This is the Official discussion thread for the Columbia / Jefferson City, MO DMA.

The following networks are available in HD OTA:
ABC (17-1) 720p/DD2.0
CBS (13-1) 1080i/DD2.0
NBC (8-1) 1080i/DD2.0

Well lets get some official discussion going then! I'm in Sedalia Mo.

Ch 17 is solid but has broken my heart by switching off the HD 2 DAYS after I got set up. (ABC out of KC would require me to hang a VHF antenna for their lonely VHF signal so thats out) All those great baseball games, Monday night Football, Prime Time programing missed while they piddle around upgrading the old analog junk. 13 is out of range so far. 8 has been rock solid up until this weekend when is disappeared from digital completely. Any idea if they have had a problem or this is just a fluke of nature? Could not find any e-mail contact information for engineering on their web site....

It sounds ridiculous, but just keep posting your thoughts/info/questions about Columbia, MO - even if there is nobody else from the area yet. Eventually more members will show up since all Columbia, MO info will be directed to this thread.

Great to see this forum up. I am another Sedville resident. I did spring for the channel master v/u antenna for KC digital stations. Did not have any luck with KMIZ, KRCG or KOMU. Great pictures out of the KC stations and many have dd 5.1. Now if only WDAF would get with the program. Can't wait for July 2005 and full power on all the stations.

good to see some folks in this forum. I emailed FOX/ABC a few weeks ago and asked why they were not broadcasting in HDTV. They replied that their antennae failed and they were in the process of fixing it. Look for it within 30-60 days they said, so I hope by the New Year we will be able to view.

Has anybody tried a Winegard SquareShooter (either ss1000 or ss2000)? If so, how does it work?

Or, is anyone having good reception with a particular antenna?

That Square Shooter looked like a cool little piece, but I'm to far out on the fringe for it to be an option. I started with a R' Shack UHF yagi (Cat # 15-2160} and push down booster, which did a surprisingly good job for a small n cheapie'. Switched to a CM 4248 LARGE size yagi in my never ending attempt to get the KC CBS channel for football games. Really did not gain as much as I had hoped with it. A buddy of mine went with the CM 4228 big screen door size bow tie thing which seems to be working well, so I may try that out for my next trick.

Our local cable company has been telling us for some time that HD is coming...but they have no firm dates or channels. It's a bummer when you have all the stuff to watch HD and can't consistently pull stuff in.


I would love to hear from anyone to the west of Columbia who is receiving KRCG's digital signal.

I live in Montgomery City.It's in the eastern fringe area of the Columbia/Jefferson City DMA. I can receive KOMU out of Columbia, KRCG from Jefferson City real good. I get KMOS from Sedalia fairly good. However, receiving KMIZ and its sister stations from Columbia is at best spotty. I'm using a Winegard GS2200A antenna with a Dish 811 HD receiver. I do want to receive KMIZ for the Mizzou b-ball games so it looks like I'm going to have to use a bigger antenna. It's a shame that KRCG is on channel 12 otherwise I'd get a UHF only antenna.

Hi everyone.

I live in Columbia just west of Stadium Blvd. and south of Broadway.

I am able to get a good signal for NBC, CBS and ABC/sub-channels. I have lost PBS out of Sedalia for the last few days.

In talking with ABC over the last year, they have no plans to broadcast anything in HD but 17.1. Fox will be SD upconvert for the forseeable future.

Also, KRCG was recently sold by Wheeler Communications to company that manages smaller mid-size markets. We will have to wait and see if their commit to HD broadcasting changes.

Well, glad to see other people out there enjoying HD in Mid-Missouri.

Hi pkgman,

It's strange about KMOS. I've been getting good signal strength from them for the past few days. And it's a shame that KMIZ has no plans for HD on their Fox station. I was looking forward to watching the Super Bowl in HD. I didn't know about KRCG being sold. Do you know the name of the company that bought them? And have you heard anything about KJWB, the sister station of KOMU on if they are broadcasting over the air?

From what you described, do you live near Fairview or around the Hulen Lake area? Former Columbian here. HHS Class of 80.

I have a great signal tonight from KMOS. :)

KRCG was sold to Barrington Broadcasting in Illinois

Here's link to it - http ://newstribune.com/articles/2004/11/14/business/0011140418.txt
I do not have 5 posts so I cannot hyperlink yet- sorry.

Not much information about them. It seems that KRCG pulled the links on their website.

No Fox in HD is the pits. But it seems that KMIZ wants to do everything on the cheap. They just want to pack ABC, Fox, UPN and weather channel into their spectrum. Guess its better than when they broadcast FOX from the top of Tiger Hotel. People could not even receive it downtown because their signal was so weak. :rolleyes:

Send e-mail to KMIZ. It will either be bounced back to you or you will never receive a response. :(

I have not heard anything about WB. I only fear that they will take KMIZ's route and go with sub-channel route eventually with KJWB.

I live in Broadway Farms subdivision. Its located between Hulen Lake and Rowthwell Heights (behind Hy-Vee on West Broadway) if you are familar with the new subdivisions.:mad: :mad: :mad:

mec6762

You can use a UHF only antenna for channel 13. A UHF antenna does an adaquate job with VHF frequencies above channel 6. I am using a CM 4228 on a tower just outside of Montgomery City. I have no issues what so ever with 17, provided the antenna is pointed there. I also have good luck with St. Louis stations.

alsat

I saw a picture of that model of antenna and it looks pretty good and if you receive all the Columbia and St. Louis stations, then it's got to be powerful. Do you have an preamp/amplifier on your antenna? Also, how high does your antenna sit? Since I live in town, a tower is probably not a good option, but if I can mount it just above the roofline or even better, the side of the house so much the better. Does anyone that you know of near Montgomery carry and install those antennas?

I did get a Radio Shack VU-120XR antenna and a preamp/amplifier this past weekend but have yet to mount it. I'm going to try it tomorrow if it don't rain, and if it don't work I might just have to take a real close look at that ChannelMaster.

Thanks for the information.

We sell and install both Channel Master and Winegard antennas. Yes, I have a preamp on my Channel Master. It is a Winegard AP8275.

Depending on where you live in Montgomery will determine your potential reception. The best locations for St. Louis are on the east side of town, around the fairgrounds and Werges Meadows. Columbia/Jeff City is easy to receive anywhere in town.

Take the Radio Shack stuff back if you haven't opened yet. They are typically overpriced for what you get.

You can call me if you have any questions. My shop number is 564-2031. I will be in the shop tonight after about 6:30 pm.

I tested the CM4228 back to back with a CM4248. Both with a Radio Shack push down amp and on a rotor. The 4248 has a bit more gain (I'm out on the fringe in Sedalia) but it is incredibly directional, so much so that tiny changes in direction and signal drifts cause drop outs, The 4228 is much more user friendly with it's broader reception pattern. It's also easier on the eyes if thats of any importance. (The 4248 looks like something you might use to launch some kind of EMP attack against the neighborhood with.)

I would highly recommend the CM4228. Check out E-bay. I found them there at 1/2 the price the local folks wanted. You might order one up and experiment a bit before paying a professional installer....

pkgman is right about KMIZ and E-mails. I did get one response out of the them a few days after they killed the HD, but since then nada. I think they are operating on Lake of the Ozarks time..."a couple of days" means at least two weeks..."back up in 30 to 60 days" means 3 months min, most likely 6.


:mad:

Brian

I had the same luck with KMIZ. I emailed then a couple of weeks back and have yet to hear from them. I was thinking along the line of what you were thinking about the 4248. I have seen nothing but good reviews about the 4228.

alsat

Already took the Radio Shack stuff back. You're right. Overpriced for what I received. And I think I'll take you up on that call tonight. Thanks.

alsat

What type of tower are you using? height? cost?

I live in Columbia and I am able to get our signals fine. Buit I would like to try to get either KC or STL signals for variety in programming. I am not that big of Tiger fan and we get pre-empted on fairly regular basis.

alsat or mec6762 or anybody else. Are you on the Columbia side of respective towns or closer to KC/STL sides. I would like an idea how close to Columbia somebody can get KC/STL signals.

mec6762

I will be in the shop off and on now through about 10 this evening. If I do not answer on 2031, then try 2476. I am working in the shop and may not hear the phone. If not, leave a call back number, and I will phone you right back.

pkgman

mec6762 and I are in Montgomery City, which is about 50 east of you, about 6 miles North of I-70. I have a 45 ft tower, and a rotor. I pick up STL great of an evening, but during the day, the weaker signals are sporadic. I have also picked up Hannibal/Quincy, Cape Girareadu (sp?) and Springfield, MO.

I'm afraid that STL or KC may be a bit far, unless you go at least 45-55 ft, and are on high ground.

pkgman

Montgomery is slightly closer to the Columbia signals as opposed to the signals coming out of St. Louis. For example, it's about 40 miles from Montgomery to the KOMU tower compared to 70 miles to the KSDK tower. However, quite a few people around here do pick up the St Louis stations, depending on what type of antenna they have.

Alsat,


We sell and install both Channel Master and Winegard antennas. Yes, I have a preamp on my Channel Master. It is a Winegard AP8275.

I had not read your post when I made my comment to mec6762 about the purchasing/installation of his antenna. I came off sounding anti-local biz which could not be further off base. ( I have retail & service businesses myself ).

I hope no offense was taken and I'm glad he has someone local there he can work with.

Good luck to both of you with the project.

BV

NO offence taken. I knew what you meant. There are some outfits that really do get carried away with their pricing. We do all referral work and do not advertise, so my pricing must be okay! ;-)
Thanks!

Originally posted by pkgman
No Fox in HD is the pits. But it seems that KMIZ wants to do everything on the cheap. They just want to pack NBC, Fox, UPN and weather channel into their spectrum.

This really has nothing to do with money.

From looking at a listing of channels in the Columbia/Jefferson City market, it appears KMIZ only owns ONE full-power analog signal, KMIZ/17, and KMIZ-DT 22. The Fox affiliate and the UPN affiliate are both low-power stations. I don't know how NBC got into this, as that network's affiliate (KOMU/8) is owned separately.

So, KMIZ has one digital signal, KMIZ-DT, and there's only so much you can fit onto it. You can NOT fit two HD signals on one DT channel. It just can't be done. There's not enough bandwidth. KMIZ can only put the ABC HD signal on DT 22...there's no room to fit the HD signal of the Fox affiliate or the UPN affiliate. Since ABC runs 720p, they could likely fit ABC HD, and SD versions of both Fox and UPN. But even if the latter two went away, there's no way they could add a second HD signal for either Fox or UPN. It just can't be done.

And if KMIZ's owners had a few million bucks lying around and were just itching to provide a HD Fox signal to the market, the only way they could do it would be with a SECOND full-power station, which the current Fox and UPN OTA channels are not. The process to eventually convert LPTVers to digital has just begun as far as guidelines are concerned, and that probably won't actually happen for many years.

The only other possible way, which is likely not going to happen in a market the size of Columbia/Jefferson City, would be if KMIZ fed an HD Fox KQFX feed to cable systems in the market. Then, they'd have to likely spend millions on upgrades for a signal that couldn't be put over the air to a more limited audience.

KQFX went from low power channel 2 to UHF channel 38 about 3 months ago. I do not know what the transmitting power is, but it is not low power, as I can receive off air about 50 miles away. Of course, they still broadcast the digital signal on DT 22-2. If my memory serves, during the baseball playoffs, they broadcast the FOX feed of the game in HD, and the ABC feed in SD, but I may be mistaken.

According to the FCC's Web site, 38 is still an LPTVer. A fairly powerful one, but still not a full-power license:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=55253

----------

K38II MO JEFFERSON CITY USA

Licensee: JW BROADCASTING LLC
Service Designation: TX Low Power television station (LPTV)

Channel: 38 614 - 620 MHz Licensed

----------

The "K38II" calls are indicative of an LPTV station (any calls with the number in the middle, or ending in -LP or -CA, are).

This map would indicate that it puts a pretty decent signal over both Jefferson City and Columbia:

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/TX993576.gif

But even at 150KW, it's a LPTV station, and as such, cannot convert to digital for some time.

Thanks for the info. It is surprising that we can receive this station in Montgomery City. It is located 25 miles east of Kingdom City, which is at the Eastern limit of your map. I stand corrected. ;-)

The map is not the signal limit of the station...it's basically the "city grade" signal, which would presumably mean that if you have a decent antenna inside the blue circle, you should get a mostly interference free signal. There's more than enough opportunity to get even a 150KW LPTVer that far out, though you'd have to have a decent antenna...

Consider the map above "the main strong service area".

And anyway, my whole point was that as an LPTV-class signal, 38 can't go digital for a good while now, and thus, can't deliver HD. It was probably a smart thing of them to put the Fox baseball playoffs on their ABC DT signal... but as mentioned, you can't squeeze two HD signals on one DT channel, so they had to forego ABC's HD offerings those nights.

I'd assume they'll do the same for the Super Bowl, and probably should consider doing the same even on regular season NFL Sundays, if they're not doing so already...since ABC does not offer anything in HD during Sunday afternoon as far as I know.

I made a typo when I was typing in the stations earlier. I went back and edited not to confuse anybody.

Inundated - I watched the World Series on 17.2 which was an upconvert of the SD offering. I believe, could be wrong. They never advertised that were broadcasting it in HD.

If they broadcast the Super Bowl in HD on ABC DT signal, I will be happy. Also, as far as I know they do not broadcast Fox HD football games on ABC DT either. Will check this weekend though

Originally posted by pkgman
Inundated - I watched the World Series on 17.2 which was an upconvert of the SD offering. I believe, could be wrong. They never advertised that were broadcasting it in HD.

OK, I'm nowhere near the market...I apparently misread...I thought someone earlier in this thread had said they were doing Fox HD World Series on the ABC subchannel.

I actually wonder if the network (ABC) would let them do that...assuming they even had the proper Fox HD equipment...which they likely would not because they don't have a full-power Fox channel. ABC and Fox both do 720p, but there is more equipment involved. And I don't know if ABC would like the idea of their local HD affiliate running a Fox show instead...even something as big as the WS.

I hear Mediacom currently has ABC in HD. Do they have any other major networks available? Does anyone know when they might become available?

Just wanted to point out tidbit about new analog transmiiter being reconfigurable for digital in future.

KMIZ to replace aging transmitter (http://www.columbiatribune.com/2004/Dec/20041207News009.asp)

After months of signal problems, the local ABC affiliate is installing a new analog transmitter it says will provide more reliable service for Mid-Missouri viewers.

Randy Wright, general manager of KMIZ-TV/KQFX-TV, said the 30-ton, water-cooled transmitter will replace the aging one that had fallen into disrepair at the company’s tower site in northern Moniteau County.

The replacement will cost in excess of $500,000 but is worth the investment, Wright said, because the new transmitter can be reconfigured for a digital signal in the future.

Viewers with cable, satellite or digital service have not experienced problems with Channel 17, and the signal for the company’s Fox affiliate, KQFX-TV on Channel 38, has not been affected because it has a separate analog transmitter.

Wright expects the new signal to go live as early as mid-January. Viewers can keep updated through the project Web site, www.projectclearsignal.com.

http://www.projectclearsignal.com/

Here is an interesting new development. I have read it through a few times and I'm not quite sure what this means for the return of the digital signal & HDTV. Maybe some of you guys can interrupt this for me......

BV:confused:

Sorry, I missed a whole page of the thread before I foolishly posted this...but I do still need some more clarification....

"......equipment enhancement will greatly minimize the likelihood of broadcast interruption with its internal redundancy design and will provide a superior analog picture to the thousands of central Missourians watching KMIZ over the air on channel 17.

In conjunction with the installation, the station’s transmission facility in Prairie Home will be completely redesigned to further solidify the facility as state of the art in the broadcast industry. JW’s mid-Missouri stations have received national recognition for the innovative multicast of four stations, enabling viewers and cable systems to pick up all four channels with a single digital receiver."

With no mention of HD, only digital, do we have any light at the end of the tunnel for the return of our HD signal?

I e-mailed kmiz and this is the response I got


Our HD signal will return after the completion of our new analog transmitter. This should take place in Feb.

DeWayne

I don't know how this affects the signal mediacom uses. It is supposed to be hd on channel 710, but its not.

I am new to avs and do not yet have a HDTV. But I was not aware that Mediacom carried any of the HD networks, ABC,NBC,CBS,&FOX. What is available on Medicom in HD?

I currently get the Mediacom HD package and currently there are no HD networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB,...). The only one you get digital is ABC on channel 710. I think another post said ABC was fixing/upgrading their tower so we should have HD (when available) from ABC in a month or so. I think I am going to wait and until later in 2005 and switch to Directv when they launch their 2 new satellites. Supposidly this will give most Americans their local channels and the major networks in HD (when available). These satellites will also bring broadband internet access as well.

Just to update on my endeavor to get an OTA antenna, I had posted a month ago on trying to receive signals with a Radio Shack antenna with no luck. Thanks to Alsat, I now have a Channel Master 4228 UHF antenna equipted with a Winegard 8275 preamp installed on a 20 foot mast. The antenna is pointed toward the Columbia stations and the signal strengths are as follows:

KMOS-DT- 75-80
KOMU-DT- 85-90
KRCG-DT- 85-90
KMIZ-DT- 80-85

Overall, I'm very pleased and would highly recommend this antenna to get a digital signal. In the near future, we might try and see if St. Louis stations are possible with my set-up but I'm happy with what I got. Thanks Alsat. Need any referrals? Send them my way.

Pbs is also on mediacom hd. channel 706

Glad to be of help Martin! I appreciate the kind words. We shall see in a few weeks if St. Louis locals are possible with your setup. I am satisfied with the results we achieved with Columbia/Jefferson City.

Happy Holidays everyone!

I have Mediacom with the High Definition package in Jefferson City, but I do not get ABC on 710 or PBS on 706. Are they in Columbia only? Does anyone know why?

I'm located in Jefferson City and am using a myHD MDP-100 along with the Antennadirect DB-4. I can get all the local stations for the mostpart, with the exception of KMOS and oddly enough KRCG. I say oddly enough, as I can almost see the broadcasting tower from my back yard (I have a clear view of the Capital as it is). Granted, I don't have the antenna on a very tall mast, so I can see why I'm not pulling in KMOS.

When I first put up the DB-4 a couple of months ago, I was able to pull in KRCG pretty well, even though it's a VHF channel. Now, with all the leaves gone and an even better view of the tower, I am getting nothing. Has anyone else noticed a drop in signal strength or do I need to brave the weather and reposition my antenna?

Originally posted by bugman72
When I first put up the DB-4 a couple of months ago, I was able to pull in KRCG pretty well, even though it's a VHF channel. Now, with all the leaves gone and an even better view of the tower, I am getting nothing. Has anyone else noticed a drop in signal strength or do I need to brave the weather and reposition my antenna?

I've noticed that if I have a great deal of reflected signal (my problem channel is KOMU) that I cannot pull in the HD signal. If I lower the gain on my signal amp or turn off the amp altogether KOMU HD will start to come in. I'm guessing that when the analog carrier signal gets reflected the reciever cannot distiguish between the multiple streams of digital data. Just thought I'd give you a suggestion of something to try.

I emailed the station last week about the Super Bowl broadcast and received a response in under 3 hours. Hopefully they will get it together and we will have an HD Super Bowl!

Here is the email I received back. I've removed the email address and phone number, but both can be found on the KMIZ website.
Hi Scott,

We are trying to get everything set so we can broadcast the Super Bowl in HD. I cannot tell you for sure that we will be able to accomplish this task, but work on KQFX HD possibility begins Wednesday.

Please feel free to email me at xxx@xxxx or call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx and I will answer any other questions you may have. By all means, contact me closer to the Super Bowl so I can give you an HD update.

Thanks again for you email.

That would be great! As a matter of fact, when I was watching the playoffs this past weekend, I told myself I should email them and see if it would be broadcast in HD. It would be a real shame for them not too, being the premier TV program of the year.

I'll post any info I get. Hopefully it will be good news!

I just spoke to one of the engineers at JW broadcasting and he said that they will definitely not be able to use the new transmitter to broadcast the super bowl on FOX. He said that they do not have the authority to broadcast a HD FOX show on their ABC transmitter. The game will still be in SD on 17-2 though. He didn't say anything about a FOX hi-def transmitter in the works.

Confirmed:
Hi Scott,

Unfortunately, we will not be able to broadcast the game in HD...try as hard as we did. I know this may be disappointing to some viewers with HD capability, but we just don't have the resources to transmit an HD broadcast. I do hope you are able to watch the Super Bowl and enjoy every bit of it's coverage.

Thanks for you email and your interest in KQFX.

Eric

Has anybody been having problems with 13-1 lately? Mostly last night? For me it kept blanking out every so often, signal strength was pretty strong at around 87 - 91 on my meter and the weaker channels like PBS did fine. This morning it seemed fine, but I didn't really watch much more than some news.

I live in Moberly by the way.

Yes, I just got a hd receiver last night hooked it up and all my local channels came in fine except 13.1. It kept blanking out and dropping the audio. I was getting a good signal to boot. Wife was very annoyed as was I.
Does anyone get program guide information from any other channels besides krcg, komu. I'm not getting anything from kmiz (17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4) or kmos and just thought I would make sure.

For what it's worth, I don't get the guides from them either, nor does anybody I know in the area.

If you want to know what's on check out http://www.titantv.com/ and get the listings of what's on from them.

Does anyone else think that the UPN station's audio 17.3 is excessively loud, compared to the rest of the 17.* channels. I also have notice KRCG's audio become very faint at times, some commercials and their 10:00 news.

I have to change settings on my stereo receiver to even hear the audio on 17.3. For some reason, my stereo receiver doesn't auto detect that sub-channel correctly.

Originally posted by woody88
Does anyone else think that the UPN station's audio 17.3 is excessively loud, compared to the rest of the 17.* channels. I also have notice KRCG's audio become very faint at times, some commercials and their 10:00 news.

Yes, I noticed the 17.x channels have audio issues. Most of the time 17.3 sounds somewhat overdriven, and once in a while I see that on the other 17.x channels. I talked with the Chief Engineer yesterday and asked about the problem and he said he wouldn't be surprised by it happening because he was trying to setup the various channels. He said that when he changes one, then the other goes south and so on. He didn't sound happy about it. He did say he hoped to have the problems all resolved within a few weeks. By the way, I've seen this problem with the TV's that have an ATSC tuner built in so it's not just you and me.

To be honest, I have seen problems with all of the stations of one sort or another. For example I've seen the 17.x stations block up with a 100% signal, I've seen 8.1 have weak audio, and I've seen 13.1 black out, drop audio out, put lines in it.

I don't think any of our local stations have their act totally together yet, but for the most part they seem to be having fewer and fewer problems.

My one big gripe is they don't transmit audio better than the 2.0 standards, what a waste of my Pioneer VSX-1014TX to play back their audio stream. Someday I hope they get the audio better.

Has anyone heard an update when we will be getting HD from FOX.

For that matter when is 17.1 going to transmit HD? I talked to the engineer last week and he said by the end of the week it would be on, I could be wrong but I don't think it is yet.

To be honest, they have problems there and they can't solve them. I suspect and the engineer told me as much, until 17.1 is up and running right then the others are on the back burner. 17.1 is not running right all the time and they're still working on it so I don't think you'll see the others progressing for a time. 2 weeks ago I think it was they decided to do work on the DTV side during the Lost program and totally screwed things up. They flipped a switch and stretched things out on everything and didn't even notice it until I called them the next morning and asked them about it, then they admitted to the gaff. That's when they explained they were trying to get up on HD on 17.1 and having problems doing so and expected it to happen within a couple weeks.

I can't wait for all of our local stations to get things debugged because when they have it working it's very nice, but often you'll find they just aren't quite there yet. For example changing audio levels, audio drops, picture quirks of all sorts, strange things. It's good it doesn't happen all the time, but it happens and they all admit to having problems. I think PBS is doing pretty good however, but then all I see there is Clifford.

As I write this, the HD signal is back up for KMIZ. Let's see how long it last.
It's even up on mediacom hd.

I'll take your word for it, yesterday they told me they were not sure when they would have it up and were still transmitting the digital signal with SD only. It sure would be nice to see them get their act together and get it right.

I haven't watched them in a day or 2, tonight I will. Lost is about all I watch from them.

I noticed in yesterday's Missourian. ABC 17 had a large ad on page 3 and in the sports section claiming to have "A STRONGER, CLEARER SIGNAL". I haven't seen it yet but I will also be watching LOST tonight.

I hope that Fox will be getting their act together soon. I really wanted to watch the superbowl in HD.

And the Daytona 500! It was nice last year when it wasn't on Fox.

Has anyone noticed whether KRCG has improved their signal any? I tried them breifly a couple of nights ago and while I could get a lock on the signal, it still went blocky from time to time. Granted I'm using a UHF antenna, but I'm less than 10 miles from the tower (I can see it from my back yard!) And since I was able to get 13-1 when I first put up my antenna (in late summer with leaves on the trees), I still can't quite understand why the signal strength has dropped so much through the winter months. I can only attribute it to the station dropping power.

I noticed ABC was HD last night, about time. Now they're getting closer to being quality, still have some problems they need to fix however. I would point out to people that if they see a problem with it they should call, they told me they do not monitor the digital signal so they are usually unaware of problems unless somebody calls.

As to CBS, well I notice they block up once in a while and get a line that streaks through the screen near the middle once in a while on the SD stuff, never seen it on their HD signal. They're still tweaking things I guess.

The signal strength here in Moberly is pretty good, I think it varies from 87 - 90 % most of the time. I can't speak to better because I use a Quantum 1160A Antenna with it's matching amp on top of a 60 foot tower and always got 13 well, except for the KZZT interference. My antenna is not pointed directly at 13, it's more towards PBS so I can catch Clifford for my daughter. I'm sure I could get a stronger signal if I pointed the antenna that way, but it's well above the fade margin so it's not going to move unless I figure out where that WB station come from. I forgot the channel number now but it was in the 50's.

What I wonder is when our local stations are going to become as reliable on the digital side as they are on the analog side, save 17's recent problems when their transmitter suffered a stroke... It seems as if they're still learning how to setup the station based on what they've told me.

What's up with ABC? Last night LOST & ALIAS were broadcast in 4:3 on 17.1 with the side bars. I was expecting their nice new HD in 16:9.

Seems to be hit and miss. 2 weeks ago it was in HD until about the last 10 minutes of the show. Still working out the kinks I guess.

I suspect the engineer forgot to enable HD again. They do that.

I know a guy that works there as an engineer and he's moving on because of poor pay, he says they don't get real top notch Chief Engineers because they don't pay well enough.

In his words, he's not sure how they will ever stay on the air because of how it's run. Of course that could be sour grapes, I know a former engineer of KRCG who said the same thing about them, back before HD come into the pic.

I noticed that I'm now receiving KOMU Channel 8-02. Looks like it's a simulcast of 8-01. Does anyone know if this will be for their WB channel or will it continue to be a simulcast of 8-01?

I've tried over a couple days to see if I get 8.2 and I just don't. Are you still getting it?

For the WB question, I could speculate based on logic that yes it will be the WB channel because what purpose could a simucast of 8.1 serve? It just costs them money to run a second transmitter and there is no point in tossing money out the window. I could see them testing it with 8.1 because it's working and maybe they don't have wb setup yet.

Yes, I'm still getting it. Pretty strange why I would have it and you don't.

I'm getting it too. Still just KOMU. Hope it changes to KJWB.

It might be real low power right now. I'm 35 - 40 miles away from them, though I do get 8.1 at 100% right now.

I'm 45-50 miles to the east of the station and I'm getting both 8.1 and 8.2 at 90%. I just sent an e-mail to the General Manager at KOMU to find out about this.

I can get it now. I manually edited the list of channels instead of autoprogramming and it's there at 100%. I'm not sure why it doesn't pick it up on auto, it does all the others. As you say, it's a clone of 8.1 so far. I hope it's going to be their other channel.

I emailed KOMU this morning, and this is the reply I got. Oh well...

Scott..

Thanks for contacting KOMU regarding our digital transmission. We are in the process of testing new equipment for possible future upgrades and multicasting. There are no plans at this time to add WB5 to KOMU’s digital transmission. The model provided by the WB Network does not allow us to add this service to our digital signal.

We appreciate you watching and welcome additional comments to improve our product.


Matt Garrett
Director of Audience Development
KOMU-TV8/DT8 WB5

I checked last night and I'm getting 8-2 also, even though it's a simulcast of 8-1, as was mentioned.

Has anyone noticed any additional problems with 12-1? I haven't watched HD in a while, so while I was looking for 8-2, I wanted to see if the KRCG situation had improved any. When I switch to 12-1 using my MDP-100, I get around a 50% signal (about normal for me) and my receiver switches to PCM. All of the other channels are fine.

Is KRCG's digital feed still operational or are they having continued problems like KMIZ?

Still fine for me at 81%. What problems are you having that you wonder if they're still having problems? The audio glitching is still there sometimes as are the other problems like lines that streak through it during the SD programming.

When I say fine, I mean they're as good as they ever were, not that they're the best with no room for improvement. The only station we have that seems to be pretty solid is PBS, and it's not perfect.

Does anyone know if we will get any of the NCAA Tournament in HD from KRCG?

titantv says no.

http://www.titantv.com/

I am located near Jefferson City. I get HD Channels 12, 15, 22, and 36.
They range in signal strength from 75 to 95% with a rooftop antenna, radio shacks biggest, with an RS amplifier. This feeds a MyHd120. My question is about PSIP. The only station to get it right lately is KOMU. KRCG had it right about a month ago, but they have lost it. Does anyone know if these stations are even working on EPG?

They say so, but to be frank I'm not so sure. I thought by law they had to do it, no choice in the matter.

In any event I see the same thing you do.

Originally posted by salokin
Does anyone know if we will get any of the NCAA Tournament in HD from KRCG?

I know that at least 2 of the games on Saturday were in broadcast in HD. Only certain sites had HD cameras.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=509515

According to that thread, the rest of the game should be HD.

Originally posted by phergy
I know that at least 2 of the games on Saturday were in broadcast in HD. Only certain sites had HD cameras.



According to that thread, the rest of the game should be HD.


Thanks. I saw the thread, but was a little worried when I didn't see any HD Thursday or Friday.

I watched the Texas Tech game in HD. I thought it looked pretty good. It was the first HD program I've seen over the air since I got my new OTA tuner.

hbo hd is now on medicaom. channel 780

Originally posted by comojoe
hbo hd is now on medicaom. channel 780


Excellent. Deadwood in HD.

Has anyone been having problems with KOMU Channel 8 (36) losing signal strength? This has been happening the past couple of days for me. IT'll show a strength of 90, then drop to 49, then a few seconds later, back up to 90.

I haven't had as many problems with KOMU as I've had with KMIZ. Man, I wish they would get their stuff straight up there. I was wanting to watch Discovery's Science of Star Wars last night, but I don't have a satellite feed in the theater. My wife is obsessed with American Idol, which came on at the same time. She was going to watch it in the theater, but the feed kept dropping. Haven't had any problems before...until last night, of course.

Is KMIZ EVER going to get everything right so we can watch ABC programming in HD again?

ABC IS in high definition. I just watched it last night. It's also the only channel in this area that actually has Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. I watched the 2 hour Alias last wednesday and it was in high def with 5.1 audio. I'm pretty sure that all of their prime time stuff that is available in high def is being broadcast. It's in 720P, so you have to have a display that is able to show that resolution, but most displays do nowadays.

I just must be missing all of the HD programming then. It seems that everytime I go downstairs to watch something or channel surf through the HD channels, KMIZ is never showing anything in HD during primetime.

At one time I was able to watch KMIZ in HD...heck I've even got the HD Test feed with the Shuttle launch and images of Times Square archived on my HD. My Panny AE-100 (man, I need to upgrade :D ) is able to reproduce the 720p signal from the MDP-100, so that's not the problem.

They have HD on almost every night from 7 to 10. Most saturdays they play movies in Hi Def too. On monday they will be showing the NBA playoffs in HD too. Just go to the titantv website and put in your zip code and they can tell you the programming for the area and whether or not it is HD.

Does anyone know where I can get some theatre chairs in the columbia area?

Anyone know if there are plans for FOX in HD in mid-Mo?

I don't think they can do fox in HD because it is still a low power tv station. Read what Inundated says about this on page one of this thread. There is a possibility that they could provide Fox HD to mediacom like they are doing with ABC, but they have to have the capability to receive the HD signal FR0M Fox.

ESPN2HD now on Mediacom in Jefferson City. Channel 731
.

Could someone please check the OTA guide info for 17-KMIZ.
Just wanted to see if its coming thru.

Thanks

Is anyone having problems getting 13.1? I haven't been able to tune it in for the last few weeks. Thanks.

I am getting the guide on all channels except for pbs.

I just checked 13.1 for the first time in a month or so. It seems to be coming in fine.

Salokin...
Thanks.

Whats the call letters on your PBS.

PBS is KMOS here.

salokin...
I assume your off the air...not viewing the cable signal?
The station was not showing any problems but they are doing a double check.

Yes it is over the air. It is currently working fine on all channels that I get.

I just lost all my OTA digitals on my E* 811 after having them work fine for 2 years or so. No changes to my system, no movement of my antenna, boxes, etc. Is any one else having this issue? I know that the 811 can be finicky, but all had been fine for some time.

Dont quite know what to do. 9 miles as the crow flies west of KOMU.

What is the most current situation for HDTV here in Columbia, MO? Anyone knows the exact location of transmitters? (to know where to point antenae)

Thanks!

C. Potoso

Here's a link for you, it's got everything in it you want. It's Columbia, Jefferson City, and Sedalia. If you want other cities it's easy to ask the search engine for it.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=MO&call=&arn=&city=columbia&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=MO&call=&arn=&city=jefferson+city&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=MO&call=&arn=&city=sedalia&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

The komu tower is out on 63, southeast of town. I just threw an old metal antenna in my attic, and I can pick up all the digital signals at 70-95%. They were easier to light up than the analog signals.

If you don't need to know exactly where the towers are, then look for a town called New Bloomfield for 25 and 13 (they're very close to each other), Sedalia for 6, Columbia for 8, and Jamestown for 17. In reality it's not necessary to know exactly where they are, but that's why I posted the exact data from the FCC's site because it was asked exactly where they are.

Depending on where you live you could get by just by pointing it south and slightly west maybe. The only one that might be a challenge would be 6, I think the others could work no matter what you do if it's balllpark close.

It's been long enough now, how's it working for you?

Will the Chiefs game be in HD?

Will the Chiefs game be in HD?


I think it will be as long as KRCG has everything working right. It is the only game on KRCG Sunday and this link says that "NFL Football" will be in HD.

Check HD Link (http://www.checkhd.com/programming/hdtvupdate-station.aspx?StationId=4373&PSIPId=1690&CallSign=KRCG-DT&Network=CBS)

New to the board but have been trying (without much luck) to get HD in Columbia. I live in the 7 oaks subdivision (down in a valley) and can not get anything but CBS sometimes. We have a homeowners association and I am not sure about putting an antenna on the roof. Right now I have the satelkite clip on. I have no idea which antenna would be good and that wouldn't be to big on the roof. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. I watched the Chiefs game, it was in HD and looked real good. The Rams however on Fox looked pretty bad in comparison. Is Fox ever going to to go to HD in Columbia.

2. Awit, the homeowners assn cannot stop you from putting an attenna up on your roof. They cannot make restrictions which prohibit you from recieving OTA signals. Good luck. BTW where is 7 Oaks located?

7 oaks is down behind the Grand Cru just off providence. I had seen that someone posted the regulation about the restriction on antennas but I don't know if there will have to be a fight to put one up. I was just hoping that someone had an alternative idea (square shooter maybe). But thanks for the help, I will consider it.

I live in Holts Summit, and since KMIZ is not able to broadcast Fox in HD I contacted D* to see if I could get a waiver so I could pick up their HD Fox broadcast. After waiting for a month for D* to get back to me I was denied. Who are the people who decides on waivers. Is it KMIZ and if so why would they deny me if they are not going to be broadcasting a HD signal anytime soon.

The engineer is who decides if you get to watch it or not. I assume you can get it in SD and as far as they care, that's enough to keep you from getting it via sat.

Call the engineer and see if you can sweet talk them, I doubt you can but you can try and at the very least let them know you want it in HD.

I have not been able to receive Letterman in HD lately on KRCG...other CBS programming displays fine in HD. Anyone have any insight or having the same problem?

I have emailed KRCG with no reply.

Thanks!

I also emailed KRCG recently about Letterman not being transmitted in HD, and they have not responded. I'm tempted to call them to figure out what's going on.

I don't think Letterman is filmed in HD yet.

According to checkhd, a press release by CBS, and a thread dedicated to Letterman HD, it's definitely in HD.

Letterman is in HD since August 29th of this year. I have never been able to see it in HD on KRCG though. I also am able to pick up a CBS station out of KC (KCTV) occasionally and I have watched it in HD, so I know the feed is HD.

KRCG never answers emails! This is not the first time they have ignored a simple question. Way to go guys...great customer service.

I see. I have had trouble getting answers from KRCG too.

In addition to emails, I have left several (5-6) voice mails with various individuals at KRCG about Letterman not being in HD.

I have come to the conclusion that someone must manually switch setting for us to get the HD feed from CBS. This would account for some shows starting in SD and switching to HD shortly after starting. Just another "Doh!" moment for someone at the station. The problem with Letterman would be that stations probably empties after the newscast which leaves no one switch back to SD after Letterman. So we get Letterman in SD.

Also, I think the sell of KRCG recently is effecting them. They would answer emails promptly and genuinely seemed to care about their HD feed. I don't get that feeling anymore.

I e-mailed the General Manager and this is the response I received.

Ronald,

Thank-you for your note and interest in David Letterman in HD.

We are currently working on make this a reality and hope to be ready by mid-October.

Appreciate your patience - and thank-you for watching KRCG.

Betsy

Thanks Yota86 for the update. Let's hope that KRCG can get their act together by mid-October.

Someone actually got a response from KRCG? Wow! Silly me, I guess they only answer 1 of every 30 or so emails they receive.

Glad to hear they are working on it. I now know why they can't show Letterman in HD. They tape the Letterman show earlier than it airs and thus I bet right now they have no HD recorder for taping.

What frustrates me is that I turned on King Of Queens tonight to see the glorious HD I have worked so hard for and what do I see...KRCG has it in standard format. Anyone wanna work on that problem now?

Can't we all just get along with HD?

A couple weeks ago, KOMU had little teasers during the 6/10 news about the digital newsroom. I missed the actual reports. Did anyone catch the reports on their digital newsroom?

Nothing on their website about it. So I googled it can came up with a stoty about fiber optic network (18 miles of fiber) that included Memorial Stadium, Mizzou Arena, campus and KOMU. It talked about breaking down and re-setting a "digital setup" in 3-4 hours between the stadium and arena. Also, it said there was 9 camera locations connected to the fiber network in the arena.

I'm trying to find the article again but I was justing throwing phrases at google when I found it. Now I'm have no luck finding it again. :(

I didn't see the reports, but I can shed some light on the system.

Digital is a broad brush to paint with, as one can point to a light switch, say that it is digital, and prove it to be a binary system by flipping it on.

I really think you are more interested in the video/audio components at KOMU versus the AVID iNews computer system that the students use to produce the packages, and newscast rundowns, all of which is digital.

The field cameras are DVCPro 25 mb/s standard def cameras that record to tape. The cassettes are brought back to the station, ingested via 1394 firewire to the AVID NewsCutter workstations, and then over gigabit copper to the shared storage LAN. From there, multiple editors have access to the video/audio for editing, and posting for the news producers to put in the rundowns. From there, the finished news stories are sent to an AVID AirSpace for playout to air. The video is uncompressed to a 270 mb/s SDI video signal with embedded audio, switched through a Grass Valley HD/SD production board and associated Wheatstone D9 audio console, and passed to master control where the Utah Scientific 2020 handles the on air switching of the broadcast signal. The path splits for KOMU TV and KOMU DT at this point. The channel 8 signal is converted from the 270 mb/s SDI to analog composite video with stereo analog, while the DT "sees" a standard definition signal that is upconverted from 480i to 1080i before encoding and multiplexing.

Probably more than you need, but bear in mind there are no analog stages in the KOMU newsroom to the channel 36 output signal. The only tape involved is the field tape in the camcorder, and that also is digital.

Questions?

I didn't see the reports, but I can shed some light on the system.

snipped...

thanks KE0MI for the information.

I cannot believe that they would do a five part series on technical specifications of their station. It seemed from short promo I saw, I thought they were playing up a higher quality digital signal (meaning a better, higher definition picture).

Nice to know that everything can be done digitally. Guess they need to HD cameras.

Did anyone experience minor breakup during the Panther vs. Packers MNF game?

Is the FOX OTA channel in HD?

I don't think so.

The call letters say it is digital.

Sure it's not in HD?

KOMU has an 8.2 sub-channel up now broadcasting weather. Its NBC Weather Plus - a mix national weather commentary and weather maps wrapped with left and botton graphics. They have some commercials. Similiar to Weather Channel prsentation.

KRCG 13.1 has no signal or atleast not one that I can receive tonight.

KMIZ and sub-channels coming in pretty poorly tonight. Anybody notice that they have been having 17.5 and 17.6 sub-channels lately. Nothing on them - just showing up in guide.

Hi Old Man - why not post?

The call letters say it is digital.

Sure it's not in HD?


Digital does not equal HD. Would be nice if it did though. :)

Its just the way that they are transmitting the signal to us.

No fox is not in HD. Or at least the signal that we receive. They say they are a low signal station and the FCC will not let them broadcast the HD signal.

When was the last time 13.1 broadcast? I have VHF but is it possible they broadcast and I don't pick it up? I live a little North but I get 8.1 and 17.1 with no problems.

13.1 is on all the time, well most of it anyways. Lately they've been having strange issues and sometimes go off the air for a bit, but not for that long.

We need FOX in HD in mid-MO. Getting to watch the first round of the playoffs in HD on ESPNHD spoiled me. Now the second round and World Series not in HD is really disappointing.

I currently have the DirecTV HD pkg and OTA antenna for locals (except for FOX which sucks during baseball, football, etc). I am unhappy with DirecTV right now and wanted to know about other options. What channels are availabe via cable right now? Any locals in HD thru cable? Anyone have Dish and have a comment on their channels/package?

the only locals on cable are pbs and abc

Is everyone getting 13.1 (HD)? I think I'm too far north for my indoor, just north of Smiley.

I live in Vanderveen near Smiley and I have been getting 13-1 with a great signal since installing a large antenna in my attic. I know it should be outside but my wife didn't like that idea too much. Anyway, 13-1 comes in great here but all of the indoor antenna's I tried were crap. I recommend going to Radio Shack and getting one of those larger traditional outdoor antennas. Works very well for me.

13-1 is VHF, correct? Can I do anything special with my rabbit ears to improve reception? Point them South, or straight up our out wide?

13-1 is VHF, actually on channel 12. Any antenna inside a structure is attenuated to the tune of nearly 10 dB, so the rabbit ears would work best on the roof!

What up with 8.1? they are broadcasting a 4:3 picture offset to left by about fourth. I'm getting 3/4 of the 4:3 picture on the left side of the screen followed by band of black for sideboxs and finally the 1/4 of the picture that should be on the other side. :(

8.2 is fine along with 13/17 sub-channels.

Anybody know why KRCG doesn't have the Chiefs game in HD today? CBS says it should be: http://cbs.sportsline.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl

I called CH 13 and they said that CBS gave them the wrong satellite coordinates. I guess they got it fixed, because the rest of the game was in HD.

Antenna suggestions for Ashland?

My Dad lives in Ashland and just this week I got him setup with a LCD monitor and a Dish 811. I thought I would pose the question to this thread in hopes that you guys might suggest a solution to the geographic challenge of being located in the middle of the transmission towers? While it may be necessary to get a programmable rotor, I am going to first want to try simpler solutions. I live in O Fallon, MO and I have not been to his house yet to try anything. The LCD and the 811 are up and running, just no local DT yet. Before I complete his Christmas, I was hoping for some feedback.

According to my sources, a standard Rat Shack V/U six footer in the attic pointed south-southwest will get you KMOS/KMIZ/KRCG/KOMU without re-aiming.

Has KOMU boosted their signal. I was hardly ever able to get KOMU, but never had trouble getting KRCG or KMIZ, for the last week for the most part I have been able to get all stations without changing the direction.

I need to purchase a signal booster so I can get cbs in time for the superbowl. Is there any place near columbia, where I can get one at?

I just have a standard booster from Radio Shack. It works fine for me.

I know that Lowes used to carry them as well.

I'm am currently living on MU campus. I'm on the ground floor of this building. I am able to get KOMU and KMOS. With a 11db amplified antenna, I am able to get 30-40% signal strength which isn't enough to get video/sound. Its strange that I am able to get KMOS just fine (its in the same direction as the KMIZ tower but even further away). I have the hardest time getting KMIZ. If I were to purchase a 30db+ amplified antenna(indoor) would that be enough of an increase to get KMIZ 65% signal stength? Can anyone recommend a very good amplified antenna that is very directional. Thanks

I need to purchase a signal booster so I can get cbs in time for the superbowl. Is there any place near columbia, where I can get one at?

The Superbowl is on ABC (HD). So you'll want to make sure you have KMIZ 17.1.

On another note. I'm rather disappointed that KMIZ does not air Fox in High Def (17.2). You would think they would. The football playoffs and 24 just weren't as good as they could have been if they were in HD. They need to go HD especially since they tout that over 100,000 area people receive their HD signal.

yea I get abc, I thought the game was on cbs. I haven't been able to get bcs since I moved from in the city.

Fox can't be in HD because the FCC has not given any licenses or digital channel assignments out to low power tv stations. I think someone explains this on the first page of this thread.

KMIZ is terrible. They constantly butcher primetime HD shows with audio drops and/or switching between HD and SD. Their OTA signal is also fairly weak.

I sent an email to KMIZ's chief engineer about the audio dropoffs and he indicated that problem would be fixed by the Super Bowl. We'll see if it happens. However, he advised FOX HD in Columbia will not happen any time soon. And they won't grant waivers to get me the national FOX HD from DirectV.

I was also denied my request for a waiver for D* HD FOX channel. Is there any reason why KMIZ would deny this if they are not going to offer the channel from their own station. Seems kind of unfair, but I guess it is a television station I am talking about.

You know I'm pretty fed up with this whole situation of having Fox and ABC comingled so much. Not having any access to FoxHD in 2006 is just unacceptable. So what can we do about it? Complain to the FCC when their license comes up for renewal (whever that is)? Why aren't they trying to get whatever license they need to provide HD content? If this company won't do it, we need to get another company in here that will.

Found this interesting link on the FCC website.

http://ftp.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/lptv.html

It would seem to me that KQFX shouldn't even be a low power station.

The last few posts just echo my frustrations with our local Fox affiliate. When pressed on the issue, they just give a bunch of non-answers and promises that they will be in HD as soon as they can. Whatever that means. Very frustrating and we are missing A LOT of good HD content by not having Fox in HD. Oh well, complaining has not done me any good so far, so I will have to let it go.

It's nice to see KOMU in High Def just in time for the Olympics.

When did komu start hd?

KOMU has been broadcasting in HD for quite a long time. But Mediacom just added KOMU-HD to their service this week.

well mediacom better start showing cbs in hd. I can't get that over the air for nothing anymore

The last few posts just echo my frustrations with our local Fox affiliate. When pressed on the issue, they just give a bunch of non-answers and promises that they will be in HD as soon as they can. Whatever that means. Very frustrating and we are missing A LOT of good HD content by not having Fox in HD. Oh well, complaining has not done me any good so far, so I will have to let it go.

So who have you complained to there? It might hold more weight if those in the Columbia region started to email/contact this person more frequently etc. At the very least to let others jumping into HD to know who to complain to.

I have e-mailed Randy Wright, KQFX Station Mgr, a few different times and I get the same answer every time. It is not the policy of our local Fox affiliate to allow waivers to get the national HD Fox from DirecTV. No other answer, just not their "policy".

I just bought a tv with a built HD tuner in it...and I hooked it up to my old indoor antenna and all I have the clearest is channel 8 and I dont think its HD...do I need to get one of those HDTV indoor antennas? I live in the south west corner of columbia near nifong.....is the reception there good?

I also live in south west Columbia and here is what I've got:

I'm using a large roof antenna mounted upside down in my attic with a channel master signal booster. I get HD KMOS, KRCG, KMIZ, just fine and sometimes have unhook the singnal booster for KOMU due to reflection. I know that when I first sat things up I was working with a pair of amplified rabbit ears and had trouble getting anything but KOMU to come in.

As far as an HDTV antenna, I assume you are talking about one of the directional indoor antennas. I haven't used one, but I do know that a friend of mine is using one and seems to be able to tune in the locals, but with some difficulty getting it pointed 'just right'.

I hope this helps. I'd also be interested in knowing what you decide to go with, and how it works.

I am still fumbling with my channels...with my old vintage antenna setup now...I can get channel 8 and 17 in somewhat watchable with snowballs...cant get any channel 6 or 13 at all and I think I see a little of 38...
but I am thinking my old antennas might be too old...I am not sure if it makes a difference but I read that the Zenith Silver Sensor is a pretty good antenna....so I might try that one...but for now just bought a Samsung HD845 for my Samsung Slimfit tv so I am pretty occupied with re watching my dvd collection...will fiddle with the antenna more and post back here later....

If you are getting snow, you aren't getting the digital channels. The digital channels will be either clear, pixelated with the audio cutting out, or not displayed at all. Are you seeing the sub-channels: 17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 17-4, 6-1, 6-2, etc?

Oh I see what you are saying now...yeah mine is like snowy images with like some kinda wavy lines moving across the screen...I dont think its even digital now that I think of it...and its all solid channels...like 8 and 17 and not 17.1 etc...how do I go about this?
is it my old antenna not being strong enough? I do have an amplifier that I plug the old rabbit ears into...my tv is the samsung slimfit 30inch with built in tuner....

Chalice,
I am no expert on new Samsungs, but normally there is a channel scan available on the menu that will automatically add channels to your guide, at least on the older receivers.

I am still fumbling with my channels...with my old vintage antenna setup now...I can get channel 8 and 17 in somewhat watchable with snowballs...cant get any channel 6 or 13 at all and I think I see a little of 38...
but I am thinking my old antennas might be too old...I am not sure if it makes a difference but I read that the Zenith Silver Sensor is a pretty good antenna....so I might try that one...but for now just bought a Samsung HD845 for my Samsung Slimfit tv so I am pretty occupied with re watching my dvd collection...will fiddle with the antenna more and post back here later....


I have the Zenith silver Sensor with a signal booster and it works pretty good. When we first got it we got 13 and 17 great (live in Holts Summit). We could never receive KOMU until the first part of the year. I don't know if they have boosted their signal or what but we can get all three of them now.

KRCG is now on Mediacom channel 712 in High Definition. Now we just need FOX. Even just OTA would be good.

Hi, glad to see some local Columbians discussing HD. I'm getting ready to purchase a HD Tuner for my Media Center and I was wondering if anyone has heard any feedback on the AVerTVHd 180A. Most reviews are positive, but a couple are having problems with reception etc. I was just curious if anyone around here had an experience with them. Also if you have any suggestion for a good antenna that would be great. I would prefer to use an indoor antenna, but I guess I can install an outdoor one if need be. I'm currently looking at the Terk TV5. Thanks!

Shahn

I tried multiple indoor antennas and they did not do a lot for me in my location. I am in the northern part of Columbia (Vanderveen Subdivision). I ended up getting a large multidirectional antenna from Radio Shack for about $80 and installing it in my attic. Not ideal but I get all of the channels pretty well. The antenna is large but it gets the job done for me. It took a lot of trial and erro to get it pointed correctly but I am happy with it now. Good luck.

Looks like no march madness in hd folks. I've called krcg twice, and they fed me this ******** excuse saying that cbs isn't carrying the games that they are showing in hd. I asked about the championship game, and he said that was a possiblity. I don't know what's going on over there, but it sure sucks!!!

I'm able to pull in KMOS, KOMU and KMIZ. I can't get KRCG for some reason. I've tried the following amplified indoor antennas:

Terk TV5
RCA ANT301
RadioShack Amplified HDTV/UHF/VHF (Star Trek Enterprise) - best success with this one

I live in a two story house near the southwest corner of Columbia on Crestview Dr. off of Scott Blvd. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get KRCG? I guess my next step is an outdoor antenna in the attic or on my roof. Thanks

Shahn Hogan

some of the games did come in in hd. the greensboro region games were in hd

Of course in other regions CBS stations showed all the games simotaneously, using the other digital stations. So we could have had one game on 13.1 another on 13.2, another on 13.3. I know Kansas City did something like this. Other places used their SD broadcast to show one game and the digital broadcast to air another game. I'm disappointed that KRCG didn't do this.

I was finally able to get a signal from my house. I had to run a long cable into my bathroom and it comes in. So I guess I'm going to have to go with a roof-mounted or attic antenna. Crazy stuff.

Shahn

cbs showed 2 games at once the past couple of days

Well after spending 30 minutes reading all the postings I have a much better understanding of what is going on in the Columbia market.

I first bought a samsung TV that supported NTSC/ATSC and Cable. I figured I would just use rabbit ear antennas which I amazingly was able to pull all of the stations in the area (sometimes KRCG would be choppy). However, soon after I found out that if my TV was QAM capable I would be able to receive the local channels in HD without using an antenna, cable box or cable card. I ended up exchanging TVs (got one that was QAM capable) and I am extremely happy now that I do not have to use an antenna as it was not working well.

Well after spending 30 minutes reading all the postings I have a much better understanding of what is going on in the Columbia market.

I first bought a samsung TV that supported NTSC/ATSC and Cable. I figured I would just use rabbit ear antennas which I amazingly was able to pull all of the stations in the area (sometimes KRCG would be choppy). However, soon after I found out that if my TV was QAM capable I would be able to receive the local channels in HD without using an antenna, cable box or cable card. I ended up exchanging TVs (got one that was QAM capable) and I am extremely happy now that I do not have to use an antenna as it was not working well.

I read the FAQ/Glossary definition of QAM and it went right over my head. Are you getting local channels in HD over Mediacom without a cable box? Could you share more? Thanks.

salokin,

I sure am getting local channels in HD over Mediacom without a cable box.

My take on QAM is that it is just another way to send digital data from one point to another. It allows content providers to send more data through one stream which allows for HD broadcasts which higher quality audio. I may very well be wrong but I am trying to put it in the simplest terms possible. If your tuner on your HDTV is QAM capable than you will be able to receive and Digital TV signals that you cable provider chooses to keep unencrypted (the local channels).

I hope this helps.

It allows content providers to send more data through one stream which allows for HD broadcasts which higher quality audio.

So let me ask you, is it in 5.1 audio? That is one thing that has been bothering me (well besides Fox not being in HD), that they are only being broadcast in 2.0 DD (as noted at the very first post in this thread). I haven't looked around to see if this is the typical broadcast sound, but I know through the satellite I'm using the SD channels come in 5.1.

I cannot confirm that they are being broadcast in 5.1 as I do not have a receiver hooked into my TV. I wonder if there is a way to find out on my TV whether or not it is being broadcast in 5.1?

For those who are wondering about Fox in HD here is what I found out today.

UPN in HD is a misnomer, they have no programs that originate in HD. Fox in HD is something we are working on. KQFX is a low power station, and as such has no digital allocation. There is a filing window opening to apply for a digital channel and we are filing. Once we have a digital channel, we will broadcast Fox in HD.
Steve Epstein

Chief Engineer

KMIZ/KQFX/KZOU/ShowMe Weather

Moving in the right direction I suppose.

Its great to see everyone interested in hdtv in columbia. I've had hdtv with OTA for about 4 months. I only can get KOMU (because I'm on the first floor probably) in this dorm. I watch all hd content from this station on my computer using the DVICO Fusion Lite(supports QAM unencrypted) + the Winegard SharpShooter 3000. I will be moving to a place that will allow me to get mediacom. I haven't looked into getting hd content through them until now. I ordered the cable tv basic for like 12.75/month. My question...Will I be able to receive hd stations through mediacom with my dvico fusion lite? If I did would it be free?also..I've read that KOMU, KMIZ, KRCG are available through mediacom. Are these the correct channels and hows the quality compared with OTA HDTV (because I've read that cable companies cut the HD quality down sometimes)?

Sm0ke,
I can't say for sure, but I think that you would get KOMU, KMIZ, KRCG and possibly KMOS in HD over QAM. I get those channels through Mediacom's HD package with a cable box. My TV isn't QAM capable so I can't tell you for sure, but according mateo222's post on page 6, it looks like you will get those channels.

Turns out you can plug Mizzou Telecom (from Mediacom) into the Dvico FusionHDTV lite and get the same channels discussed before. I can get ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS(KMOS) in digital. Alias is playing right now in 720p just fine. Surely if I can get these digital channels through Mizzou's tv network I can get it through mediacom in the next week.

That should be correct, you will be able to receive all the locals except for FOX as they are still trying to get a license to broadcast in digital.

For those who are wondering about Fox in HD here is what I found out today.
Well good that they are trying to get FoxHD but they've been saying that for a while. I'll believe them when they tell us a date, or actually get that "filing window". I wonder why they haven't worked a deal to send a FIOS to mediacom. I don't believe mediacom is getting thier signal from an antenna and sending it out to cable consumers.

I also wonder when UPN merges with WB and becomes CW if they will be broadcast in HD. WB does have some HD shows (Smallville, Charmed, others I don't watch). So when this becomes available I bet that KMIZ/KZOU won't have a CW in HD.

Sm0ke, Have you looked into getting Dish or DirectTV? Dish has 23 channels in HD (no Columbia locals yet, but I get them all fine with an OTA). Might be something to check out.

Well good that they are trying to get FoxHD but they've been saying that for a while. I'll believe them when they tell us a date, or actually get that "filing window". I wonder why they haven't worked a deal to send a FIOS to mediacom. I don't believe mediacom is getting thier signal from an antenna and sending it out to cable consumers.

I also wonder when UPN merges with WB and becomes CW if they will be broadcast in HD. WB does have some HD shows (Smallville, Charmed, others I don't watch). So when this becomes available I bet that KMIZ/KZOU won't have a CW in HD.

Sm0ke, Have you looked into getting Dish or DirectTV? Dish has 23 channels in HD (no Columbia locals yet, but I get them all fine with an OTA). Might be something to check out.

The CW will be offered (by the network) in 1080i HD.

Well good that they are trying to get FoxHD but they've been saying that for a while. I'll believe them when they tell us a date, or actually get that "filing window". I wonder why they haven't worked a deal to send a FIOS to mediacom. I don't believe mediacom is getting thier signal from an antenna and sending it out to cable consumers....

They have filed their application as I found on titantv.com as well as the fcc's Web site. I would imagine sometime this summer it will happen, however, I do not know how long this process with the govt takes.

The engineer said that UPN/WB would not be in HD, who knows if that will change though.

I also wonder when UPN merges with WB and becomes CW if they will be broadcast in HD. WB does have some HD shows (Smallville, Charmed, others I don't watch). So when this becomes available I bet that KMIZ/KZOU won't have a CW in HD.

KOMU is going to have the CW, not KMIZ/KZOU. It'll be on 8.3. Presumably it will remain on the cable channels where KJWB exists now.

As confirmation I found this (http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/8fc100a0-c0a8-2f11-01ba-0597df1fb25f/8ef5183e-c0a8-2f11-01f6-da9714606b37) on the KOMU website.

From the article:
Mid-Missourians will be able to watch the CW on various cable outlets as well as on digital broadcast channel 8.3.

Interesting...

On another note, Letterman was in HD for the first time tonight, at least the first time I noticed. I guess when they had to replace their transmitter a couple of days ago they got a better one that allowed recording in HD.

KOMU is going to have the CW, not KMIZ/KZOU. It'll be on 8.3. Presumably it will remain on the cable channels where KJWB exists now.

See I told you KMIZ/KZOU wouldn't have CW in HD. Looks like KOMU/KJWB won't be showing it in HD either.

Another note, are stations not able to broadcast in HD when they want to put up their "Storm Warning" information? I've noticed this for a few shows this spring.

Also, I was a bit upset that KMIZ did not broadcast the Trinidad vs. Sweden World Cup Game, they got this fixed for later games, but they should still be called on it.

See I told you KMIZ/KZOU wouldn't have CW in HD. Looks like KOMU/KJWB won't be showing it in HD either.....


I noticed that part about no HD with storm warnings which I think is very silly. I'd imagine that will change in the coming years... it's something we will just have to wait for.

I didn't see that game you are talking about, however, I did see Mexico vs. Iran and it looked great. As for NBC they don't broadcast SNL or Arena Football in HD like they list on the guides... has anyone else noticed that?

EDIT: The Stanley Cup also has not been broadcast in HD.

I didn't see that game you are talking about, however, I did see Mexico vs. Iran and it looked great. As for NBC they don't broadcast SNL or Arena Football in HD like they list on the guides... has anyone else noticed that?

EDIT: The Stanley Cup also has not been broadcast in HD.

I've never caught an Arena Football game in HD. I thought at least the Arena Bowl (the Championship) would have been. I've caught SNL on KOMU in HD. I last Saturday (6/10) was a re-run and there was bad weather in the area so I'm sure that's why it wasn't. I've never caught any hockey game on KOMU in HD either. This surprised me as I know OLN was showing the first 2 games of the cup in HD. This might have been do to the bad weather as well. Of course bad weather is not an excuse to not show HD.

And since we're on the issue of local HD. Does anyone know if via Mediacom you get 5.1 surround sound (only a few shows, ie, CSI have HD surround sound). This is something I miss using OTA.

EDIT: The Stanley Cup also has not been broadcast in HD.

Game 4 was in HD last night, save for one camera which was quite obviously upconverted.

I'm guessing the software used to show those weather warnings isn't HD-compliant, thus the need to show the SD feeds when they're up.

Game 4 was in HD last night, save for one camera which was quite obviously upconverted.

I'm guessing the software used to show those weather warnings isn't HD-compliant, thus the need to show the SD feeds when they're up.

correct, this is a common bitch.

Do I understand you guys right, that if I pay Mediacom's extortion HD fee, I can get the locals (sans Fox for now) in HD thru them?

Do I understand you guys right, that if I pay Mediacom's extortion HD fee, I can get the locals (sans Fox for now) in HD thru them?

Without paying the HD fee you can get the local channels (PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS). Fox does not yet have HD in Columbia. However, here's the twist, in order to get a HD box which also is DVR capable, you have to subscribe to the HD service or the DVR service. If you really want the extra HD channels you can get the package (9.95) or you can subscribe to DVR (4.95). This is horrible planning if you ask me. Time Warner Houston allows you to swap out your pre-existing non-HD box for an HD box at no cost or raise in monthly fees.

So yes you will have to pay some kind of extortion fee as far as I know, that is unless you have a QAM capable TV which allows you to get unencrypted Digital Cable signals (including local HD channels) for no more than the cost of basic cable.

I see KOMU now has their SD feed going on 8.3. Preparation for the CW in the fall, I suppose.

Completely unrelated:
Does anyone in Columbia have HD from DirecTV? I'm getting this service soon and was wondering if the off-air tuner in the box was any good. Right now I've got a pair of rabbit ears from my ten-year-old 15" bedroom TV plugged into my new HD set, and can get everything except KRCG's digital (I'm at Rangline and Smiley). Hoping my problem will be solved with the new box, but I am assuming an antenna upgrade is in my future.

... Hoping my problem will be solved with the new box, but I am assuming an antenna upgrade is in my future.

The box may be able to pull the signal in better, however, you are more than likely going to have to get a better antenna. KRCG has their antenna all the way in Jeff City.

Completely unrelated:
Does anyone in Columbia have HD from DirecTV? I'm getting this service soon and was wondering if the off-air tuner in the box was any good. Right now I've got a pair of rabbit ears from my ten-year-old 15" bedroom TV plugged into my new HD set, and can get everything except KRCG's digital (I'm at Rangline and Smiley). Hoping my problem will be solved with the new box, but I am assuming an antenna upgrade is in my future.
I've got DISH, and just upgraded to the new VIP622. I'm able to get KRCG OTA pretty well, never have had it dropped. Of course I also have an antenna on top of my house. Dish's new HD DVR is able to get a lot stronger signal. They've got a nice promotion going on right now for new customers too you should check out (26 HD channels).

is anyone elses abc-hd out? I cant watch this game like this

is anyone elses abc-hd out? I cant watch this game like this

Mine is out, I noticed around 5 today 10 and ABC HD switched over to their weather channel for some reason. SInce then no HD. Someone messed up.

Edit: Half of the game was in HD, it came back up, I don't know what happened.

I'm still confused that I saw Letterman in HD a couple of weeks back. It has not been in HD since, it was only a one night deal. The Station Manager told me that they cannot record in HD so maybe that was a night time feed that CBS provided just that night?

Obviously I'm doing something wrong because I'm getting pixilization, green screen & sound dropout on most of the channels & I live north of Jefferson City near New Bloomfield.

You don't say what you're using to pull the reception so it's hard to say if you're doing something wrong or have other problems like multipath or just plain poor reception.

I know that I sometimes get a slight pixilization or pause but not all the time, never had a green screen and I do once in a blue moon get sound dropout but that's kind of rare for me right now.

Post back what you have for equipment.

Went to Radio Shack to grab an outdoor VHF/UHF, but they were out of that model. I went ahead and purchased the cheaper U-75R UHF only. I mounted it to the house about 10 feet up pointing south (draw a straight line north from Providence, where that intersects with Brown School Rd. is where I live). Reception is perfect on 6-1, 8-1, 13-1 (the problem channel), 17-1, and 25-1. I don't have a signal meter on my TV to give specific numbers, but I had no dropouts while watching about five minutes on each channel.

The U75R is a suprisingly functional antenna. Avoid the other RS antennas if you can.

I have a Directv HIRD-E86 HD receiver using a Terk-55 tube like indoor antenna. It is the antenna that has given me the best reception(better than an outdoor antenna & rabbit ears). I don't know what I'm doing wrong...

I would tell you to first check your connections. The Terk type antenna's require a power supply to work, normally this is provided by the Sat receiver because it's hooked to the LNB line outside, then you use 2 diplexors, one inside and one outside to combine the Sat/Ant outside and then split them out inside.

See if that's how you have it.

That antenna should in no way be better than an outdoor antenna, no matter how you slice it it's not going to be better. In your area it's probably good enough because all the stations are fairly close to you.

Does this help you or is this how it's hooked up now?

Hey all-

I've been checking out this forum for a couple of weeks now, so please forgive me for being a relative newbie.

I'm moving to Columbia from Texas in August to go to grad school at Mizzou, and I was hoping to get some sage advice about my HD setup from those of you who know best.

I'm going to live in a townhome and want to know which service I should go with. I want as many HD channels as I can get (for a decent price) and want an HD-DVR. I have a built-in HD tuner on TV, by the way.


I know there are four options: Charter, Mediacom, Dish and DirecTV.

Please tell me which one is best and why and also which local channels I would get and not get with each one. If you can, please use CBS, ABC, etc. rather than the station's call numbers since I'm not familiar with them.

Thanks for your help!

-Bryan

Also, if you don't mind sharing, if you have a service that you would recommend, please tell me about what you pay per month.

I'm expecting a setup with an HDDVR in one room and standard TVs in two other rooms.

I also want to get high-speed internet, but that's a different story.

Thanks again!

-Bryan

I'm pretty sure Charter has no HD offerings in Columbia at this time. Mediacom does, but I'm not sure what that entails, since I am not in their coverage area. Search around this thread more, I think there has been discussion about it previously.

I get the feeling that Dish probably has a bit of a better value, but I went with DirecTV. My parents have had DirecTV for years with no complaints. Not to mention, they have the NFL Sunday Ticket. As for as locals, I just plugged an outdoor antenna into the box with reasonable luck. The PBS (6.1) is occasionally iffy, but I think some better pointing of my antenna (which I don't have time for at the moment) will fix that. I'm also getting the SD locals through DirecTV, even though I never asked for them and am not paying for them. Nice to have for the non-HD sets in the house.

TubaSaxT is correct, Charter has no HD offering as of right now in Columbia. The choice between the two cable channels is not one that you can make once you have moved into a residence. Charter covers the outlying area of Columbia right outside city limits and what not. Mediacom covers most of the city and does have HD service along with DVR. You will be looking at $50 extended cable plus $7.50/month for and HD-DVR box plus 4.50/month for DVR service. If you want more than local HD channels you will have to pay 9.95 to get HDNet, HDNet Movies, ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, UniversalHD, INHD, INHD2 and Discovery HD. You will get HBO HD if you subscribe to HBO, the same goes for Showtime.

I hope this helps out a bit.

Awesome, thanks for all the help.

I think I'm going to go with Mediacom instead of Satellite. I like some of the offerings of satellite, but I don't want to have to get a phone line and everything because I was planning on just using my cell phone as my main phone.

Two more questions:

1) How much additional does Mediacom charge per month for extra sets? I'd like to hook up two more standard-definition sets for basic cable.

2) What is the typical activation/startup/installation fee than I can expect to pay?

Thanks!!

- Bryan

Noticed last night flipping through channels that KMOS has a horizontal dark bar on 6-1, about two inches wide, across the screen. Afraid maybe my TV is bad (only 2 mo. old), just check if anyone else picking KMOS-DT OTA is having problems too.

No problems with KOMU or KMIZ, or with KMOS-DT 6-2. I have a feeling its a KMOS problem, but can't get anyone at the station to answer. KOMU running 1080i but upconverted 480i, so can't tell if its something when running real HD.

Must have been an equipment issue. Just checked a few minutes ago and picture on 6-1 is perfect. BTW, the KMOS bug in the lower right corner is gone, too. Hmm...

Awesome, thanks for all the help.

I think I'm going to go with Mediacom instead of Satellite. I like some of the offerings of satellite, but I don't want to have to get a phone line and everything because I was planning on just using my cell phone as my main phone.

Two more questions:

1) How much additional does Mediacom charge per month for extra sets? I'd like to hook up two more standard-definition sets for basic cable.

2) What is the typical activation/startup/installation fee than I can expect to pay?

Thanks!!

- Bryan

1) 5.00 per extra digital box, 7.50 for each HDbox, no additional fees for extra TVs without converters.

2) Usually free install, I don't recal any fees, you need to call them though.

Thanks again, you all are very friendly.

Any word on when Fox will be in HD? Was hoping they'd do it for the AS game....

Any word on when Fox will be in HD? Was hoping they'd do it for the AS game....

You would think they would have it by now as they applied to the FCC in may. When I look at the FCC Web site I cannot find any record of their application. I would e-mail the tech at Fox and ask him what the status is.

Steve Epstein -- Chief Engineer
stevee@kmiz.com

Please let us know if you do get a response, I had to send 2-3 e-mails before I got one.

I am fairly new to Columbia and just recently upgraded to a HD TV. I wanted to know if Dish or Directv carry the local stations in HD. I have looked into antennas but would be a little difficult at this point as I am renting until next spring and would not be able to install one. I currently have Charter as my provider of cable and of course they don't do any HD at all. Could someone let me know if the satellite companies are doing the local HD channels and also if an indoor antenna would work for me. I'm on the North end off of Rangeline. Thanks for your help.

I am fairly new to Columbia and just recently upgraded to a HD TV. I wanted to know if Dish or Directv carry the local stations in HD. I have looked into antennas but would be a little difficult at this point as I am renting until next spring and would not be able to install one. I currently have Charter as my provider of cable and of course they don't do any HD at all. Could someone let me know if the satellite companies are doing the local HD channels and also if an indoor antenna would work for me. I'm on the North end off of Rangeline. Thanks for your help.

Neither DishNetwork or DirecTV carry the HD locals. I imagine since this is market #138, it may be a while before we get there. I live near your location. With a pair of rabbit ears, I never had problems getting 8.1 (NBC) and could usually get 6.1 (PBS). 17.1 (ABC) and 17.2 (FOX) usually came in, but they don't always seem to have their stuff together with the signal, as I have had breakup with them on my outdoor antenna for the last day-and-a-half. I could NEVER get 13.1 (CBS) with the rabbit ears.

I got a Radio Shack U-75R mounted about 10 feet in the air outdoor pointing south. 13.1 now comes in with a strong signal, along with 6.1 and 8.1. Again, 17.1 and 17.2 usually come in, but I've had problems for the last 36 hours. You could try this or other outdoor antennas in your attic (if you could avoid losing your security deposit), but I don't know if you'd have success.

You would think they would have it by now as they applied to the FCC in may. When I look at the FCC Web site I cannot find any record of their application. I would e-mail the tech at Fox and ask him what the status is.

Steve Epstein -- Chief Engineer
stevee@kmiz.com

Please let us know if you do get a response, I had to send 2-3 e-mails before I got one.

If you query the FCC database (http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/tvq.html) with the call sign "NEW" you can find the low-power digital applications (coded "LD").

JW Broadcasting (KMIZ, KQFX, etc.) has filed for three new LD channels as I can tell:
18 http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=167873
39 http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=167874
51 http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=167875

Word of God Fellowship has also filed for channel 51 in Columbia. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=167013

I haven't had a chance to email the engineer over there regarding a timetable, but I will pass along any future info.

That sucks that they aren't on the satellite's locally yet, but I guess in due time everything will be. Thank you for the information on the antennas. We are currently in the process of moving into the new location so I will check out if I have access to the attic. If not I might play around w/ the indoor antenna in other positions. If it doesn't work I can always just return it I guess. Thanks for the advice, and I'll let you know how it turns out in the coming weeks. I'll probably be back for more advice though.

EDIT: The Stanley Cup also has not been broadcast in HD.

I really hope that Mediacom has plans to pick up OLN/Versus this year. :mad:

anybody using dish network? how is it? what are the hd options. Mediacom has once again rasied their prices and I need to swith

Like the VU-190 XR model available at radioshack?

anybody using dish network? how is it? what are the hd options. Mediacom has once again rasied their prices and I need to swith
I use Dish Network HD and love it! For new subscribers it isn't too hard to jump into the foray. They've got the following HD:

Discovery HD
TNTHD
HDnet
HDnet Movies
ESPNHD, ESPN2 HD
HDNFL
HGTV HD
Universal HD
the premium HDs (HBOHD, ShowtimeHD, StarzHD)
National Geographic HD
15 Voom stations (Which really aren't too bad)
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/dishhd/images/programming/programming_logos-center.jpg
There's talk that they'll be getting some more Hd soon, possibly Food TV, INHD, MTV HD.

Check out dishnetwork.com/hd to see their options. Basically it depends on what Standard definition stations you want to get, and if you want Fox Sports.

So far, there is no Columbia Locals on HD via satellite. You'll need to go the OTA route for that. I doubt they'll get any local HD until next year, at the very earliest. In Columbia, you'll need 2 seperate dishes to get all of the stations. Feel free to PM me if you want to hear more.

I agree that Dish Network HDTV is very good. The don't compress their channels nearly as much as Direct TV does.

You don't need two dishes to get all the channels though. You can pick up all three satellites you need with a Dish 1000 dish.

I just traded emails with Steve Epstein, cheif engineer over at KMIZ. Here are the highlights:

Dear Mr. Epstein,

I am using a DirecTV H20 receiver as my digital tuner. When I first put up my antenna, I routinely received signal strength reading in the mid-60s for 17-1, which is strong enough. However, about three weeks ago, the signal strength has dropped to between 38-44, which is usually good enough for 17-2, -3, and -4, but not good enough for 17-1 to lock on. The signal strength has remained that way since. Before I go on the roof to attempt to realign my antenna, could you please tell me if this signal strength drop was due to any issues on your end.

We lost a power supply a week ago. Last Thursday I replaced it and we returned to full power. I have not been back out, maybe another failed...17.1-4 should all be the same strength, they all come from the same digital matrix.

Also, I have had several issues attempting to watch Fox Saturday Baseball on 17-2. When I tune to 17-2 on my H20, the box perpetually reboots itself, and I must unplug it to get it to stop. DirecTV has told me it is bad PSIP data in the signal and some internet research I have done also seems to confirm this. Again, this problem only occurs on 17-2 and so far has only happened during Fox Saturday Baseball games. If you could look into this I would appreciate it.

We receive FOX over the air from the digital for rebroadcast on our analog channel and have had no problems with it. However, I have had sporadic reports of the problem you describe. I will check the PSIP tables during the games and see if there is anything different about them.

Finally, I know your company has recently filed for low-power digital stations with the FCC. Can I presume one of these will eventually result in a Fox HD channel and if so, is there any estimate on when that station could be operational?

When we have a digital channel for FOX, our intent is to take it HD. Buildout is based on when we are assigned a license, and then based on equipment delivery. I don't anticipate both happening within the next 6 months.

--------

So, it looks like it'll still be a while for Fox, but I think that was to be expected.

I don't anticipate both happening within the next 6 months.

--------

So, it looks like it'll still be a while for Fox, but I think that was to be expected.

Thanks for the news TubaSaxT. Good to see that he responds sometimes. Sucks to learn that we won't have the NFL in HD this year for the NFC. This issue really sways me in deciding what football game to watch. IF CBS is airing a game with teams I don't care about, and Fox is airing a game with teams I don't care about, I'm more likely to switch to cbs.

interesting article in the tribune today about mediacom and hdtv

http://columbiatribune.com/2006/Aug/20060824Go!014.asp

Channel 8.3 is now showing. It must be a preview or test.

"While MyNetworkTV will fill the spot vacated by UPN at Channel 28 on Mediacom on Sept. 5 and still be known as KZOU - or MyZOU - there still is no definitive spot on the city’s main cable provider for The CW"

Darn. There goes my small reservation of hope that they would use channel 28 to pick up Versus. They could had a wonderful setup of sports networks (channels 28-31) as the sports block.

Has anybody else been having issues with the KMIZ HDs for about the last month?

Has anybody else been having issues with the KMIZ HDs for about the last month?

Yes, I had about a 20 point signal drop right at about a month ago and it has been that way since. Since that time, I haven't been able to lock on their signal.

If you go up a few posts, you can see I asked their engineer about it (among other things). He seemed to indicate there was a minor problem that had been fixed, but that they aren't having any other issues.

interesting article in the tribune today about mediacom and hdtv

http://columbiatribune.com/2006/Aug/20060824Go!014.asp

I can't say that I find that article very well done as there is no Fox in HD. Mediacom cannot be to blame as it is KQFX's problem.

All that information about Mediacom makes me happy to have DISH. Even if they seem to be a far away company, they're no different than Mediacom really. Plus, they have NFLHD where I'll be able to watch the Chiefs on Thanksgiving. The only thing missing is still Fox HD, and that is KMIZ's fault.

Odd, KMIZ-DT had just enough signal for me to lock on this morning during GMA. It was in the mid 50s. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

Odd, KMIZ-DT had just enough signal for me to lock on this morning during GMA. It was in the mid 50s. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

Ha, that didn't last long. 3PM today signal was back below 40 and unwatchable.

Ha, that didn't last long. 3PM today signal was back below 40 and unwatchable.

I can pull a fairly strong signal with rabbit ears and watch KMIZ with no interruptions. Where are you located and are there a lot of tall building around you?

I can pull a fairly strong signal with rabbit ears and watch KMIZ with no interruptions. Where are you located and are there a lot of tall building around you?

I am north of town just off of Range Line. If you draw a straight line North from the end of Providence, where that line intersects Brown School Rd. is where I am. There are several two-story buildings around, but none in my line of sight to the South. Also some tall trees in the distance.

I had no problems using rabbit ears for KMIZ until close to five weeks ago. Since then, not even my outdoor antenna can pull it in, save for that one morning a few days ago.

Just got a reply back from Steve Epstein @ KMIZ and this is what he had to say...

"We are operating at full power. I watch the digital signal nightly from
my home north of the Lake of the Woods exit in Columbia. I have seen no
problems on my signal at home, nor have we seen any issues at our studio
on Business Loop.

Steve Epstein
Chief Engineer
KMIZ/KQFX/KZOU/ShowMe Weather

501 Business Loop 70 E.
Columbia, MO 65202
573-449-0917x228"

As of tonight, I still don't have any signal from them.

The solution to everything is to throw money at it.

It doesn't seem that KMIZ is going to do anything, since it appears they don't believe anything is wrong. So, despite the fact that I'm moving out of town in a couple of weeks, I went to everybody's favorite discount store ;) and bought a $20 Philips signal amplifier. That did the trick, no problems with any of the digital stations at the moment. Here are the signal strength numbers:

Before Amp
KMOS: 40
KOMU: 100
KRCG: 76
KMIZ: 44

After Amp
KMOS: 48
KOMU: 100
KRCG: 86
KMIZ: 64

I will note that KMOS typically ran around 60 before I bought the amp. It seems they have a weak signal day (like today) every couple of weeks.

Apologies for "interloping" here, but I just found out that I'm going to be in Rolla doing a couple of video calibrations this Thursday, September 14.

I do periodic calibration tours to KC, Springfield and Columbia, but I never have stopped in Jefferson City or Rolla. But now that I'm going to be headed that way, I could also be available either Wednesday or Friday, in the event that anyone else nearby would be interested in having an HDTV display calibrated.

I don't want to hijack your discussion here any further, so if anyone is interested and would like to know more about calibration (or my credentials), you can contact me via AVS private message, or send me an eMail at doug@clearlyresolved.com.

I have a problem I was needing help with. I live in Jeff City and recently installed the Square Shooter antenna in addition to having Direct TV. I have a 6 X 8 multi switch but it does not have an imput for an ota antenna. So my question is how can I hook the ota antenna up so that all of my tv's can receive the signal.

I have a problem I was needing help with. I live in Jeff City and recently installed the Square Shooter antenna in addition to having Direct TV. I have a 6 X 8 multi switch but it does not have an imput for an ota antenna. So my question is how can I hook the ota antenna up so that all of my tv's can receive the signal.

I don't believe you can diplex ota into a 6 X 8 multi-switch. Did they install the neww a9 slim-line dish with 5 lnbs. From what I understand, Directv is getting ready for the mpeg4 when they deliver all locals for the entire country by satellite (even HD eventually). The problem is that carry locals in some the frequency that you diplex ota locals into with the multi-switch.

Kinda of convenient for them to get you to pay for what you can get free. :rolleyes:

What I did was to hook my antenna into coaxial that was in place for cable. Not has convenient but it get the job done.

Don't know if they will have any HD channels, but have found out by searching the Internet that Centurytel is building a IPTV headend in their downtown central office. Noticed new satellite dishes a few weeks ago, and today some OTA antennas sprouting from the old microwave tower on the building.

Everything must be super secret 'cause there's been nothing in the local media regarding this...and I would think the city would have to authorize a franchise agreement for video.

Following the launch of its IPTV service in La Crosse, Wis., rural local exchange carrier CenturyTel is seeking to up the ante with the deployment of a regional MPEG-4 video headend that will first be used to deliver digital TV to Columbia, Mo., and may then be leveraged to distribute IPTV service to a number of the carrier’s markets throughout the U.S.