When will WTLH go full power. I live in Adel and get WCTV DT strong, but do not receive WTWC for some reason, everyone else seems to think I should. I did receive it weak once, but I have received Tampa stations as well, but not alot. When you go full power will you guys be strong like WCTV? It would be awesome to get 24 in HD.

When will WTLH go full power. I live in Adel and get WCTV DT strong, but do not receive WTWC for some reason, everyone else seems to think I should. I did receive it weak once, but I have received Tampa stations as well, but not alot. When you go full power will you guys be strong like WCTV? It would be awesome to get 24 in HD.

We will be just as powerful as WCTV (channel 46). We are on 50. Both stations will be running 1 meg watt erp and transmit from with in 3 miles of each other. As for WTWC you are using a VHF antenna as there digital is rf channel 2. Get the best signal you can on analog 49 or 40 and you will be pointed at the digital also. They have a batwing for there digital with the analog stacked on top. If some one can host images I can send some pictures of the towers. We should be up and running in the first part of next year.

Thank You for joining this thread!

I have a couple of questions.

1.Do you have any idea when Mediacom might pick up your HD signal? I don't get comcast and Mediacom really doesn't offer anything on HD, especially locals.

2. Is there a problem with the signal you feed Mediacom? If not Mediacom might have a problem with your signal.

It is by far the darkest station on cable.
It's so dark that I have to turn up the contrast and brightness on my tv about 25-33% higher just to be able to half-way see Fox. This is for all of the TV's in my house hold. 2 of which were correctly calibrated. One of them was done by a trained proffesional calibrated.

The commercials are so dark, that on proper brightness, you can barely see them at all.

Thanks in advance for the answers. AND again, thank you very much for becoming part of this forum!

Thank You for joining this thread!

I have a couple of questions.

1.Do you have any idea when Mediacom might pick up your HD signal? I don't get comcast and Mediacom really doesn't offer anything on HD, especially locals.
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At this time we do not have an over the air HD signal for them.

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2. Is there a problem with the signal you feed Mediacom? If not Mediacom might have a problem with your signal.
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What system are you on (what city) We have had some problems and have taken steps to fix it. I may need to check the signal quality at their headend.

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It is by far the darkest station on cable.
It's so dark that I have to turn up the contrast and brightness on my tv about 25-33% higher just to be able to half-way see Fox. This is for all of the TV's in my house hold. 2 of which were correctly calibrated. One of them was done by a trained proffesional calibrated.

The commercials are so dark, that on proper brightness, you can barely see them at all.

Thanks in advance for the answers. AND again, thank you very much for becoming part of this forum!

see above for answers

I'm on Mediacom and live in Havana

I'm on Mediacom and live in Havana

I will get up with Roger and check the signal at his headend. They receive the signals in Pine Park and fiber to the shed(headend) under the water tower in Havana. I will get up with you after we take a look at things.

Just dropping in to say hi. While I'm here....

- Any idea on what may be next for HD channels in the near future?
- Anyone heard any gossip on the digital simulcast issue?

Just dropping in to say hi. While I'm here....

- Any idea on what may be next for HD channels in the near future?
- Anyone heard any gossip on the digital simulcast issue?

I thought someone said that WB may go HD on Comcast sometime next year. WB is one of my favorite channels and I would love to see them go HD. I do know that Comcast is moving to all-digital feeds (no analog) and that should improve all the analog channels, especially for those using digital tuners or cablecards. I think they expect to have this done by early next year also.

We will be just as powerful as WCTV (channel 46). We are on 50. Both stations will be running 1 meg watt erp and transmit from with in 3 miles of each other. As for WTWC you are using a VHF antenna as there digital is rf channel 2. Get the best signal you can on analog 49 or 40 and you will be pointed at the digital also. They have a batwing for there digital with the analog stacked on top. If some one can host images I can send some pictures of the towers. We should be up and running in the first part of next year.


Thanks for joining in FOXHD...

Any chance of narrowing down the time-frame for when you hope to be at full OTA power beyond 'first part of next year'?

(Of course we won't hold you to it. Being communicative and a participant here give you extra grace. Just ask PBSengineer)

Thanks for joining in FOXHD...

Any chance of narrowing down the time-frame for when you hope to be at full OTA power beyond 'first part of next year'?

(Of course we won't hold you to it. Being communicative and a participant here give you extra grace. Just ask PBSengineer)


I will be by the July dead line. We just got the blessing from corp to get the parts. I will post more as I can.

I thought someone said that WB may go HD on Comcast sometime next year. WB is one of my favorite channels and I would love to see them go HD. I do know that Comcast is moving to all-digital feeds (no analog) and that should improve all the analog channels, especially for those using digital tuners or cablecards. I think they expect to have this done by early next year also.


Well I am going to tell you all. I have asked our powers to be what the stations attentions with WB and HD are. I will keep you posted as they respond. Also how many of you want your WB in HD (Tallahassee/Thomasville market)?

Well I am going to tell you all. I have asked our powers to be what the stations attentions with WB and HD are. I will keep you posted as they respond. Also how many of you want your WB in HD (Tallahassee/Thomasville market)?

Well I got my answer. WB will provide a HD signal to stations under 100 market size. Over market size 100 they will work through may be up to 36 months. And as you know we are above 100. So who knows.

Any word on the Mediacom signal issue?

When you talk to him, think you could ask him when/if they plan to offer anymore HD channels? :-)

Also on the guide I remember them saying until we go full power they don't really count 50dt. But I will check.

Thanks! It really wouldn't bother me so much since I can receive my local FOX affiliate just fine, but I've tried in the last several months to get correct guide information for the UPN affiliate, and independent affiliate and the sub-channels from my NBC affiliate on my TiVo.

I can't contact my independent, WSST-DT via E-Mail, and I really don't have any interest in calling them on the phone and taking the time to explain that TiVo doesn't use the PSIP data, but rather guide information from Zap2it.com

I contacted my local UPN affiliate, WVAG-DT via E-Mail, and swapped some with their Engineer, but he didn't understand what I was talking about, and tried to tell me that the reason why I could receive guide data was because I was out of their signal range.

I also contacted my local NBC affiliate, WALB-DT, but they have never returned my E-Mails, nor anyone else that I know.

Because of that, I think of how there is at least probably one person in Bainbridge who has an HD-TiVo that can also receive WTLH-DT, and since WTLH (http://www.fox49.com) offers a link to CheckHD.com (http://checkhd.com/zipentry.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx) on their webpage, that lists guide data for WTLH-DT if you enter a Bainbridge zip code, I'd like WTLH-DT to keep in mind DirecTV's HD customers in Bainbridge who watches WTLH-DT's digital signal (HD or not!).

I'd also like to thank you for coming to talk to us on here as it's always appreciated when a station is willing to help answer questions to those of us who spend a lot of money to be able to watch their stations in the best possible way! :)

~Alan

I thought someone said that WB may go HD on Comcast sometime next year. WB is one of my favorite channels and I would love to see them go HD.

That would be me, after I noticed WFXU-DT's application for a full powered digital transmitter whose signal will reach me, and would provide me with my only access to WB programming. I also stated that it would make sense for WFXU-DT to HD at the same time they go full-power (something a UPN affiliate is going to do in a neighboring DMA of mine), and since full power rules go into effect in July for all stations in the US, it could be next year... and I've read several markets where Comcast offers their local WB's HD feed (though it depends on the market, and who owns the WB affiliate), so the key word is that they MAY go HD, and they MAY show up on Comcast, but don't hold your breath.

~Alan

Well I got my answer. WB will provide a HD signal to stations under 100 market size. Over market size 100 they will work through may be up to 36 months. And as you know we are above 100. So who knows.

For those of you unfamiliar with WB, let me explain something.

While a quite a few of the Top 100 DMAs have WB affiliates, very few of the sub 100 DMAs (the bottom 110) have them... which isn't always the case as (DMA #97), Savannah, GA can attest to (they don't have a WB affiliate), as well as (DMA #109), Tallahassee, FL since they have a WB affiliate.

To gain more viewers, the WB offers a "National" WB feed to Cable companies in markets without a WB affiliate, and the cable company takes that national feed, sells local commercials for it, and it becomes a "Cable-Only" WB affiliate, which is what MediaCom does for my market, and I'm sure what Comcast did for Tallahassee before WFXU started broadcasting WB programming.

Now, the WB has been offering WB HD programming to markets with a WB for years if the station wanted to upgrade their equipment to it, and since there doesn't seem to be any technological reason, or financial reason why the WB wouldn't want to DMA #109 to be HD, I can only assume this is referring to WB providing a HD "Cable-Only" WB affiliate to sub-100 markets.

~Alan

Monday night football is jerky tonight on HD (180)

Anyone else notice this?

Monday night football is jerky tonight on HD (180)

Anyone else notice this?

I'm getting the same thing. Using the Moto 6412 (I think - the dual tuner one).

Would you mind checking NBC? I can't even get it to come up - the picture just freezes if I try to turn to that channel and if I record a show off of it and try to play it back it only registers as a 1 minute show and immediately asks if I want to delete it.

Are you able to watch NBC-HD okay?

I'm getting the same thing. Using the Moto 6412 (I think - the dual tuner one).

Would you mind checking NBC? I can't even get it to come up - the picture just freezes if I try to turn to that channel and if I record a show off of it and try to play it back it only registers as a 1 minute show and immediately asks if I want to delete it.

Are you able to watch NBC-HD okay?

I get the freeeze on NBC HD as well....

I also have the 6412 Dual

(Just checking...are you having problems with your TV with your screen being too far off on all sides? When pulling up on demand the bubbles are too far left...when looking at the channel info its too low)

Monday night football is jerky tonight on HD (180)

Anyone else notice this?


Same thing here MNF is all jerky, it is like watching it in slow motion.

NBC(181) will not come up.

Fox and CBS seem just fine.

I also have the 6412 tuner but I think it is the station.

Channel info bar is fine.

NBC HD was not operational on Comcast Monday night (the only night I watch NBC - figures). I don't know if the weather had anything to do with that, or if someone at NBC just fell asleep at the switch.

Edit: Just spoke with Steve Sheridan at WTXL and he said they had a problem with the exciter and they are working to fix it. He also said the audio dropouts on their HD broadcast is a nationwide problem at NBC and not a local problem. He said the network has been unable to fix - amazing! Apparently NBC uses different equipment than CBS and ABC and looks to be the source of the problem.

Now, the WB has been offering WB HD programming to markets with a WB for years if the station wanted to upgrade their equipment to it, and since there doesn't seem to be any technological reason, or financial reason why the WB wouldn't want to DMA #109 to be HD, I can only assume this is referring to WB providing a HD "Cable-Only" WB affiliate to sub-100 markets.

~Alan[/QUOTE]

We are an over the air, "station in a box" WB( The national feed comes down and when there is a local spot a server inserts it). There is the cost of the Tandburg encoders needed to upconvert the local content and switch gear to change back and forth.

Edit: Just spoke with Steve Sheridan at WTXL and he said they had a problem with the exciter and they are working to fix it.

Looks like the Harris is up to its old ways again.

We are an over the air, "station in a box" WB( The national feed comes down and when there is a local spot a server inserts it). There is the cost of the Tandburg encoders needed to upconvert the local content and switch gear to change back and forth.

Exactly! But the owners of WFXU-DT would be responsible for the cost of the encoders (and switch gear), so the only reason why the market size would come into play is not the WB network, but whether or not the owners of WFXU-DT feel that a WB affiliate in DMA #109 is worth the money.

BTW, while I've heard a lot of technical "lingo" on this and similar boards, I'm not familiar with the term "station in a box".

~Alan

Exactly! But the owners of WFXU-DT would be responsible for the cost of the encoders (and switch gear), so the only reason why the market size would come into play is not the WB network, but whether or not the owners of WFXU-DT feel that a WB affiliate in DMA #109 is worth the money.

BTW, while I've heard a lot of technical "lingo" on this and similar boards, I'm not familiar with the term "station in a box".

~Alan[/QUOTE]

Yes the owner would be responsible for the encoders. I asked our GM about WB HD and the response he got back from our WB person stated the with in 36 months for stations above 100+.

As for "As for station in a box" This is what they call the system when there is not a master control for the station. The system has a receiver which pulls the national content all the time when there is a local spot to play it triggers a server system which covers over the national sent spot. We send our spot to WB and they send it to the local server for automatic play when needed.

Yes the owner would be responsible for the encoders. I asked our GM about WB HD and the response he got back from our WB person stated the with in 36 months for stations above 100+.

As for "As for station in a box" This is what they call the system when there is not a master control for the station. The system has a receiver which pulls the national content all the time when there is a local spot to play it triggers a server system which covers over the national sent spot. We send our spot to WB and they send it to the local server for automatic play when needed. [/QUOTE]

Aah! After thinking about how similar that is to how the "Cable-Only" WB affiliates works, I looked up the article from www.broadcastingcable.com (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA513847.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP) where WFXU changed affiliations and realized that the only difference between a "Cable-Only" WB affiliate and WFXU is the OTA broadcasts, so the "within 36 months" makes sense.

Oh well, at least WFXU should provide a digital signal in July, and then by the next year, my market should have HD-LIL from DirecTV, and hopefully then they will offer the "regional" WB affiliate from Miami in HD like they do with SD-LIL.

~Alan

... He also said the audio dropouts on their HD broadcast is a nationwide problem at NBC and not a local problem....

For what it's worth... I watch NBC-HD via OTA broadcast on a Dish 921. I have never noticed any dropouts.

Is this 2nd time in 3 in weeks that ABC has been acting up for MNF HD? What is the problem over there?

The WB-in-HD situation reminds us that the FCC digital mandate is just that, to broadcast a digital signal, not that any station is required to broadcast in HD. In theory every station in the country could just start broadcastin in SD and not be doing anything contrary to the FCC Rule. Which brings up my major complaint with the whole digital TV shift - the truly stupid decision to allow broadcasting SD in a 4:3 aspect. Clearly it would be best to have all digital broadcasting, SD or HD, in the same aspect - 16:9. I wish someone would tell explain to the FCC, and preferably do it while bashing them over the head with a TV Guide.

The WB-in-HD situation reminds us that the FCC digital mandate is just that, to broadcast a digital signal, not that any station is required to broadcast in HD. In theory every station in the country could just start broadcastin in SD and not be doing anything contrary to the FCC Rule. Which brings up my major complaint with the whole digital TV shift - the truly stupid decision to allow broadcasting SD in a 4:3 aspect. Clearly it would be best to have all digital broadcasting, SD or HD, in the same aspect - 16:9. I wish someone would tell explain to the FCC, and preferably do it while bashing them over the head with a TV Guide.

While yes, the FCC digital mandate is to broadcast a digital signal, not an HD signal... but as more and more people buy HDTVs, and once Nielsen Media starts counting HD viewers, a station not broadcasting HDTV will most likely be forced into offering HD regardless of whether or not they want to spend the money. It will be a while before this happens, but it's getting closer every day.

Also, as WTLHFOXHD informed us, WFXU isn't the holdup regarding HD, but rather the network itself (it took me a while to understand why, though it makes perfect sense now).

While viewers in the heart of the Tallahassee, FL DMA might not have as many choices, once full-power digital rules take effect, I will be able to receive digital signals of THREE NBC affiliates in HD, Albany, GA, Columbus, GA & Tallahassee, FL (though my UHF only antenna might not pick up WTWC-DT very reliably), THREE FOX affiliates (Albany, Columbus, Tallahassee) in HD (once WTLH-DT broadcasts HD OTA), TWO ABC affiliates in HD (Columbus, Tallahassee), two CBS affiliates in HD (Tallahassee, which I get now and Columbus, GA), and one UPN affiliate (Columbus, GA) that will go HD next year. If it wasn't for the fact that all network affiliates that I'm within "Grade B" ANALOG coverage of already broadcast HD (with the exception of WTLH-DT and WLGA-DT), I could always boycott one if it was SD-only, but as I said before, I'd be happy to just receive WB programming since it's probably my favorite network and I can't receive a WB OTA (and DirecTV doesn't offer a WB to a market without a WB unless they offer local channels, and they don't in my market).

~Alan

The WB-in-HD situation reminds us that the FCC digital mandate is just that, to broadcast a digital signal, not that any station is required to broadcast in HD. In theory every station in the country could just start broadcastin in SD and not be doing anything contrary to the FCC Rule. Which brings up my major complaint with the whole digital TV shift - the truly stupid decision to allow broadcasting SD in a 4:3 aspect. Clearly it would be best to have all digital broadcasting, SD or HD, in the same aspect - 16:9. I wish someone would tell explain to the FCC, and preferably do it while bashing them over the head with a TV Guide.


Don't you think the fact that most of the programming is still created in 4:3 SD will also have an impact? 16:9 aspect for 4:3 programming is worse (IMO).

Don't get me wrong. I yearn for everything in 16:9 HD, but we can't blame the stations for lack of content.

Don't you think the fact that most of the programming is still created in 4:3 SD will also have an impact? 16:9 aspect for 4:3 programming is worse (IMO).

Don't get me wrong. I yearn for everything in 16:9 HD, but we can't blame the stations for lack of content.

Actually, I think he was blaming the FCC, and not the stations. However, you bring up a point which I thought of whenever I read his post too. That of the amount of 4:3 programming on television.

While there is quite a bit of programming on television that is shown in 4:3 aspect ratio when it is actually filmed in widescreen (the last four seasons of "Buffy" comes to mind), as well as some music videos on TV and even a few shows I've seen on HGTV and Food Network... yet OTA digital is generally going to be the top 7 networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, WB, UPN, and these stations are adding more and more HD all the time, but they still rely on a lot of syndicated programming to fill the hours, the majority of which will never be in HD, and would look terrible cropped to fill the widescreen image (though some shows like "Charlie's Angels" and "Hogan's Heroes" look great transferred to HD and shown on HDNet), and the newer shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" "The King of Queens" and "CSI: Las Vegas" being shown in syndication on the local channels has HD transfers available, but no way to deliver them (in syndication) to the local stations (at this time).

Using cropped/stretch SD widescreen images on digital stations look pretty bad, and that's an opinion many people share. The FCC could have forced the networks (and studios) to offer syndicated program in widescreen format (cropping the images themselves or filming new programs in widescreen) would mean the studios would have to spend a lot money editing differences in the SD feed compared to the HD, which would eat into the profits made from syndicated programming since the ratings for syndicated fare is less than that of network programming. Plus, that still leaves the local news, and to do that in widescreen, the affiliate would have to replace a lot of equipment to offer the news (both in house, and reporting in the field) which would force the affiliate to put out a lot of money, and then have to do more editing for the SD feed.

Right now, the FCC is kind of letting the market decide when things will go that way, and this seems to be one of the longest races to come in the digital transition.

~Alan

Right now, the FCC is kind of letting the market decide when things will go that way, and this seems to be one of the longest races to come in the digital transition.

~Alan

If you thing the Television industry change to digital is a mess. Just wait until radio does it.

If you thing the Television industry change to digital is a mess. Just wait until radio does it.

I haven't been following it, and didn't really even know it was coming (this soon, anyway) until dsmith posted something about it on this very board.

However, I thought that digital radio was going to be easier due to the fact that the stations could broadcast digitally right along with their analog channel on the same frequency and with the same power. That, I thought, would surely eliminate some of the problems that the television industry has had to face.

Still, I won't be a first adopter (no interest in it right now), which is good since the list that dsmith posted doesn't list a station near me.

~Alan

Did anybody else lose NBC-40's Digital (Ch2) OTA signal tonight? I'm getting absolutely nothing.

Did anybody else lose NBC-40's Digital (Ch2) OTA signal tonight? I'm getting absolutely nothing.


Talked to the guys over at 40 today. They have had part of the microwave system fail causing the digital packets not to pass. Parts on the way. DT offair until.

Is this 2nd time in 3 in weeks that ABC has been acting up for MNF HD? What is the problem over there?

Lost was a bit on the glitch tonight as well. Not as bad as MNF, but frame rate was bad, had some jerkiness to it. Audio was good though.

Comcast Digital HD box users:

Can someone check channel 32 for me. I watch Adult Swim at night and the last two nights the picture on most of the shows has looked really really washed out.
Trying to figure out if it's my tv, the box, or the signal. My HD looks fine, so I'm leaning toward something screwy with the signal.
Can someone verify? Thanks.

My gripe about the FCC rule allowing continuation of 4:3 format was future oriented - meaning we could (in theory) be seeing 4:3 digital broadcasting 20 years from now under existing rules. Imagine how silly that will be when our grandchildren are watching 100" widescreen wall-screen displays with huge black bars on the sides of those 4:3 images. It is just too stupid to even justify on any level other than a transitional phase - which it is not. AFAIK it is a permanent format for digital transmissions, and the broadcasters will cling to it because it saves them a small amount of bandwidth. That is what happens when you let gearheads make broad policy.

FYI, the annoying judder on ABC HD Comcast ch. 180 was discussed with Steve Sheridan today and he says the problem arose when ABC engineers came in and replaced a lot of their equipment. He is aware of the problem and is trying to fix it asap.

dsmith901, I really don't disagree with you, I'm just trying to present some of the reason/excuses we probably won't get our wish in the near future.

Even if all programming beginning 1/1/2006 is forced to be 'produced' in 16:9 1080i or 720p, our grandchildren will still be watching a significant amount of 4:3 programming if they watch any re-runs produced before that date.

Of course those 100" like my 60" TV will probably have good stretch capabilities so you could avoid the black bars, but you wouldn't be viewing the OAR.

TNT-HD does a pretty good job with their stretch, but my TV does it better.

I don't think the stations that are broadcasting a High-Def signal 24/7 like the locals here save any money by broadcasting 4:3 content with black bars. I don't think it would cost them even a penny more if all of the content was 16:9 HD.

PBS uses the bandwidth to provide multiple sub channels during the day and combines them for High-Def at night. PBSEngineer may need to clarify, but I believe even the 480p signal can carry 16:9 content.

Does anyone know why the sounds on NBC-HD (when it isn't dropping out) is always half a second behind the video? Sometimes it is so bad it is like watching a dubbed movie...

Neon

Widescreen DVDs are 480i so there is no question that SD in 16:9 is doable. My frustration with this issue is that AFAIK no one else has even raised it, even though the sidebars are one of the major complaints among the general public when they buy a HDTV. Everyone wants to get rid of the sidebars, and stretch modes are a poor substitute at best. The solution is so simple as to defy logic - just mandate that as of July, 2008 all digital broadcasts must be 16:9, even if legacy material is 4:3. You would be amazed how much legacy material, especially movies, are actually available in WS, but are cropped by broadcasters "to fit your screen!" Time to move into the 21st century folks.

Yep, there can be 16x9 in 480i (by having the pixels be non-square) --but-- many receivers don't see that flag and would display it incorrectly.

On another note: anyone notice that the time signal in all the local DTV signals are all different - some very bad (PST?)

Yep, there can be 16x9 in 480i (by having the pixels be non-square) --but-- many receivers don't see that flag and would display it incorrectly.

On another note: anyone notice that the time signal in all the local DTV signals are all different - some very bad (PST?)

I'm curious:

What resolution(s) are the sub channels broadcast in during the day?
If the programming on those subchannels was 16:9, would it display as such?

Question: Has anyone had to get work done on a RPTV here in Tallahassee?

I am having problems with my Panasonic 53x54 bring a couple of inches too far off the screen in all directions.

Any recommendations of a reliable repair service that knows what they are doing?

I see the ABC is still suffering from the stuttering/jerking problem on their HD broadcast of the USC-UCLA game.

Question: Has anyone had to get work done on a RPTV here in Tallahassee?

I am having problems with my Panasonic 53x54 bring a couple of inches too far off the screen in all directions.

Any recommendations of a reliable repair service that knows what they are doing?

Barber Electronics on Appalachee Pkwy did a good job repairing my RPTV Tosh...

Is it just me, or is ABC providing a horrible Pic. Quality for the FSU game??

I cannot get it in HD, but it is by far the worst quality of the day. I even tried switching to the Panama City affiliate and it still SUCKS.

Yep, there can be 16x9 in 480i (by having the pixels be non-square) --but-- many receivers don't see that flag and would display it incorrectly.

On another note: anyone notice that the time signal in all the local DTV signals are all different - some very bad (PST?)

Do WS (16:9) DVDs use square pixels? As for the digital receiver, presumably a firmware upgrade would solve that problem. It doesn't really matter, the engineering part is simple - the FCC just needs to mandate the change and it will happen.

Repairs for RPTV?
__________________________________________________________

Question: Has anyone had to get work done on a RPTV here in Tallahassee?

I am having problems with my Panasonic 53x54 bring a couple of inches too far off the screen in all directions.

Any recommendations of a reliable repair service that knows what they are doing?

I have had both Panasonic and Hitachi RPTVs repaired at Lou's TV on South Magnolia Street, just south of the Parkway. The repairs were fast, economical and cheerful. As a bonus, he helped me sell my Hitachi when I upgraded to HD last year.

Give him a try.

Like a lot of you, I'm getting the pixelation on CBS, the audio dropouts on NBC, and little or no HD signal on ABC, but I wanted to take a few minutes and thank everyone for convincing me that this is not just my setup!

Knowing that NBC has a systemic problem with the signal from on high, and that ABC is "iffy" at best makes the whole thing a lot easier to take.

I appreciate it.

FYI, I'm in Tallahassee off of Maclay road, and use an outdoor antenna for the local HD channels, and my DirecTV dish for the standard channels. I'm hoping to see HD Local channels from DTV, but expect that the NBC problems will continnue unitla they get their act together.

Again, my thanks!

BK

OTA-DTV help: Valdosta, GA area

We just moved from Jacksonville, FL to Valdosta, GA area. Currently no cable available at new address. Anyone in my vicinity receiving OTA DTV? If so, which stations (channels) and using what equipment? I have a Samsung HDTV model HLN-507W monitor which does not have an OTA built in tuner. Therefore prior to purchasing a SIR-T451 or similar STB tuner, I am looking for suggestions.

Thanks Ross

I was looking around the FCC website, and noticed that WCTV-DT must have elected DT #52 for their final digital channel.

UPDATE: DISREGARD THE ABOVE

~Alan

I was looking around the FCC website, and noticed that WCTV-DT has elected on DT #52 for their final digital channel.

~Alan

Are you sure on 52 that is going away. My understanding was 46 for the final channel.

Are you sure on 52 that is going away. My understanding was 46 for the final channel.

I thought the same thing too, WTLHFOXHD, but check out http://ftp.fcc.gov/oet/dtv/start/dtv2-69.txt to see the DT #52 listed, and a "as of December 6, 2005" date listed. I'm confused by it too... but that's the what it says... perhaps it's a mistake on the FCC's part.

UPDATE: After looking at the list further, it appears that the FCC has not updated this page in some time... as WCTV-DT was ORIGINALLY supposed to be on DT 52. I will now edit my original post.

~Alan

OK, I am up and running now, new HDTV with cablecard.
I will watch the local channels tonight, and will be able to join in the conversations. :)

OTA-DTV help: Valdosta, GA area

We just moved from Jacksonville, FL to Valdosta, GA area. Currently no cable available at new address. Anyone in my vicinity receiving OTA DTV? If so, which stations (channels) and using what equipment? I have a Samsung HDTV model HLN-507W monitor which does not have an OTA built in tuner. Therefore prior to purchasing a SIR-T451 or similar STB tuner, I am looking for suggestions.

Thanks Ross
Hi Ross. I live about 30 min west of VLD. I pick up Channels 2 (NBC) and 22 (ABC). You should be able to get CBS on 46. I live in a spot with a quirky fade problem so oddly enough, I can't receive their 1 million watt signal from a tower I can see from my back yard! I get it but there are frequent dropouts. Hopefully, you'll be fine. I use a DISH 921 HD DVR.

Hi Ross. I live about 30 min west of VLD. I pick up Channels 2 (NBC) and 22 (ABC). You should be able to get CBS on 46. I live in a spot with a quirky fade problem so oddly enough, I can't receive their 1 million watt signal from a tower I can see from my back yard! I get it but there are frequent dropouts. Hopefully, you'll be fine. I use a DISH 921 HD DVR.

Thanks for the reply. Will post my results when I move into my new house which is still under construction. I am leaning to just a tuner for OTA, as Media Comm is scheduled to start service in my new location. Ross

As for WTWC you are using a VHF antenna as there digital is rf channel 2. Get the best signal you can on analog 49 or 40 and you will be pointed at the digital also. They have a batwing for there digital with the analog stacked on top..[/QUOTE]


I can get ABC 27 (WTXL) and CBS 6 (WCTV) in OTA HD with an outside medium directional antenna (two shorter V shaped elements with a long element in the middle), but no sign of NBC 40 (WTWC). Is this because my antenna may not be low VHF capable for the channel 2 frequency that WTWC broadcasts on? If so, any proposed solution?
Svenfran

Hi Ross. I live about 30 min west of VLD. I pick up Channels 2 (NBC) and 22 (ABC). You should be able to get CBS on 46. I live in a spot with a quirky fade problem so oddly enough, I can't receive their 1 million watt signal from a tower I can see from my back yard! I get it but there are frequent dropouts. Hopefully, you'll be fine. I use a DISH 921 HD DVR.

That sounds like the signal is too strong (yes that can happen). Try putting an attenuator in line with the antenna when you try to get 46 or take out the amp if you have one.

I'm curious:

What resolution(s) are the sub channels broadcast in during the day?
If the programming on those subchannels was 16:9, would it display as such?

Our (PBS) daytime programming is four channels of SD (704 x 480). PBS did offer some programs in SD 16x9 but stopped since there was little or no interest on station parts. We would have trouble doing it since daytime programs (except our main ch 11 (11-1)) all go through a NTSC switcher--11-1 is all digital, but the source material also feeds our analog and would look weird (tall skinny people) for the still majority of viewers that watch analog. Perhaps this can change when the FCC mandates killing all analog (2009?)

WCTV loused up again! They once again failed to "throw the switch" for an HD broadcast. The Jags-Colts game was not switched to HD until 1 hour and 45 minutes into the game. I can't believe how many times this has happened this year. So much for the promised follow up on this issue. NOTE for the FOX engineer: The video for FOX 49 is somewhat better on the DirecTV feed. However, it is still not the greatest. Local news and inserts are still not that sharp. Network feeds do look a little better. The heavy darkness that was present before has been lightened up quite a bit. Sports broadcasts still do not look great thru satellite from either WTLH or WCTV. Clarity and focus just don't seem to be there.

WCTV loused up again! They once again failed to "throw the switch" for an HD broadcast. The Jags-Colts game was not switched to HD until 1 hour and 45 minutes into the game. I can't believe how many times this has happened this year. So much for the promised follow up on this issue. NOTE for the FOX engineer: The video for FOX 49 is somewhat better on the DirecTV feed. However, it is still not the greatest. Local news and inserts are still not that sharp. Network feeds do look a little better. The heavy darkness that was present before has been lightened up quite a bit. Sports broadcasts still do not look great thru satellite from either WTLH or WCTV. Clarity and focus just don't seem to be there.


I agree what is the deal with that. It should be commonplace that on Sunday's the HD switch should be flipped very rarely is a CBS game not HD. The schedule is even out a week ahead of time of games that are in HD.

I agree what is the deal with that. It should be commonplace that on Sunday's the HD switch should be flipped very rarely is a CBS game not HD. The schedule is even out a week ahead of time of games that are in HD.

Why isn't this an automatic process? I can't believe someone has to manually make the switch - this is the 21st century for crying out loud!

Another HD snafu by WCTV! Last night on NCIS, the HD was not turned on until 8:10 pm (10 minutes late). Then the HD was turned OFF at 8:50 pm! In a 1 hour network time slot, the HD only ran for 40 minutes. Perhaps someone else on this board might like to e-mail WCTV about this problem? They have failed to respond to my last two e-mails.

That sounds like the signal is too strong (yes that can happen). Try putting an attenuator in line with the antenna when you try to get 46 or take out the amp if you have one.

I've tried it before. I removed the amp and even tried a tiny little indoor antenna (instead of my 100" outdoor that I bought before the signals came out of Metcalfe). I could get WCTV fine until they increased their power and raised the transmitter earlier this year. Since then, I get dropouts every few minutes more or less. In fact I usually just watch on DISH, though there's always this nagging voice telling me I should be watching this in HD.

Ah, yes. I called the news dept. when NCIS came on NOT in HD (news is the only one you can get through to at night) and was transfered to the control room. The operator said "oops, sorry" and immediately the show changed to HD. But you might have noticed that none of the local commercials were airing and I found out that the CBS promos are actually in HD, not letterboxed like I have always seen them on 6. At about 8:45, they cut from a CBS HD promo to a local commercial and never changed back. I didn't want the hassle of calling back again.

Sigh. :mad:

LATER:
I tried to call and complain, but got Mike Watson's voice mail. I left him a message and sent him an e-mail, too (cc to GM) Mike Watson is the operations manager and supposedly the one in charge of seeing that the change to HD is made properly. Maybe, if more of us complain directly to him, he might do something.

Ah, yes. I called the news dept. when NCIS came on NOT in HD (news is the only one you can get through to at night) and was transfered to the control room. The operator said "oops, sorry" and immediately the show changed to HD. But you might have noticed that none of the local commercials were airing and I found out that the CBS promos are actually in HD, not letterboxed like I have always seen them on 6. At about 8:45, they cut from a CBS HD promo to a local commercial and never changed back. I didn't want the hassle of calling back again.

Sigh. :mad:

LATER:
I tried to call and complain, but got Mike Watson's voice mail. I left him a message and sent him an e-mail, too (cc to GM) Mike Watson is the operations manager and supposedly the one in charge of seeing that the change to HD is made properly. Maybe, if more of us complain directly to him, he might do something.


I sent a copy of a post to John at WCTV about the hd. No response. I will have to go up to the station and make fun of them not being able to air hd. We will see what that does.

WCTV HD STILL NOT RIGHT! Last night between 8 and 9 pm the early CBS comedies switched back and forth between SD and HD several times. The 9 to 11 pm block appeared to stay in HD as it should.

All CBS HD primetime programming was correctly switched to HD last night by WCTV. Thank you, WCTV. Let's hope this positive trend continues permanently, as it should. I will not post any more comments on this issue. I think the point has been made. Thanks to those who took the time to point out this issue to the station.

All CBS HD primetime programming was correctly switched to HD last night by WCTV. Thank you, WCTV. Let's hope this positive trend continues permanently, as it should.

We can only hope (but not hold our breath).

All CBS HD primetime programming was correctly switched to HD last night by WCTV. Thank you, WCTV. Let's hope this positive trend continues permanently, as it should. I will not post any more comments on this issue. I think the point has been made. Thanks to those who took the time to point out this issue to the station.

Hey all,
I work in the Engineering dept of WCTV, and wanted to give you some info:
1-800-798-2510 ext 206 will take you straight to master control. Call them. Please. We have tried our best to make it so easy to punch up HD, but its hard to find good help these days. We have a few good operators.

If this doesn't fix itself, I will rig up an air-horn in master control that can be activated online when they screw up...

Why isn't this an automatic process? I can't believe someone has to manually make the switch - this is the 21st century for crying out loud!

(from the guy that wired up the switch)
If I make it automatic, then {a few} good people lose their job to a machine.
I'm not a fan of that, but it is coming, very soon, weather we like it or not...

Ok I got someone from WCTV on here will work on WTWC next.

Well done Fox, welcome aboard jrcstudios!

Note for PBSengineer: The feed for WFSU thru DirecTV appears very "washed out" . The picture has a whitish cast with very little color coming thru. I can not receive this channel OTA, so I am not sure if this is just a satellite feed issue. Any help would surely be appreciated.

Hey all,
I work in the Engineering dept of WCTV, and wanted to give you some info:
1-800-798-2510 ext 206 will take you straight to master control. Call them. Please. We have tried our best to make it so easy to punch up HD, but its hard to find good help these days. We have a few good operators.

If this doesn't fix itself, I will rig up an air-horn in master control that can be activated online when they screw up...

Thanks!

CBS SIGNS AFFILIATION AGREEMENT WITH GRAY TELEVISION, INC.
FOR STATION IN ALBANY, GEORGIA MARKET

CBS and Gray Television, Inc. announced today that they have signed a new affiliation agreement for the digital channel of WSWG-TV, which serves portions of southwest Georgia and is included in the Albany, Ga. television market -- the 147th largest in the country. WSWG-TV’s digital channel is currently being upgraded to full power. WSWG is the new call for WVAG.

Hi All.
Newbie to HD. Wondering about folks experience with receiving OTA
broadcasts from Tally area stations from a distance. AntennaWeb
shows WCTV-DT to be 50.9 miles away (sounds kind of conservative
to me).
I'm about 13 miles due West of Live Oak, can get the analog bcast
from WCTV just fine on my ancient antenna.
Considering upgrading antenna if there's any good chance of bringing
in bcast HD.
I currently have sat with H10 HD receiver.
Any comments, advice, tips or experiences appreciated.

CBS SIGNS AFFILIATION AGREEMENT WITH GRAY TELEVISION, INC.
FOR STATION IN ALBANY, GEORGIA MARKET

CBS and Gray Television, Inc. announced today that they have signed a new affiliation agreement for the digital channel of WSWG-TV, which serves portions of southwest Georgia and is included in the Albany, Ga. television market -- the 147th largest in the country. WSWG-TV’s digital channel is currently being upgraded to full power. WSWG is the new call for WVAG.

I'm curious as to what (we) mean by the use of the word "currently"
Don't get your hopes up too much..

I'm curious as to what (we) mean by the use of the word "currently"
Don't get your hopes up too much..


Your press release. What they don't tell you what is going on......

Hi Ya'll,
My grandparents live in ocilla and they just recently purchased a new HD set. they are direct tv subscribers. I am going to be down there over christmas and i want to try to get their system optimized; can anyone give me any idea which of the "local" networks they should be able to get with a good ota antenna, and what their digital stations numbers are and their compass location? I went to antennaweb, and it doesn't show any available. also, if they won't be able to get any ota, do any of you have experience with getting waivers for getting those via directtv? any info you can give will be greatly appreciated. (btw, i live in statesboro and get cbs and nbc ota, but no luck with fox or abc).

For boondocks in Live Oak: You should be able to get WCTV-DT just fine. I am farther away from the broadcast tower than you are (southern Hamilton County) and I generally receive a good strong signal. The digital channel is 46. Most receivers will re-map it to display the channel as 6.1 (CBS) and 6.2 (UPN). Good luck!

For jrcstudios: The Colts/Chargers CBS HD game was switched to SD for 15 minutes or more during the third quarter before someone finally switched it back to HI DEF. I was just on the verge of calling the 1-800 number (perhaps someone else did).

For boondocks in Live Oak: You should be able to get WCTV-DT just fine. I am farther away from the broadcast tower than you are (southern Hamilton County) and I generally receive a good strong signal. The digital channel is 46. Most receivers will re-map it to display the channel as 6.1 (CBS) and 6.2 (UPN). Good luck!
Thanks, HAMCO.
My current antenna won't bring it in, but it is very old, as is the coax.
Hmmm. Should have mentioned this to the wife before Christmas was
imminent.
I think I'll give a shot to a new antenna!

For jrcstudios: The Colts/Chargers CBS HD game was switched to SD for 15 minutes or more during the third quarter before someone finally switched it back to HI DEF. I was just on the verge of calling the 1-800 number (perhaps someone else did).

We should all post that number by our phone for quick reference.

I have recently installed an antenna on my roof. For the last couple of weeks, I have been receiving a pretty good signal from CBS (steady 70 - 80) on my HDTivo's meter. Sunday, I did not get a good signal the whole day (<20 and no signal lock). The low signal reading remained until about 8 pm on Monday night when it went back into the 80's. Then again on Tuesday morning it was low. The signal has now returned in the 80s but I am trying to decide if I should get the installer out again to relocate the antenna. Has anyone else had recent reception problems with CBS?

On a side note: I have never been able to receive ABC OTA, I have moved my antenna everywhere around my house. From my roof, I receive a signal usually in the teens but it bounces from a high of about 40 to down to 0). I live in Baker Place (off Bannerman road) about 14-15 miles from the antenna. Is anyone near me receiving a picture from ABC? I understand that ABC is increasing its signal strength in January - February and I am hoping that I will receive a picture then but I am worried that I may be in some odd location that might not ever get a reliable signal.

On a side note: I have never been able to receive ABC OTA, I have moved my antenna everywhere around my house. From my roof, I receive a signal usually in the teens but it bounces from a high of about 40 to down to 0). I live in Baker Place (off Bannerman road) about 14-15 miles from the antenna. Is anyone near me receiving a picture from ABC? I understand that ABC is increasing its signal strength in January - February and I am hoping that I will receive a picture then but I am worried that I may be in some odd location that might not ever get a reliable signal.

They are running a low power tx with the antenna side mounted on the tower. This antenna has had problems in the past with water. I would suggest tuning the antenna for the best analog 27 signal you can get.

They are running a low power tx with the antenna side mounted on the tower. This antenna has had problems in the past with water. I would suggest tuning the antenna for the best analog 27 signal you can get.

Analog signal... :eek:

Note, he said HDtivo. If he's like me, if it ain't HD, then it's not worth watching. ;)

(I'm really excited to start watching FOX and ABC again and making their advertisers happy when they're available in OTA HD, but am content for now watching NBC and CBS) :D

HAMCO,
What kind of setup/antenna are you using?
I'm debating about what kind of antenna to get, purely UHF,
or VHF/UHF. I like having VHF to get WCTV analog during
inclement weather when the sat is dropping out, to catch the
storm warnings, news, anything bascially.
Money -is- of concern, but I would rather wait than get a
half a$$ solution.
On another note, antennaweb shows a Live Oak station
57.1 (freq 48) that I've never even heard of. How 'bout you?

Here is a post from earlier in this thread about a standalone VHF antenna combined with a UHF antenna. It works well for me to get the NBC feed on digital channel 2.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5950325#post5950325

Hmmm. So you are saying it's worthwhile to get a very good UHF antenna,
combined with a so-so (so to speak, LOL) VHF antenna for those times when
the dish drops out due to weather. Makes sense to me. Will having separate
VHF/UHF antennas on the same mast cause a problem, you think?
(As opposed to the combination VHF/UHF antenna).

On a side note: I have never been able to receive ABC OTA, I have moved my antenna everywhere around my house. From my roof, I receive a signal usually in the teens but it bounces from a high of about 40 to down to 0). I live in Baker Place (off Bannerman road) about 14-15 miles from the antenna. Is anyone near me receiving a picture from ABC? I understand that ABC is increasing its signal strength in January - February and I am hoping that I will receive a picture then but I am worried that I may be in some odd location that might not ever get a reliable signal.

I live in Northshire, just a few miles from you I believe, and I get ABC pretty well (but not like CBS or NBC which come in strong). I use an old fashioned vhf/uhf antenna with a rotor. The antenna is mounted on my chimney on a 6 foot (?) pole to get it as high as possible since I'm surrounded by tall pines.

BTW, I thought Baker place was off of Bradfordville Road, not Bannerman. Am I thinking of the wrong neighborhood?

Analog signal... :eek:

Note, he said HDtivo. If he's like me, if it ain't HD, then it's not worth watching. ;)

(I'm really excited to start watching FOX and ABC again and making their advertisers happy when they're available in OTA HD, but am content for now watching NBC and CBS) :D

Yes he did say HD or digital the analog signal will be easier to tune for peak this will put you on the correct heading for the digital antenna which is running low power and is side mounted lower on the tower. (not at the top)

Analog signal... :eek:

Note, he said HDtivo. If he's like me, if it ain't HD, then it's not worth watching. ;)

(I'm really excited to start watching FOX and ABC again and making their advertisers happy when they're available in OTA HD, but am content for now watching NBC and CBS) :D

You nailed it right on the head.......
Not in HD.... Last thing on my list of recordings....

boondocks, I am using a Channel Master UHF/VHF single combination antenna with a Channel Master pre-amp. I believe the model # is 3020. I bought the antenna and pre-amp at Lowes about two years ago. I have it mounted about 50 feet high on a heavy duty pole. Lowes used to sell 30 ft poles and 10 ft extensions (if you need a new pole). I'm not sure if they still handle these items, but they probably do. I am in a deep fringe area, so I need all the antenna, height and amplification I can get. Considering the point where you live, I think you would also need a fairly big antenna and as much height as you can get to receive consistent signal quality. The only two digital stations from Tallahassee you should be able to receive consistently would be WTWC-NBC (digital 2/maps to 40.1 and 40.2) and WCTV-CBS (digital 46/maps to 6.1 and 6.2). The NBC station drops out on me frequently over here, but the CBS station is generally rock solid. The ABC and FOX digital signals are being broadcast at low power currently (no chance to get them over our way). These two will supposedly increase their power output next year (see earlier postings in this thread). The digital WB station you mentioned earlier (digital 48) is not broadcasting a digital signal. They do broadcast a signal on analog 57 from a tower here in Hamilton County (signal is not very strong). You also might be able to receive WUFT-PBS from Gainesville (digital 36). I can get a pretty strong signal from them (of course, you would have to re-point the antenna toward Gainesville). Hope this helps a little bit.

BTW, I thought Baker place was off of Bradfordville Road, not Bannerman. Am I thinking of the wrong neighborhood?

My bad. You are right, I live off of Bradfordville. I just moved there.

My bad. You are right, I live off of Bradfordville. I just moved there.

Then you are pretty close to me. I can get ABC pretty well with my setup and I can sometimes get channel 24, but since its not in hidef I just watch the DirecTV standard def. channel. To get PBS in solid, I have to rotate the antenna approximately 180 degrees from ABC and NBC. I have never even got a blip from Fox. I know its supposed to be up by the summer. Is it actually broadcasting a low power digital signal now?

If you want to check out my setup shoot me an email. BTW, my cousin and her husband are building in your neighborhood.

Thanks, HAMCO.
Interesting. A 50 ft would no doubt help beacoupe.
I've got a 30 ft pole, probably will stick with that, as I'm cutting
some more trees in the NNE direction this winter that will
hopefully open up the reception a little. On my ancient
antenna I can not get a signal from 6.1, but get a very
fractured picture from 40.1. (should be opposite, LOL)
I may just try to get a very good UHF antenna and see how it
works out. One of main concerns is to be able to get 6/6.1.
Going to speak with some local local TV folks and see what their
customers have had good luck with.

Scott... Fox's low power signal is in Bainbridge. Their full power signal will come from the Midway farm near NBC and ABC.

Boondocks... Since 40.1 is actually digital 2, you'll need a very good VHF antenna. Here's a whole thread on low band vhf. Some have even hand made some channel 2 specific antennas. (110" long if I remember correctly)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6593556#post6593556

Scott... Fox's low power signal is in Bainbridge. Their full power signal will come from the Midway farm near NBC and ABC.

Boondocks... Since 40.1 is actually digital 2, you'll need a very good VHF antenna. Here's a whole thread on low band vhf. Some have even hand made some channel 2 specific antennas. (110" long if I remember correctly)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6593556#post6593556

Fox WTLH, CBS WCTV, ABC WTXL, NBC WTWC. Broadcast from Metcalf Georgia.
WTLH,WTWC are on the same tower at 2000'. WCTV is on its own 2000' tower analog top mount digital about 200' down from top. WTXL about 1800' tower analog on top low power digital about 1000' side mount.

Well, I found-out my problem with CBS. It seems that I had a bad power injector for my amplified antenna. I replaced it and now I am getting NBC and CBS very well now (signal strength in the 90s). I still cannot get ABC although with its signal strength now in the 20-30s I am feeling pretty good about he prospects of receiving it when they increase transmission power in January-February. I got a waiver from Fox so I am getting its HD feed on DirecTv. I would like to get PBS. Currently, I am getting a weak signal. I can receive it if I point my antenna in its direction but since I use a DVR a rotator is not an option. I am considering two possibilities: 1. Is PBS going to increase its signal strength in the future? 2. Add a second antenna and join my two antennas together. Has anyone had any experience with Channel Masters' JOIN-TENNA® System?

Scott... Fox's low power signal is in Bainbridge. Their full power signal will come from the Midway farm near NBC and ABC.
Thanks John. I guess I'll be waiting 'till summer. Haven't seen you awhile, I hope you and your family are doing well and have a Merry Christmas.

1. Is PBS going to increase its signal strength in the future? 2. Add a second antenna and join my two antennas together. Has anyone had any experience with Channel Masters' JOIN-TENNA® System?
I believe PBS is at full power. Its just that the tower is on the opposite side of town. I have not had any experience with the Channel Master product, but sure would be interested in it if it works. One of the main reasons I have not gotten the D* hidef dvr is because I use a rotor.

Fox WTLH, CBS WCTV, ABC WTXL, NBC WTWC. Broadcast from Metcalf Georgia.
WTLH,WTWC are on the same tower at 2000'. WCTV is on its own 2000' tower analog top mount digital about 200' down from top. WTXL about 1800' tower analog on top low power digital about 1000' side mount.

Fox, You sure CBS broadcasts their HD signal from Metcalf?

Antennaweb.org and TitanTV indicates it is much closer to the Killearn Lakes area (4 miles) vs the others at 16 miles at a slightly different direction. You're the engineer here. I'd defer to you.

Remember, most of the folks here as the thread title indicates are HD junkies. :cool:

Scott... Fox's low power signal is in Bainbridge. Their full power signal will come from the Midway farm near NBC and ABC.

Boondocks... Since 40.1 is actually digital 2, you'll need a very good VHF antenna. Here's a whole thread on low band vhf. Some have even hand made some channel 2 specific antennas. (110" long if I remember correctly)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6593556#post6593556
Thanks for the info.....I did not know it was VHF. The antenna feed is
directly into my sat receiver so I've never had to "tune" the TV.
I now see the importance of getting a quality antenna/antennas for
both VHF & UHF.....
Will any of the other local DTV stations be moving to VHF at some point or
staying UHF? This may have an impact on what I buy.

Fox, You sure CBS broadcasts their HD signal from Metcalf?

Antennaweb.org and TitanTV indicates it is much closer to the Killearn Lakes area (4 miles) vs the others at 16 miles at a slightly different direction.

Have you checked its location recently? Antennaweb used to say that the CBS antenna was about 1.5 miles from me. Now it says that it is about 14-15 miles away near the other antennas. I spoke with an engineer at CBS last week. He said that they originally put their digital antenna near Killearn Lakes. When it was up and running, they were getting bad signal reports from numerous locations. They studied the situation more and determined that they would never be able to get the same signal coverage digitally as what they had for analog if they broadcast from that location. So, they moved their antenna to Metcalf.

You caught me... I hadn't looked recently.

I stand corrected (and happy about it because now I can point directly instead of splitting the difference)

Alright! After re-orienting my antenna with my indicated rotor direction I saw my first ever clear HD broadcast this morning. The sat receiver visually spit and sputtered for a few minutes and eventually locked in. For about 2 hours I got 40.1 with just an occasional fragment here and there. Rest of the day the reception was pretty spotty as the temp increased.
I'm fired up now to junk my current antenna/preamp/coax and start anew. I know
6.1 is lurking out there......

As I become more "read" in HD I understand that stations currently broadcasting on UHF freqs may have the option to switch to VHF at some point. I know that no timestamp is set in stone, (considering Uncle Sam is involved), but I wonder if those among you who currently work at the broadcast facilities have a handle on this, i.e., has any process begun whereby DTV stations can now currently apply for VHF assignments?
If so, is there a "true" cut off date for analog broadcasts-or maybe some more DTV freq assignments will be transitioned in between current analog VHF assignments?
Enquiring minds want to know....

.... I was told that the larger combo antennas would not work on a telescoping "pole" mast like I have in high wind. I don't really see this, as mine is anchored by guy wires really well. But anyway:
I am seriously considering a combo like the Channel Master 3020.(Thanks HAMCO)
Am also considering a VHF with reasonable gain from low to high VHF and adding a separate UHF somewhat like what FaxMan suggested (Thanks FaxMan for pointing me that way!)
Sure wish some more "deep fringe" reception folks would chime in before I give up my hard earned bucks on what is ultimately a crap shoot anyway!

.... I was told that the larger combo antennas would not work on a telescoping "pole" mast like I have in high wind. I don't really see this, as mine is anchored by guy wires really well. But anyway:
I am seriously considering a combo like the Channel Master 3020.(Thanks HAMCO)
Am also considering a VHF with reasonable gain from low to high VHF and adding a separate UHF somewhat like what FaxMan suggested (Thanks FaxMan for pointing me that way!)
Sure wish some more "deep fringe" reception folks would chime in before I give up my hard earned bucks on what is ultimately a crap shoot anyway!

Is this "deep fringe" enough for you? I use seperate band specific antennas.Winegard Y10-2-6 VHF 2-6 is working great today :-)

:http://community-2.webtv.net/GregBarker/XMAS/

Wow! Do you have a 300 foot tower or what? LOL.

Wow! Do you have a 300 foot tower or what? LOL.

The antenna is 14ft off the ground.The signal reflected off an E-layer cloud several miles above the earth.

Fox, You sure CBS broadcasts their HD signal from Metcalf?

Antennaweb.org and TitanTV indicates it is much closer to the Killearn Lakes area (4 miles) vs the others at 16 miles at a slightly different direction. You're the engineer here. I'd defer to you.

Remember, most of the folks here as the thread title indicates are HD junkies. :cool:


Just a follow up Yes the antenna is in Metcalf. They moved from the old 27 sight to there 2000' tower and increased power to 1 megwatt erp with the antenna at around 1900' side mounted. Spent some time at there install as we may be getting a Harris also.

Does this mean WTXL is full power now?

Does this mean WTXL is full power now?

No WTXL is not full power at this time. WCTV bought there old studio location with the 800' tower. WCTV built there digital transmitter there first and moved it after finding out that they could not replicate the analog coverage. WTXL is under new ownership. They have been pricing new equipment to go full power and should do so by summer.

No WTXL is not full power at this time. WCTV bought there old studio location with the 800' tower. WCTV built there digital transmitter there first and moved it after finding out that they could not replicate the analog coverage. WTXL is under new ownership. They have been pricing new equipment to go full power and should do so by summer.


Are there any changes coming at WCTV that you know of? I've mentioned my reception problems before and as far as I can determine, their current height, power, and frequency combination cretaes a signal that is subject to some type of terrain-induced fade at my house. It's frustrating since the Metcalfe tower is visible in my back yard. It seems that only some change (i.e. new tx height, power or freq.) on their end could solve the problem so I'm curious to know when I should check for improvements. FWIW I get great reception of WTXL andI live 15-20 miles east of Thomasville.

Are there any changes coming at WCTV that you know of? I've mentioned my reception problems before and as far as I can determine, their current height, power, and frequency combination cretaes a signal that is subject to some type of terrain-induced fade at my house. It's frustrating since the Metcalfe tower is visible in my back yard. It seems that only some change (i.e. new tx height, power or freq.) on their end could solve the problem so I'm curious to know when I should check for improvements. FWIW I get great reception of WTXL andI live 15-20 miles east of Thomasville.

I'd go with the theories above that your signal is too strong and that you might be getting a reflective signal that is confusing your tuner. I think I got a bit of that before them moved farther away from me. (My gain, your loss). You might want to try an attenuator that just reduces signal to that freq or try some sort of shielding to omit reflective signals.

BTW, I also have a Dish 921 DVR.

Are there any changes coming at WCTV that you know of? I've mentioned my reception problems before and as far as I can determine, their current height, power, and frequency combination cretaes a signal that is subject to some type of terrain-induced fade at my house. It's frustrating since the Metcalfe tower is visible in my back yard. It seems that only some change (i.e. new tx height, power or freq.) on their end could solve the problem so I'm curious to know when I should check for improvements. FWIW I get great reception of WTXL andI live 15-20 miles east of Thomasville.

What are the coordinates of your house. I fell that you may also be receiving too much RF and its causing your receiver to have problems. Also if you are up to it I could come by with our test receiver and have a look. Depending on the electric beam tilt of WCTV's antenna being close to the antenna can cause receive problems.

No WTXL is not full power at this time. WCTV bought there old studio location with the 800' tower. WCTV built there digital transmitter there first and moved it after finding out that they could not replicate the analog coverage. WTXL is under new ownership. They have been pricing new equipment to go full power and should do so by summer.

Dear FOXHD,
By any chance you might have insight on how/who we can contact to get waiver for DNS feed (via Satellite) to receive HD now until you are in full power ?
I am not sure that your powers that be realize that most of us (HD Junkies) would watch other network's shows (if in HD) vs. yours (if in SD).

Thanks.

Dear FOXHD,
By any chance you might have insight on how/who we can contact to get waiver for DNS feed (via Satellite) to receive HD now until you are in full power ?
I am not sure that your powers that be realize that most of us (HD Junkies) would watch other network's shows (if in HD) vs. yours (if in SD).

Thanks.

I am not FOXHD, but I received a waiver. I just called DirecTv and they requested waivers for me. ABC, NBC and CBS declined but Fox granted the waiver and I have been receiving the New York Fox station in HD. It did not take very long at all.

Dear FOXHD,
By any chance you might have insight on how/who we can contact to get waiver for DNS feed (via Satellite) to receive HD now until you are in full power ?
I am not sure that your powers that be realize that most of us (HD Junkies) would watch other network's shows (if in HD) vs. yours (if in SD).

Thanks.

You will have to request the waiver from your satellite provider. They will then put it in the system for us to approve or deny. Depending on our mood at the time. Your best bet is to summit the waiver and email me so that I will remember to approve the waiver. My email can be found on the fox49.com web page under contacts engineering.

What are the coordinates of your house. I fell that you may also be receiving too much RF and its causing your receiver to have problems. Also if you are up to it I could come by with our test receiver and have a look. Depending on the electric beam tilt of WCTV's antenna being close to the antenna can cause receive problems.

I appreciate all of the suggestions. Here is what I have tried in the past:

Rotating the antena off-axis

Removing my antenna preamp

Raising the antenna

Using a small indoor antenna

Using a variable attenuator (Radio Shack didn't have any of the 3db or 6db inline attenuators)

WTLHFOXHD, thanks for the offer. You are welcome to come by and have a look. I'll PM my phone number to you. Thanks.

You will have to request the waiver from your satellite provider. They will then put it in the system for us to approve or deny. Depending on our mood at the time. Your best bet is to summit the waiver and email me so that I will remember to approve the waiver. My email can be found on the fox49.com web page under contacts engineering.

Thanks. I am calling DirecTV now.
I had tried earlier (twice) and got denied by all networks.

As I become more "read" in HD I understand that stations currently broadcasting on UHF freqs may have the option to switch to VHF at some point. I know that no timestamp is set in stone, (considering Uncle Sam is involved), but I wonder if those among you who currently work at the broadcast facilities have a handle on this, i.e., has any process begun whereby DTV stations can now currently apply for VHF assignments?
If so, is there a "true" cut off date for analog broadcasts-or maybe some more DTV freq assignments will be transitioned in between current analog VHF assignments?
Enquiring minds want to know....
Anyone? :(

I'm sure the engineers can give us more specific info/insight, but a quick search brought up the topic of second round digital channel elections here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=591927

And an earlier post in this thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5165477&highlight=elections#post5165477

If 'Trip in VA' is right, we may not need to worry about VHF around here once the dust settles.

I'm sure the engineers can give us more specific info/insight, but a quick search brought up the topic of second round digital channel elections here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=591927

And an earlier post in this thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5165477&highlight=elections#post5165477

If 'Trip in VA' is right, we may not need to worry about VHF around here once the dust settles.
Thanks for the links. I've about decided to get a LVHF antenna for 6.1 - we seem
to watch CBS the most right now- and get a decent UHF. I started clearing trees
today to open up reception some more to the NNE. More antenna height is not an
option right now, my wife already thinks I'm nuts about HD anyway.
....always open to any insights the engineers care to share about future station
assignments, though. :)

Thanks for the links. I've about decided to get a LVHF antenna for 6.1 - we seem
to watch CBS the most right now- and get a decent UHF. I started clearing trees
today to open up reception some more to the NNE. More antenna height is not an
option right now, my wife already thinks I'm nuts about HD anyway.
....always open to any insights the engineers care to share about future station
assignments, though. :)


I may have read your plan wrong, but just to clarify, CBS-WCTV-6.1 is broadcast at 46 (UHF) The only VHF you need (for now) is for NBC-WTWC-40 which is currently broadcast Digital HD at 2 until it moves back to 40.

CallSign-----Channel---Network---Freq
WCTV-DT------6.1---------CBS-------46
WTWC-DT----40.1---------NBC--------2
WFSU-DT-----11.1---------PBS-------32
WTXL-DT------27.1--------ABC-------22
WTLF-DT------24.1---------IND-------24

Source: Antennaweb.org

CallSign-----Channel---Network---Freq
WCTV-DT------6.1---------CBS-------46
WTWC-DT----40.1---------NBC--------2
WFSU-DT-----11.1---------PBS-------32
WTXL-DT------27.1--------ABC-------22
WTLF-DT------24.1---------IND-------24

You need the VHF antenna NBC. After all is done and we go dark with the analog all but WCTV should go digital on there current analog assignment. Georgia PBS will be going up on dt 5 and at this time will go back to 14.

I knew that. :)
I was attempting to get the post typed as my wife was suggesting I get off
my butt and help her carry in the groceries.
I should have stated I will be getting a good UHF for now, then getting a low band VHF a little later on. I've had the the antenna down so many times I'm
thinking about a side job as an installer. :D

You will have to request the waiver from your satellite provider. They will then put it in the system for us to approve or deny. Depending on our mood at the time. Your best bet is to summit the waiver and email me so that I will remember to approve the waiver. My email can be found on the fox49.com web page under contacts engineering.

Thank you FoxHD for Granting but there are some more thing for you all to laugh about here.

I contacted DirecTV today and found the following:

1. Their system is showing WTLH had Denied the request. I had to fax in the info from email that FoxHD had sent me. :-)

2. Though, my zipcode is 32312, for each network, I have to get approvals from multiple Local Affiliates. Here they are:

ABC: WMBB - Panama City, FL; WTXL - Tallahassee, FL
CBS: WTVY - Dothan, AL; WCTL - Tallahassee, FL
FOX: WFXL - Albany, GA; WTLH - Bainbridge-Tallahassee, FL
NBC: WJHG - Panama City, FL; WALB - Albany, GA; WTWC - Tallahassee, FL

All affiliates for the network had to approve in order to receive DNS Feed. :-)

Go figure.

Happy New Year to all.

Happy New Year to everyone at AVS Forum, especially the contributors here at the Tallahassee area forum! May the new year bring you the best that life has to offer. I'm looking forward to more full powered HD stations in 2006. Bring it on ABC and FOX! God bless America!

NOTE for WCTV engineer: The UPN sub-channel (6.2) has a line running across the screen. It is just below the half way point of the screen. It is most noticable on the right side of the screen and less notable on the left side. It is nearly invisible in the center part of the screen. This line has been visible for at least two months or so. This is not a problem with my tv or receiver, as the other digital channels I receive do not exhibit this line. Perhaps you can look into this problem and get it corrected. I have also noticed this channel exhibits digital artifacts during really bright scenes or action sequences (such as wrestling on Friday night). I realize there are bandwidth limits within a shared digital channel, so perhaps a little "tweaking" could improve this sub-channel a bit. Thank you.

NOTE for WCTV engineer: The UPN sub-channel (6.2) has a line running across the screen. It is just below the half way point of the screen. It is most noticable on the right side of the screen and less notable on the left side. It is nearly invisible in the center part of the screen. This line has been visible for at least two months or so. This is not a problem with my tv or receiver, as the other digital channels I receive do not exhibit this line. Perhaps you can look into this problem and get it corrected. I have also noticed this channel exhibits digital artifacts during really bright scenes or action sequences (such as wrestling on Friday night). I realize there are bandwidth limits within a shared digital channel, so perhaps a little "tweaking" could improve this sub-channel a bit. Thank you.


They have had that for a while I will ask him about it.

Thank you FoxHD for Granting but there are some more thing for you all to laugh about here.

I contacted DirecTV today and found the following:

1. Their system is showing WTLH had Denied the request. I had to fax in the info from email that FoxHD had sent me. :-)

2. Though, my zipcode is 32312, for each network, I have to get approvals from multiple Local Affiliates. Here they are:

ABC: WMBB - Panama City, FL; WTXL - Tallahassee, FL
CBS: WTVY - Dothan, AL; WCTL - Tallahassee, FL
FOX: WFXL - Albany, GA; WTLH - Bainbridge-Tallahassee, FL
NBC: WJHG - Panama City, FL; WALB - Albany, GA; WTWC - Tallahassee, FL

All affiliates for the network had to approve in order to receive DNS Feed. :-)

Happy New Year to all.


I have had to get Panama City, Dothan, and Albany to approve a waver for some one just outside of Tallahassee before bunch of crap if you ask me. If Albany denies your request again email me and I will call them and see if I can get them to approve.

May be wrong forum, but thought it would be of note to some.
Background: antennaweb.org lists only WCTV-DT as digital for my address.
(I don't know what the list is based on)
BTW, they list the mileage at 50.9 (same as the analog)
I have been able to get NBC on 40.1 (2 VHF, I assume) in ideal conditions.
Today I pulled my antenna back down (nominal 30 ft telescoping) and
installed new coax and 300 ohm leads to an old Radio Shack pre amp
through my -ancient- UHF & VHF antennas.
Extended the separation of the UHF&VHF ants to about 5'.
I extended the pole aprox. another 6' in height.
Joy of joys I watched the Jags in HD with some occasional interference
on 6.1.

(back on topic): Why was the game in 4:3 format? That sort of sucks. Is this
due to the CBS transmission, or the local broadcast?
.......it was amazing to see how "washed out" the sat feed was in comparison
to the digital broadcast, BTW.

NOTE for WCTV engineer: The UPN sub-channel (6.2) has a line running across the screen. It is just below the half way point of the screen. It is most noticable on the right side of the screen and less notable on the left side. It is nearly invisible in the center part of the screen. This line has been visible for at least two months or so. This is not a problem with my tv or receiver, as the other digital channels I receive do not exhibit this line. Perhaps you can look into this problem and get it corrected. I have also noticed this channel exhibits digital artifacts during really bright scenes or action sequences (such as wrestling on Friday night). I realize there are bandwidth limits within a shared digital channel, so perhaps a little "tweaking" could improve this sub-channel a bit. Thank you.
HAMCO,
I checked mine a few minutes ago (6.2) and did not see any artifacts. Perhaps
they have cleared it up.
BTW, I'm getting 6.1 clear as (well, clear!) right now. I'm pretty pumped up to
order a good UHF antenna. Just trying to nail down which one.
BTW, what does antennaweb.org list as distance for 6.1 for you ?
Happy new year to you!

boondocks, the Jags/Titans game was not broadcast in HD from the CBS network. It was only available in SD. Not every NFL regular season game is available in HD, just certain selected games. WCTV has failed to throw the switch for HD at times, but that was not the case today. That is why it appeared in 4:3 format. All of the remaining NFL playoff games and the Super Bowl are scheduled to be broadcast in HD. In my area, the only ones I will be able to watch in HD will be from WCTV (CBS). As for the satellite issue, that has been touched upon many times in these forums. The WCTV and WTLH feeds on DirecTV are better than they once were, but they simply are not what they should be. Sports broadcasts suffer greatly on these channels via satellite.

boondocks, I am 65-70 miles from the Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Gainesville transmitters. This is truly a "deep fringe" area, no matter which direction I point!

HAMCO,
Okay, I did some reading and understand the formats better.
At the time of the Jaguar game, I only knew the digital broadcast
images were so much sharper than the sat feed.
You are truly in the "middle" of nowhere, aren't you, as far as broadcast
stations are concerned.
Do you plan any antenna upgrades, or wait and see what the
satellite powers bring us?
I was thankful today I had the antenna to track the storm progress
on 6 as the sat was dropping out for 15 minutes at a time.
boondocks

At this time both of the satellite providers pick up the off air analog feed (we have the local collection equipment at our station) in Midway. They then digitise the signal and send it to the up-link center. FOX and WB are the only two feeds which do not go through a transmitter to get to them as we give them an analog direct feed. At this time only Dish has a receiver which will pick up digital. This receiver is only used for testing and back up if the analog TX goes off the air, and the station has a digital running. I am hearing end of 06 before the digital collection equipment will be installed in Tallahassee.

WTLHFOXHD,
Thanks for the info. I was hoping for a little sooner.
boondocks

WTLHFOXHD, Were you able to get a response from WCTV engineering concerning the above mentioned UPN issue? boondocks, I will probably not buy another antenna at the present time. If I am unable to receive the missing local digitals when they go full power, I would most likely purchase an 8 bay UHF antenna or one of the long Yagi style units.

NOTE for WCTV engineer: The UPN sub-channel (6.2) has a line running across the screen. It is just below the half way point of the screen. It is most noticable on the right side of the screen and less notable on the left side. It is nearly invisible in the center part of the screen. This line has been visible for at least two months or so. This is not a problem with my tv or receiver, as the other digital channels I receive do not exhibit this line. Perhaps you can look into this problem and get it corrected. I have also noticed this channel exhibits digital artifacts during really bright scenes or action sequences (such as wrestling on Friday night). I realize there are bandwidth limits within a shared digital channel, so perhaps a little "tweaking" could improve this sub-channel a bit. Thank you.

Yea, that line just showed up one day. Its always there and is leaving the transmitter that way. I have narrowed it down to our Flexicoder, the device that turns the HD and regular video into the proper data rates for the transmitter. I need to switch encoder inputs and see if it goes away. I'm putting it off for several reasons: Everyone will have to update their channel map to get 6.2 again after I do it, including Comcast and CNS cable. Also, it will require that both 6.1 and 6.2 go black for about 5 minutes during the day when I can be on the phone with Harris. As for the artifacts, that is all bandwidth. We have enough bandwidth allocated for a future SD channel that is currently not in use nor planned for (that I know of) I may look into grabbing some or all of it when I do the channel re-map.

I noticed a few posts concerning what stations will be doing with their frequencies at the analog cut-off. As for WCTV, there is no plan at this time to go back to VHF when analog 6 goes dark. While a VHF channel *may* be in the future, I assure you it will not be channel 6, as the problem with FM radio interfierance will be on us then, not the radio stations. Since none of our equipment that is fixed on channel 6 (transmitter, feedline, antenna) would be usable anyway, the only reason to go back with 6 would be nostalgia. I would hope that we could get another VHF channel, as it takes a lot less power to transmit the same distance on VHF.

jrcstudios, thank you for responding to the above mentioned questions.

jrcstudios, Thanks for the info!

Watched "Without A Trace" on 6.1 last night, and waited for the WCTV
news to segue in. Got instead what appeared to be a network feed
in the form of a list. (dunno-I was sleepy). We finally switched back to
WCTV from the satellite.
What's up with that? - Just curious.
And does anyone have a clue when DD 5.1 will be broadcast on
anything? I've seen more DD sound formats lately of HD than I
knew existed (but apparently my receiver does).(mostly stereo)
I've about given up and am starting to switch the receiver to PLII
all the time.
Vent mode = off, LOL.
Edited due to lack of typing skill.

I've enjoyed watching 6.1 of late since I did my cleanup job on my
antenna. -unfortunately it's the only DTV I can receive now-
Do any of you folks with either cable or sat feeds, see a discernable
difference in the "hue", or red to green colors with OTA HD?

This is not to say that the digital OTA is lacking, rather I think the
color parameters I adjusted initially on my Sony TV were for
the Satellite feeds (which tend to be a little washed out for locals)
are the culprit.

I have read that DVDs are available to walk one through the color
adjustment process.
Any of you folks tried these?
My TV has settings for Standard, Vivid, Pro,Movie. I tend to stick with
"Standard", as it seems to be closest to what I consider normal for
all-around viewing.
Could just be that my eyesight reflects my age, LOL.

I have read that DVDs are available to walk one through the color
adjustment process.
Any of you folks tried these?
My TV has settings for Standard, Vivid, Pro,Movie. I tend to stick with
"Standard", as it seems to be closest to what I consider normal for
all-around viewing.
Could just be that my eyesight reflects my age, LOL.

I used Digital Video Essentials (DVE) on my Panasonic plasma ED with good results, but it really optimizes PQ for the DVD input (with the Panny set to "standard") rather than HD. Still I have found that the DVD settings work pretty good for HD channels from Comcast also, though I usually have to tweak the contrast/brightness depending on whether I am watching HBO-HD or a local HD channel. Worth the $16 I paid for it, however.

In case anyone is interested, Gregg Loewen will be in town in late Jan or early Feb doing ISF calibrations. His web site is here http://www.lionav.com/info.php.
You can pre register on his site, and since I have, I know he will be here in Tallahassee.

I used Digital Video Essentials (DVE) on my Panasonic plasma ED with good results, but it really optimizes PQ for the DVD input (with the Panny set to "standard") rather than HD. Still I have found that the DVD settings work pretty good for HD channels from Comcast also, though I usually have to tweak the contrast/brightness depending on whether I am watching HBO-HD or a local HD channel. Worth the $16 I paid for it, however.

For those of you NOT on Comcast, but on DirecTV, Dish Network, or MediaCom, HDNet offers Color Bars in HD sometimes early in the morning.

~Alan

In case anyone is interested, Gregg Loewen will be in town in late Jan or early Feb doing ISF calibrations. His web site is here http://www.lionav.com/info.php.
You can pre register on his site, and since I have, I know he will be here in Tallahassee.

I had Gregg ISF my Hitachi RPLCD. Very professional and very good.

I also use DVE on occasion and HD-NET.

In case anyone is interested, Gregg Loewen will be in town in late Jan or early Feb doing ISF calibrations. His web site is here http://www.lionav.com/info.php.
You can pre register on his site, and since I have, I know he will be here in Tallahassee.

Any idea what he charges for plasma TVs?

Edit: never mind, I found his price list.

For those of you NOT on Comcast, but on DirecTV, Dish Network, or MediaCom, HDNet offers Color Bars in HD sometimes early in the morning.

~Alan

Tuesdays at 8 a.m. FYI, the overscan has been documented to be off (i.e. not accurate), but if you know enough to adjust your own overscan, you probably already knew that. :)

ISF calibration is definately a good idea. I've had my last two sets done (a 56" Toshiba and my current 65" Mitsubishi RPTV) and am very happy with the results.

Hey all,
I work in the Engineering dept of WCTV, and wanted to give you some info:
1-800-798-2510 ext 206 will take you straight to master control. Call them. Please. We have tried our best to make it so easy to punch up HD, but its hard to find good help these days. We have a few good operators.

If this doesn't fix itself, I will rig up an air-horn in master control that can be activated online when they screw up...

Have they changed the extension of MC? Tonight, NCIS started out as SD & ext 206 rang and rang and rang. I finally called the news dept and they called MC & immediately air changed to HD. I asked news to slap the MC op around. What is the new ext of MC?

Thanks for the replys & links, guys.

Have they changed the extension of MC? Tonight, NCIS started out as SD & ext 206 rang and rang and rang. I finally called the news dept and they called MC & immediately air changed to HD. I asked news to slap the MC op around. What is the new ext of MC?


Just as I suspected - the engineers are sleeping (literally) on the job.

Tuesdays at 8 a.m. FYI, the overscan has been documented to be off (i.e. not accurate), but if you know enough to adjust your own overscan, you probably already knew that. :)

ISF calibration is definately a good idea. I've had my last two sets done (a 56" Toshiba and my current 65" Mitsubishi RPTV) and am very happy with the results.
I have a small understanding of what constitutes overscan.
However, is this not a result of how the individual device displays the image
at the edge of the screen?
If there is a variability in transmissions from station-to-station as you seem
to imply, it would not seem worthwhile to adjust for overscan beyond some
"standard" ?
Thanks,
boondocks

Well, I found-out my problem with CBS. It seems that I had a bad power injector for my amplified antenna. I replaced it and now I am getting NBC and CBS very well now (signal strength in the 90s). I still cannot get ABC although with its signal strength now in the 20-30s I am feeling pretty good about he prospects of receiving it when they increase transmission power in January-February. I got a waiver from Fox so I am getting its HD feed on DirecTv. I would like to get PBS. Currently, I am getting a weak signal. I can receive it if I point my antenna in its direction but since I use a DVR a rotator is not an option. I am considering two possibilities: 1. Is PBS going to increase its signal strength in the future? 2. Add a second antenna and join my two antennas together. Has anyone had any experience with Channel Masters' JOIN-TENNA® System?

When I was sorting through my problems, I called Channel Master and talked to their engineering group. They are up in North Carolina, but can still understand No. Fla. accents pretty well. Their website is www.channelmaster.com.

Anyone getting this in the middle of the screen?
Presents as a green line.
Tends to come and go. It was present this AM and
is there intermittently during the news.
As I'm fringe I guess it could be an interference problem.

Have they changed the extension of MC? Tonight, NCIS started out as SD & ext 206 rang and rang and rang. I finally called the news dept and they called MC & immediately air changed to HD. I asked news to slap the MC op around. What is the new ext of MC?

They were probably in the bathroom, snack room, or somewhere else they could not pay attention. The extention is correct. Try ext 210 or 212, they are nearby, and could locate the operator.

Thank you FoxHD for Granting but there are some more thing for you all to laugh about here.

I contacted DirecTV today and found the following:

1. Their system is showing WTLH had Denied the request. I had to fax in the info from email that FoxHD had sent me. :-)

2. Though, my zipcode is 32312, for each network, I have to get approvals from multiple Local Affiliates. Here they are:

ABC: WMBB - Panama City, FL; WTXL - Tallahassee, FL
CBS: WTVY - Dothan, AL; WCTL - Tallahassee, FL
FOX: WFXL - Albany, GA; WTLH - Bainbridge-Tallahassee, FL
NBC: WJHG - Panama City, FL; WALB - Albany, GA; WTWC - Tallahassee, FL

All affiliates for the network had to approve in order to receive DNS Feed. :-)

Go figure.

Happy New Year to all.

Edited Due to incorrect info receiving from DirecTV (Again).

Just an update to all (for you to laugh at) for my saga trying to get waiver.

Fox, Thanks to FOXHD of Tallahassee. He had approved but WFXL is still dragging his feet. Not until they approved, no chance for NFL and 24 in HD.

Both ABC and NBC (of Tallahassee) had denied. It's a laugh. ABC is not capable of broadcasting and still would not grant. Unbelievable. Actually, as of this edit, I was told that neither ABC or NBC had denied it. Request is still pending for the Tallahassee Affiliate.

CBS denied but I can get their broadcast OTA already.

I guess I will just have to continue watching only CBS shows then.

Thanks for reading.

AVPhan,
Sorry to hear that.
In my locale I had no problem getting the FOX feed a
while back, before the locals were available for me via D**.
Probably would not be a problem now.
One would think the stations would be more accomodating during this
transition period. Surely the majority of folks would prefer to view
locals in HD once available .
If anyone connected with the local stations can provide snail/email
addresses to station managers or whomever to get our point across
I would be more than happy to state my case.
Special thanks to WCTV/DT for the excellent broadcasts, hope they and
the other stations continue to improve, look forward to all digital/all the time!

boondocks

I have a small understanding of what constitutes overscan.
However, is this not a result of how the individual device displays the image
at the edge of the screen?
If there is a variability in transmissions from station-to-station as you seem
to imply, it would not seem worthwhile to adjust for overscan beyond some
"standard" ?
Thanks,
boondocks

The pattern shows the percentage of the screen that is not being shown. If the pattern itself is faulty it will give you a false reading (think of measuring with a yardstick that was really 33 inches long). The HDNet pattern showed about 12% overscan on my screen, which has been calibrated to have about 4% overscan. If I adjusted my screen by the HDNet pattern, I would end up with "undercan" (if there is such a word).

AVPhan,

One would think the stations would be more accomodating during this
transition period. Surely the majority of folks would prefer to view
locals in HD once available .


boondocks

The problem is the FCC has stated than when we grant a waiver the viewer does not loose it when the granting station goes digital HD. With local ratings so crucial why let a station outside the market in.

The pattern shows the percentage of the screen that is not being shown. If the pattern itself is faulty it will give you a false reading (think of measuring with a yardstick that was really 33 inches long). The HDNet pattern showed about 12% overscan on my screen, which has been calibrated to have about 4% overscan. If I adjusted my screen by the HDNet pattern, I would end up with "undercan" (if there is such a word).
Ah. Thank you for the clarification.

The problem is the FCC has stated than when we grant a waiver the viewer does not loose it when the granting station goes digital HD. With local ratings so crucial why let a station outside the market in.
Yes, I see what you're saying. One would think the waivers would be granted
on a conditional basis, or subject to review at some relevant interval.
But I feel that refusing viewers HD sources is only delaying what I assume we
all want to see-all HD all the time.
I realize that more HD availabilty at this time would only impact a small, albeit
growing portion of viewers, but it has to start somewhere.
Nothing is ever easy when Sam is involved, eh?
+ more rules = more BS, especially for you folks.
I thank you for your response.
boondocks

The problem is the FCC has stated than when we grant a waiver the viewer does not loose it when the granting station goes digital HD. With local ratings so crucial why let a station outside the market in.
If this is true, then why did I lose my ABC, CBS & NBC feeds? I believe I've read the opposite take on other forums and my experience seems to bear this out. I would like to see where the FCC has ever taken the position that waivers are irrevocable. It is my understanding that once a station broadcasts digitally and you can adequately receive the signal, then you lose the D* feed if the local station notifies D* of the change.

Is there something in writing you could refer me to?

It is my understanding that once a station broadcasts digitally and you can adequately receive the signal, then you lose the D* feed if the local station notifies D* of the change.

This is correct!! I remember discussing this after the recent SHVERA was signed into law, and it it was stated that stations could rescind their waivers at any time.

ALSO, I know of people who have received waivers for the HD feeds only, with the condition that once that station goes full power, they will then lose them.

ALSO, once DirecTV provide HD-LIL to that DMA (mid-2007 most likely for Tallahassee), the subscriber will lose their HD-DNS, anyway...

~Alan

Alan beats me to the response there.

Also, on a related subject of "local ratings" and "network viewer ratings", How does it count nowaday with Tivo and DVR?

A lot of people are now with Tivo and DVR, which is the case of myself, who barely ever any longer watch anything LIVE (with only exception of Sports events).

This enables us to absolutely skip all commercials when watching recorded shows.

Last but not least, while watching LIVE sport events, I also tend to pause when commercial starts, go grab smoke, drinks, then later come back to advance and skip the commercial.

The problem is the FCC has stated than when we grant a waiver the viewer does not loose it when the granting station goes digital HD. With local ratings so crucial why let a station outside the market in.

Once a station goes full power OTA, the picture quality will be way better than the D* feed since signal does not get compressed.

For that, I would prefer OTA over D* feed (With the exception of potential not getting switched to HD as the case we are experiencing of late with CBS).

Have any definitive dates been set as to when ABC and FOX will broadcast full power in digital HD? I've read the previous entries saying possibly summer/fall/etc/2006. Just wondering, since we are about 3 weeks into the new year, if our engineer contributors or others have heard anything.

Once a station goes full power OTA, the picture quality will be way better than the D* feed since signal does not get compressed.

For that, I would prefer OTA over D* feed (With the exception of potential not getting switched to HD as the case we are experiencing of late with CBS).
Hmmm. I thought the MPEG formats were designed with that
process in mind? Or is it a "lossy" compression?
I know that Discovery HD -which is not a "live" format- just looks so damn
good.
However, I could be pretty happy with full power feeds (like WCTV-DT - a
million freaking watts-picture rabbit ears on a tomato stake for antennae) with
some more 1080p content from the locals.

Holy moly. I was cruising one of the other forums on this board and could not
believe the degree of bickering.
I feel I must say that I'm grateful for any / all information presented here, I'm
not searching for the holy grail. :)
I thank you folks that help me give me understanding, and I much enjoy the posts
presented here by all.
boondocks

Hmmm. I thought the MPEG formats were designed with that
process in mind? Or is it a "lossy" compression?
I know that Discovery HD -which is not a "live" format- just looks so damn
good.
However, I could be pretty happy with full power feeds (like WCTV-DT - a
million freaking watts-picture rabbit ears on a tomato stake for antennae) with
some more 1080p content from the locals.

It is my understanding that OTA signals use a higher bit-rate (lower compression) than cable or satellite, so they should look better. I don't think this has anything to do with broadcasting at full power, just that at full power the signal is stronger. The stronger signal reaches further, locks on easier, and should be more immune to weather interference.

It is my understanding that OTA signals use a higher bit-rate (lower compression) than cable or satellite, so they should look better. I don't think this has anything to do with broadcasting at full power, just that at full power the signal is stronger. The stronger signal reaches further, locks on easier, and should be more immune to weather interference.

There was a discussion on this very subject on HDTV Magazine's TIPS List last week. One of the big factors in OTA quality is mulitplexing (i.e. broadcasting sub-channels). An OTA channel has a limited amount of bandwidth and if that bandwidth is spread over more than one channel, the bitrate for the "main" channnel will suffer. Cable usually has a fiber or microwave connection to the local station. They get a direct feed at the maximum bitrate and can pass that along without adding any compression if they choose. So if you have a cable HD signal compared to a multiplexed OTA signal, the cable could easily look better.

It is my understanding that OTA signals use a higher bit-rate (lower compression) than cable or satellite, so they should look better. I don't think this has anything to do with broadcasting at full power, just that at full power the signal is stronger. The stronger signal reaches further, locks on easier, and should be more immune to weather interference.
Okay, I understand that.
But are the OTA digital data actually compressed, or sent in "packets" as
(computer) network and satellite data is? In other words are the digital
tuners translating packets of data or a steady stream?
Well, hell, I just answered my own question, LOL. Analog is analog, digital
is well, digital. :)

There was a discussion on this very subject on HDTV Magazine's TIPS List last week. One of the big factors in OTA quality is mulitplexing (i.e. broadcasting sub-channels). An OTA channel has a limited amount of bandwidth and if that bandwidth is spread over more than one channel, the bitrate for the "main" channnel will suffer. Cable usually has a fiber or microwave connection to the local station. They get a direct feed at the maximum bitrate and can pass that along without adding any compression if they choose. So if you have a cable HD signal compared to a multiplexed OTA signal, the cable could easily look better.
Yes, absolutely.
But regardless of the transmission media, the components and human factor
play a considerable role.
I went back to school several years back when I was 50 to study computer
networking. I was always complaining that T3 + fiber optic still = very slow
internet access. After meeting the "expert" that was in charge of the County
school system , I asked my instructor if we could look at all the cabinets.
(equipment, cabling links). I/we found most of the routers not running full
duplex. Go figure.
I think there is a lot more quality of transmission available out there.
JMHO.

Okay, I understand that.
But are the OTA digital data actually compressed, or sent in "packets" as
(computer) network and satellite data is? In other words are the digital
tuners translating packets of data or a steady stream?
Well, hell, I just answered my own question, LOL. Analog is analog, digital
is well, digital. :)

AFAIK it is compressed using the MPG2 codec. Since there is no cable with OTA I doubt if packets are involved, but I don't know for sure. Maybe one of the engineers here can clarify further.

Okay, I understand that.
But are the OTA digital data actually compressed, or sent in "packets" as
(computer) network and satellite data is? In other words are the digital
tuners translating packets of data or a steady stream?
Well, hell, I just answered my own question, LOL. Analog is analog, digital
is well, digital. :)

Both over-the-air and cable HDTV transmissions are digital, in one of the formats defined by ATSC.
The actual video content in both cases is MPEG-2 Main Profile.

Both types use the same transport stream format. The only difference is the 'last step', when the signal is broadcast. OTA and cable use different modulations (8VSB, QAM256, etc), frequencies, and I'm sure a bunch of other traits that I don't know about. Up until that point, though, the streams are identical.

MPEG2 is the stream carrier of ATSC both on cable and OTA.
That said, there are compression artifacts in MPEG2 because is is a "lossy" compression method.
Here's where it gets tricky. It is easy to encode as many as 5 SD streams or 1 HD stream in the 6 meg channel. There will be artifacts (mostly blocking) that you probably won't see. But, it is possible to compress more than that to get more in. Here CBS and ABC have one HD and 1 SD in the 6 meg channel. Gets real obvious when CBS is in sports - much blocking when there is high action.

Now cable. They have the same compressors and can make their own choices as to how much. Much of the digital tier (not HD) has as many as 10 channels in one 6 meg channel. So far, Comcast here has not further compressed the HD content that they have (but probably will as more cable stations change from SD to HD) They can get away with it because the public, so far, does not recognize digital problems as screw ups. They are used to "snow" or analog tape break up. Blocking and momentary freezes are not yet seen as signal problems.

Cable also just re-broadcasts OTA video and audio. Anything else in the signal is thrown away. All stations must (per FCC) broadcast a dynamic program guide in the PSIP that does not pass cable (though some local channels' guide is many programs titled "digital program"

Note for jrcstudios: I notice that the line running across the screen on UPN channel 6.2 has disappeared. I assume you guys were able to correct the problem. I also noticed that we are now getting some text info on CBS channel 6.1 and UPN 6.2 (such as rating TV-G,TV-14,etc). My receiver did not show that on WCTV before, so I assume you are now passing certain info in the data stream. Thanks.

CBS, Warner Bros. announce plans for new network to debut in September. (http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/index.htm?cnn=yes)

So, I guess there goes the WB in HD from Tallahassee!!

~Alan

CBS, Warner Bros. announce plans for new network to debut in September. (http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/index.htm?cnn=yes)

So, I guess there goes the WB in HD from Tallahassee!!

~Alan

I think of it this way instead of needing 2 channels in HD we now will only need one. Now the question is there a way we can get this 1 channel in HD by the fall, highly unlikely but we can hope.

OT: Does anyone who has Comcast get a really bad reception on 6(WB), this is the only station that is barely watchable(snow and ghosting). I know usually the lower channel can have issues but 2-5 and 7 and up are fine. Thanks.

I think of it this way instead of needing 2 channels in HD we now will only need one. Now the question is there a way we can get this 1 channel in HD by the fall, highly unlikely but we can hope.

The only problem is that currently, the UPN affiliate is WCTV-DT who airs UPN as a sub-channel, and while it's possible they could lose it and WFXU-DT could become the CW affiliate, odds are good (I think) that WCTV-DT will keep the affiliation which should keep the CW strictly SD in Tallahassee, but I could be wrong...

Luckily for me though, WLGA-DT, the UPN affiliate in Columbus, GA should get the affiliation due to lack of WB affiliate in the market, and they were planning to upgrade to HD this year.

~Alan

OT: Does anyone who has Comcast get a really bad reception on 6(WB), this is the only station that is barely watchable(snow and ghosting). I know usually the lower channel can have issues but 2-5 and 7 and up are fine. Thanks.


I had that problem for several months during which Comcast repairmen came and went, until I got fed up and raised holy hell. I got the City cable representative involved and a Comcast supervisor and we all had a meeting at my house where they all saw (and heard) the problem, which included audio noise. Comcast replaced the line tap outside my house and that cleared everything up as well as solved my internet service problems at the time. I suggest you put the heat on them until they do the same or find whatever problem is causing this for you.

CBS, Warner Bros. announce plans for new network to debut in September. (http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/index.htm?cnn=yes)

So, I guess there goes the WB in HD from Tallahassee!!

~Alan

This makes no sense to me, but it would not surprise me to see CBS just appropriate the best of WB/UPN into the CBS lineup, dump the two loser networks altogether, and use the leftover channel space for pure data tranmission.

Hi all.

I've got a problem and thought i'd post it before I start swapping everythiing out.

My current setup for OTA has a Channel Master Antenna from Lowes. I've always been able to receive CBS and NBC perfectly w/ this setup.

I've been out of town for awhile and upon returning cannot receive NBC period. I get signal strength that tops out, then bottoms out, etc...It seems like mulitpath.

I'm wondering a few things:

1. Is anyone else having this problem?

2. Has NBC changed their channel ID, PSIP, Frequency, or moved tower locations?

If the above answers are NO, then I will suspect:

1. Cable connections at the antenna Splitter or TV.

2. Splitter malfunction.

3. Balun malfunction.

4. Since I still get CBS perfectly, VHF portion of the antenna malfunction.

5. Antenna orientation, although, I used to get NBC practically w/ a coat hanger.

6. Receiver failure or software issues. (It's a Hi-Sense and I had to get an upgrade before due to CBS PSIP issues.) Though I really don't think this is an issue this time.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated before I start to rip my setup apart.

P.S. I take delivery on a 34" sony XBR for our bedroom on Thursday, I can't wait!!!

Thanks folks for the explanations about the MPEG workings.
Much appreciated!

Anyone else notice that "Housewives" and "Anatomy" were in SD on Comcast Sunday Night? I called the local ABC station manager, Mike Plummer, on Tuesday and he knew nothing about it, and apologized. However, in previous conversations with him I learned, to my amazement, that he does not own a HDTV, so I guess he could care less. He did say there was no equipment problem and speculated that possibly the checklist of HD programs was not checked properly. Can you imagine that anyone working at a TV station would not knowing that their top-rated prime time shows were in HD?!!!! I hinted that perhaps the "engineers" (and I usse the term loosely) were just being negligent, or were occupied by other activities such as sleeping or playing games on an Xbox. He did not seem amused, but promised to look into it. As we all know this is not the first time this has happened and I doubt if it will be the last, at least until analog broadcasting ends.

The problem is the FCC has stated than when we grant a waiver the viewer does not loose it when the granting station goes digital HD. With local ratings so crucial why let a station outside the market in.

I'd be happy to reimburse the network for the loss of revenue of my rating point if it meant I could get all of the networks in HD via satellite.

(BTW, when I first got Sat, Fox was the ONLY station willing to do a waiver at the time. Now I watch the local feed via sat, but have held on to the west coast feed in case of emergency.)

What exactly is the status of HDTV in Tallahassee? Are all of the network broadcast stations HD available via comcast cable? The OTA broadcasts are they available in HD? I tried OTA a few months back and it was a joke useing my satilite receiver's HD receiver capability. The only channel available was WCTV and it was virtually useless as the signal was so weak. I had purchased the correct level antenna via antenaweborg, but it was nowhere near what was needed ,and I cannot mount a large antenna because of neigborhood rules. I don't want to invest any more money in this or switch to comcast unless I can get the correct info on what exactly is available in this city.

What exactly is the status of HDTV in Tallahassee? Are all of the network broadcast stations HD available via comcast cable? The OTA broadcasts are they available in HD? I tried OTA a few months back and it was a joke useing my satilite receiver's HD receiver capability. The only channel available was WCTV and it was virtually useless as the signal was so weak. I had purchased the correct level antenna via antenaweborg, but it was nowhere near what was needed ,and I cannot mount a large antenna because of neigborhood rules. I don't want to invest any more money in this or switch to comcast unless I can get the correct info on what exactly is available in this city.

I can only comment on what Comcast provides, and Comcast does provide all the locals in HD channels 180-183. The quality is pretty good, there is an occasional problem but they have been getting better.

What exactly is the status of HDTV in Tallahassee? Are all of the network broadcast stations HD available via comcast cable? The OTA broadcasts are they available in HD? I tried OTA a few months back and it was a joke useing my satilite receiver's HD receiver capability. The only channel available was WCTV and it was virtually useless as the signal was so weak. I had purchased the correct level antenna via antenaweborg, but it was nowhere near what was needed ,and I cannot mount a large antenna because of neigborhood rules. I don't want to invest any more money in this or switch to comcast unless I can get the correct info on what exactly is available in this city.

We have some engineers on the board as well. They would have definite answers.

Here is what I know.

1. CBS - WCTV: Broadcast (full power I think). w occasional mishaps of not being switched to HD.
2. NBC - WTWC: Broadcast. VHF frequency 2. I can't get it myself, due to only indoor antenna.
3. ABC - WTXL: Low-Power Broadcast only. Go full later mid year.
4. FOX - WTLH: Not broadcast currently.

PBS is broadcasting OTA hdtv (full power I believe) as well.

Hi all.

I've got a problem and thought i'd post it before I start swapping everythiing out.

My current setup for OTA has a Channel Master Antenna from Lowes. I've always been able to receive CBS and NBC perfectly w/ this setup.

I've been out of town for awhile and upon returning cannot receive NBC period. I get signal strength that tops out, then bottoms out, etc...It seems like mulitpath.

I'm wondering a few things:

1. Is anyone else having this problem?

2. Has NBC changed their channel ID, PSIP, Frequency, or moved tower locations?

If the above answers are NO, then I will suspect:

1. Cable connections at the antenna Splitter or TV.

2. Splitter malfunction.

3. Balun malfunction.

4. Since I still get CBS perfectly, VHF portion of the antenna malfunction.

5. Antenna orientation, although, I used to get NBC practically w/ a coat hanger.

6. Receiver failure or software issues. (It's a Hi-Sense and I had to get an upgrade before due to CBS PSIP issues.) Though I really don't think this is an issue this time.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated before I start to rip my setup apart.

P.S. I take delivery on a 34" sony XBR for our bedroom on Thursday, I can't wait!!!

If you haven't already ripped your setup apart, I would try an indoor antenna (if you happen to have one) to see if you can get NBC. Perhaps your antenna's orientation got messed up by a storm?

Comcast in Tallahasse carries all the major networks in HD, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as WFSU. Only NBC and FOX are broadcasting DD 5.1 audio, the others are DD 2.0 (not sure about WFSU).

If you haven't already ripped your setup apart, I would try an indoor antenna (if you happen to have one) to see if you can get NBC. Perhaps your antenna's orientation got messed up by a storm?


Scott,
Thank you for your reply. I received my Sony Wega XBR for our bedroom today and after setting it up, it displayed NBC just fine. That rules out everything in my setup but the HD tuner in the home theater room or the cable/connector in there.

Since I get CBS just fine in there (so probably not the cable/connector), I'm going to assume it's the HD tuner or firmware. NBC probably changed PSIP info or something.
I'd buy a new one, but the pic quality of the tuner is as good as anbody elses. I usually use the HT for just movie watching anyways. I'll call Hi-Sense for another firmware upgrade kit later today.

Right now i'm enjoying our new sony tv. If anyone has any doubts to CRT being the best quality picture you can buy period, the Sony will make you a believer. It's better than my sons lcd sharp, better than our Tosh plasma, and better than our Tosh RP CRT. It does a great job w/ basic cable (mediacom which absolutely sucks) and DVD.

I have a Sony HDMI upscaling DVD player that should be arriving by UPS any minute now. I'm really curious as to how the HDMI/Upcoversion will look on this tv.

Does anyone else have this TV? I would like to know what picture settings your using for your different inputs. A lot of people in the forums are using the Pro/Monitor setting, but it's really too dark. I compared it to our ISF'd Tosh RP and it's much darker.

Anyways, thanks for responding Scott. It's been really hard lately to get responses on here lately.

Thanks for the info has anybody here tried the HD DVR from comcast? It looks like comcast is the only way to go unless you can get one of those elusive waivers for Direct TV. I have tried twice and no luck. Looks like I will be getting rid of a couple of HD Direct TV Receivers if anybody wants them. A sony SAT-HD300 and an older samsung. That Sony is the bomb ultra fast menu and a unbelievably good HD picture. I hate to loose it ,but if I can't get the locals it's pretty much useless. Looks like ebay here it comes.

Thanks for the info has anybody here tried the HD DVR from comcast? It looks like comcast is the only way to go unless you can get one of those elusive waivers for Direct TV. I have tried twice and no luck. Looks like I will be getting rid of a couple of HD Direct TV Receivers if anybody wants them. A sony SAT-HD300 and an older samsung. That Sony is the bomb ultra fast menu and a unbelievably good HD picture. I hate to loose it ,but if I can't get the locals it's pretty much useless. Looks like ebay here it comes.

I have been using the Comcast DVR since it was introduced, I had the single tuner which was ok, but the dual tuner is great. The 120 GB sometimes feels inadequate now that we have all the networks broadcasting in HD. I have never had a problem, series recording work flawless for me at least, and I have 5.1 on the channels it is available. I have even hooked it up to my PC via firewire.

I don't know which phase they are issuing in Tallahassee, but I have a phase I which is missing a few output connections I think.

What exactly is the status of HDTV in Tallahassee? Are all of the network broadcast stations HD available via comcast cable? The OTA broadcasts are they available in HD? I tried OTA a few months back and it was a joke useing my satilite receiver's HD receiver capability. The only channel available was WCTV and it was virtually useless as the signal was so weak. I had purchased the correct level antenna via antenaweborg, but it was nowhere near what was needed ,and I cannot mount a large antenna because of neigborhood rules. I don't want to invest any more money in this or switch to comcast unless I can get the correct info on what exactly is available in this city.
I didn't see your location, but I'm in W Suwannee County and get WCTVDT
absolutely great. I have very old UHF/VHF antennas about 30-35 ft up and an
old RS preamp. My antenna coax is run into my H10 sat receiver.
NBC 40.1 I only get occasionally, others not at all.

Scott,
Thank you for your reply. I received my Sony Wega XBR for our bedroom today and after setting it up, it displayed NBC just fine. That rules out everything in my setup but the HD tuner in the home theater room or the cable/connector in there.

Since I get CBS just fine in there (so probably not the cable/connector), I'm going to assume it's the HD tuner or firmware. NBC probably changed PSIP info or something.
I'd buy a new one, but the pic quality of the tuner is as good as anbody elses. I usually use the HT for just movie watching anyways. I'll call Hi-Sense for another firmware upgrade kit later today.

Right now i'm enjoying our new sony tv. If anyone has any doubts to CRT being the best quality picture you can buy period, the Sony will make you a believer. It's better than my sons lcd sharp, better than our Tosh plasma, and better than our Tosh RP CRT. It does a great job w/ basic cable (mediacom which absolutely sucks) and DVD.

I have a Sony HDMI upscaling DVD player that should be arriving by UPS any minute now. I'm really curious as to how the HDMI/Upcoversion will look on this tv.

Does anyone else have this TV? I would like to know what picture settings your using for your different inputs. A lot of people in the forums are using the Pro/Monitor setting, but it's really too dark. I compared it to our ISF'd Tosh RP and it's much darker.

Anyways, thanks for responding Scott. It's been really hard lately to get responses on here lately.
I have a 32" Wega CRT. I usually watch OTA HD in "Movie" mode but sometimes
switch to brighter modes for sports.
Discovery HD via satellite I either view in "Movie" or "Pro" depending on content.

I also use the Comcast Motorola 6412 dual-tuner HD DVR and while its not perfect it is something you must have if you want HD from Comcast. At $9.95/mo it is also a rare Comcast bargain.

Watching CSI or other WCTV HD broadcasts lately I have noticed that the picture (and sometimes sound) freezes for a few seconds. I am using an SR-T150 Samsung OTA receiver that is showing signal strength in the middle of the range. I did not have this problem during BCS football broadcasts on WTXL (ABC) with somewhat lower signal strength.

I am leaning toward assuming that this is a WCTV problem on the transmit side, given the lack of problems on WTXL, but could it be a lack of processing power or a problem in my OTA receiver? Have others noticed similar symptoms on WCTV? Last night during CSI was an example. Thanks to all contributors for an interesting forum.

Watching CSI or other WCTV HD broadcasts lately I have noticed that the picture (and sometimes sound) freezes for a few seconds. I am using an SR-T150 Samsung OTA receiver that is showing signal strength in the middle of the range. I did not have this problem during BCS football broadcasts on WTXL (ABC) with somewhat lower signal strength.

I am leaning toward assuming that this is a WCTV problem on the transmit side, given the lack of problems on WTXL, but could it be a lack of processing power or a problem in my OTA receiver? Have others noticed similar symptoms on WCTV? Last night during CSI was an example. Thanks to all contributors for an interesting forum.

I know it am receiving the broadcast differently through Comcast but I had no problem with Thursday nights CSI.

Thank you FoxHD for Granting but there are some more thing for you all to laugh about here.

I contacted DirecTV today and found the following:

1. Their system is showing WTLH had Denied the request. I had to fax in the info from email that FoxHD had sent me. :-)

2. Though, my zipcode is 32312, for each network, I have to get approvals from multiple Local Affiliates. Here they are:

ABC: WMBB - Panama City, FL; WTXL - Tallahassee, FL
CBS: WTVY - Dothan, AL; WCTL - Tallahassee, FL
FOX: WFXL - Albany, GA; WTLH - Bainbridge-Tallahassee, FL
NBC: WJHG - Panama City, FL; WALB - Albany, GA; WTWC - Tallahassee, FL

All affiliates for the network had to approve in order to receive DNS Feed. :-)

Go figure.

Happy New Year to all.

Latest update.

FOX - Thanks to FOXHD and Station engineer in Albany, I now get the FOX HD feed.
No Luck with the others, especially, I will have no way watching Superbowl or Olympics in HD unless sign up for Comcast.

5LNB dish is being rolled out to the area in short time line.

One of the local Contractors told me that they had one installed in the main office and are only wating for equipments then starts rolling out.

For this, if you are D* customer and are only planning of Watching (LIVE) Locals in HD, you can have it in a month with the LIL.

Unfortunately, it does not work for me since LIL will be in MPEG-4 and there is no DVR for it yet. Current D* DVR is not able to receive/record MPEG-4 yet.

Anyone locally in in Tallahassee has contact of Antenna installer that I can get them to install one for me ?

I tried Custom Connection and they quoted me about 200.00 but could not tell me which antenna I was gonna get + they will not guarantee. Since NBC is on VHF, I need to make sure the antenna is VHF capable, before plunging the money.

Thanks all for reading.

5LNB dish is being rolled out to the area in short time line.

DirecTV has told their installers to install 5LNB dishes for every one having an HD receiver installed starting February 6th. Tallahassee, FL HD-LIL will not be available anytime soon (most likely 2nd or 3rd quarter of next year).

~Alan

DirecTV has told their installers to install 5LNB dishes for every one having an HD receiver installed starting February 6th. Tallahassee, FL HD-LIL will not be available anytime soon (most likely 2nd or 3rd quarter of next year).

~Alan

That's what I believed until I spoke to this guy. I had D* connect me with him trying to get an OTA install, then he told me the fact.

He (Not gotten the name or company) said it sould be in a month or two.

That's what I believed until I spoke to this guy. I had D* connect me with him trying to get an OTA install, then he told me the fact.

He (Not gotten the name or company) said it should be in a month or two.

I don't believe that to be true. D* will be in Tallahassee to do the HD sight survey later this month. And if they work like they did for the analog system it will be closer to the end of the year for start up. I would like to know who his source is.

That's what I believed until I spoke to this guy. I had D* connect me with him trying to get an OTA install, then he told me the fact.

He (Not gotten the name or company) said it sould be in a month or two.

Well, I've heard stories on other satellite message boards of other stories contractors have told them, and I just don't see it happening.

Two things to take into account.

1. DirecTV has stated that they plan to get to the Top 50 markets by the end of the year (maybe a little more), so why would DirecTV be getting to Tallahassee, FL (DMA #109) in a month or two when DirecTV has yet to get the Top 24 DMAs released.

2. WTLH-DT would more than likely be where the receive point would be located since that's where the analog receive points are located, and WTLH-DT has mentioned nothing regarding DirecTV adding HD-LIL for the area.

~Alan<~~~~~~Who still hasn't gotten SD-LIL....

Who receives ABC HD over the air?

I just want to know what kind of hoops I might have to jump to get the game in HD. I live in Havana (Mediacom) so cable is not an option.

Money is not an issue, I just don't want to waste my time if it cannot be done.

Who receives ABC HD over the air?

I just want to know what kind of hoops I might have to jump to get the game in HD. I live in Havana (Mediacom) so cable is not an option.

Money is not an issue, I just don't want to waste my time if it cannot be done.

At this time they have a side mounted antenna about 900' the antenna faces Tallahassee I will look and see what the pattern is supposed to look like. If there is any signal going toward Havana you will probably need a tower and high gain antenna pointed towards 22(27). Or you can just buy fiber time to the office and get a direct feed ( money will have to be no issue at all )

At this time they have a side mounted antenna about 900' the antenna faces Tallahassee I will look and see what the pattern is supposed to look like. If there is any signal going toward Havana you will probably need a tower and high gain antenna pointed towards 22(27). Or you can just buy fiber time to the office and get a direct feed ( money will have to be no issue at all )

Thanks FoxHD.

I guess I should have specified a budget, LOL..

I got the same story from DirTV about local channels 3 years ago. Couple of months turned into 3 years waiting. They did finally get them but FOX 49 is an embarrassment on DirTV. The others aren't much better. I miss the days of the east and west feeds. Wish I could those again now in HD. Now I must submit to the evil comcast for HD. Wonder how long the 9.95 HD-DVR will last before they jack up the price?

Hi. I have a question. As this subject says, since I live in Tallahassee (Alumni Village), can I get Super Bowl with just the antenna?

I've got a Cats Eye USB HDTV Tuner and I will be getting the RadioShack 15-1880 today.

If I can watch Super Bowl in HDTV in my laptop (HP Pavilion Notebook zv6130), then I would be very happy. The reason I ask is my mom and dad only have basic cable and she can't afford an additional per month for HDTV subscription. Plus, my mom told me that Comcast won't be able to find a widescreen TV even though I have just my laptop to watch TV with. Plus, since I live in my apartment, I can't get satellite (I prefer DirecTV over Dish Network).

I have a computer furniture that rises up almost all the way up to the ceiling and I will be putting an antenna high up close to the ceiling (not too close).

Thanks! ;) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif

Hi. I have a question. As this subject says, since I live in Tallahassee (Alumni Village), can I get Super Bowl with just the antenna?

I've got a Cats Eye USB HDTV Tuner and I will be getting the RadioShack 15-1880 today.

If I can watch Super Bowl in HDTV in my laptop (HP Pavilion Notebook zv6130), then I would be very happy. The reason I ask is my mom and dad only have basic cable and she can't afford an additional per month for HDTV subscription. Plus, my mom told me that Comcast won't be able to find a widescreen TV even though I have just my laptop to watch TV with. Plus, since I live in my apartment, I can't get satellite (I prefer DirecTV over Dish Network).

I have a computer furniture that rises up almost all the way up to the ceiling and I will be putting an antenna high up close to the ceiling (not too close).

Thanks! ;) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif

Based on my attempts so far, none of the RatShack's (with exception of double bow-tie) would work (I have one sitting here to be brought back today, newest from them claiming HDTV 15-1892). Even with double bow-tie, I could not get anything but CBS.

I am closer to tower than you (Meridian and Ox Bottom) and only two months ago could get ABC until they went with low-power.

The only two possible miracles I wish now:

1. DirecTV would turn on the HD Feed for me for just one day for SB.
2. WTXL goes full-power and broadcast for one day only for all of us.

:mad:

Well, I can't have satellite in my apartment and I can only rely on indoor antennas. Thanks for your help. I might have to try out the 15-1880 as I've read a review here (http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages/squareshot.htm)

UPDATE:

RadioShack in Tallahassee sold out of 15-1880s so I can't watch SuperBowl in HD tomorrow. So I have to revert back to ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0.

I've tried ATI TV-Wonder with the Beyond TV (uhhh......I have a trial version......even though I purchased VBox and I thought it came with full version of Beyond TV???) and I'm not getting a very good performance, so I used ATI TV software to watch NTSC broadcasts... :(

Will there be a re-broadcast of Super Bowl next weekend...?

Hello, i am gonna be moving to the tallahassee area soon to around the monticello and greenville areas. I use the Phillips PHDTV3 silver sensor (the ones with VHF dipoles built in). I think I can be able to pick up at least 3 of the big 4 channels in HD. Anyone have a clue when FOX is ever gonna have thier digital station up and in HD? I noticed the FOX in tallahassee is owned by pegasuck so i have a bad feeling they will never get thier station up to full power. Do you think there is a better chance that the FOX in Albany will go full power before the one in tallahassee will?

Will there be a re-broadcast of Super Bowl next weekend...?

That had never happened.

If you have no other means to watch it, let me know (email). I can burn the whole thing to DVDs (Mostlikely 2) for you to watch, provided you are not Hawk's fan (J/K).

Oh, yes!! Please do. I will send you my private message to let you know my home address.

By the way, I'm not sure about Hawks, but I'd like to see what SuperBowl in HD looked like... If only I got the 15-1880 antenna from RadioShack...

Oh, yes!! Please do. I will send you my private message to let you know my home address.

By the way, I'm not sure about Hawks, but I'd like to see what SuperBowl in HD looked like... If only I got the 15-1880 antenna from RadioShack...

Will do but want to make sure that you know that it will be in SD.

Well, thank you for being specific (in private message). It's OK.

Thanks.

POSSIBLE HD SUPER BOWL ALTERNATIVE: For the folks at the edge of the Tallahassee DMA (Hamilton/Suwannee/Columbia counties), you might be able to receive the Super Bowl from WCJB in Gainesville. The digital channel is 16.1 (maps to 20.1). I have been receiving a pretty good signal here for the last two days. Earlier in the week, the Gainesville Sun printed a signal coverage map showing the lower 1/2 of Suwannee, lower 1/3 of Hamilton, and about 2/3 of Columbia as being possibly able to receive a signal. I thought I would pass this along, as no one over here can receive the low power digital signal from WTXL/Tallahassee.

i heads up guys, i went and got a samsung hd reciever at circuit city and picked up all the local networks in hd over QAM. they are on 85-1. 85-2 cause comcast can't encrpyt local hd. so if you want the superbowl in hd run over there and get one.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-HD-Receiver-SIR-T451-/sem/rpsm/oid/98127/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

OK. I've got the antenna which is Jenson 24dB Amplified Antenna and I have a problem.

While using the BeyondTV's Setup Wizard, non of the channels are recievable in Tallahassee except the FSU channels. Whether I have the antenna at max or minimum amplification and fiddling with the antenna, I won't be able to recieve the channels.

I am located in Alumni Village with lots of trees surrounding Alumni Village Apartment Complex. I checked the AntennaWeb.com and I can't recieve NBC, CBS, ABC, and WTLF.

Any ideals before 6:00? The signal quality is at 0% and the signal strength is between -3000 to -3800 as reported in the VBox's SignalMeter Utility in ATSC Mode). In BeyondTV Setup Wizard, I get audio/video dropouts/skips.

My computer specs:
HP Pavilion Notebook zv6130us
AMD Athlon64 3200+ 2.0 GHZ
512MB RAM
ATI Radeon Xpress 200M 128MB
Windows XP SP2 Home
80GB HD

I know my laptop specs are irrelevant to this thread but just want to show my specs...

Thanks SayAnything.

I got mine and it's on. A bit pixelation but I will live. Will return the unit tomorrow though since I do not watch Live TV.

:-)

Thanks SayAnything.

I got mine and it's on. A bit pixelation but I will live. Will return the unit tomorrow though since I do not watch Live TV.

:-)

Actually, too much pixelation, un-watchable. Switched back to D* SD.

I've watched the first half without a dropout and the picture quality has been excellent. My Samsung 360 has registered "50" on its strength meter and the picture has been rock solid. Anyone else in the Tally watching the Superbowl OTA?

Hello, i am gonna be moving to the tallahassee area soon to around the monticello and greenville areas. I use the Phillips PHDTV3 silver sensor (the ones with VHF dipoles built in). I think I can be able to pick up at least 3 of the big 4 channels in HD. Anyone have a clue when FOX is ever gonna have thier digital station up and in HD? I noticed the FOX in tallahassee is owned by pegasuck so i have a bad feeling they will never get thier station up to full power. Do you think there is a better chance that the FOX in Albany will go full power before the one in tallahassee will?

You did not notice enough the local FOX is NOT owned by Pegasus do more research on that. FOX WTLH-DT will be full power 1 meg watt by summer. thanks....

I've watched the first half without a dropout and the picture quality has been excellent. My Samsung 360 has registered "50" on its strength meter and the picture has been rock solid. Anyone else in the Tally watching the Superbowl OTA?

Nope. I missed it because of my Jenson 24dB amp'd antenna.

I can't pick it up in Alumni Village Apartment Complex.

POSSIBLE HD SUPER BOWL ALTERNATIVE: For the folks at the edge of the Tallahassee DMA (Hamilton/Suwannee/Columbia counties), you might be able to receive the Super Bowl from WCJB in Gainesville. The digital channel is 16.1 (maps to 20.1). I have been receiving a pretty good signal here for the last two days. Earlier in the week, the Gainesville Sun printed a signal coverage map showing the lower 1/2 of Suwannee, lower 1/3 of Hamilton, and about 2/3 of Columbia as being possibly able to receive a signal. I thought I would pass this along, as no one over here can receive the low power digital signal from WTXL/Tallahassee.
Hmmm. Haven't tried that channel. Too late for the SB, but I'll give it a shot when
I work off shift Wednesday. Should be about a 160-180* turn for my antenna
from the Tallahassee direction.

tonight i had horrible breakup during 24 anyone else get it/

The Picture Quality on the Tallahassee locals thru DirecTV is now absolutely terrible! It seems to have gotten much worse in the last 2 weeks. Could some of our engineer contributors on this forum look into this situation? Man, if the HD locals via OTA ever come up to snuff, I am going to drop the DirecTV Tally locals! I have contacted DirecTV technical support and they say "the locals continue to be a challenge". I say "rise to the challenge and fix it!". I Tivo'd the Super Bowl thru channel 27, but it looked so crummy I erased it. I was luckily able to view the Super Bowl in HD for the first time thru the Gainesville ABC station OTA. It really looked awesome. However, that may have been a fluke for me as the station has not been stable for the past couple of days. Engineers/station personnel: could you comment on any of the above? Thanks.

i heads up guys, i went and got a samsung hd reciever at circuit city and picked up all the local networks in hd over QAM. they are on 85-1. 85-2 cause comcast can't encrpyt local hd. so if you want the superbowl in hd run over there and get one.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-HD-Receiver-SIR-T451-/sem/rpsm/oid/98127/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do


Why can Comcast not encrypt local HD stations?

There is nothing against not passing the HD channel. They have every right to encrypt it. The law says they must carry the local station, it doesn't say which format they must carry.

FYI,
Mediacom encrypts ALL hd stations they carry. Which right now is only FSU-PBS and CBS.

The Picture Quality on the Tallahassee locals thru DirecTV is now absolutely terrible! It seems to have gotten much worse in the last 2 weeks. Could some of our engineer contributors on this forum look into this situation? Man, if the HD locals via OTA ever come up to snuff, I am going to drop the DirecTV Tally locals! I have contacted DirecTV technical support and they say "the locals continue to be a challenge". I say "rise to the challenge and fix it!". I Tivo'd the Super Bowl thru channel 27, but it looked so crummy I erased it. I was luckily able to view the Super Bowl in HD for the first time thru the Gainesville ABC station OTA. It really looked awesome. However, that may have been a fluke for me as the station has not been stable for the past couple of days. Engineers/station personnel: could you comment on any of the above? Thanks.
Amen to that. I've adjusted my tv settings constantly 'till I've just about given up.
I don't know if HD has raised the bar that high in my perceptions, but lately one
particular local feed looks like absolute ass.
On the ABC via Gainesville, I rotated the antenna this AM and scanned and was
not able to receive it. I was able to receive the 3 PBS splits (36) very well.
I work in the High Springs area and am amazed at the folks that can't pick up
even the ABC analog (20). Most folks I work with are from the greater Gainesville
area and have given up on OTA for Satellite.

tonight i had horrible breakup during 24 anyone else get it/
I don't recall any problems other than the usual poor PQ via sat. I -WAS- vegetating after a 12 hour shift, however.

If anyone is interested, Comcast is carrying Universal HD on channel 208. Lots of Olympic coverage in HD.

OH COOL!!

I'd love to see that.

I will be getting Comcast HD Cable during Saturday. I have a VBox Cats Eye USB HDTV Tuner. I am hoping I can watch it in my laptop.

News pertaining to both WTXL-27 and WTWC-40:

- On January 19, 2006, the Company notified the owner of WTXL-TV, the ABC affiliate in Tallahassee, Florida, of its intent to terminate the Joint Sales Agreement, effective February 19, 2006.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-08-2006/0004277168&EDATE=

It appears that new WTXL owner Southern Broadcasting (they also own Sarasota's ABC7 WWSB) will take over WTXL on February 19, 2006 and the newscasts look to continue.

As for WTWC, will Sinclair do anything with it? We shall see.

FOX49 and WCTV-6 both may be fighting for the CW affiliation for their respective operations, WFXU and ECTV (aka UPN Tallahassee-Thomasville). HD interests would perfer WFXU get the affiliation as they have a digital channel with enough bandwidth for HD.

FOX49 and WCTV-6 both may be fighting for the CW affiliation for their respective operations, WFXU and ECTV (aka UPN Tallahassee-Thomasville). HD interests would perfer WFXU get the affiliation as they have a digital channel with enough bandwidth for HD.

I don't remember if it was an article or speculation on some of these Message Boards (I believe it's the latter), but someone hinted (and again, I believe this was just speculation) that the CW may take a look at which one can offer HD.

However, in the case of the Tallahassee, FL DMA, it gets kind of tricky as WFXU-DT is trying to get out of the FCC forcing a deadline on their full power signal:

Demonstrating the dire choices facing the station, WFXU(TV) indicated in its earlier DTV extension requests that if the FCC nonetheless insisted on a firm DTV build-out commitment for WFXU(TV), Pegasus would be forced to either: (i) file to convert WFXU(TV) to a satellite station and turn in WFXU’s DTV channel pursuant to the FCC’s so-called flash cut option, or (ii) sell the station.

NOTE: The above qoute came from an application filed on September 16th of last year, and is available to read in its entirety on the FCC webpage here (http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1084892&Service=DT&Form_id=337&Facility_id=22245) by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking on "Exhibit 1". The full text requires Adobe Reader, or another program capable of reading .pdf files.

Due to the above, it's possible that "The CW" may try to partner with WCTV-DT due to the more stable financials that they represent. Either way, it will be interesting to see...

~Alan

I know that WXTL-DT offers a digital version of their analog channel on 27-2, and WTWC-DT offers a digital version of their analog channel on 40-2, but is that all the sub-channels these two offer?!

~Alan

Bad news. In Alumni Village apartment complex, there's no line of sight -- there's trees everywhere and not just in Alumni Village. I can't put in outdoor antennas so I have to live with indoor antennas and I am thinking that indoor antennas can't pick up HD stations except FSU stations. So I'm returning 15-1880 antenna back to RadioShack.

Anyone living in Alumni Village (apartment complex)?

I watch HDTV with VBox Cats Eye USB HDTV Tuner which is connected to my laptop. I may not be able to get HD digital cable box from Comcast...

Update:

As far as I know, FSU Station is right across the fence from Alumni Village.

Well, if the CW ends up on WCTV-DT, I couldn't blame them after seeing that FCC file you linked to because Pegasus has WTLH in bankruptcy and WFXU almost there. We need someone to swoop in and buy those two....or at least FOX 49...and build them out.

Let me understand that Tallytown TV is kinda lacking OTA HD right now. You have WCTV-6, owned by Gray, built out in HD and multicasting UPN just fine in full power. You have WTWC-40 owned by Sinclair which is HD and carrying an SD simulcast subchannel. You have a lower-power WTXL-27 owned by Southern Broadcasting and run by Sinclair until later this month. Then you have bankrupt WTLH and almost bankrupt WFXU which are low power, but HD. WFXU-TV is digital via WTLF-DT?

CheckHD's Summary for TALLAHASSEE, FL 32306:
NBC WTWC-DT 40.1, 40.2
ABC WTXL-DT 27.1, 27.2
IND WTLF-DT 24.1
PBS WFSU-DT 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4
CBS WCTV-DT 6.1, 6.2
PBS WABW-DT Coming Soon

CheckHD's Summary for BAINBRIDGE, GA 39817:
NBC WTWC-DT 40.1, 40.2
ABC WTXL-DT 27.1, 27.2
PBS WFSU-DT 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4
CBS WCTV-DT 6.1, 6.2
FOX WTLH-DT 50.1
PBS WABW-DT Coming Soon
UPN WBIF-DT Coming Soon

When will ABC and NBC be full power. I live in Valdosta and can only receive CBS and I have my antenna on a 30 ft mast.

I am in the same boat, I live in Adel, and am getting tired of waiting. WCTV is awesome but I would like to get the rest. They say we should get WTWC, which I have gotten but not lately. I wish they would go to a higher number channel and we probably could get it. I just wish WTXL and WALB would go full power and we would be set. They are supposed to be along with WTLH by this summer. But it seems crazy that WALB would wait until after olympics.

WTXL-WTWC end partnership
By Rocky Scott
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER


Tallahassee's ABC affiliate, WTXL-TV, will end a five-year partnership with WTWC-TV that including sharing studio space and advertising sales staff and strike out on its own, a station official said Friday.

"On Feb. 20, we will have a brand new look and a brand new sound," said Richelle Ridgeway, news director for WTXL. The move comes after corporate parents of the two stations decided to end a joint service agreement.

Sinclair Broadcast Group., which owns WTWC, announced in its fourth-quarter earnings report earlier this week the agreement, which had been in place since 2001, would end Feb. 13.

The stations have shared advertising sales personnel and studios since they combined.

Ridgeway said WTXL, owned by Southern Broadcast Corp. of Sarasota, would lease studio space from WFSU-TV while waiting for new facilities to be built. She said the new facilities will include an all-digital production format.

Bob Franklin, station manager at WTWC, said the broadcast outlets had been operated as "one station with two signals." He said there would be no reduction in his station's workforce.

http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060210/BREAKINGNEWS/60210005&SearchID=73235467197870