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.

I was real excited whenever I originally read that WFXU-DT was going to have a strong enough signal to get me, since that means that I could receive WB programming in HD should WFXU-DT also decide to upgrade to HD (I can't even get WB programming in SD), and WLGA-DT from my other neighboring market (Columbus, GA) was going to upgrade to HD and provide me with a digital signal sometime this year.

However, between reading news of WFXU-DT's trying to get out of trying to go full-power, as well as the fact that WLGA-DT will be running digitally on channel 31, a channel number of an analog signal in my market, as well as the fact that once February 17, 2009 comes along, WLGA-DT will switch to digital channel #47 and no longer provide me with digital coverage, all that means is that my dreams of viewing CW programming will be even farther behind since now I would be within "Grade B" analog coverage of a CW affiliate should DirecTV ever be able to offer CW DNS, and WSWG-DT might stop me from being able to receive a "Regional CW" affiliate once HD-LIL becomes available, should DirecTV make a deal with CBS like they did with Tribune for markets without a WB.

However, hopefully things will become clearer soon now that CBS, Warner Bros. Tee Up CW Affiliation Pacts (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6306675.html?display=Breaking+News)

~Alan

Wonder what they mean by "a brand new sound?" Maybe DD 5.1?

Wonder what they mean by "a brand new sound?" Maybe DD 5.1?

That would be nice, as while I currently receive ABC-HD via DirecTV with DD5.1 ("Lost" is really the only thing that COOL in DD5.1), my other ABC affiliate, WTVM-DT doesn't offer DD5.1 either.

However, odds are that they are referring to their newscasts, promos, etc, etc, etc... with maybe some differing forms of opinions from that of Sinclair's handling of the station.

Also, for those of you who may have gotten excited about the quote "She said the new facilities will include an all-digital production format", they're referring to how they edit/run their news stories, and, I believe, how they handle their syndicated programs as well as commercials, and has nothing to do with HDTV.

~Alan

Well, all-digital should allow for the move to HD News Production as soon as HD cameras, switchers, tape decks/computer storage, and microwave equipment become more affordable.

WTXL's news has been done from WTWC's studio space (Ch. 40 will still have these studios and newsroom if they ever started a news department again) and will move to WFSU's studio space until this new facility is built. WTXL's sister-station WWSB in Sarasota recently moved into these all-new digital-style studios and it includes tapeless operations, robotic cameras, and they can pass through ABC HD.

http://wwsb.tv/stationinfo/tech.shtml
http://wwsb.tv/stationinfo/tour.shtml

One more try to see if anyone viewing local Tallahassee HD channels over the air (OTA) is experiencing dropouts. My Samsung SIR-T150 receiver (feeding a Sony XBR TV through component inputs) is showing 50% signal strength on WTWC (NBC) and WCTV (CBS), and somewhat less on WTXL, but still dropping out frequently, sometimes freeze framing, sometimes just going black (while still showing decent signal strength). Antenna is an all band VHF-UHF Winegard 5646 mounted on roof, pointed to Metcalf, GA, transmission tower about 13 miles away. More confusing is that WTXL (ABC) at lower indicated strength (25%), is NOT dropping out. Clues, anyone?

First Contact: Stations Get CW Letter (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6307656.html?display=Breaking+News)

I've been trying to keep track of CW news, and while this still doesn't say a lot of news yet, it does mention two interesting things...

In a letter sent to UPN, WB, and some independent outlets, CBS Corp. Chairman Leslie Moonves and Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer said the two companies, which will jointly own the network, plan to move quickly to evaluate each market and grant affiliations.

AND

While the CW is expected to seek reverse compensation payments from affiliates, the letter did not include any details.

The second qoute may take WFXU out of the running, not to mention that I remember a qoute from this story I posted on the Albany, GA message board. The story is regarding Gray's purchase of WVAG, and them adding a CBS sub-channel to their digital channel (the link to the story is CBS, Gray Ink Deal for Digital Channel (http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9042)), and the qoute is

Atlanta-based Gray Television is the largest independent operator of CBS-affiliated television stations, with 17 stations in 12 states that collectively reach more than 3.2 million U.S. TV households.

That also could color CW's decision.

~Alan

jrcstudios and FOXHD: Are you guys still around? PLEASE CONTACT the DirecTV Engineering dept and see if something can be done about the terrible PQ of the Tallahassee locals. Apparently they must be over compressing the feeds or they are bandwidth starved (or both). I believe this is the WORST Picture Quality I have ever seen on the Tally locals. It has tremendously plummeted in the last 3-4 weeks.

jrcstudios: WCTV digital showed nothing but CBS color bars from 11:00 until 11:12 pm last night. Maybe it's time to show the technicians, once again, how to press the right buttons. Thanks.

jrcstudios and FOXHD: Are you guys still around? PLEASE CONTACT the DirecTV Engineering dept and see if something can be done about the terrible PQ of the Tallahassee locals. Apparently they must be over compressing the feeds or they are bandwidth starved (or both). I believe this is the WORST Picture Quality I have ever seen on the Tally locals. It has tremendously plummeted in the last 3-4 weeks.

jrcstudios: WCTV digital showed nothing but CBS color bars from 11:00 until 11:12 pm last night. Maybe it's time to show the technicians, once again, how to press the right buttons. Thanks.


There is only one collection point for both now. I will call them and see what can be done.

One more try to see if anyone viewing local Tallahassee HD channels over the air (OTA) is experiencing dropouts. My Samsung SIR-T150 receiver (feeding a Sony XBR TV through component inputs) is showing 50% signal strength on WTWC (NBC) and WCTV (CBS), and somewhat less on WTXL, but still dropping out frequently, sometimes freeze framing, sometimes just going black (while still showing decent signal strength). Antenna is an all band VHF-UHF Winegard 5646 mounted on roof, pointed to Metcalf, GA, transmission tower about 13 miles away. More confusing is that WTXL (ABC) at lower indicated strength (25%), is NOT dropping out. Clues, anyone?

Update: No dropouts at all last night on WTWC OTA Olympics broadcast, so I am assuming the problem was on the transmit end and has been fixed (I hope).
Svenfran

No sound on WTLX HD channel on Comcast tonight :confused:

No sound on WTLX HD channel on Comcast tonight :confused:

Man was I pissed as I had my 6412 set to record "Housewives" and "Anatomy," while I watched something else. By the time I realized there was no sound on ABC-DT I had missed 40 minutes of "Housewives" before I could start up my Panasonic E80H to record the analog channel that had sound. At least "Gray's Anatomy" that follows had sound on the HD channel, but the signal was not HD. Maybe they switched to SD in order to get sound? I tried calling WTXL but nobody is answering phones there, not even today (Monday). It just amazes me that two of ABC's top rated shows are continuously screwed up on Sunday nights. I don't know if the problem was at ABC or WTXL, but I would bet the latter. Guess they are still using high school dropouts for engineers! Do they have a website where we can contact them?

I agree. The Tallahasse Locals on DirecTV have been poor. This started before the Olympics. NBC is constantly pixilizing. CBS and ABC is not as bad. FOX is the only good channel. The only problem with FOX is that the picture is dark. When I use my rooftop for OTA in standard definition. The picture is not dark and the others or not pixilizing. This is probably an uplink problem. Has anyone else seen the same problems as well.

Man was I pissed as I had my 6412 set to record "Housewives" and "Anatomy," while I watched something else. By the time I realized there was no sound on ABC-DT I had missed 40 minutes of "Housewives" before I could start up my Panasonic E80H to record the analog channel that had sound. At least "Gray's Anatomy" that follows had sound on the HD channel, but the signal was not HD. Maybe they switched to SD in order to get sound? I tried calling WTXL but nobody is answering phones there, not even today (Monday). It just amazes me that two of ABC's top rated shows are continuously screwed up on Sunday nights. I don't know if the problem was at ABC or WTXL, but I would bet the latter. Guess they are still using high school dropouts for engineers! Do they have a website where we can contact them?
WTXL was moving into the WFSU Broadcast Center. WTXL and WTWC are no longer together.

I've been keeping track of "The CW" news, and found this little bit off of an article:

That speculation means station executives are going to have to hedge their bets on buying content, said Chris Mossman, VP of sales and marketing for Gray Television's UPN affiliate WCTV-TV in Tallahassee, Fla. If his station becomes the CW station in his market, he will need to buy less syndicated fare than he does now, since The CW will run 13 hours in prime time as opposed to UPN's 11 hours. But if another station in his market goes with The CW, he will have to fill 11 hours of former UPN prime time with other programming starting in the fall.

"The people I'm meeting today and tomorrow and Thursday didn't know this was coming up, so obviously there will be a lot of contingencies," Mr. Mossman said from the floor of the convention.

Click NATPE Conventioneers Speculate on Future of UPN, WB Stations (http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9265) for full article.

BTW, I TiVo'ed DH and GA from last night off of WABC-DT via DirecTV, but haven't watched them yet, but I'll check their audio later... still, odds are that it was only a WTXL-DT problem...

~Alan

I agree. The Tallahasse Locals on DirecTV have been poor. This started before the Olympics. NBC is constantly pixilizing. CBS and ABC is not as bad. FOX is the only good channel. The only problem with FOX is that the picture is dark. When I use my rooftop for OTA in standard definition. The picture is not dark and the others or not pixilizing. This is probably an uplink problem. Has anyone else seen the same problems as well.

The Tallahassee locals PQ problem via DirecTV has been well documented here and on some of the popular satellite forums. The contributing FOX engineer has promised to try and help on this issue (see one of the above posts). It seems ridiculous to me that DirecTV and the local engineers can not seem to get this worked out. The Tally locals via satellite have really not been that good since first uplinked. The so called "digital revolution" has hardly been a minor skirmish (at least in our area).

WTXL was moving into the WFSU Broadcast Center. WTXL and WTWC are no longer together.

I am aware of that, and that could be part of the problem. But they could at least answer their phones during normal business hours, so I can get an explanation or just vent my spleen!

WTXL was moving into the WFSU Broadcast Center. WTXL and WTWC are no longer together.


Does this mean that WTXL will be moving its antenna? I currently have my antenna aimed at the CBS, NBC and ABC antennas. I get strong signals from CBS and NBC (80 - 90). I have not gotten a usable signal from ABC but understood that it is not broadcasting at full power. My hope was that I would get a signal from it when it increased power but if it is moving to the same antenna location as WFSU, I will have no hope of getting it.

Does this mean that WTXL will be moving its antenna? I currently have my antenna aimed at the CBS, NBC and ABC antennas. I get strong signals from CBS and NBC (80 - 90). I have not gotten a usable signal from ABC but understood that it is not broadcasting at full power. My hope was that I would get a signal from it when it increased power but if it is moving to the same antenna location as WFSU, I will have no hope of getting it.

They are temporarily moving their studio/office to WFSU's studio/office until their new studio/office is built. They are not planning to move their antenna.

BTW, someone posted a month or two back that WTXL-DT would be going full power after the first of the year, has anyone heard any more about that?! Has those plans been scrapped now that WTXL and Sinclair have broken up?!

~Alan

Well WTXL was down over the air here for a day and a half i think, it is now back up but only in SD on 22-1. It is sending no PSIP data

WTXL was SD last night. I guess someone forgot to pay that high school dropout they use as an engineer! I hope they get their crap together in time to catch the next new episode of "Lost" in HD.

WTXL was SD last night. I guess someone forgot to pay that high school dropout they use as an engineer! I hope they get their crap together in time to catch the next new episode of "Lost" in HD.

They are in the process of moving there operation. The ABC rack has not been moved to the TX sight so you will only get SD until they can make the move. Southern Broadcast has and is doing a hell of a job moving in the short amount of time Sinclare has given them to get out of the building with all there stuff. Just take it easy and you will get full power HD soon.

WTXL is in a hard position. Basically evicted with no place to go. Thankfully they leased the FSU Broadcast Center and their transmitter still belongs to them.

They are in the process of moving there operation. The ABC rack has not been moved to the TX sight so you will only get SD until they can make the move. Southern Broadcast has and is doing a hell of a job moving in the short amount of time Sinclare has given them to get out of the building with all there stuff. Just take it easy and you will get full power HD soon.


How long you think it will take for WTXL to compelte the move and get thier HD signal back up you think? Anything new on WTLH? Thanks, James

Lots of glitches on CBS network segments via WCTV/satellite lately, and at least for me also OTA from WCTV DT. Sure gets annoying.
On a brighter note, TNT added to DirecTV's HD channel lineup.
...and Boy oh boy I wish the PQ was as good all around as Discovery HD is.
One can continue to hope......

Think I'll continue to push back my antenna upgrade until I see how everything
shakes out for HD from the Tally area.

How long you think it will take for WTXL to compelte the move and get thier HD signal back up you think? Anything new on WTLH? Thanks, James

I am helping them install the new dish for network. The dish was missing a lot of parts should have by Monday or Tuesday then all they should have to do is move the equipment. WTLH-DT we have started ordering antenna, microwave, transmitter parts should be up and running around July(will be 1 meg erp) if there is no delays on parts and installation. I will be talking with the Chief from WWSB and I will try to find out what type of schedule they have for full power hd.

I am helping them install the new dish for network. The dish was missing a lot of parts should have by Monday or Tuesday then all they should have to do is move the equipment. WTLH-DT we have started ordering antenna, microwave, transmitter parts should be up and running around July(will be 1 meg erp) if there is no delays on parts and installation. I will be talking with the Chief from WWSB and I will try to find out what type of schedule they have for full power hd.

Are you saying WTXL (ABC) will be back to HD broadcasting by next week?

Also, while you are at it, please tell them their audio sucks - seems to be in mono, with some shooshing noise added to dialog, and lots of dropouts. Or maybe this is what WTXL meant when they said they would have a "new sound" - intermittent DD 1.0?!

Lots of glitches on CBS network segments via WCTV/satellite lately, and at least for me also OTA from WCTV DT. Sure gets annoying.
On a brighter note, TNT added to DirecTV's HD channel lineup.
...and Boy oh boy I wish the PQ was as good all around as Discovery HD is.
One can continue to hope......

Think I'll continue to push back my antenna upgrade until I see how everything
shakes out for HD from the Tally area.

I am continually seeing momentary freezes,pixelations, etc on the Tally locals via DirecTV. Other forums are also reporting these types of problems.

WTLHFOXHD, were you ever able to contact DirecTV concerning these problems?

I am continually seeing momentary freezes,pixelations, etc on the Tally locals via DirecTV. Other forums are also reporting these types of problems.

WTLHFOXHD, were you ever able to contact DirecTV concerning these problems?

Have talked with them. The are working on the problem.

What do people do here to get WTWC? I live east of monticello, about 17 miles from the towers and I can get ABC and CBS digitaly but whenever i use rabbitears to get NBC i get some serious multipath interferience. Is there anything indoor that can pick this channel up? Would more amplification do it?

Whew!! There is sure a LOT of work involved in moving a station in just over 2 weeks. WTXL's news and sales are now at WFSU. "all digital" means that the production equipment that we are leasing them is all digital (SD) all the way from camera to uplink. All we do here in Tally is news. They use a "Master Control" in Little Rock to switch between news and ABC and everything else (Judge Judy) and then uplink it back to their transmitter. Still some bugs in that causing problems (bad sound and breakup Wednesday)
Phone problem was that they moved out Sunday and the fine folks at Sprint lost the order for lines at WFSU until late Monday.

HD for them. I have talked to Jack Dillon, their chief engineer from Sarasota a lot. Loss of audio for DW last Sunday was probably a problem at Sinclair (looked like the same problem they were having a lot). When they switched to SD the problem went away. They will be SD for 2 or 3 weeks until they get all their equipment installed and working at the transmitter. Lack of PSIP is part of that. Full power is some time away (Jack said "couple of months") Southern Broadcasting seems to be spending money as needed (not on the cheap) so it should happen soon. But they are having to build another studio, work out the bugs in having the news in our studio and switching it in Little Rock and keep the station in Sarasota working - Sinclair forced them to stretch themselves rather thin. I think they have done very well to be on the air with local news at all.

jrcstudios or any WCTV personnel: The audio on WCTV-DT 6.1 has been messed up since last night (02/25/06-Saturday). It sounds distorted on CBS programming. Channel 6.2 seems to be ok, audio wise. Master control is not answering the 1-800 number.

jrcstudios or any WCTV personnel: The audio on WCTV-DT 6.1 has been messed up since last night (02/25/06-Saturday). It sounds distorted on CBS programming. Channel 6.2 seems to be ok, audio wise. Master control is not answering the 1-800 number.

I am glad to hear it was not just me, Friday nights Ghost Whisper was unwatchable because the sound. I checked the shows after that also and the was just as bad.

Whew!! There is sure a LOT of work involved in moving a station in just over 2 weeks. WTXL's news and sales are now at WFSU. "all digital" means that the production equipment that we are leasing them is all digital (SD) all the way from camera to uplink. All we do here in Tally is news. They use a "Master Control" in Little Rock to switch between news and ABC and everything else (Judge Judy) and then uplink it back to their transmitter. Still some bugs in that causing problems (bad sound and breakup Wednesday)
Phone problem was that they moved out Sunday and the fine folks at Sprint lost the order for lines at WFSU until late Monday.

HD for them. I have talked to Jack Dillon, their chief engineer from Sarasota a lot. Loss of audio for DW last Sunday was probably a problem at Sinclair (looked like the same problem they were having a lot). When they switched to SD the problem went away. They will be SD for 2 or 3 weeks until they get all their equipment installed and working at the transmitter. Lack of PSIP is part of that. Full power is some time away (Jack said "couple of months") Southern Broadcasting seems to be spending money as needed (not on the cheap) so it should happen soon. But they are having to build another studio, work out the bugs in having the news in our studio and switching it in Little Rock and keep the station in Sarasota working - Sinclair forced them to stretch themselves rather thin. I think they have done very well to be on the air with local news at all.

What I am seeing of WTXL on Comcast in Tallahassee is the WORST video/audio crap ever in the history of television (no that is not an exageration). I understand they have problems but it looks to me that no one planned this move - they just backed up the trucks and let the viewers be damned. That "all digital" crap is worse than analog any day. I think a complaint to the FCC is in order if they don't get their XXXX together very soon.

I feel your pain, dsmith901. In your case, cable (Comcast) is the problem, while mine is with DirecTV. I have often complained on these forums, not because I enjoy it, but rather because I feel we are not getting our money's worth from these entertainment providers. Far too often problems are not solved, they are just "patched" or "glossed" over. This is not to say that I don't appreciate the help and efforts of the folks on this forum. I do appreciate the people who attempt to help solve these problems, especially our contributing engineers( Thank you!). However, I continue to find it unbelievable that the local digital PQ issues can't seem to be solved despite months and months of viewer complaints and feedback!

Latest frustrating example: This past Sunday the PQ on CBS and FOX via DirecTV was the best it has been in many months. The NASCAR race on FOX looked better than perhaps it ever had by DirecTV/Tallahassee standards. However, come Monday morning the entire crop of Tally locals started looking like crap! What the heck happened? As of today (02/28/06-Thursday), they still look terrible. CBS and FOX have taken the worst nosedives, while the others are only slightly better. DO ANY OF THE LOCAL PROVIDERS GIVE A DARN ABOUT THE VIEWERS?

i live in cairo, ga with an outdoor radioshack v-190 antenna and a samsung digital set-top box, the only problems i am having is no reception of fox 49, i have seem post on this board that they have a tower in bainbridge ga, i love only 5 miles from that location and not even a blip on my samsung receiver?, the other problem is the sound of 6.1 and 27.1 on my surround sound receiver breaks up frequenly, the analog sound is perfect, i have replaced the optical cable multiple times with the same result happening, any input on this would be greatly appreciated

thanks

Personaly, I find my pic quality good on comcast 99% of the time. It wasnt until this WTXL move, that I felt the need to complain. I am sure it will be worked out in time, but until then, they have lost me as a viewer.
I would presume , most folks still have analog sets and see no difference in pq and could care less.
I hate missing my Sunday evening shows in HD, but the good news is there will be "re-runs".
Since getting my HD set last Nov., I have stopped watching anything that isnt in HD. Heck my dvd's look much better than analog or digital tv.

i live in cairo, ga with an outdoor radioshack v-190 antenna and a samsung digital set-top box, the only problems i am having is no reception of fox 49, i have seem post on this board that they have a tower in bainbridge ga, i love only 5 miles from that location and not even a blip on my samsung receiver?, the other problem is the sound of 6.1 and 27.1 on my surround sound receiver breaks up frequenly, the analog sound is perfect, i have replaced the optical cable multiple times with the same result happening, any input on this would be greatly appreciated

thanks

I am going to assume on the spelling. If you live in Cairo and the TX tower is in Bainbridge you can't be 5 miles away from it. There is a low power digital (up converted analog signal no HD) TX in Bainbridge that you will not pick up in Cairo. Yesterday the order for our TX, Antenna and Microwave system were placed. We should be up and running full power HD this summer. I will keep you all posted as we get the parts in and installed.

thanks for the reply and info, i look forward to the 2007 Daytona 500 to be in HD

anyone else able to pick up wuft-hd (pbs) out of gville or wftv-hd (abc) out of orlando? i am using an old outdoor antenna from radio shack that is probably 15 years old on a 12-15 ft pole with a radio shack signal booster i picked up a few months ago. i've managed to get a signal from wuft before, but tonight's the first time i've seen anything from as far away as orlando. think i may invest in a better antenna and taller pole if anyone else in the area is pulling decent signals from outside of the tally area. i'm in monticello by the way.

Lost on Comcast was not in HD tonight...getting freaking tired of this...not sure what I'm paying for.

Lost on Comcast was not in HD tonight...getting freaking tired of this...not sure what I'm paying for.

Comcast has nothing to do with LOST not being in HD tonight, at least I think so, please correct me if I am wrong. I know that it sucked but with all that has been going on with the local ABC I will give them a pass for awhille, granted LOST in HD is so much better.

Original QUOTE from houselog442:

What do people do here to get WTWC? I live east of monticello, about 17 miles from the towers and I can get ABC and CBS digitaly but whenever i use rabbitears to get NBC i get some serious multipath interferience. Is there anything indoor that can pick this channel up? Would more amplification do it?


REPLY: I think the WTWC tower is in Metcalf, GA, between Miccosukee and Thomasville, I live in eastern Leon (about 15 miles from the tower, per antennaweb.org). I have a roof mounted Channelmaster 5646 (all bands) antenna and get about 50% signal strengh on WTWC, more than adequate for OTA HD reception. Prior to that, I had a UHF directional antenna that would not pick up WTWC, because their digital signal is on low-band VHF channel 2. Bottom line: you'll probably need a low VHF or all band outside antenna to get WTWC from east of Monticello.

anyone else able to pick up wuft-hd (pbs) out of gville or wftv-hd (abc) out of orlando? i am using an old outdoor antenna from radio shack that is probably 15 years old on a 12-15 ft pole with a radio shack signal booster i picked up a few months ago. i've managed to get a signal from wuft before, but tonight's the first time i've seen anything from as far away as orlando. think i may invest in a better antenna and taller pole if anyone else in the area is pulling decent signals from outside of the tally area. i'm in monticello by the way.
I can get the PBS stations (HD) from Gainesville but don't have much interest in them. Never tried to DX Orlando. I used to watch analog out of Tampa occasionally in the PM. I'm in Live Oak/Dowling Park BTW.

Thought you folks might be interested in this:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=58299

It was just posted on another forum.

Al

Re WTXL, Comcat is not the problem - it is Sinclair (station owner) that refuses to spend the money to make the switch properly (i.e., built the station first and THEN move!).

Re WTXL, Comcat is not the problem - it is Sinclair (station owner) that refuses to spend the money to make the switch properly (i.e., built the station first and THEN move!).
Sinclair is not the owner, Southern Broadcasting is. Sinclair threw WTXL out of the WTWC studios and WTXL had to run and throw the current operation together at WFSU.

Being a newbie, with direct tv HD and a relatively expensive OTA antenna, I continue to get nothing from 27-1......Prior to the move I did receive all of the netwrok channels in HD through the OTA antenna. The quality was so poor, so I ran the signal directly to my Samsung HD tv. The quality was much better especially in regards to the audio fade outs.

However fo rhte past upteen weeks I get nothing from 27-1. Are they transmitting anything and are they at the same location towerwise? Or do I need ot reorient my antenna to receive them. I do have a rotor, but previously I could receive NBC, CBS and ABC from the same general direction...approximates 50 degrees

I was really perturbed with Direct Tv's answer telling me their HD TIVO recorder may not be compatible with my outdoor antenna. I paid over $600 for it to be installed....and seems ot work fine being directly hooked up to my tv .. But I sure miss the dvr function. and I agree, I prefer HD to standard broadcast, so I will nto go back to watching vanilla flavored Network stations.

Any help would be appreciated.

Joe

First where are you located they are running a low power tx. The station has a lot of work to go and is doing it. The HD feed should come back in 2 weeks.

It is pretty frustrating to watch the Oscars on Comcast ABC HD with quality that looks like a third generation dub of an old re-recorded VHS tape.

Especially when elsewhere on this forum everyone is saying that the Oscars have the best PQ of any show they have ever seen.

WTLHFOXHD and PBSengineer please correct me if wrong.

To the ABC HD watchers:

The owners of ABC had a deal to share a building, equipment, staff, etc. with Sinclair (I don't remember what station they own). Sinclair decided to stop this and gave ABC two weeks to be out of the the building (maybe less). The owners had to rent space from WFSU for the local news and order new equipment and start finding a new location to build a new office. Please give them just a bit of slack as they didn't cause the problem.

I am located just north of I-10 off of Mahan (US90) and off of Crump Rd.

I do not mean to give grief to the station or anything, just was getting tired of trying to adjust my set and antenna for signals that just aren't there.

I do have one other weird occurance, but I suppose it is due to my TV. It is a 47 inch Samsung DLP model. If I do a search when my antanna is connected to my Directv Receiver OTA connector, it does not seem to find 27-1 ... nor does it find anything in the 22 range.

When I hook it up directly to the tv, and have the tv receiver do a search..I do not get anything from 27-1, but I get a whole range of 22's from 22-1 to 22-15. and once i go to any of those channels the set freezes and I can not advance the channel selection, and there is no picture or signal indication. I actually have to diconncet the OTA antenna and then go thorough and delete each of the 22 - channels before I can put the antenna back on....

Just weird. Not even sure who is broadcasting on 22.

I am hoping that once the move and new equipment go in, that everythign is fine..just a minor inconvenience as I can always watch the SD channels. Just that you get hooked on HD very easily once you have it. But right now I tend to use it through a direct connect OTA atenna rather than the ota connected through my DTV TIVO unit.

I wish I could add value ot this forum, but I am a rookie and really just a viewer.

But I sincerely appreciate the answers and the discussions and information.

Joe

I am located just north of I-10 off of Mahan (US90) and off of Crump Rd.


Just weird. Not even sure who is broadcasting on 22.




22 is the Real RF frequency of WTXL. When a station broadcasts digital it has to use the bandwidth of a television channel other than its analog. The digital channel has the ability to be called anything the station wants. We use our analog channel number and then -1 for the first stream. You will have to point your antenna towards WTXL's tower and the antenna system will have to optimised as you are trying to receive a low power signal. Your television is locking up because it can't get enough of the data on the channel name to lock into it. When it does is will probably call it 27-1.

WTLHFOXHD and PBSengineer please correct me if wrong.

To the ABC HD watchers:

The owners of ABC had a deal to share a building, equipment, staff, etc. with Sinclair (I don't remember what station they own). Sinclair decided to stop this and gave ABC two weeks to be out of the the building (maybe less). The owners had to rent space from WFSU for the local news and order new equipment and start finding a new location to build a new office. Please give them just a bit of slack as they didn't cause the problem.


If Southern did not have enough sense to construct a decent lease agreement to protect them from this then they are idiots. They operate like a second rate organization, which they obviously are, unfortunately for us.

If Southern did not have enough sense to construct a decent lease agreement to protect them from this then they are idiots. They operate like a second rate organization, which they obviously are, unfortunately for us.


You realy need to get all the facts. They did not make the deal they bought it when the picked up WTXL. They told sinclare that they would be getting out of the LMA. Not a good deal for Southern Broadcast. Sinclare told them they had a month to get out. Don't watch some one will send you a smoke signal when all is good.

Not to add more fuel to the flame - Actually I am.

Their staffs know too well that they are not "capable" of broadcasting in high-power for viewers to view HD, are still "Months" away from the capability, STILL have been CONTINOUSLY AUTOMATICALLY DENY all WAIVERs to grant viewers the ability to receive HD programming.

What's up with that.

I agree. I have requested HD waivers several times. And have been denied. I live in Valdosta, next to Moody AFB. I have even went to lengths of emailing the stations. In fact not just the engineers at the stations, but also the station managers. The sad thing is, no one and I mean NO ONE has even called wrote or emailed me back with a response. And yet they will deny the waiver request the same day. According to DirecTV.

This is a copy of the email sent to WTXL. Of course taken out the addy

I live in Valdosta Georgia and am unable to receive your ABC HD signal over the
air. I understand that your tower is behind the CBS and NBC tower. And that you
operate at ABC Affiliate
RF Channel: 22
Status: Construction Permit Modification
Height: 488.0m
Power: 1000.0 kW

I currently have my off air antenna at 30 feet I am able to recieve CBS off air
easily. However not ABC. I have requested waivers from you before and were denied
because I get Standard Definition Locals through DirecTV. I was wondering if you
would grant me a waiver for ABC HD until your signal is higher and I am able to
pick your HD signal up. I pay for locals on D* already and will continue to do so.
Once you get your HD setup and working you will be more than happy to view their
HD over the air.

I have resubmitted the Waiver request through DirecTV. You should get a response
soon.

My LAT/LONG is 30.920290/-83.255558

Is there any way that you could approve this waiver request for me.

Your reply back would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerly, a proud ABC watcher.

You realy need to get all the facts. They did not make the deal they bought it when the picked up WTXL. They told sinclare that they would be getting out of the LMA. Not a good deal for Southern Broadcast. Sinclare told them they had a month to get out. Don't watch some one will send you a smoke signal when all is good.

Okay, WTXL (or their previous owner) is the idiot here - the point is it was stupid to sign a lease that would not give them more protection. They could literally have been left off the air with that arrangement. Just plain stupid!

I did receive an email from someone at Channel 27, and they acknowledged that they were not broadcasting in HD yet, but they anticipated being back up in HD by the end of March. I really appreciated the info and answers on here.

Joe

Thanks to WTLHFOXHD for sending me a PM on the WTXL situation that mollifies me somewhat. He says they are a few weeks from HD broadcasting so I will try and be patient. Let's hope they also move to DD 5.1 on the audio -- please?

Ok but what about full power HD??

I apologize this is off topic somewhat....
But WTF is up with the audio (via directv!). I have a severe problem when
watching 24 that I can barely hear the audio compared to other locals as
received via sat -but- when a commercial comes on, look out! I have to
actually keep my remote at close hand to turn down the volume for the
commercials, and to constantly turn UP the volume for the program.
If the volume is considered as a log scale (exponentially changes) then
program = 1, commercials =4.
Is this others' experience also? If so is it only via Directv or just this program
or what?
:confused:

jrcstudios/WCTV engineering: I have been attempting to watch the basketball coverage on 6.2 UPN. The pixelation is really terrible. You mentioned sometime ago that this channel might be allocated some additional bandwidth. It would surely be welcome. The "blooming" and "bluriness" is really bad during fast action sequences and brightly colored scenes. Can you allocate some additional bandwidth to this channel without affecting WCTV 6.1? Thanks.

More WCTV madness and one positive: The Duke/Wake Forest game on Saturday had the absolute worst PQ I have ever seen. The analog OTA, digital OTA, and DirecTV sat feed all looked like one big blur. Maybe it was the Jefferson Pilot feed as the same game looked good on the ESPN feed. Does anyone on weekend duty at WCTV ever try to improve or check on these kinds of issues? The one positive: The Florida/South Carolina game from CBS in HD looks good today (Sunday).

WTXL and WTLH: Please observe what WCTV has done concerning analog and digital OTA and satellite feeds and then do the complete opposite. Thanks.

Hamco, I agree. Over Comcast cable the Duke/BC game on UPN was almost unwatchable. They must have transmitted the digital signal using a 56K dial-up modem!

I saw a bit of the Duke game as well. I think that was also a Jefferson-Pilot feed. I noticed the blooming and some static that looked like analog C-band.

I have a question about WFSU. How are their channels mappred? 11.1 is the main feed with HD when available. On my Accurian ($90 RS box), the Florida Knowledge Network is coming in as 32.1, and I thought it would be 11.2. Don;t they also carry at least one more subchannel for the 4FSU educational access channel? WCTV's subchannels do map correctly. I have tried rescanning, but to no avail. Is there a way to totally reset the box?

For what it is worth, in Bainbridge I get WCTV and WFSU pretty reliably in digital (suprising since WFSU analog is really poor). WTWC is iffy (probably the powerline nose I am trying to track down). WTXL and WTLF do not come in at all (no suprise given their low transmitting powers), and WTLH 3 miles away is a no show. Right now, I'm just feeding into an NTSC TV, so this is mostly a play toy.

I think WTLH is just below the threshold of the receiver. When I tried a USDTV box a year ago, I could get it when facing the antenna directly at it. I am doing some recabling, so that might bring it back, not that an upconvert of analog received OTA is really anything to get excited about. I'm more interested in getting WTVY from Dothan and getting a better margin of error to lessen breakups.

I saw a bit of the Duke game as well. I think that was also a Jefferson-Pilot feed. I noticed the blooming and some static that looked like analog C-band.

I have a question about WFSU. How are their channels mappred? 11.1 is the main feed with HD when available. On my Accurian ($90 RS box), the Florida Knowledge Network is coming in as 32.1, and I thought it would be 11.2. Don;t they also carry at least one more subchannel for the 4FSU educational access channel? WCTV's subchannels do map correctly. I have tried rescanning, but to no avail. Is there a way to totally reset the box?

For what it is worth, in Bainbridge I get WCTV and WFSU pretty reliably in digital (suprising since WFSU analog is really poor). WTWC is iffy (probably the powerline nose I am trying to track down). WTXL and WTLF do not come in at all (no suprise given their low transmitting powers), and WTLH 3 miles away is a no show. Right now, I'm just feeding into an NTSC TV, so this is mostly a play toy.

I think WTLH is just below the threshold of the receiver. When I tried a USDTV box a year ago, I could get it when facing the antenna directly at it. I am doing some recabling, so that might bring it back, not that an upconvert of analog received OTA is really anything to get excited about. I'm more interested in getting WTVY from Dothan and getting a better margin of error to lessen breakups.


Well we do have at least one person who can sorta see it. One more than I thought would be out there. We will be at one megawatt by end of summer.

Well we do have at least one person who can sorta see it. One more than I thought would be out there. We will be at one megawatt by end of summer.

(and from an earlier post )


...There is a low power digital (up converted analog signal no HD) TX in Bainbridge that you will not pick up in Cairo....



When you get up to 1MW is it still going to be upcoverted or true HD?

(and from an earlier post )



When you get up to 1MW is it still going to be upcoverted or true HD?

All the local programing and commercials will still be up converted. The Network Feeds which are in HD will be passed by the TX in HD. No station in the market at this time is producing local HD.

I have a question about WFSU. How are their channels mappred? 11.1 is the main feed with HD when available. On my Accurian ($90 RS box), the Florida Knowledge Network is coming in as 32.1, and I thought it would be 11.2. Don;t they also carry at least one more subchannel for the 4FSU educational access channel? WCTV's subchannels do map correctly. I have tried rescanning, but to no avail. Is there a way to totally reset the box?
Knowledge network should map to 11-4
The Florida channel = 11-2
Daytime Primetime (Repeat midnight to 6am 11-1 in SD) = 11-3

Occasionally, the computer that feeds the PSIP locks up and the mapping/program guide gets whacked. I try to catch that and fix it.

I have a question about WFSU. How are their channels mapped? 11.1 is the main feed with HD when available. On my Accurian ($90 RS box), the Florida Knowledge Network is coming in as 32.1, and I thought it would be 11.2. Don;t they also carry at least one more subchannel for the 4FSU educational access channel? WCTV's subchannels do map correctly. I have tried rescanning, but to no avail. Is there a way to totally reset the box?
I don't know what kind of box you are using, but in my integrated Mits, if you try rescanning, it seems to keep knowlege already acquired. So it is possible to have something listed as 11.1 and another at 32.1, it could also cause duplicate channels. In the Mits you have to do a new scan, not to be confused with a re-scan. Your box may be different. Try it and see.

Al

Who's fault is this?

WCTV's or CBS?????????

What's the deal.

In other news, did Milwaukee mess up anyone elses bracket?

For the record, the UF/S Alabama game is NOT available in HD. Today CBS is producing games in HD from Greensboro and San Diego only.

PBSEngineer,

Any updates on when WTXL (ABC) will resume HD? And will they still carry audio as DD 2.0, or hopefully upgrade to 5.1?

Thanks.

Their engineer, Jack, says by the 28th or 29th. I have been heavily lobbying him about it whenever I see him.
I haven't asked about audio. I will next time I see him.

Does anyone know when ABC and NBC will be up and running full power. Like CBS with 1 million watts.....

As posted earlier in this thread, WTXL (ABC) and WTLH (Fox) are scheduled to upgrade later this year. WTXL had a change in ownership and are currently in residence at WFSU's studios. WTWC (NBC) is running their full assigned power on channel 2, but by Feb. 2009 will have to switch to UHF channel 40. That facility should be similar in coverage to WCTV's. The low VHF channels (2-6) have a lot of noise and interference to contend with, so the real-life coverage is a lot less than the coverage on paper.

Remember, this is like the early days of TV again, and we're all early adopters. :)

Does anyone know if WTXL (ABC) will be broadcasting from the old antenna or will there be a change?

Their location will not change, but the power will be raised. Keep in mind, the signal is not transmitted from their studios. All of the stations microwave their digital signals to towers about 25 miles NE of downtown Tallahassee near the state line, with the exception of WFSU, WTLF, and WTLH. WFSU's transmitter is about 20 miles WSW of downtown. WTLF is about 10 miles west of downtown. WTLH is temporarily transmitting a low power signal from Bainbridge, but will move to the northeast laster this year. I highly recommend using Antennaweb so determine what direction to point your antenna (http://www.antennaweb.org).

Thanks for the reply. I had been receiving a watchable signal prior to the relocation. Looking forward to their getting back on the air.

As posted earlier in this thread, WTXL (ABC) and WTLH (Fox) are scheduled to upgrade later this year. WTXL had a change in ownership and are currently in residence at WFSU's studios. WTWC (NBC) is running their full assigned power on channel 2, but by Feb. 2009 will have to switch to UHF channel 40. That facility should be similar in coverage to WCTV's. The low VHF channels (2-6) have a lot of noise and interference to contend with, so the real-life coverage is a lot less than the coverage on paper.

Remember, this is like the early days of TV again, and we're all early adopters. :)

Regarding the situation about NBC carrying full watts.. According to HDTVMagazine....
They are not yet at full power. They only have an application to be at full power. Currently they are runnin at 9.2. Below is the chart that was pulled from the website above. I have found that this is more accurate then antennaweb and checkhd. Not only does it list the power. It will also give you a map were the tower is located.

Station Name Ch. RF Ch. Affiliate Status Height Power Distance Bearing
WCTVDT 6.1 46 CBS Affiliate Licensed 548.6 1000.0
WCTVDT2 6.2 46 UPN Affiliate Licensed 548.6 1000.0
WFSUDT 11.1 32 PBS Affiliate Licensed 242.0 937.8
WFSUDT2 11.2 32 PBS Affiliate Licensed 242.0 937.8
WFSUDT3 11.3 32 PBS Affiliate Licensed 242.0 937.8
WFSUDT4 11.4 32 PBS Affiliate Licensed 242.0 937.8
WTLFDT 24.1 24 Indep ConsPermit 52.0 1000.0
WTLFDT 24.1 24 Indep Licensed 52.0 24.0
WTXLDT 27.1 22 ABC Affiliate ConstPerm 488.0 8.7
WTWCDT 40.1 40 NBC Affiliate Application 601.0 1000.0
WTWCDT 40.1 2 NBC Affiliate Licensed 584.3 9.2

I just wanted to give a head up of those who have Cocmast, they are supposed to move the HD channels to the 200's tomorrow. There are a couple of other channels that are moving around but nothing major. No new HD channels will be added though. They are however adding a few digital channels in April.

This following can be found on Comcast.com with an effective date of 3/22/06
202 ESPN HD
204 TNT-HD
205 Discovery Theatre HD
206 iN Demand HD1
207 iN Demand HD2
215 HBO HD
219 Cinemax HD
223 Showtime HD
227 Starz! HD
231 WTXL-ABC- HD
232 WTWC-NBC-HD
233 WCTV-CBS-HD
234 FOX HD
240 PBS HD
241 The Florida Channel
242 WFSU Kids
243 The Florida Knowledge Network

I just wanted to give a head up of those who have Cocmast, they are supposed to move the HD channels to the 200's tomorrow. There are a couple of other channels that are moving around but nothing major. No new HD channels will be added though. They are however adding a few digital channels in April.

This following can be found on Comcast.com with an effective date of 3/22/06
202 ESPN HD
204 TNT-HD
205 Discovery Theatre HD
206 iN Demand HD1
207 iN Demand HD2
215 HBO HD
219 Cinemax HD
223 Showtime HD
227 Starz! HD
231 WTXL-ABC- HD
232 WTWC-NBC-HD
233 WCTV-CBS-HD
234 FOX HD
240 PBS HD
241 The Florida Channel
242 WFSU Kids
243 The Florida Knowledge Network

Thanks, that is helpful since you have to hunt through the whole channel listing to find the changes - it would if they had highlighted them in that brochure they sent out. I thought the channel changes were to happen in April as well, so this caught me by surprise at noon today.

Thanks, that is helpful since you have to hunt through the whole channel listing to find the changes - it would if they had highlighted them in that brochure they sent out. I thought the channel changes were to happen in April as well, so this caught me by surprise at noon today.

I never got a brochure, I happened to call them for a problem with on Demand and the on hold music told me about the changes coming in April. So I asked and the rep and she told me they were moving the HD this month and new channels were next month, I was like thanks for letting me know in such a timely manner. :rolleyes:

audio has been gone on the WCTV (6.1) during the george mason vs uconn, audio is up on 6.2 UPN

audio is back now

Tried the Radio Shack omnidirectional antenna this weekend with no luck. Returned it and picked up an RCA ANT1250 from Target. I was able to get a signal on several of the channels, but nothing greater than 70[1]. CBS had the highest, most consistent signal, but not enough for full-time viewing. After returning the 1250, what should I pick up next?

Can anyone speak to an indoor antenna make/model for the Killearn Lakes area? Im tempted to pick up a Terk from Best Buy next, despite the disparaging reviews.

[1] As reported by my DirecTV Hughes HR10-250.

I think I still have a Megawave (http://www.megawave.com/mtv1.htm) amplified indoor that I previosly used in Killearn Lakes with pretty good results. I've since put up seperate low band VHF and UHF antennas in the attic. You are welcome to try it and buy it if it works for you.

PM me with direct contact info if you're interested.

Awesome; thanks. PM sent.

Congrats to WCTV folks on the move to your new studios!
I'm sure lots of hard work and loss of sleep have been the norm
lately.
Looking forward to many more years of broadcasts from your
new digs!

Well, this sucks - Europe is predicted to have 100 (!) HD channels by 2010! See the link below. Meanwhile Comcast Tallhassee has what - 10 or 12, and by 2010 might have 15? The USA is quickly falling behind the rest of the world in HDTV as well as broadband internet. I guess we can blame the FCC and greed of the TV stations and broadcasters who refuse to allocate the bandwidth needed for HD broadcasting.

http://www.widescreenreview.com/news_detail.php?id=11059

Well, this sucks - Europe is predicted to have 100 (!) HD channels by 2010! See the link below. Meanwhile Comcast Tallhassee has what - 10 or 12, and by 2010 might have 15? The USA is quickly falling behind the rest of the world in HDTV as well as broadband internet. I guess we can blame the FCC and greed of the TV stations and broadcasters who refuse to allocate the bandwidth needed for HD broadcasting.

http://www.widescreenreview.com/news_detail.php?id=11059

You are comparing one TV market to an entire continent. Nowhere did it say that all 100 channels would be available everywhere in Europe OTA or through the same provider. Notice that most countries are just starting HDTV broadcasts, while the US is going on 8 years. Almost all digital TV transmissions in Eurpoe are SD only and multicast.

I think I still have a Megawave (http://www.megawave.com/mtv1.htm) amplified indoor that I previosly used in Killearn Lakes with pretty good results. I've since put up seperate low band VHF and UHF antennas in the attic. You are welcome to try it and buy it if it works for you.

PM me with direct contact info if you're interested.

I would be interested to hear if the megawave can catch NBC, please.

I would be interested to hear if the megawave can catch NBC, please.I'll post results as soon as I pick this up and get it installed.

You are comparing one TV market to an entire continent. Nowhere did it say that all 100 channels would be available everywhere in Europe OTA or through the same provider. Notice that most countries are just starting HDTV broadcasts, while the US is going on 8 years. Almost all digital TV transmissions in Eurpoe are SD only and multicast.

Okay, compare the EU continent to the USA continent - you still don't see anything close to 100 HD channels in the entire USA by 2010. And I suspect most of those 100 HD channels will be available in all areas of the EU by 2010 or soon after - its all one economic market now. Of course language barriers exist, but multilanguage broadcasting is no big deal with digital transmission. The fact is, to my reading of it anyway, US broadcasters have been dragging their feet on HDTV for years, and doing all they can to avoid using bandwidth for HD broadcasting. And we all know about the monopoly of cable in most cities in the US, which again gives no incentive to go HD. We keep reading about the phone companies getting into TV, but it never happens - they just promise it to get rate inceases in the guise of "free market competition" - I doubt if they will ever really do it on any large scale.

Memo to PBSEngineer

Is WTXL returning to HD transmission today (3/28/06) as scheduled? Please advise. Thanks.

Memo to PBSEngineer

Is WTXL returning to HD transmission today (3/28/06) as scheduled? Please advise. Thanks.

Jack is supposed to be back in Tally tomorrow (3/29). Hopefully he will do it then.

NOW notice that since WCTV moved to their new studios, we no longer have CBS in HD.

Sigh!

Jack is supposed to be back in Tally tomorrow (3/29). Hopefully he will do it then.

NOW notice that since WCTV moved to their new studios, we no longer have CBS in HD.

Sigh!

Thanks for the update.

Please tell Jack that we MUST have ABC in HD by the 29th - "Lost" has a new episode that night!

So what is the problem now with WCTV? How long will they be SD? I understand they are also having audio problems?

Thanks for your help.

I would be interested to hear if the megawave can catch NBC, please.

It worked the best for NBC when I was using it.

Okay, compare the EU continent to the USA continent - you still don't see anything close to 100 HD channels in the entire USA by 2010. And I suspect most of those 100 HD channels will be available in all areas of the EU by 2010 or soon after - its all one economic market now. Of course language barriers exist, but multilanguage broadcasting is no big deal with digital transmission. The fact is, to my reading of it anyway, US broadcasters have been dragging their feet on HDTV for years, and doing all they can to avoid using bandwidth for HD broadcasting. And we all know about the monopoly of cable in most cities in the US, which again gives no incentive to go HD. We keep reading about the phone companies getting into TV, but it never happens - they just promise it to get rate inceases in the guise of "free market competition" - I doubt if they will ever really do it on any large scale.

You keep beating up on the broadcasters. Although I much prefer HD and will watch it over even better SD programming, there simply isn't enough HD content by the folks who produce the programming. Anything produced more than a few years ago is SD and can't magically become so. It's somewhat of a multi edged sword... more content = more demand = more HD capable TVs = more broadcasts... = more investment for all of the foregoing so we can be happy. :)

you guys gettin a signal on digital NBC or CBS over the air? I am not getting anything right now, i can get abc still

I just checked. NBC digital is up. CBS digital is not. Don't know about analog.

Ok, they are back up now

Do we only have 2 networks currently broadcasting in HD?

NBC which I have lip sync issues with but at least the shows are in HD and FOX which seems to be flawless except when the Lotto numbers have to run at 8.

I understand what the deal is with ABC, and hopefully they will be back in HD tonight for Lost.

I assume the move to the new studios is why CBS is not HD any more, any indications of when they will be back in HD.

I also have lip sync issues with NBC. It gets so bad that I end up watching the analog channel. Can anything be done about this? Do the engineers even know??

Neon

I also have lip sync issues with NBC. It gets so bad that I end up watching the analog channel. Can anything be done about this? Do the engineers even know??

Neon

Some time back I spoke to an engineer at the local NBC station and he said the problems they have with audio are mainly the result of NBC using a different type of audio equipment than all the other broadcasters, and it does not work well. Why NBC does not switch to what everyone else is using is beyond me. Maybe if enough people complain to the FCC that could change?

I was disappointed last night to see WTXL not only not in HD but the SD PQ was really bad as well, very soft and poor colors. Giving us HD and then taking it away is a real bummer. I WANT MY HDTV!

I'll post results as soon as I pick this up and get it installed.With about an hour of fiddling with the Megawave, Im able to pick up CBS (WCTV) nicely (70s to 80s). If I reorient the antenna a bit, I can do the same for NBC (WTWC), but I lose CBS as a result. Nothing on ABC (WTXL).

Three questions:
* If signal strength is in the 70s, why does the picture sometimes fail to come in, or pixelate?
* Any idea why CBS displays HD content in 4:3?
* Would a signal booster help?

I bet if you continuously watched the strength indicator, you might see it dip and go back up again.

I found that not only rotating the antenna, but moving it sideways or back to front made a difference until I found the best 'sweet spot'.

I may also be somewhat a function of the digital signal as I still get dropouts probably every 10 to 15 minutes on my big antennas in the attic.

How long is the cable from the box to the antenna?

The shorter the better with few or no connectors between them seems to help. Even the orientation of the cable seemed to make a difference particularly if it comes in contact with power cables, transformers, etc.

I found a very good shielded cable (possibly the overpriced Monster brand) at Radio Shack I believe.

That antenna already has an amplifier on it so I'd be surprised if you'd get much better with an additional booster.

Keep us posted.

I bet if you continuously watched the strength indicator, you might see it dip and go back up again. I watched it for five to six minutes straight, and it never dipped below 70. The picture is stable for a few minutes, but definitely less than five or six.

I found that not only rotating the antenna, but moving it sideways or back to front made a difference until I found the best 'sweet spot'. I was quite the acrobat with arranging the antenna, even turning it on its head, propping it up, et cetera.

How long is the cable from the box to the antenna?

The shorter the better with few or no connectors between them seems to help. Even the orientation of the cable seemed to make a difference particularly if it comes in contact with power cables, transformers, etc.

I found a very good shielded cable (possibly the overpriced Monster brand) at Radio Shack I believe.Its a three foot cable, and touches only the wood cabinet the receiver is sitting in (and the antenna is sitting on). The cabinet is large enough to run higher than the 65" television, so the antenna is approximately 7'-8' off the ground; its also near a window, if that makes a difference.

Any other detail I can provide?

PBSEngineer:

Your friend Jack at WTXL owes us an explanation - they did not go HD last night (3/29/06) as predicted and I was not a happy camper watching "Lost" in SD. Now Alias is returning in 3 weeks with new episodes and I am wondering if they will be broadcasting HD even by then. Please ask Jack to do all he can on this issue, and if a bribe will help, please pay him whatever he asks (LOL). Thanks.

PBSEngineer:

Your friend Jack at WTXL owes us an explanation - they did not go HD last night (3/29/06) as predicted and I was not a happy camper watching "Lost" in SD. Now Alias is returning in 3 weeks with new episodes and I am wondering if they will be broadcasting HD even by then. Please ask Jack to do all he can on this issue, and if a bribe will help, please pay him whatever he asks (LOL). Thanks.

Jack and others were working out details of their new building yesterday. Today (3/30) Jack is out at the transmitter (hopefully) making it so we have HD tonight. He will be here through tomorrow. If he doesn't get it by then, the next shoot for date is 4/9 or so. I can't see the digital from here. Let's hope it arrives tonight.

What is the deal with CH6 - they keep heavily promoting HD and yet they have yet to do HD from their new place. The signal, SD that it is, looks great on 46 - I just want my HD back.

I've about given up on watching Fox local (via DirecTV). What a muddy looking
mess. Wish the sattelite company would get their act together and
fix this stuff. Or better yet give us HD feed from the locals.

Yeah. I'll hold my breath.

I know exactly what you mean, boondocks. There is just no reliability from DirecTV when it comes to the Tallahassee locals. I have just about given up on them also. I am longing for the day when all the area digital locals are at full power OTA. I will then drop the DirecTV feeds like the proverbial brick (maybe sooner).

Hey, WCTV! How about at least an explanation to the viewing public regarding the missing HD. College basketball semi-finals are Saturday with the championship game scheduled for Monday. jrcstudios, do you still frequent this board? FOXHD, can you fill us in? Thanks.

WCTV is sending there content to the old 27 tower by fiber to be microwaved to Metcalf. To send the full band with down the fiber they need a new unit from Harris, which has not arrived. JRC will probably not be around for a wile due to work getting the new building up and running. When I saw Jack today he was working on the HD had to leave before they got it up and running so I don't know if they got it. As for FOX we have ordered all the parts about 1mil. worth. We are just waiting for them to be made and shipped in so we can install.

Well today WTXL's digital signal still has no psip, but the resolution was recognized by my tv as being 1280x720p . Now i cannot tell if any real programs are in HD tonight because all of ABC's programs that are being shown are just SD programs anyways. One unique thing i did notice is that on 22-1, the channel that has the hd resolution feed, the picture is streatched to fit the entire screen. 22-2, is still the square image, shown at a resolution of 704x480i . There does seem to be more signal strength now, the station problem has completed thier upgrade going to 8700 watts and going higher up the tower.

MyNetworkTV Announces 30 New Affiliates (http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9671)

For those of you who do not have a free account to TVWeek.com, MyNetworkTV has been announced as coming to WCTV-DT (as well as sister station WSWG-TV) this Fall on their sub-channel. What this means for the CW, I don't know other than the fact that TVWeek.com didn't list WCTV-DT in when they said "The Gray stations in Panama City, Dothan and Meridian also are expected to serve as CW 100+ affiliates"

~Alan

MyNetworkTV Announces 30 New Affiliates (http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9671)

For those of you who do not have a free account to TVWeek.com, MyNetworkTV has been announced as coming to WCTV-DT (as well as sister station WSWG-TV) this Fall on their sub-channel. What this means for the CW, I don't know other than the fact that TVWeek.com didn't list WCTV-DT in when they said "The Gray stations in Panama City, Dothan and Meridian also are expected to serve as CW 100+ affiliates"

~Alan

Well, it sounds like WFXU, the WB affiliate will probably become the CW affiliate.

Well, it sounds like WFXU, the WB affiliate will probably become the CW affiliate.

It does sound that way, but after what I said in a previous post (this one (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7102637&&#post7102637) ), I have to wonder if WFXU will want to partner with the CW given that the CW isn't giving the affiliates much advertising space during Primetime, as well as seeking reverse compensation from their affiliates.

Oh well, it shouldn't be long now...

~Alan

With about an hour of fiddling with the Megawave, Im able to pick up CBS (WCTV) nicely (70s to 80s). If I reorient the antenna a bit, I can do the same for NBC (WTWC), but I lose CBS as a result. Nothing on ABC (WTXL).

Three questions:
* If signal strength is in the 70s, why does the picture sometimes fail to come in, or pixelate?
* Any idea why CBS displays HD content in 4:3?
* Would a signal booster help?

Thanks for the info. I was hoping for it to catch both NBC and CBS without having to fiddle with it.

WCTV is sending there content to the old 27 tower by fiber to be microwaved to Metcalf. To send the full band with down the fiber they need a new unit from Harris, which has not arrived. JRC will probably not be around for a wile due to work getting the new building up and running. When I saw Jack today he was working on the HD had to leave before they got it up and running so I don't know if they got it. As for FOX we have ordered all the parts about 1mil. worth. We are just waiting for them to be made and shipped in so we can install.

WCTV is now broadcasting in HD again. Tuned in the Florida/George Mason game to pleasantly discover this fact. They were not in HD last night. Picture is showing a bit of pixelation, however (maybe needs a little more bandwidth?). Good to have full powered HD back again for the sports weekend. Thanks, jrcstudios and crew.

I noticed that once the game began this evening, although I cant get a strong enough signal with the Megawave to watch it.

It breaks my heart to watch the poor quality of the DirecTV locals signal knowing a simple 10% increase in OTA signal strength would mean I could watch it in high definition. :)

WCTV is now broadcasting in HD again. Tuned in the Florida/George Mason game to pleasantly discover this fact. They were not in HD last night. Picture is showing a bit of pixelation, however (maybe needs a little more bandwidth?). Good to have full powered HD back again for the sports weekend. Thanks, jrcstudios and crew.

Mine shows in Comcast HD and I'm watching it in my 32" HDTV. Thanks for letting me know.

Well, it sounds like WFXU, the WB affiliate will probably become the CW affiliate.

So does this mean no HD for the CW channel? Does WFXU have any plans to go to HD in our lifetime?

So does this mean no HD for the CW channel? Does WFXU have any plans to go to HD in our lifetime?

At this time we will probably take WFXU HD at the last moment. If we do it.

Attention WCTV/jrcstudios: UPN sub-channel 6.2 has been displaying "flickering" type effects for several days now. Seems to be the worst when certain types of text are being shown. Does anyone monitor the video at WCTV for quality assurance? FOXHD, maybe you can call this to someone's attention. Thanks.

Well good, WCTV is doing HD again. The game last night looked super. --but-- still not 5.1 surround.

Sigh...

Well looks like this may be good news for ABC watchers. Just heard that they have purchased new a new antenna and feed-line for the digital. This will help even if they hook the old TX back to it until they can get the new one.

Well looks like this may be good news for ABC watchers. Just heard that they have purchased new a new antenna and feed-line for the digital. This will help even if they hook the old TX back to it until they can get the new one.

Does this mean we may get LOST in HD this week?

Does this mean we may get LOST in HD this week?

If the TX is not in HD now then no. The eng. will be back in town next week.

In case you didn't know, DirecTV gets their OTA data for their HD receivers (including the HD-TiVo) not from the PSIP information sent out by the local stations, but by guide date received by Tribune Media Services and then sent down via satellite to each subscriber's receiver. The same guide data that Tribune gives to DirecTV, they also use on their own programming guide website, called Zap2it.com, and if you'd notice on that website, they also don't list WTLH-DT info.

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

A few days ago, I was changing my "Favorites" channel list on my HD-TiVo so that I could have guide information for the Showtime free preview weekend, and noticed that guida data is now available for WTLH-DT via a DirecTV HD receiver.

It will be nice having it available once WTLH-DT starts broadcasting full-powered... now if only WTXL-DT (27-2 subchannel guide information not available), WTWC-DT (40-2 subchannel guide information not available), then Tallahassee will be taken care of...

Of course, I'd still love to have "Guide Data" available for the sub-channel on my local NBC affiliate (WALB-DT 10-2), or "Guide Data" for WSWG-DT (none currently available) and WSST-DT (none currently available).

~Alan

If the TX is not in HD now then no. The eng. will be back in town next week.

Can you get us a firm date for WTXL to go HD? "Alias" is returning for its series ending episodes shortly, and the thought of closing out that great show in SD is making me nauseous.

Also, do you have a local phone number to call to speak to someone at WTXL? Last time I tried the numbers in the phone book no one answered.

Can you get us a firm date for WTXL to go HD? "Alias" is returning for its series ending episodes shortly, and the thought of closing out that great show in SD is making me nauseous.

Also, do you have a local phone number to call to speak to someone at WTXL? Last time I tried the numbers in the phone book no one answered.


No I can't give you a date. I have just a little more info on what they are doing than you do, but only enough to make a guess. The main number should work when they were making the move Sprint dropped the ball and disconnected the lines with out moving them to the new location. All should be working now.

Anyone watching Thief on FX? Besides the fact that it irritates me that all of FX's new shows are filmed in HD, but they haven't started and HD broadbcast just yet, I have horendous sound issues.
Whenever I watch the channel through Comcast I get audio feedback, crackling, sudden changes in volume, etc.
And of course like all of Comcasts non-HD channels, the picture is terrible. I'm mainly concerned about the audio. Does anyone else experience this?

No I can't give you a date. I have just a little more info on what they are doing than you do, but only enough to make a guess. The main number should work when they were making the move Sprint dropped the ball and disconnected the lines with out moving them to the new location. All should be working now.

Today I spoke with their new manager, Ms. Kim Urbuteit (?), who said they may not be able to go to HD until they get into their new facility in SIX MONTHS! Arrrrgh!!!!

Today I spoke with their new manager, Ms. Kim Urbuteit (?), who said they may not be able to go to HD until they get into their new facility in SIX MONTHS! Arrrrgh!!!!

Cliff Notes: So the ABC HD antenna screwed up and they took it offline, it might not get fixed, so we might not get HD back until they are in their new facility in 6 months.

Did I get that right?

Today I spoke with their new manager, Ms. Kim Urbuteit (correct sp), who said they may not be able to go to HD until they get into their new facility in SIX MONTHS! Arrrrgh!!!!

She is right down the hall and I just spoke to Kim. This is not what she said.
The real deal: They just got a tube back from the rebuilder to put the analog 27 back up to full power (Sinclair really let the station go to pieces)
Jack, however, has his hands full - his station in Sarasota burnt up the transmission line at their tower. SO, he is having Chris Hall install the tube AND while here give an estimate for time and cost to make the HD happen. Current estimate is a week or two at the most.
Kim will let me know and I will tell the forum just as soon as we can pin it down further.

Cliff Notes: So the ABC HD antenna screwed up and they took it offline, it might not get fixed, so we might not get HD back until they are in their new facility in 6 months.

Did I get that right?
No. Antenna problems at their station in Sarasota. HD here should happen (see post above)
New antenna/feed line have been ordered for ABC HD here to increase power/coverage. (no clear date on install time for this)

She is right down the hall and I just spoke to Kim. This is not what she said.
The real deal: They just got a tube back from the rebuilder to put the analog 27 back up to full power (Sinclair really let the station go to pieces)
Jack, however, has his hands full - his station in Sarasota burnt up the transmission line at their tower. SO, he is having Chris Hall install the tube AND while here give an estimate for time and cost to make the HD happen. Current estimate is a week or two at the most.
Kim will let me know and I will tell the forum just as soon as we can pin it down further.

The six months is EXACTLY what she told me, so now she is changing her story. I have no reason to lie about this. The lady was not very forthcoming and seemed dismissive, so maybe she was just trying to get rid of me, but she said six months and that is that. I hope her lack of candor is not indicative of new management at WTXL. If they do go HD in a week (heard that before didn't we) then great, I hope its true. BTW, next time you talk to her, tell her she needs to work on her public relations skills.

Ok here is some info. CHall and I are to work on the satellite feed to the HD rack there is a problem in the feed line and we have been asked to look into it. If CHall and I can get there this weekend we should be able to fix it or at least get the parts on the way. The tx has a part other than the tube that was bad, it is on its way to us to be installed this will put the analog back to 100% output. As for the new antenna they have ordered a new antenna and feed line it will be installed after the project my company has going in Gainesville Fl. by the same crew so I will be able to give a heads up when they head this way.

Thanks for the info, there are quite a few of us out here lurking who dont post much.

Thanks for the info, guys.

Ok here is some info. CHall and I are to work on the satellite feed to the HD rack there is a problem in the feed line and we have been asked to look into it. If CHall and I can get there this weekend we should be able to fix it or at least get the parts on the way. The tx has a part other than the tube that was bad, it is on its way to us to be installed this will put the analog back to 100% output. As for the new antenna they have ordered a new antenna and feed line it will be installed after the project my company has going in Gainesville Fl. by the same crew so I will be able to give a heads up when they head this way.

I am confused - are you referring to WTXL or WTLH? I assume from your name you are a FOX engineer? Are you also working with WTXL?

BTW, WTXL was in very low quality analog last night and this morning (Thursday) was almost unwatchable due to sever interference from something. Also, their sound quality is bad, as if they are using a mono feed instead of stereo, or the decoder is not working properlty.

I am confused - are you referring to WTXL or WTLH? I assume from your name you are a FOX engineer? Are you also working with WTXL?

BTW, WTXL was in very low quality analog last night and this morning (Thursday) was almost unwatchable due to sever interference from something. Also, their sound quality is bad, as if they are using a mono feed instead of stereo, or the decoder is not working properlty.


My main job is with WTLH. I also do contract work for others through Reel Audio Broadcast Solutions. The audio may need to be reset stereo dropped out. The group I hang out with has something to do with all television stations and radio stations in the market, and if we are not directly in it we usually know what is going on......:)

My main job is with WTLH. I also do contract work for others through Reel Audio Broadcast Solutions. The audio may need to be reset stereo dropped out. The group I hang out with has something to do with all television stations and radio stations in the market, and if we are not directly in it we usually know what is going on......:)

So what is going on with WTXL? Are they likely to resume HD shortly?

BTW, I went hom at lunch and checked WTXL on Comcast, and video had improved to where it was watchable, but audio was suffering from frequent and repeated dropouts. Maybe you can advise them to check on that?

So what is going on with WTXL? Are they likely to resume HD shortly?

BTW, I went hom at lunch and checked WTXL on Comcast, and video had improved to where it was watchable, but audio was suffering from frequent and repeated dropouts. Maybe you can advise them to check on that?

At this point if Chall and I can fix the lines then they will have HD. We are taking bribes at this point to move it up the list.

Comcast takes the feed off the satellite not of the TX I will call Comcast and ask what is up when I can.

Hey guys. I'm new here to the forums,but I would like to say this is the best site I've been to about high def ota info in the south ga./ n. fla area. I am located in Valdosta, GA. I am thinking of purchasing a new digital t.v. w/ the atsc tuner built in. How will my picture quality be for standard def digital programming out of tallahassee. I currently have direc tv w/ tallahassee locals and the pq is so compressed its almost unwatchable. Is it in my best interest to get ota digital instead of satellite?

At this point if Chall and I can fix the lines then they will have HD. We are taking bribes at this point to move it up the list.


Would Dinner, Beer, Wine or maybe a combo help? The beer and Wine would have to come after it was fixed. :)

Would Dinner, Beer, Wine or maybe a combo help? The beer and Wine would have to come after it was fixed. :)

Don't drink :)

At this point if Chall and I can fix the lines then they will have HD. We are taking bribes at this point to move it up the list.

Comcast takes the feed off the satellite not of the TX I will call Comcast and ask what is up when I can.

Consider yourself bribed - the check is in the mail (LOL). Seriously, the audio dropouts have stopped, but sound is in the left channel only of my surround system, which usually means the signal is mono or not properly decoding stereo. Please check that when you can. Thanks much.

rew72, as it stands right now, from your location you will probably only be able to receive two Tallahassee stations in digital format. Those stations would be CBS-WCTV (6 analog/46 digital) and NBC-WTWC (40 analog/2 digital). WCTV digital maps to 6.1 (CBS-SD and HD) and 6.2 (UPN-SD only) while WTWC digital maps to 40.1 (NBC-SD and HD) and 40.2 (NBC-SD only). Both feeds are MUCH BETTER than the crummy DirecTV feeds. WCTV has a good strong signal while WTWC drops out pretty often over here (presumably due to broadcasting on somewhat unreliable VHF channel 2). The ABC and FOX stations are currently at very low power and are in the process of upgrading. You can check previous posts to find out related news that I have not addressed. The digital era is here, but it is very slow in coming to fruition in this area. Good luck and welcome to the forums.

rew72, Welcome I live in Adel and got an HDTV last year and got the antenna and digital tuner last summer. WCTV 6.1 and 6.2 are very strong and you might be able to get WSWG 44 UPN out of (Moultrie/Albany) really the tower is just outside of Adel. I can't get WTWC they tell me I should be able too but currently I cannot, I am changing tuners next week and we will see. I have Dish Network and am changing receivers. According to WALB they will be full power in July and ABC and FOX out of Tally is supposed to be also in the summer. By the way I have a rooftop antenna dish plate looking which is multi-directional and stationary, it has a small amp. But I actually can get WCTV with indoor rabbit ears. Being that is the case I don't know why WTWC used a VHF channel.

30 minutes into the masters and no hd feed this morning. No one will answer the phone at wctv either :(

OK, went back and found the direct # to master control, 1-800-798-2510 Ext. 206.
Called and talked to someone, who seemed quite confused about switching USA to their H-def feed. Something they accomplished Thurs and Fri. :mad:

WCTV broadcasting HD as of around 2:30 p.m. WCTV remains "bush league". New studio, new equiptment, same old incompetent technicians.

My main job is with WTLH. I also do contract work for others through Reel Audio Broadcast Solutions. The audio may need to be reset stereo dropped out. The group I hang out with has something to do with all television stations and radio stations in the market, and if we are not directly in it we usually know what is going on......:)

New to the site. Great to finally find some info on HDTV around here. I
have had a 62" Mitsubishi HDTV for 2 years. I get local WCTV and WTXL and
the Tallahassee PBS stations on CNS cable (when the stations are working
properly). But, I have an in-set tuner that also picks up WTWC off air.
The cable does not carry them now--something about a dispute with WALB and
the rights to carry which station, I think. What do you know about that?
Also, I cannot get the FOX affiliate off air. I have an in attic antenna,
with booster. It is pointed generally South and gets the other channels
fairly well most of the time. Should I be able to get FOX, and what
direction from Cairo?

You won't get WTLH right now. It is extremely low power from a tower in Bainbridge. This keeps them legal right now, as Bainbridge is their city of license. Their engineer, who frequents this site has indicated they should be on from their analog site (near WCTV, WTXL, and WTWC) later this year. If you can pick up the others, you should get them once they are on full power.

I'm in Bainbridge, and you're not missing anything. It's just a rebroadcast of the analog signal as received from Bainbridge.

Also, I don't see how WALB could prevent your cable company from carrying WTWC's HD signal. Cairo is in the Tallahassee market. WALB should be entitled to carriage as it is significantly viewed. It's certainly possible that WTWC is holding out for some compenation from the cable providers.

It's certainly possible that WTWC is holding out for some compenation from the cable providers.

That would be correct. Sinclare at there best. WALB also wants money from the cable systems for subs. This is a trend you will see more and more as broadcasters get sick of cable's systems treatment towards them. They make money off you for a feed they get for free. Just for our tx we give Grady EMC 17,000 per month.

April 9 arrives and the WTXL saga continues - still no HD, and audio on the analog channel is still mono (and too loud). Sound on the digital channel on Comcast at least seems to be stereo 2.0 again. WTLHFOXHD - can you give us some answers, and more importantly some hope - that we will ever again see ABC in HD in our lifetime?

This is so frustrating since just a few months back we actually had four local networks all broadcasting prime time shows in HD. We currently have ONE full time (NBC) with CBS and FOX off again on again. ABC (WTXL) remains dazed and confused with no end in sight to their love affair with SD. Why are we going backwards? What is causing so much problem maintaining HD broadcasting? Why do the broadcasting gods punish us like this? Why oh why?

April 9 arrives and the WTXL saga continues - still no HD, and audio on the analog channel is still mono (and too loud). Sound on the digital channel on Comcast at least seems to be stereo 2.0 again. WTLHFOXHD - can you give us some answers, and more importantly some hope - that we will ever again see ABC in HD in our lifetime?

This is so frustrating since just a few months back we actually had four local networks all broadcasting prime time shows in HD. We currently have ONE full time (NBC) with CBS and FOX off again on again. ABC (WTXL) remains dazed and confused with no end in sight to their love affair with SD. Why are we going backwards? What is causing so much problem maintaining HD broadcasting? Why do the broadcasting gods punish us like this? Why oh why?

I agree the WTXL thing is getting old. I understood their issues but it is to the point now that I think they could care less about their HD viewers, typical Tallahassee attitude. Lucky for me I only watch 2 shows on ABC. It sucks watching Lost in SD and last week the picture looked like I was using rabbit ears to receive the signal.

All the HD channels have an occasional hiccup but for the most part Fox, NBC, and CBS(except there studio move, which was remedied pretty quick IMO) have been pretty consistent.

WTLHFOXHD, I have a question for you regarding the 8pm shows on your station. Is there anyway the Lotto numbers can be ran over of the HD broadcast? Everytime I watch one of the 8pm show they start in HD goto SD for the lotto and back to HD but in the time it is switching the sound is out for a few seconds, which can be frustrating at times. Other than that keep up the good work.

I agree the WTXL thing is getting old. I understood their issues but it is to the point now that I think they could care less about their HD viewers, typical Tallahassee attitude. Lucky for me I only watch 2 shows on ABC. It sucks watching Lost in SD and last week the picture looked like I was using rabbit ears to receive the signal.

All the HD channels have an occasional hiccup but for the most part Fox, NBC, and CBS(except there studio move, which was remedied pretty quick IMO) have been pretty consistent.

WTLHFOXHD, I have a question for you regarding the 8pm shows on your station. Is there anyway the Lotto numbers can be ran over of the HD broadcast? Everytime I watch one of the 8pm show they start in HD goto SD for the lotto and back to HD but in the time it is switching the sound is out for a few seconds, which can be frustrating at times. Other than that keep up the good work.

CBS has been SD-only for several nights now, and FOX is not always in HD either. I too am irritated by the lotto numbers requiring SD at the start of programs, but I suspect they don't have the right equipment to do that in HD. Which raises the question of why they have to do it at all?.

CBS has been SD-only for several nights now, and FOX is not always in HD either. I too am irritated by the lotto numbers requiring SD at the start of programs, but I suspect they don't have the right equipment to do that in HD. Which raises the question of why they have to do it at all?.

At least the shows I seem to watch on these stations show up in HD. I know CSI was in HD Thursday. I have not watched Ghost Whisperer yet though.

Fox does the lotto numbers because they essentially won the rights to do so, they were on NBC last yeat this year Fox is the local that is showing them.

April 9 arrives and the WTXL saga continues - still no HD, and audio on the analog channel is still mono (and too loud). Sound on the digital channel on Comcast at least seems to be stereo 2.0 again. WTLHFOXHD - can you give us some answers, and more importantly some hope - that we will ever again see ABC in HD in our lifetime?

This is so frustrating since just a few months back we actually had four local networks all broadcasting prime time shows in HD. We currently have ONE full time (NBC) with CBS and FOX off again on again. ABC (WTXL) remains dazed and confused with no end in sight to their love affair with SD. Why are we going backwards? What is causing so much problem maintaining HD broadcasting? Why do the broadcasting gods punish us like this? Why oh why?

Fox what has happen to the feed to Comcast?

I agree the WTXL thing is getting old. I understood their issues but it is to the point now that I think they could care less about their HD viewers, typical Tallahassee attitude. Lucky for me I only watch 2 shows on ABC. It sucks watching Lost in SD and last week the picture looked like I was using rabbit ears to receive the signal.

All the HD channels have an occasional hiccup but for the most part Fox, NBC, and CBS(except there studio move, which was remedied pretty quick IMO) have been pretty consistent.

WTLHFOXHD, I have a question for you regarding the 8pm shows on your station. Is there anyway the Lotto numbers can be ran over of the HD broadcast? Everytime I watch one of the 8pm show they start in HD goto SD for the lotto and back to HD but in the time it is switching the sound is out for a few seconds, which can be frustrating at times. Other than that keep up the good work.

Nope we will not be getting the equipment to do it for a wile so we will be going to fake hd to crawl the numbers.

CBS has been SD-only for several nights now, and FOX is not always in HD either. I too am irritated by the lotto numbers requiring SD at the start of programs, but I suspect they don't have the right equipment to do that in HD. Which raises the question of why they have to do it at all?.

We have a deal to do the lottery they want the numbers ran so we will. All of our costs have doubled for hd with no other methods to generate revenue from it. It's just tv......

Hi all,

I haven't posted in awhile. I've been enjoying my new tv in the bedroom.

I'm sick of waiting for mediacom to get a clue, and tired of minimal HD from CBS and NBC. I've even grown tired of watching mole rats bumb uglies on PBS in HD....

So now I've decided to go HD via Dish Network, Direct TV or Mediacom.

Which would you choose? Remember mediacom only offers CBS and PBS in HD.
Their premium lineup of HD consists of ESPN1, HBO (1channel), Showtime (1channel), Discovery, and HDnet.

Dish Network now has most of the Voom HD channels so they now probably have more HD than any others. (I'm getting the new 622 Mpeg4 receiver and second dish hooked up later this week=). Unlikely that we'll get any network HD feeds via them in the near future though.

At least the shows I seem to watch on these stations show up in HD. I know CSI was in HD Thursday. I have not watched Ghost Whisperer yet though.

Fox does the lotto numbers because they essentially won the rights to do so, they were on NBC last yeat this year Fox is the local that is showing them.

Both Ghost Whisperer and Close to Home were SD last Friday night, as was everything on WTXL through Monday night. So maybe the six month wait prediction for HD on WTXL may be closer to the truth after all?

Both Ghost Whisperer and Close to Home were SD last Friday night, as was everything on WTXL through Monday night. So maybe the six month wait prediction for HD on WTXL may be closer to the truth after all?

I watched Ghost Whisperer last night and was disappointed to see SD. Last nights CBS shows were in HD :) .

I agree the 6 month timeframe for WTXL is looking likely :mad: , but I can dream we will be able to watch Lost Season 3 in HD. I guess there was nothing we can do though.

I watched Ghost Whisperer last night and was disappointed to see SD. Last nights CBS shows were in HD :) .

I agree the 6 month timeframe for WTXL is looking likely :mad: , but I can dream we will be able to watch Lost Season 3 in HD. I guess there was nothing we can do though.

I still hold out hope that WTXL will not take six months, especially with Alias coming back for its last few episodes, not to mention the college football season would be under way by then.

Hello, all. Great info, here.

First, assuming word will get to them, until ABC is back HD I only watch 3 shows on ABC, and do not (will not) watch the news, etc. Not because I don't like the local or national news team, but because the picture is so bad. If there are 2 shows equally good (or bad :) ) I will watch the one with the better pic, of course.

Second, I am in SummerBrooke (north of town). While I am currently on Comcast I am considering getting a dish and getting local channels via OTA. What local HD should I be able to pull in and with what antenna? I really don't want some huge thing which could pull in Panama City, etc.

Hello, all. Great info, here.

First, assuming word will get to them, until ABC is back HD I only watch 3 shows on ABC, and do not (will not) watch the news, etc. Not because I don't like the local or national news team, but because the picture is so bad. If there are 2 shows equally good (or bad :) ) I will watch the one with the better pic, of course.

Second, I am in SummerBrooke (north of town). While I am currently on Comcast I am considering getting a dish and getting local channels via OTA. What local HD should I be able to pull in and with what antenna? I really don't want some huge thing which could pull in Panama City, etc.

Hello there.
Well, I am not too far from you (Rosehill) and had been miserable with in-door antenna here.
I could only pull in CBS HD and PBS. No NBC HD at all.
I had attempted for outdoor antenna but not a handy man type to do it myself, and it's not justify enough to have it installed (quoted $200.00 but no guarantee if any additional channel - NBC HD).
You are a bit closer to tower, maybe better luck.
I have DirecTV but only could get FOX to grant waiver to receive Feed of NY affiliate.
:-)

PBSEngineer and WTLHFOXHD:

Can either of you provide any more clues or encouragement as to when WTXL will be able to broadcast in HD?

I just had had DirecTV install my OTA antenna. It didn't do anything. What antenna would anyone recommend? I live just inside Cap Circle on the south side.

Did you do a search for local channels in the menu. I'm in Valdosta and get WCTV (6.1) and UPN (6.2) with a inside antenna.

Yes, I can't get anything but WCTV and it get pixilated every ten seconds or so. Everything else is a gray screen.

Attention WCTV/jrcstudios: UPN sub-channel 6.2 has been displaying "flickering" type effects for several days now. Seems to be the worst when certain types of text are being shown. Does anyone monitor the video at WCTV for quality assurance? FOXHD, maybe you can call this to someone's attention. Thanks.

Even though there was no response to this earlier post, this problem still remains. It is also showing up on WCTV analog 6 as well as digital 6.1. ( I have noticed it seems to show up mostly on syndicated pre-taped shows, such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy tonight.) I do not see this effect on Eyewitness News or regular CBS or UPN feeds. This leads me to believe it could have something to do with tape or hard drive playback. Perhaps it has been recorded off of the satellite feed with distortions in either the feed or the equipment? I do not believe it is in my receiver or tv as I do not see this effect on NBC 40.1 or 40.2. Engineer contibutors, please pass this info along to WCTV engineering. Thank you.

Are all of Tallahassee's stations FUBAR, or is it just me? I listen to WCTV on my car radio going to work every morning. Some segments are really low in volume, some -like commercials!- are amazingly higher, and the weather broadcast by RN are barely audible. (since their move)
Fox -as received via Directv- is just a muddy, dark, predominately green video mess- and the same screwed up audio.
Folks, I'm not watching/listening to this stuff on a pocket tv/ 2cm speakers.
I thought I was overly sensitive, as I'm an audio buff.
When my wife starts complaining, I know major problems exist.
I understand that virtually every station up there is going through growing pains, but for the love of everything, can't SOMEONE get it right?
/rant mode off/
boondocks
Oh, and just to keep it on topic, WCTV's 6.1 network HD broadcasts, for the most part, are looking super. Good work, but fix that darned audio from the studio!

Are all of Tallahassee's stations FUBAR, or is it just me? I listen to WCTV on my car radio going to work every morning. Some segments are really low in volume, some -like commercials!- are amazingly higher, and the weather broadcast by RN are barely audible. (since their move)
Fox -as received via Directv- is just a muddy, dark, predominately green video mess- and the same screwed up audio.
Folks, I'm not watching/listening to this stuff on a pocket tv/ 2cm speakers.
I thought I was overly sensitive, as I'm an audio buff.
When my wife starts complaining, I know major problems exist.
I understand that virtually every station up there is going through growing pains, but for the love of everything, can't SOMEONE get it right?
/rant mode off/
boondocks
Oh, and just to keep it on topic, WCTV's 6.1 network HD broadcasts, for the most part, are looking super. Good work, but fix that darned audio from the studio!

If you think it's bad now just wait until we get started with our digital build-out. All will be fine, it is going to take time. I feel that I can speak for the other Engineers on this we are working way too many hours and we can only get so much done, but we are working for the perfect signal/picture.

Commedy of errors here in TLH. I tried HD OTA about 4 months ago and gave up. I ended up with comcast and it has been good so far. Glad to see I am no longer battling the signal loss war that everyone here is still going through. I check the forum every now and then to see if anything has changed and so far it has not. It looks to me like everyone will have a better chance of getting HD locals with Dish or DirectTV before OTA actually becomes reliable in town. DirectTV told me 6 months(translation 2 years)they will have new satilites up and local HD everywhere. I will stick with comcast until then.

This is just stupid. Well, I'm going to fight the waiver wars I think. From what I understand after the end of April the stations can't use the SD standards to say that is the reason for denying you if you are trying to get SD waivers. I'm sick of all of this. Basically it comes down to stupid laws based on deep pocket politics.

If you think it's bad now just wait until we get started with our digital build-out. All will be fine, it is going to take time. I feel that I can speak for the other Engineers on this we are working way too many hours and we can only get so much done, but we are working for the perfect signal/picture.

So when is the perfect s/p scheduled to arrive? Are you just speaking for FOX? Aren't you also helping out with ABC-WTXL?

Hey everyone. I'm new to the forum and just wanted to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and keeping us in the loop.

Like most people here, I'm starting to get a little annoyed with the WTXL thing. They can atone for this mess if they get the HD up and running by the NBA Finals.

One thing that has always bothered me, and maybe someone here knows more about this, is how slow Comcast has been with adding cable HD stations. I wasn't really angry about it until the Olympics where Comcast was nice enough to add UniversalHD so that I could watch the hockey games in HD and then just took it away a few days after the Olympics. So it seems they can add cable HD stations whenever they feel like it. It would be nice to have ESPN2 and UniversalHD (and maybe TBS?).

Keep the WTXL updates coming!

It's too late for me to do Comcast, but I like DirecTV. I wish they would get TBS HD so I could see SOME of the Braves in HD. But right now, I just want my locals in HD. :mad:

Braves will be on ESPN this Sunday night in HD

It's too late for me to do Comcast, but I like DirecTV. I wish they would get TBS HD so I could see SOME of the Braves in HD. But right now, I just want my locals in HD. :mad:

I don't think TBS does HD at all right now. I could be wrong.

TNT does HD on Comcast - and very badly. They stretch everything, even programs that should be in HD are shown 4:3 and stretched(?). For example they show repeats of Smallville and Charmed, both of which were originally produced in HD, but for some strange reason TNT stretches the 4:3 version. Go figure.

TNT does HD on Comcast - and very badly. They stretch everything, even programs that should be in HD are shown 4:3 and stretched(?). For example they show repeats of Smallville and Charmed, both of which were originally produced in HD, but for some strange reason TNT stretches the 4:3 version. Go figure.

This is all very true, but TBS carries the Braves and they don't do HD

I don't think TBS does HD at all right now. I could be wrong.


If you live in Atlanta they are an HD station. All of the home games are broadcast in HD.

Last nights ESPN game of the Braves vs. Mets was awesome except for losing. :(

If you live in Atlanta they are an HD station. All of the home games are broadcast in HD.

Last nights ESPN game of the Braves vs. Mets was awesome except for losing. :(

Are there any cable or sat companies outside of Atlanta that carry an HD signal for TBS? It would be fun to watch the Braves lose in HD. :)

Are there any cable or sat companies outside of Atlanta that carry an HD signal for TBS? It would be fun to watch the Braves lose in HD. :)

I believe there is a cable system in North Alabama I read about that carries the Braves games in HD. (Neither Dish or DirecTV offer WTBS in HD for anyone at this time).

I believe this has been gone over before, but like FSUScotsman said, if you live in Atlanta, WTBS (the local TBS, which has local commercials, unlike the national TBS) airs Braves games in HD (no other programming is broadcasted in HD), and the cable companies carry these HD games on a part-time channel with a seperate identity (I'm blanking on the name), but not the full time WTBS-HD feed.

~Alan

My lady friend is from Anderson, SC. She says that the Greenville station there carries the Braves in HD. I'm sure that there are others. My impression was that was how DirecTV Extra Innings got their Braves HD feed.

And here we sit not even being able to get a station 15 miles away!!!! :mad:

My lady friend is from Anderson, SC. She says that the Greenville station there carries the Braves in HD. I'm sure that there are others. My impression was that was how DirecTV Extra Innings got their Braves HD feed.

And here we sit not even being able to get a station 15 miles away!!!! :mad:

I wasn't aware that DirecTV carried the Braves games in HD (unless the Braves played on ESPN-HD, YES-HD, or on FOX), but I'm assuming you must not live in Tallahassee since I live closer to Atlanta than someone in Tallahassee, and it's more than 15 miles away...

~Alan

Yet.
Rumor has it that later in the year it would be.
I have EI and have not seen any yet and I doubt if D* has bandwith to carry in HD until they go with the new Mpeg-4.
D* website schedule shows a column for HD channel and had no games on it yet.

Am I the only one that was PO'd by WTXL repeatedly breaking into the long-awaited "Alias" broadcast Wednesday to tell us the sky is falling (not), or rather to tell us that a few thunderstorms were in the area (mostly in Georgia, BTW)! Seriously, it's not like there were reports of tornados, or a hurricane coming. And they interrupted at the worst possible times, the last 30 seconds before a commercial break and the first 30 seconds coming out of a break. Hello, this is a drama series, folks, where critical events always take place just before the break and/or coming out of break. And why not just scroll some text across the bottom of the screen so we don't miss important moments of this top-rated show? Does Nancy Dingdong need to get her face on screen so badly? If this is an example of the new management at WTXL then they are a sorry lot IMO.

My LIFE is worth more than "Alias"!!! Thanks to Nancy and WTXL for keeping those of us in south Georgia informed. BTY, if the storms had hit your area and they did not cut in would you be PO'd? Also talk to the FCC about public service. Hope you have a better day.

Does Nancy Dingdong need to get her face on screen so badly? If this is an example of the new management at WTXL then they are a sorry lot IMO.


She interrupted the begging of Invasion too. I am glad we have WCTV for new and weather, because WTXL has always seemed second rate too me. I actually miss the WTWC news that was my favorite, Jim Taylor was a great sports guy.

My LIFE is worth more than "Alias"!!! Thanks to Nancy and WTXL for keeping those of us in south Georgia informed. BTY, if the storms had hit your area and they did not cut in would you be PO'd? Also talk to the FCC about public service. Hope you have a better day.

No offense, but if you think those were life-threatening storms then you may want to live in a bunker. That was nothing more than run-of-the mill spring TS that any southerner should be used to without hiding under the bed. As I said, if there was a tornado alert that would have been a different matter.

I did call and speak with station manager Mike Plummer and we had a nice discussion. He explained that in their current state they do not have text-scrolling capability so their only option was to break into the program. I suspected that might be the case. He took my complaint with good humor and I found him so much easier to talk to than the new General Manager Kim Urbetite. Unfortunately he could not give me any good news about their HD brodcasting, and would not commit to any anticipated date. They are just now going to closing on their new property so building the new all-digital station will probably take at least six months.

I was at the FSU baseball game last night and while the lightning was bright it wasn't any big deal. Six months will be a miracle for them to be ready.

What OTA is Everyone using? I just inside the Circle on the Southside and the DTV OTA was worthless.

While i am at the opposite side of the area and much closer ot the towers, I also had no luck with the Direct TV OTA antenna. I went and purchased a Turk model, and it was not much better. I then went to a regular HD outdoor antenna on a pole mount and had very good reception. But I have noticed one thing. I have the Directv HD DVR (Tivo) Receiver, and I do believe it is a lo t of the problem. I split my signal from the antenna with one feed going to the HD receiver, and one feed going directly to my Samsung DLP HD TV.

I have better reception with the connection direct ot my TV, with no audio drop outs.

When I brought this up to DirecTV I was told that their equipment works differently with different antennas, and it was more likely a compatibility issue with the antenna than a problem with my receiver. I sincerely doubt this.

More often than not, I switch to the direct connection whenever the OTA through the HD Tivo Receiver starts acting up. Which is fairly common. While i miss the Tivo ability, I prefer to see and hear the entire program I am watching.

It was an expensive solution, but I felt it was worthwhile to have the HD Local channels perform properly untill DirecTV offers the locals in HD through the sattalite rather than through a kludge OTA connection feed through their receiver.

All I knwo is when DirectTV does offer trhe local in HD with their new MPEG4 boxes, they better either give it to me free or at a very cheap exhange price, because they definitely oversold the capabilities of this HD Tivo Receiver.

Both of you mentioned: "Directv OTA antenna "

How did you get them ? I have called D* so many times asking for it and every time I was told they didn't do it.

I just need to have it hook up and then LINED the lines. I can replace the antenna itself, just not able to wire the lines into the house.

Both of you mentioned: "Directv OTA antenna "

How did you get them ? I have called D* so many times asking for it and every time I was told they didn't do it.

Both Dish Network and DirecTV sell antennas with HD receivers (for an additional $50 or so)... but they usally use a cheaper antenna than one needed in places like Tallahassee... and is why I didn't bother with them and went out and bought and installed my own antenna (Channel Master 4228) and can receive WALB-DT, WFXL-DT, WSST-DT, and WCTV-DT full-time. I can also receive more analog channels than anybody I know with an antenna.

It's not a good deal...

~Alan

But I have noticed one thing. I have the Directv HD DVR (Tivo) Receiver, and I do believe it is a lo t of the problem. I split my signal from the antenna with one feed going to the HD receiver, and one feed going directly to my Samsung DLP HD TV.

While my HD-TiVo has a few issues, coupled with my Channel Master 4228 antenna, I have fairly reliable results compared to my old Hughes HTL-HD receiver.

When I brought this up to DirecTV I was told that their equipment works differently with different antennas, and it was more likely a compatibility issue with the antenna than a problem with my receiver. I sincerely doubt this.

As do I, though you mentioned the DirecTV and the Terk antennas which are both very sub-par antennas.

All I knwo is when DirectTV does offer trhe local in HD with their new MPEG4 boxes, they better either give it to me free or at a very cheap exhange price, because they definitely oversold the capabilities of this HD Tivo Receiver.

If you think DirecTV oversold the capabilities of the HD-TiVo, wait until you try the DVR replacing it. The SD version of the new HD-DVR is very buggy... and while it's getting better, has a bad habit of not recording things it's supposed to, and so on...

~Alan

I just switched to the new DishNetwork ViP622 (mpeg-4) HD DVR from a 921 HD DVR.

I found a significant increase in the ability to capture and hold the OTA signals with the same antenna setup (described earlier in this tread). The 921 wouldn't even see WFSU-Digital or WTXL-Digital. The new one locks even better on WCTV-D and WTWC-D, locks pretty well on WTXL-D and picks up WFSU-D (but it drops out quite a bit most likely because it is 'behind' the antennas).

Clearly, the OTA receivers build into these boxes are not all created equal.

What's more, I'm up to 20+ HD channels with the Voom pack :)

I just switched to the new DishNetwork ViP622 (mpeg-4) HD DVR from a 921 HD DVR.

I found a significant increase in the ability to capture and hold the OTA signals with the same antenna setup (described earlier in this tread). The 921 wouldn't even see WFSU-Digital or WTXL-Digital. The new one locks even better on WCTV-D and WTWC-D, locks pretty well on WTXL-D and picks up WFSU-D (but it drops out quite a bit most likely because it is 'behind' the antennas).

Clearly, the OTA receivers build into these boxes are not all created equal.

What's more, I'm up to 20+ HD channels with the Voom pack :)

I thought Voom was out of business!?

The Voom Sat service went out of business, but E* picked up most of the programming.

Lots more info here: www.dbstalk.com

Both of you mentioned: "Directv OTA antenna "

How did you get them ? I have called D* so many times asking for it and every time I was told they didn't do it.

I just need to have it hook up and then LINED the lines. I can replace the antenna itself, just not able to wire the lines into the house.

I got them to wire my house this way. I wanted HD. Of course you have to have the receivers. But I told them I can't get the locals here. They told me as an incentive they would put in the wiring. Now be aware, this doesn't include "extra" things such as wall fishing, but once they are there it doesn't cost much. AND if you have a good tech, they know how to use the existing CABLE wiring and re-route it!!! That is what I did for one room and the other room just needed a few extra feet. When D*'s puny little OTA didn't work, AFTER one tech had told them it would, I told them it wouldn't and then another tech YET AGAIN told them it wouldn't work, but they insisted that it be tried, it didn't work. They agreed to put up any antenna I bought for free once I bought it. All I have to do now is buy the thing. I'm going to get a pre-amp while I'm at it. I think I get get by for about $110. I'm not going to get a rotor and hope for the best.

I have read that the H20 has a much better OTA recever than the HD Tivo. Rumor is still rampant that the new MPEG4 Tivo will be out "soon". I'm hearing September now. I think we will be lucky if we get it by January. We will get it though. If D* doesn't get off the stick they will see E* continue to erode their lead in the market.

One last suggestion. Call customer retention. YES they DO put up their own HD OTA antennas!!! :rolleyes:

I got them to wire my house this way. I wanted HD. Of course you have to have the receivers. But I told them I can't get the locals here. They told me as an incentive they would put in the wiring. Now be aware, this doesn't include "extra" things such as wall fishing, but once they are there it doesn't cost much. AND if you have a good tech, they know how to use the existing CABLE wiring and re-route it!!! That is what I did for one room and the other room just needed a few extra feet. When D*'s puny little OTA didn't work, AFTER one tech had told them it would, I told them it wouldn't and then another tech YET AGAIN told them it wouldn't work, but they insisted that it be tried, it didn't work. They agreed to put up any antenna I bought for free once I bought it. All I have to do now is buy the thing. I'm going to get a pre-amp while I'm at it. I think I get get by for about $110. I'm not going to get a rotor and hope for the best.

I have read that the H20 has a much better OTA recever than the HD Tivo. Rumor is still rampant that the new MPEG4 Tivo will be out "soon". I'm hearing September now. I think we will be lucky if we get it by January. We will get it though. If D* doesn't get off the stick they will see E* continue to erode their lead in the market.

One last suggestion. Call customer retention. YES they DO put up their own HD OTA antennas!!! :rolleyes:

Thanks Scottsman,
I had called and called (including retention) and every time to be told that they wouldn't do antenna.
I just wanted to have them wire the lines and not care much of antenna. I can buy one I need and replace it.
Yup, I can't wait for Mpeg4 myself but not too much for mpeg4 w/o PVR capability. I only watch recorded shows w exceptions of MLB & NFL.

I have read that the H20 has a much better OTA recever than the HD Tivo. Rumor is still rampant that the new MPEG4 Tivo will be out "soon". I'm hearing September now. I think we will be lucky if we get it by January. We will get it though. If D* doesn't get off the stick they will see E* continue to erode their lead in the market.

I've heard that SOME of the H20 are better (the LG model with the 5th Generation chip, that will also be included in the HR20-250, the new MPEG-4 HD-DVR) in that it helps with multipath problems, but otherwise works the same.

However, DirecTV isn't making any more TiVo's (SD or HD), and the new MPEG4 HD-DVR uses the software currently used on DirecTV's DVR, the R15... which is still VERY "buggy"... which is why I wish cable was available where I live (I'd get a TiVo Series 3 DVR (HD) ) and drop DirecTV.

~Alan

Just thought I'd pop in and inform everyone that The CW has announced their affiliation with WTLH-DT (evidently, The CW will run as a sub-channel on WTLH-DT).

What happens to WFXU? Will it become an independent?! What's the scoop, WTLH?

~Alan

I wouldn't say that there won't ever be another TIVO based D* machine again. D* just signed another three year contract with TIVO and I can't believe that was just to service the ones that they have in inventory!!!

Just thought I'd pop in and inform everyone that The CW has announced their affiliation with WTLH-DT (evidently, The CW will run as a sub-channel on WTLH-DT).

~Alan

CW? What's that?

I wouldn't say that there won't ever be another TIVO based D* machine again. D* just signed another three year contract with TIVO and I can't believe that was just to service the ones that they have in inventory!!!

The main reason for them signing the three year contract was to get TiVo's assurance that they won't sue DirecTV for patent infringement like they did Dish Network.

While I won't say there will never be another TiVo based DirecTV machine again, the MPEG4 HD-DVR (HR20-250) that they're transitioning us to will not be a TiVo (unless something big happens which seems unlikely given the plans that DirecTV has announced for the future).

~Alan

CW? What's that?

The networks UPN (WCTV-DT 6.2) and WB (WFXU & WTLF-DT) will fold in September, and a new network (The CW) will premiere containing some shows from each network, as well as new shows.

Gray Television has announced that they will carry MyNetworkTV, the new network from Newscorp (the owners of the Fox Network, as well as a ton of other stuff including DirecTV, and NDS who is making the new MPEG4 HD-DVR) on their digital sub-channel.

Now, The CW has been announced as coming to WTLH-DT as a sub-channel (which appears to have left WFXU out in the cold).

~Alan

The networks UPN (WCTV-DT 6.2) and WB (WFXU & WTLF-DT) will fold in September, and a new network (The CW) will premiere containing some shows from each network, as well as new shows.

Gray Television has announced that they will carry MyNetworkTV, the new network from Newscorp (the owners of the Fox Network, as well as a ton of other stuff including DirecTV, and NDS who is making the new MPEG4 HD-DVR) on their digital sub-channel.

Now, The CW has been announced as coming to WTLH-DT as a sub-channel (which appears to have left WFXU out in the cold).

~Alan

What does this mean with regard to the possibility of CW being HD?

I recently read about the emerging Verision digital television service that is just starting in some locales, including somewhere in Florida. The channels are all digital and many are high bandwidth (andhigh quality) HD but cheaper than Comcast. Verizon uses fiber optic cable all the way into your house, so does not lose bandwidth like Comcast does. I would love to see some competition to Comcast in Tally. Does anyone have any inside info on the possibility of Verizon cable coming to town?

No chance of Vorizon unless you all start writing to your Senators and tell them to drop their support of SB 900 and support the House version HB1199. Basically this gives regulation of the cable industry to the State instead of the county or city clowns.

Does anyone have any inside info on the possibility of Verizon cable coming to town?

Unless Verizon is your local phone service provider, don't expect to see FIOS (Verizon's TV service) any time soon. AT&T has similar plans to FIOS (read here (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/73822) for more details) though not nearly as good of service (it's not fiber to the home, but fiber to the curb, and so only one HDTV feed can be viewed at a time), though as shown in the article above, AT&T may have decided to improve their (LightSpeed) service (and make it more FIOS-like).

Alltel, my local phone service is in the process of spinning off their wireline service and merging with Valor Communications and changing their name to Windstream Communications. Their fiber plans are evidently similar to Verizon's service in that it will be fiber to the home.

I was born in Jackson, TN, and Jackson has a fiber service (http://www.jaxenergy.com/) provided to them by someone other than the phone company, so that could always happen to Tallahassee.

~Alan

What does this mean with regard to the possibility of CW being HD?

I think that's a question for WTLH, BUT unless The CW is only going on WTLH-DT temporarily while WFXU business gets straightened out, I'd say that The CW in HD won't be happening in Tallahassee for a while... at least OTA anyway...

~Alan

I think that's a question for WTLH, BUT unless The CW is only going on WTLH-DT temporarily while WFXU business gets straightened out, I'd say that The CW in HD won't be happening in Tallahassee for a while... at least OTA anyway...

~Alan

Most of WB and UPN's prime time shows are in HD. Regardless of local OTA transmission, why can't the station send the direct HD network feed to Comcast so its customers at least can enjoy HD?

Most of WB and UPN's prime time shows are in HD. Regardless of local OTA transmission, why can't the station send the direct HD network feed to Comcast so its customers at least can enjoy HD?

We asked about sending a WB HD feed to Comcast. The old WB said they don't want to do that in the 100+ markets. Don't know what the new company will say. We did try.......

OK, let me try to understand this.

WCTV 6.2 will become Tallahassee's My Network TV affiliate to replace UPN.

WTLH 49.2 will then add The CW which will leave co-owned WFXU-TV and KB's WTLF-DT with nothing? I thought The CW would go on WFXU-TV/WTLF-DT like The WB is now. Is WFXU-TV/WTLF-DT going off the air or will they just simulcast 49.2...or is the press release wrong with stating WTLH instead of WTLF?

Most of WB and UPN's prime time shows are in HD. Regardless of local OTA transmission, why can't the station send the direct HD network feed to Comcast so its customers at least can enjoy HD?

That's why I added the "at least OTA anyway... " to the end of my post. I believe WTLHFOXHD had answered that question before... but like he said, what The CW will let them do remains to be seen...

~Alan

OK, let me try to understand this.

WCTV 6.2 will become Tallahassee's My Network TV affiliate to replace UPN.

WTLH 49.2 will then add The CW which will leave co-owned WFXU-TV and KB's WTLF-DT with nothing?

That appears to be the case!!


I thought The CW would go on WFXU-TV/WTLF-DT like The WB is now. Is WFXU-TV/WTLF-DT going off the air or will they just simulcast 49.2...or is the press release wrong with stating WTLH instead of WTLF?

I don't think WFXU-TV/WTLF-DT can simulcast 49.2. The affiliation evidently went to WTLH-DT. As far as whether or not the press release is wrong, I can't say though I suspect that WTLHFOXHD would have corrected me had it been wrong.

WFXU had said in a previous FCC filing that should the FCC force them to go full-power digital, WFXU might have to sell the station, so it's possible they intend to sell the station, or it's possible they didn't feel the CW affiliation deal was cost-efficient to them given their current financial situation and the cost they will soon have to put out... and so they decided to go Independent...

Either way, I guess we'll find out soon enough...

~Alan

That's why I added the "at least OTA anyway... " to the end of my post. I believe WTLHFOXHD had answered that question before... but like he said, what The CW will let them do remains to be seen...

~Alan

So this is technically feasible, and it is just a matter of WTLH and Comcast agreeing to do it? Seems a no-brainer to me! Would flooding WTLH with our heartfelt wishes for this help? WTLHFOXHD, would you please comment on this? Thanks.

So this is technically feasible, and it is just a matter of WTLH and Comcast agreeing to do it? Seems a no-brainer to me! Would flooding WTLH with our heartfelt wishes for this help? WTLHFOXHD, would you please comment on this? Thanks.

Last time for me to answer this. At the time we asked WB for HD to supply to Comcast we we turned down by WB they did not want to to HD in the 100+ markets. We will have to wait for the new group to get started, mainly to find out what model they will use before we can ask again.

I think being in DMA 109 is killing us all the way around for a lot of things....tv to shopping to restaurants.

So this is technically feasible, and it is just a matter of WTLH and Comcast agreeing to do it? Seems a no-brainer to me! Would flooding WTLH with our heartfelt wishes for this help? WTLHFOXHD, would you please comment on this? Thanks.

As WTLHFOXHD already replied, it was the WB that said no, so flooding WTLH with "heartfelt" wishes would serve no purpose but to annoy them since they also wanted to do this.

As far as it being technically feasible, how do you think Comcast is getting FOX in HD?! Because the folks at WTLH-DT wanted you to be able to see FOX in HD, and FOX was glad to do it (unlike the WB)... and even though I watch my FOX programming in HD via WFXL-DT (OTA from Albany, GA), I think MAJOR kudos go out to WTLH for taking the time and effort to do this! :)

My suggestion is to wait and see what WTLHFOXHD has to say several months after The CW launches, and if the answer is still no, then flood The CW with your wishes to see The CW programming in HD via Comcast!!

~Alan

I think being in DMA 109 is killing us all the way around for a lot of things....tv to shopping to restaurants.

Try living in DMA #147!! We don't even have SD LIL from DirecTV!! ;)

~Alan

Try living in DMA #147!! We don't even have SD LIL from DirecTV!! ;)

~Alan Although I must say SD locals from DirecTV on my Mitsubishi 65" (HR10-250) has been quite nice lately. Not perfect, and definitely room for improvement, but much better now than a month ago.

And here all i been hoping for is that someone up here carries the orlando magic tv (the games that sun sports doesn't carry) I miss that since leaving the tampa area!

Try living in DMA #147!! We don't even have SD LIL from DirecTV!! ;)

~Alan

:eek: I had to push the Google map out four clicks to find a place that I knew the name of!!!! :D

Although I must say SD locals from DirecTV on my Mitsubishi 65" (HR10-250) has been quite nice lately. Not perfect, and definitely room for improvement, but much better now than a month ago.

My PQ isn't as good since I got the 5LNB dish. I just have to find a OTA that works. :confused:

As WTLHFOXHD already replied, it was the WB that said no, so flooding WTLH with "heartfelt" wishes would serve no purpose but to annoy them since they also wanted to do this.

As far as it being technically feasible, how do you think Comcast is getting FOX in HD?! Because the folks at WTLH-DT wanted you to be able to see FOX in HD, and FOX was glad to do it (unlike the WB)... and even though I watch my FOX programming in HD via WFXL-DT (OTA from Albany, GA), I think MAJOR kudos go out to WTLH for taking the time and effort to do this! :)

My suggestion is to wait and see what WTLHFOXHD has to say several months after The CW launches, and if the answer is still no, then flood The CW with your wishes to see The CW programming in HD via Comcast!!

~Alan

Not to beat a dead horse, but I am trying to understand WB (or future CW)logic. Is not the HD feed already available via satellite for the local station to download? Does it cost them or the local broadcaster more to do this? What do they gain (or save) by denying HD to DMA 100+?

Not to beat a dead horse, but I am trying to understand WB (or future CW)logic. Is not the HD feed already available via satellite for the local station to download? Does it cost them or the local broadcaster more to do this? What do they gain (or save) by denying HD to DMA 100+?

WFXU (according to WTLHFOXHD) is using a special WB feed for markets smaller than 100 which cable companies use to program "Cable-Only" feeds... and I can't say if there is an HD feed of that particular feed... but I'm assuming they do not considering what WTLHFOXHD has said... though I don't see why WB couldn't have let WFXU use the regular WB-HD feed during primetime HD hours, and switch to the WB100+ feed during the rest of he day, but that's just me.

It costs the local affilite more money, but as WTLHFOXHD has already said, they were going to do it, but the WB said no. As far as what they gain or save by denying HD to smaller DMAs, I don't know...

That is one bit of hope that The CW brings to the table, as you're dealing with some different people since some UPN people are being moved to The CW and UPN has more affiliation experience with smaller markets (for instance, in the state of Georgia, there is only ONE WB affiliate, but every market has a UPN affiliate), so hopefully the people in charge of the HD/WB100+ business.

Either way, it will probably be this Fall before we hear anything...

~Alan

:eek: I had to push the Google map out four clicks to find a place that I knew the name of!!!! :D

You're not familiar with the DMA #147 area, I take it?!

~Alan

Although I must say SD locals from DirecTV on my Mitsubishi 65" (HR10-250) has been quite nice lately. Not perfect, and definitely room for improvement, but much better now than a month ago.

While I've heard people say that SD LIL is bad quality, I'd just like to have the opportunity to record NBC and FOX in other rooms (I can record OTA HD with my HR10-250, as well as ABC and CBS in SD every room), as well as getting hold of DirecTV's "regional" WB (or The CW should they offer a "regional" CW).

~Alan

WFXU (according to WTLHFOXHD) is using a special WB feed for markets smaller than 100 which cable companies use to program "Cable-Only" feeds... and I can't say if there is an HD feed of that particular feed... but I'm assuming they do not considering what WTLHFOXHD has said... though I don't see why WB couldn't have let WFXU use the regular WB-HD feed during primetime HD hours, and switch to the WB100+ feed during the rest of he day, but that's just me.

It costs the local affilite more money, but as WTLHFOXHD has already said, they were going to do it, but the WB said no. As far as what they gain or save by denying HD to smaller DMAs, I don't know...

That is one bit of hope that The CW brings to the table, as you're dealing with some different people since some UPN people are being moved to The CW and UPN has more affiliation experience with smaller markets (for instance, in the state of Georgia, there is only ONE WB affiliate, but every market has a UPN affiliate), so hopefully the people in charge of the HD/WB100+ business.

Either way, it will probably be this Fall before we hear anything...

~Alan

Alan, thanks. I would figure money had something to do with it, but as you say the local affiliate was willing so that was not the hangup. WB should know that HDTV growth has reached the point where HD shows draw viewers just by reason of the superior WS PQ itself. WB management must really be a bunch of losers - after all they are the ones that dropped "Buffy" - great move, idiots!
Let's hope the CW gets better management.

Does anyone know why the NBA basketball games on INHD have been blacked out this year? I remember watching them last year and wouldn't mind having another playoff game to watch. I need to load up on NBA Playoff games in HD since WTXL has let me down.

You're not familiar with the DMA #147 area, I take it?!

~Alan

Not until I did the Google search!!!

Not until I did the Google search!!!

Hey, I live in the county that gave birth to Otis Redding and Johnny Mathis... and you can read more about Albany here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany,_Georgia), or where I live here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrell_County%2C_Georgia). Albany once had more violent crime per capita than NYC!!

Of course, I can't say much since the last time I was in the Tallahassee, FL DMA was 12 years ago...

On a Tallahassee, FL note, I often have problems with the troposphere during the summer months (do a search on AVSForum.com for more information), and when I noticed that I was only getting a signal around 30 from my local NBC affiliate (my FOX is VHF, and a lot steadier of a signal, whereas I have a lot of problems with my NBC signal dropping to almost nothing early in the morning, or late at night between the months of March to October/November), so I looked to see what I could pick up (besides my local FOX and WCTV-DT), and I could pick up WFSU-DT (I pick it up frequently at night), WTVY-DT (Dothan's CBS, owned by Gray Communications, and something I can pick up from time to time), as well as picking up stronger signals from WTWC-DT, and a few others, but what I was REALLY surprised to see was that I was receiving a signal from WTLH-DT (not enough to get a picture, but about what I usually get from WTWC-DT)... still, it was suprising...

~Alan

but what I was REALLY surprised to see was that I was receiving a signal from WTLH-DT (not enough to get a picture, but about what I usually get from WTWC-DT)... still, it was suprising...

~Alan

That is something. The TX is only 250 watts with the antenna around 150' ERP is around 1000 watts. We should be taking delivery on the new parts soon. This will make the Digital 1megwatt at 2000'.......

Well, that much power will make your pixture pixilated for the guys to do the signal test as well instead of a blank screen!!!! LOL!!!

WTLHFOXHD, any rumors on when WTXL will get their HD in gear? Or is the six month window (now five maybe) that PBSEngineer scoffed at closer to the facts of the matter?

Alan, are you sure you were receiving WTLH? The reason why I ask is that Birmingham's WBRC (also Fox) uses channel 50 for digital, and I believe they are running high power from Red Mountain. I'd say you'd have a better chance receiving it as tropospheric scatter from Dawson than WTLH's pea shooter down here.

Hi. Does anyone got any "digital static/skips" when watching HBO HD? I was watching Adams Family Value around 2:00 and it's very weird. All other HD channels display fine, like INHD2. I have Comcast HD.

Hi. Does anyone got any "digital static/skips" when watching HBO HD? I was watching Adams Family Value around 2:00 and it's very weird. All other HD channels display fine, like INHD2. I have Comcast HD.

I have Comcast and HBO and I do notice this when I watch the Sopranos and Big Love on Sundays, it is not continous it just lasts for a second and will only occur only a couple times while watching. The only other station I ever noticed this on is CBS. I did have a weird problem on Thursday with NBC Earl was split in half horizontally.

I also had a problem with comcast HBOHD 215 and also HBO Zone 310 and other HBO channels. I had a tech out to check the line and they were able to replicate the problem at their office too. Tonight everything looks even better than usual, thank God, watching the Sopranos was driving me nuts with the audio dropouts and blocking! Hopefully yours is working now too.

OK so I'm not alone. :D Thanks! :p

The reason there is a black screen instead of the Cavs vs. Pistons on WTXL better be because they are fixing the HD, but I'm sure it isn't. They are really starting to bother me.

You think they are actually out fixing the HD feed on a Sunday afternoon?????

It is annoying how long this fix is taking. I hope it is up in time for college football in September...

Neon