Originally posted by Bob Hess
I live in the Placerville area. Send me your new address and I'll give you a good idea whether or not you will be able to see the Walnut Grove stations.

Bob Hess
UPN-31 KMAX
bhess at cbs.com

Thanks Bob...
I just sent you a PM.

Dave

Upcoming UPN HD:

VERONICA MARS - Wednesday, September 22, 2004 and thereafter on Tuesdays, effective September 28, 2004

KEVIN HILL - effective Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Bob,
Do you guys plan on increasing your signal strength any time soon? You are the only station that I don't get consistent coverage for in Vacaville.

Thanks,

dave

Originally posted by Dave Vaughn
Bob,
Do you guys plan on increasing your signal strength any time soon? You are the only station that I don't get consistent coverage for in Vacaville.

Thanks,

dave

Watch the Forum. We will be off of our directional antenna soon and will be operating at higher power. I will post when we throw the switch.

Bob

Bob,
That is great to hear!

Dave

Originally posted by Bob Hess
Upcoming UPN HD:

VERONICA MARS - Wednesday, September 22, 2004 and thereafter on Tuesdays, effective September 28, 2004

KEVIN HILL - effective Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Bob,

Any idea's when (or if) UPN will be on Comcast.

I hope with the HD lineup on UPN starting this fall season, Comcast will have more incentive to add UPN31 HD soon, as well as WB58 HD.

Anybody living in Stockton/Modesto area knows when we will get CBS, FOX, WB, PBS and UPN HD (digital channels) on Comcast?

Anyone out there able to receive the KMAX digital signal on a DTC-100? If so, do you have audio?

Bob

Originally posted by gtree10
Bob,

Any idea's when (or if) UPN will be on Comcast.
No idea. Best to check with Comcast.

Bob

UPN TO OFFER LARGEST SLATE OF HDTV PROGRAMMING IN ITS HISTORY



Record Five Hours A Week To Be Broadcast in Hi-Def in 2004-2005 Season



UPN will present its largest slate of HDTV programming in the history of the network for the 2004-2005 season, it was announced today by Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, UPN. Half of the network's primetime line-up - a record seven series -will be broadcast in high definition television, beginning with the premieres of all three of UPN's drama series "Veronica Mars," "Kevin Hill" and "Star Trek: Enterprise," and extending to UPN's Monday night comedies "One on One," "Half & Half," "Girlfriends" and "Second Time Around" by November. This brings the Network's weekly HDTV offerings to five hours. Last season, UPN presented two hours of series programming in HDTV, including "Star Trek: Enterprise," as well as select Friday night movies.



"HDTV is going to further enhance what are already high-quality, visually stunning dramas and comedies," said Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, UPN. "We are very pleased to introduce the growing HDTV audience to UPN's programming."



UPN recently added a second hi-def editing suite to its Television City production center, which allows it to significantly increase its HDTV offerings.





UPN HDTV SCHEDULE:



ONE ON ONE - MONDAY, 8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT

HALF & HALF - MONDAY, 8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT

GIRLFRIENDS - MONDAY, 9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT

SECOND TIME AROUND - MONDAY, 9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT

VERONICA MARS - TUESDAY, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT

KEVIN HILL - WEDNESDAY, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE - FRIDAY, 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT

Originally posted by spider98
Anybody living in Stockton/Modesto area knows when we will get CBS, FOX, WB, PBS and UPN HD (digital channels) on Comcast?

Sacramento has Fox and PBS as of the channel reorg a couple weeks ago. If you are looking for CBS on KOVR its not gonna happen anytime soon (Sinclair issue). As far as WB and UPN - seems like they could do UPN pretty easy, but until recently there hasn't been much content - so maybe they are upcoming.

I'd like to get TNT-HD before WB or UPN... but thats just me (Nascar)

Originally posted by Bob Hess
Anyone out there able to receive the KMAX digital signal on a DTC-100? If so, do you have audio?

Bob

I have been watching KMAX digital on my DTC-100 just fine. Haven't checked it today though.

Originally posted by Bob Hess
Anyone out there able to receive the KMAX digital signal on a DTC-100? If so, do you have audio?

Bob ... just checked your signal on a DTC-100 ... audio is fine.

--Bill

Originally posted by videojanitor
Bob ... just checked your signal on a DTC-100 ... audio is fine.

--Bill
Thanks!

Bob,

Is there anything you can share regarding the rumored network affiliation swap between 31 and 13 (it was in the bee several weeks ago)?

Originally posted by gtree10
Bob,

Is there anything you can share regarding the rumored network affiliation swap between 31 and 13 (it was in the bee several weeks ago)?
Whatever may be going on is way above me in the food chain!

- Bob

Originally posted by gtree10
Bob,

Is there anything you can share regarding the rumored network affiliation swap between 31 and 13 (it was in the bee several weeks ago)?

I think 10 is in the mix as well. It used to be the CBS affiliate here. If CBS really wants an O&O in Sacramento, the easiest route is to switch the affiliation to KMAX, which they already have a major ownership interest in. But because the Sacramento national market size is large (19th or 20th rank), they may have to sell one of their other stations to keep under the percentage of the national audience maximum (somewhere in the 35-40% area). So it might boil down to a business decision of switching just the affiliation to a station that gives them the best of what they are looking for. It's a very complicated matter, and we just might as well wait until whatever happens, happens.

Carl

I'm about to go crazy!

I recently purchased a US Digital OTA receiver and a VU-90 XR Antenna from Radio Shack. The problem I am having is wearing me out! I have been up and down from the roof trying to receive KVIE OTA. I can receive the following channels at full power.....

KCRA 3
KOVR 13
KXTV 10

If I understand things correctly, I would think I should at least get some sort of a signal from KVIE 6. I have tried to add this channel to my system manually with no success. I have also tried to grab PBS from channel 18 with no luck. Antenna Web shows KVIE at close to the same distance as the other channels I am getting strong signals from. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I am located in Delhi,Ca, 95315.

:confused:

Wasn't KVIE having some issues not long ago? And if you're getting 3/10/13, you should be getting, among others, FOX 40's digital channel, which I believe recently powered up to full power. I'm not in the market, so I'm just going by what I read here. All of the major Sacramento full power stations are in the same general area, tower wise, in Walnut Grove south of Sacramento.

Re: KMAX/31 - CBS doesn't have a "major ownership interest" in it...they own it. Well, actually, CBS's parent company, Viacom, owns KMAX. Viacom also owns the Infinity radio stations, including stations like KHTK/1140 and KNCI/105.1, among others. Our buddy Bob Hess here, who works at KMAX/31, has a cbs.com E-Mail address ;)

If you can get the other stations you should be able to get KVIE (DTV 53) and also FOX 40 (DTV 55) with your antenna pointed toward the Walnut Grove antenna farm that all Sacramento stations broadcast from. KVIE seems to be off the air a lot as of late so obviously you would not have found them at those times. Both stations broadcast from the same tower near Walnut Grove. If you can not get either station maybe there is some problem with you setup that only affects a narrow frequency range since they are only two channels apart.

Channel 18 is the KUVS DTV channel not PBS.

This is the info I received from Antenna Web

KVPT 18 PBS FRESNO CA 104° 95.8 18

I can also get

24-1 KSEE-DT
26-1 KMPH-DT
40-1 KTXL-DT
47-1 KGPE-DT
58-1 KQCA-DT


But no PBS whatsoever.....They must be having trouble and it must have been for the last two weeks that I have had my receiver..I have yet to pick up any signal at all...and I try everyday...:(

Originally posted by JeSTeR2k4
But no PBS whatsoever.....They must be having trouble and it must have been for the last two weeks that I have had my receiver..I have yet to pick up any signal at all...and I try everyday...:(

Here's the problem I didn't realize from your original message: You are probably considered in the Fresno/Visalia TV market. Delhi appears to be in northern Merced County, south of Turlock.

KVIE-DT, as mentioned, has had problems on and off recently. Maybe they're retooling? Anyway, you're quite a distance away from them and from Walnut Grove in general. You are likely getting the Sacramento stations you're getting, because they're at full power (KTXL-DT just lit up the full power recently).

One other question - are you talking about trying to get digital or analog signals out of KVIE and KVPT? Here's an interesting problem - I don't even know if KVPT's digital signal is on yet, but when it does come on, it'll be on...digital channel 40. You are probably close enough to Sacramento that you could have problems with KTXL's analog signal on 40 being too close for you to get KVPT-DT, if it is indeed on.

Please sort out the digital/analog question, and we'll likely be able to help more...I have a feeling you're getting squeezed out by your distance from both Sacramento and Fresno.

Originally posted by Inundated
Wasn't KVIE having some issues not long ago? And if you're getting 3/10/13, you should be getting, among others, FOX 40's digital channel, which I believe recently powered up to full power. I'm not in the market, so I'm just going by what I read here. All of the major Sacramento full power stations are in the same general area, tower wise, in Walnut Grove south of Sacramento.

Re: KMAX/31 - CBS doesn't have a "major ownership interest" in it...they own it. Well, actually, CBS's parent company, Viacom, owns KMAX. Viacom also owns the Infinity radio stations, including stations like KHTK/1140 and KNCI/105.1, among others. Our buddy Bob Hess here, who works at KMAX/31, has a cbs.com E-Mail address ;)

The reason I said "ownership interest" is because it is indirect ownership by CBS's parent company Viacom. If you check the CBS Owned and operated list, KMAX is not on it, just KPIX and KCBS here in California. That of course could change with an affiliation switch.

Carl

Originally posted by JeSTeR2k4
I'm about to go crazy!

I recently purchased a US Digital OTA receiver and a VU-90 XR Antenna from Radio Shack. The problem I am having is wearing me out! I have been up and down from the roof trying to receive KVIE OTA. I can receive the following channels at full power.....

KCRA 3
KOVR 13
KXTV 10

If I understand things correctly, I would think I should at least get some sort of a signal from KVIE 6. I have tried to add this channel to my system manually with no success. I have also tried to grab PBS from channel 18 with no luck. Antenna Web shows KVIE at close to the same distance as the other channels I am getting strong signals from. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I am located in Delhi,Ca, 95315.

:confused:

It's Sunday AM at 11:15. KVIE-DT53 is currently on the air. It is on the same tower as KTXL-DT55. However, they are now running much more power than KVIE. Try a search for 55-1 first. Also, you may want to invest in a rotator. I've found that just tweaking the antenna orientation a couple of degrees will often make a big difference. Last night, I was pleasantly surprised to watch an entire program from KQED-DT30. A rotator will give you access to a large number of Bay Area DT channels. Of course, being so far away, they will come and go. For me here in Nevada City, the most reliable from over there is KGO-DT24.
Have fun,
Carl

Originally posted by carl033
The reason I said "ownership interest" is because it is indirect ownership by CBS's parent company Viacom. If you check the CBS Owned and operated list, KMAX is not on it, just KPIX and KCBS here in California. That of course could change with an affiliation switch.

Well, they're all owned by Viacom, just that KMAX is not a CBS affil. Yet. ;)

It'd be interesting to see if CBS will give up a VHF channel (13) for a UHF (31). There's also been speculation that CBS and Sinclair would swap actual stations and that such a move would make 13 a CBS O&O, as opposed to a network swap. I would not rule out anything with Sinclair...

Cool that you can get KQED sometimes.

I can't get any of the major San Francisco signals (the ones from Sutro) OTA, including the Fox affiliate, but I can always pull in KTXL and KOVR plus some others (the PBS, NBC, ABC and WB affiliates) from Walnut Grove depending on environmental factors and antenna orientation. Since the Bay Area Fox affiliate's digital signal is not available on Comcast, KTXL-DT is my solution to get FOX HD.

I noticed on the NFL post-game show on CBS, KOVR had blue CBS patterns in the pillar box bars, but KPIX (via Comcast) had the standard black bars. Interesting difference.

Originally posted by Inundated
Well, they're all owned by Viacom, just that KMAX is not a CBS affil. Yet. ;)

It'd be interesting to see if CBS will give up a VHF channel (13) for a UHF (31). There's also been speculation that CBS and Sinclair would swap actual stations and that such a move would make 13 a CBS O&O, as opposed to a network swap. I would not rule out anything with Sinclair...

I agree - that company is most unpredictable!

Does anyone know if Fox was offline at around 1:15pm today? My LG 3410 didn't record the 49ers game because it couldn't get a signal. I am sort of glad it didn't record though considering that the 49ers sent San Francisco Community College to play the game today!

Dave

I think Viacom is busy deciding what to do with Dan Rather right now!

Dave

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Cool that you can get KQED sometimes.

I can't get any of the major San Francisco signals (the ones from Sutro) OTA, including the Fox affiliate, but I can always pull in KTXL and KOVR plus some others (the PBS, NBC, ABC and WB affiliates) from Walnut Grove depending on environmental factors and antenna orientation. Since the Bay Area Fox affiliate's digital signal is not available on Comcast, KTXL-DT is my solution to get FOX HD.

I noticed on the NFL post-game show on CBS, KOVR had blue CBS patterns in the pillar box bars, but KPIX (via Comcast) had the standard black bars. Interesting difference.

Yes, I often differences between CBS E & W and NBC E & W when showing 4:3 SD programming.

Your reception from Sutro (or lack thereof) doesn't surprise me. The high ground around Mt. Tam probably blocks a clear shot to Sutro, whereas all that might be in your way toward the Sacramento stations is Sonoma Mtn.

Is anybody having problems getting KQCA 46 (58-1)? I'm getting a 92% signal with my DirecTivo, but no picture or sound. The other OTA channels are okay.

Thanks,

Jarred

Originally posted by Dave Vaughn
I think Viacom is busy deciding what to do with Dan Rather right now!

Dave

I'd make a suggestion, but there may be lots of libs out here who would take offense.

Carl

Originally posted by JarredInTheHouse
Is anybody having problems getting KQCA 46 (58-1)? I'm getting a 92% signal with my DirecTivo, but no picture or sound. The other OTA channels are okay.

Thanks,

Jarred

It's 7:30. Strong carrier but no video. This is not uncommon on weekends and if there is no HD programming on the WB.

Carl

I can read your mind carl and I agree.

Dave

Originally posted by Dave Vaughn
Does anyone know if Fox was offline at around 1:15pm today? My LG 3410 didn't record the 49ers game because it couldn't get a signal

Dave, I assume you are referring to FOX out of Sacramento? If so, they were definitely on the air, as I was viewing with no problem ...

--Bill

Originally posted by Inundated
Here's the problem I didn't realize from your original message: You are probably considered in the Fresno/Visalia TV market. Delhi appears to be in northern Merced County, south of Turlock.

KVIE-DT, as mentioned, has had problems on and off recently. Maybe they're retooling? Anyway, you're quite a distance away from them and from Walnut Grove in general. You are likely getting the Sacramento stations you're getting, because they're at full power (KTXL-DT just lit up the full power recently).

One other question - are you talking about trying to get digital or analog signals out of KVIE and KVPT? Here's an interesting problem - I don't even know if KVPT's digital signal is on yet, but when it does come on, it'll be on...digital channel 40. You are probably close enough to Sacramento that you could have problems with KTXL's analog signal on 40 being too close for you to get KVPT-DT, if it is indeed on.

Please sort out the digital/analog question, and we'll likely be able to help more...I have a feeling you're getting squeezed out by your distance from both Sacramento and Fresno.


Thanks for everyone trying to help. I am only interested in receiving the digital channels to answer Inundated's question . I am learning more each day. For starters, I am returning the US Digital Box. I purchased a Samsung unit today. The reason for the return was mostly related to the US Digital box running extremely hot, even when not it use. I think I will take the advice of others and get myself a rotor. After reading some of the responses I agree that I am in a bad area between two different markets. Maybe if/when KVIE increases power I will be able to pick it up. I don't currently have a pre-amp. I just have an amp (Phillips 24 db Amp). It helps but it may not be near as good as a proper pre-amp. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Originally posted by carl033
It's 7:30. Strong carrier but no video. This is not uncommon on weekends and if there is no HD programming on the WB.

Carl

Yes, but it was still off the air at 9:00pm - no "Jack and Bobby" which was in HD.

Tracey

Originally posted by JeSTeR2k4
Thanks for everyone trying to help. I am only interested in receiving the digital channels to answer Inundated's question . I am learning more each day. For starters, I am returning the US Digital Box. I purchased a Samsung unit today. The reason for the return was mostly related to the US Digital box running extremely hot, even when not it use. I think I will take the advice of others and get myself a rotor. After reading some of the responses I agree that I am in a bad area between two different markets. Maybe if/when KVIE increases power I will be able to pick it up. I don't currently have a pre-amp. I just have an amp (Phillips 24 db Amp). It helps but it may not be near as good as a proper pre-amp. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

If you decide on a better antenna system, the Winegard HD-7084P is a great VHF/UHF unit. It is not the biggest (the 8200P), but it has more elements for UHF, and is easier to manage. Couple it with a VHF/UHF preamp that has good UHF gain and lower gain on VHF (such as the Winegard AP-8780), and you're in business. Your Phillips amp can still be used, but I recommend it only for the UHF channels. Purchase a couple of VHF-UHF Band Separators/Combiners from Radio Shack. Connect the antenna cable from the preamp power supply to the common connection of one of the band separators. Now you have separate VHF and UHF outputs. Insert your 24 dB amplifier in the UHF line, and connect the amp output to the UHF connection of the other band separator, which will act as a combiner. On the VHF side, just jumper the two VHF connections of the band separators together for no gain on the VHF side.
This setup works great here in Nevada City. The VHFs are plenty strong - I just need a boost on the UHFs.

Good luck and have fun,
Carl

I thought UPN 31-1 was supposed to be at full power by the end of Sept. I'm still having trouble receiving it. The Giants-Dodgers game was on last night. I had to watch it on KTVU channel 2 through my D* dish. It looked like crap. KMAX showed up on my receiver guide with the game. It's painful to know a digital channel has the programming you want to watch but it's just out of reach. And of course, the game was also on ESPNHD but it's blacked out in the Bay Area when KTVU and KMAX have it scheduled.

So when is it going to be at full power?

I second that question - I'm looking forward to "Veronica Mars" and others in HD. Unfortunately, like a lot of technology, it seems to be a slippery date.

Tracey

The game did look like crap on channel 2, but at least the Giants won! more to go (hopefully).

Dave

Originally posted by mbroder
I thought UPN 31-1 was supposed to be at full power by the end of Sept. I'm still having trouble receiving it. The Giants-Dodgers game was on last night. I had to watch it on KTVU channel 2 through my D* dish. It looked like crap. KMAX showed up on my receiver guide with the game. It's painful to know a digital channel has the programming you want to watch but it's just out of reach. And of course, the game was also on ESPNHD but it's blacked out in the Bay Area when KTVU and KMAX have it scheduled.

So when is it going to be at full power?

You would have seen the same thing on KMAX because they use D* as their feed from KTVU, and it looked like crap.

Originally posted by mbroder
I thought UPN 31-1 was supposed to be at full power by the end of Sept. I'm still having trouble receiving it. The Giants-Dodgers game was on last night. I had to watch it on KTVU channel 2 through my D* dish. It looked like crap. KMAX showed up on my receiver guide with the game. It's painful to know a digital channel has the programming you want to watch but it's just out of reach. And of course, the game was also on ESPNHD but it's blacked out in the Bay Area when KTVU and KMAX have it scheduled.

So when is it going to be at full power?

We'll probably get an update from Bob Hess in a few days. The last time he commented on this forum, they were very close, but he couldn't guarantee an October 1 cutover. Stay tuned!
Carl

Originally posted by spwace
You would have seen the same thing on KMAX because they use D* as their feed from KTVU, and it looked like crap.

KMAX came up with high power on their new antenna sometime Saturday afternoon. A solid rock-crusher signal here in Nevada City! Nearly as loud as 13-1. Now, only 6-1 is in the dumpster.

Carl

Was it permanent, or just a test? I can receive all the other Walnut Grove channels here in Tracy (including KVIE. at least for tonight), but still not KMAX. And I was all excited, too....

Tracey

Originally posted by tlrowley
Was it permanent, or just a test? I can receive all the other Walnut Grove channels here in Tracy (including KVIE. at least for tonight), but still not KMAX. And I was all excited, too....

Tracey

It's back to previous levels now, so just a test. We might as well wait until Bob Hess gives us the official word.

Can I get bay area HDTV from east Roseville location with clear shot westward?

My new house will be near Sierra College blvd with clear view south and west. Thinking of getting DB8 from antennasdirect.com

Originally posted by VicF
Can I get bay area HDTV from east Roseville location with clear shot westward?

The answer is no. And yes. Reception of the S.F. stations anywhere in the Sacramento area is totally dependent on atmospheric conditions, as direct line-of-sight reception is not possible due to the terrain. So, sometimes you will get great reception, and other times (or should I say, most of the time) you will get nothing. A warm summer night is your best bet for obtaining a signal, but unfortunately we are leaving those behind right now ...

--Bill R.

What is going on channel 10-1....?

It keeps going balistic..poping sound and flashng the picture.

happening to others?

Originally posted by MyGrain
What is going on channel 10-1....?

It keeps going balistic..poping sound and flashng the picture.

happening to others?

Seeing the same thing via Comcast. Was going to wait until it was over to check the programming thread to see if it was nation-wide or not.

Troy

Same problem with 10-1 here -- watching OTA with HD TiVo ...

While I'm at it, has anyone else noticed that for the past few weeks (maybe longer), the audio on KCRA-DT is outrageously distorted anytime they're upconverting? (ie: most of the day) It makes my ears hurt. Their analog broadcast sounds fine ...

Videojanitor: I haven't noticed but will try to watch some daytime..lol.

I am glad to see it wasn't some glich about ABC 10 ota here..rat chewing on cable or something.
;-}

Originally posted by MyGrain
What is going on channel 10-1....?

It keeps going balistic..poping sound and flashng the picture.

happening to others?

I was watching 10-1 last night and noticed the popping and breakup. Fortunately, 7-1 was blasting in, and I watched the 9 to 11 PM slot uninterrupted by fades or the breakups that were on 10-1. But as was stated, Bay Area HDs are spotty this far away, so I just lucked out.

Carl

Originally posted by MyGrain
Videojanitor: I haven't noticed but will try to watch some daytime..lol.


Hey, I wouldn't force daytime TV on anyone! You can check it out anytime they're upconverting -- one of their newscasts is a prime example. Maybe it's just the audiophile in me, but that sounds hideous.

I've heard some of these audio issues as well - but usually only in my surrounds. Heard it during the Apprentice last week. Goes in and out - some times its fine, but others it is really bad.

"Hey, I wouldn't force daytime TV on anyone! "

Bless you, sir!

Originally posted by carl033
KMAX came up with high power on their new antenna sometime Saturday afternoon. A solid rock-crusher signal here in Nevada City! Nearly as loud as 13-1. Now, only 6-1 is in the dumpster.

Carl
Not so! No on-air testing yet. Everything being done into a dummy antenna. We will be doing some on-air testing soon but probably a couple of more weeks to go before we go full time non-directional antenna.

Carl, what you saw was just atmospherics teasing you!

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering
KMAX

Re: Video and audio glitches on KXTV Sunday night.

We are very much aware of the problem. Our receiver that gets the HD signal from the ABC network feed was intermittently unlocking, we do not know why. The RF signal we were receiving from our dish was OK as observed on the receiver and a digital signal analyzer. A replacement receiver was ordered first thing Monday morning. All of our ABC network feed receivers SD and HD will be replaced in January because ABC is getting rid of the old equipment nation wide with the swap out starting on the West coast. KXTV will be a beta site for the new equipment so we should have it in house (but not on line) in a month or so.

As luck would have it, KGO-DT was coming in strong on a new HD receiver we just got and I had the opportunity to watch both KXTV-DT and KGO-DT side by side during Monday night football last night. We had a number of picture glitches that did not appear on their air; which I assume is the same problem with our receiver. That being said, they had a number of obvious problems we did not also.

Rory at KXTV

Originally posted by Bob Hess
Not so! No on-air testing yet. Everything being done into a dummy antenna. We will be doing some on-air testing soon but probably a couple of more weeks to go before we go full time non-directional antenna.

Carl, what you saw was just atmospherics teasing you!

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering
KMAX

I stand corrected. Thanks!

Any one else have a lip sync issue with CBS-HD last night on channel 13-1? It was off by 4 or so miliseconds (I am anal about these type of things).

Dave

I didn't notice it viewing CSI:Miami last night.

Originally posted by Bob Hess
Not so! No on-air testing yet. Everything being done into a dummy antenna. We will be doing some on-air testing soon but probably a couple of more weeks to go before we go full time non-directional antenna.

Carl, what you saw was just atmospherics teasing you!

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering
KMAX

I was really hoping you guys would get this done before the new season of Enterprise. It's one of the few shows I actually make time for. I'm really anxious to see it now that I've read that they switched from film to HD video.

I do appreciate the updates and all the work you must be donig, but hurry!:D

Bob,
Is there any way that you guys can change the gray sidebars on your station to black? I personally find the gray bars almost unwatchable because of the perceived lack of contrast that results with the gray sidebars.

Thanks,

Dave

I like what ESPN does, I wish more stations would put some cool graphics on the side bars. Maybe they could move around like a slow screen saver!

Johnny

Originally posted by Rory Boyce
Re: Video and audio glitches on KXTV Sunday night.

We are very much aware of the problem. Our receiver that gets the HD signal from the ABC network feed was intermittently unlocking, we do not know why. The RF signal we were receiving from our dish was OK as observed on the receiver and a digital signal analyzer. A replacement receiver was ordered first thing Monday morning. All of our ABC network feed receivers SD and HD will be replaced in January because ABC is getting rid of the old equipment nation wide with the swap out starting on the West coast. KXTV will be a beta site for the new equipment so we should have it in house (but not on line) in a month or so.

As luck would have it, KGO-DT was coming in strong on a new HD receiver we just got and I had the opportunity to watch both KXTV-DT and KGO-DT side by side during Monday night football last night. We had a number of picture glitches that did not appear on their air; which I assume is the same problem with our receiver. That being said, they had a number of obvious problems we did not also.

Rory at KXTV


So, are we to expect that Lost will be having similar gliches tonight?

Please say no. Please!

The receiver has been swapped out and both the new one and the old one are working fine at this time.

Rory at KXTV

Thank you Rory. :-}

Well it looks like the receiver is not the problem after seeing at least 4 glitches in "Lost" tonight here at home. At this point we at a loss as to what the problem might be because the problems on Sunday were on a different transponder and different polarization than was in use tonight. We are going to try some things to try to figure out what the problem is. I an assuming that other people saw the big glitch about 3 minutes in, another about ten minutes in, and at least two brief picture breakups later in the show.

Originally posted by Rory Boyce
The receiver has been swapped out and both the new one and the old one are working fine at this time.

I caught at least two gnarly glitches tonight during Lost. Gotta be careful not to blow my speakers when watching KXTV:D

Hammer

Did anyone watching on Comcast see the same problems?

I saw the 2 glitches in the 1st 15 minutes via Comcast. I did not notice any problems later in the program.

Troy

Thanks, I wanted to make sure the signal left the studio bad just to make sure what I saw OTA was the same problem we had Sunday night.

KVIE was simulcasting its analog signal on 6-2. Now some of the analog signal is on 6-1 (and maybe 6--2). There are significant programs (Jim Lehrer News among them) that are not broadcast digitally.

Does anyone know why? And do others find this annoying?



P.S. I saw the same glitches OTA in "Lost" on 10/6.

I wish that KVIE was broadcasting Mystery! digitally, it's about the only thing I record off KVIE on D* and the quality is terrible. I don't think I've ever seen such horrible color.

Tracey

Yup, we saw them...wish they would only happen in commercials..I'm in the other room at that time anyway. And with Lost, that's good exercise!

UPN-31, KMAX, is now on the air with our non-directional antenna at full power. Reception reports welcome!

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering

Perfect here in Stockton Bob. The lower strength signal was fine (large roof antenna) on my Sony HDTV internal tuner as well as the computer MyHD card. However my FusionHDTV III QAM card's tuner was not sensitive enough to receive the signal. As of today it is receiving at a whooping 100%!

And you made it in time for Enterprise's season premier tonight. That was your target and you delivered. Your next assignment Mr. Hess, should you choose to accept it, is to get your guys to pull off that CBS affiliate swap. :D

Excellent, Bob, and just in time for Enterprise.

I'm getting great reception, in Tracy, with just a Silver Sensor.

Thanks, Bob
Tracey

Rock solid reception on UPN in Modesto.... Enterprise looked great!

Channel 31 digital real strong here in Rocklin!

Originally posted by Bob Hess
UPN-31, KMAX, is now on the air with our non-directional antenna at full power. Reception reports welcome!

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering

Your signal is much stronger, but it still falls below threshold quite often. However, we've got a front coming in and all the Sacto signals are down. I'll check you out a few times over the weekend.
Carl

Measurements taken from Antelope/80 on my FusionII with fixed external 4-bay channel master:

KCRA-3 89% 17.6dB
KVIE-6 84% 16.9dB
KXTV-10 79% 16.1dB
KOVR-13 84% 16.9dB
KMAX-31 87% 17.4dB
KXTL-40 82% 16.7dB
KQCA-58 86% 17.2dB

Hammer

Originally posted by hammerdwn
Measurements taken from Antelope/80 on my FusionII with fixed external 4-bay channel master:

KCRA-3 89% 17.6dB
KVIE-6 84% 16.9dB
KXTV-10 79% 16.1dB
KOVR-13 84% 16.9dB
KMAX-31 87% 17.4dB
KXTL-40 82% 16.7dB
KQCA-58 86% 17.2dB

Hammer

Oh, to have line-of-sight to Walnut grove! But I'm staying put up here in the foothills.
Carl

Very strong signal in Manteca. 100%

David

I am getting a solid signal in San Jose from KMAX near I280 and Saratoga Avenue. Also get KXTV and KOVR.

Strong (92%) signal for 31-1 in Woodland. Although, the signal was just about as strong at partial power.

Get KMAX strong here, along with KXTL and KOVR-- these three are now always coming through for me. KXTV is more iffy, followed by KQCA, KCRA and KVIE in that order.

Bob,
All is well in Vacaville....it is your strongest signal yet. Also...thanks for getting rid of the gray bars! Now, if we can just get every station to stop putting their logo in the lower right hand corner!

Dave

I am receiving a strong signal for KMAX here in Pleasant Hill. I receive all Sacramento stations without any problems, not just luck, I use a very good roof antenna. FYI, the KMAX station bug is to big and to bright.

Did anyone else have signal drop outs on KTXL fox 40 during the 49ers vs Cardinals game on Sunday Oct 10? I recorded it on my HD-Tivo and there were a lot of times where the signal was missing. I would estimate it was about 10 to 12 times, sometimes for as much as two minutes? Am I the only one?

Originally posted by chris_h2
Did anyone else have signal drop outs on KTXL fox 40 during the 49ers vs Cardinals game on Sunday Oct 10? I recorded it on my HD-Tivo and there were a lot of times where the signal was missing. I would estimate it was about 10 to 12 times, sometimes for as much as two minutes? Am I the only one?

No. Dropouts are quite common with digital feeds. The've been happening alot on the D* NBC East HD channel 82. Not to worry.

Carl

Using a RS 5MS750 disk antenna and the tuner in the Sony KDF60XBR in Martinez, I can get the following digital channels:
6 solid
10 iffy
40 solid
58. solid

I can get KCRA analog really well but no digital at all.
Earlier this summer I could get KOVR 13, but not any more. I still get the analog well.

I can't get KMAX at all. According to TAP I'm only 35 miles from the Walnut Grove antenna complex.

I'll try again with my UHF yagi to see if there is any improvement
Lee

Modesto - Strong signal from 31.1 KMAX

Lee,

You are wise to try the yagi antenna. The 5MS750, along with some of the Terk antennas, is one of the worst antennas you could use for digital television. Digital TV hates multipath (signal reflections referred to as "ghosts" in the analog world). The stronger the signal, the stronger the reflections. Signals are arriving at your disc antenna from different directions because the main signal is bouncing off of the hills and surrounding structures. You need an antenna that is directional and can be aimed at only the primary signal.

A yagi antenna will be a huge improvement. Better yet, get yourself a Channel Master 3021 4-Bay reflector and your problem should be solved. The 3021 is about $25. If you can't find one locally, you can order from Stark Electronics (http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmuhf.htm)

Bob

Originally posted by slk230
Using a RS 5MS750 disk antenna and the tuner in the Sony KDF60XBR in Martinez, I can get the following digital channels:
6 solid
10 iffy
40 solid
58. solid

I can get KCRA analog really well but no digital at all.
Earlier this summer I could get KOVR 13, but not any more. I still get the analog well.

I can't get KMAX at all. According to TAP I'm only 35 miles from the Walnut Grove antenna complex.

I'll try again with my UHF yagi to see if there is any improvement
Lee

Bob is right about the 3021...I have it on my home in Vacaville and I now receive every HD channel out of Sacramento at 90% plus strength. Before UPN upgraded their signal, I couldn't receive it when it was windy. But with the windstorms the last two days, I have yet to have a dropout on any HD signal!

Dave

I've had great results with the 3021 (aka 4221) mounted in the attic. I'm in Woodland, about 35 miles from Walnut Grove in another direction.

I'm looking at installing an OTA antenna to couple with my Dish 811 HD setup. I'm in the rural area of Sheridan (95681) and Antennaweb says that I'm 50-55 miles away from all of the channels I care about receiving. Colors are red and green, meaning a medium multi-directional antenna. I know that Winegard has a wide selection of outdoor antennas and I also know to avoid Terk. Can anyone help an OTA newbie in what I need to buy to get set up so I can watch football on 40 and 13 in HD? I've already got the TV (Mitsubishi 65" WS-A65) and the 811 receiver can decode the signal.

Thanks for the help!

Originally posted by vandalous
I'm looking at installing an OTA antenna to couple with my Dish 811 HD setup. I'm in the rural area of Sheridan (95681) and Antennaweb says that I'm 50-55 miles away from all of the channels I care about receiving. Colors are red and green, meaning a medium multi-directional antenna. I know that Winegard has a wide selection of outdoor antennas and I also know to avoid Terk. Can anyone help an OTA newbie in what I need to buy to get set up so I can watch football on 40 and 13 in HD? I've already got the TV (Mitsubishi 65" WS-A65) and the 811 receiver can decode the signal.

Thanks for the help!
From your location, the Channel Master 4228, mounted at least 10 feet above the roof, should work fine. I stay away from a preamp and see how it does. The 4228 is a $50 antenna. If you can't mount it on the roof, try it in the attic but you may need a preamp.

A note about preamps.....More gain is not necessarily a good thing. I spoke with a viewer this morning who can see the weak signals but not the strong signals. Reason? He lives in Cirtus Heights and is using a preamp. Preamps are for those who are 75 miles out from Walnut Grove. Beware of overload at your location.

Bob

Thanks Bob! Do you know if there are any local retailers of this antenna or should I just order from Stark? Will I need one of those motorized things that rotate the antenna? Anything else I need to order? I already have a bunch of diplexers the satellite installers used when they tried to install a Terk for OTA when I first got the satellite. I removed them so I'll need to get up there and reinstall.

vandalous,
I know that Frys in Sacramento caries the 4228.

Dave

Thanks Dave.

Originally posted by vandalous
Will I need one of those motorized things that rotate the antenna? Anything else I need to order? I already have a bunch of diplexers the satellite installers used when they tried to install a Terk for OTA when I first got the satellite. I removed them so I'll need to get up there and reinstall.
You will not need a rotator. Just point the antenna for the best, clearest, noise-free picture off of one of the Walnut Grove analog UHF stations (31/40/58) and you should be good to go. The reason I am suggesting to use the analog stations is simply so you can take a portable set up on the roof or attic and properly aim your antenna. If you can do this without spitters, all the better.

Bob

Thanks again, Bob. Your info is very helpful.

However, please forgive my ignorance (newbie alert!) but I need some clarification. Question flood coming...

Are the analog stations in HD format? Will I get 3, 10, and 13 in HD if I point at Walnut Grove? How do I rig up a portable set-up? What is the purpose of the diplexers? When I buy the 4228, what else will I need? What direction is Walnut Grove from Sheridan/Lincoln? What will I need to properly point the antenna? How high should it be?

My home has no attic (it's a modular). I live on 20 acres in a rural area with some thin trees and a few hills. I currently use Dish Network for TV and DirecWay for broadband.

Are the analog stations in HD format? NO

Will I get 3, 10, and 13 in HD if I point at Walnut Grove? YOU WILL GET 3/10/13 ANALOG ALONG WITH 3-1, 10-1, 10-2, 13-1 AND 13-2

How do I rig up a portable set-up? IF YOU ARE ON THE ROOF, BORROW OR BUY A CHEAP 5 INCH TV AND CONNECT YOUR 4228 ANTENNA DIRECTLY TO THE 5 INCH SET. BE SURE YOU HAVE A REAL GOOD VIEW OF THE SCREEN THAT IS SHIELDED FROM OUTDOOR LIGHT. TUNE THE ANTENNA FOR THE BEST PICTURE.

What is the purpose of the diplexers? THE ONES YOU ARE REFERRING TO ARE PROBABLY USED TO COUPLE A TV ANTENNA AND SATELLITE DISH INTO THE SAME CABLE DOWNLEAD.

When I buy the 4228, what else will I need? RG-6 COAX WITH "F" CONNECTORS ON EACH END. KEEP IT AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE. YOU WILL NEED A MAST IF IT IS GOING ON THE ROOF AND STRAP TO TO WRAP AROUND A CHIMNEY OR WHATEVER.

What direction is Walnut Grove from Sheridan/Lincoln? ROUGHLY SOUTH

What will I need to properly point the antenna? AN ANALOG TV SET. SEE ABOVE

How high should it be? WITHOUT KNOWING YOUR IMMEDIATE AREA, I AM GUESSING 10 FEET ABOVE THE ROOF. SHOULD BE AS 'IN-THE-CLEAR AS POSSIBLE. SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE IN A NEAR IDEA AREA FOR RECEPTION OF THE WALNUT GROVE SIGNALS.


Others can join in here. I am not an expert. Some of this is black magic!

Bob

Bob,
Thanks for the input. The 5m disk is a rotatable "gain" vhf/uhf antenna. The gain is a powered unit. It's not omnidirectional.
As to replacing the antenna, I'm thinking of removing the the 5M and the Yagi and putting up a Crossfire 3671 so that I only have one antenna feed to get into the house.
Lee

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vandalous
[B]Thanks again, Bob. Your info is very helpful.

What direction is Walnut Grove from Sheridan/Lincoln?

Greetings. According to my terrain analysis software, and using an approximate lat and long for Lincoln, point your antenna at 176 degrees and the distance is 62 miles, Line-Of-Sight. Put the antenna at least 20 feet off the ground.
If you can get me your true Lat and Long and altitude, I can provide you a better result.
Lee

Wow! Thanks for the help, Bob.

Thank you for the input as well, Lee. I don't know my exact Lat and Long but when I get that info, I'll post here.

I agree with Bob about the pre-amps, they can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your reception gain from the antenna. When I was using a CM 3020 UHF/VHF, I needed a CM 7777 pre-amp to get solid signals from Walnut Grove here in Pleasant Hill, when I put up my Televes DAT 75 yagi, my gain went way up and I had to remove the pre-amp. BTW, I bought my Dat 75 from the Mfg in England and had it shipped over, cost $100.00. Best directional UHF yagi out there in my opinion.

Watched my first UPN-31 HD program last night (recorded on my Sat 921 HD recorder), thanks Bob and your team for making it happen.

Did anybody watch lost last night in OTA HD? My picture was very pixelated, just wondering if it was my setup or not. Maybe the smoke clouds are causing issues?


Johnny

I recorded it, Johnny, I'll let you know if I see problems.

Tracey

ETA - It recorded just fine, here (Tracy) so perhaps the smoke hasn't made it this far south. I hope you persevered through the pixelization, though, it was another fabulous episode - I didn't see the ending coming, gave me goosebumps.

Originally posted by vandalous
I'm looking at installing an OTA antenna to couple with my Dish 811 HD setup. I'm in the rural area of Sheridan (95681) and Antennaweb says that I'm 50-55 miles away from all of the channels I care about receiving. Colors are red and green, meaning a medium multi-directional antenna. I know that Winegard has a wide selection of outdoor antennas and I also know to avoid Terk. Can anyone help an OTA newbie in what I need to buy to get set up so I can watch football on 40 and 13 in HD? I've already got the TV (Mitsubishi 65" WS-A65) and the 811 receiver can decode the signal.

Thanks for the help!

I know this is a long shot, but have you tried an indoor antenna first? You can use your 811 reciever to try lock in the digital channels from Sacramento, and once locked the signal meter on 811 will help you to adjust the direction. I am about 40 miles from Sacto and get all digital channels in strong with a Silver Sensor in door directional antenna (no bigger than a small desk lamp) sitting right on top of my bookshelf, though my house is on a higher ground that may have helped. However I don't get clean analog signals at all but the digital ones are all at 80% plus. Just because you get snowy analog channels does not mean you will not get any digitals.

The indoor test will be easy enough for you just to verify before you must climb up the roof.

Thanks jacmyoung. I think I'll try that first since it's option more friendly (and forgiving) for a newbie. Where are the Silver Sensor antennas sold and how much are they?

Also, the site says that this is for UHF only. How are you pulling the VHF HD channels?

Originally posted by drunkpenguin
Did anybody watch lost last night in OTA HD? My picture was very pixelated, just wondering if it was my setup or not. Maybe the smoke clouds are causing issues?


Johnny


I'm in Folsom and also noted that the OTA HD picture for Lost was not as good as the previous two shows. Noticed pixelization in the cloud scenes in particular.

Roger

Originally posted by vandalous
Thanks jacmyoung. I think I'll try that first since it's option more friendly (and forgiving) for a newbie. Where are the Silver Sensor antennas sold and how much are they?

Also, the site says that this is for UHF only. How are you pulling the VHF HD channels?

If you do a search on the HD Hardware section should find where to buy one. I had mine a few years ago as part of a PC HDTV card package deal. All digital frequencies over here are UHF, there is really no need of VHF antenna.

Originally posted by vandalous
Thanks jacmyoung. I think I'll try that first since it's option more friendly (and forgiving) for a newbie. Where are the Silver Sensor antennas sold and how much are they?

Also, the site says that this is for UHF only. How are you pulling the VHF HD channels?

I got my Silver Sensor online (Amazon I think). I don't recall if local retailers carry them. I live in Elk Grove and the SS is doing just fine. It's sitting on top of my TV behind my center channle speaker.

The Good Guys and I believe some Best Buy locations carry the Silver Sensor. I bought mine at Good Guys on Arden Way...

What direction is Walnut Grove from Sheridan/Lincoln? What will I need to properly point the antenna? How high should it be?



According to my mapping program the pointing angle from Sheridan is 187.72 degrees true and the distance to the center of the antenna farm is 50.1 miles. From Lincoln the pointing angle is 194.35 degrees true and the distance to the antenna farm center is 44.86 miles. As far as antenna height is concerned you want to clear any obstructions in the path to the transmitters. As a general rule higher is better!

For what it is worth the pointing angle from Sheridan to Sutro Tower in San Francisco is 215.08 degrees true at 102.48 miles. And from Lincoln it is 219.20 degrees true and 100.47 miles. With a reasonable gain antenna that is high enough you should occasionally get both San Francisco and Sacramento DTV reception. It will not be reliable to San Francisco due to propogation differences but you may see them occasionally, Sacramento should be solid at this distance.

Originally posted by nightowl
The Good Guys and I believe some Best Buy locations carry the Silver Sensor. I bought mine at Good Guys on Arden Way...


Frys has them also. When I bought one, I was a bit surprised to see that about 8/9 of the boxes were returns. I ended up returning mine too. I live in Rancho Cordova ~30 miles from the towers and it didn't work well for me at all so I got a rooftop antenna at home depot and it's working fine.

I am fairly new to HDTV. I have rooftop antenna into a sanyo HD TV with built in tuner, and in the past couple of weeks, channel 6 moved to channel 53, then moved back (I think it's on channel 6 now).

On my TV, digital "channel" 3 is KCRA, channel 10 is KXTV, etc. Only channel 6 swaps with 53. Even last night while watching the frontline show on 6-1, it switched to 53-1.

Question - what are these called when I refer to them as channel 3, channel 10, etc. even though they are actually UHF channels much higiher than that? Do other people get the switching between 6/53 also?

Info pulled from http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/hints.html ...

"Lets say the FCC has given the NTSC station on channel 3 permission to use channel 41 as a DTV channel. But when you tune to channel 41, your new receiver says you are now on channel 3-1, and you have also discovered there is a 3-2. What are these channels and how did you get there?

Welcome to the world of virtual channels. Every virtual channel has a physical channel. The physical channel is the actual RF spectrum being used. The virtual channel could be called almost anything. In this example, 3-1 and 3-2 are virtual channels, and are also referred to as sub-channels of virtual channel 3, which is physical channel 41, and thus not the same as the analog station on physical channel 3, even though they look about the same.

The data stream of DTV channel 41 has data blocks called PSIP data. The PSIP data tells the receiver that channel 41 has two sub-channels: 3-1 and 3-2. The channel 3 people chose these sub-channel names to remind you whom you are watching. Not every station follows the example of this hypothetical channel 3. A different management might have chosen 41-1 and 41-2 for physical channel 41’s sub-channels.

Your remote controller will let you key in either the physical or the virtual channel number, but there are some differences between manufacturers. Some receivers will assume 3-0 means analog channel 3."

Hope this helps... :D

Originally posted by ucdcrush
... On my TV, digital "channel" 3 is KCRA, channel 10 is KXTV, etc. Only channel 6 swaps with 53. Even last night while watching the frontline show on 6-1, it switched to 53-1.

Did it only do it once? The reason I ask is for the last 5-8 weeks my Sony is being redirected from 6.1 to 51.1 and then back to 6.1. Then after 30-180 seconds the process will repeat itself, and on, and on, etc. When I complain to the KVIE engineer he tells me no on else has reported such behavior. This only happens on KVIE-DT.

Yes my channel 6 and all the sub channels have been jumping back and forth for as long as i have had my hd tv.About 4 months now.

I get no volume on KVIE's audio. Not a biggie since I can watch PBS HD on KQED via Comcast, but I would like to know why my receiver isn't giving me KVIE's audio.

Re: PBS HD, Channel 53-x or 6-x???

The way it works for me is like this: From 6 am - 6 pm when there are a total of 4 sub-channels, it shows on my Dish 811 as Channel 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

After 6 pm when it goes to only two sub-channels for the HD bandwidth on 6-1, my receiver reports the channels as 53-1 and 53-2.

KVIE has done this as long as I've had my HDTV (June of this year)

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person being driven up the wall by the constant Channel 6 is now on 53, now on Channel 6 flip flops. I'll send a note to the KVIE engineer too to let him or her know it's not an "isolated" case. (Set is a Sony KDF60XBR950)

I hadn't noticed that the flip flopping only happens at night after 6.3 and 6.4 stop broadcasting. But now that you mention it, when all four channels are on, there don't appear to be any problems.

Other weird happenings... Channel 22 from Rohnert park for most of the summer didn't have any audio on their 22.2 channel. It's since been fixed.

Lost tonight on ABC was SD mode right after they came out of the first commercial, and then quickly snapped back to HD mode. Only noticed one serious "glitch" during the broadcast.

Lee

What type of OTA Tuners are you guys using? I have a samsung 360 and they show up as 6.x all the time for me.

Johnny

Lee, glad you're going to report it. I hate when a tech person tells me I'm the only reporting the problem. My set is the Sony KD-34XBR2 so maybe it has something to do with the on-board 8VSB tuner. BTW, this problem first occurred about 8-12 months ago but after some time it went away. This current resurrection has lasted longer with no cure in sight. I'm 95% certain it's KVIE's gear at fault and not mine.

Some receivers don't rescan for PSIP each time you change to that channel, while others do. My Dish 6000 does not, so I don't notice the 6.X vs 53.x problem unless I manually tell it to rescan the channel.

I've noticed that recently 6.1 is 720p 24hrs/day. Didn't they used to switch it to 1080i for primetime HD? Why do they even bother switching from 4 subs to 2 subs?

Hammer

The tuner is the one built-in to the KDF set. KVIE is the only station that has this problem. Here's the reply I got back from KVIE:

Dear Lee,
Thank you for writing. I have indeed forwarded this on to one of our
broadcast engineers.

Stay Tuned,
Paul Hermann
KVIE Public Television
Be more inspired. Be more KVIE.

Is anyone not getting MNF on ABC tonight?

MNF is on the air and Comcast with no problems.

I'm sorry, I meant OTA.

My post said on the air and Comcast which was meant to indicate that both were OK.

I'm using a Dish 811 receiver for the OTA. And, oh by the way, the 811's latest SW upgrade now includes EPG data for the OTA channels (never had it before). However KVIE 6.1 just says 'local digital' like it used to, and 6.2 has the same program info as analog KVIE-6 does (even though 6.2 is now KVIE cable 7 - with different programs/times than analog 6). Does anyone have a OTA receiver that has EPG info (like Direct, or some other brand) with the actual guide data for KVIE-DT 6.1?

Originally posted by bralli
Is anyone not getting MNF on ABC tonight?

I wasn't watching until I saw your post -- I flipped over to 10-1 (OTA) and it was coming in fine (in South Sac).

Originally posted by DanB474
Does anyone have a OTA receiver that has EPG info (like Direct, or some other brand) with the actual guide data for KVIE-DT 6.1?

I'm at work, but I think my HD-Tivo gives the correct program info for all five channels (how much multicasting is really necessary?)

On a related note, does anyone understand why 6-2 no longer mirrors the analog broadcast?

There is now a specific thread for the Chico/Redding DMA located at Chico, CA - HDTV (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=462140) . For any discussion regarding Chico DMA affiliates, please direct the discussion there.

I was happy to see when I checked out Enterprise on my HD-Tivo this morning, that UPN is passing through the closed captions on high def programming. Now all we need is for CBS to do it. They pass it through on 13.1 for standard programming, but once the show is in high def, it is not there. Oh well, someday.

Originally posted by Little Dude
I was happy to see when I checked out Enterprise on my HD-Tivo this morning, that UPN is passing through the closed captions on high def programming. Now all we need is for CBS to do it. They pass it through on 13.1 for standard programming, but once the show is in high def, it is not there. Oh well, someday.


The local CBS channel, 13.1, tells me that CBS is not captioning HD content programming. I find this hard to believe since on another forum I ran across a post from a NYC area person who was getting captioning on CBS HD local channel using his OTA antenna.

Roger
Folsom

anyone getting OTA HD channels in Fairfield? my parents were told at good guys that no one in fairfield can get OTA. thx

Originally posted by RogBurr
The local CBS channel, 13.1, tells me that CBS is not captioning HD content programming. I find this hard to believe since on another forum I ran across a post from a NYC area person who was getting captioning on CBS HD local channel using his OTA antenna.

Roger
Folsom

Roger,

Most stations simply take the captions from the analog side and bridge them over to the digital side. That is what we are doing at KMAX. Sounds simple, and it is, but it costs a few bucks to make it work.

Bob

KevInSoCal:

There is a viewer report on hdtvpub.com indicating that someone in Fairfield in the 94533 zip code in the "Woodcreek area" is getting HD from both the SF bay area and Sacramento stations using an outside antenna with a rotor.

Bob,

Many thanks for spending the extra money to do the closed captions. I can now watch Veronica Mars and Enterprise when I put the baby down to bed. I'll keep bugging CBS since this now seems like something that they can reasonably do.

Does anybody know if Lost is on channel 10 tonight? My d* guide does not list it. Is it being cancelled in favor of another losing Kings season? :(


Johnny

It appears as though KXTV is preempting "Lost" tonight. Ordinarily I would be a little cheesed about this, but ABC is repeating it on Saturday at 9pm, so we should be able to catch it then.

Originally posted by videojanitor
It appears as though KXTV is preempting "Lost" tonight. Ordinarily I would be a little cheesed about this, but ABC is repeating it on Saturday at 9pm, so we should be able to catch it then.

For sure on the Saturday thing? Cuz the phone calls will start fast if I have to download this and watch it on my 19 inch computer monitor.

I'm a huge sports fan, but he damn Kings game isn't even HD!

The Saturday showing is listed on my TiVo's To-Do list, and on TitanTV - that seems pretty "for sure".

KXTV actually does the best job I've ever seen of keeping their website up-to-date.

http://www.kxtv.com/program/kings-reskeds.htm

Tracey

Originally posted by MyGrain
For sure on the Saturday thing?

I can only be certain that I found that info in two places: TiVo is listing it as being on Saturday at 9, as does the ABC website. Since this is a network broadcast, and not a KXTV taped "replay," it should be in HD.

Was tonights Kings game on News 10 in HD? I talked to somebody who claims that it was. I didn't know they did away games in HD?! Can anyone confirm?

No, tonights Kings game was not in HD.

Thanks. That's what I was telling him too.

Is Channel 10 telecasing all its coverage of Kings' home games in HD? Thanks.

I just hooked up my old antenna (8 elements, no pre-amp) in my attic (tile roof) to my DirecTV HD Tivo. I pointed in what I think is the right direction. I'm picking up 13-1(KOVR) and 31-1(KMAX) (~67 on the signal strength) but get nothing on any of the other stations. From what I understand most of the Sacramento broadcast towers are around the same location. Any ideas why I'm getting 2 stations but not any of the others that are coming from the same location? One of the brackets holding a large element is broken, but the connection and alignment is OK, so I don't think thats a problem. I'm in Rocklin (Stanford Ranch) with no large objects directly in front of me. I'm hoping I can keep the antenna in the attic mainly because I don't want to go up on the roof and run another wire.

Do you think a pre-amp will help?

If I can't get this to work does anyone have a suggestion for an attic antenna that would work in this area(~43 miles from the towers)? Anyone have luck with an indoor antenna in the Rocklin area?

Thanks....

Doug

Hey Doug, there is one large object I can think of directly in the path from where you are to the towers:
The city of Sacramento.
:D
You're almost directly opposite the location from the towers (walnut grove).

Also, if you're in Standford ranch, a lot of that neighborhood is kinda in a low valley (I used to have a house there) so that won't help either...

In all honest, if you're gettint 31.1 which is running at low power, then you're probably ok location wise, but it sounds like there may be something local bouncing 'ghosts' on the other channels...
have you tried moving the antenna a few feet to the left and right of it's current location?

Good luck!

(Also, check out hdtvpub.com, I see at least one report from your neighborhood where the user's getting good reception...)

Originally posted by Buji
Hey Doug, there is one large object I can think of directly in the path from where you are to the towers:
The city of Sacramento.


Thanks!!!

Damn buildings.. :)

You're almost directly opposite the location from the towers (walnut grove).

Also, if you're in Standford ranch, a lot of that neighborhood is kinda in a low valley (I used to have a house there) so that won't help either...

I'm just before Whitney Oaks up out of the valley a bit.


In all honest, if you're gettint 31.1 which is running at low power, then you're probably ok location wise, but it sounds like there may be something local bouncing 'ghosts' on the other channels...
have you tried moving the antenna a few feet to the left and right of it's current location?


Easier said then done, small attic. I'll give it a try..

With ghosting would I get 0 signal strength?


Good luck!

(Also, check out hdtvpub.com, I see at least one report from your neighborhood where the user's getting good reception...)

Originally posted by Buji
Hey Doug, there is one large object I can think of directly in the path from where you are to the towers:
The city of Sacramento.
:D
You're almost directly opposite the location from the towers (walnut grove).

Also, if you're in Standford ranch, a lot of that neighborhood is kinda in a low valley (I used to have a house there) so that won't help either...

In all honest, if you're gettint 31.1 which is running at low power, then you're probably ok location wise, but it sounds like there may be something local bouncing 'ghosts' on the other channels...

Actually, KMAX is now broadcasting at full power, and is one of the most powerful signals in the area...them and KOVR. One reason for getting those two channels is that they are in a "peak" frequency area. Those are two of the easiest channels to pick up.

An amp might be of assistance, depending on your overall line of sight. You might want to get an antenna installer out to do a signal test, and see if the rest of the channels are even going to be accessible from your location.

Originally posted by nightowl
An amp might be of assistance, depending on your overall line of sight. You might want to get an antenna installer out to do a signal test, and see if the rest of the channels are even going to be accessible from your location. [/B]

Probably a dumb question, but why wouldn't they be accessible from my location, all are ~43 miles away. Are there other factors (besides obstacles) that may be an issue?

I would try a channel master 4228 antenna. I live in Vacaville and get every Sacramento station there. It should be noted that I have mine mounted outdoors. I think multipath may be a problem in the attic especially if you have any type of foil insulation on the house (siding or roof).
Dave

Originally posted by doug4246
Probably a dumb question, but why wouldn't they be accessible from my location, all are ~43 miles away. Are there other factors (besides obstacles) that may be an issue?


I'm not sure how it works, but I do know that with my silver sensor (inside on the book case next to the tv) if I move it even six inches from it's optimal spot, I lose half the channels. Granted, they don't drop off the signal meter all together, but they turn into "Pulsing signals" (ghosting?) or very low signals....

also, if I turn it more than 5 degrees the same thing happens, but when it's in the right spot, I get 85-95% all the way across.

So, after viewing all 34 pages of this thread, this is my understanding of my options for the 811. We can't view CBS from L.A. on satellite 148 due to the conflict with the local Sacramento station, so OTA is the only option for HD reception (CBS and all available digital broadcasts). I purchased a DB4 bowtie antenna and should be able to pick up the broadcasts from the towers located in Walnut Grove. I live in the older section of Rocklin and hope I have a clear sight to the towers. Am I missing anything? Thanks!

Originally posted by Britown
So, after viewing all 34 pages of this thread, this is my understanding of my options for the 811. We can't view CBS from L.A. on satellite 148 due to the conflict with the local Sacramento station, so OTA is the only option for HD reception (CBS and all available digital broadcasts). I purchased a DB4 bowtie antenna and should be able to pick up the broadcasts from the towers located in Walnut Grove. I live in the older section of Rocklin and hope I have a clear sight to the towers. Am I missing anything? Thanks!

Let us (me) know how the DB4 works out for you. Did you buy it local? I'm thinking I'll need to try a roof top antenna, the attic just doesn't seem to be working out for me.

Cheers,
Doug

Will do. I'm going to work on getting it installed today and will report back. Actually I purchased it directly from Antennas Direct and received it quickly. I'm sorry the attic didn't work out for you, as I was originally going that route. However, I figured if I was going to get the best signal I might as well just put it on the roof.

Bob and all,

KMAX DT is intermittent in Turlock with what I believe is KFTY Analog 21 in Hanford, CA stepping on the signal from the backside of the antenna. KMAX DT is basically unviewable.

Is there anyway to isolate or reject this backside interference?

I’m already using UHF/VHF antenna with a 28db amp; coupled with VOOM signal via diplexer after the amp.

No problems with ABC DT, CBS DT, FOX DT, NBC DT, WB DT… some problems with PBS DT; All Sacramento.

Ideas?

Thanks

Originally posted by brad 54
Bob and all,

KMAX DT is intermittent in Turlock with what I believe is KFTY Analog 21 in Hanford, CA stepping on the signal from the backside of the antenna. KMAX DT is basically unviewable.

Is there anyway to isolate or reject this backside interference?

I�m already using UHF/VHF antenna with a 28db amp; coupled with VOOM signal via diplexer after the amp.

No problems with ABC DT, CBS DT, FOX DT, NBC DT, WB DT� some problems with PBS DT; All Sacramento.

Ideas?

Thanks
There are several ways to try to fix this. The cheapest would be to just buy a Channel Master 4228, 8-bay bowtie, and point it at Walnut Grove. The large screen reflector is very effective at rejecting a signal from the rear of the antenna.

I suggested another alternative to a viewer when I was in Boston. This guy was serious and willing to spend the money for a phase cancellation device, available from Microwave Filter Company for about $300 (I think). These work well. You point one antenna at the desired signal and another antenna at the undesired signal. The undesired signal antenna goes into the phase cancellation box and you simply adjust the knobs to null out the offending signal. I have used these and they work well. They are made for the cable TV industry but most viewers would consider $300 an obscene amount of money to view UPN-31 or any other station! I'd try the $50 Channel Master antenna first. For those interested in the phase canceling box, see: http://www.microwavefilter.com/phasecancellation.htm

Bob

Just placed my new Channelmaster 3671 up on the roof in Mtz. Can't wait to get the rotor and additional mast installed to get some more clearance from the home.

What a difference. No amp, and I can now receive 31.1.

Bob, any chance the Sat rebroadcast of Enterprise can have the image lock removed so I can zoom the image to 16:9? (In case I mis the original transmission on Fri nights.)

BTW. Depending on where you live in Fairfield, you should be able to get both Sacramento and S.F. stations OTA.

Lee

Originally posted by slk230

Bob, any chance the Sat rebroadcast of Enterprise can have the image lock removed so I can zoom the image to 16:9? (In case I mis the original transmission on Fri nights.)


Lee,

The Saturday repeat is coming straight from UPN in glorious 4x3 standard def. It is not available in HD from UPN.

Bob

Does anybody else having banding problems on 58.1?

Bob;
Why is it that when UPN broadcasts the 4:3 on Sat the digital feed is locked to "FULL". I can zoom the analog broadcast but the digital is fixed at 4:3. If there wasn't any lock I could still zoom the better digital picture.
Lee

Lee,

Are you able to "zoom" any other station's 4:3 broadcasts? I know I can't on my set (a Sony XBR910). Maybe I need more schoolin', but as far as I know, there's no way for a broadcaster to prevent you from altering a 4:3 image, assuming your specific gear will allow you to do it.

Originally posted by videojanitor
Are you able to "zoom" any other station's 4:3 broadcasts? I know I can't on my set (a Sony XBR910). Maybe I need more schoolin', but as far as I know, there's no way for a broadcaster to prevent you from altering a 4:3 image, assuming your specific gear will allow you to do it.

In the different HD decoder's I've used over the years, it seems that there are several STB's that will allow you to zoom a 1080i or 720p picture, but I haven't seen any integrated HDTV's that will allow manipulation of the picture.

Some STB/Tuners/HDTV's don't allow you to zoom HD signals (1080i, 720p), while they do let you zoom analog SD signals (480i).

Most of the Sacramento digital stations broadcast in 1080i or 720p, especially when carrying the National Feed. Even thought the picture is 4x3 it is still HD (just with black bars added) and thus your tuner can't zoom the image. Some of the digital stations have a subchannel that show the content in SD and can be zoomed.

Hammer

Originally posted by hammerdwn
Some STB/Tuners/HDTV's don't allow you to zoom HD signals (1080i, 720p), while they do let you zoom analog SD signals (480i).

Most of the Sacramento digital stations broadcast in 1080i or 720p, especially when carrying the National Feed. Even thought the picture is 4x3 it is still HD (just with black bars added) and thus your tuner can't zoom the image. Some of the digital stations have a subchannel that show the content in SD and can be zoomed.

Hammer
KMAX, along with all of the CBS owned stations, broadcasts a 1080I digital signal. What you see during non-HD (non-widescreen) programing is our analog signal upconverted to 1080I. The upconverter cleans up the analog video and doubles the number of lines. We choose not to distort the aspect ratio so it is delivered to you as a 4x3 picture in a 16x9 frame. We could stretch it and we can (and have) added side panels to it. At this time, CBS has chosen not to compromise the bandwidth of the HD picture, which is why you don't see a true 4x3 subchannel.

Bob

Originally posted by nightowl
In the different HD decoder's I've used over the years, it seems that there are several STB's that will allow you to zoom a 1080i or 720p picture, but I haven't seen any integrated HDTV's that will allow manipulation of the picture.

My Sony KD-34XBR960, integrated set, allows a full range of zooms and stretches on the tuners and all inputs.

Thanks Bob;
So it looks like if I miss the HD broadcast on Friday, I'll have to watch the analog on Sat if I want to expand the image to fill the 16:9 screen.
Oh well....

Too bad there's not some way to transmit a "zoomed" image on the HD side if the source is a letterboxed 4:3 image, instead of adding the matting to fill the 16:9 screen.

for example:
If "original source" is 4:3, line double, matt for 16:9 and transmit on the HD side.
If "original source" is 16:9, just transmit it on the HD side.
If "original source" is "letterboxed" 4:3, line double, zoom image to 16:9 and then transmit on the HD side...

This would allow all 16:9 sets (read digital) to have the screen filled up.

And for those inquiring minds, the KDF allows multiple format zooms on analog transmissions and some digital channels. Most digital channels are locked at "FULL" according to the Sony. In the case of the Sat broadcast of "Enterprise", the scaler is locked at FULL, therefore I have a tiny letterboxed image in the center of the 4:3 transmission on the 60" 16:9 screen. If I just go to the analog broadcast, I can zoom to full screen coverage.

Lee

Lee,

While your idea sounds good (I agree that watching a letterboxed program inside a 4:3 frame on a 16:9 set is not desireable), in practice it would be far too complex to implement. The main reason is that, in the case of "Enterprise," and virtually every other show that is aired this way, the network commercial breaks are integrated into the program, and they are (usually) 4:3. If your method was adopted, the breaks would then be zoomed way up, chopping off a considerable amount at the top and bottom. Obviously, this would not be acceptable to those paying the bills.

The only solution would be for the station to switch back and forth during the program, but that becomes a logistical nightmare. Are you able to change the output format on your STB? If you can set it to 480p during these kinds of broadcasts, the Sony *should* let you zoom to your heart's content.

I don't have a set top box. The Sony KDF has an integrated HD tuner.
Interesting to note that most of the HD shows we watch seem to run 4:3 commercials at the breaks without any problem. SO if they can shift from 16:9 during the program to 4:3 at the breaks, why can't it be done in the opposite direction?

Now why is it I can zoom analog 13, can't zoom digital 13.1, but can zoom digital 13.2? In KMAX world there isn't a 31.2

Another Pet peeve:
I don't mind seeing the network bugs as a way to meet FCC ID requirements, HOWEVER knock it off with the constant display of the "bugs". I don't need the CBS eye or UPN or WB or the peacock stuffed in the corner of the screen for the entire show. I already KNOW what network I'm watching and putting this mark only distracts from watching the show. I feel sorry for the Plasma owners having these marks burned into their sets. At least with LCD I don't have this problem.

Lee

Originally posted by slk230
I don't have a set top box. The Sony KDF has an integrated HD tuner.
Interesting to note that most of the HD shows we watch seem to run 4:3 commercials at the breaks without any problem. SO if they can shift from 16:9 during the program to 4:3 at the breaks, why can't it be done in the opposite direction?

Now why is it I can zoom analog 13, can't zoom digital 13.1, but can zoom digital 13.2? In KMAX world there isn't a 31.2


Your set will only allow you to zoom SD programming. 13.1 is HD while 13.2 is SD, as are all analog channels. You will also not be able to zoom 10.1, 6.1, 3.1, 31.1, 40.1 or 58.1. On the other hand, you can zoom 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 10.2, 10.3 and 19.1 to your hearts content.

Originally posted by slk230
Interesting to note that most of the HD shows we watch seem to run 4:3 commercials at the breaks without any problem. SO if they can shift from 16:9 during the program to 4:3 at the breaks, why can't it be done in the opposite direction?

These are two very different things. When you see a 4:3 commercial during 16:9 programming, the 4:3 commercial is actually just centered with a 16:9 frame, with black panels added to fill out the extra space -- the aspect ratio of the broadcast is actually not changing at all. And the local station doesn't have to do anything -- it comes in to them just as you see it. What you're asking for KMAX to do is to CHANGE the aspect ratio/size on the fly, and that's just not going to happen.


Now why is it I can zoom analog 13, can't zoom digital 13.1, but can zoom digital 13.2? In KMAX world there isn't a 31.2

Spwace already answered this, but the reason is tied to what I said above. Even if the picture on 13.1 or 31.1 not filling your entire screen, the image being transmitted is 16:9 -- the blank areas are simply filled with black. Your particular set (like mine) will not allow any manipulation of 16:9 frame, so cannot zoom or otherwise alter it. 13.2 on the other hand is a 4:3 SD image, so your set WILL allow you to change it. However, if you take a good look at it, you'll notice that it is VERY soft -- I can't stand to look at that normal size, let alone zoomed up!


Another Pet peeve:
I don't mind seeing the network bugs as a way to meet FCC ID requirements, HOWEVER knock it off with the constant display of the "bugs". I don't need the CBS eye or UPN or WB or the peacock stuffed in the corner of the screen for the entire show. I already KNOW what network I'm watching and putting this mark only distracts from watching the show. I feel sorry for the Plasma owners having these marks burned into their sets. At least with LCD I don't have this problem.

That's a whole 'nother discussion entirely, but I'm completely in agreement with you there -- I hate bugs. Supreme hate. But, they are not going away anytime soon, as the people who run TV stations and networks firmly believe them to be the holy grail. Without them, they'll tell you that the ratings would surely plummet immediately, and they'd have to fold up the tent and go home. There's no talking them out of it. I've tried.

I am anxiously awaiting my new HDTV (Sony KDF 60XS955 to be delivered 11/16) and thought i would try and figure out how much antenna I need. Antennaweb says I am 26 miles away(Arden-Arcade) and need the basic "yellow" grade antenna. I picked up a Silver Sensor from GG and plugged it into my old-fashioned TV and get decent/watchable SD reception of 13, 31, 58, etc. Does this mean that I should be good for picking up the HD stuff? Or do I need crystal clear SD reception?

Thanks, Jeremy

Is everyone hearing stuttering/garbled audio on UPN-DT tonight during Enterprise (commercials too)? I'm getting it on both my tuners.

Hammer

Drove me up the wall. First time I've been able to watch an entire show in HD, and the audio SUCKED! Oh well...

It thought it was my Yamaha Stereo receiver, but the audio on the Sony also was stuttering badly.
Lee

Originally posted by lawnboy
I picked up a Silver Sensor from GG and plugged it into my old-fashioned TV and get decent/watchable SD reception of 13, 31, 58, etc. Does this mean that I should be good for picking up the HD stuff? Or do I need crystal clear SD reception?

If you can get reasonable reception of the upper UHF analog channels, then you should be good-to-go for DTV. It doesn't need to be "crystal clear," but as long as it seems to have more signal than noise, it should work. It can't hurt to try it!

Originally posted by hammerdwn
Is everyone hearing stuttering/garbled audio on UPN-DT tonight during Enterprise (commercials too)? I'm getting it on both my tuners.

I just checked my HD TiVo recording, and indeed the audio is pretty much unlistenable due to constant dropouts.

Thanks videojanitor, that is what I wanted to hear.

Jeremy

This was the first time this has happened. I suspect a network problem rather than a KMAX problem. We'll know next time Bob Hess checks in.

It was a network problem...I saw a post of someone in another state with the same problems and thought it was his STB.

Dave

Anybody else have problems with COLD CASE tonight on 13-1? I recorded it on the ol' HD TiVo, but there were serious problems when playing it back -- every few minutes, the whole thing would freeze-up, and then it would jump ahead by several minutes. That is, the machine stopped recording intermittently due to (presumably) a loss of signal or some other problem. If those of you that WATCHED it didn't experience a problem, then it was a problem unique to my living room ...

I saw the first 30 minutes, and did not notice any problems.

Hammer

The problems with Enterprise on Friday were apparently local. In the HD Programming thread, posters from Atlanta and Sacramento had dropouts in the audio, while others around the country did not.

I hope it was a one-time thing.

Originally posted by Bill Shakespeare
The problems with Enterprise on Friday were apparently local. In the HD Programming thread, posters from Atlanta and Sacramento had dropouts in the audio, while others around the country did not.

I hope it was a one-time thing.
I doubt it was a network problem. Probably our problem. We're looking into it.

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering
KMAX UPN-31

Originally posted by videojanitor
Anybody else have problems with COLD CASE tonight on 13-1? <snip>then it was a problem unique to my living room ...

I just watched my HD-TiVo recording and it was fine. It looks like the problem was on your end. I really hope it was reception issues and not a hard drive problem. Have you noticed any other similar problems?

Tracey

Tracey,

Thanks for the report. Not to turn this into a TiVo thread :) , but no, I haven't noticed any other problems. My wife and I were out to dinner, so we were recording The Simpsons (40-1) and Cold Case (13-1) simultaneously on the HD TiVo. Upon returning home, we tried to watch The Simpsons, but the box was frozen -- it was still displaying 40-1, and apparently recording 13-1 as the record LED was still on. So, I waited until 9pm, and then unplugged it for a minute -- upon reboot, it was working fine. Watched back The Simpsons, but then experienced the previously described problem when attempting to view Cold Case.

No problems since then, but I guess I should try another simultaneous recording just to make sure ...

--Bill

To continue the hi-jack, I've had similar problems with my 2 HD-TiVos, and both times CBS was involved (once was NBC & CBS and the other was UPN & CBS). Both TiVos crashed at the same time, and the recording errors were identical. I suspect there is an occasional glitch from CBS that the box can't decode.

Glad there aren't any hard drive problems.

Tracy

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Sacramento forum.

Originally posted by doug4246
Let us (me) know how the DB4 works out for you. Did you buy it local? I'm thinking I'll need to try a roof top antenna, the attic just doesn't seem to be working out for me.

Cheers,
Doug

I connected the DB4 this weekend and now receive nine Sacramento HD locals. It works great and all channels come in at 90%+ signal strength! I definitely recommend this antenna.

Brian

Why does KOVR have to air the first hour of a program at 7pm on 13.1, then air it again at 8pm....I hate that. I don't understand the reasoning with this......If they have the HD CBS feed at 7pm then why start air it again the next hour. For example, I was wathcing "Category 6" last night on 13.1 at 7pm....then at 8 it started over....of course 13.2 didn't start over & my wife wanted to continue watching...so I suffered through standard definition....I told my wife once we get a projector this channel will be unwatchable due to the larger screen....She also watches CSI-Miami at 9pm on 13.2.....ugh, the picture sucks

I am just curious why KOVR does this.....I know its the 10pm news but I don't get why they air the same show at 7pm & 8 pm.....help me understand

thanks.....

Joe

KOVR doesn't have the equipment yet to record HD for later playback, they are running the HD feed directly from CBS.

It's only on nights where there is HD programming that they switch over. No HD for the night, no switching.

I just ignore the KOVR m-f 7p hour. It's not that bad once you get used to it. In fact it sometimes helps me when scheduling HD recordings/viewing.

When is KXTV gonna fix the severe audio pop??? Watching 'LOST' last night I practically jumped out of my seat at 8:51pm when the channel popped.

Hammer

Nightowl,
I still don't get why the 1st hour of Category 6 was on 13.1 in HD at 7pm.....then they reran it at 8pm....if they had the feed at 7pm then why not continue it??

I think I might have to delete 13.2 so my wife doesn't want to watch the earlier shows

thanks....

Joe

The show was on 13.1 at 7pm, but it was not in HD, it was upconverted from the SD feed.

On their analog channel, KOVR records the east coast feed from 5PM to 8pm and plays it back from 7pm to 10pm. Letterman starts at 11pm instead of 11:35pm. On the HD channel, HD shows are played in real time off the network and SD shows are upconverts of the analog channel.

The reason they do it is so they can run their news at 10pm and avoid competing head to head with KCRA & KXTV. Ironically, that means their news is rarely seen on the HD channel.

Why wouldn't they just try and get the Mountain time feed - So how do they show CSI in HD - if its recorded from East coast, and the standard West coast time is 9pm, seems like they wouldn't be showing it...

I don't get to see it HD anyhow since I'm on Comcast! but we won't go there ;)

As far as I know, there is no CBS Mountain time-zone feed, so their only option is to record the East feed. I'll try to clear up how this all works -- below is tonight's line-up of programming, and where it will originate:

KOVR (analog)

7:00pm - Survivor (recorded from East feed at 5pm PT)
8:00pm - CSI (recorded from East feed at 6pm PT)
9:00pm - Without a Trace (recorded from East feed at 7pm PT)
10:00pm - KOVR News (live)
11:00pm - Letterman (recorded from East feed at 8:35 PT)

KOVR-DT (13.1)

7:00pm - Survivor (recorded from East feed at 5pm PT)
8:00pm - Survivor (same show -- live from West feed)
9:00pm - CSI (live from West feed)
10:00pm - Without a Trace (live from West feed)
11:00pm - Letterman (recorded from East feed at 8:35 PT)

Hopefully that helps. As you can see, they have to air Survivor twice, because the actual West feed doesn't start until 8pm PT. If this was an HD show, the first showing would be SD, since they have no way to record HD from the East feed.

Interesting - I didn't realize they shifted it off like that. So what happens if the rumor is true of CBS moving to KMAX actually happens - will they maintain the earlier start time, or go to normal west coast times? Have to get the Tivo out since right now we watch CSI and The Apprentice!! :)

I'm hoping for the KMAX change and assume KMAX would follow the standard non-shifted CBS schedule. This hope is based on transferring the UPN franchise to a HD enabled local station. Preferably not Sinclair owned.

Originally posted by Britown
I connected the DB4 this weekend and now receive nine Sacramento HD locals. It works great and all channels come in at 90%+ signal strength! I definitely recommend this antenna.

Brian

Good to hear. Did you go with the roof or the attic?

Sorry guys....I just think it sucks to actually replay the same program.
I now understand why....but still....?

thanks...

Joe

Originally posted by ccallana
So what happens if the rumor is true of CBS moving to KMAX actually happens - will they maintain the earlier start time, or go to normal west coast times?

If KMAX becomes the CBS affiliate, you can bet your bippy that prime-time would run from 8-11pm. I don't know that for a fact of course, but that would make them a CBS O&O, and CBS stations all run their programs at the "correct" times.

Originally posted by doug4246
Good to hear. Did you go with the roof or the attic?

I went with the roof (5' mast) and I think it was the best choice. My attic has a cooling fan and I was afraid that the metal would impact the signal, as it would have been in direct line of sight. The roof mount doesn't look bad at all and I'm getting a consistent 90 to 95% signal strength on all channels. Hope that helps!

Originally posted by videojanitor
As far as I know, there is no CBS Mountain time-zone feed, so their only option is to record the East feed. I'll try to clear up how this all works -- below is tonight's line-up of programming, and where it will originate:

KOVR (analog)

7:00pm - Survivor (recorded from East feed at 5pm PT)
8:00pm - CSI (recorded from East feed at 6pm PT)
9:00pm - Without a Trace (recorded from East feed at 7pm PT)
10:00pm - KOVR News (live)
11:00pm - Letterman (recorded from East feed at 8:35 PT)

KOVR-DT (13.1)

7:00pm - Survivor (recorded from East feed at 5pm PT)
8:00pm - Survivor (same show -- live from West feed)
9:00pm - CSI (live from West feed)
10:00pm - Without a Trace (live from West feed)
11:00pm - Letterman (recorded from East feed at 8:35 PT)

Hopefully that helps. As you can see, they have to air Survivor twice, because the actual West feed doesn't start until 8pm PT. If this was an HD show, the first showing would be SD, since they have no way to record HD from the East feed.

So what is on 13-2, the digital version of the analog feed?

Thanks,

Brian

I am having trouble getting a good signal on all of the stations at thge same time. I thought all of the stations are out of the same towers down there in the Delta, but when I have 90+ signal strength on 3, 10, and 58, I have fluctuating dropping signal on 6 and 40. When I move the antenna to get strong 6 and 40 I get weak 3, 10, and 58. Shouldn't all the stations come in strong pointed in the same direction? Do I just need to relocate the antenna, or get a bigger attic one? I am using a little Silver Sensor now. Forgive my ignorance I am a newbie.

Thanks, Jeremy

Originally posted by Britown
So what is on 13-2, the digital version of the analog feed?

Thanks,

Brian

Yes, 13-2 has the same schedule as analog 13.

Originally posted by lawnboy
I am having trouble getting a good signal on all of the stations at thge same time. I thought all of the stations are out of the same towers down there in the Delta ...

All of the stations transmit from the same general area, from three towers that are only a mile or two apart, so unless you are very close to Walnut Grove, there shouldn't be an issue with directionalty. Can you tell me the general area where you located? It could just be that the Silver Sensor is not good enough -- you may need to go to something more robust, such as the attic antenna you mentioned.

Thanks VJ. I am in the Town & Country/Arden Arcade area east of town. Antennaweb said I need a basic "yellow" multi-directional antenna. I can essentially get 90+ signal on everything, just not at the same time. My tuner is the HR10-250 Tivo.

Thanks, Jeremy

Jeremy,

Hmmm, you are certainly far enough away from the towers that directionality should not be an issue. I also use an HR10-250 as my tuner, and live in the Pocket area -- no reception problems here at all, but I have a small rooftop antenna pointed due South. If you can't get reliable results with the Silver Sensor, then I would suggest investing a few bucks for a conventional antenna -- in the end, that'll be your best bet. If you need suggestions on what to buy, I believe there are some mentioned in this thread -- if you do a search on the word "antenna," you should find them.

Originally posted by Bob Hess
I doubt it was a network problem. Probably our problem. We're looking into it.

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering
KMAX UPN-31

Last night's audio was a lot better, but there were still occasional minor gurgles/pops in the center channel.

Hammer

Anyone know whether tonight's Kings-Bucks game is going to be broadcast in HD by KXTV, channel 10? Thanks.

No, the Kings game tonight will not be in HD. The truck they plan on using (Mira mobil's new HD truck) will not be finished being built until mid next month. I have not heard anything about it for several weeks so that date may have changed.

Thanks R. Boyce. It would be nice if KXTV would keep us up to date on this. I imagine many HDTV owners are wondering whether tonight's game is in HD.

Yeah, was sad to see that the game wasn't in HD. I had a feeling that they were waiting on the same truck as well. When the news broke of the KINGS having a cable contract, KXTV stated that all of their home game on News10 would be in HD. The BUCS game today was the first home game for KXTV, and no HD...sad...wellz I guess we all have to wait til DEC 19th, less then a month but way to long to wait..hehe =).

The Kings tried to get the use of other trucks until the Mira truck was available but found that the other HD trucks were already booked. The same truck will be used for Comcast HD games and KXTV games. Discussions are under way between kXTV and Comcast about sharing various resources. This is not a done deal yet. There are still a number of issues outstanding related to KXTV being able to get an HD feed KXTV can use via Comcast. They do intend to air all games in 720p. They needed to pick a format to create graphic elements in and 720p could be used by both KXTV and Comcast.

I'm new to the HD world. I just got my LG 4200a up and running.

Is there a way to tell when you are watching HD? Apparently some shows have dolby digital and are not HD, and other shows are upverted to 720 and 1080 and are very sharp but still is not HD. PBS seems to always have the HD logo in the upper left.

Hi guys,
I finally took the plunge and went HDTV, got my new HDTV Dish Network receiver along with the HDTV package.

That said, I live in Yuba City, where I'm about 65 miles from the Sacramento towers. Ian Leff here on the board has a similar problem, and I know he's found some solutions but he hasn't been posting here or answering his email.

Antennaweb tells me purple directional, which says to me $$$ since I'm not about to climb on top of my roof to put an antenna up 15 above the roofline. Not only do I not own my house, but I fall down enough while on the ground, let alone on a roof.

Any suggestions? I was ALMOST able to pull in KTXL with a small set-top VHF/UHF combo thingie with a booster as a test (a friend of mine had one).

Greg

Originally posted by ElkGrove
I'm new to the HD world. I just got my LG 4200a up and running.

Is there a way to tell when you are watching HD? Apparently some shows have dolby digital and are not HD, and other shows are upverted to 720 and 1080 and are very sharp but still is not HD. PBS seems to always have the HD logo in the upper left.

Hello ElkGrove! Welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately, you have run into one of the things that many people find frustrating about HDTV -- there is no "light" or any kind of display information that be called up on your monitor to let you know if a program is truly in HD. The only thing that you can honestly go by are your EYEBALLS.

To me, most HD programming is instantly recognizable -- when I see it, I know it. I think most people would fall into this camp -- HD is rarely mistaken for non-HD. On the other hand, some upconverted material can look pretty decent, especially if it's 16:9 -- good enough that sometimes it can fool the eye into thinking its HD. For that stuff, my feeling has always been that if it looks good to you, then sit back, relax and enjoy it and don't worry about the pixel count.

That said, you can go to the websites of virtually every network and find out what shows are in HD. There's also a good thread at the top of the AVS HDTV Programming Forum that details a lot of what's out there:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=164671

Hope this helps! --Bill R.

Originally posted by DrDemento
I live in Yuba City, where I'm about 65 miles from the Sacramento towers [...] Any suggestions? I was ALMOST able to pull in KTXL with a small set-top VHF/UHF combo thingie with a booster as a test (a friend of mine had one).


Hi Greg,

You said you "almost" picked up KTXL with that small antenna -- does that mean you were able to get some of the other stations, or none at all? At that distance, I'd be surprised if anything other than a roof antenna did the job. Does the house have an attic? You might be able to get away with just sticking something in there, as long as it can point South. Hopefully other will have some suggestions for you ...

--Bill R.

Originally posted by videojanitor
Hi Greg,

You said you "almost" picked up KTXL with that small antenna -- does that mean you were able to get some of the other stations, or none at all? At that distance, I'd be surprised if anything other than a roof antenna did the job. Does the house have an attic? You might be able to get away with just sticking something in there, as long as it can point South. Hopefully other will have some suggestions for you ...

--Bill R.

I actually had it for about 15 or 20 seconds at a time. As far as other stations were concerned, I was getting like 40% signal strength. 40 would top out at about 49%. The signal strength for all channels was enough for it to get the basic textual information on the digital scan... the station call-letters, the name of the program on at the time, etc.

My house does not have an accessible attic. I had thought about perhaps a clip-on antenna for my Dish but many people here say that won't work.

Greg

Greg,

Yeah, I would be skeptical of one of those clip-on antennas myself. Those would probably get you something in the metro area, but you're just too far away and need something that has gain.

I hope someone else can come up with a suggestion for you, as you'll really be missing out on a lot of HD programming if you can't pick up the Sac locals.

--Bill R.

Originally posted by DrDemento
Hi guys,
I finally took the plunge and went HDTV, got my new HDTV Dish Network receiver along with the HDTV package.

That said, I live in Yuba City, where I'm about 65 miles from the Sacramento towers. Ian Leff here on the board has a similar problem, and I know he's found some solutions but he hasn't been posting here or answering his email.

Antennaweb tells me purple directional, which says to me $$$ since I'm not about to climb on top of my roof to put an antenna up 15 above the roofline. Not only do I not own my house, but I fall down enough while on the ground, let alone on a roof.

Any suggestions? I was ALMOST able to pull in KTXL with a small set-top VHF/UHF combo thingie with a booster as a test (a friend of mine had one).

Greg

Hi Greg,
There really isn't a solution other than an outdoor antenna. However, if the house is gabled, your landlord may allow an antenna bracketed near the peak with a 10-foot mast.
As for the antenna, Bob Hess on this forum is the chief engineer at KMAX-TV. He recommends the ChannelMaster 4228 8-bay bow-tie. It's not too big or heavy and costs about 50 bucks.
Good luck and enjoy your new HDTV.
Carl

Originally posted by JOESMUD
Why does KOVR have to air the first hour of a program at 7pm on 13.1, then air it again at 8pm....I hate that. I don't understand the reasoning with this......If they have the HD CBS feed at 7pm then why start air it again the next hour. For example, I was wathcing "Category 6" last night on 13.1 at 7pm....then at 8 it started over....of course 13.2 didn't start over & my wife wanted to continue watching...so I suffered through standard definition....I told my wife once we get a projector this channel will be unwatchable due to the larger screen....She also watches CSI-Miami at 9pm on 13.2.....ugh, the picture sucks

I am just curious why KOVR does this.....I know its the 10pm news but I don't get why they air the same show at 7pm & 8 pm.....help me understand

thanks.....

Joe

You might want to look into DirecTV and specifically their Distant Network Service (DNS). for 5 to 10 bucks a month, you'll get both CBS East and West feeds at the correct time.

Originally posted by Bob Hess
I doubt it was a network problem. Probably our problem. We're looking into it.

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering
KMAX UPN-31

Audio is worse than ever tonight.
Hammer

I concur -- just checked Enterprise on a DTC-100, and it is unlistenable.

Edit: Checked my HD TiVo recording when I got home -- same problem.

Bob;
Why is it Enterprise seems to be the only show with the Audio problems?
Last night's broadcast was almost unlistenable.

I'm channel sufing this morning and the audio from KMAX is just fine.

Lee

Looks like KVIE is back to the channel 53.1 channel 6 flip flopping again.
Set is a SONY KDF with the built-in ATSC tuner.

Originally posted by slk230
Bob;
Why is it Enterprise seems to be the only show with the Audio problems?
Last night's broadcast was almost unlistenable.

I'm channel sufing this morning and the audio from KMAX is just fine.

Lee
It appears that everything except Enterprise is OK. I have been monitoring extensively but I did not watch Enterprise last night. I need to find out what is different about the Enterprise feed from the other HD UPN feeds, which have been fine, at least when I have monitored them with my own HD/Surround Sound system. We simply pass on the stream as we receive it from UPN off of satellite. More to come....

Bob

Can someone confirm or deny that they are being affected by this too?

Local CBS (13-1) has been consistently bad at providing Sunday football in HD. It seems to be about 50/50 so far... Like this weekend the 10am game was in HD, but when they switched to the 49ers at 1:00, it was SD only all game.

In fact, it seems like, of the games I've seen on CBS, they usually have teams I don't care about in HD, and the teams I do (49ers, Raiders) are generally always SD... sometimes they might switch over part way thru...

Is this because they don't have the HD trucks at Candlestick Park? Is there something else that would cause this? Or is it simply because our Local CBS station is not swicthing the feed?

CBS doesn't offer every game in HD like Fox does. I may be wrong about this though.

Dave

I believe the networks can only cover so many games per week in HD. That is why DirecTV doesn;t have all Sunday ticket games in HD.

The Raiders suck as do 49ers this year. They are probably low on the HD priority list. By the way, I'm sure the 49ers don't look any better on the field in HD than in SD!

I suppose CBS felt that two teams fighting for the worst record in the NFL wasn't HD worthy.

Yeah yeah yeah... :D

But often times CBS will have the game listed to be in HD, and it isn't... I'm just wondering if anyone else watching in this area has noticed this too, or I am just imagining things?

The Raiders may "suck" this year, but atleast they are not the worst ranked team in the NFL!! Way to go 9ers!!!


Johnny

(Die Hard Raider Fan!, til Sac gets a football team but that will never happen because this town is too damn cheap!!)

You should talk to Gov. Arnold about that... If he supports an NFL expansion team in Sacramento, then everyone will back it...

CBS does up to 3 games a Sunday in HD, Fox up to 6. You can find the list of games for the week over in the programming forum or go to DirecTv.com and look at the Sunday Ticket schedule and you can see if the game will be shown in HD.

I haven't been home every Sunday, but haven't noticed a time yet this year where KOVR has not shown the HD broadcast of a game if it was available. Generally speaking, in my 2+ years of HD, KOVR has been excellent in "flipping the switch" and rarely forgets.

Originally posted by JayDog_2

Is this because they don't have the HD trucks at Candlestick Park? Is there something else that would cause this? Or is it simply because our Local CBS station is not swicthing the feed?

I was at this game, and the cameras did not appear to be HD capable (did not say "HD" on them anywhere). I know that there are still not enough HD mobile production "trucks" to cover all of the NFL games in HD, as has been previously stated. I suspect that the cameras are part of the "truck" package.

So it is not that the local CBS station in not switching to the HD feed, there was just no HD feed to switch to!

I never used to have trouble tuning in 3-1, I could turn my antenna just about anywhere and it would still come in. Lately it has disappeared, wont even be detected by channel scan.

I dont dare touch my antenna because I finally got 10-1, 13-1, and 40-1 working perfectly. Im not pushing my luck until NFL is over.

So anyone else having trouble with 3-1, or just me?

Thanks,

Ian

No problems with 3-1 in Vacaville.

Dave

No 3-1 trouble here... but I'm also quite a bit closer than you are... ;)



And thanks for the info on CBS HD Football... I've known about the HDTV program listings, just haven't looked at it for football...

I think I was just expecting all the games to be in HD, since it seemed like FOX and ABC games were always HD....

Did anyone get a chance to watch Veronica Mars last night in HD? Any audio problems? It was OK in our control room but I was not able to verify this myself, since I was not home to watch it. Just want to make wure we will be OK for Enterprise this Friday.

Bob Hess
Director of Engineering
KMAX

Anyone know why ALL the guides show the Tonight Show with Jay Leno replays (approximately 2:05 AM M-F) in HD when it is in SD? I could understand a stray mistake here and there, but all the guides have this one wrong. KCRA problem or network problem? Anybody got an answer for this? Thanks.

(Would be great if the repeats were in HD since the replays are exactly one week after the original airing, and you could record the replay if you liked the original or missed its airing. Plus, you could select your TIVO to only record a given guest, etcetera.)

What effects multipath? From what I have read I think I have some multipath issues. I have 80-90+ signal strength on everything at the same time with a little Silver Sensor in the attic. One night everything was dropping out, 90 for a few minutes then down to 0 for a second then back up. I think this is multipath when you have strong signal with sporadic dropouts, yes? What would cause it just one night? Atmospheric conditions, wind moving the trees around, heavy air traffic? Is it just a fact of OTA life that I may miss shows some night because of acts of God?

Thanks, Jeremy

What you describe does sound like multipath. Yes, if there are trees in the signal path to you the signal will change as they move in the wind. The presence of rain (wet trees and roof) will also change things. These are among the reasons that getting your antenna outside and higher can make a large improvement in reliability of reception.