I thought it was time to try and start an all-imcompassing Connecticut HDTV thread. The main purpose is to let people know what’s available and help each other with information on choosing how to best receive HD.

The following is the status of Digital OTA broadcasting as of October 18, 2003 according to antennaweb.org

WTXX-DT 12 WB Waterbury CT Now Live
WTIC-DT 31 FOX Hartford CT Nov 1 2003
WEDH-DT 32 PBS Hartford CT Awaiting FCC Permit
WFSB-DT 33 CBS Hartford CT Now Live
WVIT-DT 35 NBC New Britain CT Dec 15 2003
WUVN-DT 46 SAH Hartford CT Now Live
WEDY-DT 6 PBS New Haven CT Testing
WTNH-DT 10 ABC New Haven CT Now Live
WHPX-DT 34 PAX New London CT Now Live
WCTX-DT 39 UPN New Haven CT Now Live
WSAH-DT 42 SAH Bridgeport CT Awaiting FCC Permit
WWLP-DT 11 NBC Springfield MA Now Live
WEDN-DT 45 PBS Norwich CT Now Live
WGBY-DT 58 PBS Springfield MA Now Live


Of the “Big 4” networks, it seems that CT viewer’s only HD bright spot is ABC and WTNH DT. They broadcast a strong HD signal that most people have no trouble getting. For CBS, WFSB DT has been broadcasting for a while, but they are broadcasting at low power. For those who do receive the signal, many report that the sound is very low. The latest from WFSB seems to be that they are “hoping” to be at full power by the end of the year. I have one thing to say to WFSB, The Superbowl is Feb 1st. There will be plenty of very upset viewers if they are not full power for the Superbowl. No FOX or NBC yet. All I know about those two are the target dates listed above.

Keep in mind, In many areas of the country, Digital stations are only broadcast in UHF, but here in CT, some stations are VHF. WTXX 12, WTNH 10, WEDY 6, and out of MA, WWLP 11. So for us we need a combination UHF/VHF antenna.

It seems that most of the stations are/will be broadcasting from two tower clusters. Could someone please post where the station transmitters are?

Could people please post your experience with OTA signals? If we could post where your live, Receiver Model, antenna brand and model, then channel and signal strength, that would be great.

I am just getting started. I have only tried indoor antennas so far with not much luck. My results so far:

Cromwell, CT
DTC100 receiver:
Simple Rabbit Ears: received only WTNH DT with a signal strength of around 65. Monday Night Football in HD is awesome!
Silver Sensor UHF antenna- Nothing

I know CT cable companies are starting to carry some HD channels too. If people could add who their cable company is and what channels they receive, that would be great.

Many of you know more than me on this subject so please correct anything I have wrong, and add anything that you think is important. I’m hoping that this thread can provide one stop HD information for all of us. Thanks.

Originally posted by jake14mw
It seems that most of the stations are/will be broadcasting from two tower clusters. Could someone please post where the station transmitters are?

Map of transmitters:

Thanks Andy,

That's a great map! I wonder why antennaweb has WTIC DT as 317 degrees from me and and the others you have listed from that same spot at 316?

The wind? :D

Glad to finally see this thread. I'm in Farmington very close to the Rattlesnake Mountain complex. This is what I pick up for DTV/HD with my Hughes E-86 and my attic mounted Winegard PR-7015 combination VHF/UHF antenna (with ChannelMaster 9251A remote contolled rotor). No amplification at all. Sub channels included where applicable.

WFSB-DT Hartford (CBS) 33-1 (SD upconvert) and 33-3 (HD) - Signal Strength 100% (Channels remap to 3-1 and 3-3 respectively)

==

WTNH New Haven (ABC) 10-1 HD, 10-2 (Doppler Radar) 10-3 (Sports Ticker) - Signal Strength 93-100% (Channels remap to 8-1, 8-2 and 8-3 respectively)

==

WTXX Waterbury (WB) 12-1 (HD when applicable) - Signal Strength 100% (Transmits from Farmington, CT) (Channel remaps to 20-1)

==

WCTX New Haven (UPN) 39-1 (SD upconvert) - Signal Strength 44-65% (Channel remaps to 59-1)

==

WWLP Springfield (NBC) 11-1 (SD upconvert) and 11-3 (HD) - Signal Strength 37-58% (Channels remap to 22-1 and 22-3 respectively)

==
WGGB Springfield (ABC) 55-1 (SD upconvert) Signal strength 37-51% (Channel remaps to 40-1)

==

WGBY Springfield (PBS) 58-1 (HD), 58-2 PBS Kids Upconvert, 58-3 PBS West Upconvert and 58-4 PBSYou Upconvert - Signal Strength 27-44% (Channels remap to 57-1, 57-2, 57-3 and 57-4 respectively)

WGBY runs the PBS demo during primetime. During the day it runs an upconvert of analog 57 but without audio. They are installing equipment to remedy that. WGBY was very spotty over the summer.

==

WUVN-DT 46 (Univision) has also gone live from Hartford, but I have only checked signal strength (100%) I do not know about programming but thought it was worth mentioning. (Channel remaps to 18-1)

==

Ralph

As mentioned in another thread, antennaweb.org says that WTIC-DT is scheduled to go live on Nov 1st, anybody heard anything?

The main reason though for this post is to see if there is any place locally that sells Channelmaster UHF antennas that allows returns? I guess allowing returns is probably a rare thing with antennas right? I am trying to get an antenna to try in the attic.

The catch is that my attic is made from trusses so there is no way I could put up a big combination antenna. I guess Radio Shack lets you return antennas, but I don't think any decent antenna that they have would fit in my attic. Maybe a small Yagi might fit? It seems that one of those ChannelMaster 4 bay Bowtie type antennas might work best but I don't know who sells them locally. Will trusses interfere with the signal? Thanks.

Originally posted by jake14mw

The main reason though for this post is to see if there is any place locally that sells Channelmaster UHF antennas that allows returns? I guess allowing returns is probably a rare thing with antennas right? I am trying to get an antenna to try in the attic.



According to the channel master website, Lowe's sells them as does Signal Electronic Supply in West Hartford. signalelectronics.com

shizno

The Fox date is wrong, we'll be lucky to have them up by the end of the year.

I have been emailing WCTX about their plans to pass Enterprise and Jake 2.0 in HD but I never received a response. I sent an email to a contact at WTNH (WCTX's LIN sister station) and received this reply today:

"At this time we are unable to pass true HD. We are currently in the process of completing the project that will enable us to pass true High Def."


I think every DT station that is not on-line is in this same process. :mad:

Shizno,

Thanks for the info, I tried Signal Electronics but was kind of turned off by the guy that helped me. I also checked Lowes website, and it looks like they only have the big UHF/VHF combo antennas that I can't try in the attic. Since Radio Shack allows returns, I was thinking of trying a yagi style 150-2160 UHF only. I hope to use a good UHF antenna coupled with a small, cheap, simple VHF one.

I'm sure most people in CT have the same antenna issues as me. Distance from the towers is not the problem but terrain blockage is. I think there are a number of hills between me and the towers that will cause me problems. I thought I would get a weak signal from a Silver Sensor temporarily placed outside, but I got nothing with it. My goal is to get a decent signal from WFSB-DT while they are at low power. That way, I figure that when it goes full power and when WTIC and WVIT go on-line, I should be all set.

Right now, choices that I'm looking at include a ChannelMaster 3010 Stealthtenna (I am skeptical about that design), a ChannealMaster Bow-tie style 3021 (Also called 4221), and the Radio Shack one listed above. Anyone have any suggestions?

Hey Such, can you share any more information with us on how you know about the Fox date being wrong?

The date is December. Got it first hand from the CTO of Tribune Broadcasting this morning. They will be passing 480P day 1, and will pass 720P in September when Fox flips their switch nationally.

Originally posted by jake14mw
[B]Shizno,


Right now, choices that I'm looking at include a ChannelMaster 3010 Stealthtenna (I am skeptical about that design),

This is the antenna I use currently, roof mounted on a two story cape in Manchester.

I get:

WFSB (CBS) at about 90%
WTNH(ABC) at about 85%
WWLP (NBC) at about 65%
WTXX (WB) at about 95%
WGBY (PBS)at about 35-50%
Don't know about the others.

I can't seem to get WGGB out of Springfield so it may have to do with the antenna direction, haven't really investigated as I get most everything I currently need. That and the roof is a bit steep...

shizno

edit: I use no amplifier, although I have been thinking of trying one out.

Originally posted by jake14mw
Shizno,

Thanks for the info, I tried Signal Electronics but was kind of turned off by the guy that helped me. I also checked Lowes website, and it looks like they only have the big UHF/VHF combo antennas that I can't try in the attic. Since Radio Shack allows returns, I was thinking of trying a yagi style 150-2160 UHF only. I hope to use a good UHF antenna coupled with a small, cheap, simple VHF one.

I'm sure most people in CT have the same antenna issues as me. Distance from the towers is not the problem but terrain blockage is. I think there are a number of hills between me and the towers that will cause me problems. I thought I would get a weak signal from a Silver Sensor temporarily placed outside, but I got nothing with it. My goal is to get a decent signal from WFSB-DT while they are at low power. That way, I figure that when it goes full power and when WTIC and WVIT go on-line, I should be all set.

Right now, choices that I'm looking at include a ChannelMaster 3010 Stealthtenna (I am skeptical about that design), a ChannealMaster Bow-tie style 3021 (Also called 4221), and the Radio Shack one listed above. Anyone have any suggestions?

Hey Such, can you share any more information with us on how you know about the Fox date being wrong?

I am in the same situation as you in that I have a truss roof structure in my attic and for that reason I'm looking at the CM 4221 - 8 bay bow tie antenna. Same issue, no one sells it locally that will allow a return that I've found. BUT, I did find the CM 4 bay bow tie listed in a catalog at a True Value hardware store. The sales rep stated that it was a standard product for them (not special order) and therefore I could return it. At the time, I was still interested in the 8 bay feeling I would need the added gain living 30-40 miles from Hartford. Alas, the 8 bay was a special order and not returnable. Go figure? You might want to try your local T.V. store if the 4-bay will work for you. They had the 4-bay listed as a CM 3021 I think.

Chris

Edit 1: 8-bay is CM4228; 4-bay is CM 4221/ CM 3021 per Solid Signal.

Well, according to that map (nice, BTW) I can get PBS and PAX without too much difficulty. The others will be tough though. I tried a radio shack indoor and didn't get boo.

Thinking I might give the outdoor thing a shot, but the wife would have a cow if she had to turn a knob to dial in the channel.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. I just want a stinking waiver from CBS and ABC locals which I know I'll never get.

For whatever it is worth, I am in Milford, CT and use a CM 4224 (on roof) and a CM 7777 amp and a rotator. During the summer I would have difficulty getting FOX and CBS from NYC, but now I am able to get them most of the time rannging from 35-70 on the meter. I can always get WTNH over 90 and PBS from Bridgeport around 90 and PBS from Long Island will be over 70. I cant even get WFSB to be a blip on the radar here in Milford. I am anxiously waiting for the CT channels to get going from Rattlesnake mountain so that I can utilize both fronts depending on the weather for each day!!! Also, forgot to mention I am using a RCA DTC100.

Thinking I might give the outdoor thing a shot, but the wife would have a cow if she had to turn a knob to dial in the channel.

I have a remote control rotor that can be controlled with my universal remote. Type in the channel # and the antenna turns and you don't even have to get up from the couch!

Very wife friendly

Originally posted by CHDinCT
I am in the same situation as you in that I have a truss roof structure in my attic and for that reason I'm looking at the CM 4221 - 8 bay bow tie antenna. Same issue, no one sells it locally that will allow a return that I've found. BUT, I did find the CM 4 bay bow tie listed in a catalog at a True Value hardware store. The sales rep stated that it was a standard product for them (not special order) and therefore I could return it. At the time, I was still interested in the 8 bay feeling I would need the added gain living 30-40 miles from Hartford. Alas, the 8 bay was a special order and not returnable. Go figure? You might want to try your local T.V. store if the 4-bay will work for you. They had the 4-bay listed as a CM 3021 I think.

Chris

Edit 1: 8-bay is CM4228; 4-bay is CM 4221/ CM 3021 per Solid Signal.

Chris,

Thanks for that info, I will definitely check out some True Value stores. By the way folks, I called Signal Electronics back yesterday to get a price on the 4221, and the guy that helped me this time was very helpful. He was a real nice guy who really sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

I bought my antennas in Wooster, MA (40 minutes from Hartford) Good salesman and everything is in stock. I will look up the name of the place, can't recall it right now, and post it when I return from a family vacation. Very happy to see this thread. I will post my OTA reception, channels, strength, antennas, receiver etc. when I return.

We are all in this together.

Ed

I'm in Norwalk and using a DTC-100 along with the $22 Radio Shack outdoor UHF antenna (U-75R) mounted on the eave of a 2-story cape. My back yard faces west-southwest and is surrounded by large pine and maple trees. This is nice for privacy, but it's the worst possible scenario for satellite and NYC OTA reception.

Originally I could get WTNH no problem, and NY CBS and FOX would come in but frequently drop out. So I added a ChannelMaster 7777 amp and now I can pick up NY CBS and FOX without dropouts. It's nice because where I am, WTNH and WCBS are almost 180° from eachother. I can keep my antenna pointed towards the Empire State Building, and pick up CBS & FOX, and still get a good signal for ABC (WTNH). However I cannot get anything for the UPN station in New Haven (WCTX), no matter where I point the antenna. Not even a blip! Is this a power issue? If so how much power are they putting out? I think the 4 watts on my CB radio is more powerful!

Regarding cable- here in lower Fairfield County Cablevision is the only choice. If you have the iO service, you can request an HD box (it's free but requires a service call), and get CBS HD and PBS HD with any package, but no other networks yet. People with Cablevision in New York are able to get the NY FOX widescreen, but I read elsewhere it may be because there is not sufficient bandwidth on the uplink from NY to CT. Who knows if this is true. I also understand there are some FCC rules that say the cable companies have to provide the HD locals on the same basic tier as the analog channels. Cablevision wants to charge $10 extra for the "iO service" in order to get these channels. It seems a little fishy to me, I don't even know if you can order the old service anymore. I've always been jerked around by cablevision which is why I have satellite.

As the "somewhat official" thread for HDTV in CT, I have not seen any reference to COX cable and their HD capabilities. I live in Enfield, and HD is available with basic channels (ESPNHD, DiscHD, HBO, SHO and INHD soon). Does anyone out there have the COX HD installed yet? Any info on when we might get broadcast channels - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX etc.? Seems like Comcast is way ahead of COX in HD content - unfortunate for us with COX! Any info on COX HD would be appreciated. I have not invested in my HDTV yet waiting for more HD content, but I have this money burning a hole in my pocket, just waiting to be spent! Thanks, BOB

I live in West Haven, CT and I use a Channel Master 3019 OTA. I pull in WTNH-DT (ABC), WCTXX-DT (UPN), WTXX-DT (WB) at about 90%. No problem with those channels what so ever. I just recently made an alignment adjustment to my antenna and now I can pull in WFSB-DT (CBS)at about 60%. However the audio is very low, as others have stated. Earlier in this thread someone stated that WUVN recently went live (18-1), however I can not pull this channel in, (it doesn't even show up in my channel list) despite being able to pull in the normal signal from Hartford without any problem. I look forward to future programming from NBC (WVIT) and PBS (WEDH from Hartford & WEDY from New Haven). I know that WVIT won't be available until 2004, does anyone know when the PBS stations will go live.

I live in Tolland. I have a Radio Shack deep fringe VU-190 combo VHF/UHF antenna. I also have a Radio Shack mast mounted 30 db amplifier. I am using a Hughes E-86 hD box. Here is what I am getting for signal strength:

WTNH ch 10 - 79%
WTTX ch 13 - 100%
WEDN ch 45 - 100%
WFSB ch 33 - 15%

I don't have a rotor but I am fortunate that WFSB,WTIC,WTXX,WVIT,WCTX,and WTNH are within about 20 degrees of each other.

I can get WTNH good with only a few dropouts. WTXX has virtually no dropouts. Eventhough I can see the signal for WFSB, I cannot get a picture.

One thing that I have noticed is that the E-86 HD box often gets confused when switching between directv and OTA. The picture and audio have many dropouts. The best way for me to cure this is to switch to analog OTA reception and then to digital OTA. Has anyone else noticed a similar problem. Maybe it is due to the heat of the E-86 although the directv hd channels never show any dropout.

Regarding WEDH (pbs), it looks like they are still waiting approval from the FCC before beginning transmitting.

I just thought of one more thing. I don't seem to get any dropouts on WEDN. Since that is the only UHF station that I receive, I wonder if the E-86 has a problem with VHF reception.

gerryger,

what directional are you pointing at to get the WB out of Waterbury??? I cannot find it to save my life. I dont know what the recent directional is as I have not checked antennaweb but since you are getting it, I wonder if you would not mind sharing that info since we are probably just as far from it as I am just a couple of exits away from you in Milford along the shoreline!!!

I've had little luck with the Radio Shack combo antenna's (including the VU-190), eventually returned it and got seperate Wineguard VHF & UFH antannas. Been perfect since I did that, plus you can point them in different directions if needed.

Live in Avon and get WWLP/NBC out of Springfield, WFSB/CBS from Avon MT, WTXX/WB off Rattlesnake, and ABC out of New Haven. All with 90+% signal strength.

Have the antenna's in my attic and use a Channel Master 7777 preamp.

what directional are you pointing at to get the WB out of Waterbury??? I cannot find it to save my life. I dont know what the recent directional is as I have not checked antennaweb but since you are getting it, I wonder if you would not mind sharing that info since we are probably just as far from it as I am just a couple of exits away from you in Milford along the shoreline!!!

Check Such's post. Although WTXX/WB is listed as Waterbury, their transmitter is on Rattlesnake Mt. in Farmington. The transmitter is side mounted, pointed toward Waterbury. They are only outputting 25% of full power so it my not be a directional issue for you.

There is a large antenna array being constructed on the mountain which will house the antennae for WTXX-DT, WTIC-DT, WVIT-DT and WEDH-DT but I have not heard about the status in a long time. I drive by Rattlesnake every day but I have not seen anything visually changing but that doesn't mean there isn't anything happening.

Ralph

I have first hand information that Fox's digital broadcasts will start ~Dec 1st. So I'm hopeful that means others will also be up around that time (given the tower will be built out at that point).

so is there an antenna structure up on rattlesnake yet???? Can a physical structure be seen??? If so, hopefully they are just finishing off the connection end of it.....anybody have any real solid info????

so is there an antenna structure up on rattlesnake yet???? Can a physical structure be seen???

Right now there are two large analog structures that you can see from miles around. I saw what looked like a third very small one last week when approaching the complex from Bristol. I had never seen that one before.

The owner of the complex is an AVS member (achase) but I haven't seen a post from him in a while. He explained that the largest analog structure would be reinforced and a candelabra type antenna array would be affixed to it. That would be for WTIC-DT, WEDH-DT and WTXX-DT. I'm probably simplifying the hell out of it, but that's what I interpreted from various posts from achase. This info seems consistent with what I have heard from WTIC in past emails which I think is good news.

The smaller of the two structures I believe is WVITs analog structure. I drive by these things twice a day but have not seen any visible changes. Could all be low level work at this point. WVIT going live OTA is just hindered by the antenna issue. Their equipment is up and running and they have a dedicated uplink to Comcast and are broadcasting 1080i to Comcast HD subscribers. Doesn't that just boil your blood?

All correspondence with the stations seems to point that things are progressing toward a November launch for WVIT and December launch for WTIC as Such reported. I have emailed WEDH repeatedly but have no word from them.

Last but not least, we need WFSB-DT at full power with 5.1 sound, and that rounds out my Christmas list.

Ugh, just moved to Mystic from Raleigh. I'm sorely disapointed in the HD content here :(. In Raleigh I had a TON of local broadcast stations, and Time Warner actually had a decent HD lineup (everything I wanted except ESPN). Comcast is giving me NBC, ESPN, Showtime, HBO, PBS, and a couple weird ones. ESPN has all sorts of problems coming in, NBC often flips between HD and digital right in the middle of a show, and the rest have some weird volume issues. It's driving me batty :(. And of course my local reception here is terrible. I guess I was a little too spoiled. I'm hoping Comcast expands their lineup soon. It baffles me that they don't at least have the big 3 networks' HD lineup.

-MP

Anybody have any cable HD updates? The last I knew, the only local Comcast was carrying was WVIT. Is that still true?

Originally posted by madpoet
Comcast is giving me NBC, ESPN, Showtime, HBO, PBS, and a couple weird ones. ESPN has all sorts of problems coming in, NBC often flips between HD and digital right in the middle of a show, and the rest have some weird volume issues. It's driving me batty :(. And of course my local reception here is terrible. I guess I was a little too spoiled. I'm hoping Comcast expands their lineup soon. It baffles me that they don't at least have the big 3 networks' HD lineup.

-MP

At least you get that. With Eastern CT, you get diddly, as in nothing HD and no timetable to provide it. I think it is run out of someone's basement.:mad:

I posted this elsewhere, but I just lost WFSB-DT this past weekend. Thursday was in and out, but since then nothing. This is using my Integrated tuner in the Mitsubishi TV. I have to see if my DTC-100 still gets it. ABC out of NH is still good as is WTXX from waterbury. Cant wait unitl the others go too.

Has anyone else noticed WFSB being worse than normal? It used to come in crystal clear with no breakups, now nothing. I hope Cox carries these guys soon and unscrambled....I already pay $10 to have cable in my house and I was hoping to have the digital OTA stations as part of that.

I get WFSB better than I used to. It is watchable now.
fitsman,
nice to see another HT enthusiast and big NY Giants fan like me near by.

I just checked WFSB minutes ago, (7:00 p.m. Tuesday). 3-3 is still coming in fine for me and 3-1 looks identical. Usually 3-1 is stretched when showing 4:3 programming but today I see black bars just like 3-3.

CKNA or AreBee, I just tried my DTC-100 and it works fine, I get a 46 signal strength just like I used to. I am not sure why my Mits cannot tune in WFSB anymore. It seems like something did change there this weekend, I wonder if the signal is now incompatable with Mits integrated. Niether one of you would happen to have a Mits integrated tuner would you?

Anyone out there in CT with an integrated set who gets WFSB now?

Brian

I live in East Longmeadow, MA and use a samsung SIR-TS160 and I also had problems with WFSB starting this weekend. Could not get CSI miami in last night.

In case anyone is interested, I use a radio shack XUR120 12" boom antenna on my roof with a radio shack rotor and radio shack 30 db amplifier.

I can consistently get in WWLP, WTNH, the WB station from CT, and PBS. WFSB was coming in with a few dropouts until yesterday when I started getting more dropouts.

I was not able to get FSB at all until I had the rotor installed. It still only goes up to 36 on the signal meter max.

Looks like there are changes on the WTNH channel tonight. NYPD blue is showing up on Channel 8-2 with a blank 8-1. The sports wire is gone also.
NYPD blue is in dolby digital 5.1 which is cool. I do not think it has been in dolby digital in the past.

One more comment that may help people. I find that with the radio shack amp I need to tur nthe amplification strength down to about 1/2 to get all the channels in. More than that and the signal vanishes.

Here is a problem that I have. With WWLP, when they come back from commercials it looks like they turn off the dolby digital for a second which causes my JVC receiver to have to re-initialized dolby digital and lose about 4 seconds of audio. I can see the dolby digital light go off for a sec then on again. this occurs also on a zenith HDV420 terrestriail receiver as well.

anyway, hope someone finds these posts helpful. It has taken quite a bit of time for me to get all the channels in.

I am in Milford (just south-west of New Haven) and still cant get WFSB to show up on my RCA DTC100 at all!!! I get WTNH at about 95% but no WTXX or WFSB. I have a CM 4224 on garage roof with rotor and CM 7777 amp. I pull in NYC WCBS and FOX usually, unless bad weather is in the air. Are there any tricks I can pull to get WFSB and/or WTXX in??? Any tips or advise appreciated, thanks!!!

scottte

I am in Tolland and still cannot get WFSB. Signal strentgh is still about 15. On WTNH, I get occasional dropouts audio and video. I changed antenna amps from a Radio Shack model 15-1109 to a channelmaster. It did seem to reduce the number of dropouts butI still get one every few minutes. Channel 20 is much better without almost no dropouts. Is anyone else having occasional dropouts with Ch 8? Also it seems during the day when they broadcast in SD, there is only analog audio.

I found with WTNH that I got a lot of dropouts unless I reduced my 30db radio shack amp to about half strength. I had a lot more dropous on my old Zenith HDV 420 than I do now with the samsung SIR-TS160.

Originally posted by fitsman
CKNA or AreBee, I just tried my DTC-100 and it works fine, I get a 46 signal strength just like I used to. I am not sure why my Mits cannot tune in WFSB anymore. It seems like something did change there this weekend, I wonder if the signal is now incompatable with Mits integrated. Niether one of you would happen to have a Mits integrated tuner would you?

Anyone out there in CT with an integrated set who gets WFSB now?

Brian

Brian, I am in Cheshire and do get WFSB on my Mits with integrated tuner. I do get some dropouts ... it seams to be weather dependent. Both 3-1 and 3-3 were HD last night. I wonder if they are switching their HD to 3-1 and dropping 3-3 when they go to full power (soon I hope).

Originally posted by db999md
NYPD blue is in dolby digital 5.1 which is cool. I do not think it has been in dolby digital in the past.

Don't know about that. Blue has been 5.1 for years since it's been HDTV, here in beautiful Newington.

I currently have a Terk 50 chicken-ship-ly mounted on my Dish 61.5 mast with a bungee cord. I get WTNH at about 85-90% with occasional breakups that I attribute to multi-plexing because of no rotor.

Like other folks, WFSB has just started coming in again at about 65% with occasional breakups.

Can't get PBS in Mass., WTXX digital comes in sometimes, Fox is usually lame, and UPN is usually a lame signal as well.

After enviously reading about AreBee's great reception the next town over, I've been in contact with him about his setup. Hopefully, time permitting this weekend, I'll buy a real antenna, mast and a HDTV MUST-HAVE rotor and can my current chicken-ship setup.

Thanks again Ralph.

I will try my TV again tonight, but I think I might have problem with it. Not good, especialy since I had them swap it out already for what turned out to be an issue with my Anthem AVM-20, not the TV.

What gets me is that it was working fine, then all of a sudden it started to have some dropouts, then more and then alot and now nothing...Non of the other stations have any problem what so ever. I get a nice stong signal from WTNH and CH 20 WB (I think that is wtxx right?)...This is very wierd. I would think that the 3 generation newer mits tuner would be better than the DTC-100 which still gets the signal just fine.

After enviously reading about AreBee's great reception the next town over, I've been in contact with him about his setup. Hopefully, time permitting this weekend, I'll buy a real antenna, mast and a HDTV MUST-HAVE rotor and can my current chicken-ship setup.

Thanks again Ralph.


No problem Bob. Hope everything works out for you.

Are you going rooftop or attic install?

I noticed a change in WTNH today (10-1). During the day when they are broadcasting in standard definition, they are now sending a progressive signal that is not stretched or cropped. Also the audio is dolby digital, where it had not been available for the last couple of days. To me this looks a lot better than whaat they had been doing.

Something else about WTHN. The 10-2 and 10-3 channels which were weather and sports are now duplicates of 10-1.

Originally posted by eorcman
Something else about WTHN. The 10-2 and 10-3 channels which were weather and sports are now duplicates of 10-1.

Noticed the same thing last night, 8-1 is now a blank screen and 8-3 doesn't even show up in my on-screen guide (via my Samsung T-160). The improvements to the digital signal (on 8-2) are nice, but my wife is a big fan of the always available local radar, especially since we can't get local weather updates (including radar) via Direct TV. Anyone know if this is a temporary or permanent change?

Chris

Interesting Chris. I get signal on 8-1 8-2 and 8-3 (actually 10-1,2&3). I asked the question of Wtnh. I will let you know when I get a reply.

Anyone notice strange signal issues with WWLP/22 this week. I used to get it solid in the high 80's, now I'm getting a wide variety 5-85. Noticed they put up a radar loop on 22-2 (Northern CT, Southern MA) like WTNH also - may have been there a while, never noticed it.

Wondering if the leaves dropping from the trees have caused me problems, or if its something other than my setup. Any info would be helpful.

Originally posted by CHDinCT
Noticed the same thing last night, 8-1 is now a blank screen and 8-3 doesn't even show up in my on-screen guide (via my Samsung T-160). The improvements to the digital signal (on 8-2) are nice, but my wife is a big fan of the always available local radar, especially since we can't get local weather updates (including radar) via Direct TV. Anyone know if this is a temporary or permanent change?

Chris

Chris,

What area of southern CT are you in. I have been considering trying the antenna route, but I don't want a 144" boom on my roof. I believe that I am within 40 miles of each tower. So anyone have any ideas as to equipment/vendors that will install an antenna/router, etc.

Rich

I'm looking for an antenna to put in my attic. I'm thinking about getting the "160" Long Dual Boom, 57 Element Antenna" from radioshack, partly because I could return it if it doesn't work for me, and also because I want to receive as many channels as possible. It does cost $100 though. Before I go ahead and do this, could anyone tell me if there are any better options? I'm in the New Haven area.

Thanks

If you are going with a dual UHF/VHF model, make sure you can turn it in your attic. I recommend seperate UHF & VHF antenna's given ABC is VHF and all others on Rattlesnake Mt. area will be mostly UHF, therefore you will avoid having to turn your antenna. You will need lots of room either way in the attic.

I have two seperates now, turn only the VHF antenna (ABC in NY, NBC in Springfield), UHF pointend at CBS mini-tower on Avon Mt.

Have Wineguard for models both - get 'em as big as you can fit ;)

Such,
what do you recommend for combining the signals of the two antennas into the receiver? I have a Terk 50 (I believe) in the attic and am fortunate to be 850 ft up. I can almost get all channels but the 3.1 vs the 8.1 (CBS vs ABC) is a tread off. I often get both at the same time...but usually, if I want to minimize drop offs I would adjust the antenna by a few degrees depending on which channel I want to see. So, I was thinking, maybe I should get another Terk 50 and have it dedicated to ABC (8.1).
Thanks

Terk antennas are generally regarded as very poor quality for the money. They sell based on their looks, and the fact that the boxes are small enough to be easily sold in retail stores. A very inexpensive VHF antenna will probably do the job for you at that elevation. In Cromwell, I'm able to get Channel 8 with $7 rabbit ears.

I'm trying to go with two different antennas too. A UHF only pointed at the Avon/Farmington towers, and a small VHF pointed at Channel 8. Anybody know of a small, low profile outdoor VHF that can be combined with a UHF?

I use a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp, that has a UHF & VHF input option so you can connect either a combo, or seperate antenna's through the pre-amp. My Wineguard UHF antenna also has a VHF F-Connector on it that will combine the signal if you are not using a pre-amp.

Second the motion on the Terk, I have a Terk55 in my basement collecting dust. don;t think combining Terks will work as they will generally cancel each other out as opposed to adding signal together. It gets really technical (beyond my attention span) to figure out precise distances apart based on the channel wave lenght, etc. to make it work & you would need to use something like a Channel Master Jointenna that is modulated to pass only one specific channel. I've played around with them, but not had much luck. Especially give we have UHF and VHF stations so close (VHF Ch 10, 11 and 12 in this area, and UHF's will also be close when they are all up).

Originally posted by rmcgirr83
Chris,

What area of southern CT are you in. I have been considering trying the antenna route, but I don't want a 144" boom on my roof. I believe that I am within 40 miles of each tower. So anyone have any ideas as to equipment/vendors that will install an antenna/router, etc.

Rich

Rich,

I'm in Killingworth, but I can't give you much advice as I'm only using a cheap RCA rabbit ears setup for now, with which I only get WTNH to any degree. I am leaning toward putting up a Channelmaster 4228 (8-bay bow tie) with a rotor and CM 7777 pre-amp. However, this decision is partially based on the fact that it's the only deep fringe antenna that will fit in my attic (don't want to put one on the roof) as I have a truss-roof set up (lots of beans running in triangular shapes holding up the roof). I think I'll need the extra gain that this antenna would give in order to pull in Hartford area stations and because I'm basically in the woods where I live.

Chris

I have one of the Jointenna's and it does work. I get ABC via it and the rest come from a Terk pointed towards rattlesnake mountain. Until recently I used to get 3 stations without turning an antenna. The Yagi is definatly better than the Terk. I used to have 2 terks hooked up this way and my signal strength went up 30% with a cheaper antenna. I should get a better antenna and replace my terk...then I might get CBS back.

fitsman,
so you have a Yagi connected to a joinantenna which passes only ABC (channel 8)?
Thanks

Originally posted by Such
If you are going with a dual UHF/VHF model, make sure you can turn it in your attic. I recommend seperate UHF & VHF antenna's given ABC is VHF and all others on Rattlesnake Mt. area will be mostly UHF, therefore you will avoid having to turn your antenna. You will need lots of room either way in the attic.

That RadioShack one I mentioned says UHF Range 100 miles. Is that true? It seems to be greater than any of the ChannelMaster ones. I was also considering the "Channel Master 4228 8-Bay Bowtie UHF Antenna" since mostly I just need to receive UHF plus Channel 12 (WB), but it only lists the UHF range as 60 miles.

Panda - I have the Radio Shack antenna that you mentioned. I am satisfied with it. I did have to get an amplifier to get adequate reception. Reception depends a lot on the terrain between you and the transmitter. I am a long way from the transmitters and have a high ridge between my house and the towers.

I think the ratings on the antennas have to be taken with a grain of salt. Those ranges might be correct if you were out in the great plains. Here in Ct., I would not expect those type of results. I am 43 miles from WTNH and I get a good picture but with occasional dropouts. I never get a signal at 100%. I am at 26 miles from WTXX and I do get a 100% signal from them. Both of these are VHF. WEDN in Norwich at 28 miles also comes in at 100%, this is UHF. However WFSB at 23 miles does not come in because of low power.

By the way, I was not satisfied with the Radio Shack amplifier that I bought. I took it back and bought a Channelmaster antenna from Lowes. Much fewer dropouts on WTNH. Lowes also sells Channelmaster antennas.

Panda - ome more thing. Before buying an antenna, I would go to antennaweb.com and plug in your zip code. They will tell you what color code your antenna should be. Radio shack uses these color codes. I don't know if Channelmaster does.

shumi, yes I use it for WTHN, but dont forget the real channel is 10, so it passes only channel 10 on and combines it with the full range Terk. (it also blocks channel 10 from the terk so you do not get ghosting). Works very well. I wish they made one so I could do the same for UPN out of NH. For some reason they do not, they do UHF in ranges, and of course the hartford stations fall within that range...too bad.

Still no WFSB on my Mits since last Thursday....They did something and did not return my calls (not surprised there)

I'm really new to Comcast digital, much less HD. I got HD about 2 weeks ago and I find I get frequent breakups with digital artifacts on just about all content. InHD and InHD2 may be a little better, certainly their programming is well shot.
In any case, are these problems with Comcast HD normal or is it something worth calling them about? I have a really clean cabling setup with 1 continuous cable running 20 feet from the junction box to my tuner (Moto 5100, no DVI yet).
Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks,
Ken

Anybody in Connecticut have a working DVI on a Comcast Motorola 5100 yet?

If not, any idea when?

Originally posted by kenc3dan_av
I'm really new to Comcast digital, much less HD. I got HD about 2 weeks ago and I find I get frequent breakups with digital artifacts on just about all content. InHD and InHD2 may be a little better, certainly their programming is well shot.
In any case, are these problems with Comcast HD normal or is it something worth calling them about? I have a really clean cabling setup with 1 continuous cable running 20 feet from the junction box to my tuner (Moto 5100, no DVI yet).
Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks,
Ken

I've had HD through Comcast for about 2 months now without any problems. <knocks on wood>

Actually I did have one issue, after they installed the HD, my cable modem went out. If your problems are that frequent I'd definitely give them a ring and see what they say. Good luck!

i just received hd from comcast in branford and am crushed to find im not getting fox/cbs/upn/abc all i get is 720 nbc!

am i missing something?

Originally posted by jamesdouglas
i just received hd from comcast in branford and am crushed to find im not getting fox/cbs/upn/abc all i get is 720 nbc!

am i missing something?

Didn't you look at Comcast's site ;)

Don't forget ESPN-HD (3 HD shows a week)
HBO
SHOWTIME
INHD1 & 2 (Clockwork Orange was awesome last night)

Also Fox isn't HD yet...but I can't wait to get CBS and ABC as well.

I've got Comcast Hartford coming out tomorrow to check out my stuttering, blocky digital cable and HD.

For a variety of reasons I've posted previously on this thread, I'm seriously considering mounting a Channel Master 4228 with rotator in my attic (with possible pre-amp also). I've been to antennaweb.org and looked at all the information there. All of the DT channels in CT that I'm interested in are in the UHF range except WTNH, which is broadcasting OTA on channel 10, which is VHF.

My question is whether anyone using a CM 4228 in CT is able to pick up WTNH on channel 10 even though it's a UHF antenna? I've read elsewhere on the forum that this antenna is good down to something like channel 9 or 8, but I'd like to confirm it if possible.

By the way, I'm getting WTNH now on rabbit ears, so signal strength should not be an issue.

Thanks

Chris

Not having CSI and football in HD is hurting me :). Wish Comcast would get on the ball.

CHDinCT,

I am using a CM 4228 with CM 7777 pre amp and pick up WTNH with it at about 90-95 on meter in Milford. Hope that helps!!!

scottte

Anyone know what QAM channels are and are not encrypted?

Originally posted by madpoet
Not having CSI and football in HD is hurting me :). Wish Comcast would get on the ball.

The football is what I'm looking for. I just got something in the mail from Comcast talking about 3 months of Digital Cable for $9 /month. If they added CBS to their lineup, I'd take them up on that offer. It would cover the football and basketball seasons nicely. How much additional is HD through Comcast? I could never go with them permanently though because I couldn't give up my DirecTivo.

Originally posted by CHDinCT
For a variety of reasons I've posted previously on this thread, I'm seriously considering mounting a Channel Master 4228 with rotator in my attic (with possible pre-amp also). I've been to antennaweb.org and looked at all the information there. All of the DT channels in CT that I'm interested in are in the UHF range except WTNH, which is broadcasting OTA on channel 10, which is VHF.

My question is whether anyone using a CM 4228 in CT is able to pick up WTNH on channel 10 even though it's a UHF antenna? I've read elsewhere on the forum that this antenna is good down to something like channel 9 or 8, but I'd like to confirm it if possible.

By the way, I'm getting WTNH now on rabbit ears, so signal strength should not be an issue.

Thanks

Chris

Chris,

I just tried a ChannelMaster 4221 (the four bay model) with no amplifier on my roof here in Cromwell, and I was able to get a very watchable signal. With the bigger CM and a rotor, I don't think you should have a problem.

Comcast Hartford service came out yesterday and gave me a new 'better' splitter. I have one cable coming in to the house split to my tuner and cable modem. Still getting blocky artifacts on the digital channels (especially 'toons) and periodic pixelization zaps on the HDTV channels. This happens on scene transitions and cuts on the animation channels and every couple of minutes on the HDTV channels. You'd think animation would compress more easily than anything, it's all line work and solid colors but these channels seems to be the worst sufferers from compression artifacts. I have no idea what's up with the HD unless they are getting weak feeds or skimping on bandwidth somehow. Looks like I'll be switching to satellite unless they can fix this - I have a Thursday Oct 13th appointment.

I just got an email response from WCTX-DT programming stating that they will not be broadcasting "true HD" until January or February.

scottte and jake14mw,

Thanks for confirming that the CM 4221 or 4228 should work for WTNH. I was pretty sure if would but getting confirmation helps since most of the places that sell antennas don't allow returns, or at least charge restocking fees.

Chris

Originally posted by AreBee
I just got an email response from WCTX-DT programming stating that they will not be broadcasting "true HD" until January or February.

AreBee,

What was your original question to WTNH? I wonder if this has anything to do with them rearranging the content on their sub-channels recently. I no longer get 8-3 or the radar image on 8-2. Also, last night's MNF telecast looked like HD to me, but I did experience a lot more dropouts than other nights. Their HD telecasts were working fine for me until these latest changes.

Chris

Sometime last week WTNH made a change. Prior to the change, for SD programs, they were broadcasting a digital stretched and cropped signal on 8-1. The radar loop on 8-2 and a sports ticker on 8-3. Now they are broadcasting a progressive scan uncropped and unstretched signal for SD programs. This shows up on 8-1, 2,&3. Their HD broadcasts remain unchanged

What was your original question to WTNH? I wonder if this has anything to do with them rearranging the content on their sub-channels recently.

My original question was to WTNH in regards to WCTX and their ability to broadcast Enterprise and Jake 2.0 in HD. Both are Lin stations and WTNH usually responds promptly to inquires. After not receiving a reply from WCTX, I went to WTNH who responded that day to say no HD for a while. This was mid October. WCTX got back to me Monday, allmost a month after my original question with the same answer although they cited money as the reason for the delay.

Also, last night's MNF telecast looked like HD to me, but I did experience a lot more dropouts than other nights.

MNF was horrible this week. Audio dropouts, pixellization etc. were rampant and I had a 100 signal. Turns out it was countrywide though and not exclusive to WTNH.

Ralph

Hey, at least Comcast is going to give us OnDemand stations soon....

Seriously though, I am very hopeful that we'll get the new 5100 boxes here in Groton/Mystic. Would love to have DVI out someday. I am annoyed by the lack of major braodcast HD, but what can you do. Sadly I am too far from any broadcasts here to even consider an antenna.

-MP

Per the guys at Fox 61:

"We just got our construction permit from the FCC. We hope to have a
digital signal early next year."

Great, a year after that or so maybe Comcast will actually pick up the feed.

Originally posted by jake14mw
The football is what I'm looking for. I just got something in the mail from Comcast talking about 3 months of Digital Cable for $9 /month. If they added CBS to their lineup, I'd take them up on that offer. It would cover the football and basketball seasons nicely. How much additional is HD through Comcast? I could never go with them permanently though because I couldn't give up my DirecTivo.

Jake, my bill went up by ~$2, the difference in the rental price for the STB.

Regarding WTNH's latest change with their digital channel, I couldn't be happier about it! :)

I have gone out of my way to call and e-mail everyone that I know in the station's engineering department letting them know how happy I was with quality of the picture and the ease of receiving the OTA signal now that there are no multi-casting issues. The difference is night and day. I love the no stretch and full bandwidth. If you are happy with these changes, please let Francine Du Verger (Director of Engineering) know by e-mailing her at: francine.duverger@wtnh.com

They also told me that they are taking the old HD equipment from WTNH, wipe in clean and reconfigure it for WCTX. By the end of January 2004 was what thy were shooting for.

Also, in the first quarter of 2004 WTNH plans to make a "significant increase" in their OTA transmission power. Now we just need the other networks in Connecticut to step up to the plate.

I can no longer get WTNH.....there is signal but no programming showing up on 8.1, 8.2 or 8.3 on my Samsung TS-160.

If I reprogram my TS-160 and tell it there is no Satellite dish and to use OTA only, I can manually dial in 10.1, or do a channel search and add it to my OTA channel list and get WTNH back again, as long as I stay in OTA only mode with the Samsung....however, I soon as change the TS-160 back to add a SAT dish, it checks my zip code, downloads the up to date PSIP information, deletes 10.1 and only allows me to select 8.1, .2 or .3 again, which are now not showing any programming. If I try to manually select 10.1 it cames back and says channel not available (basically it doesn't think it is a valid digital OTA channel).

Until WTNH starts sending updated PSIP information to the Sat company and delete the remapping to 8.1, I am dead in the water.

Tele-media Cable in CT is starting their HD service around Thanksgiving 2003 and the details are starting to come in. Please post all information regarding Tele-Media's HD service here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=314315

Any news if COX in CT will pick up locals like Comcast? Also anyone in CT with comcast, are they encrypted? Can my QAM tuner in my Mits TV tune them in without a cable box?

Ok...I now get WTNH...it has moved to 8.2, it is mapped in my TS-160 and I am now good to go, picking it up at 77% with a good picture.

I do miss the channel 8.3 doppler radar.

Originally posted by madpoet
Per the guys at Fox 61:

"We just got our construction permit from the FCC. We hope to have a
digital signal early next year."

Great, a year after that or so maybe Comcast will actually pick up the feed.

Such posted info previously that he heard Dec 1. Early next year, great, that kills the football season. .:mad: I wonder if that has any affect on WVIT's date to go digital.

Originally posted by BillN96
Regarding WTNH's latest change with their digital channel, I couldn't be happier about it! :)

I have gone out of my way to call and e-mail everyone that I know in the station's engineering department letting them know how happy I was with quality of the picture and the ease of receiving the OTA signal now that there are no multi-casting issues. The difference is night and day. I love the no stretch and full bandwidth. If you are happy with these changes, please let Francine Du Verger (Director of Engineering) know by e-mailing her at: francine.duverger@wtnh.com

They also told me that they are taking the old HD equipment from WTNH, wipe in clean and reconfigure it for WCTX. By the end of January 2004 was what thy were shooting for.

Also, in the first quarter of 2004 WTNH plans to make a "significant increase" in their OTA transmission power. Now we just need the other networks in Connecticut to step up to the plate.

Bill,

For those of us who are just starting to get into this, could you elaborate on what the changes were? It sounds like that previously, when they were upconverting a standard definition image they were stretching it to 16x9? I can see how if they stopped that it would make you happy. Also, can anyone explain to me what the 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 means versus receiving the signal on channel 10? I really don't understand that whole thing. I know that having the live radar image on one of those channels was a nice thing to have.

Lastly, WTNH increasing their transmission power is good news but ironic. Their signal seems to be the strongest of anyone.

Also, can anyone explain to me what the 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 means versus receiving the signal on channel 10.

Jake,

WTNH is digital Channel 10-1. Upon inputting "10-1" on your remote, your set top box should "remap" the channel to 8-1. That helps people more easily identify the digital channel with their analog channel 8. From then on, your box should recognize 8-1 from then on out. Other examples are 33-1 remaps to 3-3 (WFSB), 39-1 remaps to 59-1 (WCTX) 12-1 remaps to 20-1 (WTXX). After the channels remap, they'll be right next to their analog counterparts as you scroll through the channels. Digital channels always have a "-". 3-3, 8-1, 59-1 etc. If you type in 10, you're going to get analog 10. I hope that helps.


On a related note, I checked WTNH yesterday evening and 8-1, 8-2 and 8-3 were all showing the same thing which at the time was a 4:3 picture with black bars. This was an SD show. I didn't get to check actual HD programming though, as my power went out shortly after.



Ralph

There's lots of strange remapping stuff going on right now. I have three HD tuners and they all act differently (Mits SR-HD5, Sammy TS160, and HiPix).

I'm no longer getting a signal on my HiPix on 33-3/3-3, HD material for WFSB is only viewable on 33-1/3-1 (screws up my programming for my Hd Recording HiPix), wondering if I need to change all my scheduled recordings. My Mits and Sammy tuners see programming on both the .1 and .3 subchannels.

My Mits gets WTNH on 10-1/8-1, but my HiPix only sees programming on 10-2/8-2 (that was 2 days ago when I checked). My Sammy only sees 8-2 also.

The only other channel I watch regularly is WWLP 11-1&3/22-1&3, that's unchanged on all my STB's and my HiPix.

These stations are driving me nuts...................

If you are listening:
Just put all your programming on one damn subchannel, push it at 480i for SD stuff and 1080i/720P for HD stuff & let the viewer decide if they want to stretch the SD or view it with black bars. Ditch the subchannel simulcast, put up the doppler feed of you want to use a little bandwidth, though I don't like to give it up off the HD feed.

It's always been an issue to me, find me one person anywhere in the country who has the ability to pull in a digital OTA station who does not have an HD set. Why the hell are you simulcasting the same stuff on two subchannels!!!!!!!!

I think the 480P picture that WTNH is now broadcasting lookes better than the 480i picture that they used to broadcast. When they broadcast HD they never have anything on the subchannels. Maybe with the switch to 480p for SD channels means they can't broadcast the radar loop. I can tell the signal is progressive on my MITS TV because it has narrower sidebars than 480i SD has.

my tivo told me "a lineup change has occurred"! and it told me that Comcast New Haven was adding wtnh-dt. It dont say when but it does say it is going to happen!!!

I noticed the other night that some HD shows on WTNH did not look like HD and were boxed instead of stretched just like an SD commercial.

Anyone else see this. I think it was during Karen Sysco.

Did notice the same thing. WTNH probably may not be able to broadcast the radar loop if they are sending 480P SD feed, but it should not be a bandwidth issue, more likely an equipment issue.

WFSB is doing what I requested above, they are not simulcasting SD feeds while an HD broadcast is running. I noticed something interesting yesterday with their audio. I had been listening to some music and left my receiver in 8 channel stereo mode. In that mode, the audio issue with WFSB really wasn't there. Their volume was similar to all other stations. After I noticed the audio mode & changed it back to a Surround mode, the audio was very low again. No expert in this area, but I'm wondering if somehow they are sending some weird Dolby Surround? Or not sending it at all & therefore we get center channel only.

FYI, talked with Fox61 last yesterday. They are not saying the end of December for their tower. Bummer...........

FYI, talked with Fox61 last yesterday. They are not saying the end of December for their tower. Bummer...........

Damn, my goal is to see some part of 24 in something other than analog. I have more trouble with the reception of analog 61 than any other station. It never really comes in 100% clear. It always has ghosts and it is affected even by the slightest bit of wind.

Anyone heard about WEDH PBS?

WEDN (Norwich)and WEDY(Waterbury) are broadcasting, but they are mostly HDTV demonstration loops and "Smart Travels". I have not heard about WEDH. I don't understand why WEDN and WEDY can't start broadcasting some of the national PBS feeds that WGBH out of Boston does.

On the Comcast website, the channel lineup for my area (Madison CT) now includes 307 ABC HD -- WTNH. However, ch 307 won't tune in on my box yet.

Has anyone heard anything further about WFSB HD coming to Comcast?

WEDN (Norwich)and WEDY(Waterbury) are broadcasting, but they are mostly HDTV demonstration loops and "Smart Travels". I have not heard about WEDH.

I know that WEDH's antenna is going to be part of the "candelabra" that is still not completed, (it will also have the antennae of WTXX-DT and WTIC-DT), but I haven't heard a thing from WEDH in regards to equipment status.

I have been having so much trouble with WGBY Springfield since the spring and I only pick up a blip on WEDN.

Originally posted by eorcman
WEDN (Norwich)and WEDY(Waterbury) are broadcasting, but they are mostly HDTV demonstration loops and "Smart Travels". I have not heard about WEDH. I don't understand why WEDN and WEDY can't start broadcasting some of the national PBS feeds that WGBH out of Boston does.

I thought WEDY was the New Haven channel.
Chip

There seem to be enough of us on now receiving digital signals here in Ct., that we should be making noise to some of our local stations. Namely WTIC,WFSB,WVIT, and CPTV. All of these stations seem to me to be dragging their feet. WFSB has been broadcasting for a long time at reduced power. Many of us away from the Hartford area cannot receive it. All of these stations missed the mandantory dates to start broadcasting. I realize there is very little incentive to do so, but we still should complain. Here are a few links to feed back to our local stations:

CPTV (PBS)- http://www.cpbi.org/CPBIContactUs.asp

WTIC (FOX)- http://fox61.trb.com/about/site/feedback/?track=nav

WVIT (NBC)- http://www.nbc30.com/contact/

WFSB (CBS)- http://www.wfsb.com/Global/category.asp?C=8354&nav=1VGl

All of these stations have been very slow in moving to digital TV and HDTV. They all have excuses but they are just that. Some like WVIT are already providing HDTV signals to Comcast but not broadcasting them. I am not expecting local HDTV content. No UCONN games on HDTV. But I am expecting them to carry national feeds.

We should also thank WTNH and WTXX for being the real leaders in digital TV in Ct.

WTNH (ABC)- http://www.wtnh.com/Global/category.asp?C=1168&nav=0Rde

WTXX (UPN)- http://wb20.trb.com/

Maybe if enough of us complain, some of these local stations will realize that there are people actually watching and they will start to do something.

Lots of dropouts last night on WFSB-DT. 100 signal never wavered., but was a little windy though.

wcbs out of nyc was the same, showed 100 (which I never really get!) but no picture around 8:30 pm or so.....

Horrible WTNH lip-synch issue last night during NYPD Blue. Audio behind by almost two seconds.

anyone else see this?

Originally posted by AreBee
Horrible WTNH lip-synch issue last night during NYPD Blue. Audio behind by almost two seconds.

anyone else see this?

Hi Ralph:

Yep. Same thing here in beautiful Newington. It seemed more like 3 seconds though. But I love "Blue" so much, and it always looks so good in native 720P, that I put up with it. It also reverted to SDTV a few times and only stereo, and not 5.1.


On a different note, I'll finally be heading to Signal Electronics on Friday, if they're open, to pick up my HDTV antenna setup. Their business hours are no Saturdays, and they're only usually open while I'm at work. So I'm hoping that Friday's the day.

Good Luck Bob! I hope your antenna install goes well. I had an old guy in his 70s with glasses wait on me and he took care of me pretty well. Gave me a good deal.

Still getting the Celts blacked out? Look on the bright side, they've been unwatchable so far!

Take care,

Ralph

Bob,

Be sure to let us know how your antenna install goes. Hopefully, you will have more luck than I am having over in Cromwell. A large hill not far from my house seems to be killing my ability to get signals from the main two towers.

Mark

Anybody have any good word on WTIC and WVIT going live on Rattlesnake mountain??? December??? January??? Or even later????

Any body with any good inside info appreciated!!

Scottte

WTIC is in progress, target is late December.

Well, I got out of work early on Wednesday, and I stopped at Signal Electronics in West Hartford on the way home.

They were helpful and I bought the exact same equipment, a Winegard PR-7015 UHF/VHF antenna and a 9521 Channel Master Rotator, as AreBee in Farmington has. As my new setup is mounted on an un-used chimney above my theater, I also bought a tripod mount, two 5' masts, and 100 feet of rotor cable. Total cost was just under $150.00. (exactly $149.87)

I installed everything yesterday, on Thanksgiving Day. Perfect weather for the job. It was straight forward and easy. We ain't talking Rocket Surgery here.

The reception numbers are somewhat disappointing:

Station -------------- Signal
WFSB - 33 ----------- ZERO
WGBY - 58 ----------- ZERO
WWLP - 11 ----------- 72%
WTNH - 10 ----------- 88%
WTXX - 12 ----------- 90%
WCTX - 39 ----------- 60%

On second thought, I guess the numbers are pretty good. The only disappointing part is not being able to get WFSB and WGBY AT ALL.

WFSB would TRY to hit and lock on different rotator azimuth settings, but it would bump to say 55%, then zero, then 55% again. But it would never lock.

I tried to hit it at EXACTLY the correct azimuth setting from my house, 348 degrees, but I'm not sure how to get my antenna/rotator aligned EXACTLY with the percise degree setting. I used a compass, but it is still a guesstimate sort of when you're 30 feet above ground. I tried to hit it at EVERY azimuth setting. Nutin' Honey.

I will post some pics over the weekend of the antenna setup.

So again, having the exact same equipment setup as AreBee has in Farmington, I did not duplicate his great reception results. If anything, I was hoping to at least match his great reception, as my rig is roof mounted, with the PR-7015 approximately 30 feet above ground level, and his setup is attic mounted. I just logically figured that a roof mount would give better reception than an attic mount. But, it did not work out that way.

And I am glad that I did buy this setup, and I hereby publicly thank Ralph (AreBee) for his input on his gear and setup. I LOVE the Channel Master Rotator with the remote so one can pre-set the station locations. So cool.

But I guess Digital TV signal reception is like Real Estate value: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION, is everything.

So while I don't feel that I flushed the 150 smackers down the toilet, I am pissed that I cannot receive WFSB or WGBY AT ALL.

But hopefully I'll be all set when WFSB goes full-power, and the others finally go on-line.

Try adding a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp and you will get much better results. Signal will take it back if it does not work.

Bob - Do you get decent signals on the analog side?

Originally posted by Such
Try adding a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp and you will get much better results. Signal will take it back if it does not work.

More $$$ to make the damn thing work right??

What does that thing cost?


Originally posted by eorcman
Bob - Do you get decent signals on the analog side?

My Dish 6000 receiver doesn't tell me the signal strength of analog signals. Channels 3 and 61 are somewhat watchable if I play with the rotor. Not really interested in watching anything on analog though.

I have the same situation with Ch 3. I get a decent analog picture but I cannot get a digital picture. It only registers 15 on the signal strength meter. Makes you wonder how they expect people to get OTA HDTV!

Originally posted by eorcman
I have the same situation with Ch 3. I get a decent analog picture but I cannot get a digital picture. It only registers 15 on the signal strength meter. Makes you wonder how they expect people to get OTA HDTV!

I pick up WFSB most of the time here in Cheshire. The signal is usually
marginal, though, just barely enough to come in.

I live in Springfield (downtown area) and I get WFSB at a constant signal of about 75. It's been rock solid for months and at least when I'm watching I get no drop outs. I cant remember the ant I'm using but it's the cheapest of cheap. I will get the name of it and post it later. I also get no reception of WSFB analog, kinda strange how it works.

Bob - I have a channel master preamp. I could not get reception without a preamp. I bought a Radio Shack preamp but I took it back after people here on the AVS forum advised me that Radio Shack preamps are noisy. I called Signal Electronics but they would have to order the CM7777. I went to Lowe's and bought a CM preamp with slightly less gain. I think the cost was $49.00. It made all the difference in the world.

Pete

Originally posted by eorcman
Bob - I have a channel master preamp. I could not get reception without a preamp. I bought a Radio Shack preamp but I took it back after people here on the AVS forum advised me that Radio Shack preamps are noisy. I called Signal Electronics but they would have to order the CM7777. I went to Lowe's and bought a CM preamp with slightly less gain. I think the cost was $49.00. It made all the difference in the world.

Pete

I tried a RS 15-1170 and a CM 3042. I got less signal with
them then without! Am I doing something wrong???

Bob,

Thanks for the kind words. Sorry you couldn't nail WFSB. WGBY has been awful for me lately. I don't think I pulled it in without dropouts since March.

The CM rotor is awesome! I'm programming macros for each channel so I will change the channel and antenna position with one key stroke.

I didn't mess so much with actual azimuth. I pretty much rotated the antenna 360 degrees for each channel and memorized the position of greatest signal strength.

I know that these things seem like money pits at times, but if the amplifier works, you won't regret it. As Such said, Signal will take it back. You've got nothing to lose. another place that has them is www.starkelectronic.com for $62. They get a lot of praise on the forums.


Ralph

Our situation here is so dissapointing for football fans. WTIC-DT not up yet and WFSB-DT broadcasting in such low power that many of us can't get it. It would be nice if we could get 1 week in with them both up fully.

As I have said before here, if WFSB isn't at full power by the Super Bowl on Feb 1, there will be alot of pissed off people around here! Please WFSB and WTIC, hurry up!

I have had no luck getting WFSB at all. I have tried a Channel Master 4221? (the four bow tie UHF model) on the roof and I got a sig strength in the 20s but no picture. At least if another UHF station was broadcasting from that direction, I'd have something to compare it to. If I knew that when they went to full power that I'd get it, I would put the antenna up for good. Maybe I should try the amp.

One additional thing guys, for those of you that actually do get it, how does WFSB-DT look for games that are not in HD? It must look alot better than the cable or satellite signal, right? For those of you that don't watch football, if you can tell me how other non-HD stuff looks on WFSB-DT that would be great, thanks.

Originally posted by eorcman
Bob - I have a channel master preamp. I could not get reception without a preamp. I bought a Radio Shack preamp but I took it back after people here on the AVS forum advised me that Radio Shack preamps are noisy. I called Signal Electronics but they would have to order the CM7777. I went to Lowe's and bought a CM preamp with slightly less gain. I think the cost was $49.00. It made all the difference in the world.

Pete

Originally posted by AreBee
Bob,


I know that these things seem like money pits at times, but if the amplifier works, you won't regret it. As Such said, Signal will take it back. You've got nothing to lose. another place that has them is www.starkelectronic.com for $62. They get a lot of praise on the forums.

Ralph

Thanks Pete and Ralph. But I think I'll just hold off until WFSB goes full power. I don't watch much football, and CSI alone is just not worth the cost of the amp.

I DID enjoy watching Enterprise for the first time tonight, even though it was only a 480P signal that I up-converted to 720P.

Bob -You are right there is not much out there right now. I put the antenna up with the preamp anticipating that there would be more HI def this winter some time. I just did not want to be out on the roof this winter, so I put it up in early fall. I have not put a rotator up because most of the stations when they go on the air (or is that if?) will be within a few degrees of each other.

Pete

Is WFSB's signal directional? I get a 100 up here in WMass about 40 miles away. I don't understand your issue with low power. By DT standards 500 KW is alot of power.
Jim

Jim - It must be directional. I am 23.5 miles from the xmitter in Tolland. The signal is 15 on the signal strength meter. No picture. On the analog side, the signal is fine.

Pete

Jim - by the way, I would be suprised if they were broadcasting at 500KW. I think that is what the are supposed to be broadcasting at when they get to full power (whenever that is). I am definitely frustrated at the glacial place that DT is proceeding on our local OTA channels. I guess there are just not enough of us watching yet.

Pete

FWIW -

I don't know if it's because of todays bitterly-cold and extremely-windy atmospheric conditions, or WFSB has done something different.

But tonight, I am able to receive WFSB digital at approximately 70% signal strength.

If you were unable to lock the signal before, try tonight.

Pete,
The one thing we may be overlooking is multi-path which is a killer for Digital TV. I am using a old parabolic for my Ct. stations which has a narrow beamwidth. This antenna is not on a rotor and I can't even lock on off axis stations from Springfield (Mt. Tom). For those I use a all channel antenna and I have trouble getting over a 50 signal. I think the problem is multipath since I get some ghosting on the analog channels. Maybe we need to attenuate the close transmitters. I will give this a try.
Jim

In Storrs, I was able to get WFSB DT/HD about a year or 10 months ago. Since then, nothing. I am not home to try now (see post above about 70%) but will when I get back. WTNH and WTXX are always good, in fact I cannot get either of those very well in analog but digital is great. I use a DTC 100.

I just put 24dB of attenuation on the input of my E86 and my signal on WGBY (58) went from 40 to 50. This all channel antenna has a amp which may be overloading with the strong analogs. Attenuation may be worth trying for your WFSB problems.

Anyone else confirm Bob's WFSB findings? I just saw his post and have not tried it yet. Also, DEC 1st has come and gone, what happened to all those stations that said they would be up and running at this time?

I tried WFSB this morning after reading that and nothing down here in Milford still. I even just updgraded to the Hughes HTL HD which is definitely pulling in signals better than my RCA DTC 100. CBS and FOX would come and go prior but now have been stable with new stb. All things considered, I am in good shape here on the shoreline getting cbs, fox, upn and pbs from nyc along with abc, upn, and pbs from CT with cm 4228/ 7777 amp and the above mentioned Hughes htl hd.

Something defintely happened last night and this morning with WFSB. Last night I suddenly was getting signal strength readings of 37-44. That is triple my previous readings. And I had a good watchable picture! I finally got to see what everyone was talking about with WFSB's very low audio levels. This morning about 9 AM they pulled the plug and I was not getting any signal at all. I have not checked this afternoon. They are obviously up to something. By the way I am not getting any ghosting on the analog side. Is it safe to assume that I am not getting multipath on the digital?

Pete


Pete

Not necessarily, their analog and digital towers are in different locations at this point. Depending on your point of origin, they can be very different or in the same direction. Multipath is really caused by things "in between" you and the tower (i.e., singal bouncing off objects and reflecting), which can be different if the analog and digital towers are in different locations.

Don't know why, but WFSB-DT is STILL working here in beautiful Newington.

70% again last night.

Looking forward to CSI tonight, for the first time in a long time.

WFSB came back on sometime last night. Getting 44 on the signal meter and a watchable picture!


Pete

I think I have read elswhere that many times people get better reception at night for digital signals than during the day. I think it has something to do with atmospheric condition differences between day and night?

Well WFSB is gone again. Signal is there but it is down to 15 and I cannot get a picture. Just when I was getting my hopes up that I could start watching WFSBDT. It is hard for me to believe that the signal strength could fluctuate by a factor of 3 due to atmospheric differences. Actually for a while there I could get WFSB both day and night.

This just points up how hard it is going to be to get people to move to digital TV (especially OTA). We have a long way to go before there is mass acceptance of HDTV. There are two few channels available on SAT or Cable and there isn't much content on those cahnnels that are available. And OTA reception right now is a hit or miss thing.


Pete

I see a definite improvement on the signal from WFSB here in West Haven. I was totally shocked to pull in the station even during a snowstorm. I was at about 75% signal strength. I pull in the digital signal on channel 3-1 and 3-2. However 3-3 does not bring in anything despite showing a 75% signal strength. I also noticed a stronger audio signal especially on channel 3-2. Anybody else seeing these improvements?

I see a definite improvement on the signal from WFSB here in West Haven. I was totally shocked to pull in the station even during a snowstorm. I was at about 75% signal strength. I pull in the digital signal on channel 3-1 and 3-2. However 3-3 does not bring in anything despite showing a 75% signal strength. I also noticed a stronger audio signal especially on channel 3-2. Anybody else seeing these improvements?

I noticed that WFSB-DT is now sending it's HDef signal on Channel 3.1 instead of 3.3 which brings in nothing. 3.2 is now the digital channel where it use to be 3.1.
Changes are here but audio still terrible. Been getting HD signal for over a year now with a CM 4228 8 bay antenna.

I see a definite improvement on the signal from WFSB here in West Haven. I was totally shocked to pull in the station even during a snowstorm.

I said the same thing about WGBY-DT 58-1, Springfield. I pulled it in last night at a solid 51 which I haven't been able to do since March.

I always get pixellization during commercials only on WFSB-DT. programs are fine. Didn't see any of that these last few days.

Anyone from the Windsor/Windsor Locks area pulling in CBS easily? If so, just curious to see what antenna you are using.

I live on the banks of the Connecticut River across from Windsor Locks in East Windsor. WFSB-DT is currently coming in at 81% via a Dish Network receiver with 8VSB for reception of terrestrial broadcasts. A small Terk antenna is clipped on the top of the dish. The audio volume needs to be turned up for Channel 3 as other forum members have described. 3-02 is full screen standard digital and 3-01 is high definition.

Other local channel reception:

WTNH-DT Channel 8-2(HD): 57%, much pixelation, currently can see partial tracking bar across the top of the picture. This channel cannot be received 95% of the time.

WCTX-DT Channel 59-1 New Haven: cannot be received

WTXX-DT Channel 20-1 Waterbury: 69%; this station breaks up into lime-green pixels too frequently.

WUVN-DT Channel 46-1 Hartford (the former WHCT-TV, now Spanish language station): this station breaks up into pixels or freezes on a frame most of the time.

WGGB-DT Channel 55-1, ABC affiliate in Springfield, MA: came in daily in the early part of this year, but has not come in at all since the late spring. The station's chief engineer e-mailed me in early October that a number of viewers have raised the concern of poor reception. The station believes that the problem at that time was the existence of leaves on the trees, coupled with the fact that they are operating at low power. I am still unable to receive the channel now that the trees have shed their leaves. Channel 40/55-1's engineer concluded his October e-mail: "As the fall progresses, I would be most interested if the reception of WGGB-DT improves. This will help me form the case to go to full power."

WGBY-DT Channel 57-1,2,3,4 PBS Springfield MA: 65%, when this station comes in it provides an extremely good picture of its high definition demo tapes and its multi-cast channels on my analog TV. Over the past few months the station has not come in regularly. I don't know if this is a transmission problem or if they do not broadcast in digital every night.

WWLP-DT Channel 22-1,2,3 NBC affiliate, Springfield MA: 75%, this station has the best reception of any local channel. The picture is sharp on both the standard and high-def channels and there is very little pixelation.

You need a better OTA antenna, my friend. Every station that you mentioned in you post should be just fine in East Windsor. Get rid of that TERK 42 POS and get a proper VHF-UHF antenna on a rotor, and everything will pop in as it should!

Unfortunately, I live in an apartment complex. Not knowing how long I would be here, and being concerned about the liability issues if the larger antenna blew over, I reluctantly agreed to have the Dish Network installer put on the Terk.

For the dish installation I had pre-purchased a non-penetrating flat roof mount that would hold not only the dish but also an amplified omni-directional "flying-saucer"-shaped antenna. This omni had provided fairly good reception as an indoor antenna and I thought it would be the next best compact choice after a full-sized boom model. The technician did not want to put this omni or the mount on the apartment roof (perhaps so as to sell me the Terk).

A couple of years ago I did buy for half price a Radio Shack VU-210, their then top-of-the-line deep-fringe boom antenna. It awaits a home to put it on.

Thanks for the input.

Originally posted by mfino
Anyone from the Windsor/Windsor Locks area pulling in CBS easily? If so, just curious to see what antenna you are using.

Welcome to the Forum, mfino!

I'm in Windsor, not too far from Oliver Ellsworth Elementary.
Last I checked (several days ago) WFSB was coming in fine (in the 70's on Dish 6000). I'm using a Rat Shak VU-120 in the attic with a cheap RS pre-amp.

Just wish I could rotate it! :)

Andy

Don't mean to hijack your guys OTA thread ;) but WTNH is finally on Comcast (channel 304) in the Hartford area. Too bad such a crappy MNF game is on tonight...

Hmm... my Dish sub is due to renew in February. :D

Originally posted by usurpers26
Don't mean to hijack your guys OTA thread ;) but WTNH is finally on Comcast (channel 304) in the Hartford area. Too bad such a crappy MNF game is on tonight...

This isn't just an OTA thread. Reports of new HD channels on cable is welcome and encouraged!

Hey all. JD here from Trumbull, CT...

I just installed a monster antenna (Channelmaster Crossfire model 3671) with a CM rotor on top of my 2 story house expecting to pull down all sorts of great digital and HD television. I have a Hughes E86 DirecTV receiver for HD decoding.

Before I picked up this new antenna I had been using an indoor rabbit ears thing and would occasionally get decent signal from WTNH-DT (ABC in New Haven)... or at least decent signal strength. The receiver's signal meter would bounce back and forth between 70% and 90%, but the picture was continually freezing and breaking up into squares and big green blobs, with the audio dropping out... totally unwatchable, but good enough to let me see what I was missing.

So my wife and I talked it over at length... then I went out and dropped big bucks on this antenna anyway.

Well, the sad truth is that while the signal strength from WTNH is now between 90% and 100% (still bouncing around though), the thing is still unwatchable for the same reasons. In other words, I'm no better off than I was with the $15 rabbit ears!

I had also expected, I think not unreasonably, to get near perfect signal from WCTX-DT (UPN, also in New Haven) as well as acceptable signal from WTXX-DT (WB in Waterbury), WVIT-DT (NBC in New Britain) and from the NY stations (CBS, NBC and ABC DT). I get nothing. Nada. Zip.

Very disappointing. Is there something wrong or are my expectations that far out of whack?

One possibility I'm considering is that the antenna is not mounted high enough. The installer attached it to the chimney of my single story family room addition. The chimney is pretty tall, but even mounted to a pole 3' or 4' above that (~25' above the ground), I'm not sure the antenna itself is actually clearing the roof peak of the main house. I know lots of people have antennas mounted in their attics... so I'm wondering if would this make that much of a difference? Would we go from no useable signal to a good/excellent signal just by raising the antenna another 5' or so? I wouldn't think so. And in any case, the house only blocks the "line of sight" to New Haven. The lines of sight to Hartford, New Britain and New York are not blocked by anything other than the local horizon and scattered trees. But I expect this is all fairly typical, otherwise everyone in this part of Fairfield County would be mounting their antennas on 200' towers!

Another thought... could it be that my Hughes E86 decoder is somehow defective? Could that cause these OTA problems? It works fine with the satellite dish...

Any ithoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

JD

JD,
There have been many reports of the E86 overheating and only losing OTA reception. Check out some of the threads in the HDTV hardware forum.
Jim

JD,

I am not familiar with that CM antenna, but I have a CM 4228 (8 bow) in Milford and pulling in WCBS, WTNH, WCTX, WLIW, CPTV and a few others that I dont even care about (pax, spanish, etc...)

The difference here in addition to antenna, is I have a CM 7777 amp. Now that is what took me over the edge!! I initially did not have this and only pulled in WTNH, I added the amp, and viola!! This eliminated any loss I was having with my near 100 foot cable run of RG6 form receiver to antenna.

Just some tips to help out, good luck!!

Scottte

JD,

I forgot to mention I do get FOX from NYC but that stinks anyway as things are just shown in widescreen, not HD.

Also, my reception seemed to get more stable with my new Hughes HTL HD receiver as opposed to my RCA DTC 100.

Scottte

Because of the terrain in CT, a pre-amp (CM 7777) is highly recommended. I get nothing without it, now I get WFSB, WTNH, WWLP, WTXX and PBS out of springfield (I live in Avon). It's worth teh $70 investment.

Such,

Have your heard anything from WTIC recently?

I just sent an email to WVIT to see if the 15th is still a feasible date. Still no word on WFSB power upgrade and 5.1 output or the WEDH live date.


Ralph

JD - I have a similar mounting situation to yours. I also have a Hughes E-86. I agree with scottte's comment about needing a preamp.

Here is something about the E-86 that I have learned. I often get breakups when switching between DirecTV HD and OTA HD eventhough I am geeting a good signal on the signal strength meter. I have solved this by switching first to either a DirecTv analog or OTA analog signal. It seems the the E-86 often gets confused when switching channels.

There are many threads on the AVS forum about the Hughes E-86 heat problems. Many people have solved this by having a fan blow on the top left rear of the E-86 (hottest spot). There are even plans on one of the threads here about how to make this a permanent installation.

I hope this helps.


Pete

It seems that WFSB has been teasing us lately. They had increased power slightly for a couple of days but now seem to be back down in the mud. I wish they would get thier act together. I mean how long is this going to take?

JD - I forgot to mention that with my E-86, I can get a watchable picture down to about 40 on the signal strength meter.


Pete

Check out this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3041268#post3041268) for some interesting news on WTIC-DT. It seems like some channel information is appearing on various STBs.

Ralph

Originally posted by Such
Because of the terrain in CT, a pre-amp (CM 7777) is highly recommended. I get nothing without it, now I get WFSB, WTNH, WWLP, WTXX and PBS out of springfield (I live in Avon). It's worth teh $70 investment.



Such, Do you have any links to the installation manual for the
CM 7777? I have a CM 4228 8bay and can get WFSB,WWLP,and
WGBY that's it. I would love to pull in more channels and I was wondering about the specifics of installation and the difficulty factor.

If getting to the antenna is not difficult, it is pretty easy. An in-line preamp near the antenna and the amp near the receiver. Plug the amp power cord into the wall.

Yep that's it, one piece goes up on the antenna, the other down by your STB - you can't have any splitters in between as they can't pass the AC to the in-line section that goes up by the antenna. It has settings inside for VHF/UHF combo, or you can use the available seperate UHF & VHF inputs as I do. Really simple to install, though you do have to get up to the antenna to install that one piece.

Thanks for the replies I will give it a try.

Craig, most of the other DT channels in our area are on VHF, and you will need a VHF antenna in addition to your 4228 to get them, specifically WTNH-DT and WTXX-Dt, both of which should be available in Western Mass. You might try a Jerrold VIP-305 to add to your 4228 to make an all-channel antenna

Originally posted by cgorra
Craig, most of the other DT channels in our area are on VHF, and you will need a VHF antenna in addition to your 4228 to get them, specifically WTNH-DT and WTXX-Dt, both of which should be available in Western Mass. You might try a Jerrold VIP-305 to add to your 4228 to make an all-channel antenna

cgorra,

Thanks for the heads up.

I sent an email to WVIT's engineer Dave Bondanza Wednesday to ask about the status of their DT transition, Here's the response:

-----------------
getting real close. Weather is holding us up on finishing the tower re-enforcement. We changed the 5th guy wire yesterday, only one more left!! The antenna will be taken off the truck Monday (again barring weather). I'm still shooting for this month.

Dave
-----------------

does that mean that all of the other CT DT stations will be coming along shortly therafter?? Also, is this a full power set up or temp low power set up?


scottte

does that mean that all of the other CT DT stations will be coming along shortly therafter?? Also, is this a full power set up or temp low power set up?

WTIC-DT is scheduled to go live by month's end. Not sure if it means anything but their DT channel information is starting to pop up on DirecTV boxes. I haven't heard a word on PBS.

Not sure if WVIT-DT is a full power situation or not. Here's Dave Bondanza's email address: David.Bondanza@nbc.com

Ralph

Good news for Cablevision customers in Fairfield County. Earlier this week Cablevision added the "missing" HD channels available elsewhere in the tri-state area. The CT lineup is now as follows, CBS (NY), FOX (NY), PBS (NJ), MSG, FSNY, HBO and Showtime. MSG and FSNY are Cablevision owned sports channels with NY/NJ ice hockey, basketball and baseball.

Customers in New Jersey have just started getting Starz, Cinemax, TMC and InHD. Official launch for those channels is Monday. I am not sure when we will get them in CT.

Not sure when NBC and ABC will be available but Cablevision does seem to be improving. A PVR would be nice.

AreBee,

I am confused as you at first say David is with WVIT but then refer to WTIC and the fact that the channel is showing up on STB's (mine included!) which is the WTIC channel, but then his email is @nbc.com so that obviously points to WVIT!!!

Which channel are we talking about here going live any day now??? Is it WVIT channel 30 or WTIC channel 61??? Thanks for the info!!

Scottte

I just got Cox HD installed at the house. There are 6 channels (Disc HD, ESPN HD, INHD 1 &2, HBO HD, and SHO HD) but no local channels. They say they are working local channels. They hook up via component video, but may allow DVI early next year.

HD looks great. I would love more content and am thinking about an antenna.

Scott

I was talking about the two channels separately in response to scotte's post regarding CT stations. I meant everything I said, I just garbled it a little. Sorry for the confusion.

The email is in regards to WVIT-DT and they are shooting for the end of the month.

The channel information on DirecTV STBs is in regards to WTIC-DT. From what I last heard they are shooting for this month as well.


Ralph

I heard from WTIC today and they are talking about going live early next year at reduced power and height.

That is just great. I am so sick of these CT stations screwing us all. I wonder if I will be able to pick up WTIC with reduced power. I am like 10 miles from WFSB transmitter and can't get them reliably most of the time and I have big outdoor antenna on a rotor. What a sorry state of digital TV in CT. I mean markets which are smaller than CT have almost all of their digital signals up. For example Raleigh-Durham, NC has all major networks running and on top of it they have the best CBS affiliate WRAL which even does their local news in HD. I think it is about time for FCC to start giving out fines to stations in CT for not doing digital.

This is really becoming pathetic, when can the FCC start issuing fines for stations not meeting deadlines??? I mean what is different from WTNH and all the others?? I mean WTNH has been HD for many years now!!!

Frustrated,

scottte

has anyone else noticed the channel shifting on WTNH-DT lately? I turned on my 6000 and it went to 10-2. no picture,then it listed 10-3,10-4,10-5 and so on. all no pic. had to go in menu and do a little troubleshooting and finally got an extraordinary picture on 8-2. Comcast in NewHaven has provided WVITDT from a fiberoptic link right from west hartford. that and INHD1+2 are about the only positive things to say about Comcast New Haven. THEY ARE IN NEW HAVEN AND CANT BANG OUT A DEAL WITH WTNH????? I dont care cuz I get it OTA. Why oh why cant Comcast find a way to bring WFSB-DT to us here in New Haven?? it is a fact that there is no chance in hell were gonna get a reliable OTA signal. This should all be a lot easier and fun!

The channel shifting that you mention with the Dish 6000 receiver has also happened on WFSB-DT, which I previously got by punching in "033-1" on the remote. After doing a "Scan for Local Digitals" in the menu, WFSB-DT became channels "003-1"and "003-2".

It seems that the channels are re-mapping from their new digital channel numbers back to their old analog numbers followed by a hyphen and a sub-channel number.

The CEO of Dish Network announced on last week's "Charlie Chat" that the Hartford/New Haven local channels will be upconverted to satellite and be spot-beamed down to Dish Network subscribers in the area beginning on December 18th for an additional $5.99 a month. All the major CT stations were included in the graphic that they showed on the program.

These channels would be presented in standard digital as high definition would require too much bandwith.

What satellite will the Hartford locals be on? I have DirecTV, but some people I know have Dish.

The Hartford/New Haven channels are probably going to be on either the Dish satellite at 110 or 119 degrees West because they will be able to be received with the Dish 500. The next local market that was announced after Hartford/New Haven will require customers to get the new oval-shaped "SuperDish" which can "see" more than those two satellites.

These are the stations included: WFSB-3, WTNH-8, WVIT-30, WTIC-61, WTXX-20, WCTX-59, WEDH-24, WUVN-18. No mention of PAX affiliate WHPX-26 New London.

These locals-by-satellite will be available to Dish Network subscribers in 7 CT counties: Litchfield, Tolland, Windham, New London, Middlesex, Hartford, and New Haven. No mention of Fairfield County.

I heard WTIC Radio's Ray Dunaway mention on his program Tuesday morning (12/16) that Channel 30 had turned off the aircraft warning lights on its Rattlesnake Mountain tower. Presumably this means that work is continuing on adding digital broadcasting capability to the structure.

No superbowl in HD for me..:mad: I got two e-mails back from WFSB about their upgrade to full power.

From Chief Engineer Victor Zarrilli,
"We are looking at the early part of next year to be complete" He also mentioned that the weather will play a factor in the completion date

Also from Mark Gordon,

"While there is no exact date, we hope to go to full power Spring 2004."

I sent back a response expressing my disappointment. More bad news all of the time. Anyone heard from WVIT?

That's really, really bad news :(. Comcast finally added our ABC affiliate in HD here in Mystic, so all I am missing is CBS and Fox. My two football channels :(

Did something happen to channels 49 & 59 as I seem to have stopped receiving them?

Madpoet,
I can get WPRI-DT (CBS Providence) on an outdor antenna in Mystic. Also had been getting WTCX-DT pretty well but lost it about a week ago. John

I'm a Cablevision customer in New Canaan, CT and I just found that the following have been activated on my cablebox as of this week:

ShowtimeHD
HBOHD
StarzHD
INHD
MSGHD
Fox Digital

Previously (last week), I only had PBS HD and CBS HD.

I would like to know if any other Cablevision CT customers got a SA4200HD box with a DVI out? I have component only and was told by the installer that Cablevision didn't want to give out the version with the DVI port.

Marc

(Sony KLV30XBR900)

Really? Hrm... I might have to ask my landlord if I can stick up a mast, since I rent my house. Can I ask what you're using? Thankfully my Hitachi has a built-in tuner, since I sold my MyHD120 when I moved to Mystic.

Why would Comcast have different deals in different areas of CT? Why do I have to hear that WCBS is on in HD in some ct areas and not mine? It is not a local thing--Comcast routinely pumps NY stations into New Haven and surrounding areas. If WFSB is gonna be a bunch of disagreeable ,rotten shi-heads, I'd be more than happy to watch CSI + the NFL on WCBS New York!!

For what it's worth, i was on the phone with comcast today and they told me CBS and Fox will be added on either the Jan1 or Jan4th. Wasn't quite sure of the date. Let's hope so!

Originally posted by mattro
Why would Comcast have different deals in different areas of CT? Why do I have to hear that WCBS is on in HD in some ct areas and not mine? It is not a local thing--Comcast routinely pumps NY stations into New Haven and surrounding areas. If WFSB is gonna be a bunch of disagreeable ,rotten shi-heads, I'd be more than happy to watch CSI + the NFL on WCBS New York!!

That would make my New Years :)

Madpoet,
A moderately large outside antenna works 95% of the time where I am. WPRI is not too strong so yur exact location mattrs a lot. John

If they do add CBS and Fox in January, then that will be fine for me. I don't want to deal with my landlord and an antenna. Plus I already pay a fortune for Comcast :)

Anyone else have a message this morning on their Comcast receiver saying that CBS HD (KREM) is available on 102? I tried to access that station and didn't see anything.

Also, I have not been able to Acess INHD1, or INH2 for the last two days. Anyone else have this problem?

Not I... where are you?

Windosr Locks Area.... Anyone else?

Originally posted by mfino
Anyone else have a message this morning on their Comcast receiver saying that CBS HD (KREM) is available on 102? I tried to access that station and didn't see anything.

Also, I have not been able to Acess INHD1, or INH2 for the last two days. Anyone else have this problem?

I got the same message, but I have no channel 102. On top of that, all my HD channels are in the 300's (New Britain). So I don't understand why Comcast would put CBS all the way down in the 100's. I'm assuming they sent the message out to everyone regardless if it really applies to them :confused:

Both INHD's work fine for me.

I just got off the phone with Comcast. The CSR told me that message was sent in error. It was meant for their Spokane, WA area. Bummer... No word from them as to the date or time for WFSB or WTIC coming online...

Lovely. Man I really hope that the other CSR was correct in saying WFSB was coming in January...

And to think, I was just starting to get excited...although if Comcast somehow does get us CBS and Fox's edtv by January I will be pretty impressed.

Viacom, (Owners of CBS), and Comcast just reached a new agreement for Comcast to carry CBS owned affiliates. The following is stolen from a post in the HD programming forum. Who is Channel 3 owned by?

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix...ular&id=479551&

Viacom and Comcast Sign Multi-Year Affiliation Agreement
Deal Includes Long-term Carriage For Viacom Cable and Broadcast Television Properties and the Development of New Video-on-Demand Services

NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) today announced a multi-year agreement that provides for the long-term carriage of Viacom's cable television networks, for new video on demand (VOD) products for Comcast subscribers, and for analog and digital retransmission consent to Comcast systems for Viacom television stations.

The retransmission consent will make it possible for Comcast subscribers in CBS owned-and-operated markets to receive CBS's industry leading lineup of high definition television programming, including CBS's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004.

Also, somebody else posted this market list. A lot of help to us since Hartford is not on the list!

Here's a list of areas where CBS should be carried on Comcast as a part of the newly announced deal:

New York, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco, CA
Boston, MA
Detroit, MI
Minneapolis, MN
Miami, FL
Denver, CO
Pittsburgh, PA
Baltimore, MD
Salt Lake City, UT
Dallas, TX


Here's where Comcast already carries CBS HD:

Chicago, IL
Washington, DC
Atlanta, GA
Tampa, FL
Indianapolis, IN
Nashville, TN
Kansas City
Harrisburg, PA
Louisville, KY
Jacksonville
Little Rock, AR
Knoxville, TN
Huntsville, AL
Chattanooga, TN
Charleston, SC
Augusta
Salisbury, MD
Eugene, OR
Panama City, FL
Spokane, WA
Orlando, FL
Springfield, MA

Here's where Comcast does not currently offer CBS in HD nor are these areas part of the CBS/Viacom deal. CBS stations in this area are not owned by CBS and have not given Comcast their permision to be added to the cable system.

Seattle, WA
Cleveland, OH
Sacramento, CA
Portland, OR
Albuquerque, NM
Flint, MI
Ft. Myers, FL
Naples, FL
Richmond, VA
Tallahassee, FL
Fort Wayne, IN
Fresno, CA

In that list, you forgot to add Hartford, CT, we don't get CBS-DT from Comcast, either!

WFSB Channel 3 is owned by women's magazine publisher Meredith Corporation, which is headquartered in the Midwest.

The only CT station that is owned and operated by a network is WVIT Channel 30, which is a National Broadcasting Company/General Electric property.

I understand that: but WFSB-Dt is on Comcast in Springfield...why not Hartford?

I have not been able to get PBS since they stopped the "demo loop". Does anyone have any information as to where 49-1 (and 52-1) PBS went? Where did CPTV-DT go?

Does anyone know if Comcast in Hartford has reached an agreement to put FSB HD on its local system and when that will be? Meredith Corporation has several other CBS affiliates and, from the comments in other threads, it doesn't appear any of them have made a deal with Comcast as yet. Neither Comcast nor FSB have responded to my inquiries. What a shame if we have to miss the playoffs and SB.

Long Island Reception

Hello Connecticut. I live on the north shore of the north fork of Long Island. I have a pretty straight shot across the water of Long Island Sound. I'm about 1/2 mile from the water and am approximately 60-70 feet above the water, street level. I am hoping to put up an OTA antenna in my attic. I have a two story house with a huge attic. The house itself is the tallest around. So I don't think that I could have a better line 0' site from this side of the sound.

I currenty have Dish and am getting the 811 installed, hopefully, in the beginning of January. CBS, SuperBowl, should be covered as they are installing a second dish to receive CBS-HD. I would like to get ABC and NBC, OTA from you guys.

I have been to Antennaweb and it shows WTNH at 344 degrees and a yellow antenna type. My distance to the tower is 36 miles. What type of VHF antenna would be suggested in this case? 36 miles seems a bit far for a Silver Sensor type.

WVIT, New Britain, is at 1 degree, 51 miles. For this I was assuming a highly directional, yagi type. I am hoping that I won't lose too much gain inside my attic. I don't have any attic insulation where this would point, just plywood and cedar siding. WFSB is at 4 degrees, pretty much straight line with WVIT. I read here that they are operating at substantially reduced power at the time being. This is not so much of a problem as CBS should be available via the satellite.

If I get a dual VHF/UHF antenna and point it at 1-4 degrees will this kill my effort to receive the VHF station at 344 degrees? Would I have to get two antennas? One highly directional for the UHF and one for the closer, stronger powered VHF.

Thanks for any input.

Brad

Brad,

I am in Milford which is between New Haven and Bridgeport on the shore of Connecticut. I tried at first with a Channel Master 4228 with no rotator and learned very quickly the rotator is a must!!! Every day can present you with different weather and unseen atmospheric conditions that impact reception!! A rotation of just a few degrees can make the difference between HD ota joy and frustration!!!

With that said, there is still no WVIT and forget WFSB!!! I think they (WFSB) are broadcasting with the power supplied from a 75 watt lamp socket and WVIT is not broadcsting yet!!! You will most likely get WTNH with no problem, you are very close and they are very strong!!

Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions!!

scottte

All of the stations you want to receive are within 20 degrees if each other. You may get by with a single antenna. I would try to line up with WTNH ABC. I don't hink you have any chance at WFSB until they increase power. WVIT is another issue and no one is sure when they are going to come on line. I am 43 miles from WTNH over varied terrain. For the most part, I get a watchable signal. I am 23 miles from WFSB, and can't receive a thing.

Pete

Originally posted by mrjulius
Long Island Reception

What type of VHF antenna would be suggested in this case? 36 miles seems a bit far for a Silver Sensor type.


Silver Sensor is UHF only, so it shouldn't work with WTNH, as it's VHF.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I went to Rad Shack today and spoke to a guy there that seemed to know about Long Island reception of the ABC station, WTNH. I ended up getting a VHF/UHF combo with a 40 degree reception arc. He said that I should have no problem at all with WTNH. The other stations may be a problem due to the current operating power and distance.

Another question popped up today. My RPTV, Mitsubishi WS 65819, only accepts HDTV resolutions of 480P and 1081I. I read that ABC broadcasts in 720P. My TV manual states that any signal in 720P must be converted by the STB/Receiver.

Does ABC, OTA, broadcast their hi/def signal in 720P?

Any additional advice or thoughts?

Thanks again,
Brad

BTW, The Rad Shack antenna is still in the box in case I'm SOL on the 720P thing.

.Another question popped up today. My RPTV, Mitsubishi WS 65819, only accepts HDTV resolutions of 480P and 1081I. I read that ABC broadcasts in 720P. My TV manual states that any signal in 720P must be converted by the STB/Receiver.

Does ABC, OTA, broadcast their hi/def signal in 720P?

Any additional advice or thoughts?

Thanks again,
Brad [/B][/QUOTE]

Yup, WTNH is 720P in HD, but your Mits will upconvert it to 1080i.

raoul5788

I was originally hoping that it would, except that the owner's manual states:

DTV INPUT
This input is compatible with most standard DTV receivers with component video outputs. Compatible DTV signals are SDTV 480i, 480p, and HDTV 1080i. All other DTV signals, such as 720P, need to be converted by the DTV receiver to one of the compatible signal types. Please check the DTV receiver specifications before connecting.

I was hoping that the DISH 811 can be set to convert the 720P to 1080i. It sounds as though the Mits won't do the conversion.

I was trying to find some info on the net and I came across a thread where someone was having trouble with an XBox because the game was 720P and the Mits WS65819 wouldn't accept the signal. It worked after the game console was set to upconvert the signal.

This is what got me to thinking that the Mits cannot handle the 720p signal.

Brad

I just got off the phone with Dish tech support.

The 811 does have a menu option that will convert any HD signal to 1080i. This works for the satellite feed as well as OTA.

Looks like I may get ABC from connecticut after all.

I guess I'll work on that antenna tomorrow.

Thanks again for the responses.

Brad

mrjulius -
I live on the north shore of suffolk county (Port Jefferson Station) about 2 miles from the water and I get WTNH (ABC) very clearly 90%. I also get WCBS and WLIW PBS 21 in New York. Depending on your location you could get CT as well as NY HD stations.

Dan

Dan,

I live on the north fork. Antennaweb didn't even show me any of the NYC stations. I read on this site where a guy in Center Moriches is able to get a couple of NYC stations. I think I may be too far.

The good thing is that I live 1/2 mile from the Long Island Sound on a hilltop and I can see the water from the second story. It's probably as good as one can get for line of site to Connecticut without using a tower.

I got a Rat Shack VU-90XR yesterday. The guy there said that I should easily pick up WTNH from here. He is a ham operator and seemed very knowledgable about the area and antennas in general.

I'll be getting CBS from the satellite. I just have to work on the NBC problem.

Brad

mrjulius,

You talking about me right!!

Tell me where you are and I will tell you what you need to get what channel.

Right of the bat STOP DO NOT INTSALL THE VU-90XR that ham operator does not know jack. the VU-90XR is at best good for 35-40 miles tops. you will never get NYC with that little bit of a antenna.

Unless you are very high or much farther west of me WNBC-DT is not possible, you can forget WPIX-DT also. Not unless you put a antenna array in a balloon and fly it a 1000ft.

lomax,

Yep, I saw a few of your posts in other threads. I believe that you have the Long Island record for NYC stations. I live in Jamesport. That's why I figured that I had a much better shot getting Connecticut stations. Antennaweb didn't even show the NYC stations from my Zip Code.

I did put the Rat Shack antenna in the attic this afternoon. I hooked it up to a TV via 100' RG-6 just to see what OTA stations I could get. These are all ANALOG stations as I don't have the digital reciever yet. I figured that this would at least see what I could pull in at this point.

REPORT:

Jamesport, NY
1/2 mile from Long Island Sound
Antenna app. 100-110' above sea level
Radio Shack VU-90XR
Suspended in attic
Pointed to 344 degrees
No rotator

ANALOG signals/seat of your pants assesment

WCTX, UPN, New Haven 100%
WEDY, PBS/CPTV?, New Haven 100%
WFSB, CBS, Hartford, 80%
WTIC, FOX, Hartford, 100%
WTNH, ABC, New Haven, 100%
WTXX, WB, Waterbury, 100%
WUVN, Latin, Hartford, 100%
WVIT, NBC, New Britain, 100%

100% means no snow, lines, dots or anything but a perfect picture. 80% means slight snow (dots) on an otherwise clear picture. Every station listed above came in surprisingly well. I was actually shocked. I haven't had OTA TV since I was 8.

CBS was the surprise out of the bunch. I was told their HD signal was low power. I guess the analog one is too. I did this just to make sure that I was pointed in the right direction. I didn't expect to get so many analog channels with the first try. Once set at 344 degrees via a cheap engineers compass, I leveled it via raising and lowering the wires. I rechecked the direction and that was that.

I did pick up a few others. WRNN, I couldn't tell where it was from. Looked to be a 70% to me. Color picture, good volume, snow and a few lines. I also got Smithtown, NY. 90% picture, this is about 90 degrees off the antenna. Looked very good. Riverhead NY. Very close to me but on the back of the antenna. 100% on that one.

If anyone has any thoughts, ideas or whatever, I'll take 'em.
I'd be interested on how the above info relates to the Connecticut digital signals.

Thanks,
Brad

I am getting a little upset about the HDTV situation here in the Hartford area. First, it was XMAS night and the ABC NBA games were noted as HD in the Titan TV listings and were not. Then it was last night when Wild Wild West and The Sound of Music were both noted as (ABC and CBS) HDTV on Titan.

Can someone tell me if this is a Titan problem, an ABC/CBS problem, a local affiliate problem, or my receiver problem? Thank you.

Dorran

Dorran,

I saw a few posts elsewhere that Sound of Music did not show up in HD in lots of places other than CT. (It was not in HD for me on WTNH, either.) Wild Wild West was in HD on WCBS out of NYC.

Walter
Milford, CT

Because I may be moving in the next 2 months, I have been trying indoor Ant's mounted in my Attic. I tried an amplified Radio Shack Model and got no stations. They were nice enough to take it back no questions asked. I tried the Terk TV55 and it is almost worthless. For some reason, the only HD channel I get is the WB. Any idea on which way I should point the thing. I can take it back if the TV55 doesn't work.

BTW - I have the new Hughes HTL-HD reciever. It is so new there are some problems with the Guide (default is to All Channels - not favorites) which Hughes is working on.

Digetydog:
Without knowing where you are, it's impossible to tell what kind of antenna you need...give us more information, and maybe we can help

Is there any News when WVIT-DT will be on the air ?

This is the latest from WVIT, NBC 30 in CT. I received this message this morning from Dave Bondanza, their chief engineer in response to my question about when they will be braodcasting OTA HDTV and at what power.

"Soon. The antenna and tower modifications we started in August are almost complete. (We had a four year delay sue to legal and zoning challenges from others). We will be at full power, the transmitter is almost ready to be turned on in the load, the electricians are completing final connections to it. I would suspect mid-January." Dave

Dorran

Any more concrete news from WTIC as to when they at least will power up their transmitter, even if it is at lower power.

I also hope that WVIT is not going to multicast and gives up full bandwith for HD.

Yes, WTNH broadcasts in 720P, as does ESPN-HD (and Fox next year I beleive). Pretty much all STB's on the market today will convert the input to the desired output. Not sure what STB you have, but as long as it does 1080i out, it will convert the incoming 720P signal to 1080i for you.

UPDATE:

31 WTIC 61 Hartford Feb 2004
6 WEDY 65 New Haven testing ?
10 WTNH 8 New Haven on the air, 3 sub chs.
12 WTXX 20 Waterbury on the air
32 WEDH 24 Hartford ?
33 WFSB 3 Hartford on the air, 2 sub chs.
34 WHPX 26 New London on the air
35 WVIT 30 Hartford Jan 2004 ?
39 WCTX 59 Hartford on the air
45 WEDN 53 Norwich on the air
46 WUVN 18 Hartford testing ?
52 WEDW 49 Bridgeport ?
42 WSAH 43 Bridgeport ?

Keith,

WTNH does not have any subchannels anymore. They run full data rate.

Keith,

Your list would suggest to the uninitiated that there are potentially 12 digital or HD channels available in Connecticut. Clearly this is not the case in even the very best situtation. In Western CT where I live, I can only get WTNH in HD all of the time (although there are audio sync problems and frequent breakups), WCTX in digital most of the time (all in 4:3 format) and sometimes WEDW (sometimes in HD). The other channels are a joke and the management of them should be laughed out of their jobs for doing such a poor job in one of the most important markets in the country!

Agreed - the list makes the situation look much better than it really is. I am in eastern CT and really only WTNH and WTXX are watchable. WEDN isn't really carrying a national HD PBS feed. They continue to run a demo loop.

I remember the engineer for WTIC saying that he hoped to be operational by the end of 2003. Now saccording to this list we are in to Feb. I think we can expect the same thing for WVIT. And WFSB should be taken to task for continuing to operate at reduced power. Clearly they have no interest in getting serious about digital broadcasts until they are forced to.

Pete

If only Comcast would start carrying more... *sigh*

Does anyone know what the time schedule is for Comcast to bring on more stations? I am in Clinton and it is pitiful what they are offering in HD. The CSR's don't seem to know much either.
When HD was first available and I had them hook it up they told me over the phone it would only cost $5.00 extra a month but after the installer showed up he said I would need to get the digital package as well which doubled my bill for channels I would never use. After a few months of paying all this money for nothing I cancelled. Last week I went back in the Comcast office armed with my laptop with their own website pulled up which states you only need to pay for the box ($5 extra) and they finally found it in there system that HD could be had without the digital cable. Has anyone else had this experience? I think we could have a class action lawsuit here. They are forcing people to pay for more than they need.

Here is the latest reply I got from John Mason (Ch 61) regarding if they would start digital broadcasting by the end of 03:

Nope, best date I have now is 1st quarter '04 (equipment delivery delays).

Remember when they were saying all they had to do was to replace one more guy wire and take the antenna off of the truck? This is more of the same from our CT. Television stations.

Pete

I don't know why I keep emailing these guys to get updates on when they are going to turn their transmitters on. They just keep coming up with more excuses as to why they can't turn their transmitters on. It is so discouraging. I really don't think any of these TV broadcasters in Ct. are commited to digital broadcasts never mind HDTV. I have already told CPTV that I am going to stop contributing to them until they show some progress in going digital.


Pete


Pete

Remember when they were saying all they had to do was to replace one more guy wire and take the antenna off of the truck?

eorcman

That information was from my post and it was in regards to WVIT-DT not WTIC-DT. See pg 9 of this thread.

It still sucks though....:(

This post is mainly for Scottte.

I noticed that in many of your posts you state that you can not bring in WFSB. I live in West Haven and you in Milford. We are about 10 minutes away from each other. Can you bring in WFSB at all. I am at about 75% signal strength and better on clear nights. I used to have a problem with WFSB up until about a month ago. I don't know what they did at WFSB but the signal has never been better. The audio is still very weak though.

I am using a Channel Master 3019 OTA UHF/VHF Antenna w/preamp without a rotor.

Are you sure your antenna is strong enough?

gerryger,

Yes, my antenna is very good!! It is a Channel Maser 4228 with CM 7777 pre amp and rotor. However, since I got a new Hughes HTL about one month ago, it has been pulling in the New York stations with better stability than my old RCA DTC100. I get CBS out of NY almost 100% of the time and FOX about 90% of the time. I cant pull in NBC or ABC from NY but of course get ABC from New Haven, Hopefully WVIT will get going soon and I will have all markets combined with NYC and CT.

It is still very intersting that I cannot pull in WFSB at all!! I am on a higher elevation here in Milford but just cant get it!! What direction is your antenna facing on the compass??

scottte

WTNH DT - Unwatchable!

Anybody out there trying to watch WTNH DT - 76ers at Spurs. Total pixelation, freeze-ups, dropped audio, etc. etc. Please tell me this is the station and not my setup. My signal strength is showing mid 70% range. I've got company coming at 4:00 to watch the NFL wild card games in HD. Now I'm really worried I'll even be able to get a signal. Help!

Chris

Edit at 2:30 Seems somewhat better

I had no issue with WTNH yesterday during the two wildcard games. PQ and audio was fine here in Farmington. My signal strength wavered between 93-100 which is normal for me.

WFSB-DT has been HORRIBLE today. Audio drops out every other second. I have been watching analog because it's so bad. Signal strength is at 100. I hope this is not what we get for the Superbowl. anyone else hear this garbage?

Same garbage here too. I agree on the Superbowl issue. I have alot people coming over to show how great HDTV is.
Jim

WTNH Update

Yeah, my PQ was great for the wildcard games (except that WTNH was late switching to HD). I don't know what was going on about half way through the NBA game yesterday, but I'm glad it cleared up. Just sitting down to watch the BCS game in HD.

I agree on the Superbowl issue. I have alot people coming over to show how great HDTV is.

Yeah, I tell people how great HD is, then they come over and it looks like crap.

I had this happen when I first bought my HD receiver. I just had rabbit ears hooked up and I couldn't get WTNH well. My friends wife says, "He paid all this money for a big TV and the picture is better on our 25 inch." He was almost a widower!!!

I sent an email to wfsb@wfsb.com. I also sent a link to the Broncos/Colts thread here so they could see the audio issues apparent to OTA folks and the Comcast subscribers.

Same audio problem here yesterday with WFSB. The 3-1 subchannel/HD feed had some garbled audio issues. Really pissed me off, because the SD sub-channel 3-3 audio was fine. Wondering if they forgot to turn off the SD feed during the game so the audio was getting squeezed out or something. The better figure that out for the Superbowl.

Also just got confirmation that Fox is behind schedule. Late Feb. at best. They have not even gotten their construction permit yet.

Has WFSB-DT gone full-power today? From the time I first got my HDTV until last night, I always had very low audio on WFSB-DT, and had to crank up the volume whenever I watched it. But this morning I tuned it in, and low and behold, the audio on WFSB-DT was blaring, actually louder than WFSB through satellite. This is not my only reason for beleiving they've gone full power. The other is this. Up until last night, the highest siganl I was able to get was 72% on clear days with no rain or snow, but in bad weather conditions, like today (freezing rain, low clouds) my signal would drop down to around 37%, borderline watchability. But today, with all the nasty weather outside, my signal is at 72%, and has been there all day. So, I guess I'll know for sure if they're full power when it eventually clears out here, and if the signal jumps up over 72%. Anway, does anyone here have any way of confirming that WFSB-DT is at full power? Thanks.

Seeing that there appears to be no progress at Comcast in gaining information regarding WFSB in HDTV for the SuperBowl, I have started inquiring via the WFSB website feedback in hopes that interest will provoke a response (or even better, a reaction). I'll share any response I get. Others may want to do the same.

Paul
(I want my Comcast CBS for the SuperBowl!!!!)

Thanks to all for your help.

From Long Island, New York.

I got my Dish 811 installed today and my OTA reception of Connecticut stations was right on target. ABC 93% in the rain. UPN, WB, PAX, PBS all looking great in the high 70's. Hopefully "Castaway" will be in HD to see how that looks. I have CBS via the Dish. Couldn't get that one at all OTA. Now I just need NBC and Fox and I should be even happier.

I'm liking this HD stuff :D

Brad

I say we all send e-mail feed back to both WFSB and Comcast about HD broadcast on cable.
The e-mail address for WSFB is wfsb@wfsb.com

The web address to send feedback to Comcast is:

comcast.com/ContactUs/customerservice.asp

Lets put some pressure on them to get the ball rolling in time for the Superbowl!

So, has anywhere here other than me noticed the difference that I talked about in my previous post?

I don't think that the audio was related to signal strength. The audio wasn't bad on the 3-2 channel, just the 3-1 channel.

I just installed a $35 Channelmaster antenna and an amp, and I am quite please with what I can pick up. Here is the list....

WUVN-DT (1)
WFSB-DT (2)
WTXX-DT (1)
WWLP-DT (3)
WTNH-DT (1)
WGBY-DT (4 during the day 1 HD at night)

Overall not a bad selection. I think. I do have to rotate the antenna if I want to get WTNH, but there is no more Monday Night Football for a while, so no big deal. I just can't wait until all of the content is in HD.

I did notice the audio problem was corrected last night on WFSB. Not only was it cleared up from the previous day (playoff game issues), but as you noted, the volume was normal even during HD broadcasts last night - this has never happened before. So either they fixed or replaced something to fix the volume problem. Can't help you with the signal strength. I live close to Avon Mt., my signal was 100% last night, but thats what it usually is.

I'm from Long Island and I haven't been getting WFSB-DT (CBS) for a long time. However the last couple of nights, I have been able to get it at about 60%. I also noticed the better audio. Since I'm from Long Island, I can only assume they boosted the power. Hope this is true.