsung. I then rescanned and added channels back in the morning when only 43 was on the air. It would still not tune in 43.

jhe, thanks for the info. If I get the Channel Master 8 bay, will it overload the local channels when they start broadcasting?

Thanks

DoctorG,

Overload is hard to predict. But you can get some idea by looking at your current analog channels. And check the station power, and antenna elevation vs your elevation, as well as distance.

But getting the signals is the hard part. Overload can be handled more easily.

Possible fixes are:

1 Use an attenuator ahead of your preamp, and cut just enough so your strong signals don't overload.

2 Set up antenna with a splitter, and amplify one side so you can switch between amplified or direct connection when switching between locals and distant channels.

3 Set up two antennas, and use one for locals and one for distant channels.

4 With either 2 or 3 you can get notch filters to block strong locals ahead of your preamp, or get band pass filters to just pass a distant channel you want.

I would suggest you start with a good antenna, no preamp, and use RG-11 (the best low loss kind- see the RG11 thread.) Then add more as necessary.

In my own case I bought a bandpass filter for channel 57 only which I can use to amplify that channel only without overload from my local Boston channels. But I found I am blocked from Needham by a hill enough so I have not needed it thus far. And I have a 28 db preamp at only 12 miles from Needham.

I am on the edge though, and as more stations come on I may need to switch to a 19 db preamp. And without the hill I would definitely be using my single channel filter.

jhe,

Thank you for your help. Hopefully I'm on my way to enjoying HDTV.

Regards
Gregg

Originally posted by rjd
Lost WGBX audio yesterday. I now get SAP audio of WGBH on 2-2,
and no audio on WGBX/2-1.

For others who have lost WGBH/X completely, the station does believe
it has to do with the fact that both stations are mapping to the same
virtual I.D. It seems different boxes handle this differently. The DST-51
maps the first station and ignores the map for the second one, hence
ch. 19 maps to 2-1/2-2 and ch. 43 remains unmapped.

In any case, the station restated that they plan on resolving this issue
when their second HD STL is in place, 2-3 weeks.

The audio problem seems to be specific to my type of box. I spoke with
Panasonic, who tells me they will "repair" my DST-51 under warranty if I
send it to them. I get the distinct feeling they will return to me unchanged,
telling me that they could not duplicate the problem.

I don't have AC-3 equipment, do I'm depending on the baseband audio
outputs to be driven by the correct streams. Perhaps that is the problem.
Looks like I'm the only other one who reported having this problem, and I do indeed have a DST-51. Is everyone else really hearing the correct audio?! I AM using an AC-3 decoder and it does not help. Whether I use the optical out or the RCA's I get the same thing. When I use the DD5.1 output only the center channel is present and it is the SAP audio.

Just got off the phone with Samsung, and they asked me to ship my tuner back for repair to fix the problems receiving channels 19 and 43.

Anybody else here talk to them about this?

HDTVGeek -
Did you also lose GBX audio last week? Thanks for the info on the AC-3
output -- that's the part of my system I have purchased yet. I think I
may take my chances with Panasonic and let them try to "repair" my '51.
Summer is rerun season anyways.

Jhe,

Did you get any info from Samsung on the problem? could this be an issue with other stations soon? or will the problem go away once PBS realizes that mapping numerous channels to the same number gets confusing, aggravating, and is generally ludicrous.

SuttonHT,

I don't think the problem is just the mapping issue of 19 and 43 being the same. I noted previously I tested with a fresh scan when 19 was not on the air but 43 was, and 43 still did not work.

Also in other threads the Samsung problem with certain stations has been rampant in various locations. See other threads here and under hardware. I recall problems with stations in Texas and Oregon mentioned among others.

As for Samsung, the person I spoke with knew nothing. She went to talk to someone and came back with the info that my tuner needed to be sent back, based on the serial number I gave her. (My unit was mfg October 2001)

I did send it in for other issues too: It locks up frequently when I rotate my antenna, and I have to power down and up, so I am hoping they have newer code that can fix that as well.

See this thread especially for more info:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=126681&highlight=Samsung+tuner


I don't think channel 43 uses Nielsen transmissions from 44 but I do see some kind of digital data on 44 that might relate to the problem in the horizontal retrace. The symptoms are different than the ones Lee describes in his thread, but clearly Samsung has several bugs to fix in their code.

So I too worry about what the next stations here on the air will do, even if WGBH manages to fix the immediate problem on their end.

Lee Wood at KOIN in Portland was familiar with the audio problem
in the older Panasonic boxes. When a program stream contains
multiple elementary audio streams, the Panasonic (incorrectly)
chooses the audio stream with the highest numbered pid.

In the case of WGBH, this is the SAP stream. The problem is
solely with the STB.

I guess this means that the other stations are only sending one
audio stream per program, which is lucky for us Panasonic owners
or we wouldn't be able to watch the other stations either.


jhe - Thanks for the pointer to the other forum. It got me in touch
with the right person.

Originally posted by jhe


Read some of the prevous posts here. The Samsung box does not currently work right with channel 2 since 43 came on the air. If you get it at all, it will disappear if you do a channel scan, so I'd suggest you not do it. 43 and 19 are currently both mapped to 2-1 and 2-1.

As to channel 7: How are you tuning? Do you select channel 42? They often have PSIP glitches that make the 7 mapping dissappear at times. If you use 42 it should find it and show 42-1 sometimes and 7-1 at others.

The bulk of your problems could be multipath, esp with the lock light showing a problem. Can your antenna see above the trees? The amount of rain we've had lately makes everything more reflective and or blocks more RF.

Some of us wrote about the Samsung Channel 2 problem and the response from Channel 2 was not encouraging. I have written to Samsung but so far no response from them.

jhe, suttonHT, Bob and others:

Thanks for your help with regards to the tuning problems I've been having with my Samsung T150. I am happy to report that I have been able to determine the cause of the sudden drop in signal quality. It turns out that the Winegard preamp I had installed suffered some sort of meltdown (thermally related?). When it was in the signal path, the T150 either wouldn't lock on, or I'd get severe pixellation on the strong signals like PBS, WBZ, and WCVB.

Of course, I did a channel scan, thinking it might have been related to the PBS issues other people have been having (which I wasn't)....and it lost the channel mapping to 19 and 43 like it has for everyone else...(I wish that WGBH would fix this)

Anyway, some channels are definately better than none! Thanks again,

mike

Though this isn't directly reception related, this seems the place to ask....We gonna see any HD esplenade action tonight on any of the locals?
-Trouble

In short-NO. The concert is in SD only on Boston Ch. 5 and A&E network.

Originally posted by rjd
HDTVGeek -
Did you also lose GBX audio last week? Thanks for the info on the AC-3
output -- that's the part of my system I have purchased yet. I think I
may take my chances with Panasonic and let them try to "repair" my '51.
Summer is rerun season anyways.
I did lose the 'GBX audio last week. I just read your latest post on this being a known problem with the DST50/51. How is Panasonic treating this fix? My unit is over 2 years old - definately not under warranty. Is there a contact at Panasonic you have been working with that I might be able to speak to? Thanks.

actually Benji i doubt the esplanade concert
was broadcast in SD anywhere. i think that
means the atsc 480i and 480p formats .
channel 5.1 would have had it in upconverted NTSC-> 720p. i think he ntsc->720p or ntsc->1080i upconvert
results in a better picture than SDTV.
channel "5.0" & A&E would have had it in NTSC,
which imho always gives a crappier picture than
any of the SD ATSC formats !
btw, re any of you folks museum of science members who
were on the top of the museum garage yesterday?
nitpickingly yours in southern namsha,

The picture, as typical, was dramatically better in SD vs. analog. (Fireworks actually looked like fireworks vs. blurs). Sound seemed to be in ProLogic for both 5 and A&E (not just synthesized DPL II).

Tim

HDTVGeek --

My unit is under warranty, so I'll be sending it back next week.
I called the 800 number in the back of my owner's manual and
the customer service rep said they would fix it.

-Bob

Originally posted by rjd
HDTVGeek --

My unit is under warranty, so I'll be sending it back next week.
I called the 800 number in the back of my owner's manual and
the customer service rep said they would fix it.

-Bob
Thanks. I talked to Panasonic this morning and shipped my unit out this afternoon. They said its typically a 2-3 week process so I figured I might as well get the clock ticking. Even though my unit is past the warranty period they said they did not think that would be an issue. Nice if they hold to it. Good luck with your unit. I know I'm going to miss having HDTV for a few weeks.

i picked up a samsung t150 from tweeter for
at least a month of play with my 480p 4:3 tv.
the t150 performs almost as good as the 34xbr2
atsc tuner. but where the xbr2 can pick up
2.1/2.2 (44 & 2), and channel 5.1 reliably,
the t150 does not. the only other difference is
an extra 25 ft of RG6 cable used along with the t150.
so, the t150 does fine on 4.1, 7.1, 7.2 , 9.1& 25.1 .
23.1 too i think. with 9.1 the t150 can squish
the picture back to its original 4:3 . it all works
great with the 480p tv (panasonic 32xf55).
i'm not sure if i'll keep i though. i'm still thinking of
snagging a TUHDS20 to use along with a potential
JVC 30k in my future :) btw, i understand that
the problem with 2.1&2.2 is that PSIP incompatibility/bug.

cheers,

Anyone else noticing really bad breakups on WCVB (Bond)?

-j

Anyone else noticing really bad breakups on WCVB (Bond)?

Yes. Really annoying at points, between the technical problems and
the lameo editing.

Craig

I know this information correctly belongs in the DBS Forum and not HD-Locals Forum but I thought some of you folks south of Boston would be interested. DIRECTV will begin sending Providence locals effective Wednesday, July 10. This is useful for those of you who have their antennas aimed at Needham for digital stations, and sometimes require watching the local Rhody stations.

In regards to channels 19 and 43, are they still having problems, cause I get full signal and a intermittent picture shows up on my HiPix, also, I am not getting their call signs when I scan and it just shows up as 19.1 and 43.1 not 2.1 and 2.2,

Thanks

Jim

ditto. DST-3000 & Dish 6000 are fine, so I imagine it is a PSIP problem.

WGBH did something around sat afternoon:

Now my Panasonic tu-dst50 can no longer receive either 19 or 43.

Friday night late (~11.30 pm or so) they were transmitting a single
HD. The channel was mapping to 69-98 with a station id of "NECAM".
They were using fragments and stills from the all-too-familiar demo loop.

Saturday morning they seemed to be back to "normal" - GBX/GBH.
I didn't notice any problems with my DST51. Will check again this
evening.

hi, neither my sir-t150 nor my 34xbr2 tuner could pick up
wgbh & wgbx last night. seems like they were not transmitting or were doing some sort of testing.

also, to confirm what others have been saying about WCVB -
i was seeing obnoxious numbers/rates of dropouts
on the 34xbr2 last night on 5.1 .
also, the sir-t150 signal strength
meter showed what appeared to be massive multipath problems
with 5.1 , and couldn't display a picture at all.

tveli,

I hope you are aiming your antenna easier! You need to, to compare tuners. The best aim for one tuner is not necessarily the best aim for another!

My old RCA and Panasonic's used to match pretty well, but not exactly. My Samsung needed a very different aim to get reception.

hi jhe - my antenna aiming is currently being handled
by just propping it up on insulation and some
old-toy-boxes up in my floorless attic. :|

i am loathe to go back up their and re-aim it until/unless
it "settles" and the 34xbr2 has trouble receiving
any of 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1, 7.2, 25.1 .

indeed it
would appear true that the optimized aiming for my
34xbr2 is not optimal for the sir-t150 . that's trouble,
and it's good for me to know about before i sink more $
into my dtv setup ...
it does not bode well for my longer term goal of being
able to watch one program on the 34xbr2 while
a samsung t165 + jvc30k records another dtv program.
i suppose that i ought to consider using the new sony settop
box after it is released - presumably the optimal aiming
for 34xbr2 tuner would be closer to the optimal aiming
for another sony atsc tuner.

well, thank you very much for this info as well as all
the other useful info you have been providing over the last
months & years!

tveli,

I am hoping the set tops get better with the new chips due in 2003.

Meanwhile, aiming is critical. I have an old cde rotor on my attic antenna. And it is worth it so I never have to go up there. I still use it to feed my vcr. My outdoor antennas are for digital.

Anyway, I recommend you add a rotor in your attic if at all possible. A couple of 1 ft masts should fit most attics.

You need to rig up a way to mount the rotor or mast below the rotor on a board. My rotor has a flat bottom so it is just bolted to a board and the only mast is on the rotating part above. Then rig up a safe mechanical stop for the antenna if you don't have clearance for full rotation. Forget north south stops and mount so one stop is the rotor when turned fully left or right. You need this full left for rotors that need syncing like my new ones. Then rig the mechanical stop so the antenna doesn't hit anything.

Then you should be able to swing over some reasonable arc and not have to go up there.

If your space is really limited, you could use a dish mover to cover a small arc, but that would cost more.

Last night things improved and I could tune in channel 43.

Channel 19 was not receivable still on my Panasonic model 50.

Were they back to HDTV using a big number my tuner can't read maybe?

Channels 19 & 43 were back to "normal" last night -- identical programing with no or incorrect audio for us DST51 owners. Nineteen was a little weaker than normal, 43 seemed OK.

i was able to see 2.1/43.1 & 2.2/19.1 just fine last night
on 34xbr2. i did not watch for more than a moment
but i think the audio was ok.

Regarding the problems I had on Sat and Sunday, I got this
reply from WGBH:

"Thank you for your e-mail. Due to a power outage in our area we did have
an PSIP encoding problem but you should be picking up the stations now."

Now it is just a mystery why I couldn't get 19 on Monday
night, when it was all working!

I'll try again tonight.

I guess they need some UPS's like the other stations had to buy!

I've never had problems receiving 19 before, but tonight reception
is poor. Ch. 42 on the other hand, which I hardly ever get reliably, is
fine. Ch. 43, which is on the same tower (though a few meters
higher) is fine.

Go figure.

Wed night I got 43 no problem.

And my Panasonic did manage to decode the psip on 19 after I swung my antenna back and forth about 10 times.

But 19 video was static rectangles of unsyncronized video and no intelligible sound. Signal measured normal strength in DBmv. They could have encoder troubles or else a noise problem in their transmitter so my added multipath kills it completely.

My DST51 doesn't have a signal strength meter (though I heard
the connections for it are right behind the front panel -- maybe
when the warranty is up). Anyways, I can only go by reception.
Weak signal or multipath looks the same. I was getting very choppy
audio and picture was as you described. Must be the encoding that's wrong.

-Bob

Followup to a previous post of mine for those of you in SE Mass--DIRECTV began local in local service today with the 5 Providence network stations and the PBS station from Norwich, Ct. I get all the Boston digital channels with varying degrees of success, so the Providence package complements my Boston stations. When Providence finally goes digital later in the year, I'll dump the LIL package.

All my channels are finally back(19 and 43), woohoo, my HiPix is working perfectly! Now to install my new preamp to see if I can get above 40 signal strength on some of the Boston channels.

Jim

Anyone lose 7.1 and 7.2 last night?

Originally posted by vfrjim
All my channels are finally back(19 and 43), woohoo, my HiPix is working perfectly! Now to install my new preamp to see if I can get above 40 signal strength on some of the Boston channels.

Jim

None of my tuners could get 19... great signal strength but either blank or really wacky video depending on the STB.
(The "Lodges of the National Parks" on 43-1 was perfect.)

I have a couple of the Panasonic 50's and they weren't able to lock on to it. My DTC-100 and Echostar 6000 reported great signal but wacky video -- even moving the rotor back and forth had no effect. My UM-1000 did the best, but it's video had a "wow" effect. Hmmmm.... it looks like WGBH is testing the transmitter on channel 43, and testing our STBs on channel 19!

[Note since both 43 and 19 both map to 2-xx, I have to play games on the tuners where I can't disable the virtual mapping. Can the HiPix disable virtual mapping? And can it display both a signal strength as well as an error rate?]

-----

Bob Hess:
Since you've "been here, done that", could you help WGBH by doing a "Digital Transmitter Workshop" show to be included in their "How-to Saturday" line-up? With topics like 'PSIP set-up', 'Proper selection and use of Uninterruptable Power Supplies', 'Digital feed multiplexing', and 'FCC formsmanship' you could make that "TV Worth Watching" channel, watchable. [P.S. Just tell your management to not think of it as "helping the competition, but rather as providing "value added" services to your transmitting tower customers!]

I got a weird one last nite, when I refreshed my list I got the following, 19.1,19.2,19.3 ?? Nothing came in on 19.3, but is it a future channel?

Jim

Originally posted by jimg

Since you've "been here, done that", could you help WGBH by doing a "Digital Transmitter Workshop" show to be included in their "How-to Saturday" line-up? With topics like 'PSIP set-up', 'Proper selection and use of Uninterruptable Power Supplies', 'Digital feed multiplexing', and 'FCC formsmanship' you could make that "TV Worth Watching" channel, watchable. [P.S. Just tell your management to not think of it as "helping the competition, but rather as providing "value added" services to your transmitting tower customers!]

LOL. Seriously, I'd be much more annoyed by the inability to tune into 19 and 43 (Samsung SIR-T150) if I felt that I was truly missing something. Then again, the demo loop did have some nice pictures of the italian coastline.....


mike

Originally posted by vfrjim
I got a weird one last nite, when I refreshed my list I got the following, 19.1,19.2,19.3 ?? Nothing came in on 19.3, but is it a future channel?

Jim

No, this is the kind of things that happen when tuners see [to them] spurious streams with different ids.
Some tuners treat it as a separate subchannel. (This is something that was reported in the early days of this thread ["been there, done that" for us early adopters too!] with channel 42 as well as with channel 23.)

That's why its important to note your tuner, location, etc. to help the broadcast engineers. I have 6 different HDTV tuners including 3 different revs of the Panasonic 50 tuners. It has been very interesting seeing how they react each night to the channel 19 testing effort. (From other postings they don't have all their hardware yet to support both 19 & 43, so they're playing mix and match. They did the same "hardware lending" thing with the Springfield (channel 58) station. It switched over to do standard def channels for a while, then when back to re-transmitting the PBS-HD satellite feed. [Speaking of channel 58, try and get it. Because of the favorable summer atmospheric conditions I get Springfield WGBY-DT channel 58 very well at 70 mi from their Mt. Tom transmitter. (I am on a hill. I use a Blake JBX-21B antenna, Channel Master 7777 preamp. "Your milage will vary.") ]

I suggested (tounge in cheek) WBZ's Bob Hess do the tutorial because did such a great job in trying to resolve all these separate tuner issues (including some that were audio issues in the CBS feed) when he was nursing channel 30 along.

wacky PSI behavior on channel 7.1/7.2 this afternoon.
cycling back & forth between 42 & 7 - i hope that
does not continue later. also it looks like the pbs cats are
not doing the psip shuffle now - or are doing it differently - perhaps such that the T150 folks can watch.

I emailed WLVI 56 and got no reply yet, anyone know when their HD transmitter will go live?

thanks,

Jim

Does anyone know when (or why) WHDH went back to black bars on their transmission of 4:3 material on 42-2? I was happy with the gray bars, and they go and change them on me (or us).

SMK

I believe WHDH just started the black side bars last evening.

WGBH's channel 19 and channel 43 both mapped to channel 44 last night. Didn't notice any other changes -- the Panny boxes with the latest firmware do have the SAP audio issue.
The Dish 6000 mapped both to 43, and not 44. Also it didn't touch the 002-x mappings (and they still worked).

Originally posted by rjd
Lee Wood at KOIN in Portland was familiar with the audio problem
in the older Panasonic boxes. When a program stream contains
multiple elementary audio streams, the Panasonic (incorrectly)
chooses the audio stream with the highest numbered pid.

In the case of WGBH, this is the SAP stream. The problem is
solely with the STB.



The earlier rev of the Panasonic DST-50 firmware does not have the audio stream problem. But at the same time that firmware cannot disable channel mapping.

The good news is that when I called the Panasonic STB tech support number (888-843-9788), Lynette did some checking (and double-checking) and it turns out there is a fix for this problem. It it has to be done at the factory.
(Don't know the cost....[I'll be doing this with my DST-50 that still is under warranty.])

Her instructions were to enclose a note indicating I was having a problem with the SAP audio when my PBS station was broadcasting two subchannels, and send the unit to the factory.

for reference:
Panasonic Factory Service
1705 N Randall Rd.
Elgin, IL 60123

jimg -
When I phoned Panasonic, I was told basically the same thing. My
unit was under warranty, so I get the fix for free. Another AVS member said that when he called, he told them his unit was out of warranty, but Panasonic said they would fix it for free anyways.

Only other difference is that I was given an address in Pennsylvania
to send my box. I have the -51, not the -50 -- or maybe it depends
on which telephone center picks up the call.


-Bob

Hey Folks-
I can't find any programming info for WGBH hi-def shows on their website. Anybody know why or where to find it?

Steve

JimG--
To answer your question, yes you can disable virtual channels on the Hipix by station number. However I use the AVF Forum release 3 hipix code. Just uncheck channel 43 or 19 (in this case 19) and you get the "other" station mapped to 2. It drove me nuts for a while, as I was getting very strong signal but blank screen, until I turned off 19. 43 comes in weaker but at least there's video.
Steve

Is it me or is channel 42( 7.1 and 7.2) difficult to receive, I get 65 or better signal on all channels in the Boston area but I max out about 45 on my HiPix tuner. Anyone? Are they at full power?

Jim

Originally posted by vfrjim
I emailed WLVI 56 and got no reply yet, anyone know when their HD transmitter will go live?

thanks,

Jim

Jim, according to the antennaweb.org website, WLVI-DT is scheduled to go live 8/1.

Cool thanks for the info on WLVI, now if it only happens now :)

Originally posted by vfrjim
Is it me or is channel 42( 7.1 and 7.2) difficult to receive, I get 65 or better signal on all channels in the Boston area but I max out about 45 on my HiPix tuner. Anyone? Are they at full power?

Jim

Jim: I'm probably about the same distance as you from Needham and get similar results. I get 100% on WBZ and WCVB but only about 40-50% on WHDH and WFXT. Sometimes in the over-night hours that will go up as high as 80 or 90, but never during daylight.

Thanks Benji, I get 85-88 on channels 2,44,4,5, 66 on 25, but 7 is killing me, can't wait for WJAR 10 to go live for NBC.

WHDH is still running about 30% of full power. I'm about 25 miles
west of Needham and I don't receive them very well either. All
other stations are fine.

Got a PBS HD channel last night at 80-3 on Zenith 1080 in Exeter, NH. Over 2 hours they didn't give any notice as to where they are from. Any ideas/
The picture was superb, amtching the best I've seen from GBH and ENH at their best 1080I.
Bill

i get 7.1/7.2/42 reliably here
in merrimack NH, with both 34xbr2 and samsung t150.
the station i have the most trouble with is wcvb 5.1-
the t150 only gets it after 11pm. on the 34xbr2 , 5.1
has been having lots of dropouts/glitches - last night
was the first night in a while i haven't seen many more
than usual problems. the 34xbr2 is slow to tune in 5.1
but it does get it reliably now that i have a bodacious antenna setup & preamp .

I wonder if you get splatter from nearby (analog) ch. 21.
I think all your other channels are clear of adjacent NTSC
transmitters.

Boston Forumites, check out the latest WGBH digital configuration. As of late, channel 19 has been staying on the air overnight, (Hopefully it will go 24/7 soon.)

channel 19 is now mapped to 2-1 and 44-1 and no audio problems on the Panasonic DST-50s (either the newest [i.e. with the channel map disable] or the previous firmware)

channel 43 is mapped to 43-1 and 43-2 Again, didn't notice any audio problems.

Don't know whether they have turned off or re-assigned the Secondary Audio pid. Just in case WGBH is really monitoring this forum, please double-check channels 19 and 43 during prime-time and report any STB issues.

As for PBS High Def, it looks like you're going to channel 57 in New Hampshire, or 58 in Springfield. (WGBY Springfield was doing multicast SD then they switched back to HD... I wonder if WGBY and WGBH are sharing a single
HD encoder? [My membership renewal will again be targeted to HDTV, maybe it'll help.])

Usually WGBY switches from it's 4 SD multicasts (WGBY, PBSKIDS, PBSYOU and another) at 7 or 8pm (depending on programming) then switches to the HDTV feed until they shut down for the night around 11 or 12. The nice thing is that when the switch to the HDTV feed, then don't multicast anymore so it looks a lot nicer than when WGBH actually has HDTV programming. The started the multicasting about 2 mos ago, prior to that it was all HDTV feeds from morning till shutdown.

-Mike

Originally posted by Prelude2k
Usually WGBY switches from it's 4 SD multicasts (WGBY, PBSKIDS, PBSYOU and another) at 7 or 8pm (depending on programming) then switches to the HDTV feed until they shut down for the night around 11 or 12.
-Mike

Ah... the "depending on programming" schedule.
That makes sense! Thanks for the info.
(Sorry low-power WGBY is quite difficult for me to get at 70 miles -- only late evening, and mostly late-spring to early-fall).

----------

Also WGBH's channel 43 did revert back to the SAP audio last night. I doubt if I can get my Panny DST-50 upgraded before channel 43 stops the testing.

Originally posted by jimg

channel 43 is mapped to 43-1 and 43-2

Sorry if I seem a little behind on these issues, but I've been working alot and haven't been able to keep up with all the 'gbh DTV issues:) ... but last night I was thumbing up throught the channels on my panny tu-hds20 and lo and behold I had 44-1 (mapped from 43-1) also, 19-1 was OK at 2-1 (pleasantly surprised to get it ... most of the time I can't .. see below) .. of course it was all SD (not HDTV) ... does anyone know when and if 19-1 will be broadcasting any HD programming? and if so is there a schedule (maybe they can pass thru the national HDTV feeds shown in TitanTv and listed on HDTV Magazine .....

As far as dropouts go, I've always found that the weather plays a profound part in my ability to receive the DTV signals ... when the sky is overcast I seem to get the best and most reliable reception. I'm only 13 miles from the TV tower using a channel master 4 bay bowtie, no preamp and get 4-1, 5-1 95% of the time, 7-1 70%, 25-1 30%, 2-1 10% and 44-1 100% (so far .. also was mapped to 2-1 for awhile).

Any know if WSBK and WLVI are still on schedule for August 1st??

I hope WSBK and WLVI go live soon myself, I ended up moving my antenna from my attic to my chimney, now my two worst channels (7 and 25) are in the 60-74 range, no more nasty droputs to zero and now I can watch the Redsox again!! :) even if they lose :(

I'm currently a "beta tester" for HDTV via cable in Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury operates their own cable company (S.C.C) and is using the S.A. 3100HD box. Originally, they were going to offer HD locals (2, 4, 5, 7) and HD Showtime and HBO, but have since dropped WGBH (digital 19) since they spoke with one of their head engineers and were told that they were not going to be broadcasting in HDTV again for some time. S.C.C was not told when they would resume. S.C.C will add channel 19 back when they start broadcasting in HDTV again. I was also told that S.C.C is looking into adding HD Discover Theater in the future.

But, other than that, the 3100HD box seems to be working flawlessly. I was having major reception problems in my area (no LOS because of some tall hills) with a UHF antenna, and it's nice to not have to worry about reception anymore.

-D

Originally posted by jhoppy1

Any know if WSBK and WLVI are still on schedule for August 1st??
WSBK should be on the air - if all goes well - around the end of August.

The transmitter has been installed and tested. We are waiting for a special custom made port for our master antenna combiner.

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

The 6000 appears to receive 19 mapped to 44 and 43 mapped to 2 for me. 2-1 is showing WGBH-DT and 44 appears to contain nothing and doesn't show in the guide. Anyone know when we can expect to see a stable setup of GBH/X? Maybe even a littel PBS-HD loop?

Dmilani:

I am also testing out HD cable for Shrewsbury. Have you had any problems with audio and/or video dropouts? The HD channels have been unwatchable for me until I put a fan on top of the 3100HD box. They swapped the box this morning, so I hope that these problems are behind me!

Just wondering what your experiences have been...

Derek

Derek,

I had some problems initially with audio/video dropouts, but I just thought is was at the cable head end.

I haven't had a problem for more than a week now, but I haven't been watching continually either. The last few days have been fine though.

-D

Originally posted by ismeltitudeltit
The 6000 appears to receive 19 mapped to 44 and 43 mapped to 2 for me. 2-1 is showing WGBH-DT and 44 appears to contain nothing and doesn't show in the guide. Anyone know when we can expect to see a stable setup of GBH/X? Maybe even a littel PBS-HD loop?

For me, the 6000 maps 19 to 2-1 (which is correct) and although it reports 44 in the "Add DTV" screen, it doesn't map it (which it should). I submitted this to Dish's technical support. Please also report it to their "Advanced Technical Support" group -- your vote counts.

For PBS-HD, sorry, you're going to have to pick it up on: [low-power] WGBY Springfield, channel 58 (in the evening after they switch over from quad SDs), WENH channel 57 in New Hampshire (evenings / weekend afternoons/evenings), or via the PBS satellite directly (Unity Motion HD satellite receiver & Ku Band dish.)

After much negotiation with my significant other, I'm on the verge of 'being allowed' to get HDTV. Yay!

However, the argument that put my cause over the edge I'm not sure is true. Oops.

So I have two questions:

1) How are the Red Sox broadcast? (SD/1080i/720p?) I'm assuming that my only chance will be getting WFXT OTA, since it doesn't look like DirectTV or Dish have any HD sports aside from the few that HDNet does.

2) How about the upcoming Pats regular season games? Once again I'm assuming that WBZ OTA will be my only chance to get this in HD.

Thanks,
Jim

Originally posted by JStanton
1) How are the Red Sox broadcast? (SD/1080i/720p?) I'm assuming that my only chance will be getting WFXT OTA, since it doesn't look like DirectTV or Dish have any HD sports aside from the few that HDNet does.

2) How about the upcoming Pats regular season games? Once again I'm assuming that WBZ OTA will be my only chance to get this in HD.


All Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins games that have been showed thru today have been 480i in a 4:3 aspect ratio ... and no future games in any better format have been announced. In addition, the best FOX has ever offered for any programming is 16:9 480p. NESN is not capable of anything better than 480i in 4:3, and no Boston teams have ever been on HDnet ... and I'm not happy about it!!!

Also, it's not just the fact that satellite providers (DirecTV, Dishnetwork, Bell Express Vu, Star Choice, C-Band) don't carry HDTV locals ... the HDTV sports programming just doesn't exist. I'm sure HDnet would love to carry a better variety of sporting events, but they just don't have the licensing agreements to take stuff that the major networks paid the big bucks to do a poor job providing. (Yes, I know E* does carry a national feed of CBS, but that isn't really a "local" station, and I don't even think any MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL games have been showed on CBS since E* offered it.)

Sporting events on DISH have been blackoutted (is that a word) on CBS HD even though the same event on CBS New York SD has not - I have both.

Jim: Welcome to AVS Forum first of all. Unfortunately what RScogland reported to you is 100% accurate-no local teams in HD as yet. The closest we've come is last year's Super Bowl in 480p 16:9, which wasn't bad (certainly better than 4:3 480i) but still not 1080i HD. However, we are fortunate in this area to have pretty much the most possible HD that is available nation-wide with 5 of our stations already digital and 2 more coming (WLVI and WSBK possibly in August). You will find that watching local newscasts are a vast improvement from what you're used to even though they aren't HD yet. And most of next season's primetime film-based programming will be in 1080i 16:9 on WBZ, WHDH and WCVB. If you get DIRECTV, you will have access to HBO, Showtime and HDNET in HD. If you get DISH Network, you get HBO, Show and Discovery-HD. So you are in for a treat. Good luck with your new toy!

Originally posted by DMILANI
I'm currently a "beta tester" for HDTV via cable in Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury operates their own cable company (S.C.C) and is using the S.A. 3100HD box.

Hi DMILANI,

I'm in Shrewsbury also and was glad to see the preannouncement of this service in this month's "newsletter" from SCC. I'm looking forward to getting this service. I've been doing OTA with HiPix and DirectTV with DST3000 for HBO HD, but haven't really cared for antenna or dish.

Two questions:
How does one get to be a beta tester?
Does the 3100HD do component, DB15 or both for output?

Thanks,
Bob

Hi Bob.

I became a beta tester because I had been in contact with S.C.C. head of technical operations, Wayne Cullen, for almost a year now. I was told a while back thay they were planning to offer HDTV around late summer 2002, so I asked if I could help test out their system when they finally went online.

The beta test period ends July 31. Just call S.C.C and ask for Wayne (or even Linda White may be able to help).

The 3100HD only has component out. Digital audio (dolby 5.1) is via coax. I also have a HiPix and MyHD, but my location in Shrewsbury is terrible. I was getting WBZ for over a year without any problems but since about February, my reception went down hill. The other locals were always hit or miss. I miss being able to record OTA, so I may try harder this fall to put up an outdoor antenna just for timeshifting the locals.

But, at least with HDTV cable, I don't have to worry about reception. The quality of the output for locals and HD Showtime and HBO is equal to what I was getting with the HiPix (which is to say is excellent).

Good luck.

Any updates on when 38 and 56 will be on the air?

I just spoke to someone at the Patriots about HD broadcasts in the coming season. The response:

All the major networks are doing their own cabling at CMGI Field and splitting the cost among themselves so I'm sure they will have HDTV capability. They also supply their own cameras.

He then followed up by saying that I should contact the local network affiliates to determine which individual broadcasts will be in what format. I will do that and report back here, but since I know Bob Hess of WBZ is active in this forum, I figured I'd attempt to ask him (obviously the most knowledgeable person about HD at WBZ) here.

So, Mr. Hess, what format are the Patriots games on Aug 17, Sept 15, 22, 29, Oct 6, 27, Nov 3, 10, 28, and Dec 8, 29 being broadcast in?

Thanks,
Jim

I'm not a spokesman for Bob Hess but if I were a betting man, I'd wager my home and entire future income that not one Patriots regular season game will be in HD.

I do not see any professional local HD sports for a couple years, but who knows... As a BC student, I would love to see the eagles in HD. Who has the rights to their football games?

On another note, I have been taking the T to work the past week, and noticed that the Metro lists programs in HDTV (local stations when space allows in their schedule). Yesterday, it listed American Family on WGBH. Did anyone catch it? I was under the impression that because they were broadcasting WGBX and got rid of the PBS demo loop, that they were not going to broadcast anything in HD for a while.

The BC games are either on ESPN Regional-TV or ABC (Big East), neither of which is equipped to do HD live sporting events.

is anybody else's tuner having trouble with the PBS PSIP shuffling lately. possibly it has exposed a bug
in the sony tuner. here's what i see:
on 44.1, i see wgbx-dt.
on 43.1, i see wgbx-dt
on 43.2, i can see wgbh-dt if i tune it manually,
but the tv can't find 43.2 otherwise. if i hit the guide
button while on 43.2, the tv changes channels to 4.1 and gives the 4.1 guide info. then when i hit exit,
it reverts to 43.2/wgbh. i'll probably have to figure a way to report this to sony - maybe they will provide an upgrade via memory stick.

in other sony news, the 34xbr800 is apparently available for around $1900 ... quite a drop from the price of the 34xbr2 , even taking into account the removal of the atsc tuner...

Looks like someone at WHDH forgot to flip the "old" HD switch this evening on LENO. Sorry Jay but I was forced to switch to HDNet to see real HD.

Originally posted by woz
Yesterday, it listed American Family on WGBH. Did anyone catch it? I was under the impression that because they were broadcasting WGBX and got rid of the PBS demo loop, that they were not going to broadcast anything in HD for a while.

You are correct WGBH not doing HD for the immediate future.
WGBH only did the SD feed of American Family. (Note: PBS HDTV schedules come with the caveat "HD where available". Usually TV listings are done well in advance and WGBH is a "moving target" in terms HD).

[FYI American Family was broadcast in HD by WGBY channel 58 in Springfield, and WENH channel 57 in Durham, NH.].

I got an official response back from the Red Sox re: HDTV

I checked with Jim Healey [Vice President of Broadcasting] regarding your question, and he tells me that while he's sure it will happen in the future, that at this point in time, there are no plans right now to broadcast Red Sox games in HDTV format.
Sorry,

I've contacted Dish Network's advanced tech support about the E*6000's 8VSB not being able to handle WBGH's virtual channel mapping.
They call it an "uncommon trend" report, and it will be investigated.

Physical channel 19 contains 2-1 and 44-1, but
the 8VSB module is only inserting 2-1 in the guide.
If you have a model 6000 with the 8VSB and would like to get both WGBH subchannels, call Dish Network, ask for advanced tech support, and then ask to also be included in this "uncommon trend". In the past, I was able to get a pre-release updates to verify other 8VSB virtual mapping issues have been fixed.

Originally posted by JStanton
I just spoke to someone at the Patriots about HD broadcasts in the coming season. The response:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the major networks are doing their own cabling at CMGI Field and splitting the cost among themselves so I'm sure they will have HDTV capability. They also supply their own cameras.

He then followed up by saying that I should contact the local network affiliates to determine which individual broadcasts will be in what format. I will do that and report back here, but since I know Bob Hess of WBZ is active in this forum, I figured I'd attempt to ask him (obviously the most knowledgeable person about HD at WBZ) here.

So, Mr. Hess, what format are the Patriots games on Aug 17, Sept 15, 22, 29, Oct 6, 27, Nov 3, 10, 28, and Dec 8, 29 being broadcast in?

Thanks,
Jim
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some sort of mandate that dictates that if a network broadcasts a telecast in HDTV that the local affiliates must rebroadcast it in the same format? So take for example the first Monday night game of the season to be played at CMGI. If ABC decides to broadcast the game in HDTV, since the format they use is 720p, then if I'm correct about the mandate mentioned above, then isn't WCVB required to broadcast it in the same format.

I was watching channel 25 (31) and saw a sudden surge in signal strength, I normally get 56-74, it shot up to 90 for a minute(on my HiPix tuner), I wonder if they are experimenting with the transmitter? Or could have a bird landed on my antenna, lol.

Jim

Please excuse me asking a DirecTV question here, but I'm hoping for feedback from other folks in the Boston area....

I'm having lots of problems with Showtime HD breaking up, and I seem to be getting very low signal strength on the Sat C transponders:

53 (transp 8) 49 (transp 10)

Can someone else check and see what kind of numbers they're getting from Sat C?

For comparison, on Sat B I'm getting strengths of 71-85.

Thanks!

-j

Originally posted by jeffw
Please excuse me asking a DirecTV question here, but I'm hoping for feedback from other folks in the Boston area....

I'm having lots of problems with Showtime HD breaking up, and I seem to be getting very low signal strength on the Sat C transponders:

53 (transp 8) 49 (transp 10)

Can someone else check and see what kind of numbers they're getting from Sat C?

For comparison, on Sat B I'm getting strengths of 71-85.

Thanks!

-j

Jeff: I think you have an aiming problem with your dish. I have a very thin line of sight from my condo patio (between 2 large maple trees) and get 90+ signals on all 3 birds. I had my dish professionally installed.

Thanks for giving me a sanity check. I've got the Directv installer coming back out next week to check it out.

-jeff

Originally posted by ftran999

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some sort of mandate that dictates that if a network broadcasts a telecast in HDTV that the local affiliates must rebroadcast it in the same format? So take for example the first Monday night game of the season to be played at CMGI. If ABC decides to broadcast the game in HDTV, since the format they use is 720p, then if I'm correct about the mandate mentioned above, then isn't WCVB required to broadcast it in the same format.

I'm sure our local networks would pass the games they plan to show thru if they were in HDTV to begin with, but last year for example, there were, get this ... ZERO ... NFL games shown in HDTV anywhere in the USA ... and THAT is the problem (I don't count FOX's 480p 16:9 Superbowl because that isn't really HDTV). There has yet to be any announcement that any NFL game will be in HDTV in 2002. Complain to the NFL and the networks ... they need to hear from as many people as possible.

In a side note, I believe your statement above actually is wrong.

i hear they've got hd displays for the folks in
pats club seating at cmgi field. all revved up & noplace
to go. they'll see ntsc->1080i upconverted material like the rest of us i suppose.

Originally posted by ftran999

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some sort of mandate that dictates that if a network broadcasts a telecast in HDTV that the local affiliates must rebroadcast it in the same format? So take for example the first Monday night game of the season to be played at CMGI. If ABC decides to broadcast the game in HDTV, since the format they use is 720p, then if I'm correct about the mandate mentioned above, then isn't WCVB required to broadcast it in the same format.

I have not heard anything about the Fall football season. There are two siginficant problems right now with the broadcast of HDTV sporting events:

1. It is extremely expensive for the Networks.
2. There are very few remote trucks with HD capability.

Remember, we are all still in the infancy of a new technology. As more and more sets come into the marketplace, we will see more and more HD programming. It is relatively easy - albeit not cheap - for the Networks to shoot a series in film and air it in HD. A live sporting event, however, requires a very sophisticated truck and many expensive video cameras. I'm not making excuses, just stating the facts. The Networks, like the local stations, are replacing old gear with HD equivalents and as we all migrate our infrastructure in the direction of high definition, your will see the difference.

By the way, there is no requirement that a local station pass through the HD offerings of the Network. Most local stations, however, are thrilled to do so and, certainly, that includes the Boston stations.

Bob

Is there any reasons why digital stations upconvert regular programming when shows are not in high definition instead of showing a HD demo loop? I am asking this based on the presumption that anyone watching a digital station can also watch the analog twin, which I think is a reasonable assumption. Why not run old shows in HD. It seems that there is a lot of confusion out there about HDTV and if digital stations only broadcast 16x9 HD it would end some of the confusion, just like if HBOHD only showed HD. I know that a while ago Bob Hess gave us a heads up that WBZ-DT would be showing a couple movies in HD (Escape from Alcatraz...) so that tells me that stations do not have to always stick to what the networks give them. I have also been in contact with someone at WRAL (non O&O) in Raleigh, NC and I understand that they have a demo loop that they run on their digital channel.

Not all of us are blessed with crystal clear analog reception. Even when stations are only running SD, I'm happy because digital reception is an order of magnitude better than the interference plagued analog reception I get (even with a big antenna and preamp). Besides, everyone got pretty tired of the PBS demo loop that ran for months and months.

The FCC mandated digital transmission, not HD transmission. It costs lots of bucks and lots of time to outfit a station. Broadcasters are busy just getting the transmitters and STL's, and network feeds set up. The studio and field equipment will be the next step.

rjd, right with ya, I'll take SD over analog any day.

Jim

I got my TU-DST51 back from Panasonic today. The repair notes
said they did some soldering and cleaning (nothing about firmware).
SAP audio problem was not fixed.

In addition, I got an invoice of $230 for my in-warranty repair. :rolleyes:

I wonder if the other person who sent his unit in fared any better.