Quality, not quantity, right?


Currently Available

KAMU-DT (http://www.kamu.tamu.edu/serv/hdtv.php) - PBS
12-1/15-1 (12) 1080i - national PBS feed
Tower - 3.2 kW, Hensel Park
Contact - Jon Bennett (jbennett@kamu.tamu.edu), Station Manager
Ph# 845-5611

KBTX-DT (http://www.kbtx.com) - CBS
3-1 (50) 1080i - mirroring analog 3
3-2 480i UPN
Tower - 25 kW, Carlos
Contact - David Cooper (cooper@kbtx.com), Chief Engineer
Ph# 846-7777

KYLE-DT (http://www.kyle28.com/) - FOX/WB
28-1 (29) 480i - mirroring analog 28
28-2 720p - mirroring KWKT-HD/Waco
Tower - 1 kW (soon to be 5 kW), N Bryan
KWKT-DT (720p) will soon be a subchannel for KYLE-DT, and the power increased to around 5 kW. KYLE splicer acquisition pending (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4422560#post4422560).
Contact - Lou Strowger (lstrow@kwkt.com), Chief Engineer, Duane Sartor (dsartor@kwkt.com), General Manager.
Ph# (254)776-3844

Temple/Waco - Central TX HDTV Status (http://genesisht.com/AustinHDTV.html)

Houston - Tower Power (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4432818#post4432818) - This (http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/34863Antenna_Tower01.jpg) should give some idea of what it takes.

Cox Cable (http://www.cox.com/Texas/bryancollege.asp)
700 KAMU - PBS-HD
705 KWKT - FOX/WB-HD
710 KBTX - CBS-HD
720 KRHD/KXXV - ABC-HD
730 KCEN/KMAY - NBC-HD
732 ESPN-HD
734 Discovery HD Theater
735 Universal HD - rebuild
736 INHD1
738 INHD2
740 HBO HD
742 Showtime HD
744 Starz HD - rebuild
Cox's HD-DVR is now available in the B/CS market.
Contact Form (https://www.cox.com/Support/texas/emailchat/emailus.asp)


The Not So Near Future

KRHD (http://www.abc40.com) - ABC
Digital broadcasting from the local Bryan tower is under consideration.
25-1 720p - mirroring analog 25
25-2 480i - Telemundo
25-3 480i - Weather loop
Tower - 250 kW, Moody
Contact Form (http://www.kxxv.com/main.cfm?ID=13)
Ph# (254)754-2525

KMAY-LP (http://www.kcentv.com) - NBC
This KCEN translator station will most likely be upgraded when the switch date is put into play.
Tower - N Bryan
Contact - Gerald Richmond (grichmond@kcentv.com), Engineering
Ph #(254)859-5481

Cox Cable (http://www.cox.com/Texas/bryancollege.asp)
ABC(KXXV/KRHD) should be on Cox in time for the Super Bowl.

Verizon - FiOS TV (http://newscenter.verizon.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=90601&PROACTIVE_ID=cecdc9c7caccc9ccccc5cecfcfcfc5cecec8c8c6cfccc9c ccac5cf)
We're still not on their list.

Old pseudo-College Station thread (http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?
s=&threadid=209218)

Please let me know about any new or bad info.
-Brian

Excellent work, Brian.

Nothing new to add just yet, but I am anxious for today's Final Four games.

I agree... it was time to give the old thread a rest. Great Work!

You may have forgotten, but KAMU shows up on 15-1 and15-2 with guide data on the Samsung360.
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
You may have forgotten, but KAMU shows up on 15-1 and15-2 with guide data on the Samsung360.

Yep, that's what my 360 does also.

Dave, how is your 360 holding up, none of the problems a lot of other members are describing? I wish the OTA meter actually worked. I also wish there was an easier way to manually add a single channel. Did you vote in this poll yet?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=369178
Sid

This is my second 360 and it's working pretty well after 2 weeks. My first one wouldn't even find any satellites so I sent it back to D*.

Yeah, the OTA meter is very sporadic. The highest I get for KBTX with my Silver Sensor is ~69 and then it drops to zero.

Hopefully I won't have the problems others are having.

Good news, Dave, fingers crossed!!:D
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
You may have forgotten, but KAMU shows up on 15-1 and15-2 with guide data on the Samsung360.
Sid

It's updated for you $99 deal people. You know, the Waco PBS (KWBU) has the same guide problem as KAMU on my Zenith 520. I get video on 20-x with no guide data, while 34-x has guide data with no video. This is going to be a problem if and when I get the HD-TiVo and try to record Okie Noodling ;).

Originally posted by elspankdog
You know, the Waco PBS (KWBU) has the same guide problem as KAMU on my Zenith 520. I get video on 20-x with no guide data, while 34-x has guide data with no video. This is going to be a problem if and when I get the HD-TiVo and try to record Okie Noodling ;).
Yeah, it's nice to have a copy of shows you are in!! :p :p
Sid

E-mail from KBTX:


Thanks for your e-mail. As you know there is more coming down the DirectTV path this summer from KBTX. With reference to an additional sub-channel, we have discussed uses such as radar and other programming, but at this time no decisions have been made.

Regarding HDTV closed captioning, I will look into that one . . . I'm surprised that our CBS HDTV receiver isn't passing through programs with CC information.

Again, thanks for your e-mail and comments.

Chief Engineer
KBTX-TV
4141 East 29th St\
Bryan, Texas 77802
979-846-7777


-----Original Message-----
From:Sid
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 12:55 PM
Subject: KBTX-DT


I just wanted to thank you and let you know that I noticed recently guide data is now showing up for KBTX for those of us using DirecTV HD boxes on channel 3-1. Previously there was program info only on the analog channel.
Also, a couple of questions. I was wondering if there were any plans to have another subchannel broadcast along with the main feed, such as a weather/radar screen as some other stations do. Although that feature has some appeal, many viewers have reservations about how that might affect the quality of the Hi-Def feed, causing signal degradation due to sharing bandwidth.
Last question is regarding Closed-Captioning of the Digital channel. I have noticed you have CC only on the upconverted (non HD) portion of your broadcasts. Hi-Def shows, such as CSI, Cold Case, etc. do not have CC enabled, although their analog counterparts on channel 3 do. Are you working on getting CC working on that channel also?
Thanks again.
Sid

They better not put some stupid weather loop on.... Unless they want to use .01% of the 19 mbs HD feed. Many people have said how bw hungry 1080i CBS feed is and the slightest reduction in BW causess alot of issues. You can look at KAMU (who uses only 12.4 (its 12 or 13.something)... I emailed the KAMU people when they first started broadcasting and asked what bw they were giving to the HD feed and you can notice the PQ not being as good as it should be.

I have to say I have noticed the PBS feed doing some major "pixellating" during scenes with lots of movement, that's one reason I asked KBTX about it.
Sid

Aaron, Thanks for your letter. We have been exploring quality vs. bit rate to find the best service we can deliver. Our engineers have determined that a 14 Mb HD stream / 12-1, 3.5 Mb SD stream / 12-2 and approx 2 Mb data stream are producing best results at this time. They tell me we are generating full output power of 4.5 KW. Does not take much to replicate our analog coverage. I'd be very surprised if your Houston friends can see us. We can expect to see more HD programing in the Fall and a significant increase in January 04. We are all anxious to see the HD succeed. We do not have a separate support system for HD. Currently our fund-raising supports programming for all of our broadcast products.
Thanks for watching and thanks for writing. Stay in touch.

Theres the email reply I received back from Jon Bennett (Jon.Bennett@tamu.edu) about KAMU-DT.

Thanks for this Brian. I've been busy lately and haven't had a lot of opportunities to post, but have done my best to keep up with things.

I hope this thread continues - let's keep each other up to date with findings as they occur.

Sometimes it's hard to find your way through all the Voom posts. :D

HAHAHAHA - yep, that was a bad day :D Freakin' Voom salespeople all over the place...

By the way, I e-mailed KBTX to see if they were passing the Master's feed in HD through on Thursday and Friday afternoons... I'll let you guys know if/when I hear back.

Michael

FYI... KBTX-DT will be showing the Master's in HD today and Friday from 3 to 5:30. This will only be on the HD channel. (You can see the programming forum for more general information.)

Well, my new screen (http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/040804halbouty.htm) finally came in. You guys let me know when you want a viewing.

Ill take mine.... dont have to wait for mine to be open ;)

I am watching the masters... very nice.

You also don't have to tear down the east side of your house to fit it in your living room...

Watched a little of the Masters a while ago, looked good, but, after all, it is golf. Am watching the Astros whoop up on the Brewers now!! :p :p
Sid

Originally posted by elspankdog
Well, my new screen (http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/040804halbouty.htm) finally came in. You guys let me know when you want a viewing.
Maybe someone has a little screen envy!! :eek:
Sid

I was just wondering if anyone else has seen HD-NET's program "HDNet This Month", I believe it is, which highlights, oddly enough, shows coming up on HD-NET. The hostess of the one I saw was none other than a local product of KBTX, Candace Krueger. I thought it was kinda cool to see someone from our local market show up on a national broadcast like that. She was also in a segment about the Miss USA-Texas Pageant, of which she is a former, the name of that program escapes me. All I can say is Mr. Cuban sure knows how to pick 'em!! :D
Sid

His wife is an aggie and he did attend a few football games this past fall so its possible they were introduced there. That said he does know how to pick the ladies... That other blond chick and the brunette were both very easy on the eyes.

With the latest news (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=391168) about NFL games on Fox in HD, I wonder if our local station will have enough power by the fall?

My wife hates it when I mention that I had journalism classes with Kandace. :) I believe the show is Across America.

I guess it's time to start harassing Lou (lstrow@kwkt.com) at KYLE/KWKT again. I emailed him a couple of weeks ago asking for info about increasing the power and the May 1 live date listed on www.titantv.com for KWKT. I never got a reply. Oh well, there's always the possibility of D* adding FoxHD via 7S before football season. Come on May 4.

Brian

Even if D* adds FoxHD via 7S, our Fox station is not an "owned and operated" station is it? (I'm relatively certain that it's not.) Which means that we will NOT get the Fox HD feed through D* (I guess if you have Sunday Ticket, you might get some of the football).

I can promise you that if Fox is broadcasting HD by Fall and KYLE does not have their act together - the Fox station in Houston IS "owned and operated" if you catch my drift.

Originally posted by mwesson
I can promise you that if Fox is broadcasting HD by Fall and KYLE does not have their act together - the Fox station in Houston IS "owned and operated" if you catch my drift.

Yes it is among other networks. ;)

MNF baby! That's only if ABC and D* can come to the same agreement though...

Originally posted by mwesson
I can promise you that if Fox is broadcasting HD by Fall and KYLE does not have their act together - the Fox station in Houston IS "owned and operated" if you catch my drift.

I think most of us have already caught your drift. It was a must once I dropped Cox and lost Astros baseball on ch 15.

The ABC in Houston IS an "O&O" station!! :D :D Of course there is no word yet if D* is trying to get ABC HD like CBS and FOX, just speculation.
Sid

I contacted www.zap2it.com today about the KAMU D* guide problems some of us are having and about adding KYLE-DT to the D* guide. Apparently, this is who D* gets their guide (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=389273&pagenumber=1) data from. I don't know if they can fix the KAMU problem, but maybe we'll get KYLE-DT added by the time somebody can actually receive it. :o

Any new news on the KYLE-DT? I see they now list the "DT" channel when they show their logo thing...

I've been emailing them once a week, but I haven't received any type of reply yet. I might have to make a phone call.

OK, guys, I got tired of the e-mail shuffle with FOX, and called the parent station in Wacko. I talked to one of their engineers, probably not a senior type, and asked about HD. To summarize, don't expect to see 720p (think 480i NFL for the next season :mad: :mad: ) on KYLE through the rest of this year!! He didn't say it definitely would not happen (the old waiting on Corporate Decision bit) , but it is not likely anytime soon. He did say that KYLE would probably get equipped before KWKT, if that is any consolation. I did mention that virtually none of us are able to receive the current low-power DT signal, but that is the best it will be for a while.
Sid

Well, I got a response from the KYLE station manager. The corporate engineer is meeting with his consultant in Vegas right now, and he said he would get me an update upon his return to the market.

I did mention that virtually none of us are able to receive the current low-power DT signal

Do we know anyone that is able to get this signal???

I guess this really doesn't shock me. Although my guess would be that we actually will see 720p if that is what FOX corporate decides on. I guess you never know though...

Originally posted by mwesson
Do we know anyone that is able to get this signal???

I guess this really doesn't shock me. Although my guess would be that we actually will see 720p if that is what FOX corporate decides on. I guess you never know though...

I got a couple of blips the other night :)

Originally posted by elspankdog
Well, I got a response from the KYLE station manager. The corporate engineer is meeting with his consultant in Vegas right now, and he said he would get me an update upon his return to the market.

Maybe he is there to win enough while in Vegas (without spending it all on hookers!) to buy some new equipment!! ;) ;)
Sid

I hope he's not playing the nickel slots.

"Meet the Candidates", a local production of candidates in our upcoming elections, is now on KAMU-DT on both feeds (HD and SD). 15-1/12-1 looks to be HD, or at least 480p widescreen, while 15-2/12-2 is letterboxed and the usual SD. Looks like KAMU has some new cameras!!
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
"Meet the Candidates", a local production of candidates in our upcoming elections, is now on KAMU-DT on both feeds (HD and SD). 15-1/12-1 looks to be HD, or at least 480p widescreen, while 15-2/12-2 is letterboxed and the usual SD. Looks like KAMU has some new cameras!!
Sid

The host said it was live and in HD. It will be rebroadcast on ch 15 on 4/25 at 4 pm and on 5/13 at 7 pm. Since it was shot in HD, I assume it will be on 12-1/15-1 again. Our local FOX sends out a 1 kW signal while our PBS shoots its own programs in HD. How pathetic is that? :confused:

We may have to resurrect the term "FAUX"!!
Sid

Originally posted by elspankdog
The host said it was live and in HD. It will be rebroadcast on ch 15 on 4/25 at 4 pm and on 5/13 at 7 pm. Since it was shot in HD, I assume it will be on 12-1/15-1 again. Our local FOX sends out a 1 kW signal while our PBS shoots its own programs in HD. How pathetic is that? :confused:

Your local Fox affiliate is little more than a glorified translator for the Waco Fox affiliate.

For historical reasons, B/CS is part of the Waco market, so TV stations serving Waco have to "serve" B/CS as well. Except for KWTX/KBTX (and excluding the PBS stations), this has meant putting a translator somewhere in or near B/CS.

Generally speaking, I don't think B/CS is a large enough market to support network affiliates from all 6 networks. Local News/Sports/Weather takes people, where just passing through a network signal takes equipment. But to make money you need to be able to air local ads. Local advertisers that air an ad in Waco generally don't care about airing the same ad in B/CS. And you need local content to attract local ads and local viewers. And that takes people...

I think it might be in the B/CS TV viewers' interest to convince the FCC to separate the Waco and B/CS TV markets. But that would mean losing some local affiliates all together. In exchange, the community might add 1 or 2 "full service" local affiliates. [I think the cable rules are such that any lost affiliate could be replaced by the cable provider with a station from Houston, Dallas, Waco, or Austin...] It is a hard choice and a hard trade-off. There just may not be enough ad money for more than one network affiliate.

Also, don't forget that KAMU is a very well supported PBS affiliate for such a small market.

(Being an oldtimer, I can remember when the noon local news on KBTX was exactly the same show aired (and produced) in Waco at KWTX, and it was principally a farm report. Ed Brown (now in Houston) did the weather forecast.)

Originally posted by elspankdog
The host said it was live and in HD. It will be rebroadcast on ch 15 on 4/25 at 4 pm and on 5/13 at 7 pm. Since it was shot in HD, I assume it will be on 12-1/15-1 again. Our local FOX sends out a 1 kW signal while our PBS shoots its own programs in HD. How pathetic is that? :confused:

Yes they have HD cams and production equipment.... I was kinda hoping they would have done the Muster broadcast in HD, that would have been sweet in HD. I might have stayed home and watched it had it been HD.

Originally posted by FrankV
Your local Fox affiliate is little more than a glorified translator for the Waco Fox affiliate.

For historical reasons, B/CS is part of the Waco market, so TV stations serving Waco have to "serve" B/CS as well. Except for KWTX/KBTX (and excluding the PBS stations), this has meant putting a translator somewhere in or near B/CS.

Generally speaking, I don't think B/CS is a large enough market to support network affiliates from all 6 networks. Local News/Sports/Weather takes people, where just passing through a network signal takes equipment. But to make money you need to be able to air local ads. Local advertisers that air an ad in Waco generally don't care about airing the same ad in B/CS. And you need local content to attract local ads and local viewers. And that takes people...

I think it might be in the B/CS TV viewers' interest to convince the FCC to separate the Waco and B/CS TV markets. But that would mean losing some local affiliates all together. In exchange, the community might add 1 or 2 "full service" local affiliates. [I think the cable rules are such that any lost affiliate could be replaced by the cable provider with a station from Houston, Dallas, Waco, or Austin...] It is a hard choice and a hard trade-off. There just may not be enough ad money for more than one network affiliate.

Also, don't forget that KAMU is a very well supported PBS affiliate for such a small market.

I know all this but really we dont have any kind of access to UPN and WB (although fox does some of it but their schedule sucks), so we really only have axs to 4 networks.... Personally Id like to see us become a separate market this re-transmitter stuff is very bad for us early adopters.

(Being an oldtimer, I can remember when the noon local news on KBTX was exactly the same show aired (and produced) in Waco at KWTX, and it was principally a farm report. Ed Brown (now in Houston) did the weather forecast.)

EDIT, for some reason didnt put my reply in ;)

I was going to say I really hope that one day CS becomes a real separate market because in reality we only have access to the big 4 stations anyways (WB and UPN) are almost impossible to tune and the few shows that FOX carries doesnt count. Plus I would think we'd get some stations come in here that actually might have some funding behind them (prob some big telecome who has ags on the board, but who cares we would get better stations)... Plus might even pickup a UPN or WB..... Id much prefer this to a retransmitter solution we have now.

Originally posted by elspankdog
The host said it was live and in HD. It will be rebroadcast on ch 15 on 4/25 at 4 pm and on 5/13 at 7 pm. Since it was shot in HD, I assume it will be on 12-1/15-1 again. Our local FOX sends out a 1 kW signal while our PBS shoots its own programs in HD. How pathetic is that? :confused:

I'll have to check that out. Local HD programming... amazing.

I wonder if our local FOX station can hold a telethon for more power?

Seems like a long time ago I was going to look into how much broadcasting at 1kw acutally costs... never found an answer. I can't imagine it is too much, but maybe I would be surprised.

I checked the electric rates for BTU, and for a small business the rate is .0464 cent/KWHr (kilowatt-hour). Residential, by the way is .042cent. So if you multiply 1KWHr (running 1kw for 1 hour, correct?) @.0464cent X24 hours you get 1.11 cent/day, unless I am missing something. Wouldn't take much of a telethon to at least double their power!!:rolleyes:
Sid

Certainly that can't be right... there has to be something missing there.

Hell, I'll run a $20 down there which should allow them to quadruple their power for the next year. :D

There's only a tower in B/CS right? There's no actual place we could go to and request them to up their power?

KWKT in Waco runs the show for KYLE. I don't think they actually have an office here of any kind (just the transmitter), but I could be wrong.

E-mailing them is likely our only option.

Originally posted by mwesson
KWKT in Waco runs the show for KYLE. I don't think they actually have an office here of any kind (just the transmitter), but I could be wrong.

E-mailing them is likely our only option.

They do have a local phone number here, although my guess is it is only if you are interested in advertising on KYLE, because all technical-related calls are referred to the Waco office. That is how I got hold of one of their engineers the other day. As Brian posted, their chief engineer is out until next week. Maybe he will return some e-mail, unlike another station in Waco!!
Sid

Originally posted by dave99ag
There's only a tower in B/CS right? There's no actual place we could go to and request them to up their power?

1. The transmitter might not be capable of more.

2. Antenna height is generally better than transmitter power, but costs more money up front, of course.

3. KYLE-DT seems to be operating under an STA (Special Temporary Authority) from the FCC authorizing them to operate at 1 kW ERP from an antenna at a Height Above Ground Level of 0 meters! (Height Above Average Terrain of 51 meters.) They would have to apply to the FCC to exceed 1 kW ERP.

Their DT station Construction Permit is for 50 kW at 195.2 meters AGL (220 meters HAAT).

Doing a little further research, I find that KYLE is owned by Communications Corporation of America, which is having some rough times financially. So it is primarily a money problem that is keeping them from expanding the coverage of KYLE-DT. According to FCC records, their current low power transmitter is a 120W unit. (Which is not to say KYLE is NOT a 1 kW ERP station!)

{NB: Transmitter power is generally given in terms of Effective Radiated Power (ERP), and is not necessarily an expression of the actual power consumption of the transmitter!}

I just found another document at the FCC (http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=988552&Service=TV&Form_id=315&Facility_id=60384) dated 16 April,2004, where 50% of the ownership of CCA was transferred from Thomas R. Galloway (who used to own 100%) to Apollo Capital Management II, Inc.

Hopefully, this will provide the cash infusion KYLE and the other CCA owned stations need to perform the digital transition....

Hey Frank, this is good news right? I was a science major, not a business major. ;)

Originally posted by elspankdog
Hey Frank, this is good news right? I was a science major, not a business major. ;)

I would hope it is good news, but it is really hard to tell without knowing the intentions of all involved....

Being a professor in the business school here at A&M, I can officially tell you that....

It could be good or it could be bad.

How's that for an Academic answer?:p

I don't care what they have to do. I just want to be able to view HD in this area without having to erect a huge antenna 100' into the air. :D

Originally posted by dave99ag
I don't care what they have to do. I just want to be able to view HD in this area without having to erect a huge antenna 100' into the air. :D

Nah you only need it 30 ft in the air ;)

Well Im officially pissed at our local ABC station.... I was getting a strong signal from ABC tonight to watch the Sixth Sense and I realized how much it sucks when ABC does a movie in 5.1 vs what CBS does and the difference in the quality of the movies..... Being disney and all. Sadly I feel that the second best HD chan will be the last one we get online here..... I think its time for the mass emailing to commence. Not to mention they dont seem to have the problems broadcasting events and "flipping the switch" so many other networks seem to have.

Sixth sense, Armegeddon, Green Mile just to name a few since we really dont have axs to HD-DVD yet. Im really looking forward to real HD-DVD not compressed crap.

I think you're stretching it a bit when you call it "our local ABC station" - I don't even consider it to be a station (just a low power translator). The FCC site doesn't list any digital plans at all for KRHD, and representatives from KXXV/KRHD engineering have said the same. To make matters worse, I've never got any kind of response from any of the numerous emails or website contact forms I've submitted. I think the rest of Central Texas might have rubbed KXXV the wrong way a few years ago when they were hoping to see the Super Bowl in HD on KXXV (This might not be true, but who cares? We're officially pissed now ;) ). Anyway, here's a couple of ways to harrass them.

KRHD (http://www.abc40.com/main.cfm?ID=13) - (979)691-5743
General email - news@abc40.com

KXXV (http://www.kxxv.com/main.cfm?ID=13) - (254)754-2525
Kris Swearingen, Chief Engineer - kswearingen@kxxv.com
Jerry Pursley, General Manager - jpursley@kxxv.com
Engineering - engineer@kxxv.com
General email - news25@kxxv.com

Fire away!

I dont consider them to be much above a station either, it just gets frustrating because theyre really the only ones who have access to the disney movies..... not to mention 5.1 on most of their Hd programming. Its really a shame because I dont tune KTRK that well (only comes in reliably every other night or so) so I got it better than most of you other people in B/CS but I want access anytime all the time in any weather. I dont want to wait for the "stars to align" in order for me to get the "second best" HD station.

shame hd transmitters are cheaper, we should take up a donation and get our own transmitter.... and broadcast all the Hd programming were missing, all day every day HDTV (like Hdnet but 100x better content, hey were dreaming here arent we?) ;)

Originally posted by jagouar
so I got it better than most of you other people in B/CS

Hopefully that will change soon. I dug the hole for the tower base this weekend, and weather permitting, I'll pour the concrete this weekend. At 30 ft and further south than you (between Rock Prairie and Greens Prairie), I hope to get slightly better results. :D

"Our local station" is a real misnomer. If you check out the fcc site, their DT antenna (Moody) is directional, and guess which direction is cut out the most. That's right, we only get about half of the signal they put out. Not that it means a lot , they aren't sending anything HD yet.:mad:
E-mail doesn't seem to be any way to get a response from them yet, but who knows, maybe if they get enough we might get something back eventually. I have talked to a rather nice lady by phone on occasion. She did indicate at one point that HD might be in the works later. Maybe one of us will get lucky and find out something concrete from them one day!!
I watched some of "The Sixth Sense" (from Houston) earlier, also. ABC does seem to know how to do HD movies.
Sid

I was playing around pointing the antenna some last night, and was almost able to get a picture out of KYLE-DT. It was showing up as 28-1 on the Samsung 360.
Sid

Anyone notice that the audio is off a bit on 15-1? I'm watching Inovation and there's a synch problem. No issues on 15-2 though for the same program.

I'm watching the show about the Alamo now, and the sound sync problem is still there. Wonder if it is the national feed or a local issue. Might have to check the programming forum.
Sid

I thought I would try KYLE-DT again and it seems to be coming in with no dropouts at all the few minutes I have watched. WB programming on now, nothing I might usually watch. Funny thing is, guide shows the channel as 28-1, with 29 below it where the station name would be. Program info is listed as "KYLE DT, Event 828" with the next block starting at 1:00 AM as event 829. The sound seems to be out of sync a little, and has dropped out a couple of times. At least Closed Captioning seems to be working. :)
Did one of you donate to them to up their power?
Sid

Guess we didn't donate enough - I still can't get it. :(

Woo-hoo! I finally got a response from KXXV/KRHD. I guess the secret was emailing the chief engineer, but I didn't come across that email until last night. The answers were as expected and not all that promising for the near future.

Brian,
First of all I'm sorry you had so much trouble getting a reply. But to answer your questions, any plans to broadcast digitally from our local tower in Bryan are not clear. We are considering it in the future but not in the near future. The signal strength from Moody on our digital transmitter right now is 250,000 Watts and is being broadcast from 1,739 ft. We will be increasing that signal in the future to 1,000,000 Watts as our analog demand drops. We have no plans in the immediate future to broadcast that signal in HD, however we will be upgrading to HD but don't know when.
We have tested the signal we have now in the Bryan, College Station area and have a good signal with an outside antenna pointed towards Moody. You shouldn't have any trouble picking it up but it will still be digital not HD. But you can get Telemundo 26-3 and the local Weather Channel 26-4 with that signal.
Sorry for the disappointment
KXXV
KRHD
Engineering

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 9:52 AM
Subject: DTV/HDTV Status


Hey guys, I'm sorry to bother you, but I've tried to contact you guys several times through the contact form on your website as well as through the news email to no avail. I live in College Station, and I'm a viewer of KRHD. I had heard from you guys before that you have no plans for broadcasting a digital signal from a local tower, so others and I in the area are depending on an increased signal from the Moody tower in order to receive ABC in digital format. I was wondering if someone could tell me what signal strength you are at now, and when do you think you will be at full strength? Another issue others and I in the area have discussed is whether or not KXXV/KRHD will ever be broadcast in HD (720p). In the past, I heard that you guys had no plans for high definition, and that you were only interested in multicasting. Is this still true? Hopefully not - you guys are our only chance for programs like Monday Night Football, BCS bowls, and Disney movies in high definition. I would really, really, really, really appreciate if somebody could give me some feedback. Thanks again for your help

Originally posted by elspankdog
But you can get Telemundo 26-3 and the local Weather Channel 26-4 with that signal.

I'm so glad we can get Telemundo and weather.

It looks like they won't be going HD until the FCC says they have too, which could be a long time.

My only hope for ABC in HD is if D* picks them up. Well that, or if my wife will let me errect a huge tower to pickup Houston channels.

Anyone try to pickup KRIV (Fox) in Houston yet?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=395589

It looks like they've been upgraded.

Originally posted by dave99ag
...Well that, or if my wife will let me errect a huge tower...

I don't even think that is an option. I don't ABC out of Houston has been that reliable for Jagoaur or Labmansid. We are in HD hell! :mad:

HaHa, you know Dave, part of that quote sounds pretty bad.

LOL

That and the fact that it might disturb the neighbors.

I've been telling my wife that it will just be a glorified flagpole.

Originally posted by elspankdog
I've been telling my wife that it will just be a glorified flagpole.
Now what are YOU talking about??:eek:
Sid

Ive gotten ABC pretty well the past 2 nights but for about 2 months at before that it almost never worked.... ABC outta houston has always been spotty for me. I hope VOOM starts to pickup locals because I plan to make my dish to vooom conversion once they pickup the Scifi channel. Wonder if Ill get a rebate or something since I already have an antenna better than anything the VOOM installers would bring.

Originally posted by dave99ag
Anyone try to pickup KRIV (Fox) in Houston yet?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=395589

It looks like they've been upgraded.
I was picking it up last night, but there was nothing on that would have been HD. I may try later, weather permitting for reception, if something is on to test.
Sid

I don't think they're sending any HD signals. Just up-converts to 720p from 480p. September is when the HD content is supposed to go live.

Originally posted by jagouar
Wonder if Ill get a rebate or something since I already have an antenna better than anything the VOOM installers would bring.

Maybe you could just take whatever antenna they give you and donate it to the B/CS HDTV Society. :D

Originally posted by dave99ag
I don't think they're sending any HD signals. Just up-converts to 720p from 480p. September is when the HD content is supposed to go live.
Yeah, but I can't tell the difference anyway according to a previous comment made by a FOX exec. :p
Sid

[/sarcasm] :D

Hey. Those of you that have "moved" to Houston. Any suggestions on approaching D*'s CSR's?

I just asked them to change my service address, but keep the same billing address. I don't think they really care too much. I moved a week after my installation.

They changed my billing address as well, but I immediately went online and changed that back. I was ready to tell the CSR how I was going to be moving for business training for an extended amount of time, but they never even asked for a reason. Once you move, locals should be one of the programming choices available online. If you do everything online, you'll also be able to keep any waiver networks (ABC/NBC East and West) that you are already receiving.

Let's say, for sake of argument, that I move to Houston- get local Houston networks - and drop my waiver networks (so I'm not out $5/mo). Do you think I'd have to go back through the whole process to get the waiver networks again or would they automatically be on my record anytime I wanted to add them?

Obviously in an ideal world in the long run (in CS) -

CBS - local OTA
Fox - national feed due to Houston being an O&O (or local OTA)
ABC - national feed due to Houston being an O&O
NBC - national feed due to having a waiver in CS

I guess I could hold on to the waiver stations just to see what happens this summer (where I pray they start passing through other networks in HD)...

How is the waiver associated to you? If it's by your local address, then I'm not sure how you could keep it once you "move."

I wouldn't have thought so either - but given that elspankdog says if you do it all online - you can possibly fluke into keeping the distants...

I don't know if we would be able to get the NBC national feed with our "grandfathered" waivers. I think we might just have to wait and see if the feed comes on, and if it doesn't, we'll be sol. I'm pretty sure if you drop the distant networks, you won't be able to get them back without moving back to CS and doing the waiver thing again. In the past when I changed addresses in town and tried to get other networks, they made be do the entire waiver process again. That's why I kept mine ($4 bucks and all).

Brian

I'm relatively confident that as long as you have a "waiver" to receive a national network feed, when and/or if that feed becomes HD you will get it. IF D* starts passing along an NBC HD feed, we'll get it. (Note that's a big if.)

My worry is that if I lose the distant network feed by moving, that I won't be able to get it back. Although I wonder why I think that given that no one has had a problem getting one from NBC before that they would start rejecting them in the future...

NBC shouldn't be a problem, but I've heard of people in the area being turned down by ABC recently.

I am still getting NBC E/W even after "moving", but I rather doubt that qualifies me for a national HD feed if it happens. I hope I am wrong, but I am not counting on it.
Sid

It qualifies you. If you were eligible for CBS E/W you would be receiving CBS HD over D* as we speak.

I was thinking, once CS gets locals this summer on D*, getting an NBC waiver will be a problem.

Arguably the two shouldn't have anything to do with one another. You can either receive the signal or you can't. But DirecTV's distant channel database currently says that we receive an "A grade" signal from NBC - so I understand how the politics might actually come into play.

In case you guys didn't see this in "programming" - A guy listened in on D*'s 1Q financial conference call and found out the following - which I found very interesting given our conversations about moving...

1) D*TV's plans for the next 12-24 months include a migration to HD LOCAL stations (rather than analog), first in the top 30 markets in 2005, then more with the 2006 new sat. D*TV seems to feel that locals in HD would be a big competitive advantage, especially to those with little or no HD locals now via OTA - also the feeds would be more reliable than OTA.

2) D*TV plans to grow HDTV in 2004 after the new locals on 7S are all turned on. Their 8S (2Q 2005) and 9S (2Q 2006) sats will allow D*TV to expand their HDTV channel offerings to "well beyond what anyone else will have to offer", according to Eddy Hartenstein (CEO). He also stated that "unlike some other content providers, we will add quality content, not just HD for the sake of saying something is in HD. We will be the HD leader for many years to come." He added that "the timing of HDTV channel offering expansion beginning in July-Nov 2004, along with much more in 2005, ties into the anticipated new content that will become available".

3) FOX HD will be the first new offering, both for national feeds "much like we did CBS", as well as for their 6 weekly NFL Ticket games starting in September. In addition, "other channels will be rolled out between July 1 and the end of the year".

What I take to mean for us...

A) If you "live" in Houston - they are likely to have their locals in HD in 2005 over D*.

B) In the short run... if you "live" in Houston, their Fox station is an O&O so my understanding is that you'll get the Fox HD feed sometime this summer.

C) This is all very good news for D* subscribers interested in HD.

Sounds pretty good. I wonder what B/CS's market rank is. Isn't it around 90 or so?

Waco/Temple/Bryan is #94

Houston is #11
Dallas/Ft. Worth is #7
San Antonion is #37

I "moved" this afternoon with no problems. I think the guy knew exactly what I was doing but obviously didn't care. Very helpful.

FYI... the CSR did cancel my distant network feeds. However, he said that if I returned to College Station within 180 days, they could return my distants without going through the waiver process. After that 180 days is up, there is no guarantee - my guess is that it would depend which CSR you got. I thought it was a good fact to know.

I realize that some of you have already done this and that this experience is solely a joy of mine at this point. However, I needed to wait until a certain period of time had expired because I didn't want to change anything with DirecTV for fear of losing a priceless item (well, maybe not priceless - but certainly at least worth $999).

So, realizing that it is mainly my joy, does anyone want to share a big fat middle finger to Cox Cable and their $20/month broadcast cable package?
:D

I understand your joy. I too was a bit nervous when I called D* too. They really don't care.

One day I too will have the priceless item you have, but probably not until Christmas. :( Did you get to keep it?

Somewhat surprisingly, yes.

At no charge? That would be so wonderful.

Originally posted by mwesson
...but certainly at least worth $999)...

Have you looked on ebay lately? Definitely worth at least $999.

So, realizing that it is mainly my joy, does anyone want to share a big fat middle finger to Cox Cable and their $20/month broadcast cable package?
:D

I was even happier when I got DSL and dropped their high speed internet which required a cable subscription I didn't want.

Sucks you lost the distant feeds. I guess Labmansid and I got lucky.

I see where ESPNHD has added a couple of College World Series games to its schedule. I know our chances aren't that good this year (unless Meyer and Jackson could pitch every other day), but I can dream, right?

Hey, I will gladly join in your "salute" as a goodbye to Cox!! I cut the cord last summer, and don't miss it. Regardless of what Cox claims, there are alternatives to their HS Internet (and the requisite basic cable). That is the first I have heard about switching back within 180 days without having to apply for waivers again.
Welcome to Houston!! ;)
Sid

Ive been off COX for about a year now.... but its funny though because the basic cable was never disconnected so we still get the locals (even though theyre not HD) its nice to have a backup when Im not getting the HD from Houston.....

Verizon DSL owns COX cable so bad its not even funny and the base level top60 from dish will suffice for now till I decide what sat service to change to when its time to upgrade.... Its gonna be upgrade to VOOM or dish, I may go after BEV or whatever the canadians sat service is because they offer all the networks in HD now so I wouldnt have to bother with the wavier process.

Man, I was nervous enough moving to Houston, let us know how Canada is!!
Sid

Looks like Cox is going to finally offer HD. I doubt I'll be dropping D*, but at least there will be more people asking for HD in the area.

http://www.cox.com/inetmacincludes/HDTV/

The same day I get my tower up they go and announce this. Oh well, I'll get at least a month of use out of it. Great find Dave, any ideas on what channels they'll be carrying?

Hey, I guess that's good news for those of you living in town. I wonder what channels they will offer, whether there will be any networks offered.
Sid

It doesn't really mention much. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what they offer.

There is mention of some premium channels and possibly Discovery HD( at additional cost), but I have to wonder if there would be any HD networks due to carriage restrictions. In other words I'm not sure if they could offer any of the Houston HD networks, but KCEN might be possible.
Sid

For West Texas they offer Discovery, Showtime, HBO, INHD1&2, ESPN, and CBS. I don't know if any other locals in those areas are in HD. I guess they could maybe offer KAMU, KBTX, KYLE, KCEN?, and the Houston ABC? here. This is so funny when you think that we all gave Cox that big salute the other day. I don't want to go back to Cox. But if they offer baseball on INHD, it is going to tempt me.

I doubt they can get any of the Houston HDs channels since that's not our market.

InHD would be nice, but it may be coming to D*. Ken H seems to think it's possible. Guess we'll know more once 7s is ready to go.

Originally posted by elspankdog
I don't want to go back to Cox. But if they offer baseball on INHD, it is going to tempt me.
Don't give in to the Dark Side, Luke!!:p

I just thought that maybe they could offer the Houston ABC since they offer it now. Here's some links for West Texas pricing and channel lineup:

http://www.cox.com/WestTexas/HDTV/pricing.asp

http://www.cox.com/WestTexas/HDTV/programming.asp

elspankdog, if you had known this earlier would my back still be hurting now???
Sid

Cox: I'm am your father

Elspankdog: NOOOOOOOO!!! (in whiney Mark Hamill voice)

Originally posted by labmansid
elspankdog, if you had known this earlier would my back still be hurting now???
Sid

What about the rope burn?

Shhhhh!! People might get the wrong idea!!

Damn, Damn, Damn. This is about perfect for Cox. No sign of HD from them anywhere in the future... and then they just announce it.

I don't care. Screw them.

I'd like to get more information about what to expect if and when I "move" to Houston. If I move to a 77006 zip code area (inside the loop), then I should be able to get ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, and WB via DTV. Is that correct? I really want UPN, I've gotta have my Enterprise!

Because Houston is in a top market and O&O, I should be able to get CBS HD and FOX HD(Future) via DTV once I "move." Am I right about that?

Some said they moved online, is this true?

Ok, last question, for those with DirectTivo, do you have to run the first time setup again, or was the Tivo not affected.

Please forgive all the questions, Ive been with D* for one month now.

Thanks,

p

The Houston CBS is NOT an O&O station, so you would not be eligible for the national feeds from D*. The only stations in Houston O&O to my knowledge are ABC and FOX. No, the TIVO was not affected by the switch, the stations will start showing up in the guide area, although you may need to put a zip in the setup area, I don't remember off-hand. And yes, you will get all of the Houston locals, not just the ones you mentioned. Almost forgot, you can't change your service address online, you have to call and talk to a CSR.
Sid

I agree with all of the above having just gone through the process.

On another concern:

Has anyone had any problems with KBTX (CBS) lately? I seem to be having some reception issues for some reason (including no picture at all).

Yeah, I noticed Saturday evening only the analog was working, didn't watch CBS much yesterday. I would e-mail them, but it might make them mad!!
Sid

I also noticed problems with KBTX, but didn't watch much CBS this weekend.

I did notice that KAMU's audio-synch problems appear to be fixed. For awhile there the audio was ahead of the video.

Originally posted by par3033
...Some said they moved online, is this true?...

You have to call to change your service address, but you can add programming, including locals, and change your billing address online.

As for KBTX, the HD feed seemed to be down Saturday afternoon and evening. The Houston OTA worked just fine though :D.

Originally posted by elspankdog

As for KBTX, the HD feed seemed to be down Saturday afternoon and evening. The Houston OTA worked just fine though :D.
Yeah, and the Waco CBS was OK, too.

Tower snobs...

Originally posted by mwesson
Tower snobs...
Don't hate us for our erections!!:eek:
Sid

lol. Well I just got an email from Cox concerning their HD lineup, and of course it was worthless. They quoted the website word for word. I then proceeded to call them (why, I don't know). The csr told me they didn't know what channels would be available, but she said they are working on getting all the channels in HD.:eek: I think she meant all the HD channels.

Here's a pic of the tower. I still need to tidy up the wires a bit, but with the weather like it was, I didn't feel like climbing up there. I went with a Winegard YA1713 VHF, a Televes Dat75 UHF, and a CM7777 at ~25 ft. The VHF is permanently aimed towards Temple for KCEN, and the Televes is on a rotor. So far and in really poor weather conditions, things are looking good. KCEN has improved over my attic mounted CM 3020, and I would have to call it rock solid. As for Houston, things are how I expected. NBC, UPN, WB, and CBS are pretty solid, while ABC has some dropouts, and FOX is by far the worst (rarely comes in so far). Waco stations haven't been as promising. CBS is great, but I haven't been able to pull in ABC/KXXV. Finally, the locals - KAMU and KBTX are off the charts while I've had no luck so far in pulling in KYLE's whimpy 1 kW signal. With better weather, I expect things to improve.

Holy moley...

That is one huge setup. Looks very nice.

:o

Now that's a tower!

Why do you have two dishes?

What address did you use? Did you guys use a friends address or do you just pick some arbitrary address?

Thanks,

p

I think if you know someone that is probably the easiest, but not necessary.

I used my parent's house - but I think the reality is you can use pretty much any confirmed address as long as it doesn't already have a satellite. (Just make sure the billing address is where you actually are.)

Why do you have two dishes?

Way too many stb's! Actually, instead of buying a multiswitch, I just used the second dish since I already had it. I needed 5 sat feeds - 2 for TiVo, 2 for HD stb's, and one for another SD box.

That tower looks like it is really heavy!!;)
Sid

Well thats blows the crap outta mine.... course mine is 5 ft higher ;)

I 'moved' last night to Houston w/o any problems.

p.

Welcome to the "Bayou City" and Channel 51, home of the Astros!!:D
Sid

I got a couple of responses today from local networks and their availability on Cox HD. KBTX is working with Cox on carrying their HD channel, but they do not know when the channel will be available to the public. Installation of their feed into Cox's system has been discussed though. KCEN was unable to answer any Cox HD questions at this time, but they did let me know that KMAY will most likely be updated to digital once the switch date (2006?) is put into play. That's good new for us that cannot have an external antenna. I've yet to hear anything from KYLE or KAMU.

Got a reply from KAMU as well today, and they said to keep watching for news concerning Cox. It was also said that things should get interesting :eek:. I wonder if this is in regards to new multiple providers of locals being available this summer.

The topic of D* guide misinfo for us Zenith and HD-TiVo users came up too. I was told that KAMU was still talking with Tribune Media Services about fixing this problem, but to no avail so far.

D* providing locals along with E*'s semi-locals will be good for the area. Competition is always a good thing.

It'd be nice if you could only get the HD channels from Cox, but I'm sure you have to subscribe to digital cable.

Yep, I'm pretty sure digital cable is a requirement, and I'm also pretty sure I won't be getting it.

You all might be interested to know that I called the retention number mentioned in the "hardware" $99 thread and told them since I had an HD receiver allready, all I wanted was an SD-DVR and asked them if there was anything they could do for me.

They offered me the DVR for free ($15 S&H) and set up an installation as they don't mail boxes anymore. Needless to say, the installation was set up for my Houston address :eek: So, later that day, I called back and told them since I was going to be staying in Houston for only another 2 months or so, I would just as soon have the box installed at my C.S. address. In order to make that happen though, she had to move my address back to C.S. No problem, I said, figuring that I could always go back to Houston after the installation. However, her being an installation person, I don't think she ever even checked the programming I had. So now I have a C.S. address and Houston locals. :D I figure it won't last forever, but it did turn out ok.

In addition, they gave me Showtime free for the next 6 months and reduced my HBO bill to $2/mo for the next 6 months.

Those of you that haven't called retention yet, at least for the HBO/Showtime offer, it was well worth my five minutes.

I'm saving my call for a credit on the HD-TiVo (fingers crossed). I've heard of people getting $300 credits.

I would think if you didn't already have an HD-Tivo that would be a good way to use that phone call... :D

There seems to be much consternation on that thread that the deal for the HD receiver is now over. We'll see I guess.

Hey Michael, have you looked into adding hours to either of your TiVos? I've been getting a lot of emails from 9th Tee about their uprade kit for the HD-TiVo.

Did anyone notice the auction last night on KAMU? I'm guessing it was done in 16x9 480p, but maybe it was a higher resolution.

Gotta love a local PBS station using HD cameras for their fundraisers.

I have not. The reality is that I don't intend to use either for long-term storage purposes. It is tempting to do with the HD Tivo though as some of the HD movies are certainly worth keeping - I don't know anything about the 9th tee, but have perused the weaknees website. I just can't justify spending that much cash on extra space at this point in time. Perhaps the longer I use it, the greater that "need" will be. Especially when more and more programming becomes HD. My guess is that when the majority of shows I watch become HD (i.e. I get more networks in HD than CBS...) that 30 hours of HD will go pretty quick...

Originally posted by dave99ag
Did anyone notice the auction last night on KAMU? I'm guessing it was done in 16x9 480p, but maybe it was a higher resolution.

I meant to switch my box over to native in order to see what the true resolution was, but I forgot to once the dinner bell rang. It was definitely a nice picture. Can they do 1080i simultaneously on two channels?

Originally posted by mwesson
The reality is that I don't intend to use either for long-term storage purposes.

That's what I thought until my wife got a hold of the thing. I'll be so happy when Seinfeld is finally released on DVD. I've also been archiving Aggie football games, but in reality, the wins haven't been taking up that much space lately.

Made the "customer retention" call today, and while I didn't get as much as I wanted I'm still pleased with the results. I got an $150 credit for the HD-Tivo and $10 bucks off HBO and Showtime for 6 months. I have to admit that I am an awful negotiator. When the CSR argued against my Voom and TWC(Houston) slant, I was thrown for a loop. I claimed they had no up-front equipment costs to which he replied, "Do they have a TiVo/DVR?" He brought this up every time I mentioned those providers. Oh well, I'm still happy, and I'll be even better off by Wednesday at the latest. Just have to find another shelf for my new baby. The pangs will have ceased!

HA! A bright CSR... should have hung up and gone a different route. Honestly, I'm not sure you could have done much better given what most others are getting at the moment.

I think you will enjoy your purchase very much... :D

Woo-hoo! Got my HD-Tivo today. Just in time for the Tuesday HD repeat of the Sopranos (I missed it on Sunday). The coolest thing about the unit is how I came upon it. If you've been following these things, you should know that they are not easy to come by, and they've been going for $1300 and more on ebay. Well lately I've been lurking the where to purchase threads on tivocommunity, and somebody said they had an extra unit in San Antonio they wanted to sell. I responded on Friday, and the guy delivered it to my work today while he was in the area on business. The best part is that I paid what he paid - the Circuit City price, and I have the online receipt. This guy was a genuine class act, and he reminded me why I frequent this and the tivocommunity forums - people that are just looking to help others. [/Christmas morning smile]

So now we know that there are two HD-Tivos in the Brazos Valley.

I'll probably have to wait until closer to Christmas to pick one up. :(

I can wait till they get under $300... my $100 AccessDTV records fine for now, and there really isnt anything too special on sattelite these days that requires me to record.

Congrats Brian. Let us know how you are enjoying it. I'll be interested to hear how you think the OTA tuner in it is compared to what you have been using. Although I don't notice an improvement in picture quality, it is much better than my OLD Panasonic TUHDS20 at picking up signals.

Hey Michael, has the KAMU HD feed always showed up as 15-2 as well as 12-1 on the HD-TiVo? Of course, it is still useless since 15-2 has the guide data for the analog channel.

Originally posted by elspankdog
Hey Michael, has the KAMU HD feed always showed up as 15-2 as well as 12-1 on the HD-TiVo? Of course, it is still useless since 15-2 has the guide data for the analog channel.

Perhaps I don't understand your question. I guess I haven't looked lately - but last time I checked - 12-1 and 12-2 would display as KAMU1 and 2 on the TIVO, but would have no guide information.

In the guide, there was 15-1 and 15-2 which were KAMU's guide information, but wasn't where the actual channels were.

I'll check again when I get home and let you know. I've let them know numerous times about this, but nothing has changed.

Well the HD feed is showing up with picture on two places on my HD-TiVo (at least it was two nights ago):

12-1 with no guide data
15-2 with guide data for the analog channel

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Interesting. I'll check when I get home. That wasn't the way it used to be (at least I don't think so). I'll let you know.

I don't know if you've been looking at this new thread, but this bodes very well for us that have moved to Houston - receiving HD locals from D*.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=406666

I guess it's better to be in the 11th market then the 93rd market. ;)

From the new SHVERA (formerly SHIVA) thread in the programming section...

As expected, Echostar and DirecTV would be forced to stop selling imported channels once they add local stations to the channel lineup in market.

That would not be good. This would mean that IF D* ever did start broadcasting the NBC and ABC national feeds in HD (which we can currently get waivers for)... as soon as we get local channels from them - this summer supposedly - they would not be allowed to continue to provide us with those distant networks.

Sucks.

If the station is O&O (like the Houston Fox and ABC), will you still be able to get the national feed?

I'm certainly not an expert on this, but I would assume that those that live in O&O station areas will still be able to get the national HD feed.

Let's say you have a "minor" antenna in the B/CS area AND D* starts carrying national HD feeds (not certain to happen)-

Option A - Service address in CS

CBS and PBS HD OTA
No other HD network channels.

Option B - Service address in Houston

CBS and PBS HD OTA
ABC and FOX HD through D* due to those stations being O&O in Houston.

Of course, many of you have large antennas that can pick up NBC and other stations - but for those of us that don't...

Looks like KYLE-DT is finally listed on www.titantv.com as 28-1. Now we'll know what programs we're not able to receive.

Saw this on the HDNet schedule for tomorrow morning (6/4). Haven't seen this show before so I really don't know much about it.

9:00 AM CT Big Game Hunters: Texas A&M vs. Texas
Come join the journey, tailgates and fun of one of America's great football rivalries.

Guess I'll be watching that at 9am tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up.

Dude, record it... I want a copy ;)

Just thought I would post a couple of recent pics of my antenna setup. This one with the "flash" from behind me....

.......and this one has the "flash" behind the antennas.
Sid

Great shot with the lightning. I've been shooting the lightning storm tonight too.

That is one huge freakin' antenna. I sure hope it doesn't get struck.

So far so good, looks like things are dying down now. I always did appreciate a good light show!!
Sid

Dave, what are you using to shoot the lightning with? I used to take tons of lightning pics on 35mm, been experimenting with digital lately. When we lived in West Texas, that was one of the few good things about it, the lightning shows and sunsets, no pesky trees to get in the way!!
Sid

I've got a Canon 10D sitting on my tripod. I was doing 5s shots with a remote trigger.

Here's the one decent shot I got: Photo (http://mantis.tamu.edu/txags/lightning.jpg)

good gawd labmansid, no wonder you get more reliable signals than I do... ;)

Thats gotta be 50 ft up there...

Dave, pretty cool!!

Originally posted by jagouar
good gawd labmansid, no wonder you get more reliable signals than I do... ;)

Thats gotta be 50 ft up there...
The TeleVes is probably close to 50'. The tower is supposed to be 50' with the first 3' or so of the bottom sunk in concrete. However, as you might be able to tell I have a lot of tall trees to contend with. Plus we live NorthEast of Bryan, which puts a few more miles between Houston and me (I figure it's close to 90 miles for me ) than you have to deal with. So we may be pretty equal as far as reception from Houston, or you may actually have the nod there.
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
The TeleVes is probably close to 50'. The tower is supposed to be 50' with the first 3' or so of the bottom sunk in concrete. However, as you might be able to tell I have a lot of tall trees to contend with. Plus we live NorthEast of Bryan, which puts a few more miles between Houston and me (I figure it's close to 90 miles for me ) than you have to deal with. So we may be pretty equal as far as reception from Houston, or you may actually have the nod there.
Sid

Id bet 20 bucks you get better signals.... I think where I am is one of the lowest spots in the city.... I get signals most of the time but its not as reliable as Id like. Of course if our other locals would stop screwing around we wouldnt need these monster antennas.

Did anyone notice if KBTX-DT was off the air this evening? I called the studio, and they said they were not aware of any problem, and I notice now it is back on.
Sid

It was off earlier. nothing worth watching so it was no loss.

Originally posted by labmansid
Just thought I would post a couple of recent pics of my antenna setup. This one with the "flash" from behind me....

Who added that VHF antenna for you? Looks like they do nice work and are completely out of their mine for climbing that thing. What was I thinking?

ps - Beat the hell outta LSU! Whooooop!

Any of you guys get to watch the A&M/t.u. rivalry show? Any good?

It was cool to see, but I wasn't too impressed with the production. I didn't know this was just some radio jocks going to football games. I guess I was expecting something more documentary like.

I had visions of Sidelines - RWB Out episode, but didn't get that.

Like Dave said, it was pretty lame. Not as bad as Sidelines was at times, but definitely not what I was looking for. They really didn't focus on the rivalry at all, just tailgating and bars (including dunking rings).

The Hooters girl was nice though.

Originally posted by jagouar
It was off earlier. nothing worth watching so it was no loss.
I sometimes wonder if they do this on purpose, just to see if anyone is really watching the DT channel. If they really want to know, however, I don't think the "Tony Awards" is a good test!!;)
Sid

Originally posted by elspankdog

The Hooters girl was nice though.
By nice, I suppose you mean she was cheerful and upbeat and had a great personality, right?? :rolleyes:
Sid

LOL

It was this girl: Stacie: The Sports Chick (http://www.montanus.biz/sportschic/index.jsp)

This show was rather full of fluff.

Originally posted by labmansid
By nice, I suppose you mean she was cheerful and upbeat and had a great personality, right?? :rolleyes:
Sid

Of course! Otherwise I would have just said the girl had nice hoo... :D

For those of you in Cox's territory, KBTX had a blurb on the news at 6:00 about Cox offering HD on cable next week. No mention of what channels would be on (besides KBTX, of course), or pricing, but they did say there would be 8 channels in the HD line-up.
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
For those of you in Cox's territory, KBTX had a blurb on the news at 6:00 about Cox offering HD on cable next week. No mention of what channels would be on (besides KBTX, of course), or pricing, but they did say there would be 8 channels in the HD line-up.
Sid

I saw the blurb as well... its all well and good but if they plan on charging 10 bucks extra per box they arent going to get too many people interested... assuming here that they will follow lubbut's digital lineup. If it was between voom and cox theres not much of a debate.

http://www.cox.com/WestTexas/HDTV/default.asp
How much is High-Definition Service from Cox?

You can lease the HD converter from Cox for $9.95 per month. The HD Converter will replace your current digital converter if you are a Cox Digital Cable customer. With the converter, you will receive local programming available in your area as well as InDemand HD1, InDemand HD2, ESPN HD, HBO HD and Showtime HD (HBO HD and Showtime HD are available as long as you are a current digital HBO and/or Showtime subscriber). There is a $49.95 installation fee for HD Service.

For an additional $4.95 per month you can add our Discovery HD Tier with Discovery HD Theater.*

--------------------------
To get to 8 channels, I'm guessing they'll offer KBTX, KAMU, and KCEN. Not too bad of a deal except for the extra charge for Discovery HD.

What about KYLE-DT??:p :p
Sid

Originally posted by jagouar
I saw the blurb as well... its all well and good but if they plan on charging 10 bucks extra per box they arent going to get too many people interested... assuming here that they will follow lubbut's digital lineup. If it was between voom and cox theres not much of a debate.
Even considering between D* and Cox there isn't much debate, especially if the rumors are true about D* getting the InHD feeds later this year. That would be awesome!!
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
Even considering between D* and Cox there isn't much debate, especially if the rumors are true about D* getting the InHD feeds later this year. That would be awesome!!
Sid

Im seriously looking at voom these days for the pvr they will have soon, plus they seem to have the best packages for HD atm and seem to be #1 in adding the new stuff, sans hdnet.

Im going to have a problem with wiring.... i just redid my theater and havent rewired my component cable, need about a 45 foot one vs the 35 I have now... Ill get some pics up once is complete... but its quite an improvement. :)

Just curious, what kind of cable are you using for that long component run?
Sid

it was the standard one from a2zcables.com.... I will be selling my 25/35 ft one if your interested, dont remember if i got the 25 or 35 ft version... i need to measure it ;)

According to this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3899620#post3899620) in the Lubbock Cox thread, digital cable might not be required to receive the locals. It seems that in Lubbock they are passing the one local unencrypted. So all one might need is the lowest cable package and a stb or TV with a QAM tuner to receive the locals. Of course in other cities, I've heard of Cox encrypting the locals. We'll see.

Hey Jagoaur, in my setup I'm just using three ~30 ft runs of RG6 for one of my component cables and a 50 ft VGA cable for the other. The RG6 is the cheap way out. Have you tried RG6 vs the component cable you have? If there's a significant difference, I might be interested in your old cable.

Brian

Cant say that I have... if you want to borrow it or bring yours by so we could do a comparison, Id be interested as well... I have a 50 ft VGA cable and a svideo that runs to my pj atm but rg6 would be alot more "wire friendly" if it looks as good as a real compponent cable.

Every once in a while when the stars are aligned, the right animal sacrifices have been made to the tropo gods, and Jobu is pleased with his rum, ABC out of Houston makes me happy. Last night was a blessing. I was able to watch the Pistons whip up on the Lakers in HD with virtually no dropouts. The sad thing is that this is a rarity, and today I'll be back to my old ways of hating our pseudo-local affiliates (KBTX and KAMU aside).

Just got an email from Cox with their initial HD lineup:

KAMU - PBS - HD
KBTX - CBS - HD
ESPN HD
Discovery HD Theater
INHD1
INHD2
HBO HD
Showtime HD

Looks like no KYLE-DT for now. :mad:

It's a step in the right direction, but there's no way I'll go back to Cox.

I wouldn't mind having InHD, but I bet D* will eventually get it.

I was playing around scanning tonight after the Pistons/Fakers game (which was awesome in HD out of Houston!!) to see what I could get while the tropo was in good form, and so far I have gotten a couple of stations out of San Antonio!! WOAI (NBC) and KSAT (ABC), plus a couple of Spanish channels. I figure that is about 160 miles from my house. Still can't get KYLE-DT, though, how pathetic is that!! :mad:
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
I was playing around scanning tonight after the Pistons/Fakers game (which was awesome in HD out of Houston!!) to see what I could get while the tropo was in good form, and so far I have gotten a couple of stations out of San Antonio!! WOAI (NBC) and KSAT (ABC), plus a couple of Spanish channels. I figure that is about 160 miles from my house. Still can't get KYLE-DT, though, how pathetic is that!! :mad:
Sid

Yeah the game did look awesome from KTRK.... shame its not more stable signal wise from them because they really do show the best movies and actually do 5.1.

Watched Leno on 4-1 out of San Antonio last night while I couldn't even get a blip from KYLE-DT. Hopefully, it will rain before every Monday Night game this season.

We should take up a collection to get them more power.... but they still dont have the "HD" deocders and stuff yet right? Some BS excuse about waiting for fox to decide on a broadcast format first or something. I remember reading something like that in one of these threads but have no motivation to read through 11 pages again ;)

I've pretty much given up on our local Fox. They don't respond to any of my emails, and their finances seem to be up in the air. I'm just waiting on the D* Fox-HD feed. However, I'm not happy about our ability to get all the Cowboy games in HD. Hopefully, most of the NFC East games will be picked up by the Fox-HD East coast feed, but the other games worry me. I'd get the Sunday Ticket, but I'm pretty sure the Cowboy games will blacked out here. That leaves lowly Kyle to deliver us some HD. :(

I've never bought Sunday Ticket, but why would Dallas games get blacked out here (ie. Houston D*)?

It does stink that we'll never get much out of KYLE.

This thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179110) gave me the impression that any game on your local channel would be blacked out. I've never bought the Sunday Ticket before, so I'm not positive about the whole black out thing.

I cant see paying that much cash to watch NFL ball.... between the HD game on CBS and my homework that I tend to put off till sunday I am normally pretty busy sundays....

Hehe... I forget that you're still a student. My wife is still in school and hates the fact that I can come home and watch TV.

I'm not a big enough NFL fan to get ST either. I'll just enjoy what KBTX and Fox-HD East have to offer.

Originally posted by jagouar
I cant see paying that much cash to watch NFL ball....

Don't you suscribe to every provider available (D*, E*, and Voom). I thought for sure that of all people you would buy the Sunday Ticket. :D

Originally posted by elspankdog
Don't you suscribe to every provider available (D*, E*, and Voom). I thought for sure that of all people you would buy the Sunday Ticket. :D


I HAD d*, and have e* now but no HD box (just top60) with them anymore... My next will be VOOM. Ive sold most of my equipment to pay for the other stuff so Ive done everything real cheap.

So when are we going to see this new theater?

Originally posted by elspankdog
So when are we going to see this new theater?

Ehh, its done but I am waiting for a few "upgrades" before I take the pics....

Oh, waiting for your ticket to Canada, are you? :D :D
Sid

I'm finally thinking of setting up an antenna to pickup KCEN and anything else out of Waco. I'm not too worried about Fox or ABC since I'm betting those will eventually get picked up by D*. KCEN, KBTX, and KAMU would probably be the channels I'd like to get most OTA.

I'd like to attic mount if at all possible. My wife doesn't really want or will let me errect a tower at our house. :( I'm just south of Rock Prairie, so I'm at least near the higher area of CS.

Any recommendations of antennas? Maybe something I can pickup locally. I'm pretty much antenna illiterate.

Are you using anything now to pick up KBTX and KAMU? I don't remember off-hand if you have said you get those now. If so, all you need is some way to combine your current setup with a VHF for KCEN. If not, you will need a combo (VHF/UHF) antenna for all of them. Also, does your attic have that metal foil lining for insulation under the roof? If so, an attic install may be tricky.
Sid

I'm using $10 rabbit ears to get KBTX and KAMU. My wife would prefer getting rid of those though.

I'm not sure about the foil lining though, I'll have to check this evening. The house is just over a year old if that helps any.

Would an antenna like this work?

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=56239-000000693-3020

If it is that new, there is a good chance it has the lining in it, depending on the builder, of course. Good for the A/C bill, bad for TV reception, especially long distance, though.

Hey Dave, in my old attic mount I used a CM3020 UHF/VHF combo that I got from Lowe's. This thing is pretty big so you have to have an open space in the attic to mount it so that it is aimed towards KCEN. The reception I got with it was ok. I usually watched KCEN at night when the reception was better, but I did watch some day events such as horse racing with pretty good results on the old setup. You're welcome to try mine out if you would like. I also have a CM Spartan preamp and a RS double bowtie UHF that are not being used either. If you chose the separate route for UHF and VHF, the double bowtie could be used for KBTX.

Brian

An antenna like that should give you a pretty good shot at KCEN, if it will fit in your attic. Be sure to put some ice cubes in your pockets if you get up in your attic this time of year!!:D

I'll have to measure to make sure I have room for an antenna that size. Did you have luck getting KCEN without the preamp, or only with that installed? Luckily the place I plan on putting it does have an outlet nearby.

I think the only thing that might deter me is if I have that lining Sid was talking about. I guess I'll go around peeling up some shingles to see if I have it.

Don't worry about the outlet, the power supply goes next to the stb while the preamp part on the antenna doesn't require power. I used the preamp because of a long cable run, and yes, it made a difference. Do you know who your builder was? Maybe you could just call them and find out if they use the lining. I'm not sure if I have the lining or not.

Maybe something like this would work!!
homemade antenna for channel 12 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=3917573&fullpage=1)

Just called my builder and he's pretty sure there's no foil liner.

No if a cold front would blow in so I can get up in the attic. :)

As far as the lining thing, all you have to do is look up at your roof from inside the attic, in between the rafters, and you should see just wood if no lining, or shiny foil with writing on it if it is there. It's not directly under the shingles, it's just under what the shingles are attached to, usually a type of plywood. In other words, it would be the first layer of your roof from the inside. Unless someone installed "pink" fiberglass insulation under it, not likely.
Sid

Originally posted by dave99ag
Just called my builder and he's pretty sure there's no foil liner.

No if a cold front would blow in so I can get up in the attic. :)

Hah.... your gonna be waiting a few months....

I bet it is nice and cool in Canada, and you get the networks in HD.:D

Id take canada over htown this time of year any day... Better than its hot as hell houston where you can see the humidity in the air. ;)

I've got a big ass fan, an antenna, and some cable. Hopefully I won't die up there. :D

I'll post results when I get some.

Good luck Dave! Try getting the antenna as high as possible. That's where I got the best results. If you want to borrow a preamp let me know. At 7:15 pm, my signal level for KCEN on my HD-TiVo and my old antenna setup was around 70%. BTW, the PQ for KCEN's SD stuff is horrible, but Leno looks great.

Hey, Dave, did you get that monster in your attic, or did the monster in your attic get you?? Hope you haven't suffered from heat stroke!!
Sid

I was able to get everything installed (antenna + preamp), but I haven't had any luck picking up KCEN yet. I'm supposed to point at 307 degrees, but I may not be exactly there. I can pickup the analog KCEN though. My orginal placement was way off using a GPS outside. I guess I'll have to play with the compass more to get it right.

It was quite hot up there, but a 20" fan kept things somewhat cool. The hardest part was running the coax down to my HD receiver.

Good to hear from you Dave. I've been reading the obits the last couple of days - expected to see, "Man dies trying to get HD in B/CS." So you haven't even got a blip so far?

Originally posted by elspankdog
"Man dies trying to get HD in B/CS."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I never had any luck getting anything in the attic, but I always figured I was doing something wrong. Eventually just gave up.

Praying for networks through D*...

Hehe... I was closer to dying doing landscaping this weekend than being up in the attic.

I haven't got much with my Samsung 360. It appears to search for the signal but never can lock on. Some of the antenna elements got slightly bent during installation. Aside from being positioned wrong, could that be causing issues?

I don't know about the elements. Some of mine are positioned awkwardly due to the size of the CM3020 also. I do know that attic mounts are tricky - any metal in the attic can also act like part of the antenna. You might want to try tilting the antenna if possible.

ps - Softball and mowing the grass on a Saturday afternoon can kill you also.

Originally posted by elspankdog

ps - Softball and mowing the grass on a Saturday afternoon can kill you also.
Recognize this, elspankdog? (http://www.lucky-seven.com/hrd040.jpg)

:p :p :p
Sid

Dave, I have noticed that KCEN reception has been kind of spotty lately, so it may not necessarily be entirely something in your setup. For instance, the Houston stations have been coming in pretty solid at night lately, sometimes as in this evening before the sun sets even. If they are coming in that well, it should stand to reason KCEN would come in better. Maybe what's good for UHF isn't so good for VHF, I don't know.
Sid

I think I may aim to Houston just to see if I can get anything. I'm going to play around with the antenna more before I decide to return it.

Let us know if you need some help!!
Sid

Originally posted by labmansid
Let us know if you need some help!!
Sid

Or if you want to see how an antenna is supposed to be done ;)

I really wish the signal meter was better on the Samsung 360. I can get about 45 for KCEN, but that's also what I get for KBTX. Sometimes it goes higher up to 77 and then down to 0. I'm guessing that if I can get it to lock in then I'll have better luck in the future.

I'd love to build a tower in my backyard, but my wife has veto power on that. If you're married and have those towers, you have a forgiving wife. :)

Originally posted by dave99ag
I really wish the signal meter was better on the Samsung 360. I can get about 45 for KCEN, but that's also what I get for KBTX. Sometimes it goes higher up to 77 and then down to 0. I'm guessing that if I can get it to lock in then I'll have better luck in the future.

I'd love to build a tower in my backyard, but my wife has veto power on that. If you're married and have those towers, you have a forgiving wife. :)

Nah, Im a youngin still but labmansid (whos tower owns mine) is married (I think)

Yeah, I was pretty sure you weren't married. About the only way I could put up a tower is if my wife could put vines and flowers up it, hehe.