cpcat - That's what dish.com said for me. CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC (no PBS)

I heard back from TDS. No QAM, but their 15Mb broadband is available without TV service (in a phone bundle), so I may get that and either try Dish, try another antenna, or live with what I've got (Charter-locals only with HD QAM until they cut it off).

Speaking of long term, is Antennaweb right that WBIR is moving back to channel 10 once the transition is over? That would really screw those with UHF only antennas.

Speaking of long term, is Antennaweb right that WBIR is moving back to channel 10 once the transition is over? That would really screw those with UHF only antennas.

I don't think it will be a problem. Channels 2-6 are the frequencies that require a larger antenna due to the longer radio waves. As you go up the numbers, the waves get shorter and pick-up well with smaller antennas. I have a Sony 300 OTA/Direc box that has analog and digital tuners. I've never picked up 6's analog well but the higher channels' analogs come in very well except 20.

If you get WMAK-DT 7 now, you should be okay with WBIR-DT 10 I'd think...

- Trip

Greetings, I haven't posted here in awhile, hope all are doing well. I read through a couple pages of posts & didn't see anyone having the problems I am currently having, so ...

I live a couple miles from Sharp's Ridge in Fountain City w/ a lot of mature tall trees. I mounted a Channel Master 4220 UHF double bow tie antenna outside at a roof peak corner & get excellent signal strength reception for all DT channels available in this area (except for 20.1 which is 30% low signal strength).

For the past few weeks though I'm having pixelated/ audio drop-out problems w/ WKOP 15-1 HD AND 15-2 SD. The signal strength reads 88- 96%! All other channels are rock solid in the 80- 98% range & look fine. Heck, I even get consistent picture from 39.1 Fox out of Greeneville @ 54%.

Any ideas on what gives in my case w/ WKOP?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

If you get WMAK-DT 7 now, you should be okay with WBIR-DT 10 I'd think...

- Trip


Guess I'm screwed then. Of course the only thing I watch on WBIR is the Heartland Series. Everything else I can watch elsewhere so I guess it's not THAT bad.

However, with WCYB also going back to channel 5 I guess NBC has lost me as an OTA viewer come mid-February.

Guess I'm screwed then. Of course the only thing I watch on WBIR is the Heartland Series. Everything else I can watch elsewhere so I guess it's not THAT bad.

However, with WCYB also going back to channel 5 I guess NBC has lost me as an OTA viewer come mid-February.

I'd wait before freaking out. I just saw that on Antennaweb.com, but haven't been able to confirm it elsewhere (admittedly I haven't tried to though).

Guess I'm screwed then. Of course the only thing I watch on WBIR is the Heartland Series. Everything else I can watch elsewhere so I guess it's not THAT bad.

However, with WCYB also going back to channel 5 I guess NBC has lost me as an OTA viewer come mid-February.

It's interesting that WBIR and WCYB are currently two of my strongest and most reliable signals (at 65 mi and 110 mi respectively) and they're both switching. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. I'm not even going to try WCYB.

If actual OTA viewers were a greater proportion of the viewer base it might be a different story.

OTOH, a FOX in Lexington (my actual DMA) is trying to move from digital 4 to 31, so it all works I suppose.

If you get WMAK-DT 7 now, you should be okay with WBIR-DT 10 I'd think...

- Trip

I just wanted to say I the Channel Master 4220 UHF antenna and channel 7 comes in great with it... I think it would do well for the others when they move back to vhf.

For the past few weeks though I'm having pixelated/ audio drop-out problems w/ WKOP 15-1 HD AND 15-2 SD. The signal strength reads 88- 96%! All other channels are rock solid in the 80- 98% range & look fine. Heck, I even get consistent picture from 39.1 Fox out of Greeneville @ 54%.

Any ideas on what gives in my case w/ WKOP?



I dont have any ideas, but I thought I would mention that I have a Channel Master 4220 UHF antenna, and I live just east of downtown and I am experiencing the same thing for the past few weeks. It was fine a month ago I believe.

James

It's interesting that WBIR and WCYB are currently two of my strongest and most reliable signals (at 65 mi and 110 mi respectively) and they're both switching. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. I'm not even going to try WCYB.


If you can get the analog version of channel 10 now there's a reasonable chance you will get the digital signal when it moves from RF 31 to RF 10 in February. Ch 7 is somewhat directional and protects another channel 7 in KY. FYI...Channel 11 in Johnson City is also returning to VHF.

Guess I'm screwed then. Of course the only thing I watch on WBIR is the Heartland Series. Everything else I can watch elsewhere so I guess it's not THAT bad.

I'm assuming you don't get ch 7 but can get ch 31 (WBIR-DT)? FYI...Ch 7 is directional protecting a Kentucky station otherwise they have good coverage. If you can get the analog signal on channel 10 now you may be able to get the digital after February when it goes to RF channel 10. The coverage of WBIR-DT on channel 10 is a close match for the channel 31 coverage.

I dont have any ideas, but I thought I would mention that I have a Channel Master 4220 UHF antenna, and I live just east of downtown and I am experiencing the same thing for the past few weeks. It was fine a month ago I believe.

James

Thanks James. I appreciate the input.

I tried monkeying-around w/ the antenna this past weekend (rotated up, down, & all around), but was unsuccessful. Last night I tried a indoor bow tie antenna & a +10db UHF/VHF antenna & got the same pixelization/ audio dropouts. :mad:

I may try to e-mail WKOP & see what they say....

Update 9-2-08:

I talked to the Engineering folks @ WKOP w/ no luck (they weren't getting reports of problems from anyone else; main guy was supposed to call me back but didn't).

The audio/video drop-outs got worse w/ a 30% signal strength (to the point that it was freezing up w/ a pixelated frame/ no audio).

After trying antenna switch again w/ no luck, I moved the surge protector that was located on top of the cabinet behind the plasma pedestal down to floor level (I had it behind the plasma to move it closer to the back wall), & the problem disappeared. Maybe I had a shielding problem w/ the cable connector, but why would it only have affected channels 15.1/ 15.2 only? Anyways 95% signal strength w/ great picture now.

Couple days later I moved surge protector back to directly behind the plasma base, but no problems resulted. It may have been a timing issue w/ WKOP improving signal at the time I was moving things around. Who the heck knows ...

Hey WATE!

ABC World News Tonight is now in HD! We might be able to actually watch it in HD if the person in master control would turn off the $#$@% gray sidebars you insist on having up.

Why even have the gray bars up in the first place? (This goes for WBIR as well) I understand that a very small percentage of older plasma tvs can get burn-in but there can't be all that many in the Knoxville area. It doesn't seem to be an issue with WVLT or WTNZ or any of the Tri-Cities area stations...

Jeopardy on channel 10 is supposed to be in HD also.

Channel 6 has been so lax with HD these past years. I've called them 50 times, I'm so sure, to tell 'em to turn on the HD on Boston Legal or other shows...... worse yet....I must of called 'em 10 times to inform them that they were broadcasting the ABC HD loop....nobody bothered to go back to local after network HD. I must admit it's been atleast 2 years since I witnessed that.

I bet it's easier switching for 6 to not HD the news so they're gonna drag their posteriors....?

The ABC news WAS in HD, you could see the edge of ABC's sidebars (a graphic on the right and weather/stock info on the left) where 6's gray bars didn't quite match up. The only switch they need to throw is the one that turns off the gray bars they overlay to cover up the black sidebars on SD or 4:3 shows.

Jeopardy on 10 is just where they can't record the feed in HD. Same with Wheel of Fortune.

Has anyone on here had any luck picking up WLOS out of Asheville, or WHNS in nearby Brevard?

The distances from Knoxville for these transmitters are ~80 and 85 miles respectively. I figured there might be a CHANCE of picking these stations up. However, I was hoping for some feedback before investing in a high powered antenna.

If so, any suggestions on an antenna?

Many thanks.

WLOS on analog channel 13 sitting on top of Mt. Pisgah is viewable on some hilltops in Knox county. Probably the co-located UHF DTV won't travel as well.

The Brevard station is definitely blocked by the mountains.

Cool. Thanks for the help. I'm at about 1100 ft elevation, so hopefully I can get at least some reception. As far as out of market ABC affiliates, is WLOS my best bet, or would it possibly be easier to pick up the ABC station out of Chattanooga or the Tri-Cities?

Thanks again.

Cool. Thanks for the help. I'm at about 1100 ft elevation, so hopefully I can get at least some reception. As far as out of market ABC affiliates, is WLOS my best bet, or would it possibly be easier to pick up the ABC station out of Chattanooga or the Tri-Cities?

Thanks again.

You can probably forget the tri-cities. WKPT broadcasts on very low power. 1100 feet elevation might help depending on which side of the Knoxville area you are on. Basically east of Knoxville you have a shot. West and South of Knoxville then the Chattanooga one might be your best bet.

My aunt lives just outside of Rogersville (in the middle of WKPT's market and about 40 miles from the tower) and can't get WKPT's digital signal at all. She can get WJHL at over 90 percent and they are on the same tower (and WCYB at 95 and their tower is a couple of miles north on the same mountain) so it's not her location. Luckily she can get WATE, gray bars and all. Haven't tried WLOS although theoretically she should be able to get it it is hard for her to move the antenna.

I just got one of those AM21 tuners from DirecTV to go with my DVR and I can add a second city to see if I can get their programming. I couldn't pick up Johnson City stations at all. I may try Chattanooga for kicks to see if I can get any of those. I doubt it, but it won't hurt to try.

Those AM21 tuners are sweet because they will add your locals within your programming guide and even record off it. DirecTV still doesn't carry WBXX's HD channel and my wife watches a few shows on there. I got that AM21 last week and recorded one of her shows from the antenna. I like it. Seems like I have a harder time getting 15-1 and 15-2 than I do 20-1 or any of the others. Have they cut back on their signal or something?

Just a head's up WVLT has the Alabama/Arkansas game in HD via Raycom. Pretty cool.:cool:

I just got one of those AM21 tuners from DirecTV to go with my DVR and I can add a second city to see if I can get their programming. I couldn't pick up Johnson City stations at all. I may try Chattanooga for kicks to see if I can get any of those. I doubt it, but it won't hurt to try.

I had no luck with Johnson City or Chattanooga, but was able to pickup Fox 39 out of Greeneville, TN. If you have a decent antenna, you should be able to pick them up. I'm getting a 50% signal with an attic UHF antenna. They will sometimes carry different NFL games on Sundays. The zipcode for Greeneville is 37743.

:)

Question about TBS-HD, Comcast doesn't seem to be carrying it in the Knoxville area.
(My Farifield Glade is on the Knoxville headend & we don't have it). Did Comcast put it on last October during the MLB playoffs temporarily? On our sys, ch 402 is there for special events coverage, I think in Knoxville, that the FSN HD channel & carries game coverage. Possible they'll put TBS-HD there for the playoffs? I'll be there next Wed-Sun & would love to see the games in HD.

Comcast will be adding TBS-HD on Oct 17, Not sure who schedule this stuff, but the only thing worth watching on TBS and they screw up the dates. Wife a HUGE Cubs fan, will be going my dads house who has Direct TV. Seems HD channels on Comcast is NOT one of there options.

Question about TBS-HD, Comcast doesn't seem to be carrying it in the Knoxville area.
(My Farifield Glade is on the Knoxville headend & we don't have it). Did Comcast put it on last October during the MLB playoffs temporarily? On our sys, ch 402 is there for special events coverage, I think in Knoxville, that the FSN HD channel & carries game coverage. Possible they'll put TBS-HD there for the playoffs? I'll be there next Wed-Sun & would love to see the games in HD.

When I was on Comcast, TBS HD was on channel 421.

When I was on Comcast, TBS HD was on channel 421.

On our system, 421 is empty. I did a search with a Knoxville zip & saw that TBS-HD was 421. All of our channels are the same channel #'s are the same as Knoxville, C/S comes from Knoxville, why are we missing this channel?

I'm in Oak Ridge, have 420 and 422, not able to select 421, We got a message that we will be getting about 13 HD channels Oct 17,
They are: CNN, TLC, AMC, FX, Speed, Fox News, Science, Fox sports, NFL, TBS, ABC Family, and Disney

I'm in Oak Ridge, have 420 and 422, not able to select 421, We got a message that we will be getting about 13 HD channels Oct 17,
They are: CNN, TLC, AMC, FX, Speed, Fox News, Science, Fox sports, NFL, TBS, ABC Family, and Disney

I'll check the messages when I get there Wednesday night.

On our system, 421 is empty. I did a search with a Knoxville zip & saw that TBS-HD was 421. All of our channels are the same channel #'s are the same as Knoxville, C/S comes from Knoxville, why are we missing this channel?

I can't answer that. Before we dropped them, we had a second box that would never get all the HD channels. They kept saying it was the box, so I'd take them back and had the same problem. It was about that time DirecTV came up with a great offer and I switched. I still have Comcast as my ISP and kept the basic service to keep the Internet cost down (I still save money). Anyone have a listing of what channels a person should get from Comcast through QAM?

We have discussed doing the same thing about keeping comcast as internet and going to Direct TV, I only watch the HD channels, Until recently you could get about everything that was in HD in QAM, had to rescan , now the only thing is local Channels and espn hd and Discovery HD. I have a outdoor antenna, the different between OTA and comcast is ridiculous. Cool part is I can get FOX station in Greenville TN plays different NFL games then FOX in Knoxville.

I'm in Oak Ridge, have 420 and 422, not able to select 421, We got a message that we will be getting about 13 HD channels Oct 17,
They are: CNN, TLC, AMC, FX, Speed, Fox News, Science, Fox sports, NFL, TBS, ABC Family, and Disney

I called C/S, clueless as always, but they did say that Fairfield Glade is also supposed to get these additional channels 10/17. By 10/17, TBS will pretty much be done with baseball playoff coverage & there isn't too much HD programming other than a few of the sitcoms. Bad timing to add it then!


PS, your list only has 12 channels.

Sorry about that, I was using comcast math to count HD, you are correct, 12 channels, Except for baseball, TBS has to many annoying popup commercials. Hard to watch a movie when they have some guy walking across the screen to tell you about his show,

I called C/S, clueless as always, but they did say that Fairfield Glade is also supposed to get these additional channels 10/17. By 10/17, TBS will pretty much be done with baseball playoff coverage & there isn't too much HD programming other than a few of the sitcoms. Bad timing to add it then!

Sounds like what happened to us last year. We got it right after the playoffs.

Does anyone know which channels a person is supposed to get through Comcast using only QAM? We did have ESPNHD and Discovery Theater HD and they are no longer there.

I'm basically looking for a cheap antenna option for HDTV reception. I'm about 10 miles away from the Knoxville major station antennas.

I'm really looking for a cheap, probably non-amplified antenna. Does anyone have any good suggestions for such an antenna? I would perfer UHF and VHF.

Thanks.

I use a Wineguard Square Shooter nonamplified version that cost $150 5 years ago. I live about close to 7 miles from Sharp's Ridge. I don't know what your definition of cheap is. I've seen some litle square type ones in Home Depot for about half what I paid but don't know anybody using one. My model pulls in WB when they're not having problems. I think they have to be at their best for me to pick them up. They're up on Buffalo Mountain beyond Oak Ridge....it's where the wind farm is. I'm at fairly low altitude too, no more than 30 feet above river level.

The Square Shooter has done well for me except when stations had problems.

Commissioner Tate to Visit Knoxville, TN for DTV Outreach

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-285921A1.pdf

WHO: FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate
WHAT: Town Hall on the DTV Transition
WHEN: Monday, October 13, 2008, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
WHERE: University of Tennessee
Shiloh Room
University Center
329 University Center
1502 West Cumberland Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37996-4800
Phone: 865-974-2225

I'm basically looking for a cheap antenna option for HDTV reception. I'm about 10 miles away from the Knoxville major station antennas.

Try running a TVFool.com plot for your location. If your desired stations are in green, you might want to try an un-amplified $10 rabbit/ear loop combo first.

I just bought one of these antennas (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103916&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032204&parentPage=family) from RadioShack, I get every major channel great, but I don't get WVLT (CBS). Anyone have any suggestions on how to pick up WVLT? I really want to see the game in HD

bump

I just bought one of these antennas (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103916&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032204&parentPage=family) from RadioShack, I get every major channel great, but I don't get WVLT (CBS). Anyone have any suggestions on how to pick up WVLT? I really want to see the game in HD

bump

What's wrong with 6's OTA? I've had no audio except on network HD all week. I watched monday's Boston Legal last night. The show was fine except at the end when they HD'ed down to SD, prematurely, to go local crap-D. No audio for me now or the last 2 days for thei local feed.

What's wrong with 6's OTA? I've had no audio except on network HD all week. I watched monday's Boston Legal last night. The show was fine except at the end when they HD'ed down to SD, prematurely, to go local crap-D. No audio for me now or the last 2 days for thei local feed.

"never mind......" An amp has been off, L & R. Anytime they went to 2-channel, I heard nothing....


NBC is going to phase out Weather Plus, what's on 10.2 . Their parent company bought a stake in the Weather Channel and they wouldn't wanna run a better weather channel or COMPETE.... :mad: I'll miss the local radar. I wonder if they won't start running repeats of their news....??? ....or what....?

anybody having trouble getting Fox 43 signals? That is the only channel I cant get. I finally got WVLT's signal.

They've been having some problems overall. Their HD signal has gone out for a period of time the last two Sundays.

I watched some baseball on 43 this evening with never more than a very minor video glitch once or twice. It's comin' in good on the south side for me.

This seems to be some sort of transmitter problem. It went out for at least an hour last Sunday during the Redskins-Eagles game and went out for 20-30 minutes yesterday during the Panthers-Buccaneers game.

Looks like ETPTV is going to add another subchannel since they are currently showing the test pattern on 2-3. I'd bet (and hope) its PBS World. I get that from WSBN (Norton, VA) and they have some pretty cool shows.

Back to a question I had earlier. Is anyone, that gets Comcast only through QAM channels, still getting ESPNHD and Discovery Theater HD? Mine has not been on there in two weeks and was wondering if they started blocking it.

I'm in Oak Ridge, have 420 and 422, not able to select 421, We got a message that we will be getting about 13 HD channels Oct 17,
They are: CNN, TLC, AMC, FX, Speed, Fox News, Science, Fox sports, NFL, TBS, ABC Family, and Disney


Curious, did these channels show up yesterday? They aren't yet listed on Comcast's website.

Actually got the channels last Friday, I had miss counted, it was 12 channels, Weird part is Fox Sports always show as off-air, but has something on. Check the QAM and everything is removed except the local channels. On a funny note. comcast has the James Bond series on On-Demand in HD. It really looks good. They have the movies split in half, between free movies and Pay. The sound is off track and not able to watch, so far this is on the first two 007 movies

That's weird. So, Oak Ridge got the 12 new HD channels but the Knoxville market got shafted?

I waited for the new channels on the 17th and there's been nothing. I tried doing Comcast's live chat to ask about it but that was pointless.

that is strange, Usually it's the other way around, knoxville gets the new channels,

Well, I guess in fairness, I should say that I know we already had TBS HD, but I'm pretty sure we don't have any of those other HD channels. Really, I've been waiting a long time to get FX, TLC, and CNN in HD. Got my hopes up and then back down again.

I got all of the new channels on the 9th of October. I live in South Knoxville, just across the river from UT. Try resetting your boxes?

I got all of the new channels on the 9th of October. I live in South Knoxville, just across the river from UT. Try resetting your boxes?

I'll take a look, but I don't think I can do a "reset" of sorts.

<---Cablecard user with TivoHD.

OK, so I found in the Tivo setup that I can add a few channels in the 4XX range that are "available" but they're not named and the guide information doesn't show up. They seem to be the missing AMC HD, CNN HD, FX HD, etc. If some of you guys who got the new channels don't mind, could you perhaps tell me what channel numbers correspond to which channels (of the new ones added)? It's still not showing up on COmcast's website (the channel lineup) and having a detailed list of channel numbers should help when I contact Tivo.

Thanks!

Unless some one beats me to it, I can get you the channels when I get home from work this evening

Unless some one beats me to it, I can get you the channels when I get home from work this evening

Thank you, I appreciate it.

Sorry about being a little bit late, took wife out to dinner, These are the HD channels for Oak Ridge, I'm assuming they are the same for knoxville
401 - Fox Sports 420 - USAHD 440 - WKOP
402 - Comcast 421 - TBSHD 444 - Family
403 - ESPN 422 - History 445 - Disney
404 - ESPN2 423 - CNN 446 - Science
405 - VSGLF 424 - Discovery 450 - Speed
406 - NFL 425 - TLC 451 - FX
407 - TNTHD 426 - Animal Planet
408 - MOJ 427 - SFHD
409 - UHD 428 - FN
410 - A&E 429 - AMC
411 - PLD 431 - WATE
412 - HDT 432 - WBIR
413 - NG CHN 433 - WVLT
414 - Food 434 - WTNZ
415 - HGTV 435 - WBXX

Sorry about being a little bit late, took wife out to dinner, These are the HD channels for Oak Ridge, I'm assuming they are the same for knoxville
401 - Fox Sports 420 - USAHD 440 - WKOP
402 - Comcast 421 - TBSHD 444 - Family
403 - ESPN 422 - History 445 - Disney
404 - ESPN2 423 - CNN 446 - Science
405 - VSGLF 424 - Discovery 450 - Speed
406 - NFL 425 - TLC 451 - FX
407 - TNTHD 426 - Animal Planet
408 - MOJ 427 - SFHD
409 - UHD 428 - FN
410 - A&E 429 - AMC
411 - PLD 431 - WATE
412 - HDT 432 - WBIR
413 - NG CHN 433 - WVLT
414 - Food 434 - WTNZ
415 - HGTV 435 - WBXX

Thank you VERY much! I'm pretty sure they're the same, but I too will have to check once I'm home. After dealing with comcast a little more I'm just coming to the conclusion that they despise cablecard users.

I've been Crumcast-free now for about 6 years now. ;) I've been following this thread for even longer. Crumcast is not friendly to Cablecard users. Less than a year after the cable industry agreed to the Cablecard standard, they tried to back out. I imagine that your tenure as a Cablecard user will be wrinkled with hassles. Crumcast no like-y folks not renting their boxes.

What's going on at channel 8? Their blocking problem has hit a level I've never seen before. Have they given more of their, apparently, already short-sheeted bandwidth to their subchannel? I'm looking at them on one of my small HDTV's and it's really lookon' poorly.:rolleyes:

P.S. - it's the Georgia vs. LSU game that's so afflicted....

I noticed the same thing, I switched to antenna, still same issue.

Comcast was supposed to add ABC Family HD and Disney HD before we dropped them in mid June. Did they ever add those or anything else?

Anyone in Knoxville still reading the board?

Anyone in Knoxville still reading the board?

Yep. Not much to discuss these days I guess.

Anyone in Knoxville still reading the board?

ABC Family and Disney HD did get added. As for the others, the post by RicknKnox just about covers it.

......well.....yes....I'm stille reading.....somethin'.

Anybody able to get these channels in Williamsburg, KY:
WATE
WVLT
WBXX
WTNZ


If so what is your set up?
I can get a signal of 10 percent on WATE and WBIR but it has pixelation... I can watch but not enjoy.

The antenna I am using sucks. As a result I am trying to figure out what I need to get a watchable signal.

Sorry about being a little bit late, took wife out to dinner, These are the HD channels for Oak Ridge, I'm assuming they are the same for knoxville
401 - Fox Sports 420 - USAHD 440 - WKOP
402 - Comcast 421 - TBSHD 444 - Family
403 - ESPN 422 - History 445 - Disney
404 - ESPN2 423 - CNN 446 - Science
405 - VSGLF 424 - Discovery 450 - Speed
406 - NFL 425 - TLC 451 - FX
407 - TNTHD 426 - Animal Planet
408 - MOJ 427 - SFHD
409 - UHD 428 - FN
410 - A&E 429 - AMC
411 - PLD 431 - WATE
412 - HDT 432 - WBIR
413 - NG CHN 433 - WVLT
414 - Food 434 - WTNZ
415 - HGTV 435 - WBXX

What is FN? Fox News Channel? Did they add Speed HD as part of the sports programming package like NFLN or is it included with the others?

Anybody able to get these channels in Williamsburg, KY:
WATE
WVLT
WBXX
WTNZ


If so what is your set up?
I can get a signal of 10 percent on WATE and WBIR but it has pixelation... I can watch but not enjoy.

The antenna I am using sucks. As a result I am trying to figure out what I need to get a watchable signal.

There's a chance you may get WBIR after it goes back to channel 10 in February. All the other channels are staying on UHF after the analog shutdown.

There's at least one AVS member in Ky with a very good antenna set-up that gets the Knoxville stations. Maybe he will read and respond.

Hope no one here has DISH.

http://www.wate.com/global/Story.asp?s=9496818

Hope no one here has DISH.

http://www.wate.com/global/Story.asp?s=9496818

I saw that scroll on channel 6 last night and wondered what was up. It sounds like WATE wants some of the service charge Dish gets for locals.

I love WATE's take on this: "We regret the inconvenience that DISH may cause you. " :rolleyes:

The way ABC is dropping all their meaningful programming, who'd care if they got channel 6. Ebert & Ropper, dropped for unknown reviewers. Boston Legal dropped for a reality show. Dirty, Sexy Money dropped for I don't know what. Entertainment Tonight is on atleast 3 times a day. Soon, I suspect they'll just go 24-7 with all Entertainment Tonight.... :rolleyes:

With the demise of Boston Legal, I watch nothing on 6. Maybe those Dish folks are the lucky ones? ;)

OK. What just happened? Comcast added The Weather Channel HD to my guide this morning on channel 441. Now I am home to find that my box has been reset, presumably by a signal from Comcast, and the new channel is gone. What the...

I saw that scroll on channel 6 last night and wondered what was up. It sounds like WATE wants some of the service charge Dish gets for locals.

I love WATE's take on this: "We regret the inconvenience that DISH may cause you. " :rolleyes:

I read or heard somewhere DISH had the same dispute with WBIR.

OK. What just happened? Comcast added The Weather Channel HD to my guide this morning on channel 441. Now I am home to find that my box has been reset, presumably by a signal from Comcast, and the new channel is gone. What the...

Typical Comcast. :rolleyes:

Comcast has redeemed itself for The Weather Channel fiasco.

Added today:

430 Bravo HD
441 The Weather Channel HD
442 Cartoon Network HD
457 E! HD
458 Travel Channel HD
470 CNBC HD
471 QVC HD


There was no message on the box or flyer in the mail. They just showed up. Pretty good surprise.

They are 6 months too late for me. I switched to DirecTV in June and got tired of waiting for them to add something else I wanted.

They're one month too late for me. I went with Dish Hd. I got tried of them adding a little extra to my bill.

I'm having trouble with channel 10's OTA again. Yesterday it was glitching regularly, several times a minute. Today I have no signal.

At home I have an LG DTV receiver that dates back to 2002. It has been connected to a modest outside antenna and performed flawlessly (I did power cycle it twice). Recently I switched to Dish TurboHD from Comcast. I included the local channel package because I thought it was necessary to have the local package to use the DVR to record local channels. To my surprise the receivers included ATSC tuners.

Using a splitter to connect the Dish DVR to my outside antenna resulted in terrible OTA reception with picture freezes and glitches. The signal strength indication was all over the place from too low to complete full scale while the LG played on no problem.

On a whim I added a 6db attenuator to just the Dish receivers ATSC input. The result: stable signals, no dropouts or freezes. My conclusion is that the receiver was getting too much signal.

I'm about 6 miles straight line to the transmitter sites.

An F style inline attenuator bought locally or mail order should cost less than $5 if anyone wants to experiment.

They're one month too late for me. I went with Dish Hd. I got tried of them adding a little extra to my bill.

Yeah, adding to the bill without adding any new channels. :rolleyes:

Does anyone know if WVLT 8-1 has plans to broadcast NFL games in 5.1 surround sound? I love watching Sunday games on 43-1 or 10-1 because they pass along the surround mix; CBS, at least for NFL games, is stereo all the way.

[I'm in North Knox with a window view of Sharps Ridge; getting OTA HD with a Samsung DTB-H260F. I'm pulling in all the local channels except WBXX.]

There seems to be a pattern in the local stations audio. The 720p stations do 5.1 and the 1080i stations do not. I just presume that the 1080i stations can't spare the bandwidth to do 5.1 . That's how it appears.

Years ago, A/V expert Joe Kane said 720p was gonna be better for broadcast stations. I wasn't sure I concured. The lure of more pixels had me wonderin'. Now, I believe him. It seems like the 720p stations do everything better here locally. They have 5.1 audio. They don't have pixelization (blocking) problems which becomes particularly apparent during sports.

Well, Fox provides the equipment which does 5.1 to the stations for free, so all Fox stations that do HD also do 5.1.

As for the others, it's not a bandwidth concern, it's more likely a "don't want to spend the money" concern.

- Trip

Well, Fox provides the equipment which does 5.1 to the stations for free, so all Fox stations that do HD also do 5.1.

As for the others, it's not a bandwidth concern, it's more likely a "don't want to spend the money" concern.

- Trip

Ah, I thought someone down at the station was just flipping a switch from "Local" to "Network" and that the NBC & CBS 5.1 audio feeds would just pass through along with the HD picture. I guess nothing's ever as simple as it seems it should be...

I checked again, and y'all were right ... WBIR is only stereo. Their surround effects sounded better to me than WVLT, so I just assumed. Maybe after Feb 17...? I feel some advance Super Bowl letdown. :(

When TDS installed fiber in Farragut their DVR was so bad they had to withdraw it from service. I heard that they have a new one they started installing last week. Does anyone have one yet?

General comments about the quality of their fiber optic video service?

When TDS installed fiber in Farragut their DVR was so bad they had to withdraw it from service. I heard that they have a new one they started installing last week. Does anyone have one yet?

General comments about the quality of their fiber optic video service?

Just got it installed today. The STB sports some revised software that makes navigating menus easier, and the recording feature works fine.

There's just one MAJOR flaw. As far as I can tell, the thing won't pause and rewind live tv!! I already called up tech support, and he says that I'm the first one to call about the new DVR (i guess that's to be expected since they just announced its availability). He said as far as he can tell the box doesn't have that capability :confused:. Isn't that one of the main reasons of having a DVR? I'm pretty mad about this, but at least I can finally record some shows, just in time for the season premiere of 24.

Just got it installed today. The STB sports some revised software that makes navigating menus easier, and the recording feature works fine.

There's just one MAJOR flaw. As far as I can tell, the thing won't pause and rewind live tv!! I already called up tech support, and he says that I'm the first one to call about the new DVR (i guess that's to be expected since they just announced its availability). He said as far as he can tell the box doesn't have that capability :confused:. Isn't that one of the main reasons of having a DVR? I'm pretty mad about this, but at least I can finally record some shows, just in time for the season premiere of 24.

Disregard that, apparently I had a faulty box. I got a new one installed today and it works as expected. I was even able to program the remote to control my TV, HD over-the-air box, DVD player, and audio receiver- something that no remote I've had yet was able to do :)

The only flaw I can find so far is the frequency settings for recording something. For one, they are hard to get to. If you hit record on a program on the guide it just assumes you only want to record it once, you need to dive into the settings to add it on a schedule. And if you do stumble upon these settings, you can only choose between "once", "daily", "weekly" and "daily M-F". Where's the "new episodes" or "all episodes" buttons? Those are the useful ones. Oh well, as long as it works I suppose.

The new DVR TDS is installing is the ADB-5810WX. Here's a link to the manufacturer's web site.

http://www.adbglobal.com/files/ADB-5810WX-US.pdf

Is this the STB you have or do you have the older Scientific Atlanta box?

Has channel 10 had transmitter problems this week. They're back to OK today for me but the last few days I've gotten black air at times. My Tivo recording of 30 Rock last night was 19 minutes long and useless. If it wasn't for 20 they'd be the worst station in town, IMO.

Has nobody else had problems with 10's OTA this week?

Today they're coming in hunky dory again. I just looked at their weather sub and now I'm looking at their NHL hockey game. However, yesterday, they were not worth a damn. My Tivo recording of Saturday Night Live was 17 minutes long. That's 17 minutes out of 94 minutes. That's how much signal I got. For me, it's been a schizophrenic week of reception of 10. One day they're channel Hyde and the next they're channel Jekyl.

By this evening who knows, channel Hyde may be back?

As for the others, it's not a bandwidth concern, it's more likely a "don't want to spend the money" concern.


Bingo!!!

Channel 10 is back to normal again for me. I hope they get more consistent after the annie-log shut-off! Sometimes I wonder if they broadcast their digital feed on some barely working, emergency back-up transmitter that barely works? :rolleyes: I hope their ups and downs is not a preview of the future!

Does nobody else have problems when I do?


Is anybody on this thread anymore?


Where all da OTA peoples at?

Channel 10 is back to normal again for me. I hope they get more consistent after the annie-log shut-off! Sometimes I wonder if they broadcast their digital feed on some barely working, emergency back-up transmitter that barely works? :rolleyes: I hope their ups and downs is not a preview of the future!

Does nobody else have problems when I do?


Is anybody on this thread anymore?


Where all da OTA peoples at?

I haven't really noticed anything, but maybe...?

This morning 'BIR is getting 10 out of 10 bars on my Samsung. Maybe they were doing some last minute adjusting or the digital signal before dropping analog over the last week or two? :confused:

Hi Daver! 10 just been so Jekyl & Hyde for me this past week. On another forum somebody suggested that many TV stations have been using back-up units for digital broadcasting until after the transition. That M.O. sounded like it fits 10. I don't think my signal is ever quite as high as your's. When I've checked it, diring fits, it bounced up and down like a bouncing ball.

I hope full-time digital gets better than this! :)

Where all da OTA peoples at?

They switched to a dish or cable. :D

They switched to a dish or cable. :D

Shoot, everybody has a dish full of ice lately! ;) I get Direc but I ain't never, ever gonna pay them for local channels. They can kiss my oval a$$ dish. Ya can't sell mud to a pie-maker like me. :)

I don't have to pay anything extra for the locals.

Shoot, everybody has a dish full of ice lately! ;) I get Direc but I ain't never, ever gonna pay them for local channels. They can kiss my oval a$$ dish. Ya can't sell mud to a pie-maker like me. :)

What package are you getting from DirecTV where you aren't paying for locals? :confused:

What package are you getting from DirecTV where you aren't paying for locals? :confused:

I'm not sure what it's called. It's not offered anymore. I've had the same plan for 5-6 years, XXXX with the, is it now, $10.99 HD Package (used to be $9.95) tacked on. I don't have the new dish or any MPEG4 equipment. I've steadfastly refused to take any upgrade offer that involves using the new equipment. If they cut off my HD channels before they have a new, MPEG4, DirecTivo I'll likely be an ex-Direc customer. In that case, I might just go to all OTA till a bona-fide suitor comes along...?

Get this, less than 2 weeks ago I pushed 10 in on my remote expecting to see (ordering info, yada, ect). Then I was gonna push up for 10.1 . However there was annie-log 10 coming from Direc instead of ordering info. I check the other locals, all coming through. I thought about it overnight.

Next, despite a very scratchy throat, I call 'em sounding like Froggy from Our Gang due to broncitus. I'm really annoyed because they keep calling me sir but I did sound more like Froggy than Betty Boop this day... ;) I made them remove the locals. Their excuse for providing them was we're giving them to everybody because of the switch till June. I say, you've no right to change my service without mi permissi-o, si, Direc stupidos. Don't do it again. I'm sure they thought they could start charging me come June for locals.... :rolleyes:

I then proceeded to inform them I'm looking for a cheaper package but all the new layouts were more than I pay now. My package might be, Total Choice without Locals....? Something like that or maybe Choice Plus without.....?

So, I'm thinkin' 'bout gettin' cHOICE pLUS without DirecTV....? ;) I'm coiled like a viper waitin' to strike, waiting for a better, cheaper provider to come along that has Tivo equipment or that option....or equipment that I like.

If I re-sign with Direc, I will never turn in my DirecTivos so they can resell them in Bolivia, or whatever they're doing with all these trade-in's.

My package is in the archieves. I might be the last customer on earth with i? ;) I quess I've had it 6 years, atleast..... :)

Did anyone else notice that comcrap has been mucking around with the clear QAM channels? I came in this evening and WBIR was showing WATE. Looks like they moved a few things around and everything is back to normal for me now. If you have a DVR using QAM on comcrap you might want to check your channels. :cool:

They've been monkeying around with those clear QAM channels for some time. I used to get ESPN HD and Discovery HD that way and they moved them or blocked them. We had also been getting the Comcast weather station that always shows Knoxville radar and forecast. They moved or blocked that one a few weeks ago. I think they're doing it on purpose to keep people from getting much of anything via QAM.

Speaking of QAM, I'm thinking about dropping DirecTV and hooking my antenna to an HDTivo because I'm mainly watching the networks and Netflix.

With Comcast's lowest $15 tier, what's included in that in HD?

Speaking of QAM, I'm thinking about dropping DirecTV and hooking my antenna to an HDTivo because I'm mainly watching the networks and Netflix.

Me too! I've about had enough of paying for hundreds of channels I don't want for the right to pay stille extra to watch a half-dozen HD channels.

What the world needs now is a good $30 package of HD channels. I'll wait for the providers to come to me begging if that's what it takes.

Speaking of QAM, I'm thinking about dropping DirecTV and hooking my antenna to an HDTivo because I'm mainly watching the networks and Netflix.

With Comcast's lowest $15 tier, what's included in that in HD?

If you mean the limited basic package, as far as digital channels go, you'd be able to find the locals in HD, excluding WMAK, on clear QAM and a couple of SD channels like UT TV and 10News2.

Speaking of QAM, I'm thinking about dropping DirecTV and hooking my antenna to an HDTivo because I'm mainly watching the networks and Netflix.

With Comcast's lowest $15 tier, what's included in that in HD?

Other than locals, you won't find anything in HD from Comcast strictly via QAM. They've apparently caught on and have blocked them.

Thanks CardassianVol and MRM4.

I thought as much, and don't really expect them to give more than that for the lowest tier. I just wanted make sure our locals are available in HD on the lowest tier ($15/month).

Will WVLT ever have a decent looking SD picture on both 8-1 and 8-2? Their PQ is downright sorry.

I haven't seen anything on here, but am I the only one annoyed that Channel 2.1 and channel 2.2 now carry the same programming? Why have a subchannel degrading resolution if you just want to show the same programs on both?

I am not a great fan of broadcast tv, but I really liked the old Channel 2 HD TV channel that was on 2-1. I liked watching Smart Travels, or Rick Dee's Europe while eating supper. Now they're just showing the kiddy stuff like Cyberchase.

Oh wait... I went to look at their program log and I see there is now 2.1, 2.2, 2.3. What the heck??!!. :confused:2-1 and 2-2 are the same and 2.3 has what 2.1 used to have. *rolls eyes* :mad:I can't imagine that splitting the channel up into 3 channels looks that good. I guess I'll have to do an autoscan on the TV. I was putting that off till the analogs went away.:(

I watch PBS on channel 15 but I have the same concerns about why .1 and .2 are now the same thing. .3 is, indeed, different though. It's full of travel and cooking shows. .1 used to have all those nature shows like the one about Australia's Ayres Rock.

Redundant are .1 and .2 . I hope they're warming up for something better and different!

Personally I wish they would go back to the way things were. HD stuff on .1 and the run of the mill crap on .2 and drop .3 :D

15-1 was the national PBS-HD feed until that ended on December 21. Now that feed is the national PBS satellite feed, which contains a lot of upconverted SD and overlap with local stations. WETP and WKOP are likely going to move their regular programming to be "HD when available" like the networks do and then put different programming on 2-2 and 15-2.

- Trip

Thanks for the clarification. I still think having *2* subchannels is a mistake, 1 was bad enough. The macroblocking on the HD Channel with fast motion and scene changes was kinda sucky w/ just one subchannel. Of course now they've moved the Travel shows like Rick Dee's Europe to 2.3 .. and its not even 16x9 anymore. I just LOVE seeing 16x9 shows being shown w/ top & bottom letterbox bars in the middle of my big screen. NOT!

Is anything gonna hapen on the 17th? Is anybody turning off their analog broadcasts?

Today 43 is having fits, OTA, for me today. It's not watchable and I'm getting no signal from 20. Nothing from 20 isn't unusual for me. I hold out hope they'll be watchable after the switch. I was running a scan with my Samsung T-165 tuner and 43 and 20 didn't even register. 43's analog looked way worse than usual too.

Channel 6's parent company is in bankruptcy. Will 6 stop analog to save money?

Is anything gonna hapen on the 17th? Is anybody turning off their analog broadcasts?

The plans for Knoxville stations to turn off analog, according to today's newspaper:

WATE: June 12
WMAK: already digital
WVLT: June 12
WBIR: June 12
WETP: Feb. 17
WKOP: already digital
WBXX: June 12, maybe earlier
WPXK: June 12
WTNZ: June 12

Thanks Daver! :) I saw that too since I posted.

I think these TV stations are running out of capable equipment to broadcast 2 signals. 10 has improved for me lately but 43 has become very erratic. I wish they'd all go digital now and put all their effort into that. Today 43 wasn't getting analog or digital right for me.

Thanks Daver! :) I saw that too since I posted.

I think these TV stations are running out of capable equipment to broadcast 2 signals. 10 has improved for me lately but 43 has become very erratic. I wish they'd all go digital now and put all their effort into that. Today 43 wasn't getting analog or digital right for me.

Yeah, i really don't understand the reason for the extension -- most people who don't have a newer TV are on cable or sat anyway, so I really don't get how a couple more months is really going to help the others... but what do I know. :rolleyes:

i am at zip 37841 and i need to know what kind of antenna i need to get all of these ota channels?

i am at zip 37841 and i need to know what kind of antenna i need to get all of these ota channels?

Welcome to the forum... check this site (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx).

[QUOTE=Rachael Bellomy;15828926]Is anything gonna hapen on the 17th?

Another day older and deeper in debt?

Channel 2 from Sneedville will sign-off their analog transmitter. Everyone else is waiting until 6/12 although earlier is still possible.

Rachael: If you can't get channel 43 analog that is also the reason you have occasional trouble with 43, 10 and 6 digital. They all originate from the same antenna. Try to improve your analog signal on 43 and you'll most likely improve the digitals from the same antenna.

There is really nothing dramatic going to happen on 6/12 other than the analogs shut down and channel 10 moves from RF channel 31 to RF channel 10. Channels 6, 8, 15, 20, and 43 all stay put at their current power level. Channel 7 has applied for a power increase and others may but that does not hinge on the transition date.

i have been there many times and it and tvfool gives me different readings. tvfool actually gives me more channels. antennaweb tells me i need a large vhf/uhf with amp to get nbc and abc, i was just wondering if an indoor antenna with preamp would be good enough for like 65 miles? or if my old outside antenna would be good enough if i got a high grade coax and in line amp?

....Rachael: If you can't get channel 43 analog that is also the reason you have occasional trouble with 43, 10 and 6 digital. They all originate from the same antenna. Try to improve your analog signal on 43 and you'll most likely improve the digitals from the same antenna.....

Channel 10 has been flawless the last several days as if they've shored up their signal, for me atleast. I seldom have trouble recieving 6 purr-fect. I usually get 43's analog better than yesterday when I checked it using my Samsung T-165 tuner. Their digital was bad too. It made me wonder if they were at reduced power and working on somethin'?

I hold out hope that this week we might begin to see some more stations best effort going into digital and leave the analog dangling by a thread, like digital seemed many of these last 5 years.

I miss the good ole days of calling channel 6 to remind them they were broadasting the ABC HD loop instead of the 11 o'clock news..... ;) .....well, not really....!

I think something is happenin' down at 43....???? For me, the last few days, both signals suck.

i have been there many times and it and tvfool gives me different readings. tvfool actually gives me more channels. antennaweb tells me i need a large vhf/uhf with amp to get nbc and abc, i was just wondering if an indoor antenna with preamp would be good enough for like 65 miles? or if my old outside antenna would be good enough if i got a high grade coax and in line amp?

You are near Oneida? Plan on a large outside antenna. Do you get channel 43 analog okay? If you can get channel 43 okay you are okay for the UHF digital channels. If you can get the current channel 10 analog okay (little or no snow and minimal ghosting) you should be okay for channel 10 and 7 after 6/12. If your old outside antenna is still physically okay and if it used to work VHF/UHF you may be okay with new coax and balun. The preamp may help. You'll want a VHF/UHF preamp.

I've tried DTV reception near Bandy Creek in BSF with an RV type antenna but the Knoxville stations were not quite strong enough to decode although channel 7 popped in a few times. A larger outdoor antenna probably would have worked.

There's lot of rough terrain between Knoxville and Oneida.

i get 6, 10, 20, 54, and 22 and 29 analog. thats abc, nbc, wb, pbs, and ion. occasionally i will get some cbs. i dont really need abc, fox, and wb as i have a dish for that. but would love to get cbs, nbc, wb, and some ion. if i get those ill be happy. what is 43? never got that one, is it fox? my antenna is stationary because my dsl antenna is also up with it, so it is anchored. i figured id have to have one that wasnt anchored? and what do you mean by balun? i dont know much about antennas. what i think ill be doing is combining my dish and anteanna with a diplexer, would that lessen my signal quality a lot? and thats why i would like an in line amp if i could get away with one because i have so many things plugged in already behind the tv.

43 is Fox....I think it's digital is actually on 34...

There is really nothing dramatic going to happen on 6/12 other than the analogs shut down and channel 10 moves from RF channel 31 to RF channel 10. Channels 6, 8, 15, 20, and 43 all stay put at their current power level. Channel 7 has applied for a power increase and others may but that does not hinge on the transition date.

WB isn't moving back to 20?

WB isn't moving back to 20?

WBXX will return to channel 20.

- Trip

WB isn't moving back to 20?

Not only are they going to switch to channel 20, but also they are going from 375kw to 652kw. Almost doubling their power.

NashDigie signing off.

Not only are they going to switch to channel 20, but also they are going from 375kw to 652kw. Almost doubling their power.

That's encouraging. Maybe then, I could pick them up on a regular basis?

what is 43? never got that one, is it fox? ..... and what do you mean by balun? ..... what i think ill be doing is combining my dish and anteanna with a diplexer.....

43 is the Fox affiliate in Knoxville. I've used 43 as an example that if you can get 43's analog you should be able to get the collocated digitals from Knoxville.

A balun is the small cylindrical transformer that converts most TV antennas from 300 ohm balanced to 75 ohm unbalanced so you can use coax instead of twinlead to go from the antenna to the set.

Diplexing can work but it makes troubleshooting more complicated so I would avoid it if possible.

Not only are they going to switch to channel 20, but also they are going from 375kw to 652kw. Almost doubling their power.

NashDigie signing off.

Could be... A power increase and a lower channel should help some viewers if the problem is low signal strength. Although doubling power is only a 3db improvement it will could make a difference for viewers on the edge.

If you really want to do some research (sounds like you already have) try:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio2?x=tvq.html

Patterns and filings are available directly from the FCC.

FWIW, I think the digital transition occurred in 2002.

It's only 3 dB, but operating on channel 20 versus channel 50 could be a huge improvement. Where I live, I could see analogs from Raleigh NC only up to channel 22, and then above that the signals wouldn't bend enough to make it to my home 24/7.

Not to say it'll cure all issues, but it could be a lot more helpful than just the 3 dB power boost.

- Trip

I am wondering on the coax, i have heard that the really heavy duty expensive coax will work a lot better at getting good signal than the plain old coax, is this true?
and if you dont think i should diplex, then how will i get my tv to get both antenna and my fta dish without going out and climbing the ladder to switch over every time?

the last time i checked about a month and a half ago i got 4 pbs channels and wb breaking up sometimes on the converter box, i was going to unhook fta and plug it back into the antenna for a little while, what i am wondering is when i do get it plugged in, an estimate of how many channels i should be able to get as of today. if i dont get as many as i should, then i think i should go for a new antenna.

I am wondering on the coax.....

I would suggest a good quality RG-6 type coax for an outside antenna so you get relatively low loss at UHF.

What is a "fta"? You generally diplex to combine two separate signal sources on one run of coax so if you don't diplex you might just run two runs of coax. One coax attaches to the off-the-air antenna and the second attaches to whatever the other device is.

I don't have a good concept of what you're trying to do but you should be able to receive ch20 and 54, they are near you. I also remember getting a Ky PBS station while camping at Big South Fork. The Knoxville stations are going to take more work due mostly to terrain.

fta is free to air satellite. i get abc, mytv, and fox channels with it. so i need the rest from ota.

my neighbor has an antenna tower about 20 feet high with 2 antennas, both pointing different directions. i was wondering how efficient this would be and how i would go about building one of these towers?

At 20ft you don't need a tower, just a mast or section or two of water pipe or rigid conduit and a mounting bracket to the house. I've been thinking of using two sections of rigid conduit slipped together and pinned giving a height of about 18 feet to replace some tree fall damaged push-up masts.

I'd use a rotor rather than two antennas but two antennas could work okay.

Why don't you ask the neighbor how well it works for him? Most people are okay giving free advice. ;-)

Everything I'm seeing on Channel 10 has DD 5.1 these days. Looks like that leaves WVLT (your All-Macroblock station) as the last straggler. Kills me every time I see CSI's 5.1 logo at the bottom of the screen.

Wish they had it for the Super Bowl.

Wish they had it for the Super Bowl.

The previous one on Fox sounded way better. Come to think of it, the 720P looked better too.

I'm watching OTA and the Memphis game isn't in HD. Any idea what's going on?

And moments later, it's in HD. Oh well, I'm happy now.

I'm watching OTA and the Memphis game isn't in HD. Any idea what's going on?

WVLT feels the need to show a message on screen after every commercial break telling the soapheads that their soaps won't be on today and tomorrow. They don't have the technical capability to do that and be in HD at the same time.

WVLT looks like they're getting even worse! A couple of shows I watch used to have around 14 Mbps video bitrate. In the last couple of weeks, they're around 9-10 Mbps! That's barely above DVD bitrates, and since both DVDs and OTA HDTV use MPEG-2, you can imagine that's not good for the picture.

I checked it today during one of the tournament games and it was at around 14Mbps again, so maybe this was just a temporary glitch. Or maybe they're doing it during primetime, which is the absolute worst time to give bandwidth to the sub-channel.

I've been getting WVLT's digital OTA for 5+ years. It's never improved. It's just gotten worse and worse.

WVLT feels the need to show a message on screen after every commercial break telling the soapheads that their soaps won't be on today and tomorrow. They don't have the technical capability to do that and be in HD at the same time.

That was aggravating. They didn't do it as much during the Tennessee game on Friday as they did the Memphis game on Thursday.

Anyone having any problems with WBXX on Comcast? It's been spotty the past few weeks and failed again tonight. No signal = no Gossip Girl in HD... wondering if it's WBXX or Comcast's problem.

Any ideas?

WBXX is coming in fine OTA right now for me. My reception of them has markedly improved the past two months afters years of mostly black air. I'd suspect Crumcast.

Has anyone seen any lip sync issues on WBIR the last few days?

Hi All,

I just bought a Samsung LN40A550 tonight and I have Comcast "limited basic" with no cable box. I let my TV do the autosetup thing but everything looked MUCH better on my ten year old RCA analog POS. What do I need to do to set this up the right way? Do I need to buy an antenna or will I be forced to pay comcast yet more money on a monthly basis to get a decent signal that I can view? If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
:cool:

In addition to the few analog channels you get with limited basic, you should get the local stations (digital signals from 6,8,10,15, and 43 for instance) in HD in clear QAM. The set you just bought supports clear QAM. I'd look over the documentation and ask the set to scan for channels again. It is possible that the signal quality you are getting from Comcast is not good enough to allow the stations in clear QAM to be received. It is also possible that there is a trap that needs changing to allow these clear QAM signals into your house.

Be prepared to educate the customer service representative about local HD available in clear QAM. They will probably tell you that you must have a digital box from them to receive local stations in HD however that is incorrect.

As for the analog channels looking worse than on your older set, there may be some tweaks to make them appear a little better. Look in the owners manual for "picture control".

With 6, 8, 10, etc available in clear QAM and in HD, I wouldn't bother to watch the analog versions of these channels.

Thanks, I will call and ask about clear QAM. So far they have told me that I need to pay $60 a month, $45 a month or $6.95 a month. none of this is acceptable since I only want local channels. Additionally, they told me that after June 12th they will "retrograde" digital signals to analog for those who won't pay for digital broadcasts. I bought an antenna which is working fine for now with some hitching.

Comcast blocks most of their HD channels except for the locals. When we switched to DirecTV, I connected by cable line to the tuner to see what we could get. Originally, we could get ESPN HD, Discovery HD, and their Comcast weather channel. They started blocking the first two and later on, blocked the weather station.

I am fine with them blocking those channels, I just want the local channels digital and cannot get them.

For all interested parties I have documented my struggle with Comcast on my blog at http://captaindude.blogspot.com

I can't believe I can't get one consistent straight answer. This is unreal.

For anyone following, I tried to follow the aforementioned advice and was told I can't get any HD programming via cable without a box.

See http://captaindude.blogspot.com for the most awesome adventure in customer service.

[QUOTE=Captain Dude;16210804]For anyone following, I tried to follow the aforementioned advice and was told I can't get any HD programming via cable without a box.

That is a typical response from customer service; however, it is not true. I'd ask for a supervisor or just forget it and put up an antenna.

@Patrick,

Agreed, they have disconnected me three times and told me something different every time I call. At one point a lady said I could have a box and when I went to pick it up they said no. This is beyond irritating. Does anyone know about this antenna:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10901&cs_id=1090102&p_id=4730&seq=1&format=2

I think I m going to put my whole house on this.

I noticed that WBIR had their school delays placed on the HD feed this morning. Finally, we might be getting somewhere.

you might be getting somewhere, I'm still being told any combination of the following:

1. I need a box

2. I have to pay more for any HD channels

3. I cannot get just the local channels I must subscribe to a larger package

4. I can go get a free cable box and that will fix all of my problems.

5. I am not allowed to have a cable box with my current subscription.

6. Probably some I am forgetting

If all you want is local HD channels, then get an antenna and be done with it. I live on the Karns side of Powell and can get all locals with a small antenna that isn't even powered.

The one you linked SHOULD work. I had one for a short time from Radio Shack that was similar to the one you linked. It worked fine as well.

@MRM4 agreed, and that is what I am doing. That said, if I can prevent someone else from getting messed over in the future I am going to take a little extra time and make sure they get what they're entitled to.

I understand. I hate dealing with Comcast. I only use them now for high speed internet and the limited package to keep my internet rate down.

@MRM4 agreed, and that is what I am doing. That said, if I can prevent someone else from getting messed over in the future I am going to take a little extra time and make sure they get what they're entitled to.

In the fairly recent past, I fired DirecTV and only have OTA. I aqquired a Tivo HD unit. I can add somebody's cable to it when I find a suitor by getting their Cable Card's....2 for dual-line recording.

That's someting you could do. Establish local reception and later opt for cable and/or internet loads into the box. I can't seem to get enthusiastic about connecting my Tivo to Crumcast. I'm waiting to see what A T & T's U-Verse service is gonna be like. If you want Comcast on your own terms, or something closer anyways, you might wanna nab an HD Tivo?

Crumcast might be in my future (?) but I'll never use their crappie equipment!

I finally got a technician on the phone and he asked what filters I had outside. I replied that I had red,white, and blue. he stated that about two months ago, technicians in the field were no longer directed to install the blue filter for the limited package and that I should try removing that. Amazingly, that worked just fine. I still have more channels than I want but I obviously didn't need a cable box to get the local stations in HD. Who would've thought it could take a month to answer a simple question?
:p

I finally got a technician on the phone and he asked what filters I had outside. I replied that I had red,white, and blue. he stated that about two months ago, technicians in the field were no longer directed to install the blue filter for the limited package and that I should try removing that.
:p

I'm surprised they recommended touching their equipment at all but congratulations on getting it fixed.

I should have clarified that the guy I got on the phone is a friend and it wasn't through Comcast "official" channels.
:cool:

Interesting. I'll have to look at mine. I'd say since I get the locals, the blue one isn't on mine already. Wonder what the red and white ones control?

Interesting. I'll have to look at mine. I'd say since I get the locals, the blue one isn't on mine already. Wonder what the red and white ones control?
I'm not sure why two filters are needed but if you only subscribe to the base cable service the frequencies that carry CATV channels 15 through about 70 are prevented from entering your home by those filters. You're not paying for those channels so that's fair enough. If you have internet with basic cable they must also allow the frequencies that carry the modem signals to pass. BTW, I'd be careful to avoid doing anything that could be interpreted (or misinterpreted) as theft of service.

I was just curious. I wouldn't touch a thing.

Theft of service, that's interesting. I wonder if I can tell crapcast that when they charge me for my Internet or cable not working? I wouldn't touch the stuff either but I just couldn't get an answer. It's unfortunate that I had to take action on my own to receive what I am paying for. Cable companies need to be held accountable for how they treat their customers and for forcing extra expense and channels you don't want. They won't offer a la carte style selection because it would bankrupt their current business model of being able to screw people into 700 channels and getting people to sit on the couch 10 hours a day.

Anyone else want to use my soapbox?:o

I agree. The last time I had a major outage with them, I called them and asked them if that time without service would be deducted from my bill. They said no. I asked why not because I was paying for something I could not access at the time because it was their fault. They didn't go for it.

I am happy with my DirecTV. Their customer service isn't as good as it was when I was with them last in 2003. But it is still better than Comcast's customer service.

I am happy with my DirecTV. Their customer service isn't as good as it was when I was with them last in 2003. But it is still better than Comcast's customer service.

I like DirecTV's service, but their prices have gotten pretty high and their HD-DVR sucks. I'm hoping they bring back Tivo soon -- I've been on the edge of switching to OTA + limited Comcast with a "real" HDTivo.

I like DirecTV's service, but their prices have gotten pretty high and their HD-DVR sucks. I'm hoping they bring back Tivo soon -- I've been on the edge of switching to OTA + limited Comcast with a "real" HDTivo.

The HD Tivo part is sweet. I'm just OTA for now. I think everybody is too expensive if you want HD channels. I want a package sans all SD-channels and no music channels. I want to pay $40 or less and I want it to be compatiable with Tivo....

....or Direc might be a possibility again when they get Tivo back, as they alledge. I'm with ya they cost too much but every forced "Base" package guarantees your service is "super-sized". I think they're hard up for money....to pay for their NFL rights. I'm quessing that even those of us who didn't take the NFL package actually paid $5-$15 a month for it's expensive benefit.

I'm anxious for A T & T's U-verse to come along and heat up the comp'. I'd like to get TV from the outside world, beyond Maynrsdville, again in the next few months....but I'm holdin' out on price if necessary. Every month of recession that goes by should make providers a bit more hard-up....? I'm counting on it.

If Direc's Tivo is too crippled, they have zero chance with me. Somehow I expect just that though....

TiVo is also a rip off. Please look into "free" (non subscription-based service) alternatives such as Beyond TV or Myth TV and some others. You will incur some up front cost and set up but then you aren't getting milked every month for nothing.

With respect to theft of service, the only service I have stolen is customer service.

I've looked a little bit at building my own MythTV box to up my geek cred, but the hardware cost of acquiring a dedicated computer, tuner cards, remote interface, etc, seems in my judgment to be comparable to the cost of Tivo hardware and service.

A TivoHD (which I don't own) including lifetime product support is 700 bucks, no recurring fee, which is a lot of money ... on the other hand, it's about a year's worth of Cable or Satellite service. (It's also the cost of my cell phone per year).

Getting a price for a MythTV system seems to be as difficult as trying to bathe a cat, but if I were to buy Dell's Ubuntu box and add two tuners I'd be looking at $600. That puts the amount of the TiVo "rip off" for me at $100. Looking at hardware only, my Myth box is actually More Expensive.

I think MythTV (and other projects) are awesome, and would love to go that route some day, but I have to believe that if the hardware costs were price-competitive to TiVo someone somewhere would have an open-source DVR for sale. Or a kit, even.

Myth and the others will run on any P4 with 512MB ( I recommend a GIG) of RAM. You need an $80 dollar tuner card and that's it. The best part is no subscription fees. I will purchase the $100 BeyondTV and get the RF remote with it and buy a tuner card in an old PC someone tossed. Total cost to get Beyond up and ruuning will be <$200 for full HD TiVo functionality with locality based menus and the ability to record what I want whenever I want and start and watch recordings via http://www.snapstream.tv. I actually am a geek so this is required :cool:

[QUOTE=With respect to theft of service, the only service I have stolen is customer service.[/QUOTE]

A bad experience (one of many over the years) with customer service was the last straw before going with Dish several months ago. Now I pay less for more channels but PQ is a little less.

Anybody know what's going on down at WATE, channel 6? My signal strength, today and yesterday, has been jumping up and down. It's falling into the low 40's at times. When it bottoms out the picture breaks up and audio vanishes.

Same thing, I missed some shows and thought it was something with my setup, I checked during the day yesterday around 6 and was getting a very strong signal, I went out and when i came home I could not even get a signal, I'm midway up a ridge and channel 10 was in the 90's.

Actually if I would have checked WATE website:

WATE's digital transmitter is operating at low power due to equipment failure. We are working to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible, but do not expect to be operating at full power until Wednesday. We are still broadcasting in analog and many viewers are able to receive that signal in the meantime. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact the station at (865)637-6666 if you have additional questions.

I'll check their website if there's a next time Rick... :)

Last night, WKOP, PBS went off the air and hasn't come back yet. I had to reschedule my Tivo recording of the Appalachian series.

Slighty OT for this thread, but I have to vent: I got my DirecTV bill today and found out they charged me $50 to re-align my dish. :mad:

Does a $50 charge to continue to receive and pay for their service seem fair? Does Comcast charge for a tech visit? :confused:

If there was a problem in the original installation you might win a concession. I'll bet the wind moved it so was it ever installed securely? That being said, I don't have Direct.

Dish has a maximum fee for service calls to the home of $29.00 if you pay the monthly "home protection" fee of $5.95. So far I haven't needed a service call outside of the original install. I've wondered if dropping the "protection" is wise.

I think Comcast threatens to bill customers if the problem is not a Comcast problem but I've never had that happen. (It's always been a Comcast problem) It's also easier to trade out equipment since I can just drive over to the old Kmart building than to deal with UPS.

For what it's worth, look over the info on the web about aligning dishes. Is might be something you could handle yourself should it happen again.

WKOP was back this morning but it's down again, no signal.....seeing Austin City Limits 2-nite doesn't seem likely.....???

I'm anxious for A T & T's U-verse to come along and heat up the comp'. I'd like to get TV from the outside world, beyond Maynrsdville, again in the next few months....but I'm holdin' out on price if necessary. Every month of recession that goes by should make providers a bit more hard-up....? I'm counting on it.

The thing is providers fix prices for the most part. They're all within a similar range. At least with DirecTV, you can pick and chose a little more than you can with cable. And their benefit is more HD channels now and the ability to add more later. Cable is limited by bandwidth. So you have two choices: do without or get it and get whatever is the most bang for the buck.

Back to something I asked several weeks ago, is anyone else getting lip sync issues with WBIR?

One thing about U-Verse their system can only handle 2 HD feeds at a time/household. So, if you want to record 2 HD shows, you can't watch live HD. We have 4 HDTV's in our house, so even though U-Verse is available here, that alone was enough to stop me from considering it.

The thing is providers fix prices for the most part. They're all within a similar range. At least with DirecTV, you can pick and chose a little more than you can with cable. And their benefit is more HD channels now and the ability to add more later. Cable is limited by bandwidth. So you have two choices: do without or get it and get whatever is the most bang for the buck.

Direc wants me back. Today, in the mail, I recieved an offer to get service for the first year at about half what I used to pay. I cannot read the small print about what happens in year two, even using a magnifying glass.... :rolleyes: The new programming packages all include local channels, which I don't want. Direc's chances with me are nil as long as they have no Tivo equipment.

I really don't care who has the most HD channels. I'd prefer a smaller package of channels with a smaller price, which is not an 'introductory' price. I miss having the Atlanta Braves piped in but I feel patient. My HD Tivo is culling the best of the local channels for me. I don't miss Direc as much as I thought I would.

......stille waiting.....

Here's a strange issue.

TV is a Mitsubishi WS-65815. While using an antenna for a digital signal, the front panel controls and the remote functions cease to work. It is only on one channel, and it's only the digital station, not the analog.

You can reset the tv using the front panel reset, but it comes back up on the same channel, and no functions will work. You can't change the channel, change volume, or anything. Unplugging the tv for 30 minutes, doesn't help either. As a last ditch effort, I moved the antenna enough to get the lose the signal strength, and...BAM...the buttons work again. I can replicate this each time, but it's only one channel. Keep in mind, I can get over 20 channels, so this is a strange case. The signal strength seems fine, and there is no blocking or freezing, just no panel or remote control buttons that work.

I've been told that it's probably an issue with the PSIP from the station. It's only the digital(20-1) WBXX, and not the analog. My father has the exact model TV and has the same issue.

Is anyone else having any OTA issues with WBXX digital?

Thanks

Emma-B, have you tried calling WBXX? It couldn't hurt. I think I'd call Mitsu too....good luck on that. I had a Samsung outboard tuner that did somethin' like that, it got stuck on channel 8 but I could get it off by unplugging. ThIs is weird stuff, aye.

Left a message and the chief engineer phoned me in short time. He's very friendly and quite knowledgeable. He said he had an email a few days ago with a similar issue, but this email and my 2 occurences piqued his interest. He immediately said it sounded like a PSIP issue(which was also the guess on this very forum). He said they have had to use a stand-alone PSIP unit while a repair is being made to some of their electronics, but it should be back in service in a few days. He was very interested in my situation and wanted for me to let him know if this is corrected on my set when they replace their temporary unit. Sounds like a conflict with their PSI data and certain tuners.

I'll post the results in a few days.

Man, did anyone watch or record WATE's HD feed of "Lost" last night?

I recorded it OTA, but others on Comcast and Charter reported the same thing -- "strobing" on anything in motion... practically unwatchable. :mad:

Anyone know why WMAK no longer shows anything in HD? I know they're apart of some network that shows all these old shows. But they no longer have anything in HD.

Anyone know why WMAK no longer shows anything in HD? I know they're apart of some network that shows all these old shows. But they no longer have anything in HD.

Maybe they're at or near the bottom of bidders for rights? That's a theory that could seem to fit the facts.

They used to show commercials and community scenes in HD, but they don't any more.

The RTN feed comes to them over satellite from Chattanooga, and in SD. It comes pre-loaded with ads and whatnot, and that is why there's no more HD from WMAK.

WMAK has been bought by Daystar, too, and so while Daystar has a history of keeping RTN around (see WPXS in St Louis), there's no telling what WMAK will end up with...

- Trip

I didn't realize the station was bought out. Appreciate the info.

What's up with CBS and the George Strait special on Comcast?! No 5.1 DD?!!!

WVLT, CBS locally, has yet to implement 5.1 audio, period.

I thought I had seen many shows on WVLT in 5.1? Am I crazy?

No 5.1 on any of the CBS locals from here yet. I usually watch the HD DNS feed from D* for that reason among others.

I thought I had seen many shows on WVLT in 5.1? Am I crazy?

Let's just just say you must have dreamed it. Here's to the hope that you're a prophet! ;)

Did WATE lose their digital signal late last week? They didn't show anything in HD all weekend. As a matter of fact, it looked like it was analog because of the poor PQ.

Did WATE lose their digital signal late last week? They didn't show anything in HD all weekend. As a matter of fact, it looked like it was analog because of the poor PQ.
Yeah, the HD feed is gone. Has been for several days now.

WVLT seems to be somewhat improved these days, but still is overcompressed garbage. Not as bad as it used to be, but still garbage.

I guess their engineers are blind?

Yeah, the HD feed is gone. Has been for several days now.

Anyone know how come? Would be nice to have it back for the start of the NBA Finals.

I contacted someone with the station and they said they had a piece of equipment fail and it has been sent for repair, no time table as to when it will be back and their HD signal back up and running.

Based alone on the picture quality of the comcast HD service I've got here in knoxville, how does anyone feel when its compared to Directv or Dish-network (TurboHD).

I'm considering leaving Comcast--- because the picture quality on the HD channels is just a joke.

Also how does the DVR's on Directv or Dishnet compare with the one that Comcast offers ( I currently have no DVR).

Also how does the DVR's on Directv or Dishnet compare with the one that Comcast offers ( I currently have no DVR).

Can't compare to Dish or Comcast's... but DirecTV's current DVRs are crap. UI is confusing, ugly, and worst of all... slow as molasses. Some people don't mind the HRs, but I have a strong dislike of these boxes compared to my previous SD Tivos.

I've thought about leaving DirecTV and going back to Comcast or simply OTA with an HD Tivo.

You might want to pop in at the DBSTalk forums (http://www.dbstalk.com/index.php) to see if there's any comparisons between the various DVRs.

I have no beef with DirecTV's DVR's. They can be a tad slow at times. But in the 3 or 4 years I had one with Comcast, I had to replace 4 of them. The D* ones have a lot more recording capacity.

PQ on DirecTV is much better than Comcast. Keep in mind that Comcast is cramming three signals into one channel when max is supposed to be two. That deteriorates the PQ.

Thats a great point. I didn't think it was just me or the knoxville market, but the comcast HD channels are crappy!

So the consensus is that Dish-network has a better DVR but suffers in the PQ department, yet still better than Comcast?

And Directv has better Picture Quality than Dish-network and Comcast, but the DVR isn't as good?

I fired Direc and just have OTA with an HD Tivo for now. I might go back to Direc when they get Tivo again, as they alledge. They said this summer. Hurry up! I'm disappointed that U-Verse isn't here heating up the comp'. I wanna bring in a TV provider before foosball season starts...

I might go back to Direc when they get Tivo again, as they alledge. They said this summer. Hurry up!

"Sometime in 2010" is the latest. :(

Daver, if that's the case, they've lost me. I'm gonna get somethin' else piped in before 2010 . I may take a serious look at Dish...? I really want to avoid Crumcast.

When is UVerse supposed to make it to the knoxville market?

Does anyone know what model of DVR Comcast is currently installing with new orders?

Anyone else going to watch WBIR turn off their analog on 10 at 12:37 Friday morning? I'm not going to keep it on to see how long it takes the digital 10 to be turned on but hoping it doesn't take too long. :)

Anyone else going to watch WBIR turn off their analog on 10 at 12:37 Friday morning? I'm not going to keep it on to see how long it takes the digital 10 to be turned on but hoping it doesn't take too long. :)

So are all the stations going completely dark (analog and digital) during the change over? You would think they would do this in the middle of the night.

WBIR is currently off on all digital channels as of 8:15am this morning (Friday).

So are all the stations going completely dark (analog and digital) during the change over? You would think they would do this in the middle of the night.

WBIR is currently off on all digital channels as of 8:15am this morning (Friday).

WBIR and WBXX will be the only ones to go off the air entirely. That is because they are turning off the analog and moving their digital signals back to their old analog channels (WBIR 31 to 10 and WBXX 50 to 20). WATE, WVLT and WVLT are just stopping the analog signal and their current digital locations will be their new home. For example, WATE will be on channel 26 after 6 is turned off. As far as WBIR, I think they had to do some work on the tower and Robin Wilhoit came on before the switchoff and said it would be a few hours before they came back on. WBIR is on now and I am getting a very strong signal even though my antenna is pointed toward Bristol.

WVLT will be using channel 8 for a few weeks to broadcast information about the changeover. The FCC mandated one station per market do this and WVLT is the one.

FYI... WBIR returned to the air with digital service on channel 10 about 2:45 AM this Friday morning. Because of the change in frequency (leaving channel 31 UHF and returning to channel 10 VHF) you will have to ask your OTA converter or TV to scan so that the new channel mapping will be stored in your receiver's memory.

I would be interested in signal reports.

FYI... WBIR returned to the air with digital service on channel 10 about 2:45 AM this Friday morning. Because of the change in frequency (leaving channel 31 UHF and returning to channel 10 VHF) you will have to ask your OTA converter or TV to scan so that the new channel mapping will be stored in your receiver's memory.

Thanks for the correction Patrick... I'll do a channel scan to find WBIR. I didn't realize the frequency is changing.

Was anyone able to rescan and get WTVK-26 back. I miss those John Cazanna Wrestling shows and Johnny Mountain weather segments.

Well. Got WBIR Friday morning for about an hour and nothing since except for a minute or two late at night. Can get other Knoxville stations (well, at least the real stations, not WMAK or the low power ones) with no problems. It's not the antenna because when pointed toward Knoxville I can get WYMT (broadcasting on channel 12) out of Hazard. I am also getting signals (but not enough to lock on) from WCYB, WJHL and WLOS - all on VHF. WBIR - maybe 5 percent except for late at night.

My aunt who lives northeast of Rogersville can get 10 without any amplification at all and her antenna is pointed toward Johnson City! So it might be a terrain issue here.

I'm getting a stronger VHF antenna delivered but if it gets WCYB I'll just use that for NBC. Only show I watched on WBIR except for NBC shows/sports was the Heartland Series and after the WBIR management screwed that show over I don't care if I ever watch WBIR again.

I'm close to Sharp's Ridge (eyesight), and WBIR-DT is the only station my Samsung reports "full bars", which I guess is ~100% signal. The others seem to be in the 70-80% range.

I'm glad to see analog TV die... don't miss the ghosting or having those faint "lines" roll up the screen.

This is somewhat related.
Does anyone know if the rebroadcasting of the local channels here in Knoxville on Dish-Network are now upgraded to HD quality with the DTV transition?

E* (Dish) has had the 4 networks available in HD for quiite awhile. Are you asking if the SD channels available have been upgraded to HD? If that's the case the answer is no. Digital and HD are 2 seperate things. HD broadcasts must be digital, but digital broadcast does not have to be HD. E* has only made the 4 major networks available in HD in most markets & that probably won't change for awhile.

So the local NBC, ABC and other affiliates will not be rebroadcast in HD from Knoxville?

So the local NBC, ABC and other affiliates will not be rebroadcast in HD from Knoxville?

They are on Directv. That also includes PBS (WKOP).

Thank you.
I just wonder if they are on Dish?

If I have to go the OTA route, I wonder what kind of antenna I should look into.
I'm just in Oak Ridge-- so not far from knoxville.

Thank you.
I just wonder if they are on Dish?
Yes, Dish Network has HD channels for cbs/abc/nbc/fox in Knoxville. Directv has these HD channels plus PBS in HD.

:)

If I have to go the OTA route, I wonder what kind of antenna I should look into. I'm just in Oak Ridge-- so not far from knoxville.
I can get 85-100% signals on all knoxville channels using an attic antenna from northwest Knox. My indoor antennas can get some channels, but not all. Just make sure the antenna can receive both UHF and VHF since ch 7 & 10 are VHF.

:)

what kind of antenna would you recommend I use?

Here is what antenna web suggests (see below).

if possible i'd prefer something like this that isn't too large and could possibly be mounted onto a Dishnetwork mount.

Winegard MS2002 Metrostar VHF/UHF Amplified Omnidirectional TV Antenna (MS-2002)
or
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HDX1000

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=AD-LACROSSE

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANT800

So the local NBC, ABC and other affiliates will not be rebroadcast in HD from Knoxville?

Are you trying to ask if everything on these channels is gonna suddenly be in HD? The answer to that would be no. Channel 6, apparently, stille cannot even produce an information scroll across the bottom of network HD programming. They drop network HD down to SD when they want to scroll weather alerts. Atleast some of the others can produce HD content and scrolls even if they're choosing not to.

I'm really not sure what you're getting at....????

what kind of antenna would you recommend I use?

Here is what antenna web suggests (see below).

if possible i'd prefer something like this that isn't too large and could possibly be mounted onto a Dishnetwork mount.

Winegard MS2002 Metrostar VHF/UHF Amplified Omnidirectional TV Antenna (MS-2002)
or
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HDX1000

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=AD-LACROSSE

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANT800

Those are not going to be very good on the VHF-HI signals. Think about a Antenna Craft HBU22 instead.

Thank you for the suggestion.
THe Antenna Craft HBU22 is really large.
Is there a smaller or more compact recommendation?

what kind of antenna would you recommend I use?

Here is what antenna web suggests (see below).

if possible i'd prefer something like this that isn't too large and could possibly be mounted onto a Dishnetwork mount.

Winegard....

My mom and I both use Wineguard Squareshooters, with excellent results....

Thank you.
Do you know where I could find one relatively cheap?

Thank you.
Do you know where I could find one relatively cheap?

My mom got her's from East Tennessee Satelite, recently, for $150. They installed for her for additional cost. I'm not sure how much less they can be bought for online.

Thank you.
I just wonder if they are on Dish?

If I have to go the OTA route, I wonder what kind of antenna I should look into.
I'm just in Oak Ridge-- so not far from knoxville.

With Dish you will get 4 HD channels, if you go OTA, here is what you will get, from www.whereishd.com :

2.1 WETPDT PBS HD 34%
2.2 WETPDT2 PBS HD 6%
2.3 WETPDT3 PBS HD HD ready
6.1 WATEDT ABC HD 38%
7.1 WMAKDT Retro Television Network HD ready
7.2 WMAKDT2 WMAKDT2 (WMAK-DT2) HD ready
8.1 WVLTDT CBS HD 28%
8.2 WVLTDT2 MyNetworkTV HD 7%
10.1 WBIRDT NBC HD 47%
10.2 WBIRDT2 WBIRDT2 (WBIR-DT2) HD ready
15.1 WKOPDT PBS HD 34%
15.2 WKOPDT2 PBS HD 6%
15.3 WKOPDT3 PBS HD HD ready
20.1 WBXXDT The CW HD 13%
39.1 WEMTDT Fox HD 12%
39.2 WEMTDT2 FOX 2%
43.1 WTNZDT Fox HD 23%
48.1 WVLRDT WVLRDT (WVLR-DT) 6%
54.1 WPXKDT ION HD HD ready
54.2 WPXKDT2 WPXKDT2 (WPXK-DT2) HD ready
54.3 WPXKDT3 WPXKDT3 (WPXK-DT3) HD ready
54.4 WPXKDT4 WPXKDT4 (WPXK-DT4) HD ready


If you stay with the SD signals from Dish there really will be no improvement is signal quality, they were already being deivered to you digitally. Do you currently have an HD receiver & Receive and HD package from them? If you do, your receiver should have an OTA tuner in it, just hook it up to a good antenna and you should have no problems.

Thank you.
Do you know where I could find one relatively cheap?
I live in Oak ridge, half way up the hill behind the Hospital, I have a small antenna outside on the back deck. Able to pick up all the channels pretty good except CW channel 20, they are in the opposite direction. able to pick Tri-cities Fox channel 38 most of the time, It's Tower is located atop a mountain in Greenville, from Oak Ridge it lines up right behind the Towers on Sharps Ridge. For Sports it's great, they will show different games then the Knoxville Station. I acquired my antenna from my sisters house, not sure of the name,

So the local NBC, ABC and other affiliates will not be rebroadcast in HD from Knoxville?

The locals you mention on Dish are in HD if you buy the HD package. They are down converted from HD to SD for the SD package.

FWIW, the Dish box I have, the 612 box, has an ATSC input for an outside antenna. What I don't know is if it still works if you don't subscribe to the locals through the sat feed.

Wow-- thats great since you're in Oak Ridge. Im also close to the hospital.


Is your antenna a really large one or one of the more compact models?
Or something small like this (to go on a dish)?
http://www.procura.com/tv-44.html

I've also looked at these antennas.
MetroStar 360HD MS-1000, MS-2000 (VHF, UHF)
or
http://www.summitsource.com/winegard-ms2000-metrostar-omnidirectional-tv-antenna-with-coaxial-cable-amplified-hd360-vhf-uhf-offair-hdtv-signal-outdoor-aerial-green-zone-part-ms2000-with-50-ft-coax-cable-p-8745.html

or

http://www.summitsource.com/terk-tv55-indoor-outdoor-amplified-antenna-hdtv-uhf-vhf-dual-broadcast-mode-offair-local-digital-tv-channel-signal-aerial-helical-coil-light-green-zone-part-tv55-p-5607.html


http://www.summitsource.com/winegard-ss2000-squareshooter-vhf-uhf-hdtv-antenna-ss2000-square-shooter-highband-amplified-12-db-gain-tv-digital-analog-high-definition-best-outdoor-aerial-system-blue-zone-part-ss2000-with-coax-cable-p-6448.html

or even this

http://www.summitsource.com/omni-directional-antenna-ez-dish-tv-satellite-amplified-outdoor-addon-vhf-uhf-digital-offair-local-hdtv-signal-multidirectional-aerial-with-builtin-diplexer-for-single-lnb-systems-part-ezd100-p-4677.html

I live in Oak ridge, half way up the hill behind the Hospital, I have a small antenna outside on the back deck. Able to pick up all the channels pretty good except CW channel 20, they are in the opposite direction. able to pick Tri-cities Fox channel 38 most of the time, It's Tower is located atop a mountain in Greenville, from Oak Ridge it lines up right behind the Towers on Sharps Ridge. For Sports it's great, they will show different games then the Knoxville Station. I acquired my antenna from my sisters house, not sure of the name,

Enjoy it while you can. WCYB (who basically runs the station and does the news there) is getting Fox Tri-Cities' antenna put on the same tower as WCYB's on Holston Mountain east of Bristol. You'll probably lose it then.

The Omni Directional antenna's have to make compromises, For our location a directional antenna will work allot better for the price. The one that clips onto the Satellite Dish will have a problem, The TV Towers are East, the Satellites Dish is pointing south. My antenna is a 3 foot VHF/UHF standard antenna,
http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master-3016-Outdoor-rooftop/dp/B000SAKDLS/ref=sr_1_44?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245184067&sr=8-44

Correction, It's Tri Cities Fox 39, the new Digital channel they are located on is 38.

Enjoy it while you can. WCYB (who basically runs the station and does the news there) is getting Fox Tri-Cities' antenna put on the same tower as WCYB's on Holston Mountain east of Bristol. You'll probably lose it then.
Crap

The Omni Directional antenna's have to make compromises, For our location a directional antenna will work allot better for the price. The one that clips onto the Satellite Dish will have a problem, The TV Towers are East, the Satellites Dish is pointing south. My antenna is a 3 foot VHF/UHF standard antenna,
http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master-3016-Outdoor-rooftop/dp/B000SAKDLS/ref=sr_1_44?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245184067&sr=8-44

Correction, It's Tri Cities Fox 39, the new Digital channel they are located on is 38.

Thank you for the suggestion.

The only problem is that I am doing this for my mom-- and she really hates the way that thing looks.

I can persuade her to accept smaller ones--
such as the squareshooter, metrostar omnidirectional or the terk or even maybe the CM-4220MHD.

But she tends to like the smaller ones that could be attached to the Dishnetwork dish itself--- using the Winegard DS-1111. I wonder, considering the location, which would work best and not be that large.

I have one of those desktop antennas that's not powered and pointed it the opposite direction of the towers and get stronger signals and can get CW20 with little problems.