Ken, how do you get away with a Outdoor antenna in Coral Springs. I thought they where not allowed in the Coral Springs?

Howard

Howard

I live surrounded by CS but am unincorporated Broward County. We have a few acres and train horses, So a little tower is easy to hide.

The main use is Ham Radio....


Ken

Is anyone still getting anything?

Okay I just tried for about 15 mins and didn't get anything. Anyone getting anything at 1030pm?


Tim Huey
Las Olas

OK, I'm back from dinner, and just checked 55-1 again.:

1. yes, I'm still getting 55-1. BUT law and order is stretched, and i think law and order is supposed to be an hd show, so I assume this is simply the 4x3 sd version of the show upconverted to 1080i. also, no sound still. They did have sound when they first came on for about two minutes this afternoon, but that was it. We'll see if Leno comes in in HD tonight.

2. w4z00: I am sorry about the "bonehead" thing - I shouldn't have written that, angry though I was. But it was inappropriate for you to have first written that I was pulling some sort of prank on everyone - I'm not 6 years old, and if I post something it's because I think it will be information beneficial to the members. Truce.

On the wpb thread, there's a guy in hobe sound and a guy in boynton beach who is getting it too. this is WEIRD that some of us get it strong, and some get nothing. Engineering guys any clue? I'm good friends with Rich Paleski - you'll remember him as "wforguy" on the forum, before he moved to wkyw in philly in January - I'll call him tomorrow morning and I'm sure he'll know what's happening just from the "symptoms". I'll report back.

WestonHDGuy,
I'm also in Weston and have a SR-HD500 and a E86. I'm getting zero signal. In my attic I have installed a Channelmaster, I forget the model number - but it's for surburan / fringe areas. Do you have an amplifier on your antenna?

Stu

Yes. I have a jensen indoor antenna, amplified, with seperate dials for uhf and vhf. Each discreetly has a max of 45db of gain supposedly. I have THAT plugged into a 20$ 10db amp, which gives me 55db of gain I guess, but given the strength that 55-1 is coming in, I'm sure I could get by with just the jensen. I will note that I've tried a bunch of antennas - including the behemoth terk 55 - and the jensen which I got at best buy sawgrass for 49 bucks is BY FAR the best. I get all the channels, and don't have to move anything ever, except OCCASIONALLY (1x per week) when 10-1 pixelizes.

I'll try doing a scan.

Tim Huey

Jay Leno is stretched at 1080i, and is obviously the sd 4x3 feed upconverted. No sound either. but hey, at least they've started the thing up. Talk to y'all tomorrow.

I suck I can't get anything. I have a RCA DTC-100. Anyone else using an RCA-dtc 100 and recieving the station?

Tim Huey

I got it last night, here on PGA blvd. saw Friends thru Law and Order - all stretched, no sound, i pulled it in with a cheapo indoor RCA uhf/vhf antenna from Walmart...~45% signal on my sammy 165.

nothing this morning though....

PS: anyone else notice that CBS signal has been more erratic, harder to receive, over the past week or so?

Nagaska,

CBS is strong in Miami. Hope your problem clears up. Meanwhile, no NBC at all in South Dade County yet. Maybe today.

Originally posted by TimHuey

Mr. Jluzbet, take your foot out of your mouth and read the post. The internet if full of snooty idiots. Why don't you take your superior attitude and lack of personal skills out of this forum and try to be nice when you visit here.

Tim Huey
Mean people suc [/B]

LOL, why dont you come and take it out ? Get a life dude is only TV, when NBC is ready you will see it .. and kma:mad:

I am now receiving a signal strength of 100 for channel 55 in Coconut Creek/Pompano Beach, but no picture yet.

Howard

That's interesting, because now I'M THE ONE who's not getting any signal! Zip!

OK, this is weird. For the first time ever, I'm not getting any signal AT ALL for 29-1. Are they on the same tower as 55-1? Could the power be cut to the antenna or something? suggestions please.

Are they still up on 55-1?

Originally posted by Westonhdguy
OK, this is weird. For the first time ever, I'm not getting any signal AT ALL for 29-1. Are they on the same tower as 55-1? Could the power be cut to the antenna or something? suggestions please.

Not for the first time, 29-1 is apparently turned off.

interesting thing - last week i noticed that my Sammy 165 started remapping 29-1 to 28-1......then out of the blue, yesterday evening, it was back to 29-1....WTF?

What does WTF mean?

Originally posted by nagaska
interesting thing - last week i noticed that my Sammy 165 started remapping 29-1 to 28-1......then out of the blue, yesterday evening, it was back to 29-1....WTF?

Actually, the signal is transmitted on channel 28 and remaps to 29-1 to match analog channel 29. Apparently, the remap was not operating. This would most likely be a station originated problem.

thanks, Bill. that makes sense. i forgot the original station is 28.

WTF = What the F--k?
;)

Tried again for 55, and nothing.
29-1 is back up

55-1 is testing again as of 7+pm tonight. I'm getting a very strong signal and great pictures but no audio in Hobe Sound. I have a rotor on the antenna, and I notice that the signal seems to still be very directional. Just moving the antenna a few degrees makes the signal fall.

When they tested a few days ago, I got the strongest signal by rotating the antenna to the same location as 29-1??? Tonight though, I am pointing just off to the west (as far as I know straight into a swamp). I came across the signal by accident, but the Fear Factor pictures look fantastic.

The Dolby Digital indicators on the reciever are showing 2 channel stereo (but there is no sound). The picture showing looks like it is DTV 4:3 (black bars on the sides).

There are some artifacts- heavy at times- but then the picture locks in for a while and is completely clean. The testing must be going well.

55-2 is pictureless (and silent) but with a strong signal too.

Darryl

I lost my netscape links and I've searched on this forum but I can't find the link to the webpage that shows the graphical location of the station antennas in your area relative to your position. Does anyone have that link handy?

Tim Huey

I can get a in and out of lock for 55-1, no 55-2 .
I know they are testing, but does anyone know if this is low power?
I hope so.

Tim,

antennaweb.org is one in which you enter your address and zip code, answer a few questions, and it will recommend an antenna. On the recommendation page, click the "draw map" (or equivalent) link and it will show you approximate directions. Don't live by this though as I have noticed some of the directions don't seem to be exactly right.

Darryl

George,

The signals are coming through very strong. If it is low power, Hobe Sound must be extremely close to the antenna. More likely, several of us have noted the sensitivity to direction. It is as if they are testing by using a very narrow beam. The rotor I use rotates in 1 degree increments (0-360). I've noticed that just 4 degrees to the left or right of optimal makes the signal fall off to nothing. However, I also notice that there seems to be 2 "hot zones" as of early AM this morning, instead of just one. If you can turn your antenna, you might try just a little move at a time. Or you can just wait until the testing ends and they open up the beam (if that's what's happening) to broadly broadcast it. The wierd part is that the source of the beam seemed to move from THU-FRI to last night. I was getting the strongest "thinband" signal by aiming the antenna at the same location as 29-1. Last night I was aiming it just about due west.

HobeSoundDarryl,

Thanx, that was exactly the link I was thinking off. It doesn't show 55-1 yet but maybe that's because it's testing.

Tim Huey

Whoops, I take that back, it is there and it's rated as one of the easiest stations to recieve for me in Fort Lauderdale. I was looking down the list for the farther away stations.

Tim Huey

Glad to help. Your in prime territory for loads of channels. I think 55-1 is just experimenting and everyone will be happy soon. I envy all of those living between Miami and Palm Beach relative to getting HD channels. In Hobe Sound, it is quite a stretch to pull some popular Miami stations.

Also, zenith/titantv has a website dedicated to DTV that works very similarly but generates a better quality channel listing (that also shows the network). You can have a look at it at...

http://titantvretailzone.com/rz/RetailZone/main.asp

I actually like its channel listing feature better than antennaweb (plus, it still gives you the map).

Well here in Royal palm,channel 5 news is on with sound. Picture looks better than wpec and wpbf's. Good reading on Sony sathd200.

I still can not get it.
Signal bounces from 0 - 24, in and out of lock.
Hope it is not at full power.
Tried moving antenna, no luck.

If you got the HD200.Go to the menu and place 55 in the manual channel add and hit the joystick...its on 55.1,,still active at 730pm...i really think they got 12 and 25 beat...news studio looks great when it was on....

Originally posted by George33027
I still can not get it.
Signal bounces from 0 - 24, in and out of lock.
Hope it is not at full power.
Tried moving antenna, no luck.

Hehe Me too .. But I only get to 21 :confused:

Originally posted by medicman
Well here in Royal palm,channel 5 news is on with sound. Picture looks better than wpec and wpbf's. Good reading on Sony sathd200.

What network is channel 5?

Tim Huey

TitanTV map still says all I need is "the smallest unidirectional" antenna. NICE!!!

Tim Huey

I have an RCA HDT 100 and I have not been able to lock into 55-1. I figured that they are still testing so I will wait no sense moving antenna since i can pickup 29-1 and 12-1 fine and they are located in same area.

Dr Guava

What is your location drguava? I'm using the DTC-100 and it's not getting it either. I don't think anyone with a DTC-100 can get it. I've asked on here but no one is yet.

I've tried amplified, unamplified, directional and unidirectional nothing can get it. I get 28-2 just fine 78 on the meter.

Tim Huey

Tim Huey

WPTV Channel 5 is NBC for west palm. Its still on. Although the picture does pixilate at times and the aspect ration they playing with last night..switching back and forth from DTV to HDTV. You may want to go to the West Palm Thread,its right above this thread since us locals are getting pumped up!!!!!!!! Next ESPN,at least before i retire...LOL!

Tim,

I am in Weston and I have not been able to lock into 55-1.

Dr Guava

It doesn't seem that 55 or 5 are available in Miami/South Broward. BTW, I have just started a new thread for HDTV in Miami and South Broward and would greatly appreciate any help from the South Florida HDTV Going Live members. Thanks again,
David

Looking at the FCC Database info for WPTV-DT, it would appear when at full power of 900kW @ 1200' above sea level, folks in N.Dade and all of Broward county should get a signal equal to WFLX-DT. The polar plot of the antenna shows the gain of the antenna favoring locations at 180 degrees and 340 degrees. This antenna pattern favors slightly those south and northwest of the tower if the database is correct. More info can be found at: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=WPTV

Mark

Interesting.
I can get 29-1 solid.
But I get the same in and out of lock responses from both 55-1 and 12-1.
55 bounces higher, but no solid lock.

Mark_T - On the relative field polar plot, is 0 deg. North, 90 deg. East, 180 deg. South and 270 deg. West? If so, the WPEC graph shows most of the signal heading West.

Greenknight,

According to the FCC database, yes, WPEC-DT is using a directional antenna with most of the transmitting energy being radiated toward the west. Due to other transmitter towers nearby, they are probably required to do this to avoid interference with the other stations. It looks like WPTV-DT is using a less directional beam than WPEC but since they are still testing who knows what kind of pattern they are radiating? I get major swings from 0 to 90 with no ability to lock on to their signal , yet others get a solid signal? I wish someone could answer that one?

Mark_T

I just tried and can no longer get a solid lock on their signal either. C'est la vie! I'll just wait until WTVJ goes live.... :rolleyes:

Mark_T
Where did you get the FCC database antenna pattern that they are currently using?

George33027,

I do not know what they are currently using for a test signal pattern. It might even be an auxillary antenna used for emergency backup?? The database pattern is what the station gave to the FCC in order to apply for the CP (construction permit) license sometime ago. I do know that if some people close to the tower say there is only a 4 degree window for signal reception, those of us further away have less of a chance to get a steady signal because the beam would be so small that it would be scattered at our locations. This could account for the large drop in signal that I and others are experiencing. I'm using a DST3000 (E86) clone and get a 100 signal for 3 seconds followed by 0 for 10 seconds. Its probably not our receivers but signal scattering causing the drop outs. Hopefully, things will change soon. If anyone has any other explanations for these dropouts, please feel free to reply.

I am compelled to report that I have not experienced the frustrating dropouts, fluctuations or other WPTV signal anomalies that so many are reporting.

Of course, one could conclude that this might be the natural result of the signal never having risen above zero.<g>

That is it !!!!!!!!
We just don't get zero, we get a perfect zero !

Last week I was worried about an analog LP on channel 55 messing up our reception. I am happy to report that my reception in Coral Gables of WPTV DT 55 is perfect on my Samsung SIR-T150 and Samsung SIR-T165. There is slight pixilation sometimes but most of the time it is perfect. I am getting a signal strenght of 5 bars on the Samsung using a RS double bow tie. My apartment is 150 feet up facing north towards West Palm. I hope they start passing the NBC HD soon. :)

Like dharding, I too am getting a relatively stable signal from pretty far away (Hobe Sound). I also get some pixelation. Signal strength tends to be strong (numerically in the 60-80% range now). I am only getting Dolby Digital in 2 channel stereo vs. 5.1 (but I'm sure the sound will be one of the last things to be perfected in the testing process). Unlike dharding, I do suffer some momentary dropoffs (to 0) but they tend to last only a few seconds.

Here's the key: To get this fairly stable signal, I have rotated my antenna back and forth to align it optimally for 55-1. Just 4 (of 360) degrees left or right sends the signal to zero. It seems that during testing they are simply using an extremely directional signal.

dharding is way up in the air (probably has the best height for a personal antenna as anyone on this thread), and he is also very far to the south. I don't think I am quite as far to the north (maybe?) but I am also working with an (outdoor) antenna slightly above a single story roof line. We're both getting 55-1 pretty well to very good.

I seriously doubt that 55-1 will stay this way. They must just be testing and at some point the broadcast beam will not be so directionally sensitive. As someone said, the average "joe sixpack" will not go to near the trouble to optimize the direction of their antenna for this channel. So either they have purchased bad broadcasting equipment for the tower, or they just don't have it in "broad" broadcast mode. They are working on it and those who can watch seem to notice somewhat steady progress. Hopefully sooner (than later) they will complete the effort and everyone will get HD-NBC without so many technical challenges.

After the long wait for NBC, perhaps patience is overly painful. Hopefully, a little longer is all it will take for everyone.

Here's an idea: what if some of us just calls the station, reports the situations and post what they say in response? Unlike 12-1, they don't appear to have representation on this thread, so they may even be interested in what is happening with some of us. Perhaps the narrow band theory is nothing more than a minor change that doesn't really affect their testing effort at all (so maybe they'll switch it immediately). I bet if any of us can get one engineer on the line, we'll find the answers to many of our questions: low power? directional issues? estimate of how much longer? 5.1 surround? DTC-100 equipment? Etc.

It might be good just to make them aware of how many real HD watchers are so interested in their progress. They may believe the CEA hype that there is only about 3 of us (when we all know the real number is about 11 :D)

Originally posted by George33027
That is it !!!!!!!!
We just don't get zero, we get a perfect zero !

AHHH!! I knew my DTC-100 was perfect.

Tim Huey

dharding
I don't know how you do it, I just ran and looked at my mits and it says in and out of lock from a perfect zero to 6 !
I moved my antenna and got it to go to 9 !
How does Miami get more at a greater distance?

That must be it.
They are using a high directional antenna to do testing.
Problem, is we all want to see it.
But, their testing is just that, testing.
They are probably going around looking for signal problems and inteferrence etc etc.
So, I guess I was not in the narrow beam.

Once completed, they will go to a wider bandwidth antenna.
Don't know what it is, but most likly it will be at least north and south.

George33027,

I don't know how dharding is receiving so well also? I'm at 150' atop a condo in N. Miami with a hi-gain yagi and today 55-1 is 0 to 15 where yesterday it was 0 to 100 in and out with no lock. I get 34-1, 16-1 steady at 50-60 and they are 30 miles further north of WPTV. Looks like we just have to sit it out for awhile.

Not one to come up with an idea and just let it go, I contacted NBC directly and asked the questions about which we are all buzzing. They responded in less than 16 hours and most of the answers reflect good guesses by the brains on this thread...

Q: Many locals are noticing that they have to precisely aim their antennas to pull in 55-1 now. Even a few degrees left or right sends the signal from strong to weak. Are you testing with an extremely directional beam? How long until you open the beam up to broad mode (so everyone can get it without such directional aiming effort)?

A: We are broadcasting in omnidirectional.


Q:Are you testing a full power, partial power, low power? Is there a percentage level of power you could share?

A: We are at full power, we are having some issues with 1 of the amplifiers and continue to work on it.


Q: What is your time estimate for the duration of the testing phase?

A: We are on the air, but it may take a few weeks or longer to get all the kinks worked out.


Q: How long until you start broadcasting NBC's HD signals? (by the way, the existing SD upconverts look great- especially your newscasts).

A: We now are focusing on some automation and Time Base Corrector installs to be able to better pass thru NBC HD programming...we hope to have this done in the next few weeks.


Q: What do you plan on showing on 55-2?

A: Currently no firm plans for 55-2, we may do local news, local weather or a shop at home service...we do not expect to get this operational until late 3rd or early 4th quarter.


Q: Currently the channel is not remapping to 5-1 as everyone expects. When will that happen or will it happen?

A: We have a few issues with our encoder, and within a week or so, the virtual channel should be operational


Q: Can you estimate when the Dolby Digital audio might be in 5.1?

A: Our plant is wired for 5.1, so we should be able to pass that along with the NBC HD shows, but for local and non-HD programming it will be some time away.


Q: Some people with 1st generation HDTV Directv boxes are reporting that they can't get a signal at all. Some of these are less than 10 miles from your tower and they are using quality UHF antennas. In particular, the RCA DTC-100 seems to fail to acquire any signal at all. Any theory why? Are you using some "latest and greatest" encoding that might not be compatible with 1st generation receivers?

A: We also have an early Panasonic unit, and it has trouble as well...we have heard that some early stuff just won't work without some upgrades to the boxes.


Q: The community is very excited about your efforts. A lot of people look forward to the completion of the testing. I myself am enjoying seeing some of my favorite shows in high quality DTV at last. If you could share any light on the above questions, many people would greatly appreciate it.Thanks!

A: Hope this gives you a better insight, we are trying to devote as much time as we can to improve the service, as well as to complete the new tower project in concert with this, and our daily issues as well. Hang in there, thanks for the input.


While this may only create more questions/issues for those on this thread, at least we have some level of answers directly from the source.

Darryl

Darryl,

Thanks for posting this info. It answered many of the questions I had.

Rudy

HSDarryl thanks for the info. But I just can't believe that it has something to do with a software upgrade for first generation models like the RCA HDCT 100 which I have. I have never had a problem receiving any other Digital Station in Area including receiving NBC form Ft Myers. This is probably something on their end(NBC 55-1).

Probably David(WPEC) has more knowledge about this than anyone else.

For now I will just wait until they get their testing/bugs out of the way, I am not messing with my antenna, on most nights I can watch NBC from Ft Myers.

Thanks,

Dr Guava

Everyone on the thread has been wondering how I was receiving WPTV DT perfectly. I too like HobeSoundDarryl thought it was because I was 150' in the air. Well last night (Thursday) I could not receive anything. :confused:

"A: We are broadcasting in omnidirectional."

Either they don't know the meaning of "omnidirectional" or there will continue to be major reception aiming problems.

Do I understand correctly that, like I, those with Hughes type receivers are not getting a signal? If so, there will be a large number of receivers "requiring upgrade". This is a typical blame the other guy response.

Bill - I was thinking the same thing. Doesn't omnidirectional mean "all directions" ? If they are saying that those who are getting it now are the ones who will continue to get it without an upgrade, than many of us with Hughes e86 boxes are in trouble. I doubt that is the case though. I'm sure they will find the "glitch" once their testing is done.

Bottom line is that this is all new to them I am sure and they are learning as they go.

I'm pretty confident that our hardware (recievers) will not need upgrades. That's why there was such fierce battles (and time delays) to settle on an HD standard. As some others have suggested, they are probably learning (much like we are) as they go. Ultimately something probably needs adjustment to make the signal more compatible with the standard (from the disparity across hardware, I guess them to be very close but with just some anomaly in their datastream- some receivers can handle it and some can't; by the time they're through testing, I bet they fix the bug and even those DTC-100s will be o.k.). The good news is that they are aware via the early-generation panasonic they are using.

As to changing to a more or less directional antenna, my antenna is extremely directional and I am getting the signal (except THU night). As WJBJR implies, I'm not 100% about their implied meaning of "omnidirectional". What I do know is that select people to the south (like dharding) have been getting signal at the same time I (to the north) have been. So at least we have some kind of bi-directional broadcast (if there is anything to the theory that the signal is being broadcast narrowly). Like hdtvis4me, I (too) believe the definition of omnidirectional is "ALL directions", so I would guess reception problems to be more about a bug in their stream and only a few types of recievers are overcoming the bug right now. Anyone due east or due west of the towers getting the signal?

I am watching both threads and will accumulate the new questions and ask for more answers shortly. I'll post whatever I get.

If you have questions you'd like to me to include, post them ASAP. Those with receivers that have never gotten any signal may want to post the make and model and I will include a list of them as part of the message (the only one I know for sure so far is DTC-100). Thanks!

Darryl

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Main Entry: om·ni·di·rec·tion·al
Pronunciation: "äm-ni-d&-'rek-shn&l, -"nI-, -(")dI-, -sh&-n&l
Function: adjective
Date: 1927
: being in or involving all directions; especially : receiving or sending radio waves equally well in all directions <omnidirectional antenna>


I have a constant zero signal from WPTV on a Hughes E86. I have a steady 70s signal from WFLX-DT, which I understand comes from a nearby tower.

As I stated earlier, I don't watch much NBC, but the just announced HD racing Triple Crown (see HDTV Programming) would be nice. Anyway, Miami WTVJ-DT NBC will probably be on the air any year now.

Originally posted by wjbjr


As I stated earlier, I don't watch much NBC, but the just announced HD racing Triple Crown (see HDTV Programming) would be nice. Anyway, Miami WTVJ-DT NBC will probably be on the air any year now. [/B]

LOL!:p

From the WPTV Q & A:

Q: Many locals are noticing that they have to precisely aim their antennas to pull in 55-1 now. Even a few degrees left or right sends the signal from strong to weak. Are you testing with an extremely directional beam? How long until you open the beam up to broad mode (so everyone can get it without such directional aiming effort)?

A: We are broadcasting in omnidirectional.
____________________________________________

This exchange resulted from a fundemental missunderstanding of the issue under discussion between the two parties involved.

The forum member was trying to ask why the lateral angle of receive antenna orientation was so critical when trying to receive WPTV-DT. The engineer from WPTV responded by stating that the station's polar pattern was omnidirectional, radiating roughly equal energy in all compass directions. In other words, he was responding to a different question.

WPTV has told one of our engineers that they have been operating at full power all along so power is not the issue. For some reason it is necessary to aim directional receive antennas to within a +/- 2-degree window to get any signal at all on 55-1. In my case, using a Radio Shack VU-210XR antenna just 10 miles from the transmitter, with the antenna painstakingly oriented on that tight beam, I get no bit error for a minute or so at a stretch and then the bit error-rate goes through the roof and I experience a crash for a second or two. Others are experiencing similar conditions. No other DTV signal in Miami or West Palm Beach does this in my location.

I postulate that there's something funky about WPTV-DT's signal. I hope they can sort it out eventually. The station is currently under FCC "Program Test Authority," under which they may experiment in an effort to address all their problems, a process that all new DTV stations have to go through. The best thing that we all can do is share our experiences here while WPTV's engineers go through the process of getting their new facility up to speed. I wish them the best of luck!

Originally posted by drguava
HSDarryl thanks for the info. But I just can't believe that it has something to do with a software upgrade for first generation models like the RCA HDCT 100 which I have. I have never had a problem receiving any other Digital Station in Area including receiving NBC form Ft Myers. This is probably something on their end(NBC 55-1).

Probably David(WPEC) has more knowledge about this than anyone else.

For now I will just wait until they get their testing/bugs out of the way, I am not messing with my antenna, on most nights I can watch NBC from Ft Myers.

Thanks,

Dr Guava

Is WPTV-DT even passing HD programming yet?

Haven't seen a sample of 16x9 HDTV yet on 55-1. However, at some points I have seen a wider than tall screen completely surrounded on all sides by black borders. I've seen some comments on this site that there has been some HD testing, but I've seen others that say it was upconverted SD stretched (whatever it was, it looked very good). Based on the reply I got from the engineer, I don't think they have actually shown anything yet in HD. For all programming so far the "HD" indicator icon lights up on my Zenith 1080 guide screen, but I don't think it magically "knows"; instead, I believe it is just a setting passed in the datastream (in other words, I believe it is possible to light up the HD icon even if the broadcast was 480i). Anyone know different?

Most DTV stations in Miami and West Palm Beach send 1080i or 720p all the time...either as HD or as 480i SD programming upconverted to either 1080i or 720p. You receiver can only tell you which format the station is sending, but not what the original format of the program was.

To date I've only seen WPTV-DT transmit 480i upconverted to 1080i, with one exception: I suspect I was seeing Crossing Jordan from the NBC-HD feed in 16:9 inside a black rectangle, having been downconverted to 480i then upconverted back to 1080i. But I wouldn't swear to it.;)

Full power and omni-directional ????????????????
We got answers, but with the results, I am inclined to question the facts.
I think there are communication problems.

Is not powerfull enought to get a signal ... Max 12 steady at 7:45 PM;)

George33027, I just posted the answers as I got them. Apparently they are full power (I get them at better than 75% fairly far up north). And more than one has confirmed via studio contacts that they are testing at full power.

I (too) was questioning the "omnidirectional" thing, but it does appear to be true as there is confirmation from multiple sources in the North and multiple sources in the South.

Several (including David McRoy) are postulating that there is simply something in the current (test) datastream that is not quite "perfect", which may be why some equipment is not getting anything and other equipment is getting the signal (presumably some equipment handles this type of error in the data better than others). This seems as good a guess as any. However, I have already followed up with 2 key questions to the engineer (1 about their definition of "omnidirectional" and why so many of us have to very precisely aim our antennas, and 2 seeking further comment- actually a retraction- on the idea that some early generation receivers might need some kind of upgrade). At least one person has communicated a late generation Hughes has been completely unable to get any signal. I'll post any answers that I get from the engineer.

I think David summed it up best with the clear confirmation that they are very much in "testing" mode and that these outstanding issues are likely to be resolved as they complete the task. Let's hope so.

Well, now last night I got 55-1, at a somewhat stable signal in the 40's with peaks in the 50's.
These numbers mean relative signal strength.
And, I get a picture with moderate pixelation. Not bad so far.

What I was trying to say, is that during testing, they may not have been at full power. THere may have been times they were at full power and then if one of the amplifiers were down, then they could not have been at full power.
So, if you asked then, they would say, "yea, we are at full power"

It is preception, and interpretation.

I am glad they are getting there.
We all hope that they can get full radiated power ( that is full power with all the amps working and with the proper antenna connected).
Then, as Dave said, the digital signal must be sent with very low bit errors.
I believe that the bit errors that are sent cause the high signal level lock and unlock problems.
The numbers on the "signal level" at the STB, are a relative value of signal strength of "detected digital signal". So if there is a high bit error rate, the STB can not detect the signal (even though there may be high analog signal received).

Also, let us remember that they have a lot of testing to do, to make sure all is well. They have to get all the video modes operational, then the sound, then the digital headers (which will include re-mapping) etc. etc.
Somewhere in there is the High Def signal transfers.

Last night, I noticed that the extreme directionality issue seemed to be fixed. I could rotate the antenna in a fairly wide swath of degrees and still get some signal. Maybe the buggy amplifier is nearing 100%.

This morning I awoke to find no 55-1 (and 29-1 too) signal at all. But I'm getting almost everything from Miami and several stations from Orlando with very strong signals. Most of these stations have never been as strong as they are this morning. Someone pitched the troposphere ducting argument- which seems as good as any. I had some concerns overnight as the first huge thunderstorms since I put up the big antenna rumbled through. If we get a tropical storm, will I get Georgia stations? ;)


Lastly, I was in Vegas just a litte over a week ago and attended the new Celine Dion show at Ceasars. She has what has been billed as the largest HD screen in the world. It was huge- nearly 34 feet by 109 feet (or 3668 square feet). It uses well over 5,000,000 individual LEDs each with 1024 variations in lighting intensity. If anyone is interested in more technical specs, please let me know.

My expectations for such a giant screen- even though it was HD- were low, as my mentality of great HD quality has been influenced by "up to 73 inch" screens, with what appears to be somewhat lesser quality from projectors up to cinema screen size. But WOW! It seemed so sharp and they had many special effect shots that dazzled. Indeed, I think I was far more facinated with the "goings on" on the HD screen than I was with Ms. Dion and the supporting cast. I would have loved to see a little HDnet or ESPNHD on this thing. Now if I can just remember where I put that spare $6 million.;)

Darryl --
If/when we get tropical storms, we will be more likely to get a new antenna than Georgia stations.

29-1 and 12-1 signal readings were both higher than usual here last night. Most likely tropo. Still nada on 55-1.

Good one Bill, 29-1 is back on for me too (still no 55-1- as if it is turned off today).

And I've been playing with pointing (the antenna) and scanning (for too many hours) this morning to explore this tropospheric effect. I am getting lots of new stations from Orlando, Ft. Myers, Melbourne, etc. My local guides are packed. The more amazing thing is how strong they are. Several stations I've never received before are coming in with stronger readings than even some of the much nearer local channels. Now if there was some way to keep this effect in place and have ultra-sunny, cloud free days.

29-1, which usually registers in the 70s, and 12-1, usually in the teens, are both currently pegged at 100.

At the least, 55-1 is more consistent. As always, it is pegged at 0.

Darryl
I think I put my spare $ 6 mil in the same place you did.
How forgetful we get.

WPTV is blasting into Coral Gables with my Samsung showing seven bars on the signal meter. The picture and sound are perfect. Now that they have the bugs worked out I hope they get the HD gear installed this week before the Kentucky Derby next Saturday. :D

I thought it was down for the weekend?

I got two more answers from the NBC 55-1 engineer to the two big questions/issues this thread was buzzing about on Friday. The first answer still has NBC believing that some equipment on the consumer end may need upgrades, but they are investigating the broadcast stream itself (and will probably find that the problem is in the source).

The second answer is probably no surprise now, but there is some commitment to confirming when the stream issue is resolved.

Q: Your reply about some early generation receivers (like the Panasonic you have) "may require upgrades" is the one that has the most negative connotation to it. People don't know how to upgrade their equipment and questions have come back such as "why does all the other local DTV signals work but this ONE from NBC does not?". Most seem to be speculating that the real problem is probably in the datastream broadcast or maybe in the PSIP. Some people have much newer generation boxes (and one is only 2 miles from your tower), but can't get anything. Any comments?

A: We have begun to investigate the stream sent to the transmitter for problems. We do have an alarm on the stream, and are working with Tandberg (the encoder manufacturer) to resolve. This could be the cause of the spotty performance. For upgrades, I suggest contacting the website or manufacturer of early boxes to see if they are posting upgrades, or bug fixes, or if others have had similar problems.

Q: By "We are broadcasting in omnidirectional", do you mean "all directions" or tightly in one thin band/beam. I am among what appears to be a minority who is getting the signal. But I have to very precisely rotate my antenna to do so. If I rotate it 4 (of 360) degrees left or right, the signal falls off to zero. This does not happen with all of the other local DTV channels. This makes many believe that you are testing with some very narrow band signal and NOT broadcasting in all directions. If "omnidirectional" means "all directions", any theory on why those getting the channel are having to be so specific in the pointing of our antennas?

A: We are broadcasting in a circular pattern, all 360 degrees. The problem with the stream, may be the need to be specific for the strongest signal. I have people in Coral Springs, Jupiter, Wellington, and Loxahatchee reporting good signal strength. I will let you know when we resolve the stream issue, to see if that improves performance to those not having luck so far.


Since this engineer has been so (generously) quick to reply (within 1 business day), I'd like to followup with any other questions/concerns/comments in which he might offer answers (or educated guesses). Please post them ASAP.

I hope the above is helpful

HobeSoundDarryl again thanks for the info I have also contacted WPVT 55-1 and their engineer responded very quickly. I have contacted both Directv and RCA (I have an RCA DTC 100) and both have stated that the receiver has the latest updates that no additional updates are required. In fact they stated if it was update issue then it would affect all other digital stations, thus this is definitely a WPTV issue only and until they figure out what the problem is reception of 55-1 will not be possible.

Thanks,

D Guava

They should talk to WFOR and ask them what they should look at.

Relative to the DTC-100, I did some scouting over the weekend and came across a site that talked about the latest version of the firmware being 5.x. I recall that it talked about this updating downloaded from DirecTV for some period of time, but that now it was necessary to go to an authorized repair facility to get it. I don't know if there is a way to check the DTC-100 for "firmware version", but it might be worth a peek. If there is some way to check firmware version and someone has less than 5.x, I can dig out the address in the history buffer and post it.

That said: I agree with everyone who thinks the issue is probably (not the consumer boxes but) in the stream (because all of the other HD stations are coming in fine). This is really a "wait and see" proposition. Hopefully, the wait will not be long- it seemed like they made some progress from Friday to Monday.

Latest update is 5.10a, go into menu then to updates and it should give you what your update is.

Like I stated before it is not a DTC 100 problem but a WPTV 55-1 problem.

Dr Guava

Got some new news from the NBC 5 engineer...


We are working hard this week to get pass thru working for the HD version of the Kentucky Derby...even if we have to come in and do some patching to make it available...keep your fingers crossed. We are also beginning to get some feed back from the encoder folks, so we may make some headway on the dropping signal problem.


That team is really trying. Maybe NBC-HD by Derby time!

Another May 1 is almost upon us. It looks like this date is generally geared to public (and some independent) stations. Anyone have any strong info on whether this May 1 is just smoke, or is there any tangible hope for some new DTV (even if it is other languages, religion, or pretty pictures of butterflies and flowers)?

Various online sources seem to show a number of "going live" schedules:

IND 44 WPPB-DT,
PAX 36 WPXP-DT,
PBS 27 WXEL-DT,
TBN 38 WTCE-DT (to name 4),

...but I am wondering if those "in the know" know anything tangible about WPB and South Florida "locals" relative to this "deadline". With all the excitement/anxiety about 55-1, is there anyone interested in these others? Do we think any of them will fire up on the 1st? Any visible signs at towers, etc?

Darryl,

I doubt any of the spanish-language or religious stations will have any HD content at all. I'm just hoping there won't be any reception issues with WTVJ-NBC when they (finally) go live. I can no longer get a signal lock on WPTV-NBC even though I was able to at first. :confused:

I'm looking forward to WXEL-DT because I can't get the Miami PBS station here. As for WPTV-DT I can't get my Mitsubishi HD5 receiver to lock on it - and I'm only a couple of miles from the transmitter. I have been following this thread and the West Palm Beach thread and I'm waiting to see what the problem is.

I still can't get WPTV-NBC but today I started recieving Fort Myers NBC on 15-2 again. I haven't been able to receive it since December of last year.

Just glad to be getting NBC finally.

Tim Huey

Originally posted by TimHuey
I still can't get WPTV-NBC but today I started recieving Fort Myers NBC on 15-2 again. I haven't been able to receive it since December of last year.

Just glad to be getting NBC finally.

Tim Huey

I briefly tuned that Ft. Myers station last Saturday, while I was trying to tune in WPTV. They had actual program info in the guide, which was very surprising since only WSVN appears to be doing the same on this coast. But the signal was pretty weak and reception faded away after about 30 minutes or so.

I will see if they are doing the program info. They weren't earlier. As a matter of fact when I went to program guide it got stuck in some kind of loop. It kept trying to update the schedule. I just exited out but I didn't really check to see if it had added anything.

Tim Huey

Nope, no guide info and the channel is beginning to pixelate.

Tim Huey

Tim,

I don't think there's any consistency to how/when the stations use the program guide feature at this point. For example, one night I selected an upcoming show on WSVN's guide, and it actually had a very brief description of that show. The same thing happened one Saturday with WPBT-DT shortly after they went live, and I was able to scroll through several hours of upcoming programming. I wish all our locals would fully implement PSIP in their DTV broadcasts...it makes channel-surfing much more fun. :)

Well, I'm now getting 13-3 and 13-4 WPEC-DT in West Palm Beach. They have a weather radar on 13-4 that is absolutely awesome!!! What a great idea and a web cam too. I really like that channel.

Tim Huey

Progress on WPTV-DT...I'm now getting a reading of 100 again, but with dropouts accompanied by freezes, pixelation and loss of audio as often as several times per minute to as seldom as once every few minutes. And antenna aiming is quite non-critical now (+/- 80-degrees vs. +/- 2-degrees before.)

Ron Garrison with Hughes stated today that Direct TV will be sending out the long over due software update May 7th for the E86s and clones.

E86's?

Tim Huey

THe Hughes E86 is a Directv HDTV box that also does local NTSC and ATSC. I understand that the Toshiba DST3000 and the Mitsubishi SR-HD5 (which I have) are clones of the E86. I'm wondering what the software update is supposed to do?

Is my RCA DTC-100 a E86.

Tim Huey

Originally posted by TimHuey
Is my RCA DTC-100 a E86.

Tim Huey
No..
I think only the dst and the Zenith are ..

I think it's only the Mitsubishi SR-HD5 and the Toshiba DST3000. Zenith's boxes are in-house sourced.

I've never gotten any signal on my Hipix for WPTV, either :-(

What is this update supposed to do?

What is this update supposed to do?

Have any of you experienced some minor picture and sound drop puts like every 10 minutes from cbs florida digital channel lately! I have been experiencing this as of late and my signal reading is in the 100. I have a hughes e86 receiver. Also by the way is channel 55-1 nbl south florida. When will NBC south florida start brodcastign there digital channel. I did see the other day on my reciever channel 55-1 for like 2 hours and I then lost it what is this channel!

Also for the last 3 to 4 months I have lost channel 2-1 which is wpbt channel 2. I used to get it on my satellite receiver when i check the signal strength it reads 100 but when i go to channel 2-1 2-2 or 2-3 and i also try 18-1 and 17-1 I get nothing. Ive tried it all clear zip codes load channel guide restart the receiver. I once did all this and I received the channel for 10 minutes and I lost it again. Is this ever fixable. Also when is nbc south florida evr going to brodcast is this the 55-1 that everyone is talkign about cause im currently not receiving this!

I'm also experiencing sound drop outs with channel 4-1 (CBS). I have no problem receiving 2-1 or 17-1. I have a Samsung 165.

Just wanted to let you guys know that WPTV engineering is trying to get this reception problem fix before they start transmitting any HD content.

Here is an Email I received on Friday from WPTV:

We made some changes to the way PSIP is going out, and moved the signal to
Virtual channel 5 for HD. Please post this to the forum, as I did not have
any luck doing so. I am very interested to see if the complaints of pulling
in our digital signal now seems improved. We want to solve the reception
issues before we move forward with content issues. Thanks much,
Dave

Dave McKinley
Director Of Engineering
WPTV Television
dmmckinley@scripps.com

They are working at trying to solve the problem.

Thanks,

Dr Guava

Me too. Lots of sound drop outs of late on 4-1, and it was every 3 minutes or so during the golf tourney yesterday. It was a little better during the part that I watched of the "Lucy" movie (from 9:15 to 10:00 or so) (great looking hd by the way - it's the only reason I was watching!), but still there were many annoying sound drop outs. Never happened before with 4-1 as I recall. I use a zenith 520. Has any one given them a buzz? Do they acknowledge the problem? bye.

After the storm last week, I lost reception of Ch. 10 DT which I had picked up OTA without problem for months. Channel 4 still is perfect here in South Dade. Any thoughts as to why this is happening?

Virtual channel 10-1 is sent on a vhf frequency, and it's REALLY directional and overall a big pain in the butt to receive. If you use an outdoor antenna, perhaps the storm moved it a bit.

Guys when is nbc going to go live here in south florida! is 55-1 nbc douth florida any word when we will get nbc digital channel here in miami!

Still no 55-1 or 5-1.
Ch 55 has zero signal last night and today.
Has anyone got 55 since the weekend?

I watched a bit of the today show this morning on 5-1, and was getting it all day yesterday. Again, no pass through of HD content last night though, for reasons explained on this thread this morning by Dr.Guava. It seems that the audio drop outs of last week are less frequent too. I get a real strong signal, as always, through my zenith 520 stb.

hmm - guess the signal stream is still not pure then, causing the e86 devices and others to not be able to lock in.

sure hope they get this fixed soon - started watching WPEC-DT in the morning as their broadcast is quite sharp.

and here's what he had to say:

"Mark
Not a bother to contact me. I am appreciating the feedback. What we have a problem with is equipment arrival. We have had a Framesync on order for a while, it was promised last week, still not here. We need that to get the NBC HD feed out of the house, to the transmitter. We were working more on the signal path today. Hopefully up soon with Pass thru, will let you know asap.
Dave.

Dave McKinley
Director of Engineering
WPTV Television
dmmckinley@scripps.com "

Guys is this channel 5-1 or 55-1 that your talking about is this nbc south floridal. Or is it form another coty. I live in kendall so I want to know if this channel is nbc south florida!

55-1 is 5-1 (the station maps the real channel, which is 55-1 to the virtual channel 5-1). It is the West Palm Beach NBC.

Has 55 been on the air today ?

Originally posted by Eddy13
Guys is this channel 5-1 or 55-1 that your talking about is this nbc south floridal. Or is it form another coty. I live in kendall so I want to know if this channel is nbc south florida!

55-1 is from WPB, it remap to 5-1 for the lucky one's that can pick it up..

Any word when Fox south florida or nbc south florida going to go live in Miami

Eddy13:

I haven't heard anything recently. However, if you or anyone else does, please post the info here and at the thread: "HDTV in Miami-Dade and South Broward" as well. We will probably have different feeds in Miami than in Palm Beach County or North Broward.

NBC 6 HDTV By June!

Got an email from NBC 6 stating they would begin HDTV broadcasting in "early June"

Here's the actual Email:

I understand your frustration , but we are moving towards providing HDTV. The delay was due to location of the original channel assignment. WTVJ-HD Channel 31 new location has been approved by the FCC as of January 2003.



Since going on the air in 1967, channel 6 has always been difficult to pick-up over-the-air for most viewers because of it’s location near Homestead, 40 miles south of the Miami / Ft. Lauderdale center of television broadcasting. This is a result of FCC channel spacing requirements. WTVJ has delayed implementation of it’s digital HDTV broadcasting for over two years until arrangements could be worked out to move it’s assigned digital channel location from Homestead to midway between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. This will ensure viewers of perfect reception without the need for a separate antenna pointed in a different direction. WTVJ is installing new state-of-the-art transmitting equipment to provide a perfect picture to its viewers.



WTVJ-DT NBC 31 on a high definition is coming early June.



Thank you



steven kaplan




Steven Kaplan
WTVJ / WSCV
Director of Operations & Engineering
Office: (954) 622-6502 Dial Comm: *590
Fax: (954) 622-6682
steven.kaplan@nbc.com

We'll see soon if Kaplan's on the money or blowin' smoke up our sphincter's!

Outstanding !!
Quick question ---- Has anyone had difficulty getting DirecTV ch 509 HBO-HD ?

1. No probs with 509. 2. channel 55 is now remapped to 5-1, so don't make the mistake of keying in 55-1 or 55-2, because you'll get nothing.

Yesterday the sound drop outs on 4-1 were REALLY BAD, from prime time through the evening news. Anyone notice the same thing? Based on a prior post from kwikdraw re the same thing, this does not appear to be a problem with my equipment. Anyone who has noticed this same problem please let me know, because I'm going to contact channel 4 once I'm sure that it's a wfor problem, and not a problem unique to me. thanks.

I can't get 509 to save my life.
It reads zero for level.
All other transponders and channels on Sat B are great.

Did the same with Ch 55.
I go to the setup - installation and check signal level for ch 55 and zip.
So, I don't even bother trying 55-1 or 5-1 until there is at least a signal level.

Odd that only 55 and 509 give me any problems.

Originally posted by Westonhdguy
1. No probs with 509. 2. channel 55 is now remapped to 5-1, so don't make the mistake of keying in 55-1 or 55-2, because you'll get nothing.

Note that in order for your receiver to remap 55-1 to 5-1 you must first tune and receive 55-1 directly after the station has begun transmitting the remapping data. So those of us who haven't successfully received WPTV-DT since they began sending remap data must continue trying 55-1 until we can get a signal. Manually tuning 5-1 will get us nothing until then.

Originally posted by Eddy13
Any word when Fox south florida or nbc south florida going to go live in Miami

Fox (WSVN) is already on the air at 7-1 in Miami. There's no HD, and they do not pass through the Fox Network's widescreen programming. They do, however, transmit limited program info.

George--
Have you phoned DirecTv and asked them to check if 509 is turned on for your receiver?

the chief engineer at wptv has signed up as a new member, and he's full of info (of course). :)

Welcome to the chief engineer at wptv to the WPB/South Florida forum.

I have a question for all the members in the area is anybody receiving WPTV 55 with an RCA DTC 100 or Dish Network 6000.

Thanks,

Dr Guava

Bill;
No not yet, but I believe it does not matter.
I am not signed up for other channels, but if you go to setup and installation (on the Mits HD5) you will see the sat and TP and the signal level for it.

What I am trying to do is get a decodeable digital bitstream for Sat B TP 23.

I did have 509 2 days ago, but heavy drop outs.
So I went to do an alignment, and lost it altogher.
But, all the other TP went up.

Do you get a solid 509 signal ?

George--

"Do you get a solid 509 signal?"

Yes. Currently at 97. No drop outs.

Guys, please address West Palm Beach DTV issues on the West Palm Beach, FL DTV thread. This will eliminate some confusion. That's the thread that West Palm Beach stations are paying the most attention to.

Originally posted by Westonhdguy
Yesterday the sound drop outs on 4-1 were REALLY BAD, from prime time through the evening news. Anyone notice the same thing? Based on a prior post from kwikdraw re the same thing, this does not appear to be a problem with my equipment. Anyone who has noticed this same problem please let me know, because I'm going to contact channel 4 once I'm sure that it's a wfor problem, and not a problem unique to me. thanks.

Mark,

I had to check this out before replying, but I am also getting audio dropouts on WFOR. I counted at least 9 in the last 35 minutes alone (during the local newscasts). They don't come at regularly spaced intervals, and are not equal in their duration...some appear to be slightly longer than others. Hope this helps when you contact their engineering department. I'm using a Samsung OTA tuner.

Rudy

Bill, Just to let you know I got the 509 fixed. Was 2 cables.
I believe that working with digital, if cable grounds are not perfect, you may get a good DC connection but the cable can give "beats" or harmonic distortions to the signals. (Just like the ones we get with channel 55, when their power amp had problems)

So if the digital stream is distorted, the receiver will not give a good detect of the signal, and the signal will drop to zero !

It is not that the signal is going to zero, but the detection circuits say no digital stream, so the level goes to zero.

What a crazy problem I had, mainly it must have distorted the signal, and I believe since High Def is a bigger stream, it is more prone to errors, and will cause more drop outs than a regular digital stream.

This problem is the same for either OTA or Sat.

Whats up with all the audio drop outs from channel 4-1 south florida it becoming very annoying. I am receiving audio drop outs every 3 minutes or so. I know some of you are experiencing this any of you in Miami also ecperiencing the annoying audio drop outs. Has anyone called the station to see what the problem is!

Originally posted by Eddy13
Whats up with all the audio drop outs from channel 4-1 south florida it becoming very annoying. I am receiving audio drop outs every 3 minutes or so. I know some of you are experiencing this any of you in Miami also experiencing the annoying audio drop outs. Has anyone called the station to see what the problem is!

I wonder if the dropouts have anything to do with the national feed. I was experiencing similar issues with 12-1 here in West Palm Beach during CSI.

I didn't notice any audio dropouts during "CSI" and "Without A Trace" last night.

I did notice audio dropouts while watching Suvivor last night on 4-1.

Dr guava

I watch only HD on WFOR-DT (bless DirecTiVo) and am not experiencing audio drop outs [knock wood]. In fact, I cannot remember exactly when was the last time I had them. 'CSI' audio was flawless last night.

It is possible that the occasional dropouts I used to have -- never as bad as those being reported here -- stopped at the same time that the E86 reception problems went away after I finally added a cooling fan more than two months ago.

Do the drop outs occur on both HD and non HD programs?

If anyone wishes to phone WFOR, the switchboard number is 305 591 4444. I believe that the head audio man in Engineering is named Ken. The chief engineer, Amado Marsallo(?), has a direct line at 305 639 4628.

Originally posted by George33027
Bill, Just to let you know I got the 509 fixed. Was 2 cables.
I believe that working with digital, if cable grounds are not perfect, you may get a good DC connection but the cable can give "beats" or harmonic distortions to the signals. (Just like the ones we get with channel 55, when their power amp had problems)

So if the digital stream is distorted, the receiver will not give a good detect of the signal, and the signal will drop to zero !

It is not that the signal is going to zero, but the detection circuits say no digital stream, so the level goes to zero.

What a crazy problem I had, mainly it must have distorted the signal, and I believe since High Def is a bigger stream, it is more prone to errors, and will cause more drop outs than a regular digital stream.

This problem is the same for either OTA or Sat.


George--
I have no comprehension of your technical explanation, but am very happy to know that you have resolved your 509 problem.

Oh
It was the cables.
I can not believe that a cable connection can cause one of 10 transponders not to be received.
That what I was trying to say.

no its only happening on channel 4 and with non hd programming. Survivor had alot of drop outs and anythime there wasnt hd showing there was alot of drop outs but the hd programming was flawless

CBS O&O and affiliate DTV stations pass the CBS-HD feed for all primetime programming whether a show originates in HD or SD. In other words, if you're watching WFOR-DT or WPEC-DT you're seeing and hearing what comes to us from CBS-HDTV New York. If it's SD, you're seeing SD to 1080i upconverted in New York. It's possible to have audio dropouts on one of the stations and not on another, though.

I've been experimenting over the past couple of days with a Silver Sensor antenna connected to a CM 7777, and I've been able to get the Samsung SIR-T150 to lock onto the signal. However, though six bars light up on the STB's signal meter, the signal is very erratic, disappearing completely then returning. When the signal is steadiest, the PQ is excellent on the upconverted SD, but when the signal begins to fluctuate the image breaks up completely very quickly. Also, aiming the antenna to initially acquire the signal takes an inordinate amount of time, which just doesn't seem to make any sense considering how easily WFLX can be picked up.

Hopefully, WTVJ won't have these issues.

Has anyone noticed a change in signal level or quality for ABC 10-1 ?

It stinks as always. Very directional, very weak signal, prone to interference.

Was it always like that?
I never had a problem with it until a few days ago.
Now it has become very directional, and I have to move my antenna.
This is VHF, and now I have to loose Fox (29-1) to get ABC (10-1)

I do believe it was a lot stronger a month ago.

My experience is that it has by far always been among the weakest hd channels. I would agree that of late its been worse than usual - not only do I lose signal sometimes which requires me to move the antenna, but I get pixelations and, worst of all, sound drop outs. My kids, for instance, were watching Eloise a few sundays back, and the sound drop outs were so bad that I had to switch to directv channel 10.

Originally posted by George33027
Has anyone noticed a change in signal level or quality for ABC 10-1 ?

No and no. Still constant 100 here.

I've been having problems with Ch 10-1 too. Signal strength indicates 80+ but not getting a picture. Very strange.
Still troubleshooting. It seems to only happen on my DTC100 with 16x9 mod.
First noticed when I tried to record ET last night.

Has anyone using a DTC100 been able to get NBC (55-1) yet in Fort Lauderdale / Miami area?

Mark,

It seems as though WPTV-DT may only be received by the newest Sony, Zenith and Samsung receivers among viewers reporting to the West Palm Beach thread. Anything older like a DTC100 or Hughes E86 clones such as the Toshiba DST3000 and my own Mitsubishi SR-HD5 have trouble locking onto the signal. WPTV is aware of this and is working with its equipment vendors to remedy the situation.

Maybe ABC has changed or aligned their antenna ???
Because we are west, we are in a null ?

No luck with my DTC-100 at Las Olas Mark. I will post here if I ever receive any type of signal on that channel.

Tim

I used to get a solid ch 9 remapped to 10-1 ABC.
Now, and last night, I can't even get a picture, even with a signal lock.

Same thing here with 10-1 being very touchy. I have to get my antenna aimed *just* right to avoid drop outs, and I'm only about 6 miles from the tower. Kind of reminds me of the days of putting tinfoil on the antenna... heh heh heh

I'm also in Pem Pns and about 6-7 miles (Univ & Taft) from the towers. I was also having trouble getting 10-1. I got rid of my terk TV42 and bought an indoor antenna. I'm actually begining to think I am too close to the towers for an ampified antenna. With the terk TV42 I was having trouble getting all the channels in the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area at once (had to go on the roof and move the antenna to get different channels). Now with my new Philips/Magnovox SCA050 indoor, I get all the digital channels without having to adjust the antenna. However, for Channels 10-1 and 7-1, I do have to turn the gain to 0. WPB channels are out of the question except for 29-1, sometimes. But that won't matter once NBC- Miami is up and running.

The SCA050 does not look like a traditional indoor antenna, it has a high tech look, so it blends perfectly with my HT equipment.

Crazy, but while I was adjusting my antenna to see if I can get ch 55 in WPB, I got 10-1 !!!
Don't know why I have to point my antenna north to get a station to the east?

Well, another NBC season has gone by with no HD in South Florida. There's always hope for next season.

Originally posted by aviators99
Well, another NBC season has gone by with no HD in South Florida. There's always hope for next season.


Aviatiors,


This is the reply from an email I sent to WTVJ today....hope he is correct:

Progress is being made. The Transmitter is in, the Antenna will be placed
on the tower on May 24th. Testing transmitter, tuning the antenna,
measuring signal early June, in production before the end of the month is
the way it looks today. It won't be long now. Soon we will be able to
watch our favorite shows in HD.

Regards,


-----Original Message-----
Subject: Re: WTVJ digital channel


Hello,

Are you still on schedule to start broadcasting your HDTV signal on
channel 31 in early June? Myself, and many other South Florida HDTV
users, are anxiously awaiting WTVJ's digital channel launch.

Thanks,

Does this mean that Ch 31 will be operational before Ch 55 ?

Did anyone else notice the WPLG 10 HDTV logo on the bottom left side of the screen (4.3)? Also the black bars are not solid black but, kind of a charcoal and white mix.....

They used to do that back in their first year or so in operation and then they stopped.

Apparently the Software Update download is coming tomorrow:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=261390

Problem with hughes e86 and local reception. Awhile back i lost the capability of getting channel 2-1 the demo loop. I tried everything changing zip codes , resettign the receiver . I followed the advice on here but yesterday i tried somethign new. I set the receiver in the dish set up menu . I put on the option of no satellite dish which tells the system that i dont have a dish up. Obviously in this settign I can not get any direct tv channel i then did a channel scan for my locals and there it was i was able to get channel 2-1 and it stays in the guide along with all the other locals but obviously no direct tv channel. So everythime i want to see direct tv i have to go to dish setup and put 3 lnb satellite and thus losing channel 2-1. Very weird

Maybe that's part of what the Upgrade will address.

I believe there is some kind of serial number log that DirecTV uses in their upgrade.
Mine is always a few days to a week after the I notice others have the upgrade.
Only once did I see a schedule the day or night before.
I think you can get upgraded and never see a schedule.

Anyone see any changes as a result of today's 3:59 a. m. Software Upgrade 1504 from DirecTV?

HD Receiver Models:
Hughes Network Systems - HIRD-E86
Mitsubishi - SRHD500 (aka SR-HD5)
Philips - DSHD800R
Toshiba - DST-3000

Tried to watch Smallville last night and WB 39-1 had no sound.
Pix was in HD, but sound = 0.
Does an engineer work at WB?
Before and after there was sound ??????????

Does anyone have any information about Comcasts plans to offer HD over cable. They've done it in Maryland!

WPBT DT is on the air.

2-1 and 2-2 have returned!

Originally posted by Barry Lieberman
Does anyone have any information about Comcasts plans to offer HD over cable. They've done it in Maryland!

They don't expect to make any announcements until the current upgrade to their system is finished. They anticipate it should be about 95% complete by the end of this year.

Here's the latest from WPTV's engineer, as of noon today:

Mark,
The cards have made it to Atlanta today. We are also having automation
software issues with our Master Control switcher, the latest update came in
today. We want to have the HD on the air as quickly, and cleanly as
possible. We also have some encoder gear back at the manufacturer, and
still waiting for it to come back. I wish I could paint a firm date for
everyone, but I am at the mercy of other folks to perform so we can perform
our jobs. A lot of folks are now saying they can pick us up, and we have
not done much of anything to adjust the signal...I still suspect older
generation boxes, but we do have the manufacturer looking at the stream...so
far all is clean.
Dave

Dave McKinley
Director Of Engineering
WPTV Television

They should borrow another system (called a loaner) and try it out.

Problem is why do you fall back on "older generation boxes" statements.

If the system is a standard data stream, there should not be any problems.
Why can the "older" boxers not have a problem getting 4-1, 7-1, 10-1, 29-1, etc
Yet have problems with 55-1 and / or 5-1 ????????????????

Maybe the Canadians have a different language ????????????

Did you ever ask to get a loaner while your equipment is being fixed?:confused:

Last Tuesday (5/20), 'NYPD Blue', while indicating DD 5.1 on the receiver, came through on the front L and R speakers only. No center. No rear. This program has in the past had excellent 5.1 and the episode was a season ending new one. (Which, by the way, started with quite graphic naked maple-syrup-pouring sex and ended with the life threatening shooting of one of the leading characters. Details upon request.)

Same thing -- audio, not sex or shooting -- for the Thursday (5/22) basketball game, which had an on-screen 5.1 announcement.

In today's Miami Herald Business Section, WTVJ (NBC) said they are placing a digital antenna in Hallandale Beach which should be functioning in a few weeks. The article points out the soon to be seen expansion of HDTV.

Thanks for the info, David. I was wondering what WTVJ was up to lately. Hopefully, they won't experience too many problems when they finally go live with their digital signal considering how long we've had to wait.

The article can be found here. (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/5933506.htm)

Pretty good except for grinch-like comments from Telemundo.

That is because Telemundo does not see any plans for HD in their programming!

I hope NBC (WTVJ) consults with CBS on their equipment, so the process will takes a shorter time to complete. If they use the same equipment and are in the same area, they can share back up equipment and have a lower maintenace costs.

Now, if they consult with WPB ch 55, they may not get the station up by Sept.

Originally posted by aviators99
The article can be found here. (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/5933506.htm)

Pretty good except for grinch-like comments from Telemundo.

Incidently, the President and GM of WTVJ was just last week named Chief Operating Officer of Telemundo, which is owned by NBC.

I have no idea what this might portend for HDTV at either station. Probably not much if anything. The given reason is to boost Telemundo's ratings versus leading Spanish network Univision.

Originally posted by George33027

Now, if they consult with WPB ch 55, they may not get the station up by Sept.

OUCH! Well, I supposed someone has to be the industry leader in the "worst HDTV rollout" category. I'm sure in 5 years they will all look back and laugh at this at NBC in West Palm Beach.

I don't think it is so much that they can't seem to get their signal out that makes it a disaster for the public. What makes it a disaster is their PR approach of blaming it on the viewers and their boxes.

Tim Huey

You think they are smart enough to laugh?
They will read what you wrote and see NBC Industry Leader.:D

What will WTVJ-DT channel assignment be so we can start watching for them?
Hopefully then we can forget about the NBC palm beach debacle.

31-1.

I wonder which station will be the first to broadcast HD from the NBC network, WTVJ or WPTV?

I bet 55-1 will broadcast HD first, but only a handful of people with reasonably stable signals will be able to tell.

I just had a bit of interaction with DTV 6 and posted their (positive) response in the WPB thread.

To get off the NBC subject for a minute...

Has anyone else noticed audio only coming in on 2-8?

I started picking this up on my Sammy T-151 this weekend. First the audio was absolutely horrid, scratchy staticy, etc. but yesterday it was cleaned up a little.

I can't tell exactly what it is they're broadcasting, but it sounds like a simulcast of something. Maybe the engineers are just testing something...who knows.

If it matters:
Samsung SIR-T151
Terk TV55 on a tripod in my living room
50 feet up in the air (top floor, in a condo)
Commercial Blvd & University Drive area

I've been in touch with them and they've just installed something called a statistical multiplexer. As far as I can tell, it's having a very negative effect on the HD broadcasts on 2-1, but they told me they're still tweaking their settings. My Samsung SIR-T150 cannot "see" the audio-only stream on 2-8, though it is able to lock onto the signal perfectly. My SIR-T165 has no problem with the audio stream, however.

I thought someone had posted something about 2-8 on here. It shows up as Dolby Digital 2 channel stereo on my unit (audio only of course). I have heard some pretty clean music playing on this channel, but not this past weekend. I thought that I read (somewhere/here?) it was going to be a music channel (why?).

After 4 months of not having channel 2-1 it did come back on for a week now today i lost 2-1. Has any other person on here lose 2-1 over the weeknd!

Rudy1 -

As far as your question regarding the NBC HD broadcasting, I found on "antennaweb.org" the listing of each channel which does not have a "live" date for WPTV but for WTVJ it is slated to go "live" June 10, 2003. So finally I might get some HD content out of NBC (at least digital).

Take care.

John

Eddy13, others claim they were experimenting this weekend. At some points during the weekend, my Zenith 1080 box showed 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 and 2-8. Other times it showed those plus 18-3, 18-4 and 18-8. Now it's back to just the "2's". You might have to rescan to get them.

jjmcgraw, I actually heard from NBC6 yesterday and their people said their target date for going live is June 30, though they will begin testing next week. See his complete feedback on the WPB thread.

I wasn't able to get anything at all from WPBT-DT last night.

WPTV DT 55 UPDATE:
First, I want to thank all of you for your emails and posts and phone calls. We hear you loud and clear. We have been devoting our time to the details of working on the signal, as opposed to answering emails or posting updates. I will work harder to let you dedicated bunch know what frustrations we are going thru in order to get the best signal out. Its not a blame game, its what is happening. We contracted with a company back in August 2002 to install and test our HD path equipment. We are still waiting on parts to come in that should of been part of the original order and included options on the equipment.
The encoder, a Tandberg 5821, supplies the SMPTE signal to our NuComm STL equipment, the 310 comes out and feeds our Axcera transmitter. The transmitter was proofed in January, and retested in February...all parameters meet spec. The NuComm equipment was installed in November, it "appears" to be working as it is getting a 310 signal to the transmitter, and the transmitter is happy with it. During startup, we attempted to look at the stream coming out to the transmitter, it was at this point we realized the company did not provide the unit with a 310 input, only ASI, there fore we could not look at the stream there. We could look at it at the studio going into the NuComm equipment, as it takes ASI. It meets spec. We have been waiting for about 6 weeks now to have the Streamtracker returned with the 310 upgrade cards...the cards arrived on my desk this morning...they were to be delivered to Atlanta for install/testing. Once we get this unit back, now promised as "sometime next week" we can look at the stream inbound from the STL before it hits the transmitter to look for errors. We may be chasing something in the STL in the way it converts the ASI to 310, although NuComm tested the equipment and says it is meeting spec. If this is clean, we will once again have the transmitter looked into. We are also investigating why 1st gen Rx's may be having this problem with reception, even though it is hard for many of you to comprehend that this may just be an issue. We are also working on the HD frame sync cards to pass thru NBC HD, we were told these were in Atlanta last week, and we would have them. Today we learned, they are still in test in Canada, and hopefully "sometime next week" as we were told, they will arrive in West Palm. If anyone has noticed, we have also begun dismantle of our 1962 Dresser Ideco tower in Lantana and hope to have it fully down in the next 2 weeks. We also have 1 more wrap around 2 way platform to install at the 500' level on the new tower. We will chat again soon. Dave

Thanks for the update, Dave and good luck!

I'm not surprised at the delays in getting these issues resolved, considering how many different manufacturers they're having to deal with. What a mess! You'd think that some company would've come up with a total "HDTV solution" for TV stations, but I guess that wouldn't be practical from a manufacturing standpoint.

Yes, it's almost like building your own car from parts purchased from auto manufacturers and Pep Boys!;)

Outstanding.
Thank you for a report of facts. It is very much appreciated.

Just a point, remember when you fixed the power amp, then all of us 1st gen Rx's had no problems receiving 55-1, Then it went to 5-1 and problems.

Again keep up the good work. I think you have too many people in the loop.

George --

Not quite. I, for one, -- and I believe there are others -- have never received a signal on 55, much less a picture on 55-1.

Originally posted by George33027
Outstanding.
Just a point, remember when you fixed the power amp, then all of us 1st gen Rx's had no problems receiving 55-1

I don't know why you'd make such a general statement. Besides, it is absolutely false.

WPTV:
Maybe with all that hardware getting stuck in Atlanta you should watch some of your commercials and get Brown involved.

Where can I find this WPB thread?

Thanks.

John

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108284

whoops, I may have been in error.
I believe that when 55 first came on line, very few, if any could have received 55.
Then they acknowledged that they (ch 55) had "final amplfier" problems, which many of us believed caused distortion.

Once they fixed the amplifier, then myself as with many others that I have read on this forum got ch55 signals.
This includes the 1st gen Rx's !
I did not say it was perfect, but, as a general statement, I believe that it was at that time the most receivers could get ch 55 signals.
I did have drop outs, and the antenna had to be adjusted to a narrow position, but what I was trying to say was that at than time there were many responses that people were receiving some kind of ch 55 signals.

Then they did something else and remapping happened to 5-1.
Then I noticed reading the responses, as well as myself, that I could get intemittant locks, but no video.
It was a short lived viewing of ch 55-1.

It was this small time period of many (not all) people did start to receive something, and that was what I was trying to say.

So I stand corrected, I should not have said "all of us" , it should have been "some of us" received ch 55.
And the "some of us" was also first gen receivers, so I was trying to make a point that it was not a first gen receiver problem.

I did not mean to ruffle feathers on those who never received ch 55.

Yep, gotta add me to the "never recieved 55-1" ever group with a first generation box. Never Ever!!

Tim Huey

I havent been able to receive Ch. 25 the last couple of nights. Is it me or them?

I haven't been able to get ch. 25-1 or 12-1 in several days either. Anybody know if they share transmitting equipment and have a problem or something?

I almost hate to ask this question cause the implications are devestating. Does anyone know if WTVJ (NBC Miami) is going to use the same setup as WPTV (NBC West Palm). I just hope it's not some type of "order your kit from NBC National" and set up your HDef transmitter.

It really is beginning to sound like NBC West Palm has some bad equipment that is incompatible with many recievers. I would hate to go through this whole fiasco again with NBC Miami. I expect problems but not the magnitude of West Palm Beach.

Tim Huey

If I was WPTV, I would make sure that the company they hired does not get paid one cent, until they can prove all is working properly with test equipment shown at all stages of the signal flow, and a large group on this thread can receive it.

TimHuey, No, NBC 6 in Miami is going to use the same equipment that works now on their (spanish language) sister station on 52. They already have a working DTV platform (I can get Telemundo way up in Hobe Sound). Their director of operations and engineering had this to say recently...

"We currently run the Telemundo DTV Channel 52 with little consumer problems with set top boxes. The transmitter is the same make, but WTVJ will broadcast at full power unlike our sister station Channel 52. We will be doing testing starting the first week in June, with luck, and make our scheduled on air date. If you have a problem please let me know what we can do to correct it."

Earlier in his message, he said the "scheduled air date" target in June 30.

I got some new feedback from NBC6, and the testing will not start this week. Instead, they estimate the start to be in the middle of June. The wait for NBC-DT carries on...:o

Awesome, cause I receive Telemundo (whoohoo) very well. Seems I get all the digital spanish stations just fine. Can't figure out what the heck they are saying but the people are pretty.

Tim

I wonder what equipment WTVJ will use for a modulator and transmitter?
It does not sound like they hired an outside company (that does not seem to know what they are doing, like with ch 55) to do this.

WPTV DT Update
We made some changes this morning to the 8VSB microwave link from the studio to the transmitter site. NEED INPUT from forum to know if this HELPS the problem boxes out there. We are still waiting on test gear to come back, does not appear the 1/2 power test did much to help anyone this past weekend. The long overdue frame sync cards came in yesterday, we are in the process of installing and testing HD pass thru. IF you see any successes let me know. Also here is a sneak peek at NBC's plan for HD next fall.
DAY & PROGRAM HD

MONDAY
8 FEAR FACTOR NO
9 LAS VEGAS YES
10 THIRD WATCH YES*

TUESDAY
8 WHOOPI YES
8:30HAPPY FAMILY YES
9 FRASIER YES
9:30GMM NO
10 L/O SVU YES

WEDNESDAY
8 ED YES
9 THE WEST WING YES
10 LAW & ORDER YES

THURSDAY
8 FRIENDS NO
8:30 SCRUBS NO
9 WILL & GRACE NO
9:30COUPLING. YES
10 ER YES

FRIDAY
8 MISS MATCH YES
9 DATELINE NBC NO
10 BOOMTOWN YES

SATURDAY
8 NBC SAT.MOVIE Contractual only

SUNDAY
7 DATELINE NBC NO
8 AMERICAN DREAMS YES
9 LAW & ORDER: CI YES
10 LYONS DEN YES

Tonight might be the night! Dave McKinley at WPTV just e-mailed me and says re NBC HD pass through: "We are hoping Leno tonight as a test". Those of us who can receive wptv should watch (like we weren't going to) and report to Dave - maybe on this thread - with how it looks, sounds, etc. Here we go!

Dave McK --

Still nothing here on E86.

(WFLX is currently at 100. Usually in 70s and 80s)

Dave,

I'm still experiencing the intermittent freezing and signal fluctuations (with the Samsung STB's), but other than that the PQ is excellent. Good luck with Leno tonight....

Rudy

Just for curiousity, not to start a problem, but, those who can get 5-1, should be able (hopefully) to het HDtv tonight.
Am I to assume, that the next step will be audio in 5.1?

George, L&O is on WPTV, but it's not in HDTV even though it's supposed to be. So you're not missing anything so far....

Leno is in HD on WPTV. Looks great, Dave! You might be having stereo issues though - I'm not even sure it's coming through in dolby 2.0. But wow, great picture. Law and Orders were not in hd.

What type of receiver are you using? My e86 isn't picking up 5-1 after scanning.... Oh well....

minus_3,

Did you try 55-1 first? You may need to manually add 55-1 to your local area channel list to receive it before your box remaps it to 5-1.

Originally posted by minus_3
What type of receiver are you using? My e86 isn't picking up 5-1 after scanning.... Oh well....

I have one of the "newer" boxes - zenith hd520. Leno was in HD and looked great. Also, the sound issue was something on my end, so everything was perfect.

Hooray! (uh, for those of us who can get it).

Again, the race ticks on:
NBC 5 vs NBC 6.
While NBC 5 is waiting for test equipment, and just keeping "newer" boxes on line, NBC 6 is getting close to transmission.

And DirecTV is also getting into the High Def race with their HD package for July 1st.

I do believe advertisers see this, and if people have the money to spend on High Def equipment, they are the ones who will buy advertised products.

Wait a minute... is WTVJ going to be on 5-1, 55-1, or 30-1? Antennaweb.org has it listed as 30-1. Also, those of you receiving WTVJ in HD, please let me know what kind of antenna you are using... I have a large directional antenna facing 42 degrees or so and the WTVJ tower is in the opposite direction. I am apparently going to have to point another smaller directional antenna in the opposite direction at about 203 degrees. Anyone know if you can combine two antennas into one cable with a splitter? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just like the rest of you, I have been waiting for WTVJ in HD for a long time. Thanks!

WPTV is currently broadcasting on 55-1, which remaps to 5-1; they are in Palm Beach County. WTVJ is the Miami NBC affiliate, and they will be broadcasting on 30-1, hopefully sometime later this month.

I see, I see... I jumped the gun and got excited for no reason. I thought WTVJ was starting today, not WPTV. I get a faint signal on 55-1. I wonder if an amplifier will push me up a bit. Or maybe I can point my giant antenna directly at 55-1 and point the smaller one to the stronger stations at 42 degrees. Hmmm... decisions, decisions.

It is 55-1 with a signal problem.
It is not your unit.
Some of the newer units that have more signal error tolerence may get some reasonable signal, but I wouldn't do anything until you read better news.
Read the WPB thread, and wait.
I think 30-1 will be operational before 55-1 / 5-1.

minus_3, buy a rotor. They're cheap (<$80) and can rotate the antenna by remote from your living room. This way you can max out every signal of every station broadcasting. I have the Channel Master 9521A and it is great! With the fine tuning ability (scale of rotation is 0-360), I can be extremely precise- so much so that I can even pull in a few DTV stations from Orlando.

One other suggestion: I've picked up a Universal Remote MX700 and programmed it's LCD buttons so that I can click one button to rotate the antenna and tune the station.

Thanks for the tips guys....

No hd for ER thus far.

HD for ER clicked in at 10:10 or so, and boy did it look great! There were some audio dropouts with a couple of instances of pixelization. Great job Dave etc. ! It's beautiful. I only hope that the glass on my screen doesn't break when it has Terry Bradshaw in HD tonight on Leno! (Uggh).

WTVJ-HD will be on Ch. 31, and I am sure it will remap to 6.1. The location will not be in the Ch.6 tower in So. Dade, but at the No. Dade antenna farm. From what I understand it will be on the same tower as Ch.4, but it could be on the NBC tower where Ch. 51, 52-DT are on Hallandale Blvd. You can check this info on: www.100000watts.com

Best regards,

Jose
W2JD

Ft Myers reception in the Lake Worth area: I have a friend who lives near many of you in the Lake Worth area. He has a big Blake aerial and a newest generation of HD decoder, but is having many of the same problems that many of us are having (pixelations and/or audio dropouts) on 5-1.

Last night, he attempted to tune in NBC from Ft. Myers and got it. Even up in Hobe Sound, I've had some success getting Ft. Myers NBC too from time to time. I know the "tropospheric" effect was asserting itself last night, but I was wondering if many in South Florida (east coast) have much luck pulling in Ft. Myers stations under "normal" circumstances. If so, what channels? I'd like to let my friend know to try scanning some others.

By the way, he did comment that ER last night on Ft. Myers HD-NBC was fabulous- in HD, and filling the full 16:9 frame. My own view of 5-1 last night in between pixelations and audio dropouts was matted HD (black box frame all the way around). With 6-1 impending, NBC may not be a big deal soon, but what else is possible to recieve under normal circumstances from the west coast?

I don't think it's possible that you watched 5-1 last night and ER was "matted" all the way through. It was for the first 10 minutes, but then it switched to HD at 16x9 and was glorious.

My mistake. You're right. I checked in a little after 10pm but couldn't lock a very stable signal. I should have hung in there a few more minutes. It's just hard to go there hoping for stability and instead getting a hybrid of stability and chaos. Hanging in there hoping for something more is like the old days of physically holding the rabbit ears in weird positions because the on-screen snow seemed slighly less dominant. Digital just makes the snow have little bits of the image on it- like watching a 1000-puzzle rapidly coming together in places and falling apart, over and over. But I maintain hope for D-NBC soon from 5 (or 6).

WPTV-DT was without audio as early as 4:30 pm today....I thought that they'd have it fixed by this evening. I've seen this same thing on WBZL-DT at least twice in the past couple of weeks. Perhaps stations going digital should provide a couple of staff members with consumer HDTV equipment to take home so that they can monitor what their viewers are seeing instead of simply relying on what the engineers see in master control. And it would be nice if they would flash announcements on-screen so that we'd at least know that master control is aware of any problems they're having. It is really irritating to call the stations when something is wrong and the receptionist or the news room crew are completely oblivious to what is going on. And it's totally impossible to reach anybody with sense after normal business hours. What's going to happen when analog broadcasting is no more?

Reading over these posts it strikes me how sad it is for So. FL to have two such poor excuses for NBC stations.

We've been waiting over three years for HD NBC (not that there was much to see for most the time). WTVJ had every excuse under the sun for postponing digital startup plus a compliant FCC to help them. Now the Palm Bch station egregeously drops the ball.

I checked and every TV market down to number 75 has a functioning digital NBC station except poor So. FL (no. 14). Oh well, I pray that deliverance is nigh.

And if this is the worst thing in life, things must be pretty good.

Originally posted by mmburke
Reading over these posts it strikes me how sad it is for So. FL to have two such poor excuses for NBC stations.

We've been waiting over three years for HD NBC (not that there was much to see for most the time). WTVJ had every excuse under the sun for postponing digital startup plus a compliant FCC to help them. Now the Palm Bch station egregeously drops the ball.

I checked and every TV market down to number 75 has a functioning digital NBC station except poor So. FL (no. 14). Oh well, I pray that deliverance is nigh.

And if this is the worst thing in life, things must be pretty good.

Well put. I'm disappointed with the whole network in addition to these affiliates. They were the 1st to the market, then fell right behind the others.

If this was just about HDTV it would merely be very irritating, but it goes way deeper than that. When did mediocrity become the highest standard for which all of american business strives? The whole situation with the DTV transition is only one pathetic example of just low we've sunk in this country. It seems everybody has an agenda, and pleasing the customer is obviously not part of it. I can't believe that our government was actually annoyed that the rest of the world didn't rush to embrace ATSC as the standard for their digital broadcasting systems....look at how poorly things have been handled here: expensive & hard to find equipment, lack of adherence to standards, equipment shipping times that are longer than a transatlantic crossing by sailboat, and endless debates and delays over who should take the first move to make HDTV more readily available to the masses. Not to mention the all-powerful local government bodies and neighborhood and condo associations who prevent transmission towers from being erected and keep people from installing antennas or dishes on their property.

I called them, and they were oblivious. At a little after ten, I talked to a woman and told her the sound had been out for hours: she said the engineers weren't there and "there's nothing we can do about it". AAARGH!:mad:

Rudy **********************
I am glad you said that.
Every time I bring it up, people look at me as though I was a problem or a complainer.
You hit the nail on the head.

<on SoapBox>
It appears that the first thing that has been happening to get higher profits is to stop "training"
Then get rid of the "experience" people and use the newly hired (lower paid) people.
A lot of people "Think" they know a job and how to accomplish something, but most likely have not had the experience.
Then if things get done, then they take the credit, without really knowing how it acually got done.

In today's world it is "do what you are told" and not think!

It is amazing how many people get paid to sit back and wait, because it is not their problem. This is in government as well as in many companies.
Then the image is, cause inconvience to the public, and it appears as if something is getting done. This also hides the fact that somebody made a mistake, or just did not do their job!

It doesn't matter if the engineers are at the station, because there is no test equipment to do anything anyway!

<off soapbox>
The weekend is here.
I wonder who shows up today?

Does anyone know the HD status of UPN ?

This was just posted on the Channel 6 website:

HDTV Coming To WTVJ
Viewers Will Have Picture Perfect Reception

POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EST February 19, 2003
UPDATED: 11:12 a.m. EST June 9, 2003

MIRAMAR, Fla. -- By the middle of July 2003, WTVJ will begin broadcasting its HDTV signal on channel 31 from a new location.

In January 2003, the FCC approved WTVJ-HD Channel 31



I guess that the on the air date has been changed from June to July.

Dr Guava

WTVJ NBC6 Miami

One wonders how many innocent viewers who read the web site cited above will be shocked to learn that they must invest in mucho new equipment in order to "Have Picture Perfect Reception".