The response I got back from TheCoolTV...



"----- Original Message -----
From: <info@coolmusicnetwork.com>

Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 9:24 AM
Subject: RE: TheCoolTV Dallas-FW


Unfortunately we had to pull our server from the Dallas area because we were not generating enough revenue from the area. We are a young company though, and hopefully we can make it back down to Dallas in the near future. Thanks for your support and sorry we have to leave the area (for now). "

ok, thanks for the info [regarding KTVT]. I read the info in the link; but did not find dates - I guess that is still up the in the air?

You think the dust might settle in about 30 more days?

The notice for proposed rulemaking is now in the counter-comment period. If no counter-proposals are received, the FCC will then issue the rulemaking. At that point, CBS has 30 days to submit the application for the proposed facilities. After that, the construction can begin.

So, we are approaching the final stages of this. But I am hesitant to guess at a timetable. It might all happen in a couple of weeks or it could still be months away. Be aware that two stations are involved, KTVT and sister KTXA. Plus, there's the added factor of keeping disruptions during buildout to a minimum for KERA which is on the same transmitting tower.

If no counter-proposals are received, the FCC will then issue the rulemaking. At that point, CBS has 30 days to submit the application for the proposed facilities. After that, the construction can begin.


The report and order was released today (11 SEP 2009) by the FCC:

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2037A1.pdf

KTVT and KTXA now have 30 days to submit the ``minor change'' applications(s) to make the following modifications:

KTVT/11: RF-19 1,000 kW at 500m HAAT
KTXA/21: RF-29 1,000 kW at 520m HAAT

Interestingly, in the FCC's R&O, the service population for KTVT's new facility is shown as being greater than KTXA, in spite of the latter having a 20m height advantage.

KTVT's slightly lower frequency probably makes the difference.

- Trip

yea i got that same message from them too

did anybody notice that pbs is not air ch.13-3?

KTVT's slightly lower frequency probably makes the difference.


The original joint PRM submitted by CBS on 20 JUL 2009 is interesting in light of the possibility you pointed out:

KTVT RF-19 1,000 kW @500m, Area: 42785 sqkm Population: 5499 thous
KTXA RF-29 1,000 kW @520m, Area: 42433 sqkm Population: 5551 thous

RF-19 covers more area but less population whereas RF-29 covers less area but reaches more people. Odd since both facilities are non-DA and on the same stick.

The two stations are on different towers, so the location of the contour shifts slightly between one and the other.

- Trip

The two stations are on different towers, so the location of the contour shifts slightly between one and the other.


The joint PRM states:

``The proposed KTXA Channel 29 antenna would be stacked (in place of the Current 11 antenna) on top of the existing Channel 19 antenna intended for KTVT''.

It's not that big of a deal. I'll just attribute the somewhat odd population and area numbers to fuzzy math.

did anybody notice that pbs is not air ch.13-3?
We have noticed since 9/5/09.

I missed that, re_nelson.

I don't think it's fuzzy math, it looks like the 19 facility will receive 1.7% interference whereas the 29 facility will receive 0.37% interference. Population that receives interference is not counted.

- Trip

did anybody notice that pbs is not air ch.13-3? Yes, and I had to delete it from my DTVPal DVR because every time I would scan across that channel with the remote +/- keys, the tuner would hang up on 13-3 for at least 15-20 seconds before I could make it tune off that channel. First time it happened I thought the DVR had locked up and was about to do a full factory reset until I figured out what was going on with JUST 13-3's dead air. Thanks KERA.

I missed that, re_nelson.

I don't think it's fuzzy math, it looks like the 19 facility will receive 1.7% interference whereas the 29 facility will receive 0.37% interference. Population that receives interference is not counted.


Trip -- you are incredibly amazing in your attention to detail! I completely overlooked that aspect of it and I thank you for pointing it out. Doh! on my part.

Where will the new transmitter be located? Will it be located on the old KMPX transmitter? Or will it be placed somewhere else. If anyone does'nt know, then give your best guess. My best guess is on the old KMPX transmitter or in Downtown Dallas like KPFW-LD. And when will it be on? Somewhere before the end of the year I'm thinking.

Same tower as KTVT is now, in place of the channel 11 antenna.

is there site a that let you know where new dtv network comming soon this year and next year??

I had a weird issue last night. Instead of getting a paid service, I decided to get a channel master 4228HD antenna and pocket the money. I am within 30 miles of the towers, so immediatley after installing the antenna everything came in fairly solid, inluding 8.1 and 11.1. My27 has been fine all week, but last night during the ranger game it would drop from 56 to 25 and then stay at 25. I would come back to the station a while later and it would be on, but then drop after a few seconds. I thought this might be weather related, but after the game was over I switched and it was mid 70s and solid picture with the same weather coniditions. Did anyone else notice this, and would it have anything to do with the ranger stadium output?

I was just troubleshooting my homebuilt HD DVR and realized that my problem is that KTXA 21-1 is not tuning, and my LG HD tuner has the same problem. I've run scans on my LG tuner and my DVR, but I can't find it anywhere. I understand it was on RF 18 and they want to move it to RF 29, but where is it now?

Thanks!

Edit: I am in Grapevine, and my indoor Terk "HD" UHF/VHF antenna is pointing towards the Cedar Hill antenna farm. No signal at all on RF18 or RF29 at the time of this posting.

I was just troubleshooting my homebuilt HD DVR and realized that my problem is that KTXA 21-1 is not tuning, and my LG HD tuner has the same problem. I've run scans on my LG tuner and my DVR, but I can't find it anywhere. I understand it was on RF 18 and they want to move it to RF 29, but where is it now?

Thanks!

Edit: I am in Grapevine, and my indoor Terk "HD" UHF/VHF antenna is pointing towards the Cedar Hill antenna farm. No signal at all on RF18 or RF29 at the time of this posting.

No problem here in NW Dallas. 21 is still on RF18 and sig is about 90% as usual.

My27 has been fine all week, but last night during the ranger game it would drop from 56 to 25 and then stay at 25. I would come back to the station a while later and it would be on, but then drop after a few seconds...

Don't know about 27 but I have seen a similar odd thing on 13. Like yesterday and today. Occasionally maybe once a month I see 13's sig doing this. It will be at 71 (typical) and drop in half to 32 or so, and cycle like that up and down once every second or two constantly. I see this on my Sony TV's sig strength indicator. Also effects the SNR from 27 dB down to 20 dB and back. Sig strength doesn't change up and down nearly as much on the Zenith converter box indicator, connected to the same antenna source. Maybe one segment will drop and come back at the same cyclic rate.

Like yesterday and today [on KERA]. Occasionally maybe once a month I see 13's sig doing this. It will be at 71 (typical) and drop in half to 32 or so, and cycle like that up and down once every second or two constantly. I see this on my Sony TV's sig strength indicator. Also effects the SNR from 27 dB down to 20 dB and back. Sig strength doesn't change up and down nearly as much on the Zenith converter box indicator, connected to the same antenna source. Maybe one segment will drop and come back at the same cyclic rate.

Ed and I have communicated offline concerning KERA. I'll continue the discussion here in this forum for others to weigh in.

At my location, KERA measures the weakest of the full-power facilities but it is among the most consistent and I've yet to experience any fluctuation or cycling. Perhaps I've just missed when this occurs although I was watching PBS World last night on 13-2 (after the Miami-Ga. Tech game become a blowout). :-)

I have two systems - one is a Toshiba 37-inch connected to a 36-element attic antenna and the other is a DTX-9550 CECB fed by a Terk HDTVa.

What's distinctive about KERA is that always measures a consistent 72 on the Toshiba setup (other stations are 92-97) and never varies from 68 on the DTX-9950 (others range from 85-94). Moreover, KERA is nearly impervious to antenna orientation. In particular, since the Terk is easily moved, adjusting the azimuth just a few degrees makes a major difference across the board for most stations -- but KERA stubbornly stays at its solid 68 invariant reading.

When KTVT/KTXA completes its buildout, it'll be interesting to see how KERA fares since RF-19 and RF-14 share the same facility.

Don't know about 27 but I have seen a similar odd thing on 13. Like yesterday and today. Occasionally maybe once a month I see 13's sig doing this. It will be at 71 (typical) and drop in half to 32 or so, and cycle like that up and down once every second or two constantly. I see this on my Sony TV's sig strength indicator. Also effects the SNR from 27 dB down to 20 dB and back. Sig strength doesn't change up and down nearly as much on the Zenith converter box indicator, connected to the same antenna source. Maybe one segment will drop and come back at the same cyclic rate.

I have been having trouble with KERA off and on since August 6th. (It was messed up every time I checked until 12 August.) The signal strength/quality as reported by the CM-7000 converter bounces around randomly and I get no picture or sound. Some data is sneaking in as I will occasionally see some schedule data appear. When it is working I normally see 100% which it should as I am pretty close to the transmitter. SW Arlington, almost Kennedale.

I have tried various things to try and fix it. On the off chance that I had too much signal I added a couple of 6dB attenuators. All that got me was a signal strength of about 80% when it was working. I also tried a different antenna and a different converter. Nothing helped.

No problem here in NW Dallas. 21 is still on RF18 and sig is about 90% as usual.

Ok, thanks. A lateral antenna move brought it back to life. Weird since all the other stations were coming in fine, but there we go.

I'm going to chime in about 13 as well. I was at my parents house in Lavon last weekend and was seeing what ed_in_tx was seeing. The signal was very erratic jumping from 80s to 50s. I'd have pic\sound for a sec, then signal issue message for a couple secs. My parents have their antenna in the attic (no idea on the specs but it's a rather big) and it feeds a Dish 722 and a Echostar TR-40. All the low power DT's come in great, minus lo-VHF 3 - it usually would register during the day and lock in the upper 50s at night, but this time everytime i checked for 3, signal was 0. signal levels for full power DT's are very high. Any other time I've been up to visit, 13 has been fine.

I checked on my 42" and same here. A bunch of nothing. I got a new 60" DLP today and same thing nothing! The UpdateTV works but nothing else. A few data sneaks were observed. I am going to contact KERA about this.

I checked on my 42" and same here. A bunch of nothing. I got a new 60" DLP today and same thing nothing! You're not receiving a watchable signal on KERA? It's fine here, but the sig strength is still bouncing up and down from 40 to 76 every second or two.



The UpdateTV works but nothing else. A few data sneaks were observed. I am going to contact KERA about this.

Did you get an over the air software update to your TV?

This is the screen I was greeted with when I turned on the set one morning back in May, 3 days before the 1 year warranty expired.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p72/tblazed/sonyupdate52009S.jpg

I was a bit apprehensive while it was doing its thing, but it worked fine. It updated itself just like the first time I did an update to this set a year ago thrrough the USB port in the back.

im not gettin 39-1 and 39-2....but there is a ch. 40-1 and 40-2

You're not receiving a watchable signal on KERA? It's fine here, but the sig strength is still bouncing up and down from 40 to 76 every second or two.





Did you get an over the air software update to your TV?

This is the screen I was greeted with when I turned on the set one morning back in May, 3 days before the 1 year warranty expired.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p72/tblazed/sonyupdate52009S.jpg

I was a bit apprehensive while it was doing its thing, but it worked fine. It updated itself just like the first time I did an update to this set a year ago thrrough the USB port in the back.I did get KERA fine. And it has the current updates. And I don't really know how to do updates.

Anyone else hear some weird feedback on the Cowboys game? (KXAS) It’s not my setup as it goes away during commercials or if I change the channel.

Anyone else hear some weird feedback on the Cowboys game? (KXAS) It’s not my setup as it goes away during commercials or if I change the channel.
Sounds fine to me.

No problems here.

Anyone else hear some weird feedback on the Cowboys game? (KXAS) It’s not my setup as it goes away during commercials or if I change the channel.

The only issues I saw or heard was a syn issue near the beginning of the game, but I don't think that was the set up. I think that was NBC.

Low-power 15 kW digital facility is now on from the Milton Tower in Cedar Hiil. KVFW/38's PSIP show ``KVFW-LP'' and all four subchannels are color bars at the moment.

The licensee is Gerald Benavides of Corpus Christi, likely carrying the Spanish language religious programming from Reino Unido Network.

I did get KERA fine. And it has the current updates. And I don't really know how to do updates. Nothing to it. All I did to get this update was have the set plugged in but turned off, and hooked to an antenna overnight. Turned it on in the morning, and surprise! All automatic, whether you want it or not since there was no choice, as it says "mandatory". I'm just glad it didn't crash my TV!

WFAA will be adding the "This TV (http://www.this.tv)" channel. I haven't watched it too much since KPRC added it here in Houston, but it airs mostly old MGM movies.


Full story: http://production.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=849768

WFAA will be adding the "This TV (http://www.this.tv)" channel. I haven't watched it too much since KPRC added it here in Houston, but it airs mostly old MGM movies.


Full story: http://production.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=849768Instead of adding This TV, why don't they add RTV?

Because RTV has a contract with KLDT.

- Trip

I sincerely hope that WFAA will be replacing one of their existing subchannels rather than adding a third SD subchannel. Their HD picture quality is already pretty crappy on network programming on 8.1 thanks to the 720p->1080i conversion and limited bitrate due to the existing 2 subchannels, and it really can't take any more abuse. Any comments, jstigler?

I sincerely hope that WFAA will be replacing one of their existing subchannels rather than adding a third SD subchannel. Their HD picture quality is already pretty crappy on network programming on 8.1 thanks to the 720p->1080i conversion and limited bitrate due to the existing 2 subchannels, and it really can't take any more abuse. Any comments, jstigler?

Subchannels seem nice at first, but quality over quantity is key. However, a subchannel that I might actually watch, as opposed to all paid programming is nice as well.

Because RTV has a contract with KLDT.

- TripWell, we are still waiting...

WFAA will be adding the "This TV (http://www.this.tv)" channel. I haven't watched it too much since KPRC added it here in Houston, but it airs mostly old MGM movies.


Full story: http://production.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=849768

Yay. Another vaguely interesting subchannel that might be "coming soon" someday. I would be a lot more interested if these "announcements" came with text that said: "We have completed testing and will be launching $channel full-time in 7 days. Catch our on-air debut at 7PM $time_zone on $date!"

Because RTV has a contract with KLDT.


Which, I suspect, will turn out to be a major mistake on RTV's part -- my gut feel is that they'll never get on the air on either KLDT or KNWS.

Actually, based on what I've heard about RTV's technical quality lately, it sounds like the perfect match. (I haven't been home to watch it for myself and confirm the lip sync and other various technical problems I've been hearing about.)

- Trip

Actually, based on what I've heard about RTV's technical quality lately, it sounds like the perfect match.

The only problem is that it would be like a date between two people who are both forgetful, lose track of time, and easily get lost. If they ever actually manage to have their date, it might be a perfect match...but it's not likely to get that far!

I'm having trouble pulling in 5 KXAS, 27 KDFI, and 33 KDAF.

I can pull in most everything else - 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 21, 34, 39, 52, 58, 68.

I live in Rockwall and have my antennae (ClearStream 2) pointed towards Cedar Hill.

If I point the antenna almost north I can pick up 5 but not very well.

Would the CM7777 amplifier solve my problem?

I'm having trouble pulling in 5 KXAS, 27 KDFI, and 33 KDAF.

I can pull in most everything else - 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 21, 34, 39, 52, 58, 68.

I live in Rockwall and have my antennae (ClearStream 2) pointed towards Cedar Hill.

If I point the antenna almost north I can pick up 5 but not very well.

Would the CM7777 amplifier solve my problem?

From Rockwall you should be aiming it toward the southwest where the transmitter towers are, in Cedar Hill.

Is anyone receiving 13-2? Because here in Decatur, 13-1 is coming in while 13-2 isn't.

Is anyone receiving 13-2? Because here in Decatur, 13-1 is coming in while 13-2 isn't.

Getting them both. I am seeing the signal cycliing up and down from 43 to 71. I've seen both 13.1 and .2 drop out No Signal a few times in the past week.

KERA dropped out totally a few times tonight while I was trying to watch One, Two, Three (great movie, BTW). When I switched over from OTA to my Dish satellite, it was dropped off of there too! Each dropout lasted just a minute or so, but it happened 4 or 5 times during the movie. Something going on with their transmitter I'm sure.

(Edited for clarity)

KERA has dropped out totally a few times tonight while I was trying to watch One, Two, Three (great movie, BTW). When I switched over to my Dish sat, it was dropped off of there too! Something going on with their transmitter I'm sure.Interferance from KTXA?

18 interfering with 14? Something on 15 might interfere, but IIRC 15 is intentionally left vacant in this market to protect land mobile on 16.

Like I said, each time it dropped out, I switched from OTA to my satellite and it was off of there too. Each dropout only lasted a minute or two, but it happened 4 or 5 times during the movie. Whatever it was affected both the OTA and Sat uplinks at the same time. Probably a problem at the station itself as opposed to the transmitter. Where does KERA uplink to the satellites?

KERA doesn't uplink. DirecTV and Dish Network have local receive facilities where they receive all the local channels (usually via antenna) and then uplink to their respective satellites. DirecTV's is at the Infomart (35E and Oak Lawn in Dallas) and Dish's is in Irving south of Texas Stadium.

I recorded the National Parks show on KERA from 1-3 today via FiOS and noted similar dropouts, so there's definitely something screwy going on.

KERA does have an issue. I measured their MER and it is jumpping from 22 to 26. 26-30 is a good number. I have discussed this with them. We were all at a meeting last Thursday. This is the signal to noise and will act like a weak signal but the RF will still be good.

Maybe next week we can give them some idea's.
JStigler

I'm having trouble pulling in 5 KXAS, 27 KDFI, and 33 KDAF.

I can pull in most everything else - 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 21, 34, 39, 52, 58, 68.

I live in Rockwall and have my antennae (ClearStream 2) pointed towards Cedar Hill.

If I point the antenna almost north I can pick up 5 but not very well.

Would the CM7777 amplifier solve my problem?

My oppinon is this is not a real antenna. Price says it might be but design is not. I assume you have this thing outside.

If outside then I would go to Fry's and get a Winegard HD7694P antenna. It is a much longer boom than what you have but sould solve your problem even with out the CM777. Point it SW to Cedar Hill at Hwy 67 & Beltline Rd.
JStigler

My oppinon is this is not a real antenna. Price says it might be but design is not. I assume you have this thing outside.

If outside then I would go to Fry's and get a Winegard HD7694P antenna. It is a much longer boom than what you have but sould solve your problem even with out the CM777. Point it SW to Cedar Hill at Hwy 67 & Beltline Rd.
JStigler

Your opinion not withstanding, the C2 is an very good medium range UHF antenna and you will notice the three channels he's having difficulty with are all UHF.

Since he was getting ch 5 pointing it due north instead of southwest like it should have been, that indicates he has either a mounting/aiming problem or a multi-path issue on several channels. The C2 does have a fairly decent rear-quarter lobe that is down only around 5-8 dB below unity. With a generic TV fool for his city, that should still equal good reception. See http://antennasdirect.com/ClearStream2HorizontalPlane.html for a graph of the polar plot of the C2.

I've experimented with the C2 at 45-55 miles with my spectrum analyzer and found it to to be quite effective for UHF reception, even when testing at only 7-8 feet above ground provided there was decent line of sight.


If you are interested and able to perform a professional evaluation with which to form an opinion based on something other than conjecture, let me know and I can hook you up with someone to make it happen.

The C2 is an underperformer and as overpriced as everything else Antennas Direct makes. For $30 less, the 7694 has more gain, better directionality, and real performance on VHF.

The wife and I are moving to Lake Highlands and we're debating on AT&T U-verse. Any first hand experience with this service?

I sincerely hope that WFAA will be replacing one of their existing subchannels rather than adding a third SD subchannel. Their HD picture quality is already pretty crappy on network programming on 8.1 thanks to the 720p->1080i conversion and limited bitrate due to the existing 2 subchannels, and it really can't take any more abuse. Any comments, jstigler?

How much bandwidth are they giving their main channel?

It used to be about 14.4, but looks like about 13.4 now. I thought I noticed worse than usual PQ on football this weekend. 13.4 simply isn't enough for 1080i, even with WFAA's newer encoder. :(

Just talked to someone at KERA 5 minutes ago. They are aware of the problems with receptions over the last few weeks.

They say that the problems are being fixed and will be fixed TODAY.

I'll have to see to believe it.

Dan,

Though I'm not in the Dallas area, I want to thank you for taking your valuable time, to logon and offer such a valuable and informative post !

We have TOO few "tech/mgmt" members here, who can actually offer some direct information respective to their individual station.

Please make sure that your subscription to this thread is set, that being done thru your personal Profile. Then you'll get automatic updates to any further comments related to the Dallas area.

Again, THANK YOU for your time.

Have a good Day ! :)
S.W.

KERATech:

Does that mean you're using the original exciter too? If so, could that explain the SNR numbers that people seem to report? Also if so, will that be getting replaced in order to properly work with the new encoder (as far as the Mobile stuff goes)?

I'm also not in the area, but I've had experience with "original" gear and know what a PITA some of it can be.

- Trip

Thanks for the great info Dan. I don't think any of us are going to miss the old DCII encoder and its decidedly first-generation quality. A couple questions for you:
- You say Harris, so does that mean you went with the NetVX?
- Will you be utilizing the film detection feature? The ~15% increase in efficiency on 24p material is a great help when saddled with limited bitrate, but KXAS seems to be the only station in town that actually has it enabled.
- Any word on when Verizon will add the secondary subchannels?

Thought I'd chime in about the KERA technical problems.

I'm with the engineering group at KERA and can provide some insight. First, thanks to anyone and everyone who emails us or calls us and lets us know when there is a problem. We do our best to resolve issues as quickly as possible and appreciate when a kind viewer informs us to a problem. If it is a problem on their end, we'll do whatever we can to help them. In the case of the current serious issue of freezing/black video ever few minutes, we actually have two things occurring.

As you know, KERA put on HD over 10 years ago. The same encoder and transmitter are still being used today. The encoder turns our HD signal into the stream that the transmitter pushes out (plus some of the cable companies also take that same stream). A majority of the current issue is being caused by the failure of that encoder.

We launched 13.2 "World" about a month ago through this encoder. It was actually built by Motorola to handle 1 HD and 2 SD streams. At first it worked well, but then started acting up on us. We made some corrections with Motorola's assistance and it helped.. for a while. Motorola got out of this type of business a few years ago, so we were glad they assisted.

About two weeks ago we ordered a new state-of-the-art encoder. It actually can "look ahead" and pull bandwidth from one channel to help with high motion on the other, while staying under the 19.3 Mbps cap. It will also finally pass embedded closed captioning, allow 5.1 through, handle more channels, and can handle mobile ATSC and future technology.

Three days after ordering this new encoder, the old Motorola started erroring. When it errors, it dumps a huge amount of data (picture & sound). This happens about once every 4 to 7 minutes (average). Depending on the provider (Time Warner, AT&T, Verizon, Dish, Direct, or antenna), the picture can respond differently. This includes freezing pic w/ sound, freezing pic w/o sound, tiling (big blocks of frozen video), black, stammering video, and color bars. We put in a rush request to the manufacturer of the new encoder to get our new system to us as soon as it came off the production line.

Today (Monday 9/28) the new encoder arrived from Harris Broadcast. It is being installed and remotely configured for KERA & World right now but is off line. We also must modify our PSIP (program data information) to work with this new gear). This will soon resolve the lack of full program info for World, plus should make our provider-carried signal perfect. The new technology should also improve the quality of our picture, plus add the above mentioned benefits.

With this said, we also are working with a "gremlin" of a transmission problem. Our transmitter manufacturer field support tech will be continuing to work on this problem after our encoder is replaced. This "gremlin" only affects viewers who use an antenna and mostly (MOSTLY) only affects a few brands of down-converters and older HDTV sets.

I prefer to give technically astute people the full information available. All of us at KERA appreciate every viewer and thank you for your patience.

DanDear Dan, When is the signal going to be fully restored. Because I live in Decatur and I used to receive the signal. Until now.

Dear Dan, When is the signal going to be fully restored. Because I live in Decatur and I used to receive the signal. Until now.
The occasional searching for signal is explained by the equipment problems!

What does that mean?Good news!!! The KERA signal is back up and running!

Quick question? Is WFAA News in 1080i or 1080p or 720p?

Quick question? Is WFAA News in 1080i or 1080p or 720p?

1080i and 5.1 audio according to my Vizio.

Everything coming out of WFAA is 1080i. ABC network programming originates at 720p but is converted to 1080i by the station.

Dan,
Thanks for the update. One question, what is a "gremlin" of a transmission problem? I'm trying to record the national parks documentary in HD, but have been challenged to receive a consistent signal through my Dish HD DVR. Unfortunately PBS is only broadcast in SD on Dish. Sounds like the signal won't be fully operational this week.

The new KERA signals worked very well yesterday afternoon and evening but this morning the same problems are still there. There are: black screen, freezing pic w/sound or no sound.

I hope you folks will fine tune it and fix the problems once and for all.

a 'gremlin' of a problem simply means they are having a "heck" of a problem....lol


anyways, thanks for keeping us posted. I just got my first HDTV a few weeks ago and haven't switched my pacakage on DirecTV yet to HD. So I have been watching the locals on HD constantly through a huge roof antenna. So far I have spent the most time watching KERA. The shows really are so much better in HD. I really liked the national parks shows too.

Just wanted to say thanks!

As of 9:45am, both 13-1 and 13-2 are back.

Hope it will last.

As of 10:00am, both 13-1 and 13-2 are gone again, same problems.

I have done nothing to my setup.

Dan,
Thanks for the update. One question, what is a "gremlin" of a transmission problem? I'm trying to record the national parks documentary in HD, but have been challenged to receive a consistent signal through my Dish HD DVR. Unfortunately PBS is only broadcast in SD on Dish. Sounds like the signal won't be fully operational this week.
A "gremlin" is generally an intermittent problem. Whether in your automobile or in electronic devices, or even when you have an ache or pain, intermittent problems are difficult to diagnose and repair, and frustrating for the user and for the service people.

It was great f Dan to be so open with us and we all wish him and his team well as they are dealing with the problem.

Bernie

It used to be about 14.4, but looks like about 13.4 now. I thought I noticed worse than usual PQ on football this weekend. 13.4 simply isn't enough for 1080i, even with WFAA's newer encoder. :(

I show them running 10.1-15.2mbps. What model encoder are they using?

I want to say the Harmonic MV500, but it's been a few months since I talked with someone from WFAA about it so I'm not sure. In any case, the average bitrate looks to be down about 1Mbit/s from where it was before.

I am using some basic rabbit ears and get all these channels. Why need the better antennas?

Because basic rabbit ears are not adequate outside of the area in which they are effective.

If you're relatively close to the towers and have a good location to receive the signals, then a basic loop/rabbit ears is all that is needed.

Will try to do a little better at an update on our tech changes and issues on this forum. You all ("y'all" for Texans... "you'ins for former fellow Ohioans) are an astute group so it's nice to be able to relay details to people who understand.


Dan --

Thanks so much for keeping us all up to date with the ``inside baseball'' technical details concerning KERA. Given that you've got a full plate (and there's also the matter of firing up 91.7 in a few weeks), the extra effort on your part to post here is especially appreciated.

And...don't forget ``yinz'' for the former Pittsburghers (and Steubenvillians) who used to watch WQED/13 and now KERA/13. :-)

Bob, I grew up watching WTOV and WSTV (WTRF). I'm originally from Dover, Ohio. Forgot about the Yinz.


You're far too young, Dan, but I'd wager a number of people now in the Metroplex are old enough to remember ``9 Teen Time'' with Stan Scott on WSTV-TV in Steubenville, then a CBS affiliate with a secondary affiliation with ABC. It was the tri-state's version of ``American Bandstand''.

Unlike Dallas-Ft. Worth, which got the full complement of networks relatively early in the TV era, the Pittsburgh area only had two stations for a long time, DuMont on WDTV/3 and NET on WQED/13. Consequently, tuning to out-of-market stations (Wheeling-Steubenville and Johnstown-Altoona) wasn't just a hobby for DXers but was a reality for anyone wanting variety.

This is WAY off topic...so I'll now slap myself a few times and get back to the 21st Century.

I love World, so I will call FIOS to help get it on the system...One thing: I've never seen a legal ID on the station. Before the FCC notices, you might want to get a voice over or a CG slide on KERA-DT2.

KERA is still the only channel I can't get. I know there are some issues today, I just want to make sure there is nothing I can do. Should I rescan or will it just be on when the problems get sorted? Thanks keep up the good work.

I want to say the Harmonic MV500, but it's been a few months since I talked with someone from WFAA about it so I'm not sure. In any case, the average bitrate looks to be down about 1Mbit/s from where it was before.

Are you decoding a fixed 13.4mbps or is it varying above and below that like they are constantly changing it every few seconds?

Oh, it's still VBR, just with the average bitrate coming in lower than it did in the past.

PS.. Thanks for calling your cable or satellite providers to request KERA 13.2 World. It does make a difference.

is kera close to deal to launch kera world on time warner cable?

KERA is still the only channel I can't get. I know there are some issues today, I just want to make sure there is nothing I can do. Should I rescan or will it just be on when the problems get sorted? Thanks keep up the good work.

majik99,
Below, are some typical questions which an Installer would need to know to see if he could help you. If you'd like to answer them, maybe I can help.
The first six questions are the most important !

OTA System Information:
What is your Zip Code:

Main Assembly:
What kind of Terrestrial Antenna do you presently have? (Make/Model):

Is the Antenna to be/or installed: On top of your TV, Attic or Rooftop, Mast:

How high above ground is your Antenna installed/proposed (ft).

Do you have an Antenna Rotator: (Make/Model/None):

Are you presently using a Pre-Amplifier? (Make/Model/None):

Interior:
How many linear Cable feet is it between your Antenna and the most far TV (ft):

How many TV sets are presently being used on this system:

How many Splitters are in use in your system: Number, Qty of outlets for each:

Are you using a Distribution Amplifier: (Make/Model/None):

Are you/do you plan to integrate Cable or Satellite Services with this system:

Is there anything else you would like to provide concerning obstructions, geographical?


Have a good Day ! :)
S.W.

PS: You can copy/paste the text of the Survey into your reply, and may answer the questions in the spaces between the questions.

This may be a bit off topic...

Does anyone know where I can find out what HD set-top boxes Time Warner offers in Dallas/Plano? Specifically, I'm looking for non-DVR boxes to replace my clunky Moto 5100.

Do they have anything newer/better?

Thanks.

KERAtech, thanks for all the updates! KERA-HD has been a pretty sad offering compared to other PBS stations for far too long. I’m glad to see that not only is KERA upgrading to a decent encoder, including 5.1, but you are also COMMUNICATING with us! I can’t wait to watch Parks, Nature, and NOVA the way they were MEANT to be seen, without horrible macroblocking, and with 5.1 surround sound!

Has anyone else noticed the audio popping or clicking on KXAS? (ch 5, NBC)

Oh, it's still VBR, just with the average bitrate coming in lower than it did in the past.

Thanks...I'll keep a closer eye on it...glad my program shows it has gone up to 16mbps at times.

Has anyone else noticed the audio popping or clicking on KXAS? (ch 5, NBC)
Yes. The best way I can describe it is that it sounds like old vinyl. It isn't very loud like if there's an audio drop, just a faint clicking. There have been some other reports of it in the HDTV Programming forum for people watching KNTV, another NBC O&O, so I'm wondering if the issue is with the network or with the hardware NBC is using at all their O&Os.

I receive the channel via FiOS, but it's not a box issue since I also hear the clicking when using a QAM tuner.

I have an antenna and receive it OTA.

I'm hearing it both via OTA and HD LiL from DISH Network.

I added PBS World 13-2 to my two TV's with TVGOS and to my one with a converter box several days ago. So far, the TVGOS's say no listing in all time slots and the converter box EPG just says PBSWorld in all time slots.

If I don't know what's on, it is likely I won't watch it:rolleyes: It sounds as if I might really like PBSWorld. I seldom watch 13-1

Does anyone know if the data is being sent out for program listings on 13-2? I receive the listings for 13-1.

If it's not obvious, I have an OTA antenna and live in Hunt county.

I added PBS World 13-2 to my two TV's with TVGOS and to my one with a converter box several days ago. So far, the TVGOS's say no listing in all time slots and the converter box EPG just says PBSWorld in all time slots.

Does anyone know if the data is being sent out for program listings on 13-2? I receive the listings for 13-1.



I also do not receive schedule information for 13-2 on TVGOS. Nor do I receive schedule information for 5-3 (Universal Sports). I am in Dallas.

RR

Thought I'd chime in about the KERA technical problems.

I'm with the engineering group at KERA and can provide some insight. First, thanks to anyone and everyone who emails us or calls us and lets us know when there is a problem. We do our best to resolve issues as quickly as possible and appreciate when a kind viewer informs us to a problem. If it is a problem on their end, we'll do whatever we can to help them. In the case of the current serious issue of freezing/black video ever few minutes, we actually have two things occurring.

As you know, KERA put on HD over 10 years ago. The same encoder and transmitter are still being used today. The encoder turns our HD signal into the stream that the transmitter pushes out (plus some of the cable companies also take that same stream). A majority of the current issue is being caused by the failure of that encoder.

We launched 13.2 "World" about a month ago through this encoder. It was actually built by Motorola to handle 1 HD and 2 SD streams. At first it worked well, but then started acting up on us. We made some corrections with Motorola's assistance and it helped.. for a while. Motorola got out of this type of business a few years ago, so we were glad they assisted.

About two weeks ago we ordered a new state-of-the-art encoder. It actually can "look ahead" and pull bandwidth from one channel to help with high motion on the other, while staying under the 19.3 Mbps cap. It will also finally pass embedded closed captioning, allow 5.1 through, handle more channels, and can handle mobile ATSC and future technology.

Three days after ordering this new encoder, the old Motorola started erroring. When it errors, it dumps a huge amount of data (picture & sound). This happens about once every 4 to 7 minutes (average). Depending on the provider (Time Warner, AT&T, Verizon, Dish, Direct, or antenna), the picture can respond differently. This includes freezing pic w/ sound, freezing pic w/o sound, tiling (big blocks of frozen video), black, stammering video, and color bars. We put in a rush request to the manufacturer of the new encoder to get our new system to us as soon as it came off the production line.

Today (Monday 9/28) the new encoder arrived from Harris Broadcast. It is being installed and remotely configured for KERA & World right now but is off line. We also must modify our PSIP (program data information) to work with this new gear). This will soon resolve the lack of full program info for World, plus should make our provider-carried signal perfect. The new technology should also improve the quality of our picture, plus add the above mentioned benefits.

With this said, we also are working with a "gremlin" of a transmission problem. Our transmitter manufacturer field support tech will be continuing to work on this problem after our encoder is replaced. This "gremlin" only affects viewers who use an antenna and mostly (MOSTLY) only affects a few brands of down-converters and older HDTV sets.

I prefer to give technically astute people the full information available. All of us at KERA appreciate every viewer and thank you for your patience.

Dan

ok. is there going to be 13.3 and 13.4? somebody told me yall show pbs create on 13.3 for a week. are yall going to bring it back?

FWIW, the 13.7 and 13.8 programs are actually used for a service called UpdateTV, which is used to push firmware updates to TVs and decoder boxes. See http://www.updatelogic.com/network.html

The analog TVGOS service was carried on KERA (prior to the analog shutoff obviously), but Gemstar TV Guide made a deal with CBS to carry the digital version, so it's on KTVT here.

As of 12 noon, both 13-1 and 13-2 are up and running.

On 13-2 does not have any of the problems experienced over the last 2 to 3 weeks.

On 13-1, I had a couple of freezes and the sound volume is sort of low.

Good work.

Our second FedEx did not bring the replacement HD board from Harris. Another call produced information that our card had NOT been shipped and was sitting there. Was a steamed? YOU BET!! I wrote one of the meanest emails to our rep I've ever written to a vendor. And I'm not done. I asked for him to forward it to the President of Harris Broadcast (Tim S.) He formerly ran Leitch before Harris bought that company. I know he'll be interested. Everyone in their tech support knew we were in a world of hurt and promised it for the next morning. They dropped the ball BIG TIME. In any event, they have now promised it for Saturday morning delivery. Our Chief (Bob) will be in on Saturday to install it.

To respond to other questions: PBS World 13.2 has incomplete PSIP information due, in part, to the same technical issues. Bob notified the FCC that we were not in compliance and are working on resolving the question. The folks at the FCC are generally good people. They know we are working on it and having a second channel isn't a requirement (though PSIP is) and will give the full schedule as soon as the Trevini speaks with the World server and can upload the data through the NetVX. Fortunately the link for KERA 13.1 hasn't been broken in terms of the PSIP (PSIP = program guide data)

As for the person who asked if we were going to restore 13.3 PBS Create. Don't know what you're talking about. We've never had Create or 13.3 launched (though we briefly had a black screen for 13.3 before the Motorola started fading. PBS offers many choices. Programming falls through that group in our station (Bill, Sylvia, and a bunch of fine people who stretch donations as far as humanly possible). There has been talk about launching 13.3. It will be a standard def channel, but this will push us to StatMux (float bits as needed). Right now the new NetVX is set-up to give KERA HD 13.1 12.5 Mbps of bandwidth. This produces a phenomenal HD picture. World will get about 4.5 Mbps. We do encode auxiliary data (some tuners see this as a black screen on 13.7 and/or 13.8), but this is data fills in guide information about other stations. I'm still learning about this service which takes something like 200 kbps of bandwidth. The PSIP info also uses some bandwidth. Overall (as most of you know), broadcasters have a total of 19.3 Mbps.

As always, thank you for watching KERA TV 13.1, KERA World 13.2 (or asking your cable company or satellite provider to give you KERA World), and KERA FM (and soon... KXT 91.7 FM on 11/9/09 at 7am).

Dan

thx dan

oh that was me askin about 13.3 create and 13.4.
do you know any new tv sub channels comming soon?? and how many kera sub channels are comming???

As of 3:45 pm, KERA is at normal volume level. with 80% and holding.

As of 3:45 pm, KERA is at normal volume level. with 80% and holding.
Typically KERA's audio has been quite a bit louder than the other stations. Can be annoying when changing from KDFW 4 to KERA 13 and you have to quickly adjust the Volume down several notches to compensate.

Just now observing KERA's signal strength on my Sony TV, and it's actually solid here for a change, not the constant cycling up-down from 71-76 down to 27-30 and back every couple of seconds. Hopefully it will stay constant like it is now.

Do the data channels at 14.8 or 14.9 carry the UpdateTV data? I've seen the UpdateTV system work once on my Sony TV.

We get KERA HD via DirecTV and as of Friday morning we were still having intermittent black-outs (sound and picture). Is the fix still coming or is it our set-up. We're too far away (Lake Creek) for OTA, but until the last few weeks (a month now?) didn't have any problems with KERA HD ... After DirecTV finally deigned to add it.

EDIT: Looks as if I was writing/posting at the same time the above message from KERAtech was coming up. Hopefully things are now fixed for all.

KERAtech, you mentioned that the new encoder can pass a 5.1 AC-3 signal. Right now, KERA is still showing up as 2.0. Any plans to flip the switch to 5.1?

Finally, the government is considering regulations to force broadcasters to control the wild variations of TV sound.

Dan

Must be a hot topic of discussion. I see there is a seminar coming up in a few weeks to address this audio level problem, and lawyers are involved!

2009 ATSC Seminar on Audio Loudness
Date: Wednesday November 4, 2009
Time: 9 AM to 4 PM
Location: Law Offices of Wiley Rein
1776 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006

...

A questions about the 13.2 "World" program guide came up on a direct email to me. The link between the PBS meta-data and our Trevini Guide Builder (PSIP system) which generates the program guide is still broken. We're working with Trevini, along with the company which makes our log generating system, and PBS to fix this problem. As an FYI, program guide information is now required (more than just saying "PBS World"). Having additional channels are not required.

...
Dan

You folks may also want to look at the clock in the PSIP info. It has been about 2 minutes fast and running faster. At one point it was about 16 minutes fast and then got resetted. As of 11am, it is 6 minutes fast.

Regarding the virtual channel numbers, I wish they would quit using the old channel numbers and start using the new ones.

As an example, before the transition date of 6/12/09, for CBS 11, they had analog on VHF11 and digital on UHF18. After 6/12 they got rid the analog and switched the digital on VHF11. Well it didn't worked too well and they scrambled to move back to UHF18. But they are still broadcasting the digital on VHF11.

As a result, one of my converters found and list 2 instances of 11-1. Another list it as 70-1 but will tune to it when 11 is entered on the remote although I have no idea I am getting VHF11 or UHF18.

It would be a whole lot less confusing if every station start using the currently assigned real RF channel numbers.

You folks may also want to look at the clock in the PSIP info. It has been about 2 minutes fast and running faster. At one point it was about 16 minutes fast and then got resetted. As of 11am, it is 6 minutes fast.

Regarding the virtual channel numbers, I wish they would quit using the old channel numbers and start using the new ones.

As an example, before the transition date of 6/12/09, for CBS 11, they had analog on VHF11 and digital on UHF18. After 6/12 they got rid the analog and switched the digital on VHF11. Well it didn't worked too well and they scrambled to move back to UHF18. But they are still broadcasting the digital on VHF11.

As a result, one of my converters found and list 2 instances of 11-1. Another list it as 70-1 but will tune to it when 11 is entered on the remote although I have no idea I am getting VHF11 or UHF18.

It would be a whole lot less confusing if every station start using the currently assigned real RF channel numbers.I called up CBS 11 and they said that to just "delete" RF 11 or 18 from the list.

....
A questions about the 13.2 "World" program guide came up on a direct email to me. The link between the PBS meta-data and our Trevini Guide Builder (PSIP system) which generates the program guide is still broken. We're working with Trevini, along with the company which makes our log generating system, and PBS to fix this problem. As an FYI, program guide information is now required (more than just saying "PBS World"). Having additional channels are not required. Our choice was to simply shut down 13.2 "World" until the link is fixed or notify the FCC of the problem and continue to run "World". I opted to notify the FCC and keep "World" on the air. We expect the program guide info for World to be fully functional this week.
....
Dan

Dan - On the topic of guide data, can you shed any light on if the guide data for 13.2 "World" is or will be included in the local TVGOS data streams?

BTW, thanks for all the great info on what's been going on over there at KERA, we greatly appreciate it.

FTWMike

...
we found the easiest way to resolve this was to disconnect your antenna and perform a new channel scan. In essence, you're telling your converter or TV that is can see no channels. Afterwards, connect your antenna and scan again.
...



A double rescan is a good idea and I do it most of the time but it does not really solve the problem. The issue of how they handle the issue of old and new channel numbers is software/firmware related and every HDTV/converter does it differently.

As for branding, some stations have already started doing it even before the transition. FOX has mostly stopped using the "4" label while CBS11/TXA21 have a long way to go. A year or so from now most people will not remember the old channel numbers.

Personally, I wouldn't mind it one bit if they did away with all the VHF stuff and went totally UHF. It would sure make things easier for the end user consumer to have a small amplified antenna to pick everything up instead of having to mount a monster VHF antenna just to get one or two stations.

I'm 52 miles LOS from Cedar Hill and can get everything but WFAA using a small indoor antenna.

BTW, thanks KERAtech for the insight into the workings at the best PBS station in the country. Back in the late 60's, when I was about 15, I worked at a very small upstart station in Northern IL called WLXT-TV, Ch. 60, and it was one of the very best experiences of my life. I love hearing your insights.

As for branding, some stations have already started doing it even before the transition. FOX has mostly stopped using the "4" label

I'm not in the area, but every screencap I've ever seen or been sent says "Fox 4." The website refers to the stations as "Fox 4" in multiple places. Two of the three screencaps on SiliconDust right now have a "Fox 4" bug in the corner.

http://img.lineupui.silicondust.com/snapshots/52/snapshot_14899052.jpg
http://img.lineupui.silicondust.com/snapshots/83/snapshot_14890983.jpg

Are they still using the logo but calling it something else in audio?

- Trip

I'm not in the area, but every screencap I've ever seen or been sent says "Fox 4."

Are they still using the logo but calling it something else in audio?

- Trip Yes they still say "Fox 4" when they refer to or identify the station. Haven't heard any reference to "Fox 35", or "Fox 596-602 mHz"!

Mike, I'll see if I can find any info on TVGOS inclusion for you. Dan

KTVT CBS has the TV Guide and KERA PBS has the TV update.
JStigler

KTVT CBS has the TV Guide and KERA PBS has the TV update.
JStigler

What I'm looking to know is when the 13.2 (KERA World) program data will be in the TVGOS data stream that KTVT sends out for all local channels. I've tried multiple times to locate it and so far have concluded it's not yet included.

I live/record by my TVGOS data and if a channel doesn't have their programming info in it I'll likely not watch any of that channels programming, except when I'm surfing and I've surfed into a lot of interesting stuff on 13.2 and would watch even more if I knew what was and is going to be on air.

I'm painfully aware that KTVT is carrying the TVGOS data stream these days and thanks to their current dual channel setup my TVGOS device locks in on the RF11 signal most of the time and I have weak reception issues with the RF11 signal, therefore my TVGOS data isn't as reliable as it would be if it were locked into the RF19 feed. I'll be so glad when they pull the RF11 feed.

Mike

Just a heads up that we at KERA are bringing in a transmitter engineer to do some preventative maintenance and alignments this Wed, Thurs & Fri (10/7, 10/8, and 10/9).
Also we are trying to get a demo on a new exciter (the first stage of the transmitter... in fact, it's actually THE transmitter and the rest is just a big amplifier - in simple terms) to see how it may work with our transmitter.

This may produce very short periods of reception problems between 8am and 5pm.

Dan

I'm not in the DFW as the location under my avatar indicates, but out of sheer technical interest is this demo you are seeking the latest ADC-Axcera exciter you mentioned earlier in post #5332?

...So we're looking at whether an Apex (Harris), Richland, or other exciter might work in our transmitter. We're going to give ADC (now under the Axcera name) another try with theirs and are hoping they'll drop one of their new ones in, but I can't say I'm very hopeful. I have heard reports that the new Axcera exciter resolves the plethora of problems (gremlins) in the ADC exciters.

Just a heads up that we at KERA are bringing in a transmitter engineer to do some preventative maintenance and alignments this Wed, Thurs & Fri (10/7, 10/8, and 10/9).
Also we are trying to get a demo on a new exciter (the first stage of the transmitter... in fact, it's actually THE transmitter and the rest is just a big

Dan --

Will any of this entail collaboration with the folks at KTVT or is their RF-19 facility unaffected by KERA's work? Just being nebby about what yinz is doing. :-)

A double rescan is a good idea and I do it most of the time but it does not really solve the problem. The issue of how they handle the issue of old and new channel numbers is software/firmware related and every HDTV/converter does it differently.

As for branding, some stations have already started doing it even before the transition. FOX has mostly stopped using the "4" label while CBS11/TXA21 have a long way to go. A year or so from now most people will not remember the old channel numbers.

I can promise you that Fox 4 continues to use the name Fox 4 on pretty much everything they do.

Virtual channels should have never been allowed to happen, it is just confusing & most people could care less what number the channel is. Stations should brand their call letters or use content ideas instead of the number anyway.

KERAtech, should KERA be broadcasting in 5.1, now? You said shows that are encoded in 5.1 will be broadcast that way. So far everything I’ve watched has been stereo. I have a hard time believing that NOVA and Nature are only mixed in 2.0 stereo...

KERAtech, should KERA be broadcasting in 5.1, now? You said shows that are encoded in 5.1 will be broadcast that way. So far everything I’ve watched has been stereo. I have a hard time believing that NOVA and Nature are only mixed in 2.0 stereo...

Been following this thread and in particular KERAtech's posts for a while now, even though I'm not in the DFW area, because it's still intresting stuff for techogeeks like me. :) But what KERAtech actually stated earlier is that their new Harris NetVX encoder has the capability of passing 5.1 audio through to the ATSC encoded sub-channel(s) from the original PBS source material if available.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17261028#post17261028

However, they have not yet verified if the rest of their signal chain on through the following "air chain" (his words), which I assume means their exciter/transmitter system, can properly support it which will require further testing and evaluation.

See the concluding part of KERAtech's post here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17295913#post17295913

I've missed much of this KERA discussion so coming in a bit late. I DVR'd the National Parks series off 13-1 and we just started watching it last night. I came here to see if the dropout issue was just me. Obviously it wasn't. Was there also a resolution issue and will the new equipment/encoder fix it?

I think my Tivo HD stores programs uncompressed, but the video from the program was pretty low quality: like worse than upscaled SD DVD. Some of the B&W photos, even when there was motion caused by panning/zooming across the photo, were pretty sharp. The interview segments were acceptable as well. But much of the landscape video, even when it was a vista that was basically a fixed image with little or no motion, was very lacking in detail. I was expecting to be awed by the scenery and photography but was kinda disappointed. I'm trying to decide if I should go pick up the BluRay set or wait until the show is re-aired. I can't imagine that the source video would have been that low quality.

I caught the tail end of the Hubble Nova the other night and remember thinking that the images looked great. I've also watched recently stored HD content from the DVR with no quality issues. I'm guessing the National Parks issues were with the specific broadcasts/times.

Just purchased a Antennas Direct DB4 HDTV antenna. Hopefully it will work well at our new house in Lake Highlands.

Lack of space is a pretty weak excuse considering that both Verizon and TWC have a QAM channel dedicated to KERA and WFAA. Verizon doesn't carry 8.2, and neither carry 8.3 or 13.2, meaning Verizon has ~13Mb/s wasted on nullpackets, and TWC has about 11. Not sure about Charter, but they're bankrupt and have no customers left, so who cares ;).

KERAtech, is there a reason you don't use statmuxing between 13.1 and 13.2 now? I'm seeing a header bitrate of 12.132Mb/s on 13.1, and it's capping out around there too. Seems like allowing it to go up to 15 or 16 would give even better PQ on high motion scenes while not impacting 13.2 very much. Also, am I missing something or does 13.1 have 3 identical audio tracks? All are showing as 2.0/192k/English, and a quick listen gives the same audio on all 3.

Just purchased a Antennas Direct DB4 HDTV. Hopefully it will work well at our new house in Lake Highlands.

That is a UHF antenna. You may have problems with Channel 8 and 52 which are on VHF 8 and 9.

Just purchased a Antennas Direct DB4 HDTV. Hopefully it will work well at our new house in Lake Highlands.
Bad choice since it has basically no ability to receive VHF, meaning WFAA and KFWD will be difficult to pick up. For the same price, the Winegard HD7694P is a far better choice.

Bad choice since it has basically no ability to receive VHF, meaning WFAA and KFWD will be difficult to pick up. For the same price, the Winegard HD7694P is a far better choice.

Interesting! Although the 25 mile UHF is right on the edge of what I need.

Bad choice since it has basically no ability to receive VHF, meaning WFAA and KFWD will be difficult to pick up. For the same price, the Winegard HD7694P is a far better choice.

A couple of months ago I tried that same Winegard model in place of an older and weathered RadioShack VU-110XR (in the 1997 catalog) and the Winegard didn't come close to the signal of the old RS antenna. It was a significant difference. So I put the RS antenna back up and sold the Winegard.

Interesting! Although the 25 mile UHF is right on the edge of what I need.

If for some reason you have the wrong antenna or need help, let us know how we can help.

Scott Kolbe
Marketing for Antennas Direct.

Interesting! Although the 25 mile UHF is right on the edge of what I need.
The rating is fairly conservative, unlike most manufacturers who tend to overstate the capabilities of the antenna (like the supposed 55 mile range on the DB4). Same with the DB4's "13.7dB" gain figure, maybe on channel 65, but not even close on the lower channels, especially below 30 (KTXA, KTVT, KERA).

For anything inside 30 miles with good line of sight, I'd go with the 7694P. Beyond that, same family, but a larger model like the 7697 or 7698.
A couple of months ago I tried that same Winegard model in place of an older and weathered RadioShack VU-110XR (in the 1997 catalog) and the Winegard didn't come close to the signal of the old RS antenna. It was a significant difference. So I put the RS antenna back up and sold the Winegard.
And it would probably outperform the DB4 too, at least judging from the posts around the web. Not a lot of published details beyond the manufacturer specs since it was discontinued so long ago.

The rating is fairly conservative, unlike most manufacturers who tend to overstate the capabilities of the antenna (like the supposed 55 mile range on the DB4). Same with the DB4's "13.7dB" gain figure, maybe on channel 65, but not even close on the lower channels, especially below 30 (KTXA, KTVT, KERA).

For anything inside 30 miles with good line of sight, I'd go with the 7694P. Beyond that, same family, but a larger model like the 7697 or 7698.

And it would probably outperform the DB4 too, at least judging from the posts around the web. Not a lot of published details beyond the manufacturer specs since it was discontinued so long ago.I would recommend the RadioShack VU-190XR. That outperforms anything. The VHF goes up to 190 and the UHF goes to 100 miles! I actually pull in Wichita Falls stations! Which are about 70 miles away. I would probably think that for the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, you would pull in Tyler or Waco!

Speaking of marketing BS, those numbers. The max you're going to get with line of sight is around 85 miles, and maybe throw in a bit more for curving around the horizon with VHF. Anything beyond that is atmospheric propagation, which is highly unreliable. Besides, Crap Shack doesn't even appear to sell their own brand of antennas anymore; their website only has Antennacraft now.

Just a quick note that the data is now coming in from our PBS satellite and properly populating the PSIP program guide. Thanks again for your patience.


A few comments:

First of all I was surprised to see that the new encoder has resolved my problems receiving KERA which had been unusable off and on since early August. I had assumed that it was a local source of interference and not defective equipment on the transmit side.

I noticed the schedule data on 13.2 last night but I also noticed something else strange. On a couple of occasions when I checked shortly before the top of the hour there was no schedule data at all for KERA. A few minutes later it reappeared. Not enough samples to detect a trend but it was odd.

The time was still messed up and about 15 minutes fast. I find this to be incredible. Even if you can't sync it up with WWV, GPS, or internet time servers you could at least have someone check it periodically and reset it by hand.

Speaking of marketing BS, those numbers. The max you're going to get with line of sight is around 85 miles, and maybe throw in a bit more for curving around the horizon with VHF. Anything beyond that is atmospheric propagation, which is highly unreliable. Besides, Crap Shack doesn't even appear to sell their own brand of antennas anymore; their website only has Antennacraft now.

FWIW, AntennaCraft is owned by Tandy Electronics....Which is owned by Tandy Corp ..... Which also owns Rat Shack!

FWIW, KHPK is now simulcasting KJJM-LD. Not 3.1, KHPK 28.

Just a quick note that the data is now coming in from our PBS satellite and properly populating the PSIP program guide. Thanks again for your patience.

On a side note: Ham radio guys frequently DX TV including ATSC to hundred of miles. Anyone that says they know exactly what an RF signal will do likely does NOT. An old engineer told me many years ago that it's nothing short of magic and will do whatever it wants. I found that to be pretty true. So many physical things affect RF and TV signals. In Ohio when the leaves fall from trees, reception improves greatly. Fog can carry a signal from hundred of miles blocking a signal within 20. It's actually kind of fun to see what happens. "That's the magic of radio, baby." (Cleveland jock used to say)

I agree... somewhere I have a picture of our TV screen showing the ID screen for K I I I - TV in Corpus Christi, Texas that I took back in the mid 60's sometime. We were living in Aurora, Illinois (35 miles due west of Chicago) at the time!! It was a bit snowy, but very watchable for the 10 minutes or so that I had it on (they were playing The Flintstones).

I also had the occasion to experience "ducting" once back in 1989. I was living in my current location (40 miles north of Fort Worth, Texas) talking on 2m simplex using an old HT when I had a QSO with a guy in Michigan for about 3 minutes.

Just FYI.. MGM's "THIS-TV" http://www.this.tv/ will be coming to WFAA "very soon". Was supposed to start this morning at 12:00AM but due to technical problems it will be delayed a few days.

Just a quick note that the data is now coming in from our PBS satellite and properly populating the PSIP program guide. Thanks again for your patience.




Right now at 10:40 PM the PSIP info for both 13.1 and 13.2 are incorrect.

KERATech: Could you get KERA-DT2 to show a legal ID before the FCC finds out?

KERATech: When 13-2 debuted I could gather programming information via my PVR software SageTV. SageTV uses zap2it listings & can also pull EPG data directly from the OTA streams. Within a week or so, that information disappeared & now I get "no data." Did these technical problems cause the loss of this information? Any idea when it will return?

I see now that Ch 13's clock is 30 min fast. Which probably explains why the program titles are wrong.

We're getting closer to wrapping up the situation with co-owned KTVT/11 and KTXA/21. Applications were filed for KTVT to operate solely on RF-19 and for KTXA to build the facility on RF-29.

Here are links to both applications (FCC Form 301):

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101339155&formid=301&fac_num=23422
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101338960&formid=301&fac_num=51517

"This-TV" is on the air on channel 8.3 !

"This-TV" is on the air on channel 8.3 !


Oh my! How will I *EVER* be able to drive home tonight from work without the traffic maps on subchannel 3? :-)

Those of us interested in over-the-air viewing will want to check out this article:

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/10/21/daily.4/

Note that there's a Dallas tie-in when you read the entire thing. The executive summary is this snippet from that URL:

``FCC broadband czar Blair Levin earlier this month met with leading TV broadcasters in Washington to discuss the nation's urgent need for more spectrum for wireless broadband access to the Internet and the possibility of broadcasters' relinquishing most of their spectrum to help meet that demand.
[...]
Broadcasting would retain just enough spectrum so that each station could provide a lifeline standard-definition service to the millions of TV viewers who still rely on over-the-air reception.''

..."Broadcasting would retain just enough spectrum so that each station could provide a lifeline standard-definition service to the millions of TV viewers who still rely on over-the-air reception.'' So if this comes to pass, only those who subscribe to satellite or cable will have the privilege of getting HDTV and to heck with the 20 million or so OTA viewers? :mad:

Hoping some local folks can help me out. My wife and I just purchased our first home in Lake Highlands "L Streets". Looking around I see that the majority of the houses have satellite dishes. The house that we bought isn't wired for cable tv. Does anyone know where the cable source comes from, i.e. underground, overhead? I'm interested in having cable tv brought into the house because I really don't like satellite. Who would I call for this installation, i.e. TWC?

Hoping some local folks can help me out. My wife and I just purchased our first home in Lake Highlands "L Streets". Looking around I see that the majority of the houses have satellite dishes. The house that we bought isn't wired for cable tv. Does anyone know where the cable source comes from, i.e. underground, overhead? I'm interested in having cable tv brought into the house because I really don't like satellite. Who would I call for this installation, i.e. TWC?

Some parts of Lake Highlands were built in 1954 so I doubt they have buried cable, most likely overhead cable strung between the utility poles. If you see poles that's probably how it's done. As I recall it's Time Warner in Dallas.

I grew up in Lake Highlands on Longmont Dr., parents and I moved there in '54 when I was 3. You probably don't want to know what a house cost in that neighborhood then!

Time Warner.

Sadly, there's little to no FiOS inside LBJ, so you're stuck with TWC if you want cable. I'd go with DirecTV if I was in your situation, unless you have a compelling reason not to like already owning a couple Tivo HDs.

Well TWC HD channel are free and it’s not compressed to all hell.

That depends on your definition of to all hell. TWC packs 3 HD per QAM using MPEG2, average bitrate around 12Mb/s, peaks around 15. Verizon does 2/QAM, passing MPEG2-fed channels with no recompression and MPEG4-fed channels compressed to MPEG2 VBR up to 18Mb/s. DirecTV does MPEG4 at around 7-8Mb/s each with peaks around 10. Overall quality, Verizon #1, DirecTV a close second, TWC a ways back in third. If you want to throw AT&T's U-verse into the mix for those in the couple AT&T pockets on this side of the market, they're a distant last in HD quality.

As for free HD, that doesn't mean much if you still end up paying the same amount anyway. Compare the prices for 1 HD DVR + 2 digital SD boxes, fairly common setup. DirecTV, $60/mo for the first year, $86/mo after that. TWC, $76/mo. Over the 2 year commitment to D*, you pay $72 less than you would for TWC. Naturally this all changes depending on what you bundle, what you can convince the sales rep to throw in for free, etc., but it's a good example.

Hoping some local folks can help me out. My wife and I just purchased our first home in Lake Highlands "L Streets". Looking around I see that the majority of the houses have satellite dishes... Also, the presence of all those satellite dishes may well be a testimomy to your neighbors experience with cable.

That depends on your definition of to all hell. TWC packs 3 HD per QAM using MPEG2, average bitrate around 12Mb/s, peaks around 15. Verizon does 2/QAM, passing MPEG2-fed channels with no recompression and MPEG4-fed channels compressed to MPEG2 VBR up to 18Mb/s. DirecTV does MPEG4 at around 7-8Mb/s each with peaks around 10. Overall quality, Verizon #1, DirecTV a close second, TWC a ways back in third. If you want to throw AT&T's U-verse into the mix for those in the couple AT&T pockets on this side of the market, they're a distant last in HD quality.


Where would you say Dish falls into the spectrum? Roughly the same as Direct?

Thanks!
Randy

Hi all,
I live in Allen which is ~41 miles from the towers. Last fall I installed a Channel Master 3020 antenna in my attic. I was getting good reception on all channels until the DTV transition. Now, I have a problem with channel 8 (WFAA). All others have decent signal strength (4-5 bars out of 10). On a good day, I might get 2 bars for channel 8, but often I barely get anything. What can I try? Is there any hope that a pre-amp that focuses on VHF will help (like the Winegard AP-8800)? Thanks!

Some parts of Lake Highlands were built in 1954 so I doubt they have buried cable, most likely overhead cable strung between the utility poles. If you see poles that's probably how it's done. As I recall it's Time Warner in Dallas.

I grew up in Lake Highlands on Longmont Dr., parents and I moved there in '54 when I was 3. You probably don't want to know what a house cost in that neighborhood then!

The house we bought is on Longmont. :p You're right I probably don't want to know.

Where would you say Dish falls into the spectrum? Roughly the same as Direct?

Thanks!
Randy
Dish Network uses MPEG4, but with much lower bitrates than DirecTV. Probably a bit behind TWC.

Hi all,
I live in Allen which is ~41 miles from the towers. Last fall I installed a Channel Master 3020 antenna in my attic. I was getting good reception on all channels until the DTV transition. Now, I have a problem with channel 8 (WFAA). All others have decent signal strength (4-5 bars out of 10). On a good day, I might get 2 bars for channel 8, but often I barely get anything. What can I try? Is there any hope that a pre-amp that focuses on VHF will help (like the Winegard AP-8800)? Thanks!
First, try rotating or moving the antenna if possible. It's large enough that you should have enough gain on all channels without an amplifier, assuming you don't have too many splits or excessively long cable runs. You could simply be in a bad spot for multipath on 8, and a few feet might make things a lot better.

If repositioning doesn't help, I'd go with the Winegard HDP269, with 12dB gain across the entire TV band. If you find that isn't enough, move up to the big gun, a Channel Master CM7777.

Dish Network uses MPEG4, but with much lower bitrates than DirecTV. Probably a bit behind TWC.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully FIOS will make it to my area before too terribly long..........

Randy

Thansk. Ya, it's only split to 2 TVs with as short a cable as possible and currently using a Channel master 3412 powered splitter that I added to see if it would help. Supposedly it has 11dB gain, but it seemed to only improve the other channels (not 8) by 1 bar or so.

I'll try repositioning the antenna tonight.

First, try rotating or moving the antenna if possible. It's large enough that you should have enough gain on all channels without an amplifier, assuming you don't have too many splits or excessively long cable runs. You could simply be in a bad spot for multipath on 8, and a few feet might make things a lot better.

If repositioning doesn't help, I'd go with the Winegard HDP269, with 12dB gain across the entire TV band. If you find that isn't enough, move up to the big gun, a Channel Master CM7777.

Hi all,
I live in Allen which is ~41 miles from the towers. Last fall I installed a Channel Master 3020 antenna in my attic. I was getting good reception on all channels until the DTV transition. Now, I have a problem with channel 8 (WFAA). All others have decent signal strength (4-5 bars out of 10). On a good day, I might get 2 bars for channel 8, but often I barely get anything.


By way of comparison, how do the other stations using VHF come in? In particular, how many bars from KFWD/52 which transmits on channel 9 with 13 kW?

With that good sized antenna, you ought to even be pulling in 300-watter KHPK reasonably well. And I'm surprised that those with a decent signal aren't doing 10 bars out of 10, modulo obstructions and topographical factors.

In closing, I strongly urge all readers of this august forum to download the antenna installation manual available at this URL:

http://www.antennasdirect.com/pdf/generic_instructions.pdf

The advice provided is without parallel and the final three lines of that document are...well...priceless.

Can anyone tell me how many HD channels I can watch/record at the same time with DirecTV HD DVR? I'm really leaning towards DirecTV. According to AT&T I can get DirecTV Plus HD DVR for $49.99/month (12 months) and $65.99 (after 12 months). I just have to add $99 for a HD standard receiver in master bedroom.

Can anyone tell me how many HD channels I can watch/record at the same time with DirecTV HD DVR? I'm really leaning towards DirecTV. According to AT&T I can get DirecTV Plus HD DVR for $49.99/month (12 months) and $65.99 (after 12 months). I just have to add $99 for a HD standard receiver in master bedroom.

With a dual-tuner Directv box you get .... channels at once. Fill in the blank.

With a dual-tuner Directv box you get .... channels at once. Fill in the blank.

If I would have known it was a dual-tuner then I wouldn't have asked the question. Thanks for the information.

If I would have known it was a dual-tuner then I wouldn't have asked the question. Thanks for the information.

Did you look up the receiver specs and features?

https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/equipment/hd_dvr_receiver

So if this [spectrum reallocation] comes to pass, only those who subscribe to satellite or cable will have the privilege of getting HDTV and to heck with the 20 million or so OTA viewers?


The Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA) backs the idea of television broadcasters yielding spectrum space using this rationale:

``Broadcast television, by contrast, is almost completely provided to U.S. consumer through wired technologies," it said. If the public interest in providing over-the-air television to the fraction of U.S. households without cable or satellite television has not already been overtaken by technological changes, it is rapidly becoming so.''

The full report can be found here:

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/10/30/daily.11/

The Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA) backs the idea of television broadcasters yielding spectrum space using this rationale:

``Broadcast television, by contrast, is almost completely provided to U.S. consumer through wired technologies," it said. If the public interest in providing over-the-air television to the fraction of U.S. households without cable or satellite television has not already been overtaken by technological changes, it is rapidly becoming so.''

The full report can be found here:

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/10/30/daily.11/

Cellular telephones PCS, 3G, 4G have all moved to 1.7 to 2.6 gHz away from the lower UHF frequencies, which allows them to have good coverage and tiny phones with very compact antennas. Their ratonale makes zero sense to me.

Hoping some local folks can help me out. My wife and I just purchased our first home in Lake Highlands "L Streets". Looking around I see that the majority of the houses have satellite dishes. The house that we bought isn't wired for cable tv. Does anyone know where the cable source comes from, i.e. underground, overhead? I'm interested in having cable tv brought into the house because I really don't like satellite. Who would I call for this installation, i.e. TWC?
Welcome to the neighborhood. I also live in the L-Streets area. As for TV you have TWC or AT&T U-verse. Both are in the area and available.

Hey Everyone:

I just moved to Weatherford and I'm not really sure what is available in this city with respect to HDTV services or internet.

I know there's DirecTV, AT&T and some cable service.

Can some of the Weatherford Native's tell me what's the best way to go for HD Video and Internet? Thanks!

(The hotel I'm staying at has DirecTV and AT&T for internet, but I don't know of any other options)

Thanks!

Hey Everyone:

I just moved to Weatherford and I'm not really sure what is available in this city with respect to HDTV services or internet.

I know there's DirecTV, AT&T and some cable service.

Can some of the Weatherford Native's tell me what's the best way to go for HD Video and Internet? Thanks!

(The hotel I'm staying at has DirecTV and AT&T for internet, but I don't know of any other options)

Thanks!Even though I'm a Decatur native, most rural areas will not have cable services. But Decatur does have a cable service that you might be interested in. It is called, Communicomm Services. But the only place that the service is available in, is Springtown. But there are alternatives. Satellite is your best choice. Dish Network has an internet service with satellite. PM me if you have questions. But other than that OTA is your way to go for HD. And that's the other alternatives.

Even though I'm a Decatur native, most rural areas will not have cable services. But Decatur does have a cable service that you might be interested in. It is called, Communicomm Services. But the only place that the service is available in, is Springtown. But there are alternatives. Satellite is your best choice. Dish Network has an internet service with satellite. PM me if you have questions. But other than that OTA is your way to go for HD. And that's the other alternatives.


weatherford is not rural and the do have cable tv it is charter communications.

Having a tough time deciding between Uverse, DirecTV, or Time Warner. :confused:

Hello all, will be purchasing a home in the Stewart Penninsula area of The Colony in December, and I am looking for recommendations for an outdoor HDTV antenna (and preamp if necessary).

Thanks in advance.

Hello all, will be purchasing a home in the Stewart Penninsula area of The Colony in December, and I am looking for recommendations for an outdoor HDTV antenna (and preamp if necessary).


At the risk of being blasphemous, I'm going to recommend something other than the generally-favored brands such as Winegard or Channel Master. At my location in Frisco, the GE TV24767 with a Channel Master Titan preamp (CM-7777) is working remarkably well. That antenna is available at Home Depot so it's easy to return if it doesn't work well for you.

Although branded with a General Electric logo, it's actually distributed by Jasco Products of Oklahoma City. Unfortunately, since the GE TV24767 is just a generic 36-element rig, there are no gain figures or front-to-back ratios published that I could find. In short, it appears to be a clone of other 36-element units. The boom length is 110 inches with the rearmost low-VHF element measuring 108 inches. It's has a bowtie UHF element with 10 directors and a large corner reflector along with a VHF/UHF isolation network.

That aside, with that combo of the GE TV24767 and CM-7777 in the attic of my 1-story home located 42 miles from the D/FW antenna farm, everything at full power from Cedar Hill comes in well at at least 87%. Even the 300-watter on channel 3 (KHPK) is received. Likewise, I get KXII/12 from Sherman-Denison off the backend of the antenna.

There's very little on the web about the antenna that I've been able to find but I've been surprised at how well it worked at my location. I originally tried the smaller 25-element GE TV24765 which worked reasonably well but opted to return it for its larger sibling at Home Depot.

In the interest providing as much detail as I can, here are the signal readings (0-100) scale on a Toshiba ATSC/NTSC tuner with that GE and CM preamp:

KHPK/3 42
KDFW/4 97
KXAS/5 97
WFAA/8 94
KTVT/11 97 (RF-11)
KTVT/11 97 (RF-19)
KXII/12 50
KERA/13 77
KTXA/21 97
KUVN/23 97
KDFI/27 97
KMPX/29 97
K31GL/31 62
KDAF/33 97
KJJM/34 82
KVFW/38 72
KXTX/39 90
KTAQ/47 92
KSTR/49 91
KATA/50 77
KFWD/52 92
KLDT/54 75
KDTX/58 97
KPFW/61 97
KPXD/68 87

I'm sure that GE antenna is perfectly acceptable, though I see little benefit to adding the weight and wind load for low VHF elements to pick up channel 3 when it carries nothing but infomercials. I'd go with the Winegard HD7696P.

I do not think the neighborhood HOA will allow big outdoor antennas mounted to the roof. Am I better off installing the GE TV24767 or Winegard HD7696P in my attic, or going with something less noticible like the Terk HD-TVS Slim-Profile antenna attached to the roof?

EDIT: Had a link for the Terk antenna, but I cannot post a link because I have not created enough posts.

Thanks for the replies. I'm new at this and your feedback is helpful.

I do not think the neighborhood HOA will allow big outdoor antennas mounted to the roof.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

- Trip

Even though I'm a Decatur native, most rural areas will not have cable services. But Decatur does have a cable service that you might be interested in. It is called, Communicomm Services. But the only place that the service is available in, is Springtown. But there are alternatives. Satellite is your best choice. Dish Network has an internet service with satellite. PM me if you have questions. But other than that OTA is your way to go for HD. And that's the other alternatives.

My mom has Charter but doesn't have any HD capable TV's. It seems that the people I know who have HD displays go with DirecTV and for internet, use either Charter or AT&T.

Some have said that AT&T does offer Video cable programming here. I have not checked into Charter's HD programming yet.

I'm open to Dish network and DirecTV. I've had DirecTV before but know nothing about Dish's picture quality or programs but will check into that.

Thanks! Jimmy

I'm sure that GE antenna is perfectly acceptable, though I see little benefit to adding the weight and wind load for low VHF elements to pick up channel 3 when it carries nothing but infomercials. I'd go with the Winegard HD7696P.

#include "sarc.h"
But the infomercials on channel 3 are *SO* very educational. My television viewing experience would suffer greatly without seeing that AMAZING Swivel Sweeper.

Am I better off installing the GE TV24767 or Winegard HD7696P in my attic, or going with something less noticible like the Terk HD-TVS Slim-Profile antenna attached to the roof?

EDIT: Had a link for the Terk antenna, but I cannot post a link because I have not created enough posts.

Thanks for the replies. I'm new at this and your feedback is helpful.

Just by virtue of my location (as shown in the URL below), I've been very lucky with two very different attic mounted antennas:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d8adf75cb5f1056

In addition to the big 36-element GE, I also have the much smaller Terk HDTVo located up there. The Terk misses a few of the infomercial-laden LPTVs but it does get all of the full-power facilities well including the VHFs (WFAA on RF-8, KTVT on RF-11 and KFWD on RF-9).

If your TV Fool plots are similarly favorable, maybe try an attic location first. It just might be good enough presuming your roofing and insulation material doesn't attenuate.

My advice (and since it's sine pecunia -- take it at that) would be to head down to Home Depot on SH-121 and grab the much smaller GE TV24765 25-element rig. Plop it up in the attic, aim it at Cedar Hill and see how it works, adjusting height and azimuth. If it does the job, end of story. If not, it can be readily returned for full credit and then explore those options recommended by others.

That lighter 25-element GE was perfectly acceptable for reception of all of the mainstream stations at my home. But, being an unrepentant tweaker, I wanted to get more performance even if most of the additional channels the bigger 36-element caught aren't worth watching. :-)

I do not think the neighborhood HOA will allow big outdoor antennas mounted to the roof. Am I better off installing the GE TV24767 or Winegard HD7696P in my attic, or going with something less noticible like the Terk HD-TVS Slim-Profile antenna attached to the roof?

EDIT: Had a link for the Terk antenna, but I cannot post a link because I have not created enough posts.

Thanks for the replies. I'm new at this and your feedback is helpful.
As Trip's link states, the HOA can pound sand as long as you own the roof (not community property as in a townhouse). The HOA is only allowed a small number of restrictions, mainly in the name of safety (no antennas that can fall on power lines) and on historical structures, which I don't think would apply in an exurb like The Colony. Print out a copy of the OTARD rules, take it to them, and show them that the provisions they have regarding antennas are illegal and unenforceable. Then, go with an outdoor antenna and enjoy worry-free reception. Besides, everyone knows that the bigger your antenna is, the cooler you are :).

Does anyone know of KPXD recently boosted their power? I live in Hico and didn't get it except at night, and now I get it all the time with a pretty strong signal. I'm not complaining, just asking.

Also, does anyone have the issue of their main channel 68-1 being much louder than all their other channels? It's pretty annoying, but one can live with it. I just always have to turn down my receiver.

Does anyone know of KPXD recently boosted their power? I live in Hico and didn't get it except at night, and now I get it all the time with a pretty strong signal. I'm not complaining, just asking.


Today (4 NOV 2009), the FCC accepted KPXD's filing to cover an application
(BPCDT-20080619AJA) which shows a higher HAAT (495 meters) at the Tar Road site on the Ellis County line south of the Belt Line antenna farm in Cedar Hill.

The other facility (BPCDT-19990914AAD) is off Belt Line with a height of 368 meters.

The FCC's CDBS database doesn't show what facility is actually on the air. So there's not a sure way to determine if KPXD/68's improved reception is due to the 416 foot increase in height or just coincidental. Both facilities show a power of 1,000 kW so any improvement would be due to a height advantage and slight movement of the site toward the south, placing it a tad closer to Hico.

All of the above is a long-winded way of saying: I don't know...short of calling KPXD and actually talking to an engineer.

Today (4 NOV 2009), the FCC accepted KPXD's filing to cover an application
(BPCDT-20080619AJA) which shows a higher HAAT (495 meters) at the Tar Road site on the Ellis County line south of the Belt Line antenna farm in Cedar Hill.

The other facility (BPCDT-19990914AAD) is off Belt Line with a height of 368 meters.

The FCC's CDBS database doesn't show what facility is actually on the air. So there's not a sure way to determine if KPXD/68's improved reception is due to the 416 foot increase in height or just coincidental. Both facilities show a power of 1,000 kW so any improvement would be due to a height advantage and slight movement of the site toward the south, placing it a tad closer to Hico.

All of the above is a long-winded way of saying: I don't know...short of calling KPXD and actually talking to an engineer.

Thanks. Regardless of the reason, the signal is significantly stronger.

Thanks. Regardless of the reason, the [KPXD] signal is significantly stronger.

I just shot an e-mail to Ion's Director of Engineering, Paul Titchenal. He was kind enough to respond with this message back to me:

``We just commissioned the Tar Road site and are now operating from there.''

That 416 foot height advantage obviously makes a difference. I'll check it out at my location when I get home tonight since KPXD has been the weakest of the megawatters.

I just shot an e-mail to Ion's Director of Engineering, Paul Titchenal. He was kind enough to respond with this message back to me:

``We just commissioned the Tar Road site and are now operating from there.''

That 416 foot height advantage obviously makes a difference. I'll check it out at my location when I get home tonight since KPXD has been the weakest of the megawatters.

You might also check on your volume. I'm curious if for some reason it's my HT receiver or whatever, but that channel is loud, almost to the point of distorting compared to the others. It's just 68.1 68-2-4 are fine.

Also, does anyone have the issue of their main channel 68-1 being much louder than all their other channels? It's pretty annoying, but one can live with it. I just always have to turn down my receiver.

I also have issue with their volumes being approx. 20db higher :eek: than anyone else. It's not in all their programming but definitely in many of their commercials. When I hit that channel I can hit mute on my system and their volume on mute is about equivalent to others not on mute (my mute is a -20db cut).

I've been tempted to call the 800 numbers on those commercials and put the phone up and let them blast themselves deaf. :mad:

How does one go about getting their attention on the volume matter? An FCC complaint or is there and easier/friendlier way? re_nelson can you let the fellow engineer over there know that they're killing their viewers and probably need to check their dialnorm or whatever it is that regulates volume and turn it down at least 16-18 db?

Mike

How does one go about getting their [KPXD's] attention on the volume matter? An FCC complaint or is there and easier/friendlier way? re_nelson can you let the fellow engineer over there know that they're killing their viewers and probably need to check their dialnorm or whatever it is that regulates volume and turn it down at least 16-18 db?


Since the volume doesn't personally bother me, I'll pass on making additional contact with the Ion Director of Broadcast Development. Believe it or not, I very rarely watch any television at all. I'm just interested in the facilities as opposed to the content (video or aural).

If you'd like to take this on yourself, you can find engineering contact information in this CDBS entry:

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101338278&formid=2&fac_num=68834

Since the volume doesn't personally bother me, I'll pass on making additional contact with the Ion Director of Broadcast Development. Believe it or not, I very rarely watch any television at all. I'm just interested in the facilities as opposed to the content (video or aural).

If you'd like to take this on yourself, you can find engineering contact information in this CDBS entry:

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101338278&formid=2&fac_num=68834

Now you've gone and done it. ;) Provided me with what I need to deal with it one way or another. Now I get to put up (some detailed information to them about the problem) or shut up (complaining). :D

Thanks (really)
Mike

Are the issues with the local commercials or national? IIRC, Ion moved to a splicer setup (like Fox uses) when they started doing HD, so any problems with national content or commercials will have to be forwarded up the chain to the network itself. The station has basically no control of what comes from the network because of how the splicer works, so only locally-inserted commercials could be corrected at the station level.

Are the issues with the local commercials or national? IIRC, Ion moved to a splicer setup (like Fox uses) when they started doing HD, so any problems with national content or commercials will have to be forwarded up the chain to the network itself. The station has basically no control of what comes from the network because of how the splicer works, so only locally-inserted commercials could be corrected at the station level.

The commercial that I recall routinely being an issue was Amica. Since my earlier post, I've monitored 68.1 and for 'Reba' (3:50-4:00) volume was OK, then 'Family Feud' started and for its entire 2 hours (including all commercials) volume was aprox. 20db louder. And when 'Ghost Whisperer' started things were back to normal, except for one commercial during GW.

The issue is somehow related to their use of Dolby Digital (I suspect). When it was too loud, I switched my TV from outputting 'Dolby Digital' to 'PCM' and the volume normalized. I also discovered that if while it was outputting DD and was too loud, if I set 'D.Comp' (Dynamic Range Compression) from 'off' to 'high' the volume also became closer to normal. If it means anything to someone, my AVR also showed a Dial Norm value of -7db.

So until they fix the issue, if you have the ability to activate DRC, you might consider doing so.

Mike

Does anyone know of KPXD recently boosted their power? I live in Hico and didn't get it except at night, and now I get it all the time with a pretty strong signal.


At my location, KPXD's site change and significant antenna height increase actually led to a slight REDUCTION in the signal reading, dropping from 87 down to 77. Every other facility located out on Tar Road registers at least 91 here, notably KTAQ with only 600 kW.

The FCC database indicates that KPXD and KDFI are using the same antenna at the same height from the Richland Tower on Tar Road. I get KDFI at a strong 97 and can't account for the drop by KPXD, unless Roy Williams is somehow involved. :-)

Does anyone know if KFDX from Wichita falls increased their signal strength or is being broadcast from somewhere around here also? I just rescanned one of my tvs and i am now getting this channel on 3-1 and also a subchannel on 3-2. I am in Frisco and have a stealthtenna pointed towards dallas. I dont see how i could be picking this up with my antenna not pointed north.



This is what I am getting on 3-2. Picked this up from Wikipedia. Don't quite understand because it says they don't have a digital signal:
KJBO-LP "My TV KJBO" is the low-powered MyNetworkTV affiliate located in Wichita Falls, Texas. The station broadcasts on channel 35 and does not have a digital signal. KJBO also serves Lawton, Oklahoma and surrounding areas via five repeaters:

edit:
I checked again just now and i have lost the signal. I was showing full bars on my Toshiba tv for signal strength and half bars on my samsung.

Any ideas how to conceal rg6 wire that is run along exterior brick. My wife looked at my handy work and said it looked bad. Before I tell her to deal with it I'd like to know if there are any solutions.

On masonry, installers normally follow a low mortar line on the brick. Or a better solution - you can go straight up from where the cable comes thru the wall (don't forget a drip-loop) then run a horizontal run where the soffit meets the brick. Use clips similar to these:
http://www.summitsource.com/steren-400530-steel-edrop-cable-clip-metal-clamp-coaxial-wire-for-overhead-drop-installation-secure-to-wood-or-masonry-galvanized-edrop-coaxial-cable-clip-wire-strap-holder-fastener-part-400530-p-8893.html

You'll need a masonry bit for your drill and some anchor screws. The latter method is better because you only need to drill once or twice with the anchor screws into the mortar for the vertical part, then the rest of the run may be attached to the vinyl/wood/aluminum soffit directly with regular screws. I knew someone with a brick home who had cable installed & I used their ideas.

On masonry, installers normally follow a low mortar line on the brick. Or a better solution - you can go straight up from where the cable comes thru the wall (don't forget a drip-loop) then run a horizontal run where the soffit meets the brick. Use clips similar to these:
http://www.summitsource.com/steren-400530-steel-edrop-cable-clip-metal-clamp-coaxial-wire-for-overhead-drop-installation-secure-to-wood-or-masonry-galvanized-edrop-coaxial-cable-clip-wire-strap-holder-fastener-part-400530-p-8893.html

You'll need a masonry bit for your drill and some anchor screws. The latter method is better because you only need to drill once or twice with the anchor screws into the mortar for the vertical part, then the rest of the run may be attached to the vinyl/wood/aluminum soffit directly with regular screws. I knew someone with a brick home who had cable installed & I used their ideas.

That's almost exactly how I currently have it installed. The only difference is I have two 2 way coax splitter installed downstream of the grounding block to split the antenna and cable signals between the living room and master bedroom. There is a #10 thhn ground wire from the antenna to the grounding block and from the grounding block to the system ground. I just didn't know if there was any type of cable channel that could be installed on the brick and painted to match the brick.

In reference to our discussion yesterday about volume levels on 68.1, I emailed Paul Titchenal, Director of broadcast development. He responded back that he is "involved in the management of transmitter site construction" and that I should contact ION's "audience relations department" at 888-467-2988 or their website iontelevision.com for discussions around loudness issues.

So I sent my note to them via the form on their 'contact' page: http://www.iontelevision.com/contact.php. I also wondered through their user forum (http://forums.iontelevision.com/) and saw no post on volume issues.

BTW, don't bother clicking on their FAQ link, it ends in a 404 'Page not found'.

[QUOTE=mickcris;17479907]Does anyone know if KFDX from Wichita falls increased their signal strength or is being broadcast from somewhere around here also? I just rescanned one of my tvs and i am now getting this channel on 3-1 and also a subchannel on 3-2. I am in Frisco and have a stealthtenna pointed towards dallas. I dont see how i could be picking this up with my antenna not pointed north.



This is what I am getting on 3-2. Picked this up from Wikipedia. Don't quite understand because it says they don't have a digital signal:
KJBO-LP "My TV KJBO" is the low-powered MyNetworkTV affiliate located in Wichita Falls, Texas. The station broadcasts on channel 35 and does not have a digital signal. KJBO also serves Lawton, Oklahoma and surrounding areas via five repeaters:

KJBO, 3.2DT, My TV network is a Digital channel of 35 it's carried and operated by KFDX, it's had a digital signal since July. I quess most people know that My TV is shutting down soon, nationally, and the CW network is almost in the same boat, also I have been told that most repeater towers cannot carry digital signals unless thier upgraded.

I pick up some of the Dallas stations in the evening and the early morning here in Wichita Falls.

My Network TV is not shutting down. Don't know where you heard that, but it's wrong.

- Trip

Trip in VA
I should of made myself a little clearer, My Network TV is no longer a network television station as of September 9, 2009, I didn't mean to say they were shutting down completly, but if you go to Wikepidia you will see that TV stations are dropping My Network TV and going back to where they were in 2006 and showing thier own programming.

Trip in VA
I should of made myself a little clearer, My Network TV is no longer a network television station as of September 9, 2009, I didn't mean to say they were shutting down completly, but if you go to Wikepidia you will see that TV stations are dropping My Network TV and going back to where they were in 2006 and showing thier own programming.

My Network TV moved to different stations in a few markets, particularly in places where ION or Equity stations carried it, but still has a home in almost every TV market. I've seen nothing to suggest that it's being dropped.

It's no longer a "network" by the FCC's legal definition, but neither was UPN when it merged with WB in 2006. I doubt most people considered UPN to be "not a network."

- Trip

Today I noticed that WFAA (all 3 sub channels) and channel 52-1 are all significantly weaker. The Nebraska/OU game on channel 8-1 even dropped signal for about 30 minutes.

I'm 60 miles north of Cedar Hill. I have an outdoor antenna on a 30ft tower. The current setup has been working perfectly for over 4 years. I haven't changed, added, substracted anything. I typically have signal strength of 95-98%. Tonight the signal was 20-65% (I could watch the football game at 65%).

I checked my loop here and antenna, booster, tuner, etc... all looked good. I've talked to 2 other neighbors and they are seeing the same issues. Does anyone have any information on what is going on? Is anyone else having similar issues?

Today I noticed that WFAA (all 3 sub channels) and channel 52-1 are all significantly weaker. The Nebraska/OU game on channel 8-1 even dropped signal for about 30 minutes.

I'm 60 miles north of Cedar Hill. I have an outdoor antenna on a 30ft tower. The current setup has been working perfectly for over 4 years. I haven't changed, added, substracted anything. I typically have signal strength of 95-98%. Tonight the signal was 20-65% (I could watch the football game at 65%).

I checked my loop here and antenna, booster, tuner, etc... all looked good. I've talked to 2 other neighbors and they are seeing the same issues. Does anyone have any information on what is going on? Is anyone else having similar issues?

The situation is much the same in Frisco at 41 airmiles from Cedar Hill where I too was watching OU/NU using OTA on an attic antenna.

Noting the signal strength was low on WFAA, I also checked the other VHFs. KTVT was as strong as ever at 97% but KFWD (usually at 92%) was completely gone. I did a rescan -- still no KFWD but almost everything from Waco/Temple was captured.

My guess is that the weather is at play and we're getting interference from co-channel and adjacent facilities. Notably, KFWD on RF-9 is likely getting clobbered by KCEN also on RF-9 and and a scant 92 miles south of KFWD's stick.

Can someone educate me on how the weather (especially this type of weather which is beautiful and clear) can affect this? I've heard in the past that sun spots, etc... can cause problems. I've lived with this particular setup for over 4 years without seeing issues like this.

I'm also dropping 21-1 on an off currently. I've never had a problem with KTXA. It is typically perfect.

Can someone educate me on how the weather (especially this type of weather which is beautiful and clear) can affect this? I've heard in the past that sun spots, etc... can cause problems. I've lived with this particular setup for over 4 years without seeing issues like this.

I'm also dropping 21-1 on an off currently. I've never had a problem with KTXA. It is typically perfect.I could be co-channel interfererence or it could be the High Pressure over Texas.

Can someone educate me on how the weather (especially this type of weather which is beautiful and clear) can affect this? I've heard in the past that sun spots, etc... can cause problems. I've lived with this particular setup for over 4 years without seeing issues like this.

I'm also dropping 21-1 on an off currently. I've never had a problem with KTXA. It is typically perfect.

Let me recalibrate my phrasing. Instead of weather a better term would be environment. Take a look at the models shown here:

http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html

Our part of Texas had strong or very strong potential for interference. KTXA is probably suffering from interference from co-channel KYTX in Nacogdoches (RF-19). As I composed this message, I did another rescan and we're getting hammered from stations popping in from Houston and Beaumont-Port Arthur as well as to the north from Oklahoma City. thus playing havoc with local reception but a dream for DXers. I'm watching KSBI/52 from OKC as I wrap up this edit.

Let me recalibrate my phrasing. Instead of weather a better term would be environment. Take a look at the models shown here:

http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html

Our part of Texas had strong or very strong potential for interference. KTXA is probably suffering from interference from co-channel KYTX in Nacogdoches (RF-19). As I composed this message, I did another rescan and we're getting hammered from stations popping in from Houston and Beaumont-Port Arthur as well as to the north from Oklahoma City. thus playing havoc with local reception but a dream for DXers. I'm watching KSBI/52 from OKC as I wrap up this edit.True that! I picked OKC, Abilene, Amarillo, and Beaumont. Seymour's KVRP blew KEGL out of the way! In Stereo!

I'm also dropping 21-1 on an off currently. I've never had a problem with KTXA. It is typically perfect. I can verify KTXA 21 is dropping out intermittently. Sig is 87-92 then briefly drops to 0 and TV says "No Signal" or "Signal Cannot Be Decoded" then it's back up to normal. This is a recent glitch I've been seeing for a few days.

I can verify KTXA 21 is dropping out intermittently. Sig is 87-92 then briefly drops to 0 and TV says "No Signal" or "Signal Cannot Be Decoded" then it's back up to normal. This is a recent glitch I've been seeing for a few days.

I've had this problem as well. Usually not a problem. Also KTVT 11 was a problem Sat night... during Strikeforce MMA of course. Now it seems fine, though.

I'm in McKinney (attic mount 37 elements) - been having problems with WFAA and KFWD for last two weeks. Everything was good up until now - suddenly having complete drop outs for days at a time now on both. I'm tempted to go QAM for a while but then you lose all of the subchannels and my kids have gotten hooked on 68.2 Qubo. So it's almost a can't live without now. I really wish something could be done to give us good consistent signal all the time. Reminds me too much of my DirecTV rain fade experiences - which is one of the reasons that I dropped them BTW.

The band has been open quite a bit in the last week or so. Normally by noon it is back to normal. Early morning and late evening are the times you may experience atmospheric conditions. We hams like to work DX during these times. The Topo site in a previous post is a good place to check. When I was a kid I had quit a list of analog TV stations I had seen in west Texas.

Now that the OTA signals are Digital these atmospheric conditions pose a problem on our HD viewing. This is mother nature and has been happening for many years. With my attic antenna I am not seeing any issue.

I was talking to a friend of mine in west Texas last week and he was seeing San Angelo (Home area), Austin, San Antonio, Lubbock, etc with a tower mounted UHF antenna. None of these will stay except your local stations when the day warms up.
JStigler

Let me recalibrate my phrasing. Instead of weather a better term would be environment. Take a look at the models shown here:

http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html

Our part of Texas had strong or very strong potential for interference. KTXA is probably suffering from interference from co-channel KYTX in Nacogdoches (RF-19). As I composed this message, I did another rescan and we're getting hammered from stations popping in from Houston and Beaumont-Port Arthur as well as to the north from Oklahoma City. thus playing havoc with local reception but a dream for DXers. I'm watching KSBI/52 from OKC as I wrap up this edit.

thanks. this explains why i was getting that channel from Wichita falls last week.

Last night, right in the middle of their 10pm news, channel 5 and channel 39 both went dead. That include the main HD and subs. I think they came back in early morning.

Anyone know what happened to them?

Last night, right in the middle of their 10pm news, channel 5 and channel 39 both went dead. That include the main HD and subs. I think they came back in early morning.

Anyone know what happened to them?

Electrical fire in backup power room.

Story here


http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/Fire-Forces-NBC-5-Off-Air-70592727.html


And here


http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/112109dnmetnbcfire.2d5382152.html

Hola.

Another low power digital facility has just fired up. It's KODF-LD/26 (on RF-27) running 15 kW from a 240 meter stick in Cedar Hill. For now it's just looped music and an animated slide showing ``Mega 26 HD - Enero 2010'' for this Britton, TX-licensed station.

Buenos noches.

Hola.

Another low power digital facility has just fired up. It's KODF-LD/26 (on RF-27) running 15 kW from a 240 meter stick in Cedar Hill. For now it's just looped music and an animated slide showing ``Mega 26 HD - Enero 2010'' for this Britton, TX-licensed station.

Buenos noches.

it looks like they are dropping azteca america.

it looks like they [KODF] are dropping azteca america.

What I can untangle from the maze of applications and grants, KLEG/44 has the authorization to flash cut to digital using 15 kW (non-DA) from the Bank of America tower in downtown Dallas. KLEG is the current Azteca America facility (also simulcast on KATA 50-3). When KODF signed off analog 26 in June 2009 (due to interference with KTEN), I think that may have effectively ended the Azteza affiliation.

Complicating matters are rumors that KLDT/54 (and Houston sister KNWS/51) may be sold to Una Vez Mas, which would likely flip both to Azteca America.

In any event, KODF's Mega TV logo looks just like that of the Florida-based network owned by Spanish Broadcasting System.

The Patriots-Jets game is a snoozer so I channel hopped this afternoon and landed on KFWD/52 televising Gomer Pyle. Heh.

KFWD normally measures 92-94% on the signal meter. Today, it's way down at 40%. A check of all other facilities shows the nominal, expected measurements, notably the other Vs (KHPK, WFAA, KTVT and KXII).

Does anyone else notice that KFWD is much lower than usual?

Does anyone else notice that KFWD is much lower than usual?
Not here. Ch 8.1 is a solid "93", likewise 52.1.

I cannot pick up Fox 4.1 and I get 8.1, but is in the 50's for signal strength. I have a Antennas Direct ClearStream 2 Long Range HDTV Outdoor antenna mounted in the attic. 33.1, 11.1 come in a 99% and 5.1 comes in around 89%. I have tried pointing the antenna in different directions, but no luck with 4.1. I am in the White Rock area if that helps. I would like to stick to an attic installation. Would a different antenna help? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I cannot pick up Fox 4.1 and I get 8.1, but is in the 50's for signal strength.. How is Ch 27.1? 4 transmits on UHF35 and 27 on UHF36. Ch8 is on the VHF band the other channels you mentioned receiving well all transmit on UHF so your antenna may not perform as well on VHF.

27.1 comes in at 99%.

27.1 comes in at 99%.Have you tried rescanning the TV (or converter box)? Those two (4 and 27) ought to be very close to equal signal strength.

I will try a rescan, although I just did one earlier. Is there a better antenna I should look at for an attic install. I have it directly connected to the tv.

I will try a rescan, although I just did one earlier. Is there a better antenna I should look at for an attic install. I have it directly connected to the tv.

That ClearStream2 is rated for UHF only so by its design will not deliver as strong of a signal on Ch 8 on VHF 8 (or 52 on VHF 9) as you receive on the stations on the UHF band. If you have room in your attic a conventional TV antenna like one of the models Home Depot sells will do much better on VHF and probably UHF too. Member "re_nelson" has experience with the Home Depot antennas.

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll check out the antennas at home depot. Is there a certain model that I should look for?

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll check out the antennas at home depot. Is there a certain model that I should look for? I believe there are just two, medium and large. We're talking about conventional horizontal TV antennas. Whichever will fit in the attic since you are limited to the space there. re_nelson managed to get the big one in his attic.

The rescan produced the same results. Still no luck with 4.1. I have a picture on 8.1 but it is in the 30% range. I'll take a look at the Home Depot antennas. I also saw a Winegard and a Channel Master 8 Bay bowtie antenna. Have you had any experience with those? They show a rating of long distance directional. Antenna web suggested I have medium directional for my address.

The rescan produced the same results. Still no luck with 4.1. I have a picture on 8.1 but it is in the 30% range. I'll take a look at the Home Depot antennas. I also saw a Winegard and a Channel Master 8 Bay bowtie antenna. Have you had any experience with those? They show a rating of long distance directional. Antenna web suggested I have medium directional for my address. If you want a strong signal on 8 stay away from the bowtie antennas. The ones you mention are UHF antennas. Those won't do, have zero gain or more likely loss on VHF, would probably be similar to the UHF antenna you already have.

I'll check out the antennas at home depot. Is there a certain model that I should look for?

Here's what's available at the Home Depot:

1). GE TV24765 25-element antenna - This is 58 inches in length. It easily fit into my small attic and worked fine in Frisco, 40 miles from the Cedar Hill antenna farm. The price I paid was $49.95.

2). Its larger brother is the GE TV24767, a 36-element antenna measuring 110 inches in length. With enough nudging, I was able to barely squeeze it into my attic. I returned the smaller 25-element unit and got this $79.95 larger model for the sole purpose of being able to pull in low power stations and out-of-market distant stations.

Although branded with the GE logo, both antennas are distributed by Jasco Products of Oklahoma City (doubtlessly made in China in the same factory that makes other popular brands).

The benefit of Home Depot (or Lowes) is that you have the ability to try out the product and then return it if not satisfied.

Since you're closer in than my location and interested in the mainstream stations (all of which are high power), I'd try the smaller 25-element GE TV24765 with the option of returning it. YMMV and all strictly IMHO.

Great info. Thank you both for all of your help. I will try out the GE TV24765 antenna and let you know how it works. That should fit in my attic.

Great info. Thank you both for all of your help. I will try out the GE TV24765 antenna and let you know how it works. That should fit in my attic.

If it works, be sure to give credit appropriate where it's due. If it doesn't work, don't blame me! :-) :-) :-)

By the way, both ``ed_in_tx'' and I used to live in the White Rock area, so I'm sure we're both hoping this works out for you. Getting television signals as they fly through the ether is something like magic and what works in one location may be an utter failure just down the street.

The GE TV24765 is picking up channel 4 ~50%, NBC is ~60%, 8.1 is ~95% and the others come in great 11.1 is 99% and CW is 99%. I think I am going to take it back and get the bigger antenna though. I have a lot more room in the attic than I originally thought. Thanks again for all of the help. I'll let you know how the larger one works.

Good to know. Have you tried repositioning it to get a better signal on those weaker channels? Is it pointed toward Cedar Hill to the southwest from NE Dallas and do you have room to move it around? Is it close to any metal ductwork? Are you down in low area?

I found by relocating my antenna just a few feet helped with a couple of channels that were weak without messing with the others much. The antennas at Cedar Hill are spread across about maybe a mile or so east to west, so they have different trajectories through all the ground clutter by the time they reach the antenna. Anyway looking forward to the update on the TV24767.

I think I'll try pointing it closer to the heading of Fox 4 since all of the other stations come in at full strength. It is close to some duct work, so I'll move it away from that. Before I go to the trouble of buying a new one, I'll see if I can't get this one optimized. Thanks again. I sent you a PM also.

I think I'll try pointing it closer to the heading of Fox 4 since all of the other stations come in at full strength. It is close to some duct work, so I'll move it away from that. Before I go to the trouble of buying a new one, I'll see if I can't get this one optimized.

One optimization trick that worked well for me was to move the antenna around until I got KLDT/54 reading at a peak. I was up in the attic and had someone downstairs watching the meter and shouting the readings up to me.

Why KLDT? It's among the weaker of the Cedar Hill facilities (only 126 kW compared to 1,000 kW for most of the others on UHF). When KLDT/54 was optimized in this manner, all of the others marched in lockstep and came in very well.

I'll give it a shot. Great suggestion on the GE antenna from Home Depot by the way. Works a lot better than the old one and it was half the price.

Just to repeat something I've said before.... if you have a radiant solar barrier on your roof, it will significantly reduce your reception if you place an antenna in the attic. If you have a directional antenna, it might be possible to strip off some of the barrier to create a "hole" for the signal to get through.

For the last few weeks we've been having a problem the DVR not recording shows that are part of a scheduled Series. I think I've discovered the problem and I doubt tht it is unique to my DVR, but if it is I'd sure like to know about it.

In MANY cases the HD versions of programs are not considered to be an eligible part of a series!

This can be seen most clearly by doing a search for shows such as "Ugly Betty", "Numb3rs", "Bill Moyers" or most other (but not all) popular series. If you do a search and then look for alternate times, in most cases you will see that the program is listed on, for example, channels 374 and 376, but that the HD channel, 375, is does not show! BUT you can view the Guide and see the show listed. If you setup a Series recording for the HD program you will find that the show is not recorded! Apparently this is because the DVR is not considering the HD version to be part of the series!

As mentioned above, the problem started a few weeks ago but it is very annoying and has made our DVR almost worthless.

For the last few weeks we've been having a problem the DVR not recording shows that are part of a scheduled Series. I think I've discovered the problem and I doubt tht it is unique to my DVR, but if it is I'd sure like to know about it.

In MANY cases the HD versions of programs are not considered to be an eligible part of a series!

This can be seen most clearly by doing a search for shows such as "Ugly Betty", "Numb3rs", "Bill Moyers" or most other (but not all) popular series. If you do a search and then look for alternate times, in most cases you will see that the program is listed on, for example, channels 374 and 376, but that the HD channel, 375, is does not show! BUT you can view the Guide and see the show listed. If you setup a Series recording for the HD program you will find that the show is not recorded! Apparently this is because the DVR is not considering the HD version to be part of the series!

As mentioned above, the problem started a few weeks ago but it is very annoying and has made our DVR almost worthless.

have you tried to set it to "record on this channel only" I did this for house and only records the hd channel.

Can anyone in the far, far north suburbs of D/FW receive either KSFW/2 (200 watts) or KQFW/7 (300 watts). Evidently, they both just fired up within the past day and are transmitting from the big strobe-lit Collinsville tower.

The programming is of no concern -- just interested in how reception is for these low power facilities. Channel 7 might be a stretch since it's directional up toward Sherman-Denison.

Does anyone know where in the world to get a TV guide or something for the odd channels like 5-3. My wife loves skating and they always have it on...

One that I know of is TitanTV (http://www.titantv.com/).

Mike

I wish Titan showed 31-4 (AMGTV). They show all kinds of really old shows. Burns and Allen, Dusty's Trail(!), I Married Joan, Ozzie and Harriett, etc.

I just did a rescan of my TV and there are lots of stations that don't show up on Titan.

have you tried to set it to "record on this channel only" I did this for house and only records the hd channel.
Yes, that is how the series recordings are set. I think it sets it that way by default, but we always check when we set up a series to be sure. And that appears to be the reason that the shows are not being recorded -- because the Guide is not knowing that the HD channel is part of the series. It thinks that only the non-HD channels are part of the series. I suspect that if we didn't tell it "this channel only" that it would record the programs, but the non-HD versions.

I've contacted TWC, via e-mail, and they are escalating the problem.

Does your reply mean that you are not experiencing the problem? That you have series set up for HD programs and they are always being recorded as they should? Our DVR is a Motorola 6412 or 6416 III.

have you tried to set it to "record on this channel only" I did this for house and only records the hd channel.
It would be really interesting to know if you're not experiencing the problem with series recordings for HD shows. And which TWC area you're in, Richardson-Dallas, or Arlington, etc.

It would be really interesting to know if you're not experiencing the problem with series recordings for HD shows. And which TWC area you're in, Richardson-Dallas, or Arlington, etc.

Arlington.

I have the DCX3432 with firmware 22.37.

For the last few weeks we've been having a problem the DVR not recording shows that are part of a scheduled Series. I think I've discovered the problem and I doubt tht it is unique to my DVR, but if it is I'd sure like to know about it.

In MANY cases the HD versions of programs are not considered to be an eligible part of a series!

This can be seen most clearly by doing a search for shows such as "Ugly Betty", "Numb3rs", "Bill Moyers" or most other (but not all) popular series. If you do a search and then look for alternate times, in most cases you will see that the program is listed on, for example, channels 374 and 376, but that the HD channel, 375, is does not show! BUT you can view the Guide and see the show listed. If you setup a Series recording for the HD program you will find that the show is not recorded! Apparently this is because the DVR is not considering the HD version to be part of the series!

As mentioned above, the problem started a few weeks ago but it is very annoying and has made our DVR almost worthless.

have you tried to set it to "record on this channel only" I did this for house and only records the hd channel.

Yes, that is how the series recordings are set. I think it sets it that way by default, but we always check when we set up a series to be sure. And that appears to be the reason that the shows are not being recorded -- because the Guide is not knowing that the HD channel is part of the series. It thinks that only the non-HD channels are part of the series. I suspect that if we didn't tell it "this channel only" that it would record the programs, but the non-HD versions.

I've contacted TWC, via e-mail, and they are escalating the problem.

Does your reply mean that you are not experiencing the problem? That you have series set up for HD programs and they are always being recorded as they should? Our DVR is a Motorola 6412 or 6416 III.

After a couple of messages back and forth with TWC, they've said:
"We apologize for the inconvenience you've experienced in recording programs on your DVR. We are experiencing some issues with series recordings. It is not an issue with your DVR equipment, but an issue with our guide. We are aware, and have been working with our guide vendor on a resolution. At this time, we do not have an estimated timeframe for repair. Most issues have been resolved by totally deleting any series recordings, and resetting them. The best way to set a series recording if you are recording from a high definition channel is to go to the high definition channel within the guide, choose the program you are wanting to record, and push the record button twice. This will pull up the option to schedule a series recording and should record it from that specific channel in high definition."

I had already tried their suggestion and that does not resolve the problem. I've received a follow-on message saying they are going ot have someone from the Dallas region call me.

After a couple of messages back and forth with TWC, they've said:
"We apologize for the inconvenience you've experienced in recording programs on your DVR. We are experiencing some issues with series recordings. It is not an issue with your DVR equipment, but an issue with our guide. We are aware, and have been working with our guide vendor on a resolution. At this time, we do not have an estimated timeframe for repair. Most issues have been resolved by totally deleting any series recordings, and resetting them. The best way to set a series recording if you are recording from a high definition channel is to go to the high definition channel within the guide, choose the program you are wanting to record, and push the record button twice. This will pull up the option to schedule a series recording and should record it from that specific channel in high definition."

I had already tried their suggestion and that does not resolve the problem. I've received a follow-on message saying they are going ot have someone from the Dallas region call me.

A28 is coming with SDV. It fixes most of the issues with I-guide.

They are testing a new ondemand barker it looks like the scaled video in the guide for areas fed out of grapevine headend.

so far it is only on the grapevine headend. The scaled video is part of the upgrade to A28 Iguide.

it is testing on 89-2 thru 89-5 in the cities fed out of the grapevine headend. Irving was testing on 121-2 thru 121-5 with the new vod barker but moved it to 89-2 thru 89-5.

This might be the new QAM channel plan after SDV launches

16 SDV QAMs
4 VOD
4 H.S.I.
35 broadcast non SDV.

this is after the 5 analogs go digital and they add the NBC universal Channels.

A28 is coming with SDV. It fixes most of the issues with I-guide.

They are testing a new ondemand barker it looks like the scaled video in the guide for areas fed out of grapevine headend.

so far it is only on the grapevine headend. The scaled video is part of the upgrade to A28 Iguide.

it is testing on 89-2 thru 89-5 in the cities fed out of the grapevine headend. Irving was testing on 121-2 thru 121-5 with the new vod barker but moved it to 89-2 thru 89-5.

This might be the new QAM channel plan after SDV launches

16 SDV QAMs
4 VOD
4 H.S.I.
35 broadcast non SDV.

this is after the 5 analogs go digital and they add the NBC universal Channels.
I don't know how subchannels, like 89-2 thru 89-5, relate to guide or TWC channel numbers. But your note did lead me to searching on "A28 iguide" which reminded of the DSL forums and that is a valuable reminder.

How important is signal strength? I get about 75% on 4-1, 5-1, 8-1, and 11-1? Wondering what I would gain by climbing back on the roof and fine tuning the antenna placement. I'm in 75238 using a Winegard HD7694P.