Gator- Yeah I figured that was the case, hopefully they will catch on one of these days. Dont we have someone on the board that works for WTEV? Maybe he can bring this situation up to mgmt or in a meeting.

As far as if ESPN2 will be added to Comcast, I have heard in other forums that YES Comcast does have the rights to carry it. It is another question however if it will be live on Comcast on Jan 6th. - I wont hold my breath..(sorry Comcast but you need to step it up a notch as far as your HDTV options goes). - who knows they may surprise us.

The picture quality issue with Fox 30 and CBS 47 has been going on for over a year. It is the same issue with cable. I have sent numerous e-mails to the head enginner and station manager and have sent video tapes. They advised me that I was the only one reporting the issues and it is my setup or something where I live. I also reported this to D* seeking assistance. At this point it is ridiculous.

A couple of more things. First, the issue with channel 47 started on 12/03, channel 30 it was 07/04. The following is the behavior I have been noticing since that time:

1. PQ can be fantastic and degrade in a drop of a hat and then go back and forth.

2. You will notice at times and more when it is a local broadcast, a flash of yellow in the picture.

3. At times you will see a jump in the picture which is a quick flash. When this happens and you watch it in slow motion, it is a double image of that scene. I sent 2 video tapes to the station with this exact issue. I also have the same issue recorded on Tivo right now which I can transfer to VHS tape.

4. Also, periodically, I notice the color become more defined or stronger in the picture and you can then see it fade right after that.

There must be some explanation for this. I notice this behavior with D*, comcast cable, and OTA on all 3 of my TV's. Fox 30 and CBS 47 had the best quality for a long time and these issues started. I hope someone from the station reads this and takes action. At this point all I have been told is that is my problem.

mattq - a little more information would be helpful - ie. general location, reciever(s) used, etc.

What you describe would bother me too, but it does sound like you are the only one having those issues. Unless someone else here chimes in, I certainly have had none of those issues in the last year or two.

I have noticed in the last month or so (probably about the time Jerry - WTEV was working with PSIP) a interesting drop off when watching WAWS-DT OTA, in other words the picture just goes black for a second and then back on (signal strength - 100%) this happens about every 10-15 minutes and is regular, it also happens with my old Hughes clone and my new Hughes HTLHD.

Jeff- I have seen the momentary blackout too but didn't concern myself over it.

Picture quality on WTEV and WAWS has been excellent, especially with the HD broadcasts. I rarely watch anything else except the Jaguars game and that was a bit fuzzy, but then it was about the same PQ as all the SD channels.

I only had two complaints for Jerry about his signal-
1. When first began to mess with the PSIP before Christmas, it went back on with errors that essentially took him off the air for my PSIP required receivers. He has corrected that and all is fine again.
2. The tired old "forgot to flip the switch" for HDTV programming. Hopefully, some day they will automate that process. I have done some reading on this and apparently, the automation eqipment such as that fr5om Harris is just now coming on the scene so, once again, budgets and such will delay that from seeing Jacksonville for awhile.

Anyway, I'm enjoying sunny (today) but very cold Las Vegas for the CES show this week.

Gator 99 -- Jax Beach area, Sony Tivo and 2 Hughes receivers. When I attach an OTA antenna to the TV I get the same results. Something changed because these channels always had excellent picture quality. I provided this information because there were 2 posts recently in reference to poor PQ on these 2 channels.

Add me to the list, I have been getting those momentary blackouts as well.

I also have the blackouts lasting 1-2 seconds on WAWS through the Comcast 6412 box. Repeats every 10-15 minutes.

Originally posted by mattq
Gator 99 -- Jax Beach area, Sony Tivo and 2 Hughes receivers. When I attach an OTA antenna to the TV I get the same results. Something changed because these channels always had excellent picture quality. I provided this information because there were 2 posts recently in reference to poor PQ on these 2 channels.

mattq - what model numbers for those receivers??

The Tivo is obviously not HD compatible, since I believe only Hughes makes a HD-Tivo, but what about the 2 Hughes receivers? are they E-86s or HTLHD - I think those are the only two HD Directv recievers made (if not someone chime in?)

Also what TV make/model and how are you connecting your receivers (Component/DVI/HDMI/Composit/S-Video etc.) ?

also have the blackouts lasting 1-2 seconds on WAWS through the Comcast 6412 box. Repeats every 10-15 minutes.

I just finished watching a recording of Veronica Mars, recorded very late Monday or Tuesday night on my Comcast 6208 PVR from the WASW digital channel (but SD).

It had the blackouts every few minutes, lasting a second or so.

- Tom

Jeff -- Sorry for the confusion. My issue is with SD not HD. I posted because I noticed there were 2 other complaints over the last couple of weeks and they did not look like HD issues in the post. I am in the process of getting an HD television as we speak.

Sorry mattq, I was wondering if this was a HD or SD issue? Anyway, I am not sure what your issues are, I still don't see any quality problems on my SD sets with either my Tivo (Hughes DVR) or regualr D* recievers.

I don't know what to tell you. -- I don't remember seeing anyone else complain the last couple of weeks, but I have been pretty busy and might have forgot about it??

Oh, and Congrats when you get your HD set - there are a ton of good viewing options in Jax OTA/Comcast and also on the other providers.

Jerry, what was the problem with the audio last night with 47-1? Both CSI and Without A Trace had audio problems - it was like they were talking in a box.

I watched both of these programs last night in HD via the CBS satellite feed out of New York. The sound was outstanding! No problems at all and clearly multi-channeled.

Sounds like this was a local-only problem...

Probably. It sounded like the voices were in an echo chamber. Very hard to understand. I switched over to the D* SD broadcast...the sound was normal, but yuck on the picture. I switched back to the HD OTA and put up with the bizzare sound.

I had the sound problems too on 47-1, on both CSI yesterday and 60 minutes Wednesday. It wasn't for the entire show, it was very annoying.

Peter..I agree..SD picture was very poor...This has been the standard with the SD signal for a while.

Problems again tonight in Joan of Arcadia and JAG. Again, like an echo chamber on HD...no problem with sound on SD...but SD picture...ick.

Anyone have intermittent problems with PBS HD via Comcast? It will lose signal then be fine and repeat. It doesn't do it every night, but at least twice a week.

I am in the process of purchasing a new HDTV which has an HDMI input and was wondering what type of video output I should expect with the Comcast HD STB when I get it ? Thanks in advance for your response(s).

Probably DVI at best. DBS providers are just now getting products with HDMI and MSO's seem to get the gear a little later. You'll probably want to purchase a DVI to HDMI cable, if you indeed choose to utilize your TV's single HDMI port for this purpose.

My Moto box from TimeWarner has DVI, but the current firmware has it disabled, so I'm forced to use component. How lame is that?

It will have both component and DVI. My experience, and I think the majority of others from what I have read, is that the Moto boxes actually give a beter PQ with component. Counterintuitive, I know.

Do we have any comcast techs on the board here? I would like to know when you are planning on going digital with the analogs? I have heard that in some other markets such as Minneapolis, MN that many users have noticed the analogs 1-99 are looking much better. I wish ours would and soon.

Thanks

By the way, I guess I read back a few pages ago that WETV-DT was having audio issues? Was it the echo thing?

Man that is annoying - Jerry what is up with that? - it was real bad last night on Still Standing and Listen UP, mostly on Still Standing.

Originally posted by Gator99
By the way, I guess I read back a few pages ago that WETV-DT was having audio issues? Was it the echo thing?

Man that is annoying - Jerry what is up with that? - it was real bad last night on Still Standing and Listen UP, mostly on Still Standing.

I have the same issue (Hughes e86)....if I tune another station for a while, then come back to 47, it seems the echo goes away. This doesn't happen on any other station.

47-1 was having lots of problems last night in NCIS. First, it was in SD, then the picture was in HD... but it was showing a still image of JAG with sound from NCIS. This went on awhile, then back to a still picture of NCIS with sound,... back to the echo sound problem... back to SD... They finally gave up and showed the show in SD (4x3 frame). Jerry, what the heck is going on?

Thank you, Jerry. CSI NY was fine last night, so whatever the problem before yesterday must have been fixed.

Just purchased a Toshiba 46 DLP and I using Comcast for the HD signal. From what I understand is FOX 30 broadcasts in 720P and my set is capable of 1080i and 480. Is this the reason that the picture quality is not as sharp as WTEV 47 for example?...Thanks Matt Q.

Mattq, that should not really matter. Is your comcast box to 1080i output? I have a Panasonic 50" Plasma and I have the box set to 1080i and the Fox picture looks fine. Your set should scale it to its native resolution.

Thanks for the information I appreciate it. I will check my settings. I do notice the FOX logo on the right hand bottom of screen is cut off.

Originally posted by mattq
Thanks for the information I appreciate it. I will check my settings. I do notice the FOX logo on the right hand bottom of screen is cut off.

That's not your set. It appears that way on mine as well (Mitusubishi RPTV).

Well if you are seeing the cut off Fox log (usually blue I think) they you are seeing their 720p signal but as ghjaxman mentioned just make sure your cable box converts all signals to 1080i and you are set, just remember if you ever want to play 720p games (Xbox) you will not be able to unless you scale them and that is a whole different ballgame (I know nothing about)

On another note - CBS/Fox does pay attention and seem to be correcting problems they have so if problems arise we should just post them here and I imagine they are being addressed without having to respond to us on the forum.

Will fox remain at 720p or will they move to 1080i in the future?.

WAWS Digital has a faulty combiner in the RF system. To remain on air, we have had to reduce power to 25% of normal. Factory engineers are coming to town on Monday to repair it. Since WAWS and WTEV share an antenna there will be some time this next week when one or both of the digital transmitters will be off air. We will not know until we open things up how long it might take (hours or days). We will do what we can to minimize the amount of time we are off air.

I believe that Comcast is taking a direct fiber feed from us, so those of you using Comcast digital here in town should not be affected.

Jerry

P.S. I think our audio problems on WTEV are repaired and the dips to black on WAWS are also repaired.

As Jeff said, I read the forum often.

Originally posted by WTEV-JD
WAWS Digital has a faulty combiner in the RF system. To remain on air, we have had to reduce power to 25% of normal. Factory engineers are coming to town on Monday to repair it. Since WAWS and WTEV share an antenna there will be some time this next week when one or both of the digital transmitters will be off air. We will not know until we open things up how long it might take (hours or days). We will do what we can to minimize the amount of time we are off air.

I believe that Comcast is taking a direct fiber feed from us, so those of you using Comcast digital here in town should not be affected.

Jerry

P.S. I think our audio problems on WTEV are repaired and the dips to black on WAWS are also repaired.

As Jeff said, I read the forum often.

...and we do thank you that you are as responsive as you are! Yours cannot be an easy job.

Wondering if anyone can tell me the status of the local HD channels as of 7pm Saturday.

I have a sqaure shooter that I had in my attic and had only spotty success with, so last week I pulled it out and today moved it to a spot on the top of my roof.

Now, I cannot get 47-1 or 17-1 at all. Nothing, and the attena is actually higher, and outside from its previous spot. Yes, I got them both when it was in the attic.

My concern is that there is a line of pine trees, all about 40-60 feet tall. They are about 100 yards from my house, but are in line of sight of the tower farm. I am less than 6 miles from there (i live by the Avenues Mall).

Also, I am getting 7, 12, and 25 fine... I am getting 30, but with audio cut out on occasion... Channel 4 I am getting, but it does drop out both video and audio, but I am at least getting something.

47 & 17.. zlitch. like they ain't even there. please someome tell me they are down.

Peter, over here on the northside of Doctor's Lake I have never been able to get the WB, but about CBS WTEV-DT, I am having issues today as well, but that could be because of the winds and also because the have cut power 25%, like Jerry mentioned before. -- it does suck, WTEV-DT is unwatchable.

Peter - after rereading your post, maybe you have a multipath issue - too much signal - I assume you received 17 and 47 before. Just a thought.

Originally posted by Gator99
Peter, over here on the northside of Doctor's Lake I have never been able to get the WB, but about CBS WTEV-DT, I am having issues today as well, but that could be because of the winds and also because the have cut power 25%, like Jerry mentioned before. -- it does suck, WTEV-DT is unwatchable.

Peter - after rereading your post, maybe you have a multipath issue - too much signal - I assume you received 17 and 47 before. Just a thought.

Yes, I could get both 17 & 47 when it was in the attic, but only when I fiddled with the direction of the SS and at the expense of other channels.

I dont know what you mean by multipath and too much signal..other than the obvious. what is the solution for that?

Originally posted by mattq
Just purchased a Toshiba 46 DLP and I using Comcast for the HD signal. From what I understand is FOX 30 broadcasts in 720P and my set is capable of 1080i and 480. Is this the reason that the picture quality is not as sharp as WTEV 47 for example?...Thanks Matt Q.

Matt, the native resolution of your set is 720, so any signal is converted to 720p by your set. I don't think 1080i would be better than a 720p signal for your set. The opposite is probably true.

pspun

Peter - I am no expert on Multipath, except to say that it occurs when you either have too much signal or the signal bounces around and gets to your antenna twice or more (ie. off buildings or other structures) - that I believe is a very and I mean very rudimentary explaination.

Actually, Don would be able to help the most. I believe he would suggest, pre-amps, attenuators etc to play with your signal, but then again, I'll let Don or someone else speak to this. It might not be multipath at all and just poor signal quailty.

Funny thing about tonights reception issues that I am having-- as I mentioned above during the game on WTEV-DT (CBS) the signal would just fluctuate from 10 to 100 all during the game, but now, WAWS-DT (Fox) is fluctuating during the game that is on now (same thing 10-100).

During both games I have been unable to watch either Digital channel - very disapointing. Oh if I didn't mention it - while the game of fox is unwatchable, cbs is pegged at 100 and stable. It was that way with Fox when CBS was showing the game. -- Frustrating, did anyone else notice this??

So even though my manual states the TV is capable of 1080i and 480 the native resolution is still 720p?. Thanks for the feedback.

Originally posted by WTEV-JD
WAWS Digital has a faulty combiner in the RF system. To remain on air, we have had to reduce power to 25% of normal. Factory engineers are coming to town on Monday to repair it. Since WAWS and WTEV share an antenna there will be some time this next week when one or both of the digital transmitters will be off air. We will not know until we open things up how long it might take (hours or days). We will do what we can to minimize the amount of time we are off air.

I believe that Comcast is taking a direct fiber feed from us, so those of you using Comcast digital here in town should not be affected.

Jerry

P.S. I think our audio problems on WTEV are repaired and the dips to black on WAWS are also repaired.

As Jeff said, I read the forum often.

Thanks, Jerry. Please do keep us informed.

PSPun

Originally posted by mattq
So even though my manual states the TV is capable of 1080i and 480 the native resolution is still 720p?. Thanks for the feedback.

Yes, the DLP chip in your set has 1280x720 mirrors, ie, the native resolution is 1280x720. Any material will have to be converted to 1280x720 frames.

WTEV-JD,

can you tell us the current status of our local CBS going 5.1?

Originally posted by Gator99
Peter - I am no expert on Multipath, except to say that it occurs when you either have too much signal or the signal bounces around and gets to your antenna twice or more (ie. off buildings or other structures) - that I believe is a very and I mean very rudimentary explaination.

Funny thing about tonights reception issues that I am having-- as I mentioned above during the game on WTEV-DT (CBS) the signal would just fluctuate from 10 to 100 all during the game, but now, WAWS-DT (Fox) is fluctuating during the game that is on now (same thing 10-100).


Well, what mystifies me is that I cannot get ANYTHING from 47 or 17. Even when I stand up, on the highest point of my roof (2 story) with the sqare shooter above my head, and no matter where I point it, I get nothing from either of these channels on the TV. What really bothers me is that as of last week when it was in my attic, I could get both of these channels. I just don't understand.

i already have DTV, so I refuse to pay Comcast for a HD box, and I spent close to $100 for this antenna... So now I am watching Colts-Pats in SD... Crap.

Just wanted to let anyone who is interested, both wtev and waws (30 and 47) in Jacksonville are off the air for maintenance. I was afraid I had an equiptment problem until I called and verified it. Troy

Yup. 32 and 19 are dark, but comcast 168 and 175 are up. I'm not sure if we will see "24" in HD or not. Anyone know?

edit: "24" was in HD on comcast. All is well.

My mom recently purchased a Sony 26" LCD set. She's getting her HD service through a comcast set-top box. The TV only has 1 component input and 1 DVI input. Since she doesn't have an A/V receiver, all of her devices have to be hooked up directly to the TV.

Are there any set top boxes that comcast offers in Jax that have a DVI output on them? They gave her a DCT6200. From what I can tell on Motorola's website, it doesn't have a DVI output. She doesn't need a digital recorder. Since she wants (or I tell her she wants) the progressive scan feature of her DVD player to work, she'll be using the component input on the TV for it.

Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.

I dont know any cable MSO that offers a working DVI interface on their STB today.

If that is the case for Comcast, I would recommend you utilize the component input for the Comcast box, as the 720p/1080i HD feeds will benefit far greater from the component input than the 480i/p feeds from your DVD player. Unless your mother has an especially pricey DVD player, it is doubtful the 480p output will be noticably better than the native 480i anyway. Scaler chips in most DVD players just arent up to snuff, IMO. Try the S-video input and see if it is markedly worse or perhaps equivalent.

You could always buy a component-to-DVI adapter, but that's another $30-50. Here's one: http://store.niveusmedia.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.3/it.A/id.166/.f

I assume you are talking about the KLV-26HG2 from Sony? How far away is she sitting from the screen? I'm wondering where I could put a 16:9 TV that small that would have a viewing position close enough to make it worthwhile. Office maybe?

Thanks for the reply. I noticed the 6208 DVR has the DVI, but as I mentioned she doesn't need the recording capabilities.

That is the Sony she's using. She's actually using it in her Family Room (which is very small, maybe 12' x 9'). She says it's big enough for that room.

I just didn't want her to have to pay $30 to have a comcast rep come out to hook up her cable box, so I'm going to try to take her through the setup over the phone by looking at the back panels of her TV, DVD, and digital set top box online.

I find it interesting that the HD set top boxes without recording capabilities don't have a DVI or HDMI interconnect.

I am hearing that even the Motorola 6208's DVI interface is disabled with current firmware releases.

Comcast would charge her to do an initial install? What a racket they run.

Good son, talking her through it.

Actually most of the new HD STBs have DVI or HDMI. The problem is, the cable STB manufacturers have been slower to adopt these technologies, in comparison to the satellite STB manufacturers. For instance, RCA and Samsung are on their second and third generation of satellite HD STBs that have DVI or HDMI.

I see now, it's the satellite boxes that have the 2 HD technologies.
Alright, I'll try your advice with the S-Video for DVD and component for the STB. Thanks for the help.

Can I get a status update from my fellow Jax-ians about our local HD stations? As you can read above I am trying to dial in an antenna and I am unclear what stations are up and running at full or half power or not at all.

thanks.

I am not home yet, but CBS/FOX have been down since Monday - completely off the air for repairs but should be up tonight if all goes well. As far as everything else they should all be good. Of course for me WB is not available due to limited transmitting power (hopefully that will change sooner than later)

Well, now I am really frustrated. Got home and now cannot get ANY of the channels except 30. The other day I could get all of the except 17-47, now nothing else. I haven't touched a thing. Is Fox back up?

I am less than 6 miles away, have a more than capable antenna and I am starting to think that a line of pine trees 100 yards away is what is killing me.

Probably a little off topic but just an FYI for those in Jacksonville who have Comcast Internet service. Comcast is planning a speed increase for the standard package from 3Mbps down 256Kbps up to 4Mbps down and 384 Kbps up on Jan. 26th. For those with the +$10 gold tier (me ;) ), speeds will be increased from 4Mbps down 384Kbps up to 6Mbps down and 768Kbps up. The new speed caps will be 4300/384 and 6600/768, respectively. No price increase.

petercw2, let's start by isolating the problem, but first what equipement are you running? receiver - OTA only or satelite/OTA (which kind - DirecTV or Dish or Voom)? length of cable run from Antenna to receiver? RG6 or RG59? TV display?

All the details would be great -- are you using any diplexors or is your cables running directly from the antenna and/or dish to the receiver or are they spliced/multiswitches etc.

I highly doubt you are getting that much interference from the pines, I am surrounded by pines/oaks and other trees in my area that are well over my antenna and they start 20 feet from my antenna and continue for probably 3 miles line of site until it hits the river.

I feel your frustration, as most here remember I had a heck of a time getting OTA reception in the beginnning, but finally got most of my issues worked out.

By the way Fox/CBS are back at full strength.

Also, what signal strength readings are you getting from your receiver for each channel?

Mr.James,

Is there link somewhere I can read about this impending change?

Thanks,
Jonathan

Originally posted by MrJames
Probably a little off topic but just an FYI for those in Jacksonville who have Comcast Internet service. Comcast is planning a speed increase for the standard package from 3Mbps down 256Kbps up to 4Mbps down and 384 Kbps up on Jan. 26th. For those with the +$10 gold tier (me ;) ), speeds will be increased from 4Mbps down 384Kbps up to 6Mbps down and 768Kbps up. The new speed caps will be 4300/384 and 6600/768, respectively. No price increase.

Originally posted by Gator99
petercw2, let's start by isolating the problem, but first what equipement are you running? receiver - OTA only or satelite/OTA (which kind - DirecTV or Dish or Voom)? length of cable run from Antenna to receiver? RG6 or RG59? TV display?

All the details would be great -- are you using any diplexors or is your cables running directly from the antenna and/or dish to the receiver or are they spliced/multiswitches etc.

I have DirectTV, so I am getting sat, but trying to pull the OTA with a Wineguard Square Shooter (unamped). That OTA is diplexed and I am using RG6 at about 50'. both the dish and SS are straight to the receiver (expect that they diplex into a single cable in the attic above the media room because the dish is on one side of the house and the SS is on top of the house). All run into a Sammy 360 feeding a Mistu 65813.

Just to recap. I had the SS in the attic above the room and I could get ALL of the local OTAs, but it was spotty and depended on weather. I also had to climb up there and adjust it a lot to get channels, but I always could get something, even if the picture chopped in and out. But that was a PITA and I figured that if I could get that reception inside the house, putting it outside at a HIGHER elevation, it would be great. No.

I could get all but 47 & 17, but yesterday I went back up there and now can only get 30 & 7. The other channels don't even register a "searching for signal" indicator on my Sammy. Again, I am less than 6 miles from the Tower Farm due south off of Southside by the Ave. Mall.

Thanks for any thoughts or insight.

Originally posted by jeburnett
Mr.James,

Is there link somewhere I can read about this impending change?

Thanks,
Jonathan

Comcast has a press release here (http://www.cmcsk.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=147565&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=663458&). There is also a huge discussion at DSL Reports with Part 5 here (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12420250~mode=flat).

The press release only talks about certain markets but you can see the entire breakdown in the DSL Reports thread.

MR James:

That is good news! I was wondering when that was going to happen for us. I hope they do the digital simulcasting shortly afterwards. I have noticed that bravo on comcast channel 15 looks alot better and looks digital anyone else notice this? I think they are already starting because some channels have also been moved around.

If you have any dates on simulcast for our area would love to know.

Thanks!

Originally posted by petercw2
Is there anyone in Jax that would be recommended to come and troubleshoot my OTA HD issues? I have been fiddling with it for two weeks now and cannot get any results.

thanks

petercw2, - so you are getting which channels and which ones are you not getting?

42-1 (Channel 4) Yes/No -- Signal Strength ___
38-1 (Channel 7 - PBS) Yes/No -- Signal Strength ___
34-1 (Channel 17 - WB) Yes/No -- Signal Strength ___
32-1 (Channel 30 - FOX) Yes/No -- Signal Strength ___
19-1 (Channel 47 - CBS) Yes/No -- Signal Strength ___
13-1 (Channel 12 - NBC) Yes/No -- Signal Strength ___
10-1 (Channel 25 - ABC) Yes/No -- Signal Strength ___


OK let's rule out the obvious:

1. re-check all connections
2. re-boot your receiver
3. manually enter channel number - 34-1 or 19-1 - mayber your receiving is not mapping them correctly
4. Antenna type -(read below)

It appears you have some funky antenna, I believe you have this one (see link)
Square Shooter
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&CAT=&PROD=SS-1000

Typical antenna used (I believe, at least this is the type I use - not the same brand though)
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&CAT=&PROD=SPR7042

Ugly I know, but you probably should utilize one of these in your attic first then try to install outside if that doesn't work.

You can "demo" (in other words purchase one at Home Depot/Lowes) one and return it if necasarry, but I am willing to bet that the antenna you have now is the issue - it just looks gimicky and unreliable.

Good luck

petercw2,

I can't speak to the Winegard, but I know that performance doesn't necessarily have anything to do with price. As an example, I bought a Radio Shack indoor digital antenna, about $80. It was amplifed and looked great, but worked badly. I then bought a $40 Radio Shack outdoor antenna and stuck it in the attic, and can get all stations down here in Fruit Cove.

Granted, attic installations can be tricky because you can lose as much as 50% or higher of the antenna's efficient, but never hurts to try it as a first attempt. You can always move it to the roof afterwards.

Thanks to everyone for their help. The one thing I hadn't done and didnt realize would make a difference was "REBOOTING" the receiver. Well that did it. Can't explain why, but it did. I am getting all the channels and I think that I have it locked in pretty good. We will see as the weather changes and all the other normal variables.

The Square Shooter came very highly recommended by several installers I know that do not live here in Jax (I just moved here from Dallas a year ago) and it appears that Terk of all people have decided to licence the design and are selling the same one with their name on it now.

Also, it was this forum that I learned about the odd Sammy360 bug which causes there to be no audio on channel 17-1 when you have the guide for our zip code included. But when you "zero out" the zip code the audio is there, just no guide info. Can anyone tell me if there is a fix for that?

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts and insight. This is why I love the internet.

Oh, one more question

Signal Strength: What is the norm? My jumps all over the place 45-90, and doesn't seem to want to sit still.

Originally posted by petercw2
Oh, one more question

Signal Strength: What is the norm? My jumps all over the place 45-90, and doesn't seem to want to sit still.



As far as signal strength jumping, you really don't want it to do that. You really want it pegged, no movement above I would say 40 (but that depends on your receivers benchmarks, which I do not know) Actually you really want them pegged at 100. The truth of the matter the signal strength meters on all of our recievers really doesn't paint the whole picture as far as signal strength vs. signal quality. After thinking about it for a few minutes, you might just want to try a test out. I am sure somewhere you have an old pair of "Rabbit Ears" laying around if you do, I would test you signal strength with them connected (you should be able to get most if not all channels where you are located) and not have the fluctuations.

As far as your antenna - if I were you (only my opinion) I would go with a more standard UHF/VHF antenna, I think if you poll everyone here or other areas you'll find 8 out of 10 use the standard and have little to no issues.


As far as the WB 17-1 is concerned, search for AFH (username of Antonio) in this thread I believe he and Don Landis (username as well) commented here.

Is anyone else having problems with NBC's digital signal via Comcast?

I'm using my QAM tuner to get it, but the picture goes grey for a second about 5 times in a half hour. It's very annoying. I don't have the same problem on other stations.

Haven't noticed any such picture problems but I continue to have sound problems with non-HD programs on both the local NBC and ABC channels. They come in at about half the sound volume of the other HD channels which can be very annoying when "surfing".

Anyone else with Comcast HD notice channel 166 - NFLHD. Tonight watched highlights from past weekend games in HD. Anyone hear if this is part of our lineup now... don't recall seeing any post about NFLHD?

I saw that also. Both times that I tuned there they were showing SD programs with custom "NFL" sidebars like ESPNHD does.

Good Article about HDTV before Superbowl on www.jacksonville.com - Florida Times Union

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012805/bus_17806400.shtml

I wonder if Jerry and staff will have their top, most qualified people running the show for the game. Lately WAWS has been doing a pretty good job compared to the sister WTEV for HDTV. Probably because of the Splicer technology where fewer people locally can mess with the signal to screw it up.
Lately the major problem on WTEV has been failure to promptly return to HDTV mode when returning from commercial breaks. I haven't watched that much WAWS except on the Sunday games but I have not seen the same problem.

Jeff- Thanks for that article- I hope these store sales people know to suggest the proper tuner to get HDTV locals on their new sale of a HDTV monitor. Most of these sets do not have a built in HDTV tuner.

I know this has been talked about ad naseum, but it floors me how many people have HDTV sets and no tuners/HDTV boxes and think they are watching HD - it really is sad the lack of education of the consumer and sales people out there

Originally posted by Gator99
I know this has been talked about ad naseum, but it floors me how many people have HDTV sets and no tuners/HDTV boxes and think they are watching HD - it really is sad the lack of education of the consumer and sales people out there

Well, I love my wife, but when watching say NCIS and the HD switch hasn't been flipped she doesn't seem to care. I've seen people with sets more expensive than mine watching D* stretched SD and thinking it is HD.

However, when there is a show with good "wow" factor like some of the Discovery channel nature show, she will remark about the color and/or clarity of snake scales or the like. To be honest, some of the network shows don't do HD justice.

There are a lot of complaints about Fox HD football broadcasts around the country, but WAWS seems to do a reasonably good job. I certainly haven't seen the shimmering grass and some of the other problems reported.

Originally posted by Gator99
I know this has been talked about ad naseum, but it floors me how many people have HDTV sets and no tuners/HDTV boxes and think they are watching HD - it really is sad the lack of education of the consumer and sales people out there

Reminds me Jeff of that very first HD broadcast in JAX, the Salt Lake City Olympics. I was blown away by the pictures and just marveled at what I was seeing. One night some friends stopped by for a brief visit and I had that showing and I said take at look at this! Their reaction? Oh, that's nice and then they turned their backs on it. They very clearly hadn't even noticed the unbelievable quality that they couldn't have seen anywhere else.

Yeah, you're right. People (most of them anyhow) are completely clueless!

Jonathan

Jonathan-

Is that when you went out and bought a better HDTV? yuk yuk !

Originally posted by Don Landis
Jonathan-

Is that when you went out and bought a better HDTV? yuk yuk !

Actually I went and got better friends! ;)

Seriously, I've never really gotten to upgrade TV's. I started with Pioneer RPTV's back in '91 and kept it until Pioneer released their first HDTV RPTV, the Pro 700. It was junk because of a poorly designed line doubler and Pioneer eventually took it back and gave me the next year's model, the Pro 710. Physically identical, but completely different electronics and it worked great. So great in fact that another set of friends like it so much they asked me to sell it to them after I only had it 2 years. The amount of money I was able to get for it virtually bought me the next year's model (Pro 730, actually skipping one year). That turned out to be a very poor judgement call as that set turned out to have poorly designed video control cards and after a few months use, caused the screen to fill with artifacts.

Long sad story that ended (somewhat) happy is they finally, after a year+ of suffering with the problem, were able to fix it on the third attempt with newly engineered cards.

A few weeks afterwards and a new problem is starting up. When the set if cold and turned on, there's no RED being generated. A very blue picture is what I have to look at for about 5 minutes, during which time it gradually turns into correct color. Obviously a component is failing until it gets warm. Probably will go solid fail at some point, so another trouble report to Pioneer is in order....:(

Now you probably understand why I'm so interested in front projection DLP!

Are you back in town from your travels or still flitting about?

Jonathan

Are there many people that live in gainesville on this thread, just wondering if the can get channels ota from jacksonville there

Back in town now for awhile. I am swamped under 18/7 for about a week more yet as I attempt to get all these shows I shot edited and on the air, then we can get together to discuss the food for oil deal. :)

I knew you went through quite an ordeal with your RPTV. Here's a bizarre story about my Dwin-
Been using it for about 18 months with no problem, then after about 3000+ hours on the bulb it finally went out. So I popped in my spare and it lasted about 1 hour and pop! Now I had no spare. But the strange thing was, the original bulb looked fine so I saved it. I stuck it back in and it worked fine?????? The new one that seemed to last for an hour also looked good so I put it back in the box. Unfortunately after about an hour the bulb went out again. So, I figured it was not the bulb but probably a sensor failing shutting down the power supply. A bit of novice troubleshooting proved that the Thermistor was fine in the bulb box and the funny thing was, on the bench the PJ ran for hours and hours. After careful analysis, I realized the only thing it could be was the PJ in the HT was ceiling mounted, inverted. On the bench, right side up. Repeated tests indicated the PJ would no longer work inverted after an hour of use. It did not appear to be heat related as I tested for that. So, my fix was to remount my PJ in the coffee table and it has been running fine ever since.
At CES, I spoke to the engineer from Dwin and he wanted me to return it for him to experiment. I said only if he sends me a replacement which he agreed to do. Took my name and address and now I wait. He promised to send me a replacement so I could use the shipping carton and included ship return tag to send him my PJ. Any bets he will keep his promise? Hint- Attempts to call Dwin are futile as they don't return calls and don't answer direct. Great Projector but terrible company to deal with.

Hello and I need some assistance. My Comcast HD receiver has a red message light on the front panel. Does anyone know where to find the message to read, or how to get rid of the red light?....Thanks, Matt Q.

Jerry- Hope you are reading this thread-

WTEV had bad audio on Joan of Arcadia and CSI and the new show Numb3rs last evening. Picture was OK. Audio was broken up. I verified this on three receivers and confirmed this was not a problem on WAWS nor any other channel.

Same issue here with WTEV last night.

No help needed now. Read the message from the receiver. It helps when you press the menu button...Thanks.

Odd that this pops up every now and then. It is fine for a few days, then the "jitters" in the sound starts again.

Yikes! The sound was so bad I could not watch several of my favorite shows in HD

Joan of Arcadia, & CSI.

The warble and echo effect was dreadfull. Alas, this is about the 4th time this has happened on CBS in the last few weeks. Not just for a few minutes either but for hours. Ended up switching to the Analog OTA to keep from missing the show. Would switch back to the digital HD to check if it was fixed but still "sound impaired". Used to be a lip sync problem months ago. What gives?

Mrs. Hobbit was not happy either!

I wonder if the national feed is dolby5.1 and the down conversion to Dolby2 "stereo" is doing a hatchet job on the sound. Maybe one more good reason to just convert to the proper Dolby5.1

I recently canceled my Dish local channels because I believed the OTA to be reliable.

Not a rant really just would like to have reliable HD and not feel like we are still all beta testers. I DO like it when it works.

HD_Hobbit
__________

Will walk to Mordor for HDTV

HD Hobbit-

"I wonder if the national feed is dolby5.1 and the down conversion to Dolby2 "stereo" is doing a hatchet job on the sound. Maybe one more good reason to just convert to the proper Dolby5.1"

Technically, that's not how it's done. The DD2.0 /DPL and DD5.1 are exclusive channels sent in the AC3 system. The PCM is also sent exclusive in the data stream. Their hardware decodes the DD audio and uses the DD2.0 and sends this portion of the inbound to their outbout signal encoder. As best I can describe it without going into Dolby detail. Stations that do DD5.1 have to send both the DD2.0 and the DD5.1 so everyone listening will be happy.

I believe the trouble at WTEV began in mid December. Prior to that they had a fairly trouble free signal except for a rare failure to return to HDTV after a commercial break. I know Jerry began to do some changes in the PSIP generator back last month but I thought he told me he fixed the problem with the PID's that caused the audio problems. This breakup of sound may be something else failing now.

Personally, I don't have analog NTSC channels here anymore. Pulled all that equipment out of the rack. So, if the DT channel is messed up, WTEV loses my viewing time to WTLV or whatever. :(

Thanks Don for the explanation.

It helps my "laymans mind" if I think of the DD2 as a subset of the DD5.1, and yes it would make sense for both streams to be available for compatability.

I don't need the 5.1 - and am happy enough with the DD2. But the warble effect sounds like an oscillating dely that chops up the sound. One can sometimes hear multiple tracks - like an echo box or an old reverb spring from a garage rock band.

When FOX or PBS does 5.1 it does sound pretty sweet. I figured if CBS-Jax just "fixed" the DD2 sound by implementing the DD5.1? Well, wishful thinking on my part.

The MyHDPC120 card I use has both digital and analog tuner - fortunately.
The new record/watch/pause live HDTV recently implemented seems to work well.

The new MyHD130 is supposed to add a QAM tuner (?) to also do Cable TV signals, unscrambled channels of course.

As always this board is a wealth of information. If I ever have a HDTV hicup I check here first because 9 times out of 10 it is something wrong with the Jax locals and not my equipment.

HD_Hobbit

__________

HD_Hobbit-

If you ever have time on your hands and want to understand more about how the dolby audio is handled at your local station, check out the various pdf files at www.dolby.com. You'll have to dig and look as several of the diagrams and study several to have a complete picture but a good starting place is how the Dolby sound is managed in post production, where it all begins on the digital program master tape for air.
http://www.dolby.com/assets/pdf/professional/pro_audio_engineering/AES2004Handout_Postproduction.pdf

AS you will see broadcasting the audio is not simple as receiving it. any wonder your assumption is correct that 9 times out of 10 it's the station's mal function rather than your simple receiver.

Hobbit, can you get WJWB on your myHd120? If yes, could you do me a favor and tell me what it shows in the saved file (myhdchlist.mcl). It should look similar to this:
[INPUT1 No. 2]
Name = wb
PhyCH = 34
VirCH = 17
MinCh = 1
TunerInputType = AIR
SignalType = ATSC
Programnumber = 1
Sourceid = 1

I can't seem to find the file myhdchlist.mcl despite looking in the program\MyHD directory or the windows directory. I am using WinXP in case it makes a difference.

I DO get all the Jax channels including WB I am am just South of St. Aug.

The virtual channel is D17-1, Physical is D34 using Antenna input 1.
(Used cards auto scan & have Virtual ch enabled & favorites enabled)

CBS, PBS, FOX, WJXT-Ind are all 95-100% signal strength.
NBC, ABC are 80%+
WB is the lowest one at about 60%

I always get a solid lock on all stations (except when the engineers have the tower off line or something )

I use an external RatShack 190 on a ~15' pole and have a cheap inline/inhouse distrubution amplifier. I can actually get all the stations without the amp but then WB drops to about 45% - it still locks in but I guess having a little more signal couldn't hurt.

BTW I get also all the analog channels - but some have a wee bit of snow/fuzz.

I generally get a little better signal strength at night.

The new MyHD120 software has given my homebuilt HDPC Tivo-like funtions. Pausing live TV and FF thru the commercials :D

You have to save the file. Do a ctrl-L to show the channel list, then click on 'save as'.
I'm near the towers and get good reception. But for some reason wjwb won't tune on the myHD, while strong on a Fusion card and the TV tuner.

Ahh, Yesss. I guess I just never saved my Chan. listing

[INPUT1 No. 12]
Name = WJWB
PhyCH = 17
VirCH = 17
MinCh = 0
TunerInputType = AIR
SignalType = NTSC
Programnumber = 0
Sourceid = 0

[INPUT1 No. 13]
Name = WJWB
PhyCH = 34
VirCH = 17
MinCh = 1
TunerInputType = AIR
SignalType = ATSC
Programnumber = 3
Sourceid = 1

Have 2 for WB - the 1st one must be the Analog (NTSC).


Under my favorites I sorted all the Digital together to the top & all the Analog to the bottom.

Before I got the RatShack190 I had a batwing shaped antenna that had a built in preamp. Looked flike the Flying Nuns Hat - LOL. It got all chans incl. WB. I was concerned that if the internal amp burned out I would have a $80 doorstop. So went with the big RS190 & a "dry- in the house" amp

Maybe just do a rescan with the MyHD120? The 120 is a more sensitve tuner so too much amplification from the antenna might make WB drop out.

If you have a FM trap then toggle it to a different position (if on turn off or vice/versa). Since you have multiple tuners I assume you are using a splitter?
Try a direct cable to the MyHD120 - maybe the splitter is bad.

Good Luck.

Comcast rescheduled their internet speed upgrade for Jacksonville to 01/31 and looks like the upgrade went in this morning. Power cycling your modems should get you the new speeds if you don't have them already.

Originally posted by MrJames
Comcast rescheduled their internet speed upgrade for Jacksonville to 01/31 and looks like the upgrade went in this morning. Power cycling your modems should get you the new speeds if you don't have them already.

Thanks for the recycle tip. It didn't show the speed increase until I dit that.
Cool.:D

After hearing the upgrade hit the area I very happily power cycled my modem and had no speed increase (in fact if anything it was slower). I then cycled it 3 more times with nothing.

I called comcast and the csr said they are beta testing it and I will have it in my area by the end of the month. I live off (CR210) Just west of I-95.

Originally posted by fljeremy
After hearing the upgrade hit the area I very happily power cycled my modem and had no speed increase (in fact if anything it was slower). I then cycled it 3 more times with nothing.

I called comcast and the csr said they are beta testing it and I will have it in my area by the end of the month. I live off (CR210) Just west of I-95.

Sorry to hear that. Once the upgrade is completed, go to this site to test. You should be getting speeds greater than a T1 line.

http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html

I'll restate my question since it has been burried.

WTEV:

Can you tell us if our local CBS will be upgrading to 5.1 anytime soon? Id really like to see numbers in surround sound.

thanks,
dan

Anyone know if NFL Network HD (Ch. 166) is permanent on Comcast, or just on for SuperBowl week?

I am in need of some assistance in figuring out what if anything I'm doing wrong when I scan for OTA HD channels.

Here's my setup
Directv
Samsung SIR-TS360 receiver
Wingard Square Shooter mounted on roof.
Mitsubishi 42 inch HD ready TV.

I get local channels over Directv like most people.

I live in the Mandarin area off of Marbon Road.

With no OTA antenna at all I scanned for local channels and could get most of the OTA channels sporadically.

I reviewed this forum and others and decided on the Wingard SS.

Now when I scan for OTA channels I do not get anything for Channel 25 which shows up as 25-1 on Directv's guide.

Today I unplugged the TS360 and had it reboot.

I keyed in my zip code and it downloaded a schedule that included channels 25-1 and a 12-2 channel, neither of which I can get a signal for.

My question is, does channel 25 in Jacksonville operate an HD channel at all times or just at night or are they having a problem.

Things I've tired, I used a digital compass to make sure the SS is pointed in the right direction.

I tried taking out my zip code to no avail.

No matter what I do I can't seem to get ABC Channel 25's digital signal.

Plus I'm wondering is Channel 12's alternate HD signal exists, the one that shows up as 12-2 on my Directv Guide ???

Any hints or suggestions would be appreciated.

I have a very similiar setup. I use the same antenna, but I also am much closer to the tower farm than you are. If you feel that you have tried everything, you might want to go to a larger more typical antenna.

But not knowing what channels are doing what, is frustrating.

The 12-2 subchannel does not exist. It is old information from 2 or 3 years ago that still exists in the program guide service used by DirecTV and others. FWIW- VOOM also has this show up.

Using a compass to adjust your antenna only works when the antenna is located in the clear outside. If inside you tune for best signal quality which may be any direction.

Most people do not get their OTA analog channels from DirecTV satellite. They get them the way they were intended to be received which is OTA, second via comcast cable. Satellite (D* and E*) share a small % of sets in the Jacksonville area for reception.

I'm not familiar with your receiver but you may try to scan for the digital RF channel number which is 10 and 13 and see if the PSIP data remaps to 25 and 12 respectively. Some receivers manually scan channels that way. The E* receivers do it that way. Your manual should explain the preferred procedure.

Keep in mind that channel 12DT and 25DT are operating at low power and won't go high power until the switch over per station policy. Most people have success with either Comcast or with an outdoor conventional LP yagi antenna for reliable reception on the low powered channels.

Also, all Jax DT channels seem to operate 24/7 The exception may be some subchannels on WJCT DT that go off when they have an HDTV signal on 7-1.

Channel 4DT has a subchannel too. 4-1 is 1080i upconvert of it's NTSC channel and 4-2 is 480i SD.


Just remember the basics on digital channels. You tune the RF signal. With that all the subchannels are essentially "decoded" and received the same. If you get one subchannel you should get all that exists for that RF signal. The only exception to this rule is if the station happens to be testing their PSIP or changing things around at the time but this would not be a continuing problem and is probably quite rare. Guide info is generally not an indicator of what's there as it comes from a service that may be inaccurate. If you receive your guide via PSIP (as explained in your manual for your receiver) it also may have flaws because many stations are actually using the service bureau for their own PSIP generator. I believe that is how Jerry at WTEV said he was doing it. Guide via PSIP is very new and most likely you are not getting it via PSIP but from a service like DirecTV, DishNetwork or Comcast. DirecTV remaps their NTSC sat locals guide to the digital channels and now so does E*.

If all this sounds confusing, don't worry because it is. We're currently in a transition period and things change monthly.

Watched Numbers tonight on WTEV. Noticed some sound issues where the volume became low at times. My wife usually does not notice this kind off stuff but did tonight.

For those who are interested, Gainesville fl now has a local ota and cable thread on AVS now.

Thank you Jerry and WAWS for a job well done with the Day's Superbowl events. The sound was great and picture quality good too with no problems that I saw switching from SD to HD.

Only saw one problem during the Tom Arnold's Best Darn Superbowl show about half way through WAWS lost all sound for about 5-7 minutes including audio during the local commercials. It returned about half way through one of the commercials. I recorded the day's programming so if you need the exact in and out of the sound failure, I can look it up for you.

Originally posted by Don Landis
Thank you Jerry and WAWS for a job well done with the Day's Superbowl events. The sound was great and picture quality good too with no problems that I saw switching from SD to HD.

Only saw one problem during the Tom Arnold's Best Darn Superbowl show about half way through WAWS lost all sound for about 5-7 minutes including audio during the local commercials. It returned about half way through one of the commercials. I recorded the day's programming so if you need the exact in and out of the sound failure, I can look it up for you.

Indeed. Nice job.

By the way as a general question: are OTA signals vulnerable to things like trees moving, or if possible the broadcast tower slightly shifting in high winds (is that even possible?) I can't figure out why 30-1 is so unstable for me. Some days the signal is up in the 90's and barely fluctuates...other days it will go from 90 to zero and back again.

Sounds like a lose connection at your end. How is your antenna mounted?

I concur WAWS did a very nice job with the HD broadcast yesterday.

I tried to watch the entire day just to get the entire HD effect.

I did notice that when the Pre-Game show began with JB, Howie, Terry B, and Jimmy Johnson began, a high pitch tone was included in my sound, it sounded a bit like feedback, after 30 seconds or so it was turned off..

To: Don Landis,

Thanks for the reply, for some reason I can not get 25-1, I can't scan it in, when I use the area code I get a a schedule of the channel but I get no picture or sound....

I get all other OTA Jax HD signals fine, just not that one....

I've checked the cabling, direction of the SS, nothing works...for some reason I can't get the channel...

I may give Samsung a call to see if they have any ideas.

Ya, thats what I like hours of incredible HD. Well done & thanks WAWS engineers.

One thing that I noticed was that even during the half-time show the video was rock solid. Nomally strobe lights & fireworks cause the HD cameras or the encoders to breakdown and fill with motion artifacts. Not Sunday night!

Some of the best HD I have seen. Must be the 720p (better for sports) factor.

The surround sound was a treat too.

Also liked the panaramic HD shots of Jax. Heck even some of the advertisers got smart and did their ads in HD.

Congrats!

HD_Hobbit

I guess everyone is recovering from the Super party (or parties), and don't have time to post anything. It may be that all the HD channels are performing as expected.

Jerry, any update on when you will have the equipment (ie budget) to pass the CBS 5.1 to us?

PS

Jacksonville is sleeping now. Superbowl wore everyone out I guess.


I haven't had any issues with HD either through Comcast.

I just wish Comcast would ESPN2. We are missing more than a few good college basketball games. I guess this year will be a race to see what happens with HD.

Is Voom going to go out of business or stay in business and add the DVR. Is comcast going to add more HD channels? Is D* going to bring out more HD and a good DVR by the end of the year. I will go with the provider that has the best deal and a good DVR.

Jerry, we are still having problem with 47-1. Last night, CSI-NY was in SD for the first 25 minutes.

PS

still no news on local cbs going 5.1?

Hello all, I recently got a new OTA tuner. Im wondering why CBS is mapping to 19.2 ????

On my HD Tivo (HR10-250) its coming in as 47.1 (as it should)

Whats going on?

John

If your "New tuner" doesn't use PSIP or a service to receive local ATSC stations it should come in on 19.2 as that IS the actual channel WTEV transmits on. Check your tuner to see how it remaps channels. My old DTC-100 has an option to turn off remapping and then it will get WTEV on 19.2 as well.
Now if your new tuner gets all the other channels on the remap channel number and just WTEV is a problem, then I don't know.

In order to keep this thread somewhere in the first few pages, I will post something if no one has posted for a couple of weeks.

Any word on WB on Comcast HD?

How about our chances of ever seeing UPN-HD again?

I am thinking about switching to VOOM and was wondering how my locals would be OTA at neptune beach? anyone out in that area that can comment on signal strength one way or the other?

Originally posted by sikoniko
I am thinking about switching to VOOM and was wondering how my locals would be OTA at neptune beach? anyone out in that area that can comment on signal strength one way or the other?

You might want to rethink VOOM. They are all but out of business and are hanging onto a thread. Two weeks ago they announced they were closing at the end of March, but in a really bizarre corporate fight between family members they got a temporary stay.

There is a giant thread about this in the HDTV section of this same forum.

I hope CBS local does a better job with the Gator Game tomorrow. It seems they are not keeping up with which games are HD or not. It took a long time for them to flip the switch on the Win.- Goz game tonight.

Originally posted by Gator99
A while back Don Landis was kind enough to donate his Electrohome ECP-4000 with line doubler (and extra input boards) It has not been used in about 20 months. Actually I never did get to play with it - I decided to take the plunge and I purchased a Panasonic AE700 this past January and will never get around to using the CRT -- with that said if anyone wants to come by and pick it up (or meet me) they just need to send me a PM

PS- This is a CRT projector so if you are not in the habit of converging and tweaking, don't consider a CRT Projector. - (quoted directly from Don L.)

I sent you a pm concerning this projector about an hour ago.

I have the national East and West coast feeds of the networks from Direct-Tv and even with the compression the standard definition feeds are clearer then 47-1.I also get the HD national network feeds,I am very glad for this.47-1 seem to be having trouble with their HD. for the NCAA tournament.

Originally posted by sikoniko
I am thinking about switching to VOOM and was wondering how my locals would be OTA at neptune beach? anyone out in that area that can comment on signal strength one way or the other?

I have VOOM. I put it in for no out of pocket cost and just pay for the programming. Today the price to put it in has gone up. It will cost you a whole dollar! No Joke, but if you have been reading up on VOOM then you know that.

Performance- Please note I also have D* and E*. The deal is this with local digital channels. The 921 I have is the least sensitive to out OTA channels. It works very well. Unfortunately the receiver's functionality with recording the OTA channels suck. D*- I have the HDTIVO. This is the trickiest receiver to get working with locals. This receiver seems to have a narrow window of acceptable signal quality or it doesn't work. However, once you get the HDTIVO adjusted, it is rock solid for locals. I highly recommend it. BTW- It took me about a month to zero in on a system that pulled in the OTA channels with consistency. Once achieved, it has worked without failure since (about 9 months).

Now for VOOM, by comparison- The VOOM on OTA is a digital OTA receiver only. VOOM does not offer any Local channels via it's satellite service, while the analog channels are offered on satellite with E* and D*. Voom's receiver works very well for all the channels. In fact, I demonstrated for Jeff (Gator99) how it received all but two channels here with no antenna connected. It is a real sensitive receiver of OTA. But the real advantage to VOOM is their HDTV lineup. 4 times what the others offer so you will always have something in HDTV to watch for around $100 per month subscription. Yes, many are cautious about the trouble VOOM has been having with Cablevision and continuing. Currently they are expanding and adding new channels. Adfded a new HDTV channel along with 5 SD channels again today. So, it boils down to this- Order in an install to VOOM for a dollar. Watch and pay the monthly for as long as it lasts, could be a month, could be forever. Then, if it goes south, what have you lost? D* and E* will still be there. I just wouldn't purchase any equipment from VOOM at this time.
As for "hanging on by a thread" Let me say this, I wouldn't mind hanging on by a billion dollar + thread. and that's the current backing that C. Dolan has but he is a smart businessman who doesn't hang his laundry out for everyone to sniff through.

Don, I sent you a pm b/c I have a question for you.

Looks like Comcast is planning to have Digital Simulcast completed for our area by end of June which is end of thier 2nd QTR. This is coming from a comcast employee not a CSR.


Hoooray then I can watch all my analog favorites without being totally annoyed by the picture quality.

Pardon me for being to lazy to go reread the last 28 pages but is there any HD VOD or PPV on Jax Comcast if I don't (or do?) subscribe to premium channels.

I looked briefly last week but if so it wasn't obvious from the VOD menus on my 6412.

- Tom

TR:

Yes, bring up On-demand and goto: Movies -> then scroll down to HDTV you will see about 6-8 HDTV PPV movies you can rent.


Comcast had been getting better at adding more HDTV Ondemand movies I remember when they just had 1 to offer.

Also for your info I rented Shrek 2 HD on On demand and the quality was great.


Jeremy

Yes, bring up On-demand and goto: Movies -> then scroll down to HDTV you will see about 6-8 HDTV PPV movies you can rent.

Strange. I just get some VOD server unavailable, try again later message on that now. So I guess I'll try again later, like the magic 8-ball says.

Previously I could get to VOD but could see no way to see which ones if any were HD.

- Tom

I've heard from five seperate comcast employees and they all had the same thing to say about OnDemand... it's a mess. Somewhere in the loop of things, there's a serious flaw that's causing a lot of the HD and PVR box owners to be denied access during peak hours. It doesn't really seem to have any effect on the old black box owners. One tech said that the most common thing is that the VOD network behaves like it's at full capacity but according to him, they've never gone over 75% and the average load on the network was around 50% in peak hours.

I usually get errors 204 and 217, but I sometimes get 206, 210 and 222. One thing that helps is that the CSRs are pretty informed about the nature of the troubles and will give you zero hassles about cancelling a movie purchase if you have trouble accessing the network or lose connection during play. I ordered Shrek 2 as well and I think I got about 3/4 through it and lost VOD access for the next few days, they took off the charge and even left the rental open in case I was able to get back on at some point.

Classic definition of not quite ready for prime time.

- Tom

Jeff I sent you a pm today.

AFH - yes on the remote (confirmed)

Jerry -- who is sleeping over there - the game was in HD then in SD - someone needs to pay attention!!!!!

Has anyone called?

Jeff, I sent you a PM.

The Kentucky - Utah game is messing up quite badly on Comcast. Anyone else having this problem? Now I am getting a mix of both games on.

Anybody know what's up with PBS these days? Instead of the HD feed, 7-1 is carrying the regular SD programming.

Originally posted by fljeremy
Looks like Comcast is planning to have Digital Simulcast completed for our area by end of June which is end of thier 2nd QTR. This is coming from a comcast employee not a CSR.


Hoooray then I can watch all my analog favorites without being totally annoyed by the picture quality.

YAY!!!

I still have some favorite channels, but hate to watch in analog.

Now if only SciFi would go HD, I would be a happy camper.

"Now if only SciFi would go HD, I would be a happy camper"

The closest you'll find to that is on VOOM!

How about some "darts and laurels" awards for our local stations. Since none of them actually originate any HD or even pass DD5.1, we are stuck with how well they actually even transmit the correct video of the network HD feed.

Major darts, again, to WTEV. After a disasterous performance in the 2nd half of 2004, they started the year 2005 much improved. But it didn't last long. They are again the worst by far local station in "flipping the switch". They escape an F grade by sometimes having a whole show in HD. But don't count on it.

Minor darts to all the others, except WJWB, for being much worse than in 2004. But still overwhelmingly better than WTEV.

There is a thread in the programming subject that is depressing. It basically says that the stations have no economic incentive to care whether the HD is being sent correctly. Which is pretty obvious, especially as to the management of WTEV.

OTOH, Comcast has been very reliable in sending out whatever the stations deliver to them. But GIGO still applies.

I just picked up a Samsung SIR-T451 and had a couple of questions. I'm feeding my analog Comcast cable feed into it and am picking up INHD and INHD2 and some others. What are the QAM numbers? It's not picking up many of the ones listed on the first page of this thread. Has something changed or am I doing something wrong. It's also frustrating that I can't MANUALLY enter in a channel number on this thing to see if it picks up ---- I can only let **it** try and find channels!! Also, I can't get the thing to pick up my analog cable channels now either. Shouldn't it at least pick up my analog HBO, and all those other channels? My Hughes HIRD-E86 worked fine with analog cable and OTA HD. Thanks for any help....

Adam

I’ve decided to buy the LG 4200a – the Samsung T451 is going back. For only 7 bucks more, including shipping, I can get analog cable in the LG with the QAM, simultaneously. Since there is no solution out there which integrates analog cable, digital cable, **and** OTA HD, I guess I will have to buy an remote controlled A/B converter to feed both antenna and cable feeds to the LG. This way I can get the WB from my OTA antenna and the rest of my HD from cable. I’ll set up macros on my Home Theater Master to take care of that switching…

BTW, I have a plasma display without a built in tuner which is why I need a solution for analog cable channels along with OTA HD.

Since I no longer subscribe to Directv, I’ll be selling the Huges E86 on Ebay….

Does anyone know if WTEV-DT (CBS) is going to turn on the Masters feed on Thursday and Friday? From what I'm reading they'll have the HD feed available for the HD channels and SD feeds for analog channels. I know we'll get the HD feeds on the weekend but this year they'll have feeds available for Thursday and Friday.
Master's Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=517648)

Originally posted by KiddJoey
Does anyone know if WTEV-DT (CBS) is going to turn on the Masters feed on Thursday and Friday? From what I'm reading they'll have the HD feed available for the HD channels and SD feeds for analog channels. I know we'll get the HD feeds on the weekend but this year they'll have feeds available for Thursday and Friday.
Master's Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=517648)

It does not look like it according to TitanTV.com.

I meant to say "does not".

I know it is on UniversalHD - I doubt it is on CBS

It wasn't showing up on the Comcast Guide last night either. Its not looking good.

Don Landis or anyone,How much on average do reporters for WJXT or WTLV make in salary a year? Thanks for any info.

Is the highlight show for the Masters in HD here in Jax or are the blowing it again? I hope they get it right on Saturday.

I was in the middle of watching a movie last night on Starz ondemand and got the error code 217 I was pi$$ed. I called in and they said the server went down. Tried again this morning and still seems to be down. Maybe Ondemand has a greater user demand than they thought? I just hope they get it improved as I almost always get error 204, and 217 on using it.

Does anybody have the scoop on whether or not Comcast in Jacksonville will be adding TNT-HD in time for the NBA playoffs?

Thanks,
James

Has anyone noticed audio dropouts on the Comcast QAM channels, notably ABC, such as on Desperate Housewives (wife watches it) last night?

It's real annoying and I don't know if it's this new LG LST-4200a box or not.....

I don't hear it on the analog cable channels (PCM via optical cable), so I think it's a per channel thing, but I just wanted to take a poll to know for sure.

A few of the other HD CBS, NBC, FOX, etc., channels have occasional audio dropouts, but not as bad as ABC was last night. These are the 1/2 second variety audio dropouts which occur every couple of minutes it seemed...

Thanks.....

The recent audio dropouts also are in the OTA stream. Its not a cable thing.

Yep, I get it also on ABC and NBC. Fox is solid. This has been happening for months now. Some NBC shows are unwatchable with the number of dropouts. I guess they are still "practicing".

FYI, I watch ABC and NBC regularly and have no audio dropouts that I can remember.

I am using a RCA DTC-210 and a Hughes E-86 (clone) for my receivers.

Just thought you all should be aware that not all of us are having this problem? Very strange though

We are talking about QAM, are you?

DrJax - I am speaking of OTA - just as a response to grittree's comments above

Originally posted by grittree
The recent audio dropouts also are in the OTA stream. Its not a cable thing.

Anyone know why WAWS not carrying American Idol and House in HD tonight? It is in HD in other parts of country.

Hello all!

I was wondering the same thing. My wife was upset she couldn't watch House in HD. :)

Originally posted by BrianK
Hello all!

I was wondering the same thing. My wife was upset she couldn't watch House in HD. :)

I agree. And it was a pretty darn good episode at that!

I watch House regularly, but last night I could not stand it in SD. I switched to Big Break III - Ladies Only on the Golf channel. That was entertaining even in SD.

im having an issue with comcast where i am getting a grounding hum.. pain in the butt. they have been out twice to try and fix it with no luck.

Is there something wrong with 30-1 ? The past two nights I've received no signal, even though the signal meter reports almost full. All other HD OVA channels working fine, but 30-1 is no longer coming in.

Thanks

30-1 appears to be off the air. Anyone know why?

Edited to add the receiver is also an HTL-HD.

I have not been watching Fox but I have flipped past a few times (during "A simple life" and "life on a stick" and whatever is on currently) and all is OK here

Yikes.. that's strange.. really, you flipped past Life on a Stick and it was in HD?

Anyone having issues with ABC HD via comcast? The past two days I've had nothing but pixilation and breakups every 10-15 seconds. This only occurs on the ABC HD channel.

Phod - I can't remember if it was HD, but it was definately on - I only watched a minute or so - I was truly surfing last night.

Originally posted by Phod
Yikes.. that's strange.. really, you flipped past Life on a Stick and it was in HD?

FSUJAY,

I had the same problem yesterday on Directv. I have the HD Tivo and I went to watch Eyes and Alias, both were unwatchable with picture freezes and audio dropouts every few seconds. I looked at the Tonight Show and Law and Order from last night, both were perfect.

I guess WJXX was having problems.

Anyone else notice this?

Hey everyone, a little birdy just told me that if you are having problems with WAWS-DT, you should re-boot, unplug and that should take care of the issues.

I have the same problems the past two nights: 30-1 is off the air, and 25-1 has the pixelation and sound drop-off problems.

I unplugged my Hughes HD receiver and waited awhile and plugged it back in and 30-1 still receives "no signal" dispite the signal meter being almost full.

Every other HD channel works perfectly.

Is everyone who is having 30-1 problems using the Hughes HTL-HD?

If anyone figures this out, please post it here.

with regards to WAWS-DT:

pspun, as I indicated above, you will need to reboot or unplug your receiver and that should do the trick.

Phod, I guess the suggestion that was given to me didn't work for your HTL-HD, did you hit the reset button next to your access card or just unplug? How about resetting the zip code information and letting it rescan?

I redid a channel scan and also unplugged.. will try to reset.

WEre you told what the problem was regarding the suggestion to reboot?

Tried a full initial setup and it still doesn't show up.

Anyone having any luck? Any other suggestions? This is annoying. There's obviously nothing wrong on my end. The Hughes didn't get an update or anything, it's the same machine that worked fine a week ago.

I was having breakups on OTA ABC on Lost and Alias last night.

I replayed the episodes this morning on a DirecTV TIVO (SD) I have in the bedroom, and the problem was also on the SD feed apparently.

Originally posted by Gator99
with regards to WAWS-DT:

pspun, as I indicated above, you will need to reboot or unplug your receiver and that should do the trick.

Phod, I guess the suggestion that was given to me didn't work for your HTL-HD, did you hit the reset button next to your access card or just unplug? How about resetting the zip code information and letting it rescan?

Gator99, rebooting doesn't help. We do have the signal from 30-1, it just doesn't contain any video or audio information! I can even get the program guide from 30-1, but no video or audio.

Phod, I use a Samsung SIR-T165 and have the same problem.

from what I understand it was a FCC required changes to the PID's and program guide that was implemented

Pretty funky stuff - my Hughes E86 clone works fine anyone else having the same issues other than the Samsung SIR-T165 and Hughes HTL-HD?


Originally posted by pspun
Gator99, rebooting doen't help. We do have the signal from 30-1, it just doesn't contain any video or audio information! I can even get the program guide from 30-1, but no video or audio.

Phod, I use a Samsung SIR-T165 and have the same problem.

Ugh this is seriously annoying. Doesn't the WAWS-DT engineer post here? Is there contact information somewhere I can email or call?

Jerry, please help with 30-1. Thank you.

Are you guys talking about the audio dropouts on Fox? I'm getting them every few seconds. I've got QAM - is it my LG 4200 box or is everyone having this problem?

I have two Samsung TS360 Experiencing the same issues. I have spoken to the director of operations at WAWS 30-1 who is aware of this issue with a limited number of receivers in this area, he refered me to a directv engineer in colorado who as we spoke searched this board and determined that I was not the only one having this issue. The engineer has sent and email detailing the problem with and embedded link to this forum to the home office hopefully these steps will speed up the resolution to this problem. .

No, for some of us, we're getting no signal at all from 30-1 WAWS-DT Fox.

I switch to that station and it's just black and the receiver reports "No signal".. However, if I check my signal meter, it reports almost full signal (probably like 95 out of 100).

It apparently is happening on some receivers but not on others. Thus assume it's something on their end, not our end.

If anyone has contact info, please post it.

Ugh.. so WAWS is pretty much passing the buck regarding the problem? I mean, it was something THEY did obviously since it was working fine last week and my receiver hasn't gotten a software upgrade or some such.

And I seriously doubt it's a "limited" number of receivers. There have already been 4-5 people on here reporting the problem. How many people viewing HD actually post on here.. maybe .05%?

I just got off the phone with Dave an engineer from Directv La office, He had me try a few things in relation to receiving the Picture and sound from WAWS and the bottom line is.... I gave him the phone number to the director of operations for the local WAWS. He indicated that he needs some background information on the change made by the local FOX station.

Thanks vulcantheater for doing all this.

Your Welcome, I will follow up with local Program Director and Director of operations tomorrow as I don't see this getting resolved tonight.

Well apparently someone's hard work paid off because 30-1 now works for me.

I just checked, 30-1 works for me also.

I spoke with the Director of operations today, he said after the calls yesterday he had one of his engineers re-examine the PID changes and they had to tweak an address included as a part of the PID change. This obviously corrected the problem since I am also able to get both picture and sound even though my sound was clipping earlier hopefully this clipping issue will get corrected.

Thanks for your hard work vulcantheater! :)

Your welcome,

My wife thinks i'm a little fanatical when it comes to this "TV video stuff " as she puts it.

Originally posted by Phod
Thanks for your hard work vulcantheater! :)

I second that: thank you vulcantheater.

I was told by comcast that we would have tnt-hd on 166 tonight!

TNT HD is on Comcast now. The QAM channel is 111-2.

Is TNT HD going to be permanent?

I guess we need pspun to update the first page with the QAM on TNT-HD. This is great that we finally got it.

I know this is a stupid question, but can someone explain what QAM is. I read it's "over the air digital cable signals". Does this mean you can pick them up without having cable?

thx :)

Like 8VSB, QAM is just a way to modulate a signal. It is more suited to cable instead of OTA TV because it does not sacrifice as much information for error checking and cable does not need as much since, of course, it is going down cables. The actual acronym means something like "Quad(something) Amplitude Modulation" but I have no idea what that means. You will also hear of 64 QAM and 256 QAM which also have to do with the amount of info in the signal used for error correction. The 256 flavor tends to be used for HDTV.

I don't think QAM is used for over the air broadcast TV and in the USA that is always done with the ATSC standard using the 8VSB modulation. So you can't currently pick up any QAM signals over the air, only on cable.

- Tom

Originally posted by ghjaxman
I guess we need pspun to update the first page with the QAM on TNT-HD. This is great that we finally got it.

Done, is it 1080i and DD5.1? I assumed it is.

It's 1080i and DD5.1 for me.

That is correct, It is a great thing to have. I may have to say with Comcast if they keep adding stations. I am also watching what D* does. Next year the picture will be clearer on who offers more HD.

Well, I stayed up late to watch the premier of Conan in HD. He made some great HD references on the show....too bad our local station only carried the letterbox version.

For you night owls...or those with HD Tivo or the like: I called WTLV. They confirmed that Conan is supposed to be broadcast in HD. Could not explain why last night's show wasn't. Was told they would make sure tech crew knew to flip the switch tonight.

Does anybody know a website that tells you what the major networks' schedule is on a night when a "sudden" presidential press conference is announced?

Like tonight. Checking the nets own websites, only nbc.com has any info. I know, from a mention during Foxnews, that Fox b'cast is carrying it, but no more than that. Is O.C. being pre-empted, or time-shifted to replace the silly crap from 9-10?

Jax, FL HD

Have any of you moved to Jax from another city and was able to keep your NY/LA HD feeds if you did not change your address with D*? I currently live in Ft. Lauderdale and I am receiving CBS/NBC and I would like to keep those channels if possible. I've been reading over the Jax thread and it seems at times you guys have issues with your stations. I plan to move to Jax in the fall and i want to get any idea of what the HD offerings are like. It appears that I would be leaving a more reliable HD DD 5.1 feeds(fox, nbc, cbs, wb, upn, pbs, abc) that I receive with no problem. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Originally posted by rbutts14
Jax, FL HD

Have any of you moved to Jax from another city and was able to keep your NY/LA HD feeds if you did not change your address with D*? I currently live in Ft. Lauderdale and I am receiving CBS/NBC and I would like to keep those channels if possible. I've been reading over the Jax thread and it seems at times you guys have issues with your stations. I plan to move to Jax in the fall and i want to get any idea of what the HD offerings are like. It appears that I would be leaving a more reliable HD DD 5.1 feeds(fox, nbc, cbs, wb, upn, pbs, abc) that I receive with no problem. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Welcome.

The only stations in Jacksonville that broadcast DD 5.1 are Fox and occasionally PBS. Many of us (myself included) have had various degrees of success with antennae for OTA. There is always Comcast for a cable solution to locals. Even with the new bird successfully launched, Jacksonville will not be getting LIL from D* for some time.

There is no dedicated UPN station. It shares programming with the Fox affiliate and broadcasts programming starting at 11:00 PM, but unfortunately NOT in HD---So no Veronica Mars or Enterprise in HD :(

Enterprise is soon to be history anyway. I'll miss it but not as much as when I lived in Detroit and had it in HD.

But I'm really torn about Veronica Mars. It's currently the last SD show I watch and I'm always tempted to go try to download it in HD somewhere rather than record the unpredictably timed Fox low def version.

- Tom

I guess we can hope that TNT will play reruns of Enterprise in HD and then I can record them then. That is the best hope for it. Now we could just get WB to be added to Comcast that would be great. Any word on that?

i would rather have universal HD than WB. I dont know if comcast will ever get the WB in HD after speaking to WJWB's engineer.

Why do you think Comcast would never have WB in HD?

I love the fact that they added TNTHD recently--the playoff games are excellent.

I would probably get more use of Comcast WBHD than some of the other networks because I sometimes stil get OTA reception breakups recording WB for some reason. With very solid OTA reception on the other channels (except UPN :( ) I'd hardly miss them from Comcast except for the convenient DVR.

- Tom

What is the deal with the Smart Card slot in the Comcast HD-DVR? Do I need to get one? I've never used one before and thus don't have a clue as to what it does...

Would love to see Universal HD, WB HD, and HD.net added.

Comcast is also currenly starting the digital simulcast for our area on channel 2 hbo and 59 history channel (they look fantastic). Hopefully it wont be long before the remainder are simulcast also.

Looks like ESPN is no longer in the HD clear. I can no longer get the Comcast signal on cable QAM 102-01. Can anyone else confirm? I'm really going to miss Sunday Night Football on ESPN in HD.

My fiance's parents live out at neptune beach. they were forced to upgrade to digital cable, which is being installed today. Comcast said that her parents would lose some channels if they did not. It looks like some channels will be moved June 1st to digital.

Was anyone else getting a breakup of PBS last night?

What effect (if any) will the requirement for the top 4 networks DTV to go full power July, 2005 have on us?

What effect (if any) will the requirement for the top 4 networks DTV to go full power July, 2005 have on us?

Dunno. But the only station I sometimes currently have trouble with is the WB since I'm due east of their directional antenna. Anybody know if they are at a low power level currently?

- Tom

edit: oops, theyaren't big 4 anyway. drat!

Tom, from an email I received from George Birnbaum over at WB, they are scheduled to go full power - "Spring 2006"

Dunno. But the only station I sometimes currently have trouble with is the WB since I'm due east of their directional antenna. Anybody know if they are at a low power level currently?

- Tom

edit: oops, theyaren't big 4 anyway. drat!

Okay. Mostly I get WB okay anyway, depending on the weather. But when it's raining and the trees are blowing around then it breaks up a bit. This is fairly annoying on my timer recordings of Smallville & Everwood.

- Tom

I got an email back from George yesterday about Media General and Comcast. He said there is communication but no end in sight regarding an agreement for WBHD. This is better news because last october communication was closed.

Okay. Mostly I get WB okay anyway, depending on the weather. But when it's raining and the trees are blowing around then it breaks up a bit. This is fairly annoying on my timer recordings of Smallville & Everwood.

- Tom

Your WB is my FOX. For some reason, it is the hardest for me to lock in reliably OTA here in Fruit Cove. I had hoped that the new HD 250 DVR I just bought (hey, the price dropped $300) would help, but it is still subject to breakups.

Too bad we are 52 in DMA. Probably will not see D* HD LIL for a while.

Looks like ESPN is no longer in the HD clear. I can no longer get the Comcast signal on cable QAM 102-01. Can anyone else confirm? I'm really going to miss Sunday Night Football on ESPN in HD.

I can confirm that. No more ESPN HD in the clear. I even re-scanned and checked every channel. Think it will come back?

DR Jax: Do you notice all the audio dropouts that constantly occur on Fox HD QAM? Most of the time, the audio dropouts on Fox HD make the channel virtually unwatchable. It seems this is the only QAM channel I have this problem on.....

I noticed a week or so ago I couldn't get it anymore, not even on my Comcast PVR. I'm not a sports fan and don't watch it anyway but that still sort of sucks since I think Comcast is being charged about $3 each for ALL subscribers.

I'd feel a bit more cheated if I'd actually ever watched it but that is still a good reason for wanting a la carte pricing.

- Tom (who wants his $3 back)

For those of us with antenna it is getting harder to pull in channel 12and 25.I understand they are on reduced power.Does anyone know when they will resume full power?Thanks for any info:Quinton from ST.Augustine.

In July, 2005 the "big 4" network local stations are supposed to go full power.

I do have dropouts on FOX, but I only get about 3 in an hour now. It got better after I replaced a cable and reseated some connections. My NBC and ABC signals were actually worse before, now FOX is the worst but watchable.

I honestly did not think I would be getting these symptoms with a digital cable connection. In this regard, the old technology (analog) is better than the new technology (digital). Go figure.


I can confirm that. No more ESPN HD in the clear. I even re-scanned and checked every channel. Think it will come back?

DR Jax: Do you notice all the audio dropouts that constantly occur on Fox HD QAM? Most of the time, the audio dropouts on Fox HD make the channel virtually unwatchable. It seems this is the only QAM channel I have this problem on.....

Hey Guys, would anyone be interested in purchasing Irwin Marquee Theatre chairs. I have 8 chairs, I will probably keep two, but may sell them all or just a few. My wife has re-upholstered the fabric (Burgandy/Corduroy) and we have painted the metal/plastic black (Krylon Fusion)?

If anyone is interested let me know. See Attached Pics.

Reason for the upgrade - I am looking at getting either Berklines or Coaster seating.

Thanks.

Anyone know what the holdup is DS'ing the remainder of analog channels? Currently we have 2 channel 2 HBO and channel 59 History Channel. Those have been DS'ed for about a month now.


Was hoping to see a more agressive schedule. Anyone here know anything that would care to share?

Thanks,

Jeremy

Out at the beach Ive noticed a better picture quality on regular tv. I dont know how to tell if they are digital or not though.

You should see the Dolby Digital symbol when you press info, another way to find out is by turning off the cable box and pressing POWER AND MENU on the remote then option 6 for current channel status. Should tell you analog or digital.

Hey - guys as all of you might have seen, I am wanting to sell my Irwin Marquee seats to upgrade to more comfortable ones (ie Coaster - Director Collection) with that said "power" is offering a group buy for Coaster seating currently (opened yesterday) and I thought I would mention it here - as you will see these seats are deeply discounted. - Just thought I would point it out.

Check out the thread at:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5818820#post5818820

I have looked at several different kinds of seating, Berkline, Coaster, Palliser, Lane etc. but for the money - this just can't be beat -- anyone in Jax that wants to go see these chairs can go by Leather Ave on Philips Hwy just north of Shad Road and the theatre(Regal @ the Avenues 20) and see for yourself.

Just out of curiosity: since July 1st was supposed to the the "full power" day for the top 4 networks, does anyone know if our ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have made the change? I remember some folks were having problems with ABC and NBC on reduced power.

Peter - I have noticed that NBC/ABC now are in the high 90s were before they were in the 50-70s - Fox/CBS has always been 100 on my meter (Hughes E-86 clone)

Does anyone here use a UHF only antenna - like a Channel Master 4228 or 4221A?

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&CAT=&PROD=ANC4228

or

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&CAT=&PROD=SCM4221A

I have a 60" VHF/UHF Yagi antenna on a 35' mast currently.

My real problem is not my antenna as much as my wiring. From my antenna the rg6 runs 35' down to a grounding block, then 50' to my multiswitch (home run area) for my D* satelite wiring. From there I am splitting the signal (one into two) - and then combining both antenna outs with my D* (via diplexor) - where one runs 50+ feet back to one TV and the other runs 65+ feet to another room.

I realize the best solution would be NOT to diplex and run separate line (for antenna/dish) to each TV, but let's throw that out of the mix for now.

To complicate matters worse in my media room I run the diplexed signal into a Panamax 5100 then out to another diplexor to split the signal for my D* receiver.

Typically I have been getting most channels with the exception of WB fine, but lately I have been having issues with PBS and since I introduced the Panamax into the mix in my media room I do not recieve ABC but my other room does (it has to be the Panamax)

Any suggestions - Preamps, attenuators etc......

Thanks for the suggestions/help. As far as a new antenna is concerned I wouldn't mind trying a UHF only Channel Master but thought I would get some feed back locally.

Does anyone here use a UHF only antenna - like a Channel Master 4228 or 4221A?

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&CAT=&PROD=ANC4228

or

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&CAT=&PROD=SCM4221A

I have a 60" VHF/UHF Yagi antenna on a 35' mast currently.

My real problem is not my antenna as much as my wiring. From my antenna the rg6 runs 35' down to a grounding block, then 50' to my multiswitch (home run area) for my D* satelite wiring. From there I am splitting the signal (one into two) - and then combining both antenna outs with my D* (via diplexor) - where one runs 50+ feet back to one TV and the other runs 65+ feet to another room.

I realize the best solution would be NOT to diplex and run separate line (for antenna/dish) to each TV, but let's throw that out of the mix for now.

To complicate matters worse in my media room I run the diplexed signal into a Panamax 5100 then out to another diplexor to split the signal for my D* receiver.

Typically I have been getting most channels with the exception of WB fine, but lately I have been having issues with PBS and since I introduced the Panamax into the mix in my media room I do not recieve ABC but my other room does (it has to be the Panamax)

Any suggestions - Preamps, attenuators etc......

Thanks for the suggestions/help. As far as a new antenna is concerned I wouldn't mind trying a UHF only Channel Master but thought I would get some feed back locally.


That's interesting that you are having problems with PBS....I've been noticing a lot of breakup lately....wonder if something is going on at the station...or a new building is suddenly in the signal path!!!

My problem child is still WAWS. I have to have a second antenna mounted in the garage (actually it is just a pair of rabbit ears) just to get it. I then use a radio shack AB switch to flip between the master antenna and rabbit ears. Man, this is so 1960's! The only real problem with that setup is if I set the HD DVR to record a FOX program and forget to flip the switch. Personally, I can't wait for LIL from D*.

HD gone from 7.1? Noticed a Capitol Fourth wasn't carried in HD. Tonight nothing either and they were running all subchannels.

Does anyone here use a UHF only antenna - like a Channel Master 4228 or 4221A?

I get decent reception on most channels with a UHF antenna with preamp in my attic. But it took so much fiddling to get the right location and direction for WB that I would have been better with a rooftop rotor. I own one but didn't want to install it in my current rental.

My only current problem is that to get the real sweet spot for WB I get spotty PBS reception now, though it used to work with that same antenna. But I absolutely must have Smallville HD and the WB isn't on Comcast HD.

- Tom

Peter - I noticed the same thing with PBS - multicasing with all four channels and no HD on PBS for the last few days - I hope that is not going to remain that way.

Tom - thanks for the help. I have decided to run dedicated Antenna lines to each of my rooms so far I have to the room the closest to my antenna - 50' run and no I get all my channels strong (even WB - at 60%)

Jeff,
I was just reading in another thread that apparently PBS doubled the price for their HD feeds, and a number of local stations have decided not to continue carrying it.

Bummer :(

Heya Guys,
I just installed an outdoor antenna in the attic, I am now booming signal strength from all channels except channel 12. Are they running on reduced power right now?

Not that I am aware of. You may need to tweak the aiming of the antenna. Believe it or not, I have a tolerance of about 1/2" that makes the difference between getting a signal and not on certain stations.

Shoot... exactly what I didn't want to hear. I guess I will just live without NBC in HD. As I move the antenna around now I lose other stations, but I never seem to get above 50 on the meter for channel 12 no matter where I point it. I guess I may try an amplifier to see if I can boost it up a bit.

Thanks for the info...

Well, not that it helps, but my problem child is Fox, 30-1 (32-1).

I have aimed the attic antenna so that all of the other stations lock solid. For Fox, I have had to install a small rabbit ears antenna in the garage. When I want to watch it, I use a remote controlled AB switch from Radio Shack. It is a ridiculous arrangement, but it will do until D* offers LIL here in Jacksonville.

I have to sell my 42'' Panasonic plasma.I have the 2003 TH-42PA20 enhanced definition model. It has been a great set.Original cost was 4000.00.I am going to ask 1200.00 for it .Is this a fair price?I know prices have come down a long way since I bought it.Thanks for any advice on selling it.

anyone have any idea on what hdppv is on ch 165 for comcast? nothing is actually there.

anyone have any idea on what hdppv is on ch 165 for comcast? nothing is actually there.


Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I think they usually activate that channel for HD ppv sporting events. Last time I saw it, it was for some big boxing game. Once the event airs, they shut it back down.

This just in from WTLV engineering:

"We have activated 12-2 to carry NBC WeatherPlus starting in a week or so. I’ve got bars and tone up now for testing.
If anyone asks, now you can let them know what we’re doing. WeatherPlus is a 24/7 weather channel with local and network content."


Enjoy, folks! :)

Thanks Don sounds good! The more HD channels the merrier. Now I can pinpoint those afternoon storms in detail :)