Hey guys, I was asked to post this over here instead of the main forum.

I live in North Monroe.

Ok I've been doing alot of research, but I cannot decide which Antenna to get.

My antennaweb and tvfool reports are attached.

I have outlined the channels I would like to get on the antennaweb report. There are some analog and some digital. Its also a mix of UHF and VHF.

So for one I know I'll need a multi directional antenna that does both UHF and VHF. I know I want to get a preamp to go with it as well.

Could someone tell me what to pick up that would allow me to get all of those channels? Maybe give me the highend and the midrange? pricewise.

I'm very new to this so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

I personally would go with a Channel Master 4228 Antenna and a 7777 preamp. This Antenna will pull in upper VHF good (CHANNEL 7 Monroe) and does great on UHF. You can get this Antenna shipped for Approx 80 bucks.

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm

Don't forget about solidsignal.com. They ship faster and do returns without restocking fees.

KTVE-DT seems to have a hosed encoder. I normally don't watch but my "local" NBC (KARK-DT 32) is airing pre-game razorback programming up here. Despite a strong signal, lots of macroblocking this morning during Today and also noticed on the radar channel (10-2).

If the rumor is true that KARD-DT got the signal running full power, congrats. I'm unable to confirm since there is not tropo in the area (I got KARD analog and some Shreveport digitals yesterday).

For those in lower SE AR (Desha, Chicot, eastern Drew, eastern Ashley), and cannot get KARD-DT OTA WABG-DT (32) Greenwood MS is carrying the Cotton Bowl on subchannel 6-2 (SD though).

Ok, Dishnetwork and KTBS are in a little pissing match starting today. But why did dish have to take away the OTA guide info? I can still watch OTA, but now none of my shows will record!!! :rolleyes:

All it shows is "Important News-Press Info"

Ok, Dishnetwork and KTBS are in a little pissing match starting today. But why did dish have to take away the OTA guide info? I can still watch OTA, but now none of my shows will record!!! :rolleyes:

All it shows is "Important News-Press Info"

They've been in a pissing match for a while. They even moved KTBS to a CONUS transponder off of the spotbeam so the execs could see what they were bidding on. It's good that DishNetwork is sticking up for their customers. But of course we don't know the terms that had before and what they want now.

According to the Dish press release, KTBS is wanting a 300% increase in carrying charges. But again, that is according to Dish.

I hate these pissing contests. You can thank Nexstar Broadcast Group for this nonsense three years ago (KTAL vs Cable One, Cox). My parents living upstate in Arkansas faced the prospects of this with both KARK and KTHV with their cable co two years ago (there wasn't a blackout there, as the cable co and station groups came to an agreement)

Having read the KTBS website message board, its as if none of the posters have ever heard of OTA HDTV/DTV. They'd be pleasantly surprised but as long as nobody "takes away their stories (soaps)" why worry.

These same people are going to be in for a rude awakening in about 13 months. Having OTA antennas is cheaper in the long run than paying for E*'s inferior SD locals (unless you are out of coverage range for local stations). The HDTV is icing on the cake.

Most people think you have to subscribe to cable or satellite to get the local channels. "Antenna? What's that?" "How do you get HD on an antenna for free?" ;)

Ok, Dishnetwork and KTBS are in a little pissing match starting today. But why did dish have to take away the OTA guide info? I can still watch OTA, but now none of my shows will record!!! :rolleyes:

All it shows is "Important News-Press Info"

7014(4) - HLMRK [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar8 110W TP 11 ConUS beam (Available)

http://www.satelliteguys.us/1173815-post2.html

Was KTBS pulled and HLMRK put next to it for the subs in Shreveport?

Hello,
yesterday, KSLA's ATSC signal has been rebuilt from scratch, with the assistance of our Corporate DTV Guru.
May I ask everybody to rescan and report, especially the Samsung issue ?
Thank you very much.
During this procedure, we also spotted that our stat mux (http://www.answers.com/topic/statistical-multiplexing?cat=technology) was not allocating dynamically, so we forced in fixed bandwidth for now. This should have but a minimal effect on the picture quality, if any, because we lowered the Tube encoding bandwidth quite drastically and re-allocated that to 12.1
The good news is that I received confirmation that KSLA is slated for new encoding and remuxing equipment in march / april. In the meantime I'll keep our existing setup going as best as possible.
Keep me posted, thanks.
And a Happy New Year too :c)

Posted this on nelageo but I'll post here for those interested. Got a RadioShack indoor/outdoor HDTV antenna (gray dish) and here is what we are seeing in North Monroe/Town & Country area. We are on Dish and the 13 "new" channels showed up in the guide (in yellow) after we did a rescan of local channels. Unfortunately the 12.x channels are not included in the Monroe Dish plan so we don't get detailed guide for those.

- KNOE 8.1 (CBS HD) -- Signal strength roughly 75 - 80% (no dropped signal yet)
- KNOE 8.2 (CW SD?)

- KTVE 10.1 (NBC HD) -- Signal strength 100% (no dropped signal yet)
- KTVE 10.2 (Radar)

- KETZ 12.1 -- Hit or miss..was getting in around 70% but no channel guide for Dish/Monroe anyway
- KETZ 12.2
- KETZ 12.3
- KETZ 12.4 (ARK PBS HD?)

- KLTM 13.1 (LA PBS SD) -- Signal strength 80 - 85% (no drop-out yet)
- KLTM 13.3 (LA PBS alternate?)
- KLTM 13.5 (LA PBS HD)

- KARD 14.1 (FOX HD) -- Signal strength 70 - 80% (no drop-out yet)

- KMCT 39.2 (Forgot to check the signal strength here)

ABC (KAQY?) isn't broadcasting HD yet.

HD in Monroe is looking bright thanks to Joe Holland for all his 'hired gun' work for the different networks! KARD/FOX looked great during the football games.

PS Prior to setting up the antenna we were using $5 rabbit ears from Wal-mart and we could get KTVE & KLTM without any drop-out but it was nice to be able to add KNOE and KARD and not get any signal break-up (so far).

In the spring when we're back in Monroe, we'll probably swap out this for a CM 4228 but right now, this is working ok as a stop-gap. The antenna is about 8 ft off the ground and the yard has alot of 40-50ft high trees so once the leaves are back in the spring, we might not get as good of a signal.

Will the rebuild help those of use with audio-video sync issues ?? Will a rescan help us ??
thanks



Hello,
yesterday, KSLA's ATSC signal has been rebuilt from scratch, with the assistance of our Corporate DTV Guru.
May I ask everybody to rescan and report, especially the Samsung issue ?
Thank you very much.
During this procedure, we also spotted that our stat mux (http://www.answers.com/topic/statistical-multiplexing?cat=technology) was not allocating dynamically, so we forced in fixed bandwidth for now. This should have but a minimal effect on the picture quality, if any, because we lowered the Tube encoding bandwidth quite drastically and re-allocated that to 12.1
The good news is that I received confirmation that KSLA is slated for new encoding and remuxing equipment in march / april. In the meantime I'll keep our existing setup going as best as possible.
Keep me posted, thanks.
And a Happy New Year too :c)

Posted this on nelageo but I'll post here for those interested. Got a RadioShack indoor/outdoor HDTV antenna (gray dish) and here is what we are seeing in North Monroe/Town & Country area...
- KETZ 12.1 -- Hit or miss..was getting in around 70% but no channel guide for Dish/Monroe anyway
- KETZ 12.2
- KETZ 12.3
- KETZ 12.4 (ARK PBS HD?)
...In the spring when we're back in Monroe, we'll probably swap out this for a CM 4228 but right now, this is working ok as a stop-gap. The antenna is about 8 ft off the ground and the yard has alot of 40-50ft high trees so once the leaves are back in the spring, we might not get as good of a signal.

KETZ (which i've never logged since the LR CBS station KTHV-DT also uses ch 12) is parallel of KETS-DT (the AETN digital flagship).

2-1 (or 12-1 for KETZ) // of KETS analog (2-1 or 12-1 in your area switches to HD when there is HD programming but its rare. AETN prefers to do SD multicasting.

2-2 (12-2) Create (daytime), PBS World (evenings)
2-3 (12-3) AETN Scholar--mainly older AETN documentries, and instructional programming.

2-4 (12-4) AETN Kids--locally produced, but previously carried PBS Kids before that network's demise.

All these channels operate 24/7 unless there is HDTV programming then subchannels n-2 through n-4 (http://www.aetn.org/pbsx/) go off (black screen). Not sure if there is 5.1 passthrough on KETZ during HD but there is on KETS.

After 2/17/2009, KETZ-DT will revert to ch 10 (and KETS-DT will switch to ch 7).

Hello,
yesterday, KSLA's ATSC signal has been rebuilt from scratch, with the assistance of our Corporate DTV Guru.
May I ask everybody to rescan and report, especially the Samsung issue ?
Thank you very much.
During this procedure, we also spotted that our stat mux (http://www.answers.com/topic/statistical-multiplexing?cat=technology) was not allocating dynamically, so we forced in fixed bandwidth for now. This should have but a minimal effect on the picture quality, if any, because we lowered the Tube encoding bandwidth quite drastically and re-allocated that to 12.1
The good news is that I received confirmation that KSLA is slated for new encoding and remuxing equipment in march / april. In the meantime I'll keep our existing setup going as best as possible.
Keep me posted, thanks.
And a Happy New Year too :c)

KSLA looks great, looking forward to the playoff game Sunday.

No program info on KTBS/KPXJ for weeks now? KMSS info will be an hour behind always it seems.

KARD stronger than KNOE/KTVE here. 2 Mw? Electric bill gotta be insane.

KTAL asleep at the switch during the high school all-star game. KETK in HD. The opposite was true during Leno/Conan last night.

2 NFL playoff games begin shortly on NBC. Thankfully the rest of the playoffs are on CBS/FOX.

Beginning of the Redskins-Seahawks game, center dialog channel missing from BOTH KTAL and KETK. Network problem? I switched over to the crappy D* LIL feed of KETK. Checked the HD feeds sometime in the first quarter and center channel was back on both stations.

Thanks Windham9.
Concerning KETK I know that they had an issue with their Network HD receiver right before the Patriot games, nothing they did wrong tho.
Re-scaning is always a good thing, it flushes the PSI / PID tables in the receiver.
Anybody else with Samsung issues ?
Thanks for all your help !

Unfortunately the 12.x channels are not included in the Monroe Dish plan so we don't get detailed guide for those.



They don't feed guide info just for your area. As long as you have locals on your account you'll get the guide info for any local station in the US that they have the DT guide info for. Send an email to dishquality@echostar.com stating your guide does not work for this channel.

Watching KSLA SD-Ten game today, sync looks good so far, will wait till halftime to check how it is with the talking heads in the studio.

Anybody else with Samsung issues ?
Thanks for all your help !MY father's Samsung LNS3238D is now working!!! Great work. No more green bars on KSLA!!!! But as we were watching the TEN/SD game it was/is macro-blocking like crazy when the action really picks up. Even when they blast the NFL logo on the screen. Thought it might be his set up because he needs a better antenna.

Went home and checked my setup and it is doing the same thing for my OTA. 96% signal strength. It has to be a KSLA issue because, let us just say that I heard, ;) the HD feed from CBS over the satellite is doing a little macro-blocking, but not near as bad as OTA in Shreveport.

Unfortunately the 12.x channels are not included in the Monroe Dish plan so we don't get detailed guide for those.

If the channel will scan in you should still get the guide even though it is out of the Monroe market. You do have Dish Network correct? And you pay for the local package?

If so, then should get the OTA guide for channel 12. Dish's system does not limit you in that way.

Was KTBS pulled and HLMRK put next to it for the subs in Shreveport?
Yes, according to my brother Hallmark is being offered in its place.

Any of you guys using a 4228 in an attic?

Well, folks, the KSLA Engineer has finally made magic. My Philips LCD can now tune 12.1 successfully! Way to go. (I think you fixed it before I got my new Samsung 61" LED/DLP to the house.)

Dude!

Watching the LSU game on Fox tonight. Too much compression!!!!!! (Nasty grass, grainy, flickering spectators...so disappointing.)

Watched part of the game tonight. The quality was better than KSLA last night. But I understand they are tweaking the signal.

As for the flashing colored lights on the Superdome..... did FEMA pay for that? :cool: :D

ksla engineer. Just an FYI. Lip sync issues on my recording of tonight's Two and a Half Men.

ksla, same for CSI Miami on OTA. Lip sync off and video grainy. Vid was grainy in Two and a Half Men too.

CSI observations were live and not recorded.

Thanks for the feedback, Steve_Smith, I'm glad this one is over.
Ronald_Jeremy, as far as lipsync, do you hear audio ahead or behind, and by how much ?
Thanks

Wind!...


Are you truly in Center, TX... If so you must have one HECK of an antenna system


Yes all KARD-DT HD is on the air... Comcast is having their normal problem of getting it on the cable system. Every off air antenna in the market is picking it up fine, Sudden Link has included it into their line up and says that it looks great... Good PQ and SNR. But Comcast just can't get the signal. Go figure.... of course they get marginal on about everything they have in HD with the exception of CNN-HD...

HOW DO YOU LIKE FOX IN 19mps

Two under my belt now....

KTVE-DT
KARD-DT

Gonna have to slow down... I know the chief and the person that designed KTAL's rack, I'll give em a call

Cheers!

Joe

Wind!...


Are you truly in Center, TX... If so you must have one HECK of an antenna system


Yes all KARD-DT HD is on the air... Comcast is having their normal problem of getting it on the cable system. Every off air antenna in the market is picking it up fine, Sudden Link has included it into their line up and says that it looks great... Good PQ and SNR. But Comcast just can't get the signal. Go figure.... of course they get marginal on about everything they have in HD with the exception of CNN-HD...

HOW DO YOU LIKE FOX IN 19mps

Two under my belt now....

KTVE-DT
KARD-DT

Gonna have to slow down... I know the chief and the person that designed KTAL's rack, I'll give em a call

Cheers!

Joe

Joe,
In the city of Center, high spot. CM 3671 & 7777 @ 40', no trees that side helps too. Most nights I get KTVE/KNOE and now KARD, yea the bowl games looked great. Sometimes the weather isn't right and it won't stay in, when right I get Jackson, MS. Also KALB sometimes.
Too bad CM quit making those quantum antennas, Years ago I had the monster, moved and left it. 3671 crossfire is the best deep fringe anymore.
Thanks for all the hard work, OTA HDTV took much time, money and work to get here. Worth every penny.
Brad

also, KSLA-DT been off over an hour. Analog still up. Those guys been working hard there lately, fixed an old glitch. May be tweaking something, also bad weather today might have??

Ronald_Jeremy, as far as lipsync, do you hear audio ahead or behind, and by how much ?
ThanksI am travelling and I don't have a good enough internet connection to get a good quality signal from my slingbox. When I get back in town I will let you know.

Noticed lip syncs still on Letterman better than it was with audio now less than 1/2 to 3/4 second prior to video. Noticed when a person first begins to talk or ending their conversation. Also noticed lip sync on CBS prime time last night, but it was closer on target than Letterman. Was at home doing work this morning-- tuned in briefly to Young & Restless it was closer to balance than Letterman, but audio was still ahead of video.

HOW DO YOU LIKE FOX IN 19mps

Two under my belt now....

KTVE-DT
KARD-DT

Gonna have to slow down... I know the chief and the person that designed KTAL's rack, I'll give em a call

Cheers!

Joe

Wish you'd come teach the yo-yo's in Baton Rouge that 1080i at 11.5mbps doesn't look good.

http://i15.tinypic.com/7wgiqrt.jpg

17.66 mps sure looks nice! Has to set a record... Before this, the highest was KTVE @ 15.33 mps... both look excellent! Joe, I hope Nexstar realizes what an asset they have in you and you have received at least a few thank your from your supervisors!

You said that Suddenlink has added KARD to their HD lineup? Is that true for Suddenlink in El Dorado? One of my managers at work has HD through Suddenlink, and if KARD-HD has been added, I'd like to make sure he knows it!

Sudden link has added it on channel 705 for El Dorado, Ruston, and Bastrop.

Wow... Nice program you have there Keith! Thanks for the Props!


Joe

Sudden link has added it on channel 705 for El Dorado, Ruston, and Bastrop.

Wow... Nice program you have there Keith! Thanks for the Props!


Joe

TSReader is the bomb... Use it all the time. You'd cry if you saw some snapshots from here. ;)

http://www.digiblur.com/garbage/wafb.PNG

digiblur, I still can't believe WAFB is doing four subchannels! But hey, look at the bright side, at least it's not as bad as KALB! :)

KARD & KTVE blazing in last night at 95-98%, 32.3 ABC in Mississippi was solid too.

digiblur, I still can't believe WAFB is doing four subchannels! But hey, look at the bright side, at least it's not as bad as KALB! :)

It's close! I had the chance to flip between KALB's CBS feed and KLFY CBS in Lafayette during CSI Miami. WOW! KALB's CBS feed can't even keep up with a slow camera pan during a drama scene without very annoying and noticeable bit starving.

Joe,

KARD-DT is making it to Star City AR this morning (1/11/2008), and I venture its a strong signal since analogs KNOE and KLTM aren't even showing up, and KARD-14 is in but snowy. Nice TOH ID BTW.

Received via Hisense DB2010 rcvr--4th gen tuner in hamshack and CM 4228/CM 7777 preamp (w/4 element VHF log array)

Just thought I'd pass the news that the broadcast tower for KATV Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Little Rock, collapsed this afternoon at the site in Redfield, AR.. about 20 miles south of Little Rock. Both KATV analog and KATV-HD are gone. The signal for KETS Channel 2, the flagship station for AETN (AR PBS) is gone, as well. Their analog signal was on the same tower, but the transmitter for KETS-DT was on another tower down the road, so they are unaffected.

This collapse reminds me of when KLTV's tower collapsed.... both collapses were very surprising. KATV is back on D* as of the 10:00 news...which is a good sign... it will still be a long time before OTA is restored, I imagine.

For for info, visit KATV.com (http://www.katv.com)

Hello,
we worked on the lip sync during Letterman last night, should be good now.
Please let us know. Also, I confirm KSLA went of the air from 5:25 until 7:00 pm on Jan 8th, we had a bad phase meter in the transmitter. It is bypassed for now, and will be changed this week.

Thanks

KSLA-Eng,

Can I get the KSLA transmission in high definition with a reasonably sized antennae here in southwestern Arkansas? The AntennaeWeb service says it is doubtful. Also, what is the resolution of your high definition transmision? Thank you.

Just thought I'd pass the news that the broadcast tower for KATV Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Little Rock, collapsed this afternoon at the site in Redfield, AR.. about 20 miles south of Little Rock. Both KATV analog and KATV-HD are gone. The signal for KETS Channel 2, the flagship station for AETN (AR PBS) is gone, as well. Their analog signal was on the same tower, but the transmitter for KETS-DT was on another tower down the road, so they are unaffected.

This collapse reminds me of when KLTV's tower collapsed.... both collapses were very surprising. KATV is back on D* as of the 10:00 news...which is a good sign... it will still be a long time before OTA is restored, I imagine.

For for info, visit KATV.com (http://www.katv.com)

Not good news for those in the Little Rock market. It took KLTV about 14 months to get their Red Springs tower put back up. Fortunately, KLTV still had use of their original 1955 tower in east Tyler that they were able to move both their analog and digital signals to with just a small decrease in coverage. I suspect that KATV is working on getting their OTA back on the air at a temporary facility, but probably at reduced power.

KSLA Engineer-- Watched part of the Comanche Moon movie-- Audio (based on three viewers eyes) is still ahead of the video. You are narrowing gap. Curious to see what Letterman looks like, will see on Thursday (out of town till then). More noticable when a person begins or ends mouth movement. More noticable as well on a larger set 50" (see it more), than my 19"HDTVs. Curious to see what other forum member observations are ?
thanks for continuing to work on the issue.

Not good news for those in the Little Rock market. It took KLTV about 14 months to get their Red Springs tower put back up. Fortunately, KLTV still had use of their original 1955 tower in east Tyler that they were able to move both their analog and digital signals to with just a small decrease in coverage. I suspect that KATV is working on getting their OTA back on the air at a temporary facility, but probably at reduced power.

Since some areas in the northern fringes of SHV, and Monroe/El Dorado received KETS and KATV, i'll update.....

KATV is on D*, E* (with very poor quaility), and as a digital subchannel via KWBF-DT RF 44 Little Rock (42-3). OTA ABC-HD is toast in my home market for the next few months at least. KETS-DT (PBS/AETN) is still operating but AETN still wants to broadcast analog though.

When I read about KLTV's rebuild taking 14 months, and the current demand for tower workers/contractors its unlikely KATV will transmit analog OTA from this point, unless its from a leased or temporary tower. HD/ATSC will wait for the new tower though. Given though that KATV is already back on several Central Arkansas cable systems and LIL D*,E* , the priority will likely be digital broadcasting OTA, maybe.

Ace-Mineral,
Texarkana is on the fringe, you will need some serious equipment I believe. Other users will be of more help. Being a CBS affiliate, KSLA 12.1 is 1080i.
I49mobile,
I will wait until Thursday and for possibly more input before proceeding with further adjustments on lip sync issues.
Thank you all for your help.

Our fellow member, a KSLA engineer, has really worked hard to correct several known issues that members of this forum have observed.

Let's give him our constructive opinions on where KSLA is on lip sync and post to this forum. Please watch several CBS programs on KSLA during the week of January 14 and week of Jan 21 (Letterman, Young & Restless, CSI, etc) and post your comments on the forum.

Indicate date, program watched, size of your HDTV screen, and how far off audio to video is (pay attention to when a person on a close up begins to speak or ends their talk). Personally, I have noticed Letterman to be one of the best to view lip sync issues.

thanks !!!!
Steve

Our fellow member, a KSLA engineer, has really worked hard to correct several known issues that members of this forum have observed.

Let's give him our constructive opinions on where KSLA is on lip sync and post to this forum. Please watch several CBS programs on KSLA during the week of January 14 and week of Jan 21 (Letterman, Young & Restless, CSI, etc) and post your comments on the forum.

Indicate date, program watched, size of your HDTV screen, and how far off audio to video is (pay attention to when a person on a close up begins to speak or ends their talk). Personally, I have noticed Letterman to be one of the best to view lip sync issues.

thanks !!!!
Stevei49,you are correct. Good post.

I feel bad for busting his balls because of his boss's rejections that they had a problem. Hell, I even accused him of being Ted. We can only hope that ksla engineer becomes the boss. He obviously cares.

On the lip sync issue, watching NCIS tonight, lip sync is off by fractions of a second. My brain can't measure it in exact milliseconds, but it is there. 1 hr 3 minute long recording with 36:42 left. Jethro, the director, and an FBI dude are discussing "three dollar words". Watch their lips.

It is very noticeable. Audio lags behind video by fractions.

51" Rear projection Hitachi. OTA recorded video played back off of Dish Network VIP-622 from 12-1. I rarely watch live TV anymore. :D Don't tell Ted that part. He will blame it on DishNetwork's equipment even though I tell him that KSLA is the only one having a problem of all the Ark-La-Tex stations. Even when you invoke "KTAL can get it right!!" LOL :p

KSLA-Engineer--- On Thursday, Jan 17 watched parts of CSI at 8pm CST, Without a Trace at 9pm, and now Letterman. Audio-Video sync appears to be worse than it was before Christmas with audio before video. Watched on 50" plasma and one 19" HD LCD (noticed it more on bigger screen). Were you making adjustments this week ?

I have tried to pin the audio issues down, but its very tough to do, I know when i tried to delay the audio it didnt fix it. So my thought is that the video is very slightly ahead of the audio. Or it was when I tried to get a fix on it. Maybe KSLA can get an HDTV in the station and watch what is coming from the antenna input. I was watching both thru my HR20 antenna OTA signal and thru the tv tuner, both were off the same amount. I was watching the football games, sorry there is nothing else on CBS that i have tried watch.

Ace-Mineral,
Texarkana is on the fringe, you will need some serious equipment I believe. Other users will be of more help. Being a CBS affiliate, KSLA 12.1 is 1080i.
I49mobile,
I will wait until Thursday and for possibly more input before proceeding with further adjustments on lip sync issues.
Thank you all for your help.

KSLA sync has been very good in HD on my Sony & JVC. It was off today during a local ad, but the next ad was fine. The recent adjustments have been great for both my sets. Sony seems to be the best ATSC tuner, IMO.

Watch Letterman again on Friday, Jan 18 noticed sync issue. Watched half time of Ohio State vrs TN Vols. noticed sync issue.

Please don't forget to help our KSLA engineer out by giving your thoughts on lip Sync and the direction you think the lip sync is. (Audio prior to video) or (video prior to audio). I know the majority agree that it is off and I know when you get to milliseconds it gets to be a tough decision, but give it your best shot on the direction. Thanks !



Our fellow member, a KSLA engineer, has really worked hard to correct several known issues that members of this forum have observed.

Let's give him our constructive opinions on where KSLA is on lip sync and post to this forum. Please watch several CBS programs on KSLA during the week of January 14 and week of Jan 21 (Letterman, Young & Restless, CSI, etc) and post your comments on the forum.

Indicate date, program watched, size of your HDTV screen, and how far off audio to video or video to audio is (pay attention to when a person on a close up begins to speak or ends their talk). Personally, I have noticed Letterman to be one of the best to view lip sync issues.

thanks !!!!
Steve

From what I could tell yesterday watching the NFL pregame and the game, video was ahead of the audio on KSLA. Not a lot, maybe a 1/4 of a second.

Tonight. KSLA. Letterman. Live TV. Audio lagging behind video by a fraction of a second. Only CBS TV I have watched tonight so only example. :D

Hey, anyone else here in Shreveport with Comcast?

Tonight, after work, I came home and noticed Sci-Fi HD, USA HD, and Discovery HD were not working. Not a "call to subscribe" message...just a gray screen. A couple of hours later, HGTV HD went away as well.

I tried unplugging the HD box...No go.

A call to Comcast (big surprise) gave me no results. Just a "we can send someone out in 4 days" answer.

Anyone else having Comcast HD problems?

Can someone tell me if it is possible to get the local channels in HD using just the analog cable without the box or card, if so how? I have the HD box but read in the forum that the signal would be better this way than through the set top box. Use HRC on both analog and digital? I tried splitting the signal but then seemed to have trouble getting channels on the set top HD box, is it ok to split the signal and should it still work? Thanks for any help.

Hello there. I have the HD package with comcast and, yes, you can get the locals in HD without using the box.

I'm using one of the splitters from Comcast (just go down to the office and ask)...then going into the box and into my Sony HDTV. The channel numbers are not always where you expect them, though.

My 45, for example, is channel 91.45...But KMSS is at 33.1.

And my HD's I lost last night are all back...Must have been a Comcast local issue.

FCC says that cable operators should NOT scramble local HD stations. For example, I live in Bossier and had Suddenlink internet until last week (switched to Bellsouth to try them out, cable internet was better). I did NOT subscribe to Suddenlink cable TV only internet, but I could connect a Suddenlink line to the built in tuner on my HDTVs and picked up via Suddenlink HD locals KTBS,KTAL, KSLA,etc . However, the only LPB station that I got was 24-5 their HD only station. The channel numbers when I told the set to scan were like 89-1, plus I got 35 or so music stations. I would buy and install an Over the air antenna. Go to solidsignal.com. Hope this helps.


Can someone tell me if it is possible to get the local channels in HD using just the analog cable without the box or card, if so how? I have the HD box but read in the forum that the signal would be better this way than through the set top box. Use HRC on both analog and digital? I tried splitting the signal but then seemed to have trouble getting channels on the set top HD box, is it ok to split the signal and should it still work? Thanks for any help.

The Suddenlink cable system her in El Dorado has ALL HD channels encrypted, including locals. When I emailed them about this, they said I had to rent a STB. Suffice to say, cable was dropped about a year ago. Maybe they finally decided to unscramble the locals... I hope so.

KTVE/KARD/KNOE strong here during the day yesterday. KPLC Lake Charles was solid last night!

I49 mobile, no I haven't got Dallas yet, probably a ridge blocking me, got some big trees on that side too.

Pulling in KLRT fox 16 nicely today.

Our KSLA Engineer and forum member has completed his latest round of video/audio adjustments as of the weekend of January 26,2008.

Please watch a COUPLE of CBS HD programs and post your comments on the forum as to whether you think (A) Audio/Video in balance the majority of the time or (B) you still see some imbalance (if noted indicate direction---audio ahead of video -- or ---- video ahead of audio.

thanks Steve

The Suddenlink cable system her in El Dorado has ALL HD channels encrypted, including locals. When I emailed them about this, they said I had to rent a STB. Suffice to say, cable was dropped about a year ago. Maybe they finally decided to unscramble the locals... I hope so.

Any instance of scrambling of local broadcast HD channels on cable should be reported by the viewer directly to the FCC.

Broadcasters have no standing to file these complaints so it's up to you guys!

Our KSLA Engineer and forum member has completed his latest round of video/audio adjustments as of the weekend of January 26,2008.

Please watch a COUPLE of CBS HD programs and post your comments on the forum as to whether you think (A) Audio/Video in balance the majority of the time or (B) you still see some imbalance (if noted indicate direction---audio ahead of video -- or ---- video ahead of audio.

thanks Steve
During lunch I checked my recording from last night of the SOTU on KSLA. Audio was lagging behind video by a fraction of a second. Popped over to live TV which was the news at noon. It was much more noticeable during the news broadcast. Audio lagging behind video but much more than last night.

I have an extra antenna if they need one so they can hook up a TV at the studio!! LOL :D

Any instance of scrambling of local broadcast HD channels on cable should be reported by the viewer directly to the FCC.

Broadcasters have no standing to file these complaints so it's up to you guys!



Thanks for the heads up, FOX44CE. I was led to believe that if cable companies offers the analog feeds of the locals, they didn't have to provide the DT version in the clear. That's why I didn't complain to the FCC. But, if you say they're suppose to in the clear, I'm getting my letter ready right now :)

KSLA Digital. The Unit, audio lagging behind video by a fraction of a second. Live TV.

Wow!! Letterman is worse than the news today.

1/4 second lag in audio at least!!!!!

Add a T-Rex to the background and some subtitles and I would swear I was watching the original Godzilla movie!!! :p

Thanks for the heads up, FOX44CE. I was led to believe that if cable companies offers the analog feeds of the locals, they didn't have to provide the DT version in the clear. That's why I didn't complain to the FCC. But, if you say they're suppose to in the clear, I'm getting my letter ready right now :)

They have the option pending retransmission consent to carry the Digital channel.

If they do carry it, it has to be receievable by a cable ready quam tuner and unmodified.

NOTE: For some insane reason, this rule does not apply to satellite delivery.

I agree with the comments with video slightly ahead of the audio with the latest update on Jan 25-- Letterman with the closer lip shots remains the benchmark to judge sync especially on a large screen HDTV. Interesting, watching the state of the union on KSLA,KMSS,KTBS, and KTAL all same feed ( I think it was CBS that did the broadcast for all networks this year) you could see sync issues with KSLA that you did NOT see with the other stations via OTA. I appreciate KSLA continuing to work to get it right.



Wow!! Letterman is worse than the news today.

1/4 second lag in audio at least!!!!!

Add a T-Rex to the background and some subtitles and I would swear I was watching the original Godzilla movie!!! :p

I was going through some of the screencaps I've taken of distant DT stations over the past few months, and came across one from WXXV-DT, the ABC affiliate for Waco, Texas.

http://i32.tinypic.com/314z4ig.jpg

Notice the sidebars for a 4:3 program. This is the only station I've noticed that actually utilizes the entire 16:9 screen, 24/7. Granted, it just a station logo, but I thought it was interesting. Personally, I think nice, because it provides constant station ID, and makes use of that extra space. I can see how the logos could distract some viewers, though. Just wanted to get some opinions from all of you. Honestly, I'm curious as to how difficult it is for a local station to do this? Tech-wise and cost-wise.

They have the option pending retransmission consent to carry the Digital channel.

If they do carry it, it has to be receievable by a cable ready quam tuner and unmodified.

NOTE: For some insane reason, this rule does not apply to satellite delivery.

Again, thanks for the info on this, FOX44CE. As I said, I dropped Suddenlink about a year ago, but one of my bosses has Suddenlink cable (analog), and an HDTV. Since Suddenlink now carries FOX-HD and CBS-HD on the system here, I was going to try and get him fixed up to watch the Superbowl in HD. I have a HD Receiver STB with a QAM tuner, so I was going try and hook up the box to his TV and hook up the cable to it. Last year when I checked out the QAM on Suddenlink, they only had the NBA preview channel unencrypted. Everything else was scrambled. I'm hoping since it's been a year, that maybe they've came around and made the locals available.


Does it make a difference if the local HD they carry are 70-80 miles away, and not receivable by an OTA antenna reliably? I ask this because they carry FOX and CBS-HD.. their respective transmitters are around 80 miles away... but NBC is also HD in the market, but their transmitter is "city grade" for my town, located 25 miles away, and easily receivable with a paperclip... yet Suddenlink does not carry their signal in HD. They've been in HD for over a year now. FOX just went HD on January 1st, and they added their signal right away. If the FOX and CBS HD signals aren't in the clear when I check tomorrow, should I write the FCC? And would it do any good?

Thanks again for the input on this. I would probably resubscribe to basic cable if they would just make these signals clear!

I was going through some of the screencaps I've taken of distant DT stations over the past few months, and came across one from WXXV-DT, the ABC affiliate for Waco, Texas.

Notice the sidebars for a 4:3 program. This is the only station I've noticed that actually utilizes the entire 16:9 screen, 24/7. Granted, it just a station logo, but I thought it was interesting. Personally, I think nice, because it provides constant station ID, and makes use of that extra space. I can see how the logos could distract some viewers, though. Just wanted to get some opinions from all of you. Honestly, I'm curious as to how difficult it is for a local station to do this? Tech-wise and cost-wise.

I dislike it, especially for the folks that have display types that can burn in.

That looks like what ESPN does.

I have to agree with digi, i dont like logos at all on any programming. I especially hate that on American Idol (I know, I know) KMSS has inserted a KMSS33 Logo. Albeit small, it is still annoying.

What is the point of having the logo anyways? If I wanted to know what station I was watching I would look at the info on the guide.

I was going through some of the screencaps I've taken of distant DT stations over the past few months, and came across one from WXXV-DT, the ABC affiliate for Waco, Texas.

http://i32.tinypic.com/314z4ig.jpg

Notice the sidebars for a 4:3 program. This is the only station I've noticed that actually utilizes the entire 16:9 screen, 24/7. Granted, it just a station logo, but I thought it was interesting. Personally, I think nice, because it provides constant station ID, and makes use of that extra space. I can see how the logos could distract some viewers, though. Just wanted to get some opinions from all of you. Honestly, I'm curious as to how difficult it is for a local station to do this? Tech-wise and cost-wise.

Personally I think it's annoying, but then I work for the competition and I'm biased. [KWKT FOX 44 is also in Waco................]

Again, thanks for the info on this, FOX44CE. As I said, I dropped Suddenlink about a year ago, but one of my bosses has Suddenlink cable (analog), and an HDTV. Since Suddenlink now carries FOX-HD and CBS-HD on the system here, I was going to try and get him fixed up to watch the Superbowl in HD. I have a HD Receiver STB with a QAM tuner, so I was going try and hook up the box to his TV and hook up the cable to it. Last year when I checked out the QAM on Suddenlink, they only had the NBA preview channel unencrypted. Everything else was scrambled. I'm hoping since it's been a year, that maybe they've came around and made the locals available.


Does it make a difference if the local HD they carry are 70-80 miles away, and not receivable by an OTA antenna reliably? I ask this because they carry FOX and CBS-HD.. their respective transmitters are around 80 miles away... but NBC is also HD in the market, but their transmitter is "city grade" for my town, located 25 miles away, and easily receivable with a paperclip... yet Suddenlink does not carry their signal in HD. They've been in HD for over a year now. FOX just went HD on January 1st, and they added their signal right away. If the FOX and CBS HD signals aren't in the clear when I check tomorrow, should I write the FCC? And would it do any good?

Thanks again for the input on this. I would probably resubscribe to basic cable if they would just make these signals clear!

Answer to Question 1: If you don't write then nothing happens.
Answer to question 2: Probably not, but it only costs 35 cents.

Unfortunately, side bars are here to stay, because although the FCC mandated that the broadcaster upgrade their transmission to Digital, nothing was decided or imposed in terms of format ratio. You all have noticed that Walmart still sells cheap DTV-enabled 4:3 Crt sets, even big ones. There is a Format fragmentation of the audience going on, but unlike the B/W to Color transition, this one is not backwards compatible.
Let's look at the local news in Hd issue for instance;
As an affiliate, "Station x" can invest a ton of money to upgrade their system and provide the viewing public with nice 16:9 1080i HD news. But what happens when they put graphics up that will not show on 4:3 sets because the viewers have the "zoom" feature on ? The station would get a load of irate phone calls. In other words, all that nice HD 16:9 "real estate" will be quite hard for the station to monetize as long as there are 4:3 sets out there spoiling the fun. You will notice that most scripted shows have absolutely nothing of interest visually in the side panels. The Today Show on NBC is quite obvious when you focus on it.
Anyways, personally I don't like side panels either.

ksla-eng, did you do some more tweaking on the audio issue? The news today at noon looked spot on!!! Good work. I will check Numbers tonight.

Unfortunately, side bars are here to stay, because although the FCC mandated that the broadcaster upgrade their transmission to Digital, nothing was decided or imposed in terms of format ratio. You all have noticed that Walmart still sells cheap DTV-enabled 4:3 Crt sets, even big ones. There is a Format fragmentation of the audience going on, but unlike the B/W to Color transition, this one is not backwards compatible.
Let's look at the local news in Hd issue for instance;
As an affiliate, "Station x" can invest a ton of money to upgrade their system and provide the viewing public with nice 16:9 1080i HD news. But what happens when they put graphics up that will not show on 4:3 sets because the viewers have the "zoom" feature on ? The station would get a load of irate phone calls. In other words, all that nice HD 16:9 "real estate" will be quite hard for the station to monetize as long as there are 4:3 sets out there spoiling the fun. You will notice that most scripted shows have absolutely nothing of interest visually in the side panels. The Today Show on NBC is quite obvious when you focus on it.
Anyways, personally I don't like side panels either.

All approved set top boxes and all existing cable boxes by default have the ability to display 16:9 HD in letterbox format.

At the end of the digital transition our HD newscasts [ComCorp stations] will utilize the entire 16:9 picture area for graphics.

I was visiting my daugter in Denver last month and noticed the the Denver HD newscasts already use the entire screen for graphics and weather.

If a 4:3 viewer wants to see it all he only has to push a button on the remote.

Hello Jeremy,
last tweaking done was 1/28 HD signal only, very slight delay added. Nothing since.
You have a very valid point, Fox44CE.
Again, thank you all for the help

Hello Jeremy,
last tweaking done was 1/28 HD signal only, very slight delay added. Nothing since.

Not sure why I was experiencing problems with SD as well earlier this week.

Checking "Moonlight" right now on Dish DVR OTA and there is still audio lag. Slight but there. Went to bedroom and watched a little back there. It is a straight connection from antenna to built-in tuner in HD LCD TV. Lag still there. You are very close.

Do you guys have a HDTV running from an antenna down there where you can watch the results of your tweaks?

Personally I think it's annoying, but then I work for the competition and I'm biased. [KWKT FOX 44 is also in Waco................]

Right after I posted my last message, it occurred to me that you were in Waco. Doesn't KWTX carry both CBS-HD and CW-HD on 10-1 and 10-2? How is the PQ on the two channels while HD is being broadcasted? I was led to believe that having two HD channels on one stream is a disaster.... is that the case with KWTX?

The Today Show on NBC is quite obvious when you focus on it.
Anyways, personally I don't like side panels either.

I've noticed the same thing with The Today Show. When in 16:9, all it shows is a wider view of the camera... anything of interest that can be seen in 16:9 can be safely seen with a 4:3 set.

ksla-Eng,

This is off topic, but I noticed that KSLA is looking for a weekday evening anchor. Just curious as to who is leaving... surely it cannot be Carl Pendley :eek:

I really wish I could get KSLA-HD from here in El Dorado, so I could assist in the sound issues, but I get strong adjacent-channel interference from an analog KNOE translator station on CH18 located only a half-mile away. Last summer, when lightning knocked out their translator for a week, I was able to get KSLA-HD every evening for primetime reliably. That was the first and only time I've been able to reliably watch CBS-HD via OTA. I'm hoping after February 2009 the interference problem will disappear with analog TV :D I'm currently able to receive all the SHV full power DTs every evening in time for network programming, save for KSLA-DT. I wrote a letter to KNOE about the problem, and of course they won't do anything... especially since I'd be trying to watch a better CBS affiliate.

They still don't get my viewership, though... I simply watch WCBS-DT on D* for my CBS programming... but nothing can beat OTA.

Ronald_Jeremy,
I agree we are getting close, and yes we are using several OTA Hd sets from different brands, along with broadcast ATSC demodulators (fancy name for a tuner he?) straight to HD CRT Monitors. At this stage, being so close, it becomes a "middle ground" thing because some sets are actually off right out of the box, and to top it off, no by the same value all the time.
I will wait a few more days to make sure everybody gets a chance to closely watch, both HD and SD and figure if audio is ahead or behind.
KeithAR2002,
Being only half a mile away from KNOE's translator, you very well may be out of luck; Did you try a notch filter ?
The low power translator status is not clear yet, they may be still here for a while. The DTV transition is mandatory for high power sticks only.
As for Carl, I can not comment, really. I suggest you give us a call during business hours and ask for the newsroom, and see what they tell you. 318-222-1212
You all have a great week end, I'm off to work at the Shreveport Parade.

broadcast ATSC demodulatorsThanks for the update. Hey, a 'broadcast ATSC demodulator'...... Isn't that what Marvin used to carry?? :p

http://www.officiallyscrewed.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/marvinmartian.jpg

Oops, my bad. That is a Space Modulator.

Hey, anyone else here in Shreveport with Comcast?

Tonight, after work, I came home and noticed Sci-Fi HD, USA HD, and Discovery HD were not working. Not a "call to subscribe" message...just a gray screen. A couple of hours later, HGTV HD went away as well.

I tried unplugging the HD box...No go.

A call to Comcast (big surprise) gave me no results. Just a "we can send someone out in 4 days" answer.

Anyone else having Comcast HD problems?

This may have something to do with the yellow notice letter that was mailed out over the past month stating they will be working to upgrade to fiber optic, replacing coaxial cable and amplifiers that should take till December 2008. I was able to get HGTV-HD, AE-HD, TBS-HD, Discovery-HD over my analog cable subscription in the 72-* 73-* range just a few weeks ago now nothing. I did notice channel 0 is AnimalPlanet-HD now. To my understanding I shouldn't be able to receive any of these without digital cable subscription with HD and cable cards but I can and have.

Hello Jeremy,
last tweaking done was 1/28 HD signal only, very slight delay added. Nothing since.
You have a very valid point, Fox44CE.
Again, thank you all for the help

Your welcome;
Good to hear from you again.............

Right after I posted my last message, it occurred to me that you were in Waco. Doesn't KWTX carry both CBS-HD and CW-HD on 10-1 and 10-2? How is the PQ on the two channels while HD is being broadcasted? I was led to believe that having two HD channels on one stream is a disaster.... is that the case with KWTX?

I was at a friends house and watched the Super Bowl last year on his 62" DLP.

We switched back and fourth between the Suepr Bowl [1080i] and CW [720p] and I saw no sign of pixleization on eathier one. Results were excellent.

Bear in mind again that they are the competirion when I say that.

A great accomplichment should be acnowledged wherever it comes from.

[Besides thier engineers started in the buisines working for me!]

By the way ksla-eng used to work for me too.......You just can't keep great engineers!

All approved set top boxes and all existing cable boxes by default have the ability to display 16:9 HD in letterbox format.

At the end of the digital transition our HD newscasts [ComCorp stations] will utilize the entire 16:9 picture area for graphics.

I was visiting my daugter in Denver last month and noticed the the Denver HD newscasts already use the entire screen for graphics and weather.

If a 4:3 viewer wants to see it all he only has to push a button on the remote.

WAFB (11mbs 1080i CBS...yuck...) recently switched their news to 16:9 HD. You can tell they designed everything towards the 4:3 people. There's usually nothing out "there" that is needed, just a bonus for the 16:9 people. On the 4:3 SD camera shots in the field they just add some blue graphics to fill the 16:9 screen.

fyi from DBStalk.com-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FYI it looks like channel 701 will be simulcasting the superbowl today. In case there are any outages.

LOL Letterman audio is FUBAR tonight!!! :eek:

ksla audio messed up bad tonight during Moonlight, echoing-hanging

ksla audio messed up bad tonight during Moonlight, echoing-hanging
Happen to know what times you noticed this? I have it recorded and see a slight delay in audio at times and hanging audio but when compared to the original first aired version from 2007 there is no delay nor hanging. :confused:

Hey KeithAR, I have a similar problem here in Monroe getting KSLA's DTV, there is a ch 17-LP in West Monroe operated by the First Baptist Church, haven't talked to any of those guys lately to see what their DTV plans are down the road. Seems like too close of a co-channel allocation but I haven't ran the numbers.

I know the guys at KNOE and I'll pass on your rant next time I see them, there was talk of installing a DTV translater.

Do you have a very directional antenna? I regulary get distant DTV's on strong local first adjacent channels. The kind of DTV tuner are you using can make a big difference. I'm using a current model Samsung TV and it has a really good tuner, crappy menu though as new scans are destructive deleting anything previously stored if not received, but I've found ways to work with it.

Happen to know what times you noticed this? I have it recorded and see a slight delay in audio at times and hanging audio but when compared to the original first aired version from 2007 there is no delay nor hanging. :confused:

I'm bet it was a co-channel interference problem, I was getting pretty strong tropo, I have big antenna & preamp too. It was at the beginning of Moonlight, I switched to KYTX CBS 19.

During very strong tropo I sometime lose the close stations. Rare strange nights that KSLA,KYTX,KTAL,KETK,KFXK,KMSS wont come, but KNOE,KARD,KTVE & Mississippi stuff will be solid all night.

KARD works 90% of nights here, often in daytime. Amazing.
But not tonight. Fair tropo returning tomorrow night for a few days.

http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html

Not sure if this is the right place and it seems like I am butting in on a thread but it looks like the right place for help.

I am in northwest Texarkana and am on DishNetwork which has dropped KTBS. I want to get an antenna for local channels so I can drop local channels from Dish. I have reviewed a lot of info on UHF/VHF and have reviewed many of the posts in this section but I am still pretty confused. It looks like all local channels are now being broadcast in both digital and analog. Can I get by with just a good UHF antenna for the digital channels or do I need one of the large and expensive UHF/VHF antennas? Is every program broadcast in both formats or only selectively in digital?

I have 2 non-HD Dish receivers feeding 5 TV's (the TV2 on one of the receivers is split to 2 TV's). One of the TV's is a new HD Plasma but the other 4 are not so new.

Thanks for the help.

Not sure if this is the right place and it seems like I am butting in on a thread but it looks like the right place for help.

I am in northwest Texarkana and am on DishNetwork which has dropped KTBS. I want to get an antenna for local channels so I can drop local channels from Dish. I have reviewed a lot of info on UHF/VHF and have reviewed many of the posts in this section but I am still pretty confused. It looks like all local channels are now being broadcast in both digital and analog. Can I get by with just a good UHF antenna for the digital channels or do I need one of the large and expensive UHF/VHF antennas? Is every program broadcast in both formats or only selectively in digital?

I have 2 non-HD Dish receivers feeding 5 TV's (the TV2 on one of the receivers is split to 2 TV's). One of the TV's is a new HD Plasma but the other 4 are not so new.

Thanks for the help.

You can always "move" too.

Florian,

Welcome to the forum. Regarding your antenna needs, the VHF spectrum is going away in a year, so just get a rockin' good UHF antenna and an amplifier. Mount the antenna as high as you can in your attic. If you already have "cable" to all 5 tvs, you just go from the antenna to the amplifier and then to the 5 way splitter.

http://antennaweb.org

will have lots of helpful information about antenna pointing.

Good luck!

Thanks for the update. Hey, a 'broadcast ATSC demodulator'...... Isn't that what Marvin used to carry?? :p

http://www.officiallyscrewed.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/marvinmartian.jpg

Oops, my bad. That is a Space Modulator.

Hahahaha...that's a great one, Ron!

Steve_Smith,
Thanks for the reply.

Will I get all of the local channels through a UHF antenna?

And, is all of the standard broadcasting duplicated on the digital channels or is it just some of the programming?

I have already checked out antennaweb and it did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling that I would be able to pick up many digital channels if I installed the antenna in the attic, which is exactly what I want to do (I also have aluminum backed roofing which sounds like it will limit reception but I'm not clear on that either).

Thanks

The digital stations are simulcasts of the analog stations. They are identical in content.

Remember if you cancel your dish locals, you will not get guide data for the broadcast locals you pick up in your DVR's.


What DVR's or receivers do you have?

If they are non-HD, do they even have digital OTA tuners in them?

The digital stations are simulcasts of the analog stations. They are identical in content.

Remember if you cancel your dish locals, you will not get guide data for the broadcast locals you pick up in your DVR's.


What DVR's or receivers do you have?

If they are non-HD, do they even have digital OTA tuners in them?
I have a Dish DVR 625, non-HD. TV1 is master bedroom and TV2 splits between living room Plasma (yes I know I am missing out w/o HD) and spare room (so we are already diplexing and then splitting (I don't know what the differenece is but that's what I'm doing).

2nd receiver is a 322, non-dvr, non-HD, with TV1 and TV2 both kids bedrooms.

Digital OTA tuners???????? Help again.

OTA = Over The Air. All newer tvs have digital tuners (will tune a station with a decimal, such as 3.1, converting the UHF stations to their "original" vhf numbers.)

Otherwise, to receive digital tv broadcasts, you will need a converter box (Satellite, cable or FCC-subsidized.)

Read, read, read!

Steve

So, do my Dish receivers have OTA tuners?

Then, once I get that figured out, how do I tune in an OTA station that is hooked into the antenna jack of the receiver?

I feel so stupid when antennas used to be such a simple fact of life.

Florian,

Welcome to the forum. Regarding your antenna needs, the VHF spectrum is going away in a year, so just get a rockin' good UHF antenna and an amplifier. Mount the antenna as high as you can in your attic. If you already have "cable" to all 5 tvs, you just go from the antenna to the amplifier and then to the 5 way splitter.

VHF isn't going anywhere.

So, do my Dish receivers have OTA tuners?

Then, once I get that figured out, how do I tune in an OTA station that is hooked into the antenna jack of the receiver?

I feel so stupid when antennas used to be such a simple fact of life.

To be honest it would simple to just do some research on "moving". Basically you move your service address to another location to get locals. Most folks do it to get HD locals that are not broadcasting in HD in their areas. Or in your case, people do it to pick up a station they are missing. Lots of folks like the Chicago area since the SD locals and HD locals are not spotbeamed.

To be honest it would simple to just do some research on "moving". Basically you move your service address to another location to get locals. Most folks do it to get HD locals that are not broadcasting in HD in their areas. Or in your case, people do it to pick up a station they are missing. Lots of folks like the Chicago area since the SD locals and HD locals are not spotbeamed.

The problem is that I want local channels, including KTBS. So if I "move" to another address I will lose local channels to get ABC. Not what I want.

OK, once I decide on what "rockin' good UHF antenna and amplifier" to buy, and I figure out how to actually hook up all 5 TVs to both satellite and OTA, how do I switch from watching the satellite channels to watching the local channels? And, if I keep the local channels and can actually use the DVR on it as suggested earlier, how do I do that?

And do I need to hook up to all TV's or only into the Antenna In connection on the back of the two Dish Receivers?

Thanks again. Let me know if there is a better forum to be asking these basic questions. I have been reviewing the other forums but there is a lot to read.

OK, once I decide on what "rockin' good UHF antenna and amplifier" to buy, and I figure out how to actually hook up all 5 TVs to both satellite and OTA, how do I switch from watching the satellite channels to watching the local channels? And, if I keep the local channels and can actually use the DVR on it as suggested earlier, how do I do that?

And do I need to hook up to all TV's or only into the Antenna In connection on the back of the two Dish Receivers?

Thanks again. Let me know if there is a better forum to be asking these basic questions. I have been reviewing the other forums but there is a lot to read.

Channelmaster 4228 & 7775 preamp, put it outside. Preamp's power supply & splitter inside. I'd run new coax to all sets, get a/b switches if needed. You shoundnt need switches at the recievers. Eliminate paying for locals!

Channelmaster 4228 & 7775 preamp, put it outside. Preamp's power supply & splitter inside. I'd run new coax to all sets, get a/b switches if needed. You shoundnt need switches at the recievers. Eliminate paying for locals!

Running new coax is not an option for me, it would be easier to go to Directv and just pay for HD.

It seems like many setups will work if I put in on the roof, but I would like to find something that will work in the attic, even with the aluminum backed plywood on the roof.

Is this likely that I will get the digital channel signals with the 4228 and 7775 in my attic?

Running new coax is not an option for me, it would be easier to go to Directv and just pay for HD.

It seems like many setups will work if I put in on the roof, but I would like to find something that will work in the attic, even with the aluminum backed plywood on the roof.

Is this likely that I will get the digital channel signals with the 4228 and 7775 in my attic?

Some DirecTV installations require additional coax runs.

Running new coax is not an option for me, it would be easier to go to Directv and just pay for HD.

It seems like many setups will work if I put in on the roof, but I would like to find something that will work in the attic, even with the aluminum backed plywood on the roof.

Is this likely that I will get the digital channel signals with the 4228 and 7775 in my attic?

Hope your existing coax is RG6, not the old stuff.

That aluminum could cause issues, of course its easy enough to try it in the attic. If you dont get good results then move it outside. Its Size: 6.5 x 39.5 x 36 (L x W x H) Will that go through you attic access?

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC4228

Hope your existing coax is RG6, not the old stuff.

That aluminum could cause issues, of course its easy enough to try it in the attic. If you dont get good results then move it outside. Its Size: 6.5 x 39.5 x 36 (L x W x H) Will that go through you attic access?

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC4228

windham9,
Thanks. Yes, it is RG6. Yes, it will fit in my attic, I have a walk through door. I will try it in the attic first, but the more I read the more I don't think it will work, but like you said its worth a try. If I have to, I feel better about mounting the 4228 on the roof or chimney than the big VHF/UHF antennas.

Does everyone agree the 4228 is the best fringe (60-70 miles) UHF antenna?

I am told that with Dish, the OTA signal will be processed to TV1 (so I can use an older TV) but will not travel to TV2, that I will need to split the OTA cable to TV2 and will need a STB (unless my TV2 has an OTA tuner). Is this correct?

How about splitters and diplexers, stick with channelmaster or get the cheapest I can find? (yes, its a loaded question but I want experienced answers)

Finally, can I mount the 4228 against a wall if I can get it rotated to the correct position? How much clear space is needed behind it?

Thanks,
Jeff

txrover,

Sorry for the late reply here, but to answer your questions... I have a CM 4228 for UHF, and a VU-190 XR from Radio Shack for VHF. I can always get a watchable picture from the Monroe analogs... KNOE being the strongest, with KLTM being a close 2nd. I have a feeling if KNOE would have had their DT signal on UHF, I wouldn't have as big a problem with receiving them. I have a collection of tuners... the best one I've used has to be the built-in tuner in my LG HDTV. The worst is the tuner inside the HR20. It handles multipath horribly.

It would be nice to know if KNOE was planning on doing some kind of flash cut for their translator on CH18 here. Even better would be an HD translator :)



Do you have a very directional antenna? I regulary get distant DTV's on strong local first adjacent channels. The kind of DTV tuner are you using can make a big difference. I'm using a current model Samsung TV and it has a really good tuner, crappy menu though as new scans are destructive deleting anything previously stored if not received, but I've found ways to work with it.

To be honest it would simple to just do some research on "moving". Basically you move your service address to another location to get locals. Most folks do it to get HD locals that are not broadcasting in HD in their areas. Or in your case, people do it to pick up a station they are missing. Lots of folks like the Chicago area since the SD locals and HD locals are not spotbeamed.


"moving" is a great move, no pun intended :) I have directv, and just recently moved to a white area in the LR market, which now qualifies me for the Little Rock locals in SD, the NYC Big 4 in SD and HD, and the LA Big 4 in SD. I had been getting the NY HD DNS for a while, and just decided to "move" again to get the SD versions because I just purchased one of Directv's new Sat-Go systems, and it can only see the 101 satellite. Neat little gadget :)

KeithAR2002,

I spoke with a staff engineer at KNOE and he believes the plans are to shut down that ch-18 translater there. Haven't talked to the CE about it yet.

I noticed LPB's DT (RF-19) wasn't on your list, is the translater on 18 wiping that out that too? The transmitter for KLTM-DT 19 is at the KNOE studio in Monroe.

KeithAR2002,

I spoke with a staff engineer at KNOE and he believes the plans are to shut down that ch-18 translater there. Haven't talked to the CE about it yet.

I noticed LPB's DT (RF-19) wasn't on your list, is the translater on 18 wiping that out that too? The transmitter for KLTM-DT 19 is at the KNOE studio in Monroe.

Well, that'll be OK by me, as it will allow me to receive KSLA-DT when atmospheric conditions are somewhat favorable. If KNOE was planning on flash-cutting CH18 to digital, I doubt it would be HD.

RE: LPB. I really, really, really wish I could receive KLTM-DT from my location, but all the LPB DTs across Louisiana are operating at low power... I guess to save money. I'm optimistic and hopeful that once analog is gone, they'll up all their transmitters to full power... which will allow me to receive KLTM-DT at the very least. As of now, I don't even think KLTM-DT reaches to the state line... and barely reaches Ruston :( Same goes for KLTS-DT in Shreveport... they barely reach Minden... I've only locked in KLTM-DT once... which was back in 2006. I've received KLTS-DT a couple more times.... but it's been a while for them, too. Ironically, the most frequent LPB-DT I have received here in South AR is KLPA-DT in Alexandria! Quite a few times, actually. Weird, huh?

You HD fans in Louisiana are lucky to have LPB as your PBS network... the HD is beautiful... and the run pretty much everything PBS broadcasts in HD, including the NewsHour. I think they even do some local/state programming in HD. The Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) HD channel looks washed out and low quality, IMO. The only problem with LPB is they broadcast their statewide network DTs at such low power, that not many people can receive them.

AETN in Arkansas does HD, but only broadcasts a couple hours a week in HD. The rest of the time, they have four SD subchannels. I must say, though, whenever they do broadcast an HD program, they shut dwn all the subchannels... the result is: SUPERB picture quality. But, there's no NewsHour in HD, no state programming filmed in HD... I would be happy if the NewsHour was shown every night in HD... or perhaps they could broadcast HD every night from 7-10PM... that would be consistent. As of now, I have to go to their website and look up their HD schedule for the month... I would definitely watch a lot more PBS if I could receive LPB on a regular basis.

That was a long explanation... but I hope I got my point across!

A bit OT, but have you all noticed that in the past couple weeks, the CBS HD "eye" bug has moved a bit to the right? I have an RCA projection HDTV which has above average overscan, and now, the "eye" logo is halfway cut off, on my RCA, at least. On my other brand tvs in the house, the logo is still visible, but it has definitely moved to the right. At first, I thought it was WCBS, but others have noticed the movement, as well. What does it look like on KSLA-DT or KNOE-DT?

A bit OT, but have you all noticed that in the past couple weeks, the CBS HD "eye" bug has moved a bit to the right? I have an RCA projection HDTV which has above average overscan, and now, the "eye" logo is halfway cut off, on my RCA, at least. On my other brand tvs in the house, the logo is still visible, but it has definitely moved to the right. At first, I thought it was WCBS, but others have noticed the movement, as well. What does it look like on KSLA-DT or KNOE-DT?


I've noticed this, KSLA & KYTX. My Sony have a bit more overscan than my JVC. Must be a network deal. Now that the writers strike is over, upcoming new episodes will give us a reason to get back to watching.

I applied for converter box coupons in Jan. Still waiting. I have a couple of analog sets in the spare rooms. My 2 HD sets are both in my large bedroom, lol.

DX'ed KTVT-DT 11.1 out of Dallas for a short time this weekend, a first.
KARD-DT still blazing in here most nights

There was a discussion about "the eye" including uploaded screenshots on the New Orleans AVS board: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=357741&page=140

KeithAR, Not surprising you can get Alexandria’s LPB better, I get it full-time here, the DT transmitter there is diplexed into the top antenna on the tower, where Shrev & Mon use smaller side-mounted DT antennas.

The Monroe LPB will be going back to 13 on the KNOE tower in Riverton for its permanent DT setup. You currently have AETN’s 13 DT nearby in Arkadelphia, are you receiving it and do you think it will interfere? With this in mind it seems AETN would be better off going back to 9 but the FCC allocation sheet shows 13 as their permanent DT channel.

BTW I’ll attach the DTV allocation sheet from the FCC website if you or anyone else is interested.

Noticed that KMSS seems to be having problems today with the Fox HD feed. Nascar on Fox always looks and sounds great in HD...But KMSS is only passing thru the SD/Pro Logic feed.

And being Sunday, trying to call anyone in master control is fruitless...

I had the number to the master control office but when i call the number now it is disconnected, notice they never miss flipping the switch on American Idol.

You HD fans in Louisiana are lucky to have LPB as your PBS network... the HD is beautiful... and the run pretty much everything PBS broadcasts in HD, including the NewsHour. I think they even do some local/state programming in HD. The Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) HD channel looks washed out and low quality, IMO. The only problem with LPB is they broadcast their statewide network DTs at such low power, that not many people can receive them.


Just an FYI, a simple KU dish pointed to AMC3 will pick up an 18 megabit 1920x1080i feed of PBS-HD.

http://www.digiblur.com/garbage/pbs_hd.PNG

I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a good stand-alone DVB-HD receiver but many comments on the boards complain about buggy operating software in most, if not all of the HD receivers out now:

http://forums.satforums.com/SatForumMaster/start/login.php?webtag=mpg
(use the “Login as Guest” if you’ve never been here)

Do any of you have one you're happy with? (stand-alone, not PC card)

I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a good stand-alone DVB-HD receiver but many comments on the boards complain about buggy operating software in most, if not all of the HD receivers out now:

http://forums.satforums.com/SatForumMaster/start/login.php?webtag=mpg
(use the “Login as Guest” if you’ve never been here)

Do any of you have one you're happy with? (stand-alone, not PC card)

Try this forum: http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/

One of the big discussions lately on which boxes work the best for HD with blind scanning and motor control. One of the few true legit FTA only forums around ;)

I have a Dish DVR 625, non-HD. TV1 is master bedroom and TV2 splits between living room Plasma (yes I know I am missing out w/o HD) and spare room (so we are already diplexing and then splitting (I don't know what the differenece is but that's what I'm doing).

2nd receiver is a 322, non-dvr, non-HD, with TV1 and TV2 both kids bedrooms.

Digital OTA tuners???????? Help again.JT, does your system use two inputs for the satellite or is there only one cable with a DPP separator? If it is using two, you could upgrade to a VIP 622 or 722 then make Dish upgrade your LNB's to DPP or Dish Plus Pro. Then you would only need one satellite input. You could use the other cable for your antenna. They both have built in OTA tuners that will incorporate into the DVR. I have the 622. Love it.

Also, I just put a 4228 in my father's attic in Broadmoor with no amp. Works great.

I applied for converter box coupons in Jan. Still waiting. I have a couple of analog sets in the spare rooms. My 2 HD sets are both in my large bedroom, lol.

DX'ed KTVT-DT 11.1 out of Dallas for a short time this weekend, a first.
KARD-DT still blazing in here most nights

I'm just about to apply for the coupons... I figure it won't hurt to have a couple of those boxes. I'm hooked up to Directv, but I'm sure I can find a use for them.

The only CBS-HD I have access to is WCBS on Directv. El Dorado is in a black hole for CBS-HD OTA, apparently :( Speaking of KARD-DT, I haven't seen them in a while. Probably because I leave my 4228 pointed towards Shreveport... I don't feel like re-aiming it for just one channel... the Shreveport stations have a higher SS than the Monroe ones, anyway.

I noticed a few weeks ago that KMSS-DT has their own local FOX bug in the corner of the screen during FOX primetime. It's a little small, though.

I've never been able to pick up KETG-DT on CH13... I think it's because KLTM analog is too strong. I have my VHF antenna always pointed towards Monroe, too... even when I tried pointing towards KETG, I never picked them up. I guess this is a good sign for KLTM-DT when it moves to CH13, hopefully.

Thanks for the allocation list.... I wish KNOE-DT would move to UHF in 2009... I think CH8 will be a little better than CH7 for digital reception, so there's always hope next year.

Just an FYI, a simple KU dish pointed to AMC3 will pick up an 18 megabit 1920x1080i feed of PBS-HD.



digiblur,

Can you get any other network HD feeds with this system? I think I remember you talking about NBC SNF uncompressed one time.

KeithAR,

This guy has compiled a good list of DVB Sat channels, haven't seen a HD specific search/list but here's the English language list, PBS HD is the only one that shows up: http://www.ftalist.com/english.htm

There is also Lyngsat: http://www.lyngsat.com/america.html

Thanks for the report on AETN's 13, I know some folks who will be happy that it [hopefully] isn't going to interfere. I've heard rumors they may try and jump over to 10 after KTVE abandons it, not sure why they'd do that instead of 9 since they have an antenna already tuned to 9, but it may be old.

VHF isn't going anywhere.

Effective February 2009 channels 2-6 will be allocated to Public Service communications. Channels 50-83 are being will be auctioned of to Cell carriers.

Have you seen the 'antenna of the future'? It does Hi-VHF and UHF only:

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HD7697P

Looks a lot different without the long 2-6 elements.

KeithAR,

This guy has compiled a good list of DVB Sat channels, haven't seen a HD specific search/list but here's the English language list, PBS HD is the only one that shows up: http://www.ftalist.com/english.htm

There is also Lyngsat: http://www.lyngsat.com/america.html

Thanks for the report on AETN's 13, I know some folks who will be happy that it [hopefully] isn't going to interfere. I've heard rumors they may try and jump over to 10 after KTVE abandons it, not sure why they'd do that instead of 9 since they have an antenna already tuned to 9, but it may be old.

I think that KETZ-DT the AETN station in El Dorado, is going to CH10 in 2009. They're currently on CH12, and are already sharing space on KTVE's tower.

A lot of people seem to think that a DT on High-VHF is a good thing, but from my experience, a VHF DT is plagued with dropouts and other noise. Sure, it's cheaper than UHF, but I just don't think it's a good choice for DTV.

Effective February 2009 channels 2-6 will be allocated to Public Service communications. Channels 50-83 are being will be auctioned of to Cell carriers.


That's interesting... I was led to believe that only CHs 50-83 were going to be used for other purposes. I thought CH 2-6 were still in play... and that some stations were even going to be using them for DT channels in 2009. Did they recently change it? I sure hope so.... because I feel sorry for markets like Memphis... where WMC was going to stay on CH 5 after Feb 2009. I don't even want to think about all the reception problems that would cause.

Have you seen the 'antenna of the future'? It does Hi-VHF and UHF only:


Looks good.... I may have to get one of these soon. Not as heavy as the regular ones, either.

Effective February 2009 channels 2-6 will be allocated to Public Service communications. Channels 50-83 are being will be auctioned of to Cell carriers.

Yes indeed. I guess I should have said VHF-Hi isn't going anywhere.

digiblur,

Can you get any other network HD feeds with this system? I think I remember you talking about NBC SNF uncompressed one time.

I think CBS and ABC are on C-Band. There are a few SD feeds on G10R of Fox, ABC, etc.

Various feeds and what not can be found on KU band with something like a 90cm dish. If you have the space you can pick up quite a bit more with a 7+ foot C-Band dish.

Lots of stuff to be had out there.

For you people looking for an antenna try this $2 home made antenna. I found this after I bought my 4228 or I would have tried it. Heck, I may still try it. I know someone in Benton that built it and is able to pick up all of the Ark La Tex stations on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw

That's interesting... I was led to believe that only CHs 50-83 were going to be used for other purposes. I thought CH 2-6 were still in play... and that some stations were even going to be using them for DT channels in 2009. Did they recently change it? I sure hope so.... because I feel sorry for markets like Memphis... where WMC was going to stay on CH 5 after Feb 2009. I don't even want to think about all the reception problems that would cause.

The original plan (1999) was to re-allocate the entire VHF band to radio services. The FCC determined that there would be too much interference from cable channel leakage and changed the plan to eliminate only 2-6.

These channels are kind of useless for digital anyway because they are very susceptible to power line interference which destroys the ATSC modulation.

Hello all,
DishN customers reporting audio Issues with KSLA audio this morning.
We're having them look into it, it doesn't look like it's on our end.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

KSLA worked fine OTA, in Tyler, this morning.

Thanks Hank, OTA was never affected but a confirmation is always welcome.
We called in DishN and they confirmed that an MPG encoder on their end had a problem.
Interestingly enough we were also able to confirm that this circuit is feeding both provider, in a similar situation as at least one other market I am familiar with in the area.
Anyways, it is resolved now.
Thank you all.

I live about 85 miles east of your Mooringsport site. If you are only 175KW, your signal arrives, without drop outs, about 90% of the time. KTBS has the most reliable signal, KMSS comes in 2nd, then KTAL, KSLA, KPXJ (analogue adjacent problems), KSHV, and absolute rock bottom KLTS.

DVR now picking up new shows since the writer's strike.

KSLA 12 and tonight's Two and a Half Men has the audio lagging behind video.

The original plan (1999) was to re-allocate the entire VHF band to radio services. The FCC determined that there would be too much interference from cable channel leakage and changed the plan to eliminate only 2-6.

These channels are kind of useless for digital anyway because they are very susceptible to power line interference which destroys the ATSC modulation.

I'm sorry about the late response to this post, but I'll chime in as someone having "Low Band" digital in their home market (Little Rock). Our public tv station here (KETS-DT) operates on ch5 and is shoehorned between Memphis and Fort Smith AR analogs. Although its antenna is about 1800 ft, its power level is only 2.1KW and directional. My rural location doesn't have much electrical interference except for inside the house. The washing machine, dryer, heat pump, switching off lights, etc will cause pixelation/dropouts. Plus storms distantly nearby (20 or so miles away) will also cause dropouts. It was so bad Monday night that the Dish feed (which gets the digital signal in Little Rock, closer to the transmitter since the analog KETS is off the air) was even effected (the OTA signal here was unwatchable despite a near "100%" signal).

KTHV-DT (CBS, ch 12 digital) while "high band" still has issues with dropouts, but not as bad as KETS. KARK-DT (32) NBC, KLRT-DT (30) FOX located at the same mountain site as KTHV does not have the dropout issues that KTHV has.

Having reception problems with KSLA HD NCAA Tournament. Reception was good yesterday until later in the day. Anyone else or just my area? I have CableOne in Texarkana, no box.

No signal this morning.

I'm sorry about the late response to this post, but I'll chime in as someone having "Low Band" digital in their home market (Little Rock). Our public tv station here (KETS-DT) operates on ch5 and is shoehorned between Memphis and Fort Smith AR analogs. Although its antenna is about 1800 ft, its power level is only 2.1KW and directional. My rural location doesn't have much electrical interference except for inside the house. The washing machine, dryer, heat pump, switching off lights, etc will cause pixelation/dropouts. Plus storms distantly nearby (20 or so miles away) will also cause dropouts. It was so bad Monday night that the Dish feed (which gets the digital signal in Little Rock, closer to the transmitter since the analog KETS is off the air) was even effected (the OTA signal here was unwatchable despite a near "100%" signal).

KTHV-DT (CBS, ch 12 digital) while "high band" still has issues with dropouts, but not as bad as KETS. KARK-DT (32) NBC, KLRT-DT (30) FOX located at the same mountain site as KTHV does not have the dropout issues that KTHV has.

I need to correct my earlier post about low band channels 2-6.

I learned at an engineering conference last week that the FCC has approved several "hardship" wavers allowing some stations to move their digital channel back to their original low band VHF channels. (Not a smart decision by those stations - in my opinion)

Long shot... but... anybody getting interference problems from 3-12 near Minden area? Fairly recently cropped up. (a month maybe?)

Still troubleshooting.

I have not been able to receive KNOE this sunday. My 722 shows upper 80's signal strength but there is no picture. Anyone else having this problem. Analog is coming in .

Any idea when HD locals will be available for Shreveport on DirecTV? Last estimate from them was for Feb 08. Now who knows??

pawdog wrote:

KNOE OTA HD Outage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have not been able to receive KNOE this sunday. My 722 shows upper 80's signal strength but there is no picture. Anyone else having this problem. Analog is coming in .
************************

This is old news now, but they had an STL failure that afternoon that caused the DTV outage.

Any idea when HD locals will be available for Shreveport on DirecTV? Last estimate from them was for Feb 08. Now who knows??

If I had to guess it wouldn't be until after the new bird is online in September.

pawdog wrote:

KNOE OTA HD Outage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have not been able to receive KNOE this sunday. My 722 shows upper 80's signal strength but there is no picture. Anyone else having this problem. Analog is coming in .
************************

This is old news now, but they had an STL failure that afternoon that caused the DTV outage.

Thanks, too bad I don't know what an STL is.

Thanks, too bad I don't know what an STL is.

STL = Studio Transmitter Link. It's any way (microwave, satellite, internet) that the station uses to get its signal from its studio to its tower/transmitter site.

- Trip

Just an FYI, a simple KU dish pointed to AMC3 will pick up an 18 megabit 1920x1080i feed of PBS-HD.

http://www.digiblur.com/garbage/pbs_hd.PNG
You pulling that in with a 18" or 30" dish? (and of course LP LNB)

STL = Studio Transmitter Link. It's any way (microwave, satellite, internet) that the station uses to get its signal from its studio to its tower/transmitter site.

- Trip
Thanks Trip. I loves me some plain english explanations.:D

Anyone have any idea on when KAQY (ABC) is going full digital/HD? Once that is up and running I am so ditching DirecTv (get ABC HD out of New York for right now)

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1234439&Service=TV&Form_id=387&Facility_id=52046

February 17, 2009.

For full-power, anyway, you'd have to ask someone else about HD.

- Trip

You pulling that in with a 18" or 30" dish? (and of course LP LNB)

I have a 90cm motorized dish. Very simple to setup. One simple RG-6 coax drives the motor, powers the LNB, and pulls back the signal.

Hello everybody,
as promised earlier this year, KSLA is about to turn on new encoding equipments in order to better serve the viewing public. We have been delayed from our original May schedule by a defective equipment (better now than later) which is getting replaced today. Sometimes next week we will perform a few daytime tests that I will try to announce here, before we throw the switch once and for all. You should be able to enjoy better encoding on the HD side and Dolby 5.1 audio at last. We also reduced the bandwidth allocated to the Standard definition channels so the HD adaptive encoder has plenty of bits to encode with.
Take notice that the existing equipment will remain as a hot standby, which means that if you hear 2.0 audio after the switch, we are having problems.
Thank you all for your patience, support, and continued viewership.

Hello again,
slight change of plans, we will test the new HD coders tonight, after 12:30 and on OTA only. Hence, viewers that receive the Comcast digital package will still see the 2.0 feed while over the air, and I believe Suddenlink in Bossier will get the 5.1 feed.
It is most probable that we will revert back to 2.0 later during the night.
Every and all comments are welcome as usual, thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Hello,
turned on 5.1 and the new toys for OTA at 1:20 am.
Will leave it on until further notice. Comcast still on stereo 2.0 for now.
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks

As of 3:30 am we switched the Cable feed too. Everybody should get 5.1 audio. In light of the success so far, I am going to leave this on through the morning. Feel free to report on what you see and hear.
Once again, thanks for your patience.

I am very excited about this. Will check this out when I get home.

I have a dumb question, When the analog stations get turned off, will that effect the digital signal at all? Meaning, will it be easier to receive the digital signal with all of the analog signals gone?

Hello Burgranger,
thanks for checking up on us, to answer your question, when the analog gets turned off, there may be a very slight improvement in certain fringe locations, where distant analog signal are strong enough to perturb a locally weak digital signal. Don't get your hopes to high tho, because this kind of effect is taken into consideration when licenses are sought / authorized, so it usually is pretty low.

And by the way, the only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask :c)

Have a great day!

I don't know if it has just been a while since I watched Letterman or the recent change but the picture was great. The sound was flagged as 5.1 and the words seemed to match his movements, so all is well, so far. This change will probably cause me to start recording CBS shows in HD instead of SD off of the Dish.

Do you know if the Local HD channels are going to be added to DISH any time soon?

Now that you folks in Shreveport have 5.1 sound (and higher bit rate & better video encoders) you should check out CSI this evening. Definitely one of the best 5.1 audio mixes on network TV!:D

Hello Burgranger,
The only thing I know about Dish / Direct schedule for HD is that there is no date set so far for this market. Being as it is that KSLA is the LCF, we will probably be the first ones to learn about anything.
It does not mean that it will not happen, after all, they have already conducted the site survey for HDTV reception at our facility. Not to mention that Locals in HDTV via sat is going to have to happen, sometimes down the road, the sooner the better for everybody.
Shorter version : I don't know !

Have a great day and keep those reports coming, if you please.

by far the best video and sound by this station in 40 plus years, keep up the good work and THANKS!! :) now if only if FOX 33 would do the same!:eek: using a 42 inch Toshiba 1080i with a ONKYO decoder

by far the best video and sound by this station in 40 plus years, keep up the good work and THANKS!! :) now if only if FOX 33 would do the same!:eek: using a 42 inch Toshiba 1080i with a ONKYO decoder

KMSS FOX 33 is passing the FOX HD signal directly through the FOX splicer to the transmitter unmodified. This includes 5.1 surround.

All CBS, NBC, and ABC stations decode the signal and re-encode it before broadcast which is a generation of decompression and compression more than FOX. They also have to decode switch and re-encode the 5.1 surround.

I don't see how there is any way to improve on passing the full network feed directly to air. You can't deliver more than the network feeds you!

Lou Strowger
Chief Engineer
ComCorp of America

KMSS FOX 33 is passing the FOX HD signal directly through the FOX splicer to the transmitter unmodified. This includes 5.1 surround.

All CBS, NBC, and ABC stations decode the signal and re-encode it before broadcast which is a generation of decompression and compression more than FOX. They also have to decode switch and re-encode the 5.1 surround.

I don't see how there is any way to improve on passing the full network feed directly to air. You can't deliver more than the network feeds you!

Lou Strowger
Chief Engineer
ComCorp of America

Hey Lou

thanks for the input :) the audio is what I am talking about, it goes soft at 5.1 and then loud at local commercials. I assume it goes back to 2.0? where the others are a constant 5.1 volume. You have to constantly adjust the volume back and forth with your station :mad:

Hello all,
KSLA DT is off the air, apparently we have a power utilities issue at the transmitter site. I am monitoring this from out of town and will post what I learn.
Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience.

Hello again.
pretty busy day, with Galaxy 26 failing, CBS Network has moved their feeds to other satellites. We are re-tasking 3 dishes and straightening out a few loose ends at the same time.
KSLA may have to switch HD back down to SD if there are any unexpected network receiving issues, but we'll try to minimize this, as usual.
Since I'm not hearing any more comments on KSLA HD, I'm going to assume (for now) that most of you are happy campers with our picture and sound quality so far.
Have a great 4th of July !

I watch KSLA often, at a distance of 85 miles east. Are you still at 175kw, ERP? How long will you be mourning the loss of that silly music channel and put something there worth watching, such as the Underwater Basket-Weaving Channel?

Hello Hank,
KSLA DT is still at 175 Kw ERP. I heard that after feb 09 we might get an increase, but this is unconfirmed. License issues are handled at the Corporate level. 85 miles is a pretty good distance, what is your setup ?
As fas as the "Blue Slate Channel", it's eventual rebirth will also be handled at a higher level than my pay grade, I'll just be the grunt who throws the switch when and if it happens.
On a related note, do you have any suggestion as to what kind of programing would be of interest ? This question is open to everybody by the way, I am just curious to see what the good members of this Forum are thinking. Keep in mind that it would have to be family-friendly of course :c)
I can promise you that I will move the suggestions up the chain of command.
Thanks in advance for the feedback

My set up consists of an 91XG antenna up 60 feet. I was able to receive KSLA on my Channel Master 1160, before the arrival of the 91XG. Now, both are used with the CM relegated to VHF. Both go into a CM7777 amplifier. TV is Sony KDL-40v2500.

I joke about the basket-weaving channel, however I have noticed the Sportsman Channel and RFD on some central Texas stations. When I talk to Butch (KLTV), in Tyler, I tease him about "mourning" over the loss of the music channel. He really doesn't care.

Thanks for the technical updates!

My set up consists of an 91XG antenna up 60 feet. I was able to receive KSLA on my Channel Master 1160, before the arrival of the 91XG. Now, both are used with the CM relegated to VHF. Both go into a CM7777 amplifier. TV is Sony KDL-40v2500.

I joke about the basket-weaving channel, however I have noticed the Sportsman Channel and RFD on some central Texas stations. When I talk to Butch (KLTV), in Tyler, I tease him about "mourning" over the loss of the music channel. He really doesn't care.

Thanks for the technical updates!

RTN would be a good choice(Retro Television Network).

There is an LP in Opelousas, LA that airs it. Good lineup.

Noticed that Sunday KMSS had a 33.2 subchannel, PSIP ID was KSHV, but was a black screen. FOX44CE, you have the inside knowledge of KMSS - are there plans of putting KSHV on a subchannel?

+1 to Retro. KEYE, Austin carries it.

I say leave 12-2 blank.

We have weather on 12-3. We don't need anything else clipping bandwidth from 12-1.

And KSLA Eng, I like the new 5.1. Sounds great. Deep, rich sound.

Wish Fox33 would do something about theirs. It is real bland sounding even though it is 5.1

Thanks for the 5.1 comment Ronald_Jeremy, you made my day.
As for bandwidth loss, there really is nothing to worry about since 12.1 has total priority in the allocation. When there are not enough bits, the sub channels do macro block, not the HD.
I looked up RTN, and their web site says that KSHV is the affiliate in our area.
http://www.rtnville.com/affiliates.html#
I guess it's already taken!
Thank again you for your comments and suggestions.

I repeat. Audio is passed through directly from FOX without decoding.

The station coudn't process it if they wanted to.

Yes, you can hear the difference between network programming and the over-processed local ads, especially the screamers like the new Publisher Clearing House give-a-way.

I repeat. Audio is passed through directly from FOX without decoding.

The station coudn't process it if they wanted to.

then why not you guys do something about the local sound, has to be some way. It is embarrassing to have out of town guest over to hear this while having to carry the remote in your hand just to adjust the sound :confused:

Yes, you can hear the difference between network programming and the over-processed local ads, especially the screamers like the new Publisher Clearing House give-a-way.

I heard that the other night, sound asleep.... I ran in thinking there was a killing going on :eek:

KSLA DT is still at 175 Kw ERP. I heard that after feb 09 we might get an increase, but this is unconfirmed.

ksla-Eng,

I sure hope KSLA-DT gets a power increase.. perhaps then your signal would be strong enough to over-ride the adjacent channel inference I experience from a CH 18 LP analog I have in the area. I only receive KSLA-DT when the CH18 is knocked off the air!

Hello Keith,
depending on how close you are to K18AB you may well be out of luck....for now.
LPTV will become digital too, sometimes in the future and that should fix it.
In the mean time, you might want to try a notch filter (http://www.soontai.com/TRF.html) on cable channel 69, it is close enough to 18 and might help you.
An increase for KSLA would probably not help you situation by the way, in DTV you need a clean signal in terms of spectrum not so much in term of time domain as in analog.
I hope this info will help you receive us better.

Is anyone having issues with KMSS and their signal today? I have not done anything different on my HR20 boxes or the direction of my OTA and the signal meter on my HR20 at times is showing not acquired for KMSS. I live in North Bossier. I removed Shreveport locals from my HR20 and did another setup, but this appears to have not done much.

Also after the conversion in 2/09 are Shreveport locals staying on the UHF band or are some moving back VHF band for HD.

thanks!!

KMSS is fine but KSLA HD is gone has been for 2 days, only SD at this time, using Comcast cable :eek:

96 Corvette, what area are you in ? Are you picking us up via a set top box or through your TV set (Quam), and did you call Comcast and what (if any) feedback did you get ?
Thanks !

96 Corvette, what area are you in ? Are you picking us up via a set top box or through your TV set (Quam), and did you call Comcast and what (if any) feedback did you get ?
Thanks !

no box through TV Quam 91.2 on the tuner close to GM. The other locals come in fine in HD :confused: what has happened? sure wish it was KMSS instead of you guys I could live with that :)

I get HD via a QAM on Comcast. It comes and goes. Wiring in my house is old I think.

I am about to buy an outdoor antenna and get OTA. Anyone got any recommendations on antenna model? I am in Southeast Shreveport. Ellerbe Road Estates area.

why would it go any way? while the others do not?:confused:

I get HD via a QAM on Comcast. It comes and goes. Wiring in my house is old I think.

I am about to buy an outdoor antenna and get OTA. Anyone got any recommendations on antenna model? I am in Southeast Shreveport. Ellerbe Road Estates area.

Channel Master 4221. That should fit the bill and its reasonable priced (cheaper than the Terk junk hawked at BB, etc), the downside is that its not available at most B&M stores. However, some online retailers do carry it. I use the CM 4228, which is really a pair of 4221's stacked, but I live on the fringe of Little Rock's DTV's (and also in the coverage area of KTVE-DT El Dorado).

Corvette96, I'll get in touch with my cable contact, thanks for the feedback.
I'll let you know what I find out.

Corvette96, I've found KSLA on 91-12 QUAM here. Could you re-scan and confirm ?
Thanks

why would it go any way? while the others do not?:confused:


My problem is old wiring and a signal that is split too many times I think.

Also Comcast has been doing a lot of work upgrading...that could possibly be the cause.

Channel Master 4221. That should fit the bill and its reasonable priced (cheaper than the Terk junk hawked at BB, etc), the downside is that its not available at most B&M stores. However, some online retailers do carry it. I use the CM 4228, which is really a pair of 4221's stacked, but I live on the fringe of Little Rock's DTV's (and also in the coverage area of KTVE-DT El Dorado).

Yep I have seen that one recommended elsewhere. Thanks!

I am about to buy an outdoor antenna and get OTA. Anyone got any recommendations on antenna model? I am in Southeast Shreveport. Ellerbe Road Estates area.I use a 4228 in Bossier and my father has one in his attic in Broadmoor. Get all stations with good signal strength. I had a more directional antenna before that and if I aimed it to get a majority of the stations with a good signal strength, then I couldn't get KTAL.

I repeat. Audio is passed through directly from FOX without decoding.

The station coudn't process it if they wanted to.I saw where you said that the first time. Still doesn't fix the fact that the sound is lackluster when it gets to me. Perhaps FOX corporate needs to look at what they are sending out that Fox33 is passing on.

Corvette96, I'll get in touch with my cable contact, thanks for the feedback.
I'll let you know what I find out.

I have done a rescan several times, will not lock on 91.2 but the rest of the local HDs are fine :mad: and that goes with the other ksla ch 91.3? do not know the ch # for those it will not lock on those either thanks for the help

96corvette,
you might want to check your wiring, and give Comcast a call.
I was able to tune KLSA in on 91.12, and also did lock on other locals and a bunch of non-existent streams too.
As has been mentioned before, issues of mandatory carriage of HD signals (lack and / or quality thereof) as part of the local cable package have to be handled between the cable provider, the FCC, and you, the viewer. Whenever I can, I'll make sure to see what my contact at [C] has to say about this.
Keep me updated on your progress!

Its back up, although still stretchovision. However, at least its not so zoomed so a larger area is shown. I can even see my area to the north.

Stretcho-vision he ? Well that would definitely be a [C] issue. They are not supposed to touch our signal, except for the PSIP table "grooming" as they call it.
A wrong PSIP format descrpitor could definitely produce what you see.
I'll give them a call, but it won't be until next month, I will be out of town the whole next week on training, and then on vacation and today is already turning to be crazy.

Looks KTBS is back on DishNetwork.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/uplink-center/142925-uplink-activity-report-7-21-2008-5-02pm-2-changes.html

Ok, as sad as this sounds, I found this forum:

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9613

It shows how to build a bowtie antenna out of common household material for basically free. So I gave it a try this weekend before ordering an antenna (I was bored). I made a 2 bay bowtie. To me wife's utter surprise it worked and I am pulling in everything EXCEPT LPB. I am getting high 70's to low 80's signal strength on KSLA, KTBS,, KMSS, & KTAL. I wonder what a real antenna will get me.

My question, is anyone having problems with LPB OTA?

Thanks

Ok, as sad as this sounds, I found this forum:

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9613

It shows how to build a bowtie antenna out of common household material for basically free. So I gave it a try this weekend before ordering an antenna (I was bored). I made a 2 bay bowtie. To me wife's utter surprise it worked and I am pulling in everything EXCEPT LPB. I am getting high 70's to low 80's signal strength on KSLA, KTBS,, KMSS, & KTAL. I wonder what a real antenna will get me.

My question, is anyone having problems with LPB OTA?

Thanks

Here's one I built.

http://www.digiblur.com/forum_pics/CM4221_home.jpg

Cool, what is the reflector made of?

Cool, what is the reflector made of?

Aluminum siding.

Looks like WNTZ FOX 48 is finally broadcasting a 1080HD signal instead of SD. About time, now if they could bring us local HD.

very surprised no one has commented on the quality of video from the NBC HD feed coverage of the Olympics. Fast motion macro-blocking all over the place :mad:

Actually, sitting here watching the NBC coverage, you must have read my mind. I'm not sure if it's a low bitrate feed from NBC, KTAL and their crappy equipment, or Comcast doing extra compression...But the Olympics do look bad anytime there is motion...Including the graphic swipes across the screen.

And, anyone keeping track of how many times KTAL screws up with the HD Feed? Counted twice in the last 15 minutes :-)

Raycom has confirmed that they will broadcast most SEC games in HD, not just football.

One would think that their stations would make broadcasting LSU & SEC games in HD a priority. I'm hoping so.

Just looked at the Raycom Game on KMSS. Looks great. Totally unexpected. I figured that KMSS in thier infinite cheapness would not have it in HD.

GREAT JOB KMSS

Just looked at the Raycom Game on KMSS. Looks great. Totally unexpected. I figured that KMSS in thier infinite cheapness would not have it in HD.

GREAT JOB KMSS


the audio problems are still there from, normal audio to blowing up your ears and making the dog run :mad:

Good news, everyone! The FCC granted KLTS's request to keep channel 24.

Hopefully, it'll mean you guys get a good, strong signal out of PBS after the transition. =)

- Trip

Good news, everyone! The FCC granted KLTS's request to keep channel 24.

Hopefully, it'll mean you guys get a good, strong signal out of PBS after the transition. =)

- Trip
Except those in the Northeastern portion of KLTS's coverage area. Viewers will have to deal with potential CCI from KVTN-DT 24 Pine Bluff AR (COL in name only), a Little Rock AR-based religious broadcaster.

Good news, everyone! The FCC granted KLTS's request to keep channel 24.

Hopefully, it'll mean you guys get a good, strong signal out of PBS after the transition. =)

- Trip

Provided they maximise. 50KW will simply not reliably cover their present analogue area. Since they are dependent on viewer support, I would think that they would want to do so. 1000KW would be nice!

As of this morning Monday 15 Sep, KSLA -DT is still off the air.
We are waiting for a replacement part in our Digital transmitter that is being overnight to us.
It was fried during the power disruptions from Hurricane Ike. A tree fell on the Swepco feeder line at our transmitter site.
We hope to restore service on KSLA-DT sometimes early afternoon today.
On behalf of the KSLA team I apologize for this inconvenience, thank you for your continued viewership and support.

Thank you. I receive channel 12 better than I do our local 19. I suspect topography is the problem.

A suggestion for your blue .2 channel. I see that KPXJ is eliminating the Worship Channel from their line up, to replace it with high-quality stuff like Jerry Springer. Perhaps KSLA could grab that one!

KSLA-DT Update:
We are still waiting for the replacement part, it did not leave the factory yet (Thomson)
We have been assured that it will be on an evening plane heading this way

KSLA-DT is back up since yesterday, at 80 % power. We will ramp it up progressively to 100% over the rest of the week. We have replaced a Preamp in the exciter that got burned after IKE's passage.
Thank you everybody for your patience.

KSLA-DT is back up since yesterday, at 80 % power. We will ramp it up progressively to 100% over the rest of the week. We have replaced a Preamp in the exciter that got burned after IKE's passage.
Thank you everybody for your patience.

Thanks for keeping us informed, good job getting back up fast. Looks good.

No way to keep an extra part on hand for everything, would cost a fortune surely.

I suppose after Feb 09 you guys cant crank back up the analog ever, even in a disaster?

HD on comcast has really suffered from IKE, drop outs, pixelation, this is really bad :mad:

Windham9,
thanks for the feedback. After Feb 09 analog Broadcasting will be completely illegal.
As soon as we can turn it off we will, and it will probably never come back up.....poor thing, it wants to retire !
The good news is that we are slated for a Dual IOT second ATSC Transmitter, the actual single tube becomes backup and also possibly higher ERP, we applied for 350 Kw.

96 Corvette, I understand [C] is doing major upgrade to their digital tier this week. Might be part of the problem.

BTW, KSLA-DT is back up at 100% since yesterday 6:00 pm too.
Thank you all for the feedback.

Windham9,
thanks for the feedback. After Feb 09 analog Broadcasting will be completely illegal.
As soon as we can turn it off we will, and it will probably never come back up.....poor thing, it wants to retire !
The good news is that we are slated for a Dual IOT second ATSC Transmitter, the actual single tube becomes backup and also possibly higher ERP, we applied for 350 Kw.

96 Corvette, I understand [C] is doing major upgrade to their digital tier this week. Might be part of the problem.

BTW, KSLA-DT is back up at 100% since yesterday 6:00 pm too.
Thank you all for the feedback.

thanks for the info I hope that is the reason

Why is ET not in HD as it says it is now on KSLA? Primetime are fine but not ET.

Hello DBriana,
At this time, KSLA is not airing ET in HD. This will be implemented early next year, after the analog shut off. Indeed, a lot of shows are produced with "HD" in the trailer or credits, but are still distributed in both SD and HD format with the same HD branding.
This is a transition period, and things will improve in the near future as the industry progresses.
Thank you for your viewership and support.

Can anyone tell me why I cannot get KMSS OTA HD signal anymore? I live in Magnolia, AR. area. I pickup KSLA, KTAL, and KTBS signal.

Man this thread dropped pretty low. LOL.

Everything has been fine with what I have been seeing until today.

I go to watch NCIS recorded last night on KSLA OTA. (Dishnetwork VIP 622) and the picture looks like crap.

Macro-blocking out the wazoo. And This is going on during slow scenes with almost solid backgrounds. I had to pause to come post this. I really haven't even gotten to action scenes yet.

Well, just had to post that.

Be back to post later....

Now I have noticed that the audio on ksla and ktbs do the same as KMSS. That is when switched from a network feed to a local feed the audio is noticeable different, loud. Comcast HD only What is going on here? I called Comcast CS told me to call the local station :mad:

Now I have noticed that the audio on ksla and ktbs do the same as KMSS. That is when switched from a network feed to a local feed the audio is noticeable different, loud. Comcast HD only What is going on here? I called Comcast CS told me to call the local station :mad:
I have the same problem here with the fox channel. When it is the network feed it is dolby 5.1. When it goes to the local feed it switches to 2.0 and is way louder. If you are using a receiver you can see it switch from 5.1 to 2.0 right at the same time. Very annoying.

@Ronald Jeremy,
I have not received any other reports of HD macro-blocking, and my operators did not report problems neither. May I suggest you reboot your DVR ? If it keeps happening you may have a problem with your set-up.
@96 Corvette,
KSLA is all the time in HD5.1, so the level issue is different from the one that may happen with KMSS. The problem we are facing is that CBS Network mixes in 5.1, with a lot of headroom for effects, while the local stuff is mixed the old way, 2.0 and maximized for loudness, especially the local commercials, on which we pretty much have no control.
Dolby Dialnorm (part of the ATSC recommendations) was supposed to fix all that, but unfortunately, because of the way this industry works, unless you have $45.000 to buy a bunch of extra equipment from Dolby to remix all the local products, there will be some sort of compromise for some time.
At KSLA, we have a 10 dB offset between between local and network, to alleviate the issue. I can crank it down more, but then the locals will be too quiet at certain times I promise you.
It boils down to Network mixing their shows like Theatrical releases, with a lot of variation that follows the storyline and enhance it, while locals mixing is done in a Radio fashion, with constant level for maximum intelligibility.
Until everybody embraces Dialnorm the way it is supposed to happen, there will be jumps. I believe that KSLA is pretty much in the "sweet spot" right now, where we have the least amount of discomfort and complaints, but I will keep monitoring it.

Thank you both for your report and for your support.

@Ronald Jeremy,
I have not received any other reports of HD macro-blocking, and my operators did not report problems neither. May I suggest you reboot your DVR ? If it keeps happening you may have a problem with your set-up.
I'll give it a try, but it reboots every night at 3AM.

@Ronald Jeremy,
I have not received any other reports of HD macro-blocking, and my operators did not report problems neither. May I suggest you reboot your DVR ? If it keeps happening you may have a problem with your set-up.
@96 Corvette,
KSLA is all the time in HD5.1, so the level issue is different from the one that may happen with KMSS. The problem we are facing is that CBS Network mixes in 5.1, with a lot of headroom for effects, while the local stuff is mixed the old way, 2.0 and maximized for loudness, especially the local commercials, on which we pretty much have no control.
Dolby Dialnorm (part of the ATSC recommendations) was supposed to fix all that, but unfortunately, because of the way this industry works, unless you have $45.000 to buy a bunch of extra equipment from Dolby to remix all the local products, there will be some sort of compromise for some time.
At KSLA, we have a 10 dB offset between between local and network, to alleviate the issue. I can crank it down more, but then the locals will be too quiet at certain times I promise you.
It boils down to Network mixing their shows like Theatrical releases, with a lot of variation that follows the storyline and enhance it, while locals mixing is done in a Radio fashion, with constant level for maximum intelligibility.
Until everybody embraces Dialnorm the way it is supposed to happen, there will be jumps. I believone that KSLA is pretty much in the "sweet spot" right now, where we have the least amount of discomfort and complaints, but I will keep monitoring it.

Thank you both for your report and for your support.

KSLA
thank you for the excellent explanation :) you and your staff keeping the public in the know is fantastic

http://etvcookbook.org/audio/dialnorm.html


.

I'll give it a try, but it reboots every night at 3AM.

Your Receiver does not Reboot every night at 3AM. It goes into "standby mode"so it can Receive Programming guide information or software updates if Available. The fan and Hard drives are actually still spinning.

To Reboot your Receiver, you must hold the power button down approx. 5 seconds.(This is called a soft Reboot.)
You can also unplug your 622, wait approx 30 sec, the plug the 622 back up to reboot it. (This is called a hard reboot).
Actually, this is the only true way to totally power down your Receiver.

I do a soft reboot at a minimum 1 time a week. I recommend this "BIGTIME".
If you are having weird issues this is a solution a lot of times.Doing a soft Reboot will fix many "bugs" that randomly plaque the 722/622 Receivers from Dish.

Man, This is one dead thread. Anyone in the Monroe/Eldorado area out there?

@smackman1.

Me loves dead threads....means everything is working :c)

Does anyone know when ABC Channel 11 out of Monroe will go full power digital? Will they be transmitting HD? How powerful will their Transmitter be?
In my area, This ABC affiliate is the only holdout amongst the 4 OTA major affiliates. My zip code is 71260. There analog signal sucks big time.

Does anyone know when ABC Channel 11 out of Monroe will go full power digital?

February 17, 2009 at the earliest.

Will they be transmitting HD?

That I don't know.

How powerful will their Transmitter be?
In my area, This ABC affiliate is the only holdout amongst the 4 OTA major affiliates. My zip code is 71260. There analog signal sucks big time.

Either 12.3 kW or 25 kW. They've filed for both and I don't really understand why, since the 25 kW one was filed for first, and the 12.3 kW one was called a "maximization" which is backwards from almost every other station. Unless it's what was necessary to drop their directional pattern.

My guess is that whatever they end up with, it will be comparable to KNOE-DT 7 now, probably slightly weaker.

- Trip

looks like KTBS local news is now in 16X9 HD :eek:

Indeed, they are in 16:9, but I can't tell with 100% certainty if it could be considered HD.... some shots look great, but the studio shots look like it's widescreen SD to me...but that's just my personal observation :)

http://i36.tinypic.com/2cynyow.jpg

Monroe-Eldorado area here. There is simply nothing to talk about.I really dont expect anything good from KAQY as they have been one of the worst run affiliates ever. Constant commecrial cut ins at the wrong time. Really really bad analog picture, especially during sports. I will be shocked if they can pull off a HiDef channel. I hope I'm wrong.

Indeed, they are in 16:9, but I can't tell with 100% certainty if it could be considered HD.... some shots look great, but the studio shots look like it's widescreen SD to me...but that's just my personal observation

Has to be.... not true HD, stretch vision :confused:

Does anyone know when ABC Channel 11 out of Monroe will go full power digital? Will they be transmitting HD? How powerful will their Transmitter be?
In my area, This ABC affiliate is the only holdout amongst the 4 OTA major affiliates. My zip code is 71260. There analog signal sucks big time.

From what I've heard February will be the time KAQY goes full-power DTV and they should have HD programming too. If you haven't heard, KNOE now has KAQY in their Monroe studios, some kind of co-ownership deal, don't know the details of how it's setup. The quality has increased dramatically. Hopefully no more of the link dropout problems that frequently occured when the studios were in Shreveport.

From what I've heard February will be the time KAQY goes full-power DTV and they should have HD programming too.


I hope you're right about KAQY going HD. It would be a miracle for that to happen as long as we've had to suffer from watching that channel. It's got to be the worst ABC affiliate in the country. Sometimes early in the morning I'm able to pick up KTBS but unfortunately it's only on for about an hour or so before it goes out. Where did you hear about KAQY going HD? I knew it was bought but hadn't heard if they were making the switch or not.

I'm making the assumption they will do HD and that group has the $ to do it. They would be at a disadvantage not to. I can confirm with someone there if you insist. But like I said it won't happen till the analog shutoff in Feb.

I catch KTBS mornings and nights too, WABG 6 (32) (also ABC) in Greenwood MS comes in sometimes too. 31 (32) in Alex too, but they aren't doing HD.