Here is what I'm working with...


* yellow - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 197° 31.9 40
* yellow - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 198° 32.2 9
* yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 197° 31.9 41
* yellow - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 198° 31.8 42
* yellow - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 198° 31.8 24
* yellow - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 198° 31.8 51
* green - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 219° 13.7 30
* red - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 196° 32.1 19
* blue - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 195° 34.5 43
* blue - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 195° 34.5 18
* blue - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 195° 34.5 32
* blue - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 196° 32.1 14
* violet - uhf KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI IRVING TX 195° 34.5 48

The DB-8 is much better than the Sensar for your location, but the antenna of choice for DFW is the CM4228 - much better antenna than the DB-8 and a lot less expensive. Can you return your DB8?

You will notice that WFAA is transmitting on channel 9 which is VHF-hi, they will be going back to 8 in 2009 when analog goes away. KTVT is going back to channel 11 and KFWD is going to channel 9. The CM4228, apart from being better at UHF than the DB-8, is also pretty good at VHF-hi even though it is a UHF antenna. The DB-8 although it looks like a copy of the CM4228 is much poorer at VHF-hi.
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html is an interesting antenna comparison site if you want to see some numbers. If you look at net gain for UHF you will see the CM4228 is better than the DB-8 up to about channel 52. And all channels over 52 will be going away after 2009. Then if you look at the "Using a UHF antenna for VHF" section you will see the CM4228 is significantly better than the DB-8. If you search thei forum you will find lots of people using the CM4228 in DFW....

Thanks so much. i think i'll go with that one. It looks good on paper too!

Anyone having intermittent issues with pulling in KXAS??

I have 2 HD sets that have RG6 cable run to my attic where I have a Wineguard antenna diplexed in to the cable runs for satellite with multiswitches.

I had never had issues with this channel before until just a few weeks ago.

Hoping some one possibly has an answer. Maybe I just need an amplifier?? Is 2 TV's on an antenna too much??

I got the letter from TWC last week that indicates a wholesale change in the channel line up on December 20, I think it is. I think the new numbering system sucks, as it tries to group channels into "genres" and I suspect those of us with HDTV prefer to have all of the HD channels together on the guide. But that's another post.

Anyway, does anyone have a comment on what affect, if any, this lineup change will have on the local/HD channels carried on the clear QAM tuner? Will they still be there? "A" side? Will the channel number change? Do you think we will still get things like TNT HD on QAM? What are your thoughts?

I got the letter from TWC last week that indicates a wholesale change in the channel line up on December 20, I think it is. I think the new numbering system sucks, as it tries to group channels into "genres" and I suspect those of us with HDTV prefer to have all of the HD channels together on the guide. But that's another post.

Anyway, does anyone have a comment on what affect, if any, this lineup change will have on the local/HD channels carried on the clear QAM tuner? Will they still be there? "A" side? Will the channel number change? Do you think we will still get things like TNT HD on QAM? What are your thoughts?

I've already been through the channel changes, and they do suck. That said, it didn't affect the availability of clear QAM...at least not that I recall. I'll try to remember tonight to verify what I am getting in the clear. I think the channel numbers *might* have changed, but I can't remember...it has been awhile. I just keep a little list with all the channel numbers, etc.

Upon further review, I'm not sure how much help that was for you since I was unsure on several things....hopefully I can let you know about TNT, etc., anyway...

Randy

I'm using a Silver Sensor for receiving my UHF channels (in Frisco), but I'm really starting to miss the ABC-HD so I'm considering attempting to get another small indoor (hopefully) antenna that supports VHF well. Any recommendations? I have a separate ATSC tuner on my TV I can use for testing so I can keep them separate. Thanks for the help.You might try the Terk HDTV-A. It looks like the Silver Sensor but has the VHF antenna. I know a lot of people knock Terk products but I'm using one in McKinney at 45 miles from the transmitters and get all stations.

I've already been through the channel changes, and they do suck. That said, it didn't affect the availability of clear QAM...at least not that I recall. I'll try to remember tonight to verify what I am getting in the clear. I think the channel numbers *might* have changed, but I can't remember...it has been awhile. I just keep a little list with all the channel numbers, etc.
I got the $10 basic package hooked up earlier this week, and the QAM channels looked to have changed. I'm getting these new channels fine:

112-1 HDNET
112-2 INHD
112-3 UniversalHD

All the local HD channels are showing up intermittenly at 113-1 and above. The signal seems very weak for these channels which makes me wonder if I need to get the expanded basic package to get them free and clear. Is anyone else trying to tune these channels with the basic package? I'd be curious to know your experience.

Btw, I'm using an HP 37" lcd w/ built-in QAM tuner.

Thanks!

I just moved to another part of FW. I decided to go with Dish Network satellite TV (non-HD) and the installer set it up just in time for the Cowboys/Giants game. (Too bad the game's outcome was a huge disappointment - Giants fan here.) So far, the signal quality looks good, but we haven't had a storm since I moved. The plan is that sometime next year, I'll buy an HDTV and install an HD antenna (preferably in the attic) and then try OTA HD and save $5/mo. from Dish's local plan.

I know it is not HD, but is anyone else disappointed in the picture of NFL Network being sent out by Dish Network?

I know it is not HD, but is anyone else disappointed in the picture of NFL Network being sent out by Dish Network?

It's HD on D* in MPEG4. The problem I have is that Bryant Gumbel is awful. He is such a drag it makes the PQ worse. He is no Brad Sham.

You might try the Terk HDTV-A. It looks like the Silver Sensor but has the VHF antenna. I know a lot of people knock Terk products but I'm using one in McKinney at 45 miles from the transmitters and get all stations.
Would I be better off with an antenna in the attic (would that work)? And what would that cost (ballpark for antenna, cables, etc) to get the whole shebang and not worry about the indoor stuff anymore,,,,,

Would I be better off with an antenna in the attic (would that work)? And what would that cost (ballpark for antenna, cables, etc) to get the whole shebang and not worry about the indoor stuff anymore,,,,,In general, the higher you can mount the antenna, the better. If the roof is not an option, the attic is likely your next best alternative. However, OTA reception is not a perfect science. What works for me, or for your next door neighbor, may not work for you, etc. If you have the patience and energy, my reocommendation is always to start with the simplest solution and work your way up. You've already tried the Silver Sensor and if it's not working well, any other indoor solution is not likely to yield significantly better results. So the attic would probably be the logical next step unless you want to try that Terk HDTV-A I recommended.

A lot of people have reported good results with the Channel Master 4228. It's not one of the long boom style antennas but is still rather large (check the specs). Another popular alternative are the DB4 & DB8 antennas from anntennasdirect.com. They have a brochure with recommendations for major markets including DFW.

Hi everyone.. sort of new to the HDTV arena and I'm getting my TV tomorrow, but I have a question. I'm in an apartment in Richardson (75 and 190) and was wondering what indoor antenna folks would recommend for pulling HDTV signals. I'm mostly interested in the Big Five (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CW). Thanks in advance for the help!

If you haven't yet then check this site http://www.antennaweb.org first, it has good info on what you might need.

SFS97, I looked at that, but they mentioned they didn't carry any information on indoor antennas. Since I'm in an apartment, I'd need to get an indoor antenna. :/

In general, the higher you can mount the antenna, the better. If the roof is not an option, the attic is likely your next best alternative. However, OTA reception is not a perfect science. What works for me, or for your next door neighbor, may not work for you, etc. If you have the patience and energy, my reocommendation is always to start with the simplest solution and work your way up. You've already tried the Silver Sensor and if it's not working well, any other indoor solution is not likely to yield significantly better results. So the attic would probably be the logical next step unless you want to try that Terk HDTV-A I recommended.

A lot of people have reported good results with the Channel Master 4228. It's not one of the long boom style antennas but is still rather large (check the specs). Another popular alternative are the DB4 & DB8 antennas from anntennasdirect.com. They have a brochure with recommendations for major markets including DFW.

The DB4 is not going to be enough for m8ng01 in his location. The CM4228 is a much better antenna than the DB8 for DFW because it has decent VHF-hi reception, for WFAA-DT which is on channel 9, and the two UHF stations (11.1 and 52.1) which will move to VHF-hi in 2009 when analog goes away. The DB8 is pretty poor on VHF. The CM4228 is also less expensive than the DB8.
I have a CM4228 in the attic at 40 miles from the transmitters at Cedar Hill. I have a rather long cable run and the antenna feed is split to two receivers so I also use a CM7777 preamp. With this setup I get a signal strength of 80 to 100 on all the DFW stations - the lowest strength signal is WFAA.

SFS97, I looked at that, but they mentioned they didn't carry any information on indoor antennas. Since I'm in an apartment, I'd need to get an indoor antenna. :/

The best indoor UHF antenna is the Silver Sensor, Philips PHDTV1 (that's the unamplified version) but it won't receive VHF (for WFAA-DT which transmits on channel 9). Unless your apartment is completely screened from the transmitters you have a good chance of getting decent reception on all the other digital stations. There is a Terk "clone" of the Silver Sensor, the Terk HDTVi, which has added "rabbit ears" so you could attempt to get WFAA with that. The Terk HDTVa which is amplified is apparently not as good as the HDTVi although I have no personal experience of that antenna.
If the HDTVi will not get you WFAA then I'm not sure any indoor antenna will work for that station.

Thanks, texasbrit! So I'm guessing I'm out of luck for WFAA with an indoor antenna, then?

Thanks, texasbrit! So I'm guessing I'm out of luck for WFAA with an indoor antenna, then?

It's worth a try, just get an HDTVi (or an HDTVa if it's all you can find) from somwhere with a decent return policy, and try it. You may be successful, OTA reception is a very strange thing, sometimes you get results which are better than expected (and sometimes much worse!!)

Thanks, texasbrit! So I'm guessing I'm out of luck for WFAA with an indoor antenna, then?

I previously uses a Phillips amplified antenna from walmart ($25) and it did an 'ok' job of bringing in WFAA, I'm about 20 miles from the transmitters. You may just have to start cheap and see what works for you.

Hi everyone.. sort of new to the HDTV arena and I'm getting my TV tomorrow, but I have a question. I'm in an apartment in Richardson (75 and 190) and was wondering what indoor antenna folks would recommend for pulling HDTV signals. I'm mostly interested in the Big Five (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CW). Thanks in advance for the help!

I'm in McKinney (further away from the stations than you are) and I get all of those stations with a Terk HDTVi. And they're all 80% or better too. GREAT ANTENNA!

The best indoor UHF antenna is the Silver Sensor, Philips PHDTV1 (that's the unamplified version) but it won't receive VHF (for WFAA-DT which transmits on channel 9). Not necessarily. I pick up WFAA-DT with my Silver Sensor even though it's a UHF only.

Not necessarily. I pick up WFAA-DT with my Silver Sensor even though it's a UHF only.

In McKinney you are very lucky to get WFAA with a Silver Sensor. When I was in Plano the Silver Sensor worked really well except for WFAA; I could get hardly any signal. Going to the Terk HDTVi gave me the same performance on UHF but substantially improved on WFAA.

I live on the first floor of an appartment in Richardson at Custer and Renner. I face 2 other 2 story appartment buildings. I only watch local broadcasts so I just wanted a cheap solution to get me OTA HDTV.

HDTV: Westinghouse LVM-37w3

PC Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950

Antenna: RadioShack Antenna 15-2186 amplified (20db) indoor/outdoor HDTV antenna.


My problem is that I get zero digital channels using the default software (WinTV2000). Judging by this thread, I think I should get at least *something*, agree? I've tried a number of indoor locations for the antenna but scans show zero digital channels. I am able to get some analog channels, most are poor quality with ghosting.

My appartment has ATT Home Entertainment that doesn't offer HD content. The person I talked to said that I should be able to connect the ATSC tuner directly into the wall to receive digital channels via the satilite mounted on my leasing office. I have tried this and still get zero digital channels. I am able to connect my old NTSC 13" TV to the wall and get all the local analog channels. I plan to call them back on Monday to confirm that I should get digital TV. If so, maybe I just need an amp?

I tried SageTV connecting to the wall but it is far more complex and I need more time to test it since I'm new at this. I do know that I get no signal when setting up a digital tuner for digital tv. Tv tuner for local broadcast gives me 1 channel that is fairly clear. I need to try the antenna with SageTV

Any suggestions/Comments? Is my hardware crap? Is the software crap? Any suggestions on where to place the antenna (tried pointed out south window, high on a shelf, and just sitting on the floor).

I live on the first floor of an appartment in Richardson at Custer and Renner. I face 2 other 2 story appartment buildings. I only watch local broadcasts so I just wanted a cheap solution to get me OTA HDTV.

HDTV: Westinghouse LVM-37w3

PC Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950

Antenna: RadioShack Antenna 15-2186 amplified (20db) indoor/outdoor HDTV antenna.


My problem is that I get zero digital channels using the default software (WinTV2000). Judging by this thread, I think I should get at least *something*, agree? I've tried a number of indoor locations for the antenna but scans show zero digital channels. I am able to get some analog channels, most are poor quality with ghosting.

My appartment has ATT Home Entertainment that doesn't offer HD content. The person I talked to said that I should be able to connect the ATSC tuner directly into the wall to receive digital channels via the satilite mounted on my leasing office. I have tried this and still get zero digital channels. I am able to connect my old NTSC 13" TV to the wall and get all the local analog channels. I plan to call them back on Monday to confirm that I should get digital TV. If so, maybe I just need an amp?

I tried SageTV connecting to the wall but it is far more complex and I need more time to test it since I'm new at this. I do know that I get no signal when setting up a digital tuner for digital tv. Tv tuner for local broadcast gives me 1 channel that is fairly clear. I need to try the antenna with SageTV

Any suggestions/Comments? Is my hardware crap? Is the software crap? Any suggestions on where to place the antenna (tried pointed out south window, high on a shelf, and just sitting on the floor).

If you get poor quality analog channels with ghosting using your indoor antenna then it's not surprising you do not get digitals. Ghosting indicates multipath which is a killer for digital signals, particularly with the older decoder chips. You could try a Silver Sensor or a Terk HDTVi (the unamplified one) but you will probably find the same problem. But if you get decent analog signals from your communal antenna then you should get decent digital signals as well, unless your communal system is set up only to distribute certain channels (i.e it's really an internal "cable" system), only the person who runs the system in your building can tell you that.

Since you do not get any digital signal at all I would also suspect your PC tuner setup; maybe there is someone on this forum using the same card tuner who can give you advice.

I put the antenna on my balcony and rescanned using WinTV2000. Still no digital signals and the analog signals are mostly poor. Some are ghosting.

Just to jump into this conversation...

I purchased a Terk HDTVi as well as the Radioshack amplified model 15-2186. Neither of these antennas were able to receive ANY digital stations.

I live in south Coppell in an apartment near the intersection of MacArthur and Belt Line. My apartment complex offers ATT HE satellite service with no HD so OTA is my only option.

I live on the second floor with my window facing the east in the room where the antenna and television will be placed.

Any suggestions on the next antenna for me to try?

Thanks, texasbrit! So I'm guessing I'm out of luck for WFAA with an indoor antenna, then?

Not necessarily.

A friend here in Plano is using a simple pair of unamplified rabbit ears to receive WFAA-DT. A single-bowtie antenna clipped onto those rabbit ears is bringing in all the other digital stations. It's a rather retro solution, but it works.

Whether it will work for you depends on a couple of factors: the direction your apartment faces, and what floor you're on. If you're on the southern side of your building and if you're in a second or third floor unit, I suspect your chances of getting WFAA-DT are pretty good.

Just an update...I called ATT Home Entertainment again and they confirmed that they do not offer a HDTV package for my complex but they said that there is a HDTV antenna on top of the leasing office. I should be getting digital signals but I am not. I scheduled a technician to come out tomorrow (free of charge).

ryanjayblair, I suggest calling ATT HE and asking if you have an OTA HDTV antenna in your complex. The main number is 817.226.060. They then forwarded me to HDTV "specialists" at 800-607-4647.

SFS97, I looked at that, but they mentioned they didn't carry any information on indoor antennas. Since I'm in an apartment, I'd need to get an indoor antenna. :/
I thought I read somewhere that the FCC mandates that all common building complexes (apartments, condominiums, townhouses) have to allow their tenants/renters/owners access to somehow mount an antenna, whether it's no the roof or off the balcony. Do you have a balcony that faces in the direction of Cedar Hill (which is a bit southwest of Dallas)? If not, then your only other option might be to try an indoor antenna. Good luck!

Been having trouble receiving 27.1 since yesterday. It was received fine prior to Sunday (I think). I've rescanned channels but I can't get it. Just curious if it's my setup or if something is up over at KDFI.

Just checked it. Signal strength 95 but no picture. I suspect they have done something to their PSIP that's preventing my H20 from processing the channel.

Been having trouble receiving 27.1 since yesterday. It was received fine prior to Sunday (I think). I've rescanned channels but I can't get it. Just curious if it's my setup or if something is up over at KDFI.

Strange thing on this subject, I lost 27-1 on the main setup, but still had it in the bedroom. rescanned for it on the Samsung and still nothing, I figured a bad splitter maybe, but now I don't know.

Just checked it and 75% signal strength in the bedroom (with video). Rescanned the sammy and still nothing. I think I still need to check my splitter. It's odd cause every other station comes in with high signal strength.

Strange thing on this subject, I lost 27-1 on the main setup, but still had it in the bedroom. rescanned for it on the Samsung and still nothing, I figured a bad splitter maybe, but now I don't know.

Just checked it and 75% signal strength in the bedroom (with video). Rescanned the sammy and still nothing. I think I still need to check my splitter. It's odd cause every other station comes in with high signal strength.

Not to sound like a broken record, but you might try unplugging your antenna, scanning, reconnecting and scanning again...it sometimes works in these situations...

Good luck!

Randy

Just an update...I called ATT Home Entertainment again and they confirmed that they do not offer a HDTV package for my complex but they said that there is a HDTV antenna on top of the leasing office. I should be getting digital signals but I am not. I scheduled a technician to come out tomorrow (free of charge).

ryanjayblair, I suggest calling ATT HE and asking if you have an OTA HDTV antenna in your complex. The main number is 817.226.060. They then forwarded me to HDTV "specialists" at 800-607-4647.

The tech guy on the phone at att he was wrong for most of us. You cannot get the hd signal without a destacker whether built-in to your satellite box or external. I hooked up the cable to the tv out on the back of the satellite box and it works. Getting about a 50% signal. I will be calling them as well to get them to come out and pickup the old box once my tivo comes in.

UPDATE: not the solution, maybe the signal isn't stacked. I am able to get NBC's hd stations but no others. I'm not sure if it's the cable, connections, or setup. Once my destacker comes in I'll see what it does.

Technician said there isn't a HDTV antenna at my complex so back to finding an antenna. I will probably just end up with DirectTV..

Technician said there isn't a HDTV antenna at my complex so back to finding an antenna. I will probably just end up with DirectTV..

There is no such thing as a HDTV antenna.

You need to find out if there is any sort of antenna. How tall is the leasing office? Can you see an antenna on top of it? If there is then you are only limited to the size of the antenna and its capabilities. It may not have the capability to pull in a digital signal due to the distance from the broadcast antennas in/on Cedar Hill.

Last thought. Maybe the antenna is not pointing in the right direction. It could have moved during a storm and might need to be re-aimed. Good luck convincing your apt. people of that.

Good Luck with your HD quest.

There is no such thing as a HDTV antenna.

You need to find out if there is any sort of antenna. How tall is the leasing office? Can you see an antenna on top of it? If there is then you are only limited to the size of the antenna and its capabilities. It may not have the capability to pull in a digital signal due to the distance from the broadcast antennas in/on Cedar Hill.

Last thought. Maybe the antenna is not pointing in the right direction. It could have moved during a wind storm and might need to be re-aimed. Good luck convincing your apt. people of that.

Good Luck with your HD quest.
But there are antennae optimized for OTA HD (digital) vs. OTA SD (analog).

But there are antennae optimized for OTA HD (digital) vs. OTA SD (analog).

There are? I know that some are marketed as such, but I didn't know there was a difference in the actual antennae....

Has anyone tried a total ghetto DYI set-up in the Dallas Market? In the past I’ve been able to pick up a great analog signal just by running 3 or 4 feet of stripped coax cable (stapled to the back of my Entertainment Center) into my old Sony 27” CRT. I don’t have a digital tuner in any of my home equipment right now (I will remedy that on Boxing Day) so I can’t run a test yet myself. I’m just wondering if anyone has plugged a nice long piece of metal into an HDTV to see what kind of signal they can pull.

Has anyone on this thread tried anything like that?

I live about 40 miles away from the transmitters in north Dallas. I have a single coax cable with about 3.5 feet of exposed wire (stripped of all insulation). It's mounted horizontally in a closet within the interior of my house (where my wiring closet is). No amplifier is used. I get all stations in Dallas, including WFAA. Talk about cheap!.

But there are antennae optimized for OTA HD (digital) vs. OTA SD (analog).

You have peaked my interest. I have not heard this before and would be interested in an explanation.

You have peaked my interest. I have not heard this before and would be interested in an explanation.


I'll bite too. As an RF engineer I am always anxious to hear about new science. I am curious to know how an antenna that is designed to be a resonant part of a tuned circuit for a given frequency or set of frequencies knows whether the information carried by the electromagnetic waves is NTSC or ATSC. :confused:

channel 27, for some reason i cannot program anymore, 2 weeks ago it was fine and now when i program 36 it tells me channel 99. any info or help would be appreciated.

Anyone watching the Mavs game on 21-1 right now? I'm hearing really bad popping noises on the audio. Don't hear them on the SD broadcast though. Anyone else getting this?

k guys longtime coming. Finally got HD through the air. Picked up a Zenith silver sensor for around 40 bucks. Got 27 digital channels coming in now. A few questions, earlier in the day is said nbc was 720p, now with jay leno its 1080i. Letterman is also 1080i. Do any local stations run 720p as thats the native resolution of my tv?

Anyone watching the Mavs game on 21-1 right now? I'm hearing really bad popping noises on the audio. Don't hear them on the SD broadcast though. Anyone else getting this?

mine has popped a few times due to reception but when i moved the antenna it stopped

channel 27, for some reason i cannot program anymore, 2 weeks ago it was fine and now when i program 36 it tells me channel 99. any info or help would be appreciated.

I can't get channel 27.1 either, on both my H20 receiver and my HR20 DVR (which has the OTA upgrade). The signal strength is fine but the tuners will not decode the signal, I suspect 27.1 has done something with their PSIP data and my receivers don't like it. What type of OTA tuner are you using??

It's still coming in on the bedroom TV. On the main setup though, it will not. I tried disconnecting scanning, connecting rescanning and nothing. Even got the 108 download for the HR-20 and pulled everything in through that but still no 27-1. I can look in the antenna setup on the HR-20 and it shows strong signals for that channel, but if I try to tune it in I get "771 searching for signal".

On a side note, I believe something has changed with KDFI. I get this channel via D* MPEG 4 and prior to this past weekend anything I recorded from this channel (Dallas Stars hockey) the playback would be unwatchable because of studdering playback. Now everything plays back fine.

Maybe it has something to do with a hardware change at the station level. I don't know.. :confused:

I Live in Plano. I am in the process of evaluating different OTA antenna for my HDTV. I plan to place it either indoor or in the attic. Going over the recent posts, it appears that Terk HDTVi is the one that seems to pull all (most) of the OTA channels including WFAA around this area (Plano, Allen, Mckinney). I am evaluating a RCA ANT706 - which seems very directional, and am able to get only about 15 channels or so which would include FOX (2), NBC(2), CBS, 52 and a few other channels. Notable channels missing are KERA, UPN, KDTV (Ch 27 - although there is some problem with this recently based on the posts) and of course WFAA. BTW, this antenna is placed in the middle of the room (on the 2nd floor).

Would my conclusion about TERK being the best so far in this area a reasonable one? I also would like to know if you placed the antenna in the same room or in the attic or outside. I understand the fact that what works out for one may not work for another, but just wanted to get as many inputs.

Thanks for yor help.

I Live in Plano. I am in the process of evaluating different OTA antenna for my HDTV. I plan to place it either indoor or in the attic. Going over the recent posts, it appears that Terk HDTVi is the one that seems to pull all (most) of the OTA channels including WFAA around this area (Plano, Allen, Mckinney). I am evaluating a RCA ANT706 - which seems very directional, and am able to get only about 15 channels or so which would include FOX (2), NBC(2), CBS, 52 and a few other channels. Notable channels missing are KERA, UPN, KDTV (Ch 27 - although there is some problem with this recently based on the posts) and of course WFAA. BTW, this antenna is placed in the middle of the room (on the 2nd floor).

Would my conclusion about TERK being the best so far in this area a reasonable one? I also would like to know if you placed the antenna in the same room or in the attic or outside. I understand the fact that what works out for one may not work for another, but just wanted to get as many inputs.

Thanks for yor help.

The best indoor antenna is probably the Silver Sensor but it's UHF so has a problem with WFAA. KERA although it's UHF can be tough to get also. The HDTVi is a silver sensor "clone" with "rabbit ears" for VHF. If the HDTVi does not work for you indoors then probably no indoor antenna will.
Directional antennas are fine for DFW, all the transmitters are basically in the same place at Cedar Hill. If you have to move the direction of the antenna between stations you are probably getting multipath, which a more directional antenna often solves.

You can try the antenna in the attic and it may perform better than in a room but Texas attics are full of A/C equipment and many have metallic lining in the roof which can be a killer. If you can't get stable reception on the HDTVi then your best bet is a CM4228 - you can try this in the attic, it should work for you in Plano but if it does not you will need to mount it outside. I have one in the attic (metallic lining and all) at 40 miles from the antenna farm (I am just east of Allen) and it gets everything....

I sent an email to kdfi, I'l let you know if I get a response.

I had e-mailed them also...

In the DHTG forum there was a post suggesting that the problem was linked to the station leasing a subchannel to USDTV....that might make sense, if the receiver is trying to decode both subchannels and one of them is authorized only to USDTV customers, that would be a problem...

I have emailed both KDFI and KDFW, and left a phone message with KDFW (the parent station). I have a standalone converter and a Dell HDTV (37" LCD) which can't even map KDFI, although my Dish Network receiver can recognize KDFI and produces indications of a strong signal but either no picture at all or with many signal drop outs and pixels. This, as others have noted, just began to happen recently. And why does KDFW have the lowest signal strength of ANY of the local digital broadcasters? I get a signal strength reading of 100 on Channel 52, but I'm lucky if I get as high as 76 for KDFW. Right now, with KDFI, I get a signal strength of 96, but with lots of drop outs, etc. Obviously there's a problem, and just as obviously they don't seem to care a lot about it. Guess we'll have to wait 'til 2009 before we can say we have a legitimate beef!

I had e-mailed them also...

In the DHTG forum there was a post suggesting that the problem was linked to the station leasing a subchannel to USDTV....that might make sense, if the receiver is trying to decode both subchannels and one of them is authorized only to USDTV customers, that would be a problem...

I saw that. I hope they can do something about this. So, it has different effects on different tuners? What does this say about the tuner in my Symphonic WF32L6 that's still bringing it in at 95-99% signal strength, and 3 other tuners will not?

The best indoor antenna is probably the Silver Sensor but it's UHF so has a problem with WFAA. KERA although it's UHF can be tough to get also. The HDTVi is a silver sensor "clone" with "rabbit ears" for VHF. If the HDTVi does not work for you indoors then probably no indoor antenna will.
Directional antennas are fine for DFW, all the transmitters are basically in the same place at Cedar Hill. If you have to move the direction of the antenna between stations you are probably getting multipath, which a more directional antenna often solves.

You can try the antenna in the attic and it may perform better than in a room but Texas attics are full of A/C equipment and many have metallic lining in the roof which can be a killer. If you can't get stable reception on the HDTVi then your best bet is a CM4228 - you can try this in the attic, it should work for you in Plano but if it does not you will need to mount it outside. I have one in the attic (metallic lining and all) at 40 miles from the antenna farm (I am just east of Allen) and it gets everything....

Thanks for the help. The only reason for me to try HDTVi compared to CM4228 is because HDTVi is available locally and could possibly return it if it does not work. I believe CM4228 is available only online - I am not sure if any store in DFW carries them. You are right about the attic containing the AC equip and metal linings. I saw an AD for an antenna in today's Fry's - it is a CM but did not list the model #. Will have to check it out there.

Thanks for the help. The only reason for me to try HDTVi compared to CM4228 is because HDTVi is available locally and could possibly return it if it does not work. I believe CM4228 is available only online - I am not sure if any store in DFW carries them. You are right about the attic containing the AC equip and metal linings. I saw an AD for an antenna in today's Fry's - it is a CM but did not list the model #. Will have to check it out there.

FYI

The CM antenna's at Fry's are not near the TV section. They are usually around the telephone section.

Thanks for the help. The only reason for me to try HDTVi compared to CM4228 is because HDTVi is available locally and could possibly return it if it does not work. I believe CM4228 is available only online - I am not sure if any store in DFW carries them. You are right about the attic containing the AC equip and metal linings. I saw an AD for an antenna in today's Fry's - it is a CM but did not list the model #. Will have to check it out there.

The pic they show there sure looks like a 4228....not that it is necessarily the one they are actually selling...

Randy

I have seen them at Fry's in Plano from time to time- and yes, they are not where you expect them to be. They are usually on one of the aisles running towards the computer hard disk display....

....I saw an AD for an antenna in today's Fry's - it is a CM but did not list the model #. Will have to check it out there.

I got my CM4228 at the Fry's in Arlington about 2 months ago. As the others have noted, (at the Arlington store) it was near the hard drive & computer memory area and even then the CM4228 (flat square box) was at the opposite end of the row from the VHF antennas (long narrow box) with other items between them.

MC

27-1 is back up for me.

And for me also.

There is an opportunity for HR20 owners to get a new beta version of the software TONIGHT, version 0x10b. Go to the HR20 forum at dbstalk for details.

The home page for channel 21 doesn't show the game as HD. That's awful if true.

The home page for channel 21 doesn't show the game as HD. That's awful if true.

Channel 11 carried a Cowboys game from ESPN in the pre-season in HD. (it was the one in Shreveport) If tonight's game is not in HD on 21, I suspect it's because it was not offered that way to 21 by the NFL Network.

We'll see tonight at 7.

Channel 11 carried a Cowboys game from ESPN in the pre-season in HD. (it was the one in Shreveport) If tonight's game is not in HD on 21, I suspect it's because it was not offered that way to 21 by the NFL Network.

We'll see tonight at 7.

Bob Sturm on The Ticket said that it would be in HD OTA on 21-1 KTXA-DT

We'll see....

Edit: In the past I recall members of this site reporting that their local affiliate was showing the NFL Network game in HD.

Its in hd, strangly enough I can't get 8.1-8.3 now

anybody got a digital outage on TW this morning? I am in Plano and I am getting no digital channels, via either one of my STB or a QAM tuner. Just says Channel to be Available Shortly.

Been having trouble receiving 27.1 since yesterday. It was received fine prior to Sunday (I think). I've rescanned channels but I can't get it. Just curious if it's my setup or if something is up over at KDFI.

As of Friday (12/15) I was still unable to receive 27.1 but I got it back on Saturday. Hopefully everyone having trouble has it back too. Hard to believe a TV broadcaster would let something like this go for so long.

Was surprised to see that 21.1 carried the Cowboys game in HD last night.

Tarheel,

Things appear to be okay here in Frisco...

Randy

came back on after about two hours. Thanks IFLYSWA

Did I read here or did I dream it.

Did D* stop spot beaming DFW mpeg2 locals and make them conus?

I drive a truck and am thinking about putting D* back in my truck. Sure would like to see the local news and have access to the networks. Don't really want to do a triple sat but I can if I have to. I would like to use the old single LNB dish...Much easier on the road.

I know E* has DFW locals conus but doing E* mobile is a PITA!!!

Thanks in advance.

anyone know if the Park Cities will be getting any new HD channels on Charter?

i have a RCA ANT121 Rabbit ears antenna and when i scan for my channels some show up and some dont at certain scans.. I stay in Carrollton..

I can pick up
4.1
11.1
13.1
23.1
29.1
33.1
33.2


But on other scans i can only get

4.1
5.1
11.1
21.1
23.1
29.1
39.1
and those other weird channels

Any help?

Not that there is anything to watch on KLDT, but can anyone pick up their DT signal on channel 54?


They are planning to flash-cut to 54 and sign-off of ch.55 soon. When that happens is unknown.

i have a RCA ANT121 Rabbit ears antenna and when i scan for my channels some show up and some dont at certain scans.. I stay in Carrollton..

I can pick up
4.1
11.1
13.1
23.1
29.1
33.1
33.2


But on other scans i can only get

4.1
5.1
11.1
21.1
23.1
29.1
39.1
and those other weird channels

Any help?

Your antenna reception is obviously very marginal, the small variations you get in signal strength are just enough to stop you getting a lock on several stations. You definitely need to upgrade your antenna.
It may be that you will never get good reception indoors but I suggest you try to find a Terk HDTVi (none of the other Terks). This is a clone of the Silver Sensor, which is probably the best UHF indoor antenna, but with added "rabbit ears" to give you a possibility of getting WFAA-DT which transmits on channel 9 in VHF. (By the way, 11.1 and 52.1 are going to VHF in 2009 but that's probably too far in the future to be important to you).
If this does not work for you then the only option is outside (or attic mount), if you are in an apartment you simply may not be able to get stable OTA. Some people have used indoors the CM4221 which is an outdoor antenna, it's flat so it does not take up so much space, if you can find somewhere where it can be pointed at the transmitter farm at Cedar Hill. I saw a post from someone who mounted it behind his TV and was very successful in receiving stations that were impossible with a standard indoor antenna.

Is everyone else still having problems like myself with KDFI (27-1)? Drives me crazy with the drop-outs. Can't even watch Stars Hockey!

I read that a few of y'all have email KDFI/KDFW, have you received a response back?

Is everyone else still having problems like myself with KDFI (27-1)? Drives me crazy with the drop-outs. Can't even watch Stars Hockey!

I read that a few of y'all have email KDFI/KDFW, have you received a response back?
It's been fine for me for the last week or so. I wasn't having dropouts though, just no video/audio. I'm watching/recording the game via D* mpeg4, OTA reads 100%

I do get a/v dropouts on Fox 4 and 27 via D*, it's very annoying....

Is everyone else still having problems like myself with KDFI (27-1)? Drives me crazy with the drop-outs. Can't even watch Stars Hockey!

I read that a few of y'all have email KDFI/KDFW, have you received a response back?

I just checked an the answer is yes...lots of macroblocking and temp loss of signal. It's been like that for me since they upgraded their power last week of the baseball season (Sept).

Perhaps it can be dealt with by fine tuning the outside antenna. Since there is nothing I watch in this channel, I can wait until the begining of the baseball season. By then the problem might be solved.

BTW - The signal fluctuates from 100% to no signal at all.

BTW - The signal fluctuates from 100% to no signal at all.

Yeah, that's exactly what it does for me too. Oh well. Just sucks watching stars hockey over dish because of how white wash the picture is. You can't make out any of the markings in the ice.

Santa brought me a Samsung HL6187W set and I have it hooked to DTV (non HD). I bought a RS VU90 and have it installed in the attic on a 10ft mast. With the vaulted ceiling in the attic the antenna is a good 25 foot off the ground. I live 6 miles south of Forney and can see the antennas in Cedar Hill from the top of my roof so I have a pretty good direct path to the source. Looking on antennaweb it shows a 252 degree heading to the antennas from my house. This does not sound right as it is more like 218 degrees.

I did a channel scan and I receive all HD OTA with good signal strength, with the exception of WFAA. Even the analog signal looks bad. The VU90 is a decent UHF/VHF antenna and I don't think is my problem. The attic installation isn't too suspect due to the fact I have a 26" Samsung HD set in my office and I get all HD channels with good signal strength on a set of cheap rabbit ears (including WFAA). So I thing we have plenty of signal. I have tried both the 252 degrees suggested by antennaweb and the 218 degrees measured directly.

So besides getting into the attic and rotating the antenna what is the best method to tune the antenna to the receiver?

And, are the HD signals sent from the same towers in Cedar Hill?

You say the WFAA analog signal looks bad - just snowy or do you have ghosting and tearing? If you have ghosting on analog that's a clear sign of multipath, which is a killer for digital signals. Given that you can see the antenna farm at cedar hill, the multipath is probably locally-induced, maybe by some a/c equipment in your attic....you need to try locating your antenna in a different position in your attic, using the WFAA analog signal as a guide. You can probably find a good spot just by laying the antenna on the rafters, and then put up the pole when you find a good location.
Don't know where you are in Forney but the antennaweb compass direction of 252 degrees for cedar hill looks pretty close to me. 218 would put you way down interstate 45 somewhere. Are you sure it's the cedar hill antennas you are seeing at 218 degrees?

Just snowy. No ghosting.

As far as the heading, I probably need to re-calibrate my watch! I have a compass in a Timex that I have checked as being usually accurate. Might need to get a real compass and break out the old Boy Scout orienteering skills.

As I left for work early this morning I had a real clear shot of the antenna farm. My cousin is a senior engineer for WFAA and he suggested I get something to boost my VHF gain.


You say the WFAA analog signal looks bad - just snowy or do you have ghosting and tearing? If you have ghosting on analog that's a clear sign of multipath, which is a killer for digital signals. Given that you can see the antenna farm at cedar hill, the multipath is probably locally-induced, maybe by some a/c equipment in your attic....you need to try locating your antenna in a different position in your attic, using the WFAA analog signal as a guide. You can probably find a good spot just by laying the antenna on the rafters, and then put up the pole when you find a good location.
Don't know where you are in Forney but the antennaweb compass direction of 252 degrees for cedar hill looks pretty close to me. 218 would put you way down interstate 45 somewhere. Are you sure it's the cedar hill antennas you are seeing at 218 degrees?

OTA and via D* mpeg 4.

Just trying to figure out if it's my set up or a station problem. Via D* Mpeg4 I am getting a/v dropouts (blue screen) on all D* receivers (HR20, 2 H20's). I get it on KDFI 27 also (Fox 4 affiliate).

I can be watching via OTA (90%) and see a slight signal drop and lose audio, I then flip it to the Mpeg4 channel and witness it there also with full a/v drop (blue screen)

Any Ideas? Thanks in advance!

If you get it on OTA and on MPEG-4 then it is almost certainly a station problem. A dropout on the OTA station will often be worse on MPEG-4 because the signal is being recoded from MPEG-2 (that's what the OTA stations use) to MPEG-4 (DirecTV HD locals). DirecTV takes the same feed that you see from the local station.
I noticed a number of these dropouts in the Cowboys game and they were on both OTA and the DirecTV HD. But given the standard of the Cowboys' performance........

I am using the moto DCT6412 - HD/DVR - dual tuner from time warner here in mckinney....both my boxes are loud, slow and i just dont like them....is there a better box out there at this point? I thought i read in this forum that there was a different moto box but now i cannot find the post....all help would be appreciated...

ken

I'll bite too. As an RF engineer I am always anxious to hear about new science. I am curious to know how an antenna that is designed to be a resonant part of a tuned circuit for a given frequency or set of frequencies knows whether the information carried by the electromagnetic waves is NTSC or ATSC. :confused:
I'll look for a technical explanation on HD vs. non-HD antennae. It looks like it may just be marketing speak from what I've read. I'll let you guys know if I find something substantive.

An antenna is an antenna be it used for HD or SD. Sure there are marketing ploys to get you to upgrade. If you have an existing antenna inside or outside you should try it for digital. In most cases it will do the job.

I did have an older gentelman call me the other day and said a building was built down the road and he lost his ch8 signal when they put the roof on. After talking with him a few minutes I learned his antenna was outside and feeding two sets. Further conversation revealed it was using twinleed. Most of you probally have never see the old flat brown stuff. I convinced him to call and have a new antenna installed with an amplified splitter.

I forgot to ask if these sets were color or B/W. Never got in to the digital stuff.
JStigler

Hi,

I just received a letter from Charter Communications which essentially says WFAA tried to extort fees from them for the ABC HD feed, and they aren't going to pay it. Therefore, they are dropping WFAA and ABC from the HD channels. Nice.

Anyone know what the real story is?

While we are on the subject of WFAA, why is it that they are VHF and everyone else is UHF? Their signal sucks compared to everyone else and I'm not reengineering an external roof top antenna for WFAA.

Who does one get upset with in this situation?

Charter sucks because they gave me a whole 5 days notice before the station disappears. Trust me, they are history. Time to flip the switch on FIOS TV. So what happens if Verizon pulls the same stunt?

Maybe it's time to go Direct TV HD and tell the locals to kiss ass. Who gives a crap about their station anyway. We can get sports and weather on the net.

Can you tell I'm ticked? :D

I just received a letter from Charter Communications which essentially says WFAA tried to extort fees from them for the ABC HD feed, and they aren't going to pay it. Therefore, they are dropping WFAA and ABC from the HD channels. Nice.

Anyone know what the real story is?

While we are on the subject of WFAA, why is it that they are VHF and everyone else is UHF? Their signal sucks compared to everyone else and I'm not reengineering an external roof top antenna for WFAA.

Who does one get upset with in this situation?


They did the same thing with DirecTV. They were the last to have their digital stream on D* earlier this year. Not sure what the exact story is with Charter but BELO is to blame, the station owner, www.belo.com. They do this with every station they own.

The reason their digital channel is VHF channel 9 is because their analog channel is 8. They intend to operate thier digital channel on channel 8 when NTSC broadcasting is shut down in February of 2009. Channel 11 is returning to 11 from 19. Channel 4 and 5 are going to stay UHF because their original channels are technically inferior. Channel 8 and 11 are not technically inferior. Therefore there are marketing and technical reasons for their decision.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-2649A2.pdf

They did the same thing with DirecTV. They were the last to have their digital stream on D* earlier this year. Not sure what the exact story is with Charter but BELO is to blame, the station owner, www.belo.com. They do this with every station they own.

The reason their digital channel is VHF channel 9 is because their analog channel is 8. They intend to operate thier digital channel on channel 8 when NTSC broadcasting is shut down in February of 2009. Channel 11 is returning to 11 from 19. Channel 4 and 5 are going to stay UHF because their original channels are technically inferior. Channel 8 and 11 are not technically inferior. Therefore there are marketing and technical reasons for their decision.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-2649A2.pdf

And 52.1 is moving to 9, because channels at 52 and above are going away, so you will have three VHF stations to deal with after 2009.

And 52.1 is moving to 9, because channels at 52 and above are going away, so you will have three VHF stations to deal with after 2009.

Excellent point TB. I forgot about the hoardes of viewers watching reruns of Kojak on KFWD. :D

Hi,

I just received a letter from Charter Communications which essentially says WFAA tried to extort fees from them for the ABC HD feed, and they aren't going to pay it. Therefore, they are dropping WFAA and ABC from the HD channels. Nice.

Anyone know what the real story is?

While we are on the subject of WFAA, why is it that they are VHF and everyone else is UHF? Their signal sucks compared to everyone else and I'm not reengineering an external roof top antenna for WFAA.

Who does one get upset with in this situation?

Charter sucks because they gave me a whole 5 days notice before the station disappears. Trust me, they are history. Time to flip the switch on FIOS TV. So what happens if Verizon pulls the same stunt?

Maybe it's time to go Direct TV HD and tell the locals to kiss ass. Who gives a crap about their station anyway. We can get sports and weather on the net.

Can you tell I'm ticked? :D

I just got that same letter, I'm not too pleased either. I was already thinking about switching to Dish b/c I'm not too fond of the Scientific Atlanta HD DVR that charter uses, I think this might just push me over. Are they only trying to charge Charter for their HD channels? Or are they charging all carriers, and only charter dropped them because of it?

I'm happy with Dish Network so far, but have noticed that when it rains hard (and in TX, when it rains, it's often heavy), I lose the signal for 5 min. to maybe a half hour or more. That's a bit annoying that rarely happens with regular cable TV.

I just got that same letter, I'm not too pleased either. I was already thinking about switching to Dish b/c I'm not too fond of the Scientific Atlanta HD DVR that charter uses, I think this might just push me over. Are they only trying to charge Charter for their HD channels? Or are they charging all carriers, and only charter dropped them because of it?

Actually, the SA 8300 HD from charter is nice for one reason... The SATA port is active. I added a 300GB external drive to mine.

I would imagine WFAA and Belo are pulling the same stunt with all the local companies.

I am also considering satellite. That way I can keep my FIOS business data plan.

Excellent point TB. I forgot about the hoardes of viewers watching reruns of Kojak on KFWD. :D
Actually there are lots of people watch the channel just for the late re-run of the WFAA news....

KFWD also has the digitally redone episodes of the original "Star Trek" series, as well as classic "Twilight Zone". And with Fox's recent muck-ups on KDFI/27, I suspect that KFWD has a fair shot of surrendering its last place position to KDFI in the coming year.

KFWD also has the digitally redone episodes of the original "Star Trek" series, as well as classic "Twilight Zone". And with Fox's recent muck-ups on KDFI/27, I suspect that KFWD has a fair shot of surrendering its last place position to KDFI in the coming year.

Something to aspire to I suppose. I (and apparently millions of others) love watching all the "remastered" programming on DFW's finest two last place stations. And with the brilliant marketing strategy of adding bonus re-runs of useless local news how can the big 4 ever survive the onslaught, even though it only actually occurs from 11 to 1130 pm.

On second thought with competition like KFWD news reruns, no wonder BELO feels like they can charge cable and satellite carriers.

Woohoo, I just installed a TV tuner card on my PC and now I'm running Dish Network simultaneously to my downstairs TV and my upstairs PC. (I have a 2-tuner receiver from Dish.)

Has anyone had issues with spotty reception of KDFW-4 the past few days via OTA?

Does anyone have a recommendation for a retail source for a Channel Vision HS-2 two way splitter in the North Texas area? Thanks

No, but I am interested as to why you would want to be so specific? Pretty well all splitters are created equal.......

Not from what I understand. The splitter should at least accept signals up to 1000 MHz (1 GHz) and have a PCB. There may be others that have this, but the Channel Vision seems to be highly recommended. Do you know of others that fit this profile?

Has anyone in the Dallas Market had any success pulling KXII (12-1), the CBS affiliate out of the Sherman-Ada Market? I’m a little interested in pulling this station since they have local news in HD. I’m still trying to figure out how Sherman (Market #161) rated local news in HD before any Dallas (Market #4) affiliate pulled it off. I work nights and miss out on a great deal of HD, but if I could find a way to pull KXII I could at least see the morning news in HD.

Does anyone know where the KXII tower is located?

anyone know if the Park Cities will be getting any new HD channels on Charter?

Not only are we not getting more HD stations soon, ABC is going away as of tomorrow. Southlake is getting the same shafting:


I just received a letter from Charter Communications which essentially says WFAA tried to extort fees from them for the ABC HD feed, and they aren't going to pay it. Therefore, they are dropping WFAA and ABC from the HD channels. Nice.

I have the SA8300HD boxes and they will not accept an OTA signal. I wouldn't mind paying more for the HD channels as long as they would add in TNT-HD and ESPN2-HD, etc. Outside of Satellite (which I'm not a big fan of), are there any other options out there? I'd love to do the FiOS from Verizon, but they haven't wire the Park Cities yet (I'm not sure if they will be for quite a while.

Frustrating. :mad:

Something to aspire to I suppose. I (and apparently millions of others) love watching all the "remastered" programming on DFW's finest two last place stations. And with the brilliant marketing strategy of adding bonus re-runs of useless local news how can the big 4 ever survive the onslaught, even though it only actually occurs from 11 to 1130 pm.

On second thought with competition like KFWD news reruns, no wonder BELO feels like they can charge cable and satellite carriers.

It all has its place in the TV universe. After all, an awful lot of people are paying $50/month for cable/satellite service that is filled with so-called "basic cable" networks that have a lot less to offer than either KFWD or KDFI.

We recently bought an HDTV and are looking to get OTA reception. We get pretty much everything but WFAA with some inexpensive amplified rabbit ears, but I want to go with an outdoor antenna to get rid of them and hopefully pull in WFAA and improve clarity on non-digital stations (reception is worse on them for some reason than it was on our old TV).

I've read a number of threads here, but it seems that everyone has a different idea. I'd rather not mount anything overly huge to our roof if at all possible.

I've printed the directional map from antennaweb btw so I think we know which way to point it at least.

TIA!

We recently bought an HDTV and are looking to get OTA reception. We get pretty much everything but WFAA with some inexpensive amplified rabbit ears, but I want to go with an outdoor antenna to get rid of them and hopefully pull in WFAA and improve clarity on non-digital stations (reception is worse on them for some reason than it was on our old TV).

I've read a number of threads here, but it seems that everyone has a different idea. I'd rather not mount anything overly huge to our roof if at all possible.

I've printed the directional map from antennaweb btw so I think we know which way to point it at least.

TIA!

Post your antennaweb results, or at least your zip code, just in case there is something unusual about your reception area....

Post your antennaweb results, or at least your zip code, just in case there is something unusual about your reception area....

No problem....thanks! Also FWIW, I don't think there's anything on any of the red or above stations that we would be overly concerned about getting.

yellow - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 216° 37.5 43
yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 219° 35.7 41
yellow - uhf KXTX 39 TEL DALLAS TX 219° 35.7 39
yellow - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 219° 35.7 40
yellow - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 218° 35.5 19
yellow - uhf KTXA 21 IND FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.6 21
yellow - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 216° 37.5 18
yellow - uhf KSTR 49 UNI IRVING TX 216° 37.5 49
yellow - uhf KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI IRVING TX 216° 37.5 48
yellow - uhf KPXD 68 i ARLINGTON TX 220° 35.5 68
yellow - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 220° 35.7 42
yellow - uhf KUVN 23 UNI GARLAND TX 220° 35.6 23
yellow - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 220° 35.6 24
yellow - uhf KDTX 58 TBN DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 58
yellow - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 218° 35.5 14
yellow - uhf KDAF 33 CW DALLAS TX 216° 37.5 33
yellow - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 216° 37.5 32
yellow - uhf KDFI 27 MNT DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 27
yellow - uhf KFWD 52 IND FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.5 52
yellow - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.5 51
yellow - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 35
green - vhf KERA 13 PBS DALLAS TX 218° 35.5 13
green - vhf KTVT 11 CBS FORT WORTH TX 218° 35.5 11
green - vhf WFAA 8 ABC DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 8
green - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 9
lt green - vhf KXAS 5 NBC FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.5 5
lt green - vhf KDTN 2 DAY DENTON TX 220° 35.6 2
lt green - uhf KDFI-DT 27.1 MNT DALLAS TX 216° 37.5 36
lt green - vhf KDFW 4 FOX DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 4
red - uhf KLDT 55 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 273° 26.0 55
red - uhf KMPX 29 DAY DECATUR TX 250° 23.0 29
red - uhf KSEX-LP 57 IND DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 57
blue - uhf KLEG-LP 19 SPA DALLAS TX 236° 15.5 19
blue - uhf KHPK-LP 28 UAT DE SOTO TX 220° 35.5 28
violet - uhf KDTX-DT 58.1 TBN DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 45
violet - uhf KJJM-LP 46 FMN DALLAS TX 198° 14.5 46
violet - vhf KXII 12 CBS SHERMAN TX 344° 75.9 12
violet - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY

I just received a notice from Time Warner Cable that the following channels are moving to an HD tier on 1/3/07:

ESPN HD
Universal HD
HD NET
iNHD

They are selling the new HD tier for 3.00 mo. Unless I'm missing something, the only HD Channels left with the normal Digital service will be locals, and TNT.

So far, I still have these channels even though the letter says the change is effective on 1/3/2007. I am subscribed to a bundle that includes something called "Classic Tier"

Had anyone actually lost any of these?

Personally, I just got rid of TWC here in Frisco. While there have a decent collection of HD channels, I just didn't think they were all that good in quality. I went back to Dish and they have a good package of HD channels.

Has anyone in the Dallas Market had any success pulling KXII (12-1), the CBS affiliate out of the Sherman-Ada Market? I’m a little interested in pulling this station since they have local news in HD. I’m still trying to figure out how Sherman (Market #161) rated local news in HD before any Dallas (Market #4) affiliate pulled it off. I work nights and miss out on a great deal of HD, but if I could find a way to pull KXII I could at least see the morning news in HD.

Does anyone know where the KXII tower is located?


I get it with cheap amplified indoor rabbit antennas on my Mac with EyeTV Hybrid (tuner). I was able to tune in 12-1, 12-2 and 12-3.

As for location, no clue.

No problem....thanks! Also FWIW, I don't think there's anything on any of the red or above stations that we would be overly concerned about getting.

yellow - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 216° 37.5 43
yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 219° 35.7 41
yellow - uhf KXTX 39 TEL DALLAS TX 219° 35.7 39
yellow - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 219° 35.7 40
yellow - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 218° 35.5 19
yellow - uhf KTXA 21 IND FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.6 21
yellow - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 216° 37.5 18
yellow - uhf KSTR 49 UNI IRVING TX 216° 37.5 49
yellow - uhf KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI IRVING TX 216° 37.5 48
yellow - uhf KPXD 68 i ARLINGTON TX 220° 35.5 68
yellow - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 220° 35.7 42
yellow - uhf KUVN 23 UNI GARLAND TX 220° 35.6 23
yellow - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 220° 35.6 24
yellow - uhf KDTX 58 TBN DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 58
yellow - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 218° 35.5 14
yellow - uhf KDAF 33 CW DALLAS TX 216° 37.5 33
yellow - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 216° 37.5 32
yellow - uhf KDFI 27 MNT DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 27
yellow - uhf KFWD 52 IND FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.5 52
yellow - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.5 51
yellow - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 35
green - vhf KERA 13 PBS DALLAS TX 218° 35.5 13
green - vhf KTVT 11 CBS FORT WORTH TX 218° 35.5 11
green - vhf WFAA 8 ABC DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 8
green - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 9
lt green - vhf KXAS 5 NBC FORT WORTH TX 220° 35.5 5
lt green - vhf KDTN 2 DAY DENTON TX 220° 35.6 2
lt green - uhf KDFI-DT 27.1 MNT DALLAS TX 216° 37.5 36
lt green - vhf KDFW 4 FOX DALLAS TX 220° 36.2 4
red - uhf KLDT 55 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 273° 26.0 55
red - uhf KMPX 29 DAY DECATUR TX 250° 23.0 29
red - uhf KSEX-LP 57 IND DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 57
blue - uhf KLEG-LP 19 SPA DALLAS TX 236° 15.5 19
blue - uhf KHPK-LP 28 UAT DE SOTO TX 220° 35.5 28
violet - uhf KDTX-DT 58.1 TBN DALLAS TX 220° 35.6 45
violet - uhf KJJM-LP 46 FMN DALLAS TX 198° 14.5 46
violet - vhf KXII 12 CBS SHERMAN TX 344° 75.9 12
violet - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY

If you just want the digital stations then a CM4228 should do the job for you. If you have splitters or a long cable run use a CM7777 preamp.
The CM4228 is a UHF antenna but with acceptable performance on VHF-hi for WFAA (and for KTVT when it goes back to channel 11 in 2009). The CM4228 and the Antennas Direct XG91 are the only two UHF antennas with decent pickup on VHF-hi so they are very good antennas for DFW.

I get it with cheap amplified indoor rabbit antennas on my Mac with EyeTV Hybrid (tuner). I was able to tune in 12-1, 12-2 and 12-3.

As for location, no clue.

Where in the Dallas area are you, that you can receive this station with an indoor antenna?

FYI, the KXII tower is a few miles south of Madill, OK.

I recently bought a new digital TV and was surprised at all the stations that are broadcasting in digital. I live about 60 miles WNW from the towers so I would consider myself in at least a near-fringe area. Anyway about 20 yrs. ago I put up a 30' mast with a large Radio Shack VHF/UHF/FM antenna and preamp. Eventually a rotor went up in hopes of picking up Wichita Falls (usually not very viewable) for blacked out cowboy games.

Since then the antenna is shy about 3 or 4 elements, and the rotor only works by loosening the u-bolts and turning the mast by hand... so... down comes the rotor and up goes a new antenna. The mast is still good and I won't be going back with another rotor. I've read enough to figure out that I'm leaning towards a 91XG or possibly a CM4228, a CM7777 preamp, and replace the RG59 run with RG6, although I doubt if either antenna will pick up high band VHF well from this distance.

This is what antennaweb.org shows I should receive.

* violet - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 107° 55.0 35
* violet - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 109° 57.2 32
* violet - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 107° 55.4 51
* violet - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 107° 56.5 19
* violet - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 107° 55.0 9
* violet - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 107° 55.3 24
* violet - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 107° 56.5 14
* violet - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 109° 57.2 43

However the reception here is far better than what antennaweb.org shows because I also receive 5.1, 21.1, 27.1, 39.1, 47.1, 49.1, 54.1, 58.1, and 68.1 although I do get occasional dropouts with some channels including the above list. Hence the need for better UHF than a combo antenna is going to give.

Any suggestions?

If you just want the digital stations then a CM4228 should do the job for you. If you have splitters or a long cable run use a CM7777 preamp.
The CM4228 is a UHF antenna but with acceptable performance on VHF-hi for WFAA (and for KTVT when it goes back to channel 11 in 2009). The CM4228 and the Antennas Direct XG91 are the only two UHF antennas with decent pickup on VHF-hi so they are very good antennas for DFW.


Thanks for the input. I actually picked up a CM Stealthtenna at Lowes yesterday just to try and it's working pretty well. 4 & 5 are still a little snowy on our non-digital TV, but it's in the kids' playroom and mostly used for videos so not a huge big deal.

All the digital stations are showing a good signal on our HDTV although I guess only time will tell if we have issues with drop-outs. I'll keep those other suggestions in mind if we end up having issues. Right now we only have it split to 2 TV's, but would like to eventually add our bedroom so we may end up adding an amp as well.

Anyone else having a ton of stuttering during the Cowboys game? Is it just me? I noticed they just downgraded to SD.

Yes roche, lots of pixel breakup and signal dropping.

Yes roche, lots of pixel breakup and signal dropping.

Cool. Thanks for the quick reply. I can stop messing with my antenna now. Are you OTA?

Yeah, OTA. I messed with mine a little too.. No help. I came on here when I noticed it going on for 5 minutes. Was clear all day before on this channel.

Edit: Seems to have cleared up a bit.

I'm a just few miles from the towers in Cedar Hill with a signal strength in the 90's and I'm getting a lot of video breakup and audio dropouts. My wife is NOT a happy camper.

Must be a problem at the station or the network feed. Anybody have the number of Channel 5's engineering department?

RF

I'm still getting the occasional drop. It was much worse about 10 minutes ago.

It's just KXAS...I compared it to KETK out of Jacksonville which is rock solid and beautiful! So that rules out it being a national (NBC) problem.

I would think others would be posting if they were having issues. I wonder if the issue is only OTA.

I still see a stutter here and there, but much better now than before.

Frustrating, especially to lose sound over and over during big plays.

Last 5 minutes have been as bad as ever. More dead sound and pixel blurring than not.

I got it too, ota and D* mpeg4 dropouts.

Based on the story in Dallas Morning news today, it seems to me that WFAA is finally going to HD news with the new building. It looks like it with will start with the 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM news on Monday.

Anyone have any info when the evening news will go HD?

Based on the story in Dallas Morning news today, it seems to me that WFAA is finally going to HD news with the new building. It looks like it with will start with the 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM news on Monday.

Anyone have any info when the evening news will go HD?

The story said they WOULD start in HD on Monday?

I would think others would be posting if they were having issues. I wonder if the issue is only OTA.

I still see a stutter here and there, but much better now than before.
No problems with TW in Garland

I think it's OTA. And now it's been breaking up completely, during the TO interview and after.

Watching Romo drop the ball in HD........sickening.

I just received a notice from Time Warner Cable that the following channels are moving to an HD tier on 1/3/07:

ESPN HD
Universal HD
HD NET
iNHD

They are selling the new HD tier for 3.00 mo. Unless I'm missing something, the only HD Channels left with the normal Digital service will be locals, and TNT.

So far, I still have these channels even though the letter says the change is effective on 1/3/2007. I am subscribed to a bundle that includes something called "Classic Tier"

Had anyone actually lost any of these?
I have just the standard package(cable out of the wall,right into the 42'panny)and I get everything but ESPN.

I would think others would be posting if they were having issues. I wonder if the issue is only OTA.

I still see a stutter here and there, but much better now than before.

It was the same on FIOS. Also I remember it happening sometimes when I was with D* It's the feed.

I recently bought a new digital TV and was surprised at all the stations that are broadcasting in digital. I live about 60 miles WNW from the towers so I would consider myself in at least a near-fringe area. Anyway about 20 yrs. ago I put up a 30' mast with a large Radio Shack VHF/UHF/FM antenna and preamp. Eventually a rotor went up in hopes of picking up Wichita Falls (usually not very viewable) for blacked out cowboy games.

Since then the antenna is shy about 3 or 4 elements, and the rotor only works by loosening the u-bolts and turning the mast by hand... so... down comes the rotor and up goes a new antenna. The mast is still good and I won't be going back with another rotor. I've read enough to figure out that I'm leaning towards a 91XG or possibly a CM4228, a CM7777 preamp, and replace the RG59 run with RG6, although I doubt if either antenna will pick up high band VHF well from this distance.

This is what antennaweb.org shows I should receive.

* violet - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 107° 55.0 35
* violet - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 109° 57.2 32
* violet - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 107° 55.4 51
* violet - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 107° 56.5 19
* violet - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 107° 55.0 9
* violet - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 107° 55.3 24
* violet - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 107° 56.5 14
* violet - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 109° 57.2 43

However the reception here is far better than what antennaweb.org shows because I also receive 5.1, 21.1, 27.1, 39.1, 47.1, 49.1, 54.1, 58.1, and 68.1 although I do get occasional dropouts with some channels including the above list. Hence the need for better UHF than a combo antenna is going to give.

Any suggestions?
Yes, the CM4228 or 91XG with the CM7777 should be the best antennas for you. Better for UHF than any of the combos. If you have problems getting WFAA, add a VHF hi-band antenna (Antennacraft Y10 7-13 is one, there are others). You can use the CM7777 to couple the two antennas together since the CM7777 allows you to separate the UHF and VHF inputs.

The story said they WOULD start in HD on Monday?

It said they would start using the new studio on Monday for the two early morning newscast and it said the studio was as set up with HD cameras. So one would assume if they are going to be using HD cameras, the broadcast would be in HD.

I'm getting pretty frustrated with Dish Network. I have the 2-tuner receiver (model # 322). I'm apparently having RF remote wars w/ my neighbors. I changed the 2nd channel again, so hopefully this 3rd channel I chose will allow me to watch what I want instead of having a neighbor randomly change my channels! :mad:

Also, the RF delay in changing channels, etc. is sometimes intolerable. :(

Oh, another extremely annoying thing is the power saver mode that kicks in for the Dish Network receiver after some period of time. On a few occasions, I wanted to record a show (via VCR) and all I get is the stupid Dish Network logo that says "Press Select to Continue." This is so frustrating. :mad:

I get it with cheap amplified indoor rabbit antennas on my Mac with EyeTV Hybrid (tuner). I was able to tune in 12-1, 12-2 and 12-3.

As for location, no clue.

Where are you located and what direction is your antenna oriented?

Oh, another extremely annoying thing is the power saver mode that kicks in for the Dish Network receiver after some period of time. On a few occasions, I wanted to record a show (via VCR) and all I get is the stupid Dish Network logo that says "Press Select to Continue." This is so frustrating. :mad:

Go to Menu - select Preferences - Select no. 9 and disable on the left, whatever you want on the right. That should take care of it.

Has anyone in the Dallas Market had any success pulling KXII (12-1), the CBS affiliate out of the Sherman-Ada Market? I’m a little interested in pulling this station since they have local news in HD. I’m still trying to figure out how Sherman (Market #161) rated local news in HD before any Dallas (Market #4) affiliate pulled it off. I work nights and miss out on a great deal of HD, but if I could find a way to pull KXII I could at least see the morning news in HD.

Does anyone know where the KXII tower is located?


I don't know where KXII's tower is, but I can pick up KXII and their two digital sub-channels quite nicely here in Plano. DT2 is a CW repeater and DT3 is "Fox Texoma".

I don't know where KXII's tower is

It's near Madill, OK.

Driving me crazy that I can't get all four major stations in new set up....

I added a HD TV in my bar (with HD tuner). I picked up a small VHF/UHF antenna, and quickly mounted to the same pole my dish network receiver is on. I got all channels, heck is showed something like 26 D-channels.

So I go back on the roof to tighten everything down, hide the wires, etc. Now I can't get it dialed in for all channels. I missing ABC (8.1). The antenna has a small amp that I am using (before using the amp, I got no d-channels and only like 2 weak analog channels).

Now, I have a 2nd antenna in the attic, little bigger, I used for my media room. I get all channels thru an old voom box.

For the bar I had all channels working so I don't think I have a distance/antenna issue. I'm in far N. Dallas (about Tollroad and Westgrove). The antenna I got says is it directional, but I'm wondering at what angle (up or down) I should be pointing it. It is a small GE antenna that looks like a really small square shooter.

Any ideas, suggestions? Suggestions for a different small antenna that I could attach to the dish pole???

I am a little north of you, at Parker and the Tollway, and I have great success with a Terk 55 mounted on an old Direct TV mast. I paid $19 for it on eBay (it was used, got it from a guy in Ft. Worth) Slapped it on the mast, used the existing Sat cable and pugged it in. Scanned and got a ton of channels, including all the locals. Works for me.

Actually, the SA 8300 HD from charter is nice for one reason... The SATA port is active. I added a 300GB external drive to mine.

I would imagine WFAA and Belo are pulling the same stunt with all the local companies.

I am also considering satellite. That way I can keep my FIOS business data plan.

I guess if I was able to get the latest firmware for the 8300 I would be OK with it. From what I've read it fixes the majority of the bugs that really frustrate me with the 8300 (ie, not having a 'Watch show from beginning' option, etc).

I'm thinking about switching from Charter HD to Dish (since Charter no longer offers ABC in HD), has anyone had experience with both? I've seen the DVR for Dish, and it seems to be as good if not better than the Scientific Atlanta model, but I am concerned about whether the picture quality will be as good with Charter. I'm only basing this off of viewing a friend's set up under Dish, which for some reason doesnt look quite as nice as mine (which is fairly surprising since he has a much newer, nicer TV). Any thoughts?

Anyone download the new "release candidate" (beta) software for the HR20 last night (available tonight Tuesday also?). I seem to have lost 21-1 KTXADT completely and KTAQ 47-1 is showing as 99.1 with 100% signal strength but no reception. Anyone lese see this??

KTXADT came back again but I still have KTAQ showing as 99-1

time warner cable qam unencryted channels except for dallas ,plano ,mesquite

78-6 cspan 3 (was encrypted from it was added until 1/29/07)

79-1 vod barker

80-5 through 51 music choice
80-? special events channel

92-1 nba league pass preview

110-1 kdfw hd
110-2 kxas hd
110-3 wfaa 8.2
110-4 nbc w+
110-5 tube tv

106-3 discovery hd theater

107-1 ktvt hd
107-2 tnt hd
107-3 ktxa hd

108-1 kera hd
108-2 wfaa hd
108-3 kdaf hd

112-1 inhd
112-2 uhd
112-3 hdnet

113-1 kdfw
113-2 kxas
113-3 wfaa
113-4 ktvt
113-6 kera
113-7 ktxa
113-8 kdaf

114-1 kdtx
114-2 kpxd
114-3 ewtn
114-4 txcn
114-5 kuvn
114-6 qvc
114-7 cspan
114-8 cspan 2
114-9 disney
114-10 hsn

Go to Menu - select Preferences - Select no. 9 and disable on the left, whatever you want on the right. That should take care of it.
Thanks, I'll try this out when I go home. I appreciate your input.

I will be moving into a new house in about 6 weeks. So I was shopping around for DSL etc and I got an email from one of the tech's that said -

"Lucky you! This must be a new neighborhood because SBC records indicate this address is served by "fiber to the curb". "

My question is how do I know what companies can take advantage of this technology in the area? This is a brand new neighborhood so address lookups on provider sites don't work. Any suggestions?

FYI I am in Weatherford

Thanks! - Steve

Has anyone in the Dallas Market had any success pulling KXII (12-1), the CBS affiliate out of the Sherman-Ada Market? I’m a little interested in pulling this station since they have local news in HD. I’m still trying to figure out how Sherman (Market #161) rated local news in HD before any Dallas (Market #4) affiliate pulled it off. I work nights and miss out on a great deal of HD, but if I could find a way to pull KXII I could at least see the morning news in HD.

Does anyone know where the KXII tower is located?

Are you sure KXII news is in HD now? A few months ago I noticed that TitanTV was indicating KXII news is HiDef. I live in Plano and can receive KXII when I rotate my attic antenna so I checked during "First News @ Six". No HiDef during the news so I sent an email to the station asking about status. I received a quick reply indicating that KXII news is not HD. There were no other comments about plans for HD, either.

Have you considered getting a PC tuner card to record HD programming? I have 3 PCs with tuner cards now. Other than live sports, I record everything, edit out the commercials, and watch my favorite HD shows (Lost, 24, Prison Break, Smallville, movies, etc) whenever I have the time. No need for cable or satellite -- I always have plenty of material available since I plan ahead to make the recordings.

DonP

has anyone else noticed the horrible audio quality from KTXA/21 from their digital feed? Most of the time it's very crackly, sounds tinny or sounds like it's coming from a broken 1920's AM radio..

I've attempted to contact their engineer Bill R. Shully (214-743-2100) but he doesn't acknowledge the problem.

Currently there is no audio from KTXA 21's digital feed on Friday Jan 12, 2007 @1:18PM CST and there hasn't been for quite a while, only some crackling..

Are you sure KXII news is in HD now? A few months ago I noticed that TitanTV was indicating KXII news is HiDef. I live in Plano and can receive KXII when I rotate my attic antenna so I checked during "First News @ Six". No HiDef during the news so I sent an email to the station asking about status. I received a quick reply indicating that KXII news is not HD. There were no other comments about plans for HD, either.
DonP

KXII's news is not in HD. The Titan TV guide FREQUENTLY reports shows in HD that are not.

time warner cable qam unencryted channels except for dallas ,plano ,mesquite

79-1 vod barker

92-1 nba league pass preview

110-1 kdfw hd
110-2 kxas hd
110-3 wfaa 8.2
110-4 nbc w+
110-5 tube tv

106-3 discovery hd theater

107-1 ktvt hd
107-2 tnt hd
107-3 ktxa hd

108-1 kera hd
108-2 wfaa hd
108-3 kdaf hd

112-1 inhd
112-2 uhd
112-3 hdnet

113-1 kdfw
113-2 kxas
113-3 wfaa
113-4 ktvt
113-6 kera
113-7 ktxa
113-8 kdaf

114-1 kdtx
114-2 kpxd
114-3 ewtn
114-4 txcn
114-5 kuvn
114-6 qvc
114-7 cspan
114-8 cspan 2
114-9 disney
114-10 hsn

Is this true?

Is this true?

i did a qam scan and this is what i found

Is this true?
Same here in Frisco :)

By the way anyone near downtown NOT getting a signal this weekend? I have been re-aiming, resetting, and power-cycling all day. Missed the football. All I get is Searching For Satellite Signal and Acquiring Guide Data but no results.

What is wrong with my stuff?

I'm thinking about switching from Charter HD to Dish (since Charter no longer offers ABC in HD), has anyone had experience with both? I've seen the DVR for Dish, and it seems to be as good if not better than the Scientific Atlanta model, but I am concerned about whether the picture quality will be as good with Charter. I'm only basing this off of viewing a friend's set up under Dish, which for some reason doesnt look quite as nice as mine (which is fairly surprising since he has a much newer, nicer TV). Any thoughts?
FWIW, I have had success in getting WFAA ABC OTA with a Silver Sensor (UHF) antenna in University Park. Just make sure you point the Silver Sensor in the right direction - see www.antennaweb.org for this. I didn't have much luck with WFAA reception when I tried on the first floor, but when I moved the antenna to the attic (above second floor), it came in great. No amplification needed to the signal. I was pleasently surprised since WFAA is a VHF signal and the Silver Sensor is a UHF antenna.

It took a little while to find a retailer in the DFW metroplex that sells a Silver Sensor antenna, but found that Circuit City carries the Philips version. The part number is PHDTV1 I believe. Just call them before you head out to make sure they have one in stock. The Circuit City web site is not very accurate in its inventory availability feature.

I found this was a much more cost effective way to get ABC in HD, and Charter's visual quality seems to be a bit better in my experience compared to Comcast and the satellite providers. The one thing I do like about Charter is that you can connect an external SATA HDD to the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR box. I enjoy HD even more now that I added an extra 500GB of storage capacity!

has anyone else noticed the horrible audio quality from KTXA/21 from their digital feed? Most of the time it's very crackly, sounds tinny or sounds like it's coming from a broken 1920's AM radio..

I've attempted to contact their engineer Bill R. Shully (214-743-2100) but he doesn't acknowledge the problem.

Currently there is no audio from KTXA 21's digital feed on Friday Jan 12, 2007 @1:18PM CST and there hasn't been for quite a while, only some crackling..

Yes, that "vintage" sound has been coming from KTXA-21 for quite some time. I sent them an email quite some time ago, but never got a response.

If it happens again during a Mavs game, I'm going to email Mark Cuban and tell him how 21 is doing a disservice to his Mavericks...

Is anybody having trouble with WFAA OTA over the past couple of days? It used to come in great (I live in south Arlington), but for the past few days, I get signal bouncing between 0 and 15%, and no picture. I've fooled with the antenna, but can't make any improvements. I don't seem to be having any other problems.

Thanks!

has anyone else noticed the horrible audio quality from KTXA/21 from their digital feed? Most of the time it's very crackly, sounds tinny or sounds like it's coming from a broken 1920's AM radio..

I've attempted to contact their engineer Bill R. Shully (214-743-2100) but he doesn't acknowledge the problem.

Currently there is no audio from KTXA 21's digital feed on Friday Jan 12, 2007 @1:18PM CST and there hasn't been for quite a while, only some crackling..

yes, it has been this way for a while as one of the posters above noted.

I have even posted about this in the past when mavs games were on KTXA.

I have not seen Bill Schully on this forum or dhtg, nor have I received any replies from him -- don't even know if he still works there anymore. In fact, I have not seen any posts from any of our local engineers -- any of you guys still around?

Go to Menu - select Preferences - Select no. 9 and disable on the left, whatever you want on the right. That should take care of it.
I'll reply to your post again since I now have an update.

I tried to do what you said, but my receiver's menu (Dish 322) doesn't have "Preferences" or option #9. This past Fri., I called up Dish for help. The CSR said many customers have complained about their auto power save mode. What he suggested (and has worked so far) is to disable the auto program update. Mine was doing it at 3 a.m. every morning and then the receiver would be in sleep mode, which would cause the annoying "Press SELECT to continue" message. Now that I got rid of that auto program update, my receiver always stays up. The CSR told me that I should manually turn the receiver off every once in a while (he suggested daily) so that my receiver has the latest and greatest software and TV guide. I don't plan to turn it off that frequently.

Also, I found out how to overcome the remote control war I was having with one of my neighbors, who also has Dish Network. I changed my RF remote's address; hopefully he didn't change it to the same value I did! So far, so good. :)

Not only are we not getting more HD stations soon, ABC is going away as of tomorrow. Southlake is getting the same shafting:



I have the SA8300HD boxes and they will not accept an OTA signal. I wouldn't mind paying more for the HD channels as long as they would add in TNT-HD and ESPN2-HD, etc. Outside of Satellite (which I'm not a big fan of), are there any other options out there? I'd love to do the FiOS from Verizon, but they haven't wire the Park Cities yet (I'm not sure if they will be for quite a while.

Frustrating. :mad:

how do you know where not getting any HD channels? BTW, dunno if your interested, but they finally upped the internet speed from 3mb to 5mb. Park Cities is so slow to add stuff.

time warner cable qam unencryted channels except for dallas ,plano ,mesquite

<channels snipped>

What does it mean that these are TWC qam unencrypted channels "except for dallas".

I'm moving to Dallas this weekend from OKC and am trying to find out my options. I'm considering TWC. If this is true for Dallas, it would be redundant for me to lease an HD receiver.

Also, my HDTV has a CableCard slot.. but my understanding is that if I want to use any of TWC's iNDemand stuff, I have to have one of their receivers, because CableCard can't do two way things like are required for in demand. Is that right as far as you guys now?

Thanks in advance,

N

Also, has anyone heard whether it is possible to purchase and use your own DVR?

I asked the CSR about it through their online chat, and she said that they would allow you to use it, the only downside being that they of course couldn't support them.

I'm thinking of shopping eBay for one. It'd be a lot cheaper than paying $12 / month indefinately.

I live in Euless and I can not get a quality signal on any station. Its a few miles from DFW airport so I think that is where most of my problem lies. Tried several indoor antenna's with no luck, including the silever sensor looking Terk. Anyone else in this area able to get a good signal.

Here is what i get from antenna web:
* yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 157° 19.9 41
* yellow - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 155° 20.7 19
* yellow - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 158° 22.9 18
* yellow - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 158° 19.5 42
* yellow - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 80° 8.6 30
* yellow - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 158° 22.9 32
* yellow - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 158° 22.9 43
* yellow - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 159° 19.8 9
* yellow - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 159° 19.8 35
* yellow - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 155° 20.6 14
* yellow - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 157° 19.8 51
* green - uhf KDTX-DT 58.1 TBN DALLAS TX 157° 19.6 45
* green - uhf KDFI-DT 27.1 MNT DALLAS TX 158° 22.9 36
* violet - uhf KLDT-DT 55.1 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 22° 11.2 54

I live in denton and I am wondering what antenna i can get to get hd channels. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

I live in Euless and I can not get a quality signal on any station. Its a few miles from DFW airport so I think that is where most of my problem lies. Tried several indoor antenna's with no luck, including the silever sensor looking Terk. Anyone else in this area able to get a good signal.

Here is what i get from antenna web:
* yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 157° 19.9 41
* yellow - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 155° 20.7 19
* yellow - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 158° 22.9 18
* yellow - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 158° 19.5 42
* yellow - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 80° 8.6 30
* yellow - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 158° 22.9 32
* yellow - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 158° 22.9 43
* yellow - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 159° 19.8 9
* yellow - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 159° 19.8 35
* yellow - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 155° 20.6 14
* yellow - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 157° 19.8 51
* green - uhf KDTX-DT 58.1 TBN DALLAS TX 157° 19.6 45
* green - uhf KDFI-DT 27.1 MNT DALLAS TX 158° 22.9 36
* violet - uhf KLDT-DT 55.1 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 22° 11.2 54

I'm just north of you, off 121 and Hall Johnson. I went through 3 indoor antennas and two outdoor antennas. The airport is between me and Cedar Hill and I also live in a low area with many large trees and two story houses. For the life of me I could not get any indoor antenna to work. I finally had to settle on the Channel Master 3018 with Channel Master Titan 7777 preamp. Definitely not an indoor antenna. If you have the attic space you can try something similar. A lot of people swear by the Channel Master 4228.

If your set on indoor, one guy took a piece of coax and stripped off 3.5 feet of all the shielding, exposing the wire, and got all the digital channels.

I'm just north of you, off 121 and Hall Johnson. I went through 3 indoor antennas and two outdoor antennas. The airport is between me and Cedar Hill and I also live in a low area with many large trees and two story houses. For the life of me I could not get any indoor antenna to work. I finally had to settle on the Channel Master 3018 with Channel Master Titan 7777 preamp. Definitely not an indoor antenna. If you have the attic space you can try something similar. A lot of people swear by the Channel Master 4228.

If your set on indoor, one guy took a piece of coax and stripped off 3.5 feet of all the shielding, exposing the wire, and got all the digital channels.

Thanks, that helps alot i've been goin crazy tryin to get a signal. I have an indoor I'm about to take back so I'll try stripping the wire first. If not I could proabbly get away with placing the Channel Master 4228 on my balcony.

Thanks, that helps alot i've been goin crazy tryin to get a signal. I have an indoor I'm about to take back so I'll try stripping the wire first. If not I could proabbly get away with placing the Channel Master 4228 on my balcony.
I think Fry's carries the CM 4228.

If your not aware, the CM antennas at Fry's are in the section next to the computer stuff, by the telephone components.

I think Fry's carries the CM 4228.

If your not aware, the CM antennas at Fry's are in the section next to the computer stuff, by the telephone components.


Hehehe that explains alot. I was there last week in the tv section lookin at bunny ears like wtf.

I live in Keller, I have an old RCA indoor antenna and I am able to get most of the channels, including the locals in HD. The only one that I am still having troulble with is wfaa, I know that is the painful one. I have been wondering if I should try the TREKa antenna. Any one leaving in the same area has any options?

Thanks

Does anyone live in the legacy/tollway apartments?

i live in post legacy, and im on the first floor, inside the courtyard area. i have a samsung dlp and im using a silver sensor (from philips) and cannot get reception besides ch 13

I'm having reception problem om FIOS TNTHD and NFLNET. A lot of pixelization. I'm in Garland. Is anyone else seeing this?

time warner cable qam unencryted channels except for dallas ,plano ,mesquite
...
110-3 wfaa 8.2
110-4 nbc w+
110-5 tube tv
13-6 kera
...


Kevin, what tier cable service was this ? Is this the basic (~$12/month) package, expanded basic, digital "basic" Also, are you on a single-line or a dual-line (A/B) cable system?

I'm having reception problem om FIOS TNTHD and NFLNET. A lot of pixelization. I'm in Garland. Is anyone else seeing this?Where in Garland? I live on Ray Hubbard,south Garland side. Verizon?

North Garland near the Firewheel Mall. Yes Verizon

North garland near the Firewheel MallThanks.

Any one else loose KDFI's HD signal (27-1) or is it just me?

KDFI Channel 27 (Digital RF channel 36) is showing up as channel 99-4 DISN and Channel 99-5 TOON. I can't actually watch these. So I don't know what's going on. Something really, really wierd is going on with KDFI or the radio waves or something.

KDFI Channel 27 (Digital RF channel 36) is showing up as channel 99-4 DISN and Channel 99-5 TOON. I can't actually watch these. So I don't know what's going on. Something really, really wierd is going on with KDFI or the radio waves or something.

Channel 27 leases out space on their digital frequency for USDTV - a "wireless cable" outfit. You'll find similar things on KTAQ-DT, KMPX-DT and KPXD-DT. Those signals are scrambled but can be decoded by purchasing a USDTV box and subscription to their service of about a dozen cable channels. You can find out more about it at http://www.usdtv.com/

KDFI Channel 27 (Digital RF channel 36) is showing up as channel 99-4 DISN and Channel 99-5 TOON. I can't actually watch these. So I don't know what's going on. Something really, really wierd is going on with KDFI or the radio waves or something.

Nebor, this is because USDTV transmits 2 subchannels on the same frequency as KDFI's digital feed. Those 99-4 and 99-5 feeds are encrypted, and only able to be viewed if you buy a set top box and service contract from USDTV, as far as I know. There are a couple other stations which allow USDTV to piggy back on their frequency as well.

If anyone is familiar with the FCC regulations, I'd be curious to know how it is possible for USDTV to operate in this way -- to me, it looks like they have bought some of the bandwidth allocated to KDFI-digital (and other broadcasters). I was under the impression that the television station bandwidth was distributed to carriers for free under the premise that they provide free-to-air programming. Reselling this bandwidth to a carrier who distributes encrypted content certainly doesn't seem to fit this impression, so I must not understand how this works.

Nebor, this is because USDTV transmits 2 subchannels on the same frequency as KDFI's digital feed. Those 99-4 and 99-5 feeds are encrypted, and only able to be viewed if you buy a set top box and service contract from USDTV, as far as I know. There are a couple other stations which allow USDTV to piggy back on their frequency as well.

If anyone is familiar with the FCC regulations, I'd be curious to know how it is possible for USDTV to operate in this way -- to me, it looks like they have bought some of the bandwidth allocated to KDFI-digital (and other broadcasters). I was under the impression that the television station bandwidth was distributed to carriers for free under the premise that they provide free-to-air programming. Reselling this bandwidth to a carrier who distributes encrypted content certainly doesn't seem to fit this impression, so I must not understand how this works.

It's legal. Where a station would run into trouble would be if they sold their entire bandwidth for encrypted programming. Since 27.1 is the digital version of analog channel 27, they're fine. Same goes for channels 29, 47 and 68.

So does anyone know why Channel 27 is gone?

So does anyone know why Channel 27 is gone?

A month or more ago 27.1 disappeared for nearly a week then it came back. I'm not getting it now either.

I'm pretty sure it was working fine on Thursday but not Friday (01/20).

Kevin, what tier cable service was this ? Is this the basic (~$12/month) package, expanded basic, digital "basic" Also, are you on a single-line or a dual-line (A/B) cable system?
I have a qam tuner with their expanded basic package and I get the same channels as Kevin.I'm on a single line. Hope this helps.

A month or more ago 27.1 disappeared for nearly a week then it came back. I'm not getting it now either.

I'm pretty sure it was working fine on Thursday but not Friday (01/20).

My sammys tuner shows it mapped to 36.3 at this time. getting video and audio.

Hi,

I bought a Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF indoor antenna after a lot of research. This is a little antenna recommended by many people to have worked wonder for them. So I got one and at least managed to get couple of HD channel here in north Plano.

It did get some other channel at other times during lot of directional tuning. i.e. the antenna is a directional antenna. But never quit able to get more channels. I haven't tried it in the attic but not sure if it would help.

Other factor is that this is a UHF antenna, so is it possible that I am missing some channels because some are in VHF?

Will appreciate any tips on what can be done to receive more HD channels, please recommend any ther anrenna, installation method (indoor or outdoor) in Plano area to get more channels.

Thanks in advance.

Is anyone here intimately familiar with the FCC regulations on clear QAM broadcasting? I was under the impression that the FCC required the local telcos and cable operators to carry the HD signal for over-the-air networks.

For instance, I was under the impression the telcos and cable companies must broadcast the HD feed for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and PBS in an unencrypted QAM signal since it is broadcast OTA.

I'm asking because Charter Communications no longer carries the WFAA HD ABC feed on 788. Since that drop, WFAA Digital (ABC) also dropped as a clear QAM channel.

Isn't that against the law or did Belo Borgcasting find a loophole?

If the FCC regs do require this, wouldn't it seem appropriate to kill off WFAA and pick up the national feed from the East or West coast at the same time?

Does anyone know for sure what the hell is going on? This is outrageous. Don't they know HDTV is now a core requirement for life? :D

Is anyone here intimately familiar with the FCC regulations on clear QAM broadcasting? I was under the impression that the FCC required the local telcos and cable operators to carry the HD signal for over-the-air networks.
:D

It's not clear from the FCC regs if the cable companies have to carry HD in the clear - some do and some don't. Until/unless there is a clear ruling from the FCC you are stuck with whatever your cable company wants to do.

Hi,

I bought a Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF indoor antenna after a lot of research. This is a little antenna recommended by many people to have worked wonder for them. So I got one and at least managed to get couple of HD channel here in north Plano.

It did get some other channel at other times during lot of directional tuning. i.e. the antenna is a directional antenna. But never quit able to get more channels. I haven't tried it in the attic but not sure if it would help.

Other factor is that this is a UHF antenna, so is it possible that I am missing some channels because some are in VHF?

Will appreciate any tips on what can be done to receive more HD channels, please recommend any ther anrenna, installation method (indoor or outdoor) in Plano area to get more channels.

Thanks in advance.

All your stations are in one direction but one (WFAA) is VHF and two more will be going back to VHF in 2009.
You can experiment with antennas if you like - if you want to try indoors you should find a Terk HDTVi (not any of the other Terks) which is a clone of the Silver Sensor (the best UHF indoor antenna) with added rabbit ears for VHF. But you have to be very lucky to get decent reception in Plano with an indoor antenna. For reliable reception in Plano the best choice is the CM4228 mounted outdoors - you may be OK in the attic also, though you may suffer from multipath problems with all the equipment usually installed in a Texas attic. You will see the CM4228 mentioned many times in this forum, it's a good choice for DFW. The CM4228 is a UHF antenna but with OK reception on VHF-hi (for WFAA). You can usually buy them at Frys, they are in a section over towards the computer disk drives. Or online at solidsignal or warren electronics.
If you have a long cable run you may need a CM7777 preamp, you usually have to buy these online.

I am in Parker just east of Allen at 40 miles from the antenna farm at Cedar Hill and get good performance with a CM4228/CM7777 combination in my attic, but I have the antenna in a "sweet spot" in my attic with no a/c or similar equipment within 25ft of the line of sight to Cedar Hill, so no multipath issues.

If you want analog channels some of these are in the VHF-lo band and you would need a good VHF/UHF combination antenna. Remember analog will go away in 2009.

Is anyone here intimately familiar with the FCC regulations on clear QAM broadcasting? I was under the impression that the FCC required the local telcos and cable operators to carry the HD signal for over-the-air networks.

For instance, I was under the impression the telcos and cable companies must broadcast the HD feed for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and PBS in an unencrypted QAM signal since it is broadcast OTA.

I'm asking because Charter Communications no longer carries the WFAA HD ABC feed on 788. Since that drop, WFAA Digital (ABC) also dropped as a clear QAM channel.

Isn't that against the law or did Belo Borgcasting find a loophole?

If the FCC regs do require this, wouldn't it seem appropriate to kill off WFAA and pick up the national feed from the East or West coast at the same time?

Does anyone know for sure what the hell is going on? This is outrageous. Don't they know HDTV is now a core requirement for life? :D

I would guess the regulations would imply IF Charter carries the WFAA-HD signal then it MUST be a clear QAM channel. I doubt there is any law requiring Charter to carry the HD signal.

Thanks texasbrit, I will try this antenna.

All your stations are in one direction but one (WFAA) is VHF and two more will be going back to VHF in 2009.
You can experiment with antennas if you like - if you want to try indoors you should find a Terk HDTVi (not any of the other Terks) which is a clone of the Silver Sensor (the best UHF indoor antenna) with added rabbit ears for VHF. But you have to be very lucky to get decent reception in Plano with an indoor antenna. For reliable reception in Plano the best choice is the CM4228 mounted outdoors - you may be OK in the attic also, though you may suffer from multipath problems with all the equipment usually installed in a Texas attic. You will see the CM4228 mentioned many times in this forum, it's a good choice for DFW. The CM4228 is a UHF antenna but with OK reception on VHF-hi (for WFAA). You can usually buy them at Frys, they are in a section over towards the computer disk drives. Or online at solidsignal or warren electronics.
If you have a long cable run you may need a CM7777 preamp, you usually have to buy these online.

I am in Parker just east of Allen at 40 miles from the antenna farm at Cedar Hill and get good performance with a CM4228/CM7777 combination in my attic, but I have the antenna in a "sweet spot" in my attic with no a/c or similar equipment within 25ft of the line of sight to Cedar Hill, so no multipath issues.

If you want analog channels some of these are in the VHF-lo band and you would need a good VHF/UHF combination antenna. Remember analog will go away in 2009.

Nirajkmr - I am in the north plano area. Just so you know I tried the Terk HDTVi and it was worse than the RCA antenna I got from Walmart. I tried different angles indoors and the terk did not make more than a couple of channels. The RCA picks up most depending on the Antenna location and your home location, except for WFAA and KERA. Good luck.

I think Fry's carries the CM 4228.

If your not aware, the CM antennas at Fry's are in the section next to the computer stuff, by the telephone components.



Thanks alot. I picked up a 4228 this weekend at Fry's and was able to get all local OTA HD channels.

Thanks alot. I picked up a 4228 this weekend at Fry's and was able to get all local OTA HD channels.

Which Frys did you find one at? I tried Irving, but they were out.
Thanks,
Tom in TX

Thanks alot. I picked up a 4228 this weekend at Fry's and was able to get all local OTA HD channels.
Where is your antenna located - indoors or attic or outdoors? Did you use any amplifier?

Which Frys did you find one at? I tried Irving, but they were out.
Thanks,
Tom in TX


yeah Irving was out, so i drove to arlington and they had 4 in stock. I bought one. kinda hard to find though, i hate that Fry's its really messy and unorganized. Just go to where the telephone section where they normally keep channel masters. The shelves will be empty but you'll see the tags on the shelf and large mounting poles on the side, now go further down the aisle on the other side of cash register and there will be 3 normal looking cardboard boxes (not the white box that other channel masters are in) leaning against the pole/aisle. Look on the sticker and it will say Channel Master 4228. I actually found them by mistake, one of the guys that works there said that it showed they had some in stock but they were actually out and on order. I started to walk out and noticed the box and there they were.

Where is your antenna located - indoors or attic or outdoors? Did you use any amplifier?

I have it outside on my balcony (Apartment) with no amplifier. Its actually pretty small compared to other channel masters and its also uniform. Basically just a square. I hung it from hook at the back of my balcony. Not easily noticeable and does not get in the way. just made sure to point towards signal. Luckily all signals come from bascially same direction 156 and 158 degrees.

I've been using that QAM list i asked about a little while ago, and it worked perfectly, up until 2 days ago, INHD UHD and HDNET are all no signals now...what's going on? i'm also getting barely any signal on the ABC subchannel, anyone else experiencing this?

Anybody else lost OTA DT channels 5 and 13? These have been off air for me for about a week. I'm in east Dallas at I-30/I-635.

Anyone else still not getting KDFI, 27-1? It's been off my TVs for days if not weeks AGAIN! Antenna in attic. Setup has been solid for years :)

I've written to them but not heard anything in response. ALL other stations loud and clear. I'm in Far North Dallas, Frankford and Coit area.

KDFI 27-1 (OTA) still missing over here as well. After the last time that they disappeared I've just taken to using their analog signal until the HD one returns, if ever.....

that's what i'm doing as well except it means trying to get the spouse to understand ;) and it's a PITA :)

KDFI 27-1 (OTA) still missing over here as well. After the last time that they disappeared I've just taken to using their analog signal until the HD one returns, if ever.....

On my DirecTV H20 ATSC tuner I get decent signal strength on 27-1 OTA, but no sound or picture.

I've got 5 Vizios (20, 32, 37,42, and 47) that do not pick up 27-1 currently (have in the past).

I've got a couple of the Radio Shack Accurian Receivers hooked up to two of my Vizios for PIP and they show good signal (90's for signal strength) but no sound or picture either. I forgot those had signal meters until you mentioned yours :) I've also got a Toshiba DTS 3K for my Toshiba 65 RPTV that is showing 99 signal strength but no sound nor picture.

That's 8 tuners doing the same thing. All have previously received 27-1. DOH!

Well, The sammy tuner is pulling 27-1 on 36-3, the HR20 shows strong signal but 771 message and the bedroom lcd shows pic and sound on 27-1.

Well, The sammy tuner is pulling 27-1 on 36-3, the HR20 shows strong signal but 771 message and the bedroom lcd shows pic and sound on 27-1.

I just replaced my Vizio 42 and in scanning, the series of 36-1,2,3 stations showed up. I just ignored them but now that you mentioned your sammy, I tuned into 36-1 and it appears to be showing the same stuff as 27 analog. Nothing on 36-2 or 3.

Anyone else getting a lot of break up on NBC for the Stars game?

Anyone else getting a lot of break up on NBC for the Stars game?
Yes, looks like its a kxas problem, they switched to sd near the end of the first period. We'll see if they switch it back.

Anybody else lost OTA DT channels 5 and 13? These have been off air for me for about a week. I'm in east Dallas at I-30/I-635.

No problems with either 5 or 13.

Suggest you either tweak the antenna or do a rescan

For those of you with 27-1 problems. If it's any consolation, I started having problems way back in the second or third week of Sept. and it hasn't stopped.

So no ones getting the same QAM problems as me?? (112-1, 112-2, 112-3) none of which have signal strength.

how do you know where not getting any HD channels? BTW, dunno if your interested, but they finally upped the internet speed from 3mb to 5mb. Park Cities is so slow to add stuff.

Everytime that I speak to a (less than helpful) Charter rep, they never have nay idea of when new HD Channels would come online. I'd like TNT-HD for the periodic Mavs game. In my logic, I think that if they had free bandwith or the desire to carve out more bandwidth for HD channels, they would so that they could offer a more Tiers of HD Channels at additional cost.

As far as the WFAA feed is concerned, I'm afraid that it will be gone for a while. No one at Charter that I have spoken to (perhaps 5-7 reps in total) has yet to even have a clue that this issue with Belo is even going on. I know that this same situation has been going on in St. Louis for quite some time. I think we have a "Mexican Standoff" with the consumer stuck in the middle.

FWIW, I have had success in getting WFAA ABC OTA with a Silver Sensor (UHF) antenna in University Park. Just make sure you point the Silver Sensor in the right direction - see www.antennaweb.org for this. I didn't have much luck with WFAA reception when I tried on the first floor, but when I moved the antenna to the attic (above second floor), it came in great. No amplification needed to the signal. I was pleasently surprised since WFAA is a VHF signal and the Silver Sensor is a UHF antenna.


Are you using the tuner in your TV and running the antenna directly into it, or somehow running the antenna to your SA8300HD and then to the TV? I'm pissed about no WFAA in HD (no Lost, NBA Finals, etc. in HD) and am looking to an antenna to fix this.

I just replaced my Vizio 42 and in scanning, the series of 36-1,2,3 stations showed up. I just ignored them but now that you mentioned your sammy, I tuned into 36-1 and it appears to be showing the same stuff as 27 analog. Nothing on 36-2 or 3.

Given the variation in results with different receivers it looks like 27-1 is broadcasting some incorrect PSIP information.

So no ones getting the same QAM problems as me?? (112-1, 112-2, 112-3) none of which have signal strength.
I'm still getting those 3 here in Frisco.

Given the variation in results with different receivers it looks like 27-1 is broadcasting some incorrect PSIP information.

Also, it appears that my older HD tuners don't see the 36-1,2,3 channels nor 27-1. It's wierd.

Would I be better off with an antenna in the attic (would that work)? And what would that cost (ballpark for antenna, cables, etc) to get the whole shebang and not worry about the indoor stuff anymore,,,,,
FYI - I broke down and bought a CM4228 from Fry's and installed it over the weekend. Works GREAT!!!! Finally get ABC in HD, too bad it took me so long to finally decide to do it. Everything I watch comes in with a 80-94 signal (4,5,8,11,33) with ABC being the lowest, but haven't had a dropout on any of them. Mounted it in the attic, although it looks like I could've leaned it against one of the ceiling rafters and been fine (when testing), but we decided to mount it properly using RG-6. Thanks again to everyone for their advice and guidance!!!

Hey, M8ng01

Which Fry's did you go to? How much?

Thanks

I'm posting this in both the Radio Shack thread and the Dallas thread.

I recently discovered (from someone else in these threads) that channel 27-1 in Dallas comes in on 36-1 on some receivers such as my Vizio TV's. On my Radio Shack Tuners I get a strong signal at 27-1 but get no sound or picture. I can view the station when I enter 36 on my remote but 36-1 does not show up in a channel scan. Any ideas on this strange behavior?

time warner cable qam unencryted channels except for dallas ,plano ,mesquite

updated 1/29/07

78-6 cspan 3 (was encrypted from it was added until 1/29/07)

79-1 vod barker

80-5 through 51 music choice
80-? special events channel

92-1 nba league pass preview

110-1 kdfw hd
110-2 kxas hd
110-3 wfaa 8.2
110-4 nbc w+
110-5 tube tv

106-3 discovery hd theater

107-1 ktvt hd
107-2 tnt hd
107-3 ktxa hd

108-1 kera hd
108-2 wfaa hd
108-3 kdaf hd

112-1 inhd
112-2 uhd
112-3 hdnet

113-1 kdfw
113-2 kxas
113-3 wfaa
113-4 ktvt
113-6 kera
113-7 ktxa
113-8 kdaf

114-1 kdtx
114-2 kpxd
114-3 ewtn
114-4 txcn
114-5 kuvn
114-6 qvc
114-7 cspan
114-8 cspan 2
114-9 disney
114-10 hsn

Plano...$49.99 I had to ask someone since they didn't have them out. As of yesterday they still had one laying out that looked like a return.

27-1 = virtual channel.. 36 = frequency assignment..

it's not working right now, nor has it been for a few days.

this is not something uncommon for them.

I'm still getting those 3 here in Frisco.


Dang i don't know what's wrong? They were coming in real nice a week ago, then day after day, just a tad bit more choppy, till now, where i'm getting 1 bar. no pic no sound. maybe i'll rescan...but i know that won't help.

I live in Rockwall, and have a fairly large antenna. Actually, I cant even tell you what kind it is cause I bought it two years + ago when I bought my HDTV. I used to have this monster in the back yard and picked up all the channels with a diplexer hooked up to the outside and inside. When I got a HR10-250, the guy moved the HD Dish to the roof, so I moved the antenna up into the attic before he finished the job. I dont recall a diplexer upstairs but I havent even checked the switch in the attic. Im a computer nerd but definitely not a HD/SAT/CABLE expert. I have no idea what any of those things do or how they work and when I read about it, I get tired head. Anyway, I dont know how it was for yall but when I tried to get that thing in the attic, I was getting ticked off. Eventually, I had to "Force" a few prongs open, meaning some of them are bent, and I think I even broke one. I think one of the parts that angles up and down are not connected very well, anyway, this could be a potential cause. :) But all that being said, I can get channels 8 and 11 with no problems even though my signal strength on those is 68-70. The last time I moved the antenna a bit, I was able to get 4 on occasion and 5 choppy, but lost 8. I am wondering if its a wiring change that may have caused this, or the antenna situation, or the fact that its simply in the attic.

Would a pre-amplifier work, or do I need to move it to the roof, get a new antenna, or just use the HR20 and screw it all.
Thanks for any help.

killerdc,

I would try a new antenna, a much smaller one. When I first got my HD TV the guy at Fry's sold me a monster 100 mile antenna, which was $200 (I felt so used). Anyway, I had problems with it and after becoming more familiar with OTA and HD I eventually returned the $200 piece of crap (it was a TERK) back to Fry's.

You see, Fry's has some very good Channel Master antennas that run about $160 LESS (bought mine for $35). One would think that they would keep them near all the HD TVs and other antennas, but no.........they put them over near the computer section, usually in the same isle as all the telephone components.

Sorry, got off subject.

If you can, go to Fry's and get a Channel Master 4228 or 3018. I don't think you will have any problems with getting these guys into the attic. Plug them in and give them a try.

Other problems you may run into with an attic installation is if you have some sort of metal shielding. This can prevent the broadcast signals from reaching the antenna.

You mentioned diplexing. Depending on how your satellite and antenna are being run (i.e. into a multiswitch or running direct to your HR10-250) this can be a source of your problems. But the fact that you can receive ABC and CBS leads me to believe that this may not be a problem.

Well I finally got ticked off enough at this. I went up and basically ripped that big arse antenna out of the attic and drug it into the backyard. I opened a window and unhooked the diplexer. Now I get every channel under the sun and get some signal all the way to decatur. While it is refreshing to see, its upsetting to know that I have contorted in that tiny attic messing with that stupid antenna for months. Now I just have to figure out how to get the cable inside without the window being left open. :) I know there is a third line running into the house that is not being used, so I guess I can cut it from outside, put an end on it, diplex it to the inside and maybe that will work. I would rather make this an attic anenna, but I am wondering if I need to borrow a ladder and just put this monster on the roof with a mast. Oh well. At least for now I have all the channels, so I guess that old mangled up monster at least works laying in my grass out back. Baby steps....

Killerdc:
Are you sure the antenna location was the problem rather than the diplexer?

I'm moving to a new home in Plano in a few weeks and am looking for an installer to setup my system there. I don't need any new equipment (with the possible exception of moving to in-wall speakers...not sure about that yet), just wiring really.

I've talked to some of the home theater stores in the past, but they basically blow you off if you're not buying equipment from them. Is there a reliable installer out there that would be willing to just do the wiring/cabling for me?

Thanks in advance for your help.

My father-in-law just got a new HD TV and Time Warner cable. I scanned the cable with the QAM tuner and found the channels listed above. But CW (33) on 108-3 is all screwed up. The OTA version I get on my HD TV seems fine. Is this a problem with his TV or Time Warner?

Xesdeeni

Killerdc:
Are you sure the antenna location was the problem rather than the diplexer?


No I am not. I thought about that after I got mad and dragged it into the yard, I guess I can hook the diplexers back up and see if it still works. Although, I have never gotten all the channels since i put it up in the attic. The wire that runs into the attic from the outside can be pulled back out and it runs directly into the 3rd jack inside, so I shouldnt have to run any diplexers. I can just run it direct to the Tivo.

I'm moving to a new home in Plano in a few weeks and am looking for an installer to setup my system there. I don't need any new equipment (with the possible exception of moving to in-wall speakers...not sure about that yet), just wiring really.

I've talked to some of the home theater stores in the past, but they basically blow you off if you're not buying equipment from them. Is there a reliable installer out there that would be willing to just do the wiring/cabling for me?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Check your PM's

Finally some local news in HD. This morning, News 8 Daybreak is showing a beautiful HD picture. The Victory studio looks great as do the graphics.

Finally some local news in HD. This morning, News 8 Daybreak is showing a beautiful HD picture. The Victory studio looks great as do the graphics.

I'm underwhelmed with the picture. It looks like they have some kind of filter over the lens. If you compare to other channels like HD Net or Discovery HD, you can really see the difference.

I'm underwhelmed with the picture. It looks like they have some kind of filter over the lens. If you compare to other channels like HD Net or Discovery HD, you can really see the difference.
I understand your comment, but I'm underwhelmed with the SD on 4,5,11, etc...

I understand your comment, but I'm underwhelmed with the SD on 4,5,11, etc...

I don't mean to throw water on their efforts, I know a lot of work went into that effort, so good for Ch 8. But I think they are protecting the talent with a filter because that 1080i reveals all flaws.

Finally some local news in HD. This morning, News 8 Daybreak is showing a beautiful HD picture. The Victory studio looks great as do the graphics.

Saw this quote on the WFAA website:

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070201_mo_highdefinition.40f7cb68.html
The future of News 8 arrived at 5 a.m. Friday as WFAA-TV began broadcasting all of its local news programs in a wide-screen high definition format.

Guess all of the news broadcasts will be in HD, not just Daybreak?

Nice picture this morning! I got up to look at the traffic report and saw that my picture wasn't in "stretch" mode any more. Definitely a clearly picture.

I hope the other channels follow soon!

Question: WFAA is broadcasting in 1080i, but ABC is broadcasting in 720p. Does this mean WFAA is upconverting ABC's programming to 1080i?

rudiger

Saw this quote on the WFAA website:



Guess all of the news broadcasts will be in HD, not just Daybreak?

Looks like it.... Think they all use the same studio now. They just said they have a HD camera on their new copter, and i have seen a few handheld field shots that are in HD as well.

I don't mean to throw water on their efforts, I know a lot of work went into that effort, so good for Ch 8. But I think they are protecting the talent with a filter because that 1080i reveals all flaws.

I think this is the key poiint. The talking heads are very nervous about this transition.

I've heard that Diane Sawyer and some others at the national level are pushing back hard against going HD for this very reason.

Noticed this morning also. Looks great, even the field reports were HD. Impressed.

Nice picture this morning! I got up to look at the traffic report and saw that my picture wasn't in "stretch" mode any more. Definitely a clearly picture.

I hope the other channels follow soon!

Question: WFAA is broadcasting in 1080i, but ABC is broadcasting in 720p. Does this mean WFAA is upconverting ABC's programming to 1080i?

rudiger
I've read that all Belo affiliates are 1080i.

I'm posting this in both the Radio Shack thread and the Dallas thread.

I recently discovered (from someone else in these threads) that channel 27-1 in Dallas comes in on 36-1 on some receivers such as my Vizio TV's. On my Radio Shack Tuners I get a strong signal at 27-1 but get no sound or picture. I can view the station when I enter 36 on my remote but 36-1 does not show up in a channel scan. Any ideas on this strange behavior?
Something is messed up on KDFI's end...again...and has been for several days. You could go to their website
www.kdfi27.com and send them an email about it. Maybe if enough people email them, they will actually fix it.

I forgot I was on avsforum. I don't know what the heck a filter looks like but I have stuff recorded from both, and that program alone this morning looks just as good as any other HD channel. And perhaps its TWC, but I'm not that impressed with DiscHD as far as PQ goes. Once in a while they will dazzle you, but there is plenty that looks better. Uh oh, here come the techies to tell my why it technically looks better, how a proper source would look better, etc. I'm talking about reality for most of us. The broadcast looked excellent. Better than GMA or Today.

The studio camera's, graphics and weather are real HD. Yes the detail is a bit soft for me also. Maybe in due time we can sneak it up a bit. It is a talent issue for the networks as well.

The field camera's are just WS Std Def. The Helicopter is true HD and two tower cam's as well are HD. Victory on the W Hotel and the one at the Studio tower.

This is the way most of the stations around the country are doing HD News today. You would not believe all the things that have to happen behind the sceens to make this work. Aspect conversion is the bigest isuse with some 4:3 and 16:9 material mixed.
JStigler

The talent can't look that bad. :cool: I only caught the midday but it's way too soft, I don't know if this makes sense but the picture reminds me of watercolors. I wish they would go with a more natural picture and maybe soften it up from there. But none the less, I appreciate Belo's efforts and I always knew they'ed be the first in our market to broadcast newscast in HD.

so why was my picture not in wide screen mode....all of my other HD channels are?

smoberly we need more info to help. My guess is your are not tuned to WFAA HD but the std def channel.
JStigler

Speaking of WFAA channel 8, why is their HD broadcast still on VHF, channel 9. Do they have until 2009 to change to a UHF frequency. My UHF antenna cannot pick up their signal.

WFAA is one of the few DT stations that will operate in the VHF spectrum. JStigler would likely know for sure and I hope Im not pulling this out of thin air but in the mid 90's WFAA may have worked with a manufacture or FCC to test operating a DT signal in the VHF spectrum. And maybe they had first dibs at picking channel 9 unlike all the other stations who were given UHF stations like 41. Even though today they just remap. And actually I want to say that when the day comes that the analog channels go dark, most if not all the DT stations will occupy the analog spectrum. (i.e. 9.1 goes to 8.1 with no remap) I don't know if that's more information than you needed but for UHF is not required for the change over.