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AntiguaGuy

01-03-09, 11:48 AM

I'm a Mediacom subscriber in Coralville.

I've noticed that the Mediacom channel numbers seem to have been juggled a little bit in the past few days. For instance, CNN now comes in on channel 33; Lifetime comes in on channel 28; and the local HD channels are all mixed up.

I think my subscription level is Family Basic, but I don't rent any set-top boxes, I have 5 networked HTPCs running Vista Media Center, and my QAM comes through a networked HDHomeRun. Perhaps that's part of the problem - maybe Mediacom reprogrammed their channel assignments, but their Mediacom boxes recognize it, so it hasn't affected subscribers who use the Mediacom boxes?

Anyway, can anyone offer a more accurate explanation?

And I've heard that Mediacom is adding (or has already added) a few more HD channels to the Family Basic tier, but I'm assuming that I probably can't receive them without a Mediacom box. Can anyone verify that this is indeed the case?

Thanks.

tsduke

01-04-09, 11:28 AM

Disputes all over.

Trip in VA

01-04-09, 11:30 AM

http://www.rabbitears.info/screencaps/1-temp/rtnslide.png

- Trip

dline

01-04-09, 01:16 PM

Hopefully they'll figure something out after the weekend. There's actually some stuff on that channel that I like.

scrib38

01-05-09, 12:34 AM

Does Dish have HD locals up in the CR-Waterloo area?
Thanks
For what it's worth, a Dish fulfillment tech was at my house this week upgrading a receiver, and he said that DISH would have Cedar Rapids locals in HD available within 30 days.

Second-hand info, of course, for what it's worth....

East Iowa 01234

01-05-09, 07:18 AM

Disputes all over.

Hopefully they'll figure something out after the weekend. There's actually some stuff on that channel that I like.

No kidding------------I watch (watched) 7.3 all the time
I need my Emergency! Adam 12 & Magnum PI fix.............................
DVR is great when you work my shift!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4lids

01-05-09, 10:52 AM

This RTN stuff took us by surprise this past weekend. RTN was run out of facility from Equity Broadcasting, which now is battling Chapter 11 fun.

We got notice around 12:30 on Saturday that they would be ceasing operations at some point over the weekend. RTN is still in business, but they need to find a new uplink facility for all of their affliates and services. We were given coordinates to the national feeds. The problem is that the national feed is DIFFERENT from our local, since we get to pick our own lineup. I have no idea how close the national programming lineup is to our original lineup since I haven't had time to look at it yet, but at least we have something on the air while RTN sorts stuff out now.

Hopefully, this will help us get ThisTV going a bit quicker now! We were waiting on approval to order a few pieces of necessary gear and may get the green light now! I'll keep you all in the loop!

-Jarrett

Kelud

01-05-09, 10:59 AM

Any idea when the local stations will have the ability to record and air syndicated programming in HD?

tsduke

01-05-09, 04:15 PM

The RTN schedule was off last night. Haven't looked today.

dline

01-05-09, 04:23 PM

The guide information isn't matching what's on right now due to the issues they're having. I looked for information on RTN's website, but they don't have their national schedule on it, just what should be the local schedules for each station.

By the way, RTN's website is now www.myretrotv.com. The old "RTNville" address no longer works. Apparently it became a casualty of the dispute between Equity and Luken.

East Iowa 01234

01-05-09, 06:24 PM

CR_Client

01-06-09, 11:05 AM

Any idea when the local stations will have the ability to record and air syndicated programming in HD?

Well, as much as I hate to say it, KWWL was the first of the locals to do HD character crawls, so they probably have the best chance of doing this first.

KCRG has, unfortunately, constantly claimed financial and technical difficulties in implementing new technology, and, considering half of their equipment is still as old as I am, and is held together with duct tape, I don't hold out much hope. Even their "new HD crawl" isn't really much of a crawl. It just says "Weather alert! Turn to 9.2 or go to kcrg.com for details."

And KGAN still has problems, on a daily basis, even being able to switch between SD and HD, or get the 5.1 audio to actually go out in 5.1, so unless they have a pretty major change in personnel soon, I doubt they'll have the ability before 2015.

I don't hold out much hope, though. Even though Cedar Rapids is in the top 100 markets in the country (top 50, even?), it often feels like we're in the middle of rural america in terms of technology and concern for adopting new technology. Which, given Rockwell and the other high-tech industries in the area, is pretty sad.

4lids

01-06-09, 11:55 AM

Well, as much as I hate to say it, KWWL was the first of the locals to do HD character crawls, so they probably have the best chance of doing this first.

I don't hold out much hope, though. Even though Cedar Rapids is in the top 100 markets in the country (top 50, even?), it often feels like we're in the middle of rural america in terms of technology and concern for adopting new technology. Which, given Rockwell and the other high-tech industries in the area, is pretty sad.

This market is #88 actually, but keep in mind that we only get to that number since we combine 4 cities (Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Iowa City and Dubuque). Madison is about the same size market but only has that one city to serve, making a bit easier for sales opportunities.

We have plans for HD upgrades, but these are significant costs for ANY station. The majority aren't doing it yet but many, ourselves at KWWL included, have priced things out. To rebuild the technical infrastructure of this station it will cost about $1 million dollars. I had one guy call me and tell me to just buy a couple consumer HD camcorders for about $4000 and we could get on the air then. I had to explain that there was a bit more to it than that (router, switcher, cabling, graphics, video storage and processing... etc.). Heck, even the networks aren't full HD all of the time yet! They are getting there, but there is a lot of upconverting still going on. We will get there, but with the way money is right now, it may be a couple years still.
-Jarrett

sgarringer

01-06-09, 12:10 PM

4lids

01-06-09, 01:48 PM

I would like to see the stations broadcast in 16:9 sometime in the near future stuff of local origination. That shouldn't be too hard, with any of the moderately recently Betacam equipment you can get anamorphic lenses which will allow you to use all the same equipment, with just a 16:9 stretch as the last step and everything will look correct. I'm getting really tired of watching local content which is already using screen space with black bars, then especially when the local channels show something 16:9 you get a letterboxed, letterbox. Quite annoying! Just my two cents.

Just say no to fat heads! You will NEVER get me to agree to that. I have fought anomorphic pictures since day one. We could always go back to putting in our wings, but we had complaints of possible burn in. The other factor is what happens to the 4:3 legacy viewers out there? Those will be supplied by a center-cut version of our downconverted digital stream (within a month or two). A center-cut of an anomorphic would be brutal. Just be patient and wait for the upgrades down the road. This is a marathon though and not a sprint!
-Jarrett

iowahawkeye

01-06-09, 02:14 PM

As for income, KCRG shot it's own foot off last year when they tried to back door a legal notice to Mediacom (mailed it to Mediacom over 1.5 years B4 the contract expired) about a new retransmission agreement. US District court sided with Mediacom, which meant the old agreement would automatically extend for another SIX (6) more years, starting about a year ago. And......they are trying to squeeze to much money from Direct for their HD feed......so KCRG has no revenue from Direct for KCRG's HD, along with a 7 year old agreement with Mediacom.....that has 5 more years remaining.

dline

01-06-09, 02:17 PM

Re: anamorphic: I think sgarringer means shooting everything "thin" so that you can stretch it out to 16:9 for your DT, and it would look normal. The final product would still look OK center-cut on an SD set, not like "stretch-o-vision," which I agree I'm not a big fan of.

flyingvee

01-06-09, 03:36 PM

Those will be supplied by a center-cut version of our downconverted digital stream (within a month or two). A center-cut of an anomorphic would be brutal.
-Jarrett

Nah - it'd be fine, as long as you just do a right or left side cut. :) Focus on Ron in the evening, and lose Chris in mornings and noon. :D

Tho seriously - there is a local in Colorado Springs doing 16:9 HD news. Looks amazing. Since I had no vested interest in who's who when I was there, 3 guesses which local news program I watched. Just something to consider - look at your news demo; and then consider which age group is least likely to understand changing formats, black bars, etc. I know one parental group that is constantly complaining about the black bars on your (7.1) HD channel...getting tired of explaining that most of the time you're on the air, you don't have HD programming.

(haven't seen CC doing any promo type specials/infomercials about that, yet)

iowegian3

01-06-09, 06:07 PM

CR_Client

01-06-09, 08:09 PM

I'm pretty sure sgarringer is also referring to things like Conan O'Brien, which is shot in 16x9 and sent out by NBC letterboxed for SD. Or local programming like stuff on IPTV, which is shot 16x9, and then broadcast on 12.1 as a pillar-boxed, letterboxed image.

Money or not, there isn't much excuse for doing things like that, especially when it's locally produced 16x9 content broadcast on a High-def capable digital channel.

4lids

01-06-09, 08:18 PM

Being in the Colorado Springs market, I can tell you that station is K dil DO, rather KRDO (sorry). Again, comparing COS to CR-W is like CR-W to Madison, it's probably easier to make a buck when the pop. is concentrated more in one place.

So, would it be as easy as shooting thin, spreading to 16:9 and taking a center cut for 4:3?

Not without replacing all of our cameras. Nothing we have can shoot in 16:9... nor are we framed properly in our newscasts for widescreen. That will require a lot of adjustment to our sets. Also, this is an all or nothing thing. If you shoot in 16:9, then you need to edit in it, have graphics produced in that matter, etc. What happens to the commercials? That was what I battled in La Crosse when we converted things. We checked out HD options and purchased some, but they are downconverted at the moment to SD. We have the HD cameras and MD (multi-definition) switcher in place, but the rest of the stuff would require upconversion, which would have cost another $200K or so.

We do plan on going HD here from the get go, since the price point is better than it was two years ago. But we need the economy to cooperate and advertising to pick back up across our group of stations. Once we get through this digital TV thingy in February, this will be the number one major project in the group, but it is a big one and will take some time to accumulate the required funds to get the job done. We won't commit to it unless we know we have the money to finish. I want to be in HD as much as anyone, but must be patient!
-Jarrett

CR_Client

01-06-09, 08:40 PM

uhf

01-06-09, 10:04 PM

Came back from commercial break during NCIS at 7:35 PM local, and audio was stereo-only, missing the center channel with dialogue, but at least the picture was in HD.

Does anyone know who the right person would be to complain to at KGAN about this? They've had HD broadcasts for over 2 years, and STILL can't get things right in Master Control?

I'd start with the chief engineer, then general manager. Just call up during business hours and ask for one of those people. Maybe the sales manager too, tell them they are losing a viewer over it.

uhf

01-06-09, 10:07 PM

KCRG has, unfortunately, constantly claimed financial and technical difficulties in implementing new technology, and, considering half of their equipment is still as old as I am, and is held together with duct tape, I don't hold out much hope.

What are you talking about? I know they've spent a ton of money on HD transmission equipment, some of which is ALMOST 2 months old now. Gosh, it can't get much newer than that! Sure, they probably have a lot of old analog equipment, but why replace it at this point? Lots of stations have been trying to get by with old analog gear, hoping it makes it until the end of analog.

iowahawkeye

01-07-09, 07:24 AM

Came back from commercial break during NCIS at 7:35 PM local, and audio was stereo-only, missing the center channel with dialogue, but at least the picture was in HD.

Does anyone know who the right person would be to complain to at KGAN about this? They've had HD broadcasts for over 2 years, and STILL can't get things right in Master Control?Exact same problem in Iowa City via Mediacom DVR also. And my DVR of Sundays Cold Case also had a 5 min lapse in the center channel also. Interesting to note that turning off the 5.1 stereo amp and turning up the tv 2.0 stereo speakers still produced no ctr channel audio (couldn't hear what Gibbs was saying to Donozo):mad:

flyingvee

01-07-09, 10:15 AM

We do plan on going HD here from the get go, since the price point is better than it was two years ago. But we need the economy to cooperate and advertising to pick back up across our group of stations. Once we get through this digital TV thingy in February, this will be the number one major project in the group, but it is a big one and will take some time to accumulate the required funds to get the job done. We won't commit to it unless we know we have the money to finish. I want to be in HD as much as anyone, but must be patient!
-Jarrett

Thanks for clear, detailed, and concise reply. While realizing that the conversion would cost money, also realize it'll take more than a few pieces here or there. (tho I'd still loan you my Sony HD DVR, if that'd let you delay and rebroadcast syndicated and delayed shows in hd. :D) (I'm kidding - you've already patiently explained. I'M KIDDING :p)

Knowing that the people doing the work are committed is all one can ask - you can't buy things the corp won't pay for. Keep up the good work.

And thanks for one change - noticed in one of the digital promos, they are now telling people that they can take advantage of HD and digital NOW!

sgarringer

01-07-09, 03:02 PM

This isn't exactly true. Most HD is actually stored in 4:3. For instance, all of the HDV and HDVPRO is shot at 1440x1080. However, the lens is designed such that the picture is swished while being recorded, and stretched while being played. This is done by using pixels which are not square, but rather, which are rectangular.

I edit this in 4:3 all the time, with no issues. I'm not talking about stretching 4:3 video out, I'm talking about using all your existing 4:3 equipment (you will only have to buy lens adapters) and an anamorphic stretcher.

Wikipedia can explain it better than I can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphic_widescreen

This is VERY common in Europe, where an additional signal is sent with the standard def PAL signal which tells the TV what aspect ratio the video is at. The TV then knows either to pillar it (if its 4x3 video) or stretch it (if its 16x9 video) but this is all done in Analog. Its a neat trick, and its really sad that its not used more in the states. Instead, we end up going to bars and watching SDTV stretched on an HD set, and no one knows the difference (except us who really know).

4lids

01-07-09, 04:33 PM

This is VERY common in Europe, where an additional signal is sent with the standard def PAL signal which tells the TV what aspect ratio the video is at. The TV then knows either to pillar it (if its 4x3 video) or stretch it (if its 16x9 video) but this is all done in Analog. Its a neat trick, and its really sad that its not used more in the states. Instead, we end up going to bars and watching SDTV stretched on an HD set, and no one knows the difference (except us who really know).

There are things in the works here in the states for active format descriptors (AFD) that will perform kind of like you describe, but that really won't do what you are looking for. It won't be stretching any 4:3 programming to fill a widescreen. Furthermore, even if we were to buy lense adaptors for our cameras, that means you have to do that with EVERYTHING down the pipe. Once again, this is more all of nothing issue. Also, what happens to the 4:3 set? That means that those are stuck "thin" or in letterbox. One problem is solved and another is created. I'd prefer to just wait for true HD stuff than waster money trying to make SD widescreen programming.

4lids

01-07-09, 04:39 PM

:)
I just put This TV on the air with our 7.2 stream. If there are cable subs that were airing Weatherplus, this channel should be there now as well!

We are strictly taking a network feed at the moment and hope to have local commercials on in the near future (there will be a lot of PSA's in the meantime!).

The program guide isn't set yet since we have nothing set up with our PSIP at this time except a generic "ThisTV" banner. We hope to have a program schedule up as soon as possible.

RTN is still on the network feed as well. They've had lip sync issues too. The tell us that they should have stuff worked out for the local affliates within a few days. We'll see!

I think things look pretty good on both. ThisTV consists mostly of movies from the MGM library. RTN, as you know, is more classic TV. Overall, I think these are both nice channels to have and ThisTV, in my opinion, is a huge upgrade over the WeatherPlus stuff (like watching paint dry... that's why we have a weather page on our website!). I'll keep you posted on anymore changes. Enjoy!
-Jarrett

bagdropper

01-07-09, 09:09 PM

I noticed the new channel!

Yep...those were boobies on the screen during whatever horror movie is on. Sheer nightgown type boobies, but boobies nonetheless. OTA even.

What a country I live in!

uhf

01-07-09, 09:20 PM

Yep...those were boobies on the screen during whatever horror movie is on. Sheer nightgown type boobies, but boobies nonetheless. OTA even.

What a country I live in!
I missed that while I was reading this thread.

Amazingly, I'm already getting guide data for the channel on my Dish Network box.

Great new channel, thanks KWWL!

4lids

01-08-09, 10:53 AM

I noticed the new channel!

Yep...those were boobies on the screen during whatever horror movie is on. Sheer nightgown type boobies, but boobies nonetheless. OTA even.

What a country I live in!

Really?
So much for edited for TV :rolleyes:

tvguy01

01-08-09, 12:31 PM

Obama FCC transition team also floating idea, sources say
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/7/2009 7:59:00 PM

The DTV hard date appears to be softening.

Consumers Union (CU) late Wednesday asked the heads of the congressional committees with telecommunications oversight, as well as the current and future administrations, to consider delaying the Feb. 17, 2009 transition date.

And at least one of those key Congressional players, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, says the date may have to move.

In a letter to Rep. Markey, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committe, and others, the CU requested that Congress consider a delay "until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals, particularly by fixing the flaws in the federal coupon program created to offset the cost of this transition."

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration this week announced that it had hit the funding ceiling for its program to distribute government subsidies for DTV-to-analog converter boxes and that new applications would have to be put on a waiting list unless the cap were raised or the Antideficiency Act (ADA) rule preventing it from spending money it expected to be freed up by expired coupons was waived.

“Congressman Markey is working on an exemption to the ADA to deal with the immediate waiting list issue," said Daniel Reilly, a spokesman for Markey. "But with the date looming, moving the date back certainly warrants further discussion and may be a wise choice.”

According to several sources, the Obama FCC transition team has been "very busy" on the issue and has been floating the possibility of moving the date. The transition press office had not returned an e-mail request for comment at press time.

Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst for Consumers Union and one of the two signatories on the letter, said CU had met with the transition team about the issue, and that they are "rightly concerned that this is a mess that they are now going to have to clean up in a very short time frame."

He would not comment on whether they favored moving the date beyond only saying that the transition team has been "extremely active on the DTV transition issue." He said the Obama transition team had not asked Consumers Union to send the letter.

Consumers Union has suggested a move of four months or so, according to a CNBC interview with CU senior counsel Chris Murray, the other signature on the CU letter. Murray told CNBC that he thought there was a "reasonably good chance" that Congress would push the date back four months or so. "We're not ready to say there will be a delay yet," he said. "We believe that Congress should consider a delay [but] I don't think I can talk about this as something that is readily going to happen," he said.

Perhaps, but the Washington lobbying community was buzzing Wednesday with talk that it was a real possibility.

In an e-mail alert from communications law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer obtained by B&C, the Murray CNBC intervew was cited prominently, with lawyers there saying they were hearing that "serious consideration" was being given to moving the date to June 1 (Memorial Day weekend) and suggesting more trial balloons would be floated in the coming days.

According to the lobbyist, the new administration is not looking forward to inheriting a transition with major issues about viewers not receiving their subsidies in time. That would include target populations like senior citizens, minorities and the disabled.

It would be tough to make the move at this late date. The broadcasting and cable industries and the government have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and donated airtime on hammering home that Feb. 17 date, putting it on Web sites, billboards, and even a race car. Some broadcasters have already made the switch early (Wilmington, N.C.), or are about to (Hawaii on Jan. 15), and some of the spectrum has already been auctioned for advanced services.

flyingvee

01-08-09, 12:47 PM

Also, what happens to the 4:3 set? That means that those are stuck "thin" or in letterbox. One problem is solved and another is created.

I'll agree with anything and everything else you're saying, since, if nothing else, I don't know. I'm happy to trust your decisions and judgement.

However, your above statement is pretty much a specious argument....what does happen to 4:3? Evidently, no one cares, since they have chosen a 16:9 broadcast spec (haven't they?) Shoot - what happened to everyone with B&W sets, when color came out? They got to watch something, even tho it wasn't state of the art.

afaic, anyone who sticks with a 4x3 set should be happy they get to watch anything....they get to watch their legacy reruns in all their 4x3 glory, I get to watch 16x9 HD on my HD set. heck - that's the American way, something for everyone, and nobody is happy. ;)

4lids

01-08-09, 06:53 PM

Obama FCC transition team also floating idea, sources say
[
C
:mad:
If they move this date I'm going to riot! A "nightlight" station may hold some merit, but to delay the move at this point would be ridiculous! Perhaps if the government is soo worried, they can leave on the public station as the nightlight with a slate or video loop of Chris Carter's news stories :D

East Iowa 01234

01-08-09, 07:14 PM

Came back from commercial break during NCIS at 7:35 PM local, and audio was stereo-only, missing the center channel with dialogue, but at least the picture was in HD.

Exact same problem in Iowa City via Mediacom DVR also. And my DVR of Sundays Cold Case also had a 5 min lapse in the center channel also. Interesting to note that turning off the 5.1 stereo amp and turning up the tv 2.0 stereo speakers still produced no ctr channel audio (couldn't hear what Gibbs was saying to Donozo):mad:

It's coming straight from KGAN because I watch it OTA (no cable or satellite here) It is so bad that when I really want to DVR a CBS program-------I use WHBFoff the backside of my antenna...................nice living in between two markets!-------------------With a tall antenna.

flyingvee

01-08-09, 09:46 PM

A quick two parter.

Are there any TVGOS stations in our area (Waterloo, specifically?)

And if so, what is it (are they?)

Thanks. Just got a Sony 500, only to find that I hadn't done enough homework.:(

Trip in VA

01-08-09, 09:50 PM

Try KGAN, TVGOS has a deal with many CBS stations though not all have signed on nor have all who did sign on installed the equipment.

- Trip

flyingvee

01-08-09, 10:28 PM

thanks - already tried that one via cable. if someone here is getting it ota, will connect an antenna and try that. - can't find the vb data on analog or digital pbs or cbs. or fox.

so - I know where it isn't. :(

have also checked your list, and spiff's - at least you show Souix City.

Trip in VA

01-08-09, 10:37 PM

My list only lists cities for which I have data. A station in Cedar Rapids might have TVGOS, but since I don't have someone in the market to provide me with the data I require, I can't say one way or another.

- Trip

flyingvee

01-08-09, 11:02 PM

well, haven't given up. The competing cableco is supposed to have tvgos data; macrovision doens't know if my company, CFU, has it or not. So - will check with the head end tech tomorrow, see what I can find out.

if no one else chimes in (say, maybe the local PBS whiz ;) ) - I'll letcha know if I find anything.

uhf

01-09-09, 12:00 AM

flyingvee

01-09-09, 08:56 AM

PBS is not carrying TVGOS on digital, only analog.

The head end tech at the Independence cable co asked me about this a couple weeks ago, he wasn't finding the digital TVGOS signal either. My hunch is that KGAN is not carrying it at this time, but I can't confirm that.

so if I throw up an antenna, I'm good for the next month anyway. right?

I'll check with my CFU, see if they're passing it or stripping it; but I'm thinking they might just be rebroadcasting the PBS digitals - the .1, .2, instead of showing the digital and the actual analog. But I'll ask.

thanks

tvguy01

01-09-09, 11:10 AM

President-elect Barack Obama has asked Congress to extend the Feb. 17 DTV transition date.

Citing problems with the DTV-to-analog converter box program and "inadequate funding" of government DTV education programs, John Podesta, co-chair of the Obama-Biden transition team, requested that "the cut-off date for analog signals should be reconsidered and extended."

That is according to a letter being sent Thursday to the chairs and ranking Republicans on the House and Senate Committees overseeing communications (The House Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate Commerce Committee).

Saying that only 28 days after the inauguration Americans would wake up to find their analog TV's no longer able to receive an over-the-air signal—and pointing to the decision on the date made in 2005 and implemented by the outgoing administration—Podesta urged them to "consider a change to the legislatively mandated cut-off date."

He said that funds to support the conversion are "woefully inadequate," particularly to address the problems of seniors and low income viewers.

He also suggested that there would be money from the president-elect's economic recovery package that would help address the funding shortfalls.

Consumers Union, which called for a similar move Wednesday after consultation with the transition, has suggested moving the date to midsummer.

Brandon Burgess, chairman and CEO of Ion Media, the nation's largest station group owner with 60 outlets, said that given the Obama request, there is a "serious chance" that the date would move.

He said that, personally, "it was disappointing. It's a lot like studying for an exam. Once you have studied, it doesn't really help to get an extra day."

Burgess noted that there has been a billion dollars of promotion that has gone into the transition. "It doesn't get any better with an extra four months," he said.

flyingvee

01-09-09, 11:19 AM

How bout an economic stimulus package that paid a subsidy for every hdtv set manufactured, assembled, and sold in the US?

Sign me up for a made in the USA 50" plasma, for something like 300 bucks after the govt funding. :D

I don't need another stinkin' bridge up in Alaska - lets make things people want!:p

(only half kidding - wouldn't it be nice if the US did have an electronics industry?)

flyingvee

01-09-09, 11:37 AM

Dang. CFU used to have TVGOS on analog IPTV (pbs.) But when local PBS went digital, with the analog equivalent on a sub, they are now simply putting the sub out as analog.

So, guess its time to hook up the ole antenna. And hope Barack makes them keep broadcasting analog until they figure out how to broadcast TVGOS over digital.

hdtvincr (think it was you) - how are you getting TVGOS on your DHG500?

(or, if not you, then the gentleman who does have the 500 in our area - don't make me go back thru this thread and it's predecessor to find you. Please:o )

iowahawkeye

01-09-09, 11:51 AM

President-elect Barack Obama has asked Congress to extend the Feb. 17 DTV transition date.It makes no difference to me but you got to ask yourself:
Why/who set the date in mid Feburary.....
A: Isn't Feb usually a sweeps rating month?
B: There's also alot of homes north of lets say I-70......and I'm sure these people/relatives/tv antenna installers want to be out on a foof in the winter.
Never could figure out why the date wasn't in June in the first place.

dline

01-09-09, 01:45 PM

It makes no difference to me but you got to ask yourself:
Why/who set the date in mid Feburary.....
A: Isn't Feb usually a sweeps rating month?
B: There's also alot of homes north of lets say I-70......and I'm sure these people/relatives/tv antenna installers want to be out on a foof in the winter.
Never could figure out why the date wasn't in June in the first place.Mid-February was set because it's between the Super Bowl and the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

There is nothing sacred about sweeps being in February. That's a decision that's completely up to Nielsen. In fact, Nielsen moved them to March in 2009 in response to the transition date.

I know February may not have been the best month as far as weather is concerned, but you could easily argue June is severe weather season. Anyway, it's not as if the dish installers are calling it in. It's also not as if there hasn't been plenty of warning. The stations have been running crawls and tests (in fact KWWL is running another one Monday during their 5pm news) and special programs, not to mention PSAs in slots which could otherwise have been sold or used for promos. All have been working diligently with February 17 in mind. Many have cut their analog power; in other markets, many have already cut it to zero. All are suffering from either the recession, the flood or both and would welcome the chance to cut off that second transmitter. No doubt we can all benefit from the roughly 75-percent cut in the amount of ERP being put out by the Eastern Iowa stations. What's more, some of that non-core spectrum -- including KWWL-DT's channel 55 -- has already been leased.

This is a bad, bad time to change the date -- not with a little over a month to go.

4lids

01-09-09, 02:16 PM

I couldn't have said it better, DLine. Although this may sound like a good idea to some (especially to those who hadn't ordered coupons yet), it is not really going to help much and really put all of the television stations in a bad spot. We've budgeted for the savings of turning off that UHF rig (about $5000 a month!). Is Obama going to give us a bail out to recoup those power bills? That money just would get pissed away so that some would have a couple extra months to prepare or procrastinate further. It is just like the guy quoted above saying this is like studying for an exam, walking in to take it and then getting told you have a couple extra days to study.

You'd have to be living in a hole not to know this is coming and frankly, there are probably just as many viewers, for KWWL specifically, looking forward to the analog cutoff and a stronger,more reliable signal on VHF.

We'll see what the jokers in Washington do I guess!
-Jarrett

uhf

01-09-09, 03:48 PM

Starting February 1st, 2009, the Primary IPTV programming will move to the .1 HD subchannel, replacing the PBS-HD feed currently broadcast there.

.2 will become IPTV Learns, with kids programs from 5:30a-10pm, and Create from 10p-5:30a

.3 becomes IPTV World, 24/7 current affairs programming

Analog will continue until the shut off date, but I get the impression that it may differ from the .1 digital channel (I assume they will be pounding home the message about the conversion in case someone out there has been living under a rock:D ).

Trip in VA

01-09-09, 04:15 PM

Alright, I've heard conflicting things about this. I'm hearing now, from you, that x-2 would be "IPTV Learn" as a kids channel, with Create at night, while x-3 will be World 24/7.

In the Rochester MN thread, they said Create/World would continue their share-time on x-3, with x-2 airing "IPTV Kids" during the day and "Learn" with instructional programming overnight.

Any ideas on which is accurate?

- Trip

rcourtney

01-09-09, 06:00 PM

UHF: Does that mean we lose PBS HD? Even with a convertor you can see HD programs
downconverted to SD. I think a bad move for IPTV

4lids: I can't see delaying it helping anyone. Extend the coupons or simply take discount
at the register and have the dealer get reimbursed. The boxes aren't worth using for
upper end hardware no AC3 (toslink out) or even YUV video so what if someone gets
an extra box?

JUST DO IT IN FEB!

uhf

01-09-09, 11:08 PM

Trip in VA

01-09-09, 11:12 PM

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15383178&postcount=2177

- Trip

dline

01-10-09, 03:47 AM

UHF: Does that mean we lose PBS HD? Even with a convertor you can see HD programs downconverted to SD. I think a bad move for IPTV
PBS HD as we originally knew it is already gone. There's a nationwide push toward providing just one feed, with HD when available. The .1 "HD" channel on IPTV digital already reflects this, more or less. There are some slight differences between it and IPTV analog, where there appears to be more time-shifting going on, but they're running pretty much along the same lines.

GaryP2

01-10-09, 11:25 AM

On an insert in the monthly bill, ImOn Communications describes a rate increase effective February 1. Cable TV rates are going up $2 a month for Basic Cable service to $5 a month for their Digital Gold Star service. HD service is staying the same at $9.98. The new rates are on their cable TV rates web page, but as of this morning, the printable channel lineup PDF still has the old rates.

The insert also says that by the end of January they will be adding TBS-HD, TNT-HD, and WGN-HD to their high definition lineup with plans to add more HD channels through the year!

They included a little comparison chart showing their rates vs. Mediacom. No idea how apple-to-apples the comparison is with channel line up differences, etc.

Basic Cable - $16.98 ImOn - $23.95 Mediacom
Family/Preferred Cable - $44.98 ImOn - $58.95 Mediacom
Digital Cable - $55.98 ImOn - $71.90 Mediacom

uhf

01-10-09, 07:03 PM

Ok, I see the other thread. It appears that plans have changed since that time as a more current channel line up was announced yesterday.

East Iowa 01234

01-10-09, 07:32 PM

After a bit of searching I was able to find a site that has an thisTV schedule.

It seems to agree with what was on 7.2 today and what they have been advertizing.

http://titantvguide.titantv.com/apg/basic.aspx?siteid=52545

CR_Client

01-10-09, 11:46 PM

As of writing this message at 10:43 PM CST, KWWL is still broadcasting SNL in SD.

I didn't watch the KWWL news to know if it went over time by 30 seconds and caused a time-shift for SNL, but everything appeared to start on time when I switched over to watch the intro.

As much as I'd like to call KWWL and have it fixed, I'm pretty sure that a call to their CR news room would net worse results than a call directly to the Waterloo news room, but long-distance phone calls aren't my thing.

I would understand a one or two minute delay in switching over, but to go over 15 minutes without fixing the feed is pretty ridiculous.

CR_Client

01-11-09, 12:04 AM

They included a little comparison chart showing their rates vs. Mediacom. No idea how apple-to-apples the comparison is with channel line up differences, etc.

Basic Cable - $16.98 ImOn - $23.95 Mediacom
Family/Preferred Cable - $44.98 ImOn - $58.95 Mediacom
Digital Cable - $55.98 ImOn - $71.90 Mediacom

Easy way to compare channel lineups would be to post the ImOn Basic lineup, which I can then compare to my MediaCon Broadcast Basic.

Since they took TBS away from the Basic subscribers, we're down to 20 or 23 channels for that $24/month charge. Of those 23 channels, 2 are Home Shopping channels, two are CSPAN, and three are local access channels. Others include TV Guide and other similar stations. I would estimate that I'm paying two bucks a month per "real" channel on Broadcast Basic. The only reason I've kept it to this point is because my main TV gets poor antenna reception, so QAM on that TV is the best option for local HD. I could probably drop Basic for 4 months to pay for a pretty nice antenna and then re-up as a "new" subscriber on Digital for less than I'm paying now for Broadcast Basic.

CR_Client

01-11-09, 12:06 AM

GaryP2

01-11-09, 11:12 AM

Easy way to compare channel lineups would be to post the ImOn Basic lineup, which I can then compare to my MediaCon Broadcast Basic.

ImOn's Basic line up is very similiar. They may even have fewer channels.

http://www.imon.net/cabletv/channels.php

Does Mediacom ever publish their system channel line ups? I was looking for that the other day for a Mediacom system in central Iowa and could never find anything on their web site.

Trip in VA

01-11-09, 10:34 PM

Ok, I see the other thread. It appears that plans have changed since that time as a more current channel line up was announced yesterday.

I sent an e-mail straight to IPTV after I picked through their website and couldn't find any announcements relating to it. If I get a reply, I'll post here about it.

- Trip

4lids

01-12-09, 11:29 AM

As much as I'd like to call KWWL and have it fixed, I'm pretty sure that a call to their CR news room would net worse results than a call directly to the Waterloo news room, but long-distance phone calls aren't my thing.

Yeah, considering that we have no CR newsroom at the moment since the Alliant tower was flooded, you wouldn't get much response there. I'm not sure why my operator was late with the HD switch, but I'll talk with him. Normally, things are ganged together and every switch to NBC is HD. But with the weather that day, perhaps there was some snow in the dish that needed to be cleaned out. Either way, a call to our newsroom never hurts as the operator may not catch this right away as they are doing much more than just watching TV in Master Control.
-Jarrett

CR_Client

01-12-09, 01:28 PM

ImOn's Basic line up is very similiar. They may even have fewer channels.

http://www.imon.net/cabletv/channels.php

Does Mediacom ever publish their system channel line ups? I was looking for that the other day for a Mediacom system in central Iowa and could never find anything on their web site.

I've never found the lineups published anywhere other than when they have to post a public notice in the paper when they change their lineup.

But, based on what I see ImOn offers for their lowest tier package, it's not much of a deal compared to MediaCom. Even fewer channels, and only CBS and PBS in HD? What is THAT about?

Trip in VA

01-12-09, 05:47 PM

GaryP2

01-12-09, 06:57 PM

Even fewer channels, and only CBS and PBS in HD? What is THAT about?

Actually I can get the following seven HD channels with a QAM tuner:

KGAN-HD (CBS) 802
KFXA-HD (FOX) 808
KCRG-HD (ABC) 110.3
IPTV-HD (PBS) 92.3

FOX Business HD 888
QVC-HD 94.2
BigTen-HD 94.1

I don't know if they filter these out if you don't subscribe to their preferred cable. The only thing missing that I wish they'd carry is KWWL-HD (NBC).

The two digital channels listed on the web site are actually 480i versions of the logal channels. The following four channels are everything else I've seen on QAM consistently. I suspect that their channel line up page needs updated.

KGANS (digital) 702
KFXAS (digital) 708
KCRG 9.2 110.4
IPTV (digital) 92.4

uhf

01-12-09, 07:28 PM

Got an e-mail back, and this schedule is almost correct. Flip to "a" to a "p" in "5:30a." :)

- Trip

You're right, I 'corrected' the schedule I posted, thinking it was wrong. Turns out, I was wrong. The correct schedule is:

.2 will become IPTV Learns, with kids programs from 5:30p-10pm, and Create from 10p-5:30p

flyingvee

01-13-09, 09:25 AM

Does anyone here have any knowledge of this? From the Sony DHG forums, looks like major market O&O CBS stations are carrying TVGOS on their digital channels. So far, my Sony has not recognized any data from KGAN. Was wondering if they were planning on implementing it upon analog shutdown, or if there was anyone down in CR I could contact about that.

Or - failing that, if IPTV had any plans to continue TVGOS after analog shutoff - thanks to advice on AVS, I found the data still coming on the IPTV analog channel. Would be nice if someone continued with it - otherwise I end up with a really nice brick in 43 days. (or whatever the count is now)

--re the shutoff -- was in Target, looking at govt cheese convertors, and there were a couple guys actually thinking of buying one. So the message is coming across, slowly. But one was informing the other that Obama was going to delay the conversion, so didn't need to do anything right away.:rolleyes:

Trip in VA

01-13-09, 12:49 PM

My information has KGAN carrying the data in the Cedar Rapids/Waterloo market, but I have no confirmation that the equipment has actually been installed yet.

- Trip

oldsyd

01-13-09, 01:22 PM

You can try these email addresses, but nobody replied to my same question a couple weeks ago:

Ce_customer_support@macrovision.com
dtv@sbgi.net
RSchildmeyer@kgan.com
kgan@kgan.com

Does anyone here have any knowledge of this? From the Sony DHG forums, looks like major market O&O CBS stations are carrying TVGOS on their digital channels. So far, my Sony has not recognized any data from KGAN. Was wondering if they were planning on implementing it upon analog shutdown, or if there was anyone down in CR I could contact about that.

Or - failing that, if IPTV had any plans to continue TVGOS after analog shutoff - thanks to advice on AVS, I found the data still coming on the IPTV analog channel. Would be nice if someone continued with it - otherwise I end up with a really nice brick in 43 days. (or whatever the count is now)

--re the shutoff -- was in Target, looking at govt cheese convertors, and there were a couple guys actually thinking of buying one. So the message is coming across, slowly. But one was informing the other that Obama was going to delay the conversion, so didn't need to do anything right away.:rolleyes:

oldsyd

01-13-09, 01:23 PM

For channel lineups, I use http://www.tvguide.com/Listings/default.aspx

I've never found the lineups published anywhere other than when they have to post a public notice in the paper when they change their lineup.

But, based on what I see ImOn offers for their lowest tier package, it's not much of a deal compared to MediaCom. Even fewer channels, and only CBS and PBS in HD? What is THAT about?

flyingvee

01-13-09, 04:39 PM

flyingvee

01-13-09, 04:41 PM

My information has KGAN carrying the data in the Cedar Rapids/Waterloo market, but I have no confirmation that the equipment has actually been installed yet.

- Trip

they may be - but I'm not getting any packets via their analog feed. don't know if they'd even show up over their digital signal - 2.1 or 2.2. maybe if I'm lucky, I can contact someone there who knows. and can tell me.

fwiw, for what little good it'll do (for your list,) the local IPTV analog has the data at the moment.

Trip in VA

01-13-09, 05:24 PM

they may be - but I'm not getting any packets via their analog feed. don't know if they'd even show up over their digital signal - 2.1 or 2.2. maybe if I'm lucky, I can contact someone there who knows. and can tell me.

fwiw, for what little good it'll do (for your list,) the local IPTV analog has the data at the moment.

My list only covers the digital service, but thanks. =)

I'd say to call KGAN and bug them about it.

- Trip

uhf

01-13-09, 05:27 PM

My information has KGAN carrying the data in the Cedar Rapids/Waterloo market, but I have no confirmation that the equipment has actually been installed yet.

- Trip

I asked Randy @KGAN about this yesterday, and KGAN is NOT carrying TVGOS on Digital, only analog. (Which is weird, because IPTV has it on all their analog stations)

The last I heard is that IPTV would not be carrying it on digital since CBS has the contract for it.

oldsyd

01-13-09, 10:50 PM

Did Randy say if they plan on adding digital TVGOS before the analog shutoff?

uhf

01-14-09, 05:08 PM

From what I've heard KGAN hasn't been told anything about carrying TVGOS digital.

I have a highly reliable source that has been in contact with TV Guide. They told him that they are paying CBS for "National Coverage", therefore they will not pay for coverage through any other stations. However, the CBS coverage deal is only for CBS Owned and Operated stations, of which there are only 15 in the United States.

It's not likely that any station will carry the datastream for free. If TV Guide wants the data available they will have to agree to pay the stations to carry the data, and provide all necessary equipment to do so. This is how it worked with the Gemstar TV Guide service on analog.

Hopefully this will all get worked out eventually.

oldsyd

01-14-09, 06:20 PM

There is a DTV discussion tonight at 6:30 being held at the Westdale Mall library tonight hosted by Iowa Public Television for those interested.

(yes, I know thats in about an hour :)

flyingvee

01-15-09, 09:02 AM

It's not likely that any station will carry the datastream for free. If TV Guide wants the data available they will have to agree to pay the stations to carry the data, and provide all necessary equipment to do so. This is how it worked with the Gemstar TV Guide service on analog.

Ouch. While I greatly appreciate the heads up, that sounds a lot less promising than what Ken has been saying over on the HDTV recorders forum. One can only guess/assume (I know :)) that his clandestine "good news" is the nationwide coverage - which will cover the most people for the least effort, but isn't going to help the vast majority of us.

Back to the drawing board. Maybe I will start lobbying for Obama's delay. For at least 3 more years. ;)

redhawk

01-15-09, 09:34 AM

When the change over occurs will any of the stations have stronger signals? Also will the ones that change to VHF be stronger? Thanks

4lids

01-15-09, 11:53 AM

When the change over occurs will any of the stations have stronger signals? Also will the ones that change to VHF be stronger? Thanks

Many stations have been granted maximization requests, KWWL included. We will be slightly stronger on the 18th of Fubruary on channel 7, despite using a lot less power. Originally, we were only allocated 3.2 KW for the digital 7, which in theory matched the output of the digital 55 we have on now. We installed that rig last year at this time, even though we applied to go to 18KW, since we thought it would still not be adequate. In August, we were granted a maximization to 30KW. We will be ordering another transmitter to do this job, since the current one can't come close to that output. It will be able to do 4.1 KW though, which will result in some improvement right away, and then by the summer we'll have the maximized transmitter in place.

As far as if it will result in better reception, I'm optomistic. I'm worried about all of the people that were duped into buying "HD Digital" antennas that are UHF only. There is nothing HD about an antenna... any more than those fancy HD sunglasses I've seen advertised! I think that we'll have a lot of people getting us a lot easier, and a bunch that will suddenly wonder where channels 7.1 and 9.1 went.

I think the biggest improvements will be in part to two things. First for us, is the move to the top of the tower with the digital broadcast. 150 feet of height will help a lot, because in TV, height is everything. Secondly is the fact that half of the RF flying around out there will come off the air reducing interference. I think the low power UHF 55 analog in Cedar Rapids is also wreaking havoc on some as well.

In the limited test we did with the new rig, the signal strength on our converter box went from the low 70's to around 80. I imagine the just to 30 KW will further boost that.

-Jarrett

dline

01-15-09, 03:00 PM

... I think the low power UHF 55 analog in Cedar Rapids is also wreaking havoc on some as well ... I know I've seen records of such a station, but has anyone actually seen a picture from it?

Of course, C.R. is well within KWWL's protected zone, and LP stations are secondary. So if there is a low-power station being allowed to operate here on 55, I'd have to wonder if the FCC is doing its job.

ivorygate

01-16-09, 12:23 PM

I'm worried about all of the people that were duped into buying "HD Digital" antennas that are UHF only. There is nothing HD about an antenna... any more than those fancy HD sunglasses I've seen advertised! I think that we'll have a lot of people getting us a lot easier, and a bunch that will suddenly wonder where channels 7.1 and 9.1 went.

Everyone's situation is different, but I've been getting by perfectly fine for the past few years with a RCA ANT501 (powered) antenna inside my house with only the UHF loop and the distracting, archaic "rabbit ears" not even attached at all. I suppose from a broadcast engineer's point of view, VHF is the only way to fly, but I would have preferred that all our eastern Iowa channels had stayed as-is.

For me, the changes in a month can only result in problems where up until now I have had none. :(

uhf

01-16-09, 01:27 PM

The U.S. Senate could vote as early as today to delay the digital TV changeover to June 12.

Senate staffers said today that because of the limited time before the Feb. 17 transition, the Senate leadership is hoping to short-circuit normal committee procedures and take directly to the floor legislation introduced Thursday by Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., to delay the switch.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/01/senate_could_vote_today_on_dtv.php

GaryP2

01-16-09, 07:25 PM

tsduke

01-16-09, 07:29 PM

Has there been any mention as the the length of the suggested delay?

Whoever isn't ready now will never be ready until forced to do so because they have no tv.

uhf

01-16-09, 08:04 PM

Has there been any mention as the the length of the suggested delay?

Whoever isn't ready now will never be ready until forced to do so because they have no tv.

June 12. I agree, some people will never be ready. I've said all along that as soon as the next administration came in the date would get pushed back again. We've gone from 12/31/06 to 2/17/09 already, and now possibly even farther. All the stations that have scheduled install crews to re-configure transmitters would have to start all over again. Hopefully this won't make it through, but I think it will.

Jon Ellis

01-17-09, 01:31 AM

I think the low power UHF 55 analog in Cedar Rapids is also wreaking havoc on some as well.

I'm an avid DX'er, lived in Cedar Rapids from Dec. 2004 to Jan. 2007 and never saw the LPTV on 55, nor any of the other "licensed" LPTV's except for TBN on channel 17 (which got beat up pretty bad by KDSM on warm summer days).

bluejayrock

01-17-09, 01:54 PM

KCRG is debuting their HD crawler with real information. They are trying to put two and sometimes three lines of information on the bottom of the screen, taking up about as much screen real estate as the analog crawler and sometimes all scrolling at the same time. It's so much information but what it's hard to read everything.They are showing several schools as "open", even tough it's a Friday night and a lot of those schools were closed today!

Hopefully they are just testing and will reconfigure to be a bit more scaled back ...

That sounds like the crawl WHO uses here in the DSM for school closings. The bottom line is all schools in the viewing area, middle line is schools in the DM-Ames matro area, and the top line is a "Just In" alerts red line that only pops up when they have a new or updated listing.

diggerg56

01-17-09, 08:47 PM

Directv was in the process of putting some new Local Receive Facility equipment online this week to handle the digital broadcasts from the local stations and I believe it went "live" yesterday.

I don't know if it's coincidence or not or something else but the audio/video on KCRG is now out of sync on some of the local origination stuff like news and promos.

Anyone else noticed this with or without Directv?

I haven't watched enough of KGAN or KWWL to see if it's there also.

The picture on all the locals looks a little darker now also.

GaryP2

01-17-09, 11:41 PM

I don't know if it's coincidence or not or something else but the audio/video on KCRG is now out of sync on some of the local origination stuff like news and promos.

Anyone else noticed this with or without Directv?

I noticed it out of sync on ImOn cable during the 6 PM news tonight (Sat), so it may have been KCRG's problem. I didn't check over the air.

I'm amazed at the number of challenges that the digital transition has introduced.

fdelin

01-18-09, 07:42 PM

Has anyone else noticed audio hops/skips in the CBS OTA HD feed from KGAN on the AFC Championship game?

dohnut

01-18-09, 10:30 PM

Has anyone else noticed audio hops/skips in the CBS OTA HD feed from KGAN on the AFC Championship game?

Yup. :mad:

For 3+ hours and counting now.. Since I don't see any other regions complaining I'm assuming a local problem. I don't think I've noticed it on the local commercials though, just the national feed.

ivorygate

01-19-09, 12:39 PM

Unfortunately, yes. I recall this being an issue with NFL games on KGAN/CBS in past years, but I don't recall it being a problem this past season, until of course the AFC championship game last night. Luckily, CBS doesn't have the SB this year (although, unfortunately, they do next year).

oldsyd

01-19-09, 01:14 PM

The lack of information is not very promising. I suspect the two CBS Sinclair affiliates (KGAN and WGME) plan on doing nothing. It only took KGAN 10 years to replace the billboard they had abandoned on Collins Rd.

From what I've heard KGAN hasn't been told anything about carrying TVGOS digital.

I have a highly reliable source that has been in contact with TV Guide. They told him that they are paying CBS for "National Coverage", therefore they will not pay for coverage through any other stations. However, the CBS coverage deal is only for CBS Owned and Operated stations, of which there are only 15 in the United States.

It's not likely that any station will carry the datastream for free. If TV Guide wants the data available they will have to agree to pay the stations to carry the data, and provide all necessary equipment to do so. This is how it worked with the Gemstar TV Guide service on analog.

Hopefully this will all get worked out eventually.

hdtvincr

01-19-09, 08:49 PM

uhf

01-20-09, 09:15 AM

I'll show my stupidity here I guess, but since digital KCRG is not yet being carried on DirectTv, how in the world could this be causing a problem????
Just a guess: DirecTV is using KCRG-DT and downconverting it to SD instead of using the analog feed. How else will they receive local station after 2.17.09?

airgas1998

01-20-09, 04:59 PM

diggerg56

01-20-09, 06:36 PM

Just a guess: DirecTV is using KCRG-DT and downconverting it to SD instead of using the analog feed. How else will they receive local station after 2.17.09?

That's correct. The Local Receive Facility was just upgraded. While Directv isn't carrying the HD feed from KCRG they are now carrying the DT feed. That's what I was referring to. For those of us with Directv from the 72.5 bird the locals will be shifting to a new bird as part of this change as well and soon we can get rid of that dish,.

dline

01-20-09, 08:15 PM

Well, we've got more potential confusion as far as the DTV transition date in Iowa is concerned: Qualcomm is speaking up and now says it wants its Channel 55 on February 18 as scheduled, according to a Telephony Online article posted by another AVS member.

The link is here:
http://telephonyonline.com/wireless/news/qualcomm-dtv-transition-0120/

If Congress isn't willing to order a nationwide, on-time shutdown of the upper channels, Qualcomm said it's willing to accept a shutdown in four large markets.

But if Qualcomm gets what it really wants, KWWL will have to switch on the original deadline or shut off its digital signal for a time.

There could also be a mess in two nearby markets.

KWQC-DT in Davenport uses channel 56 and is moving to 36 post-transition, but needs Iowa Public Television to shut off an analog 36 in Davenport.

In Des Moines, KDMI-DT operates on channel 56 and was scheduled to move to 31 post-transition. It has recently asked the FCC for permission to move to 19 instead. Problem is, both 31 and 19 are currently occupied by KCCI-DT and WHO-DT, respectively, until they shut off analog and move.

More reasons, in my opinion, to just leave the freakin' date alone.

redhawk

01-21-09, 09:30 AM

I have my ota located in the attic. Lately my signal strength on 2.1 is low. Could snow on the roof cause this?

4lids

01-21-09, 12:29 PM

But if Qualcomm gets what it really wants, KWWL will have to switch on the original deadline or shut off its digital signal for a time.

More reasons, in my opinion, to just leave the freakin' date alone.

AMEN! I'll be happy to comply! We are still full steam ahead and lobbying against any more delays!
-Jarrett

tsduke

01-21-09, 12:32 PM

AMEN! I'll be happy to comply! We are still full steam ahead and lobbying against any more delays!
-Jarrett

should we start emailing Harkin, Grassley and the reps?

iowegian3

01-21-09, 01:39 PM

:DYes!:D

iowegian3

01-21-09, 01:52 PM

I have my ota located in the attic. Lately my signal strength on 2.1 is low. Could snow on the roof cause this?

I'd say yes.

tvguy01

01-23-09, 10:14 AM

Senate Will Vote to Delay DTV
TVWeek

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., announced on Thursday night a bipartisan agreement to delay the country's changeover to digital TV from Feb. 17 to June 12, TelevisionWeek reports. Rockefeller said a Senate vote on the legislation likely would take place next week, according to TVWeek.

—Aimee Picchi

RBenson

01-23-09, 11:42 AM

Idiots!!!!!

4lids

01-23-09, 12:10 PM

One piece of god news today... our PSIP provider finally got the ThisTV network schedule loaded and now we have the correct guide information for 7.2. We had a temporary schedule in there for a couple weeks, but it is good now with movie titles and info. We still have an issue with 7.3 though, which is still showing the national schedule for RTN. We've told them for a week now to switch it back, but so far it is still the same. Hopefully they'll get that fixed next.

As far as the transition delay, they are still working on things, but I think they will end up with something like a grant to continue to stay on until June with the analog if desired (probably encouraged to do so), but you can still cutover on 2/17 if needed. We'll see how this shakes down, but they are running out of time fast. 25 days to go!
-Jarrett

airgas1998

01-23-09, 04:11 PM

Idiots!!!!!

mark my word....the senate will approve for a delay, it's truly amazing how washington even functions. they really think by delaying this 120 days or so that granny anny will come to her senses.

VintonShellsburg

01-23-09, 07:32 PM

dline

01-24-09, 04:21 AM

As 4lids has already hinted at, it seems that this impending delay is possibly going to be optional on behalf of the TV stations. If in fact the 6/12 delay is made optional, this then raises the question...will any of our local stations here decide to switch on 2/17 anyway?That will likely be a business decision. It'll be based on a number of factors, such as: Who has dibs on our old frequency? How long will the analog transmitter hold out? How long can our budget hold out, running two transmitters at six- or seven-figure ERPs each? And hypothetically, if KCRG and KWWL decide to shut off early and KGAN doesn't, will the stragglers out there be convinced to get a converter? Or will they simply start watching more CBS, even if their analog looks like it was coming from another state?

dline

01-25-09, 03:54 AM

According to this form (link is below), KWWL plans to shut off analog 12 hours early, at noon on February 17:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=593

Jon Ellis

01-25-09, 07:52 PM

Anyone else think it's ironic that Congress is riding in like a white knight trying to rescue us from the transition date they themselves set?

Too many people in Washington had their heads in the sand about digital TV. True, there are a lot of great things about it, which I don't need to list on this forum! But there are also issues with reception and antenna upgrades that leaders didn't start to widely acknowledge until about a year ago. Then there's the whole problem of getting people who've been watching TV one way for 50 years and who've never owned a VCR to understand how a set-top box works.

No matter what the end date there will still be people who aren't prepared. Unfortunately it will take the actual shutdown of the analog transmitters for many people to take action. Delaying the switch will not solve this problem.

Even if they DO delay the switch, many stations won't, as mentioned above. Stations have been planning for this for years and may have analog equipment that's on its last legs. Then there's the huge electric bill for two transmitters, especially for 100kW/316kW VHF operations that have 1000kW UHF digital channels.

4lids

01-26-09, 10:56 AM

According to this form (link is below), KWWL plans to shut off analog 12 hours early, at noon on February 17:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=593

Where do you see the part about going off 12 hours early? I lobbied for that last year but actually was vetoed since we aren't licensed to go on with our digital 7 until Midnight the evening of 2/17 or morning of 2/18 (however you want to look at it!). Our current plan is to go off on the analog 7 shortly before midnight on the 17th, move the line, turn off the digital 55, and then turn on the digital 7. We will then be hoping that people will remember to rescan to find us! You'll be beginning to hear that mantra these next few weeks as we get closer to the cutover... and we will be cutting over unless something drastically changes. We are working to protect our right to go that evening, as you saw in that link. I still think the confusion that congress is going to create with this delay is going to be worse than the actual cutover. Rip the bandaid off!
-Jarrett

Trip in VA

01-26-09, 12:28 PM

Where do you see the part about going off 12 hours early?

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1290392&Form_id=910&Facility_id=593

- Trip

flyingvee

01-26-09, 01:36 PM

Or will they simply start watching more CBS, even if their analog looks like it was coming from another state?

Sure, I'll start watching CBS. just as soon as that is the ONLY channel available, I lose my internet streaming, and my dvd players, BD player, and stereo all cease to function. :rolleyes:

Even if KGAN were to be the only analog left, don't think it would change anything - pretty sure its the analog holdouts that constitute the majority of their demo. C'mon - be logical - KGAN and CBS are made for a 19" b&w Zenith. :D

iowegian3

01-26-09, 04:04 PM

C'mon - be logical - KGAN and CBS are made for a 19" b&w Zenith. :D

You could expand that to ANY Sinclair operated hamburger stand..:rolleyes:

iowegian3

01-26-09, 04:38 PM

Back to bizness:

While I would have preferred one coordinated transition on 2/17, I'm starting to think that a market by market roll out will be better.

And in a perfect world, all the stations in the mkt. would switch at the same time, so viewers won't have to do so many rescans.

Beyond that, there may be some benefits to having stations transitioning at will. It'll spread things out, avoiding the massive all-at-once crunch for the help centers. I've thought that station by station transitions would be chaos, but I've changed my mind. (like any one really cares).

At least CR-Wloo doesn't have any major tower shifts like the QC mkt

iowahawkeye

01-26-09, 06:24 PM

You could expand that to ANY Sinclair operated hamburger stand..:rolleyes:That's "$inclair"

tvguy01

01-27-09, 06:41 AM

Senate Agrees To Move DTV Transition Date:mad:

The Senate Monday night approved unanimously a compromise bill that would move the DTV transition date from Feb. 17 to June 12, but it must now be reconciled with a House version of the bill.

sgarringer

01-27-09, 08:34 AM

Here is an email I sent to all the local TV stations. Will it do any good? Who knows. But at least I made my opinion known. I suggest that anyone who feels strongly about the DTV transition, make your opinion known! If you don't want to write your own email, heck, copy and paste mine!

from Shawn Garringer <sgarringer@gmail.com>
to sgarringer@gmail.com
bcc John.Phelan@kcrg.com,
kleer@kwwl.com,
news@kgan.com,
kfxa@kfxa.tv,
dkm@iptv.org
date Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 10:42 AM
subject DTV Transition
mailed-by gmail.com
hide details Jan 23 (4 days ago)

It seems all but apparent that the government is going to offer broadcasters an optional extension on the DTV transition until the spring. I am writing to express my desire to your station that you opt to switch to all digital transmission starting on Feb 17, 2009. Delaying this transition seems that it does not offer anything additional to those in the Cedar Rapids / Waterloo market, and by going forward with the transition we look forward to the day when this whole DTV transition has been settled down.

As a viewer who gets the majority of my programming over the air (from a mast mounted antenna) I am ready for the transition. I have not even tuned in to any analog, over the air TV broadcasts in the year of 2009. Please, don't needlessly delay the DTV transition, lets move forward, not backward.

Thank you for your time.

Shawn Garringer
(sgarringer@gmail.com)

sgarringer

01-27-09, 08:36 AM

I should mention, I got the following reply from KCRG at least.

from John Phelan <John.Phelan@kcrg.com>
to Shawn Garringer <sgarringer@gmail.com>
date Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 10:50 AM
subject RE: DTV Transition
mailed-by kcrg.com
hide details Jan 23 (4 days ago)

Reply

Shawn,

I couldn’t agree more. We wait to see what options our inept politicians will give us.
Regards,
John Phelan

iowahawkeye

01-27-09, 09:34 AM

What I find interesting with the digital switchover is the fact that congress has stuck their nose into extending the date.......but they don't have the guts to say every station has to wait or stick with the 2/09 date......they just put the monkey on the stations back and tell them they can switch whenever, so the station has to take the blame if some poor person has been putting off getting an antenna the past year.

As for the 2/09 date, I never did understand how someone could come up with that date. Look at all the people that live north of I-70...in the middle of winter....just the time of year you want to be up on a roof. And isn't Feb usually a network "sweeps rating month"? Man, if had to pick a date a few years ago, it would have been June, with reruns and no sweeps month.

Trip in VA

01-27-09, 09:41 AM

It usually is sweeps month, but this year it was pushed back to March. Why? To accommodate the transition that's apparently no longer occurring. :rolleyes:

- Trip

uhf

01-27-09, 10:06 AM

flyingvee

01-27-09, 10:20 AM

Heck yes. If nothing else, it would be a public service. I still go to friend's houses, see them watching SD network programming on their HD-TVs. :eek:

they've already converted, they've paid their money. let's end what is, evidently, confusion for them, and let them watch HD and only HD!

(course, when a flock of bluebirds in a gentle mist makes KWWL-DT go off the air, I too will be lamenting the absence of the SD signal for a fallback...so make the HD reliable when you do switch over, please.)

iowahawkeye

01-27-09, 10:45 AM

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090127/NEWS/701279932/1001/NEWS

By Jeff Raasch

The Gazette
jeff.raasch@gazettecommunications.com

CEDAR RAPIDS - A power outage interrupted television signals for KCRG-TV9 and KGAN-CBS2 for about 90 minutes this morning.

A television tower in Walker used by both stations lost power around 4:25 a.m. KCRG Broadcast Engineer Matt Long said the station switched to generator power, but digital service remained interrupted.

At 5:17 a.m., complete power was lost to the tower, knocking out the signal. Power was restored at 6 a.m., Long said.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure (what happened)," Long said. "I was speaking with one of our engineers and he was a little baffled, too."

The power outage also darkened the lights on the tower used to alert aircraft of its location. Long notified the Federal Aviation Administration of the tower's location, so that airports could plan accordingly.

KFXA-FOX 28 Broadcast Engineer Eric Rand said that station's signal was not lost because it uses a different tower near Vinton.

East-Central Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative provides power to the Walker TV tower. Steve Marlow, manager of operations and engineering, said they receive service through Alliant Energy.

"Their transmission lines that feed our substation were down," Marlow said. "I don't have an exact cause of yet."

Marlow said Alliant personnel were investigating the cause.

KWWL in Waterloo also was experiencing problems with its transmitter in Rowley, causing some signal disruption. The signal for 107.9-FM was down as of 7:30 a.m., due to a power outage. No other details were immediately available.

oldsyd

01-27-09, 12:13 PM

Thanks Jarrett! I did notice the info, thanks!

One piece of god news today... our PSIP provider finally got the ThisTV network schedule loaded and now we have the correct guide information for 7.2. We had a temporary schedule in there for a couple weeks, but it is good now with movie titles and info. We still have an issue with 7.3 though, which is still showing the national schedule for RTN. We've told them for a week now to switch it back, but so far it is still the same. Hopefully they'll get that fixed next.

As far as the transition delay, they are still working on things, but I think they will end up with something like a grant to continue to stay on until June with the analog if desired (probably encouraged to do so), but you can still cutover on 2/17 if needed. We'll see how this shakes down, but they are running out of time fast. 25 days to go!
-Jarrett

oldsyd

01-27-09, 12:22 PM

Maybe not something people here would benefit from,
but if you know people who are confused about the
DTV switchover, they might want to attend the IPTV
information session tomorrow at Westdale Mall.

It was rescheduled due to extreme cold earlier this
month.

Cedar Rapids Public Library
Westdale Mall
Wednesday, January 28 at 6:30 p.m.

dline

01-27-09, 12:44 PM

In light of the recent State budget cuts, and the additional cost of electricity required to leave analog on the air, it will be interesting to see what IPTV does. If it were up to me they would move forward with the 2/17 transition.I wouldn't be surprised if they switched ... many of the Nebraska public network stations already have.

All of the IPTV analogs are UHF except for KIIN and flagship KDIN, so shutting off analog could save them a LOT of money.

Indeed, if the use of Channel 56 becomes an issue, there's a station in Davenport which would have to move, but it needs KQIN to shut off its analog in order to do that.

dline

01-27-09, 01:06 PM

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090127/NEWS/701279932/1001/NEWS

By Jeff Raasch

The Gazette
jeff.raasch@gazettecommunications.com
I hope nobody sees the digital interruption as a reason to keep analog on. When stations like KWWL and KCRG switch their VHF transmitters to digital as planned, I'm pretty sure that whatever analog backup systems they have will be there to power those newly digital VHF channels.

CR_Client

01-27-09, 01:56 PM

I anticipate that the delay will only allow about 5% of people who aren't ready to get ready, and the rest of the people who aren't ready now still won't be ready or aware when June 12 comes.

I'm glad to know that the new president and Congress is more worried about 40 or so dollars out of a few individual consumers' pockets than they are about the gobs of MegaWatt-hours of electricity that will be wasted by not allowing stations to abandon their old, energy-hog analog UHF channels in favor of more energy-efficient VHF digital signals.

Of course, there's still the wanna-be altruistic sentiment of "they can actually switch as early as Feb 17th if they want to (which most stations would do if given a choice, based on economic, staffing, and aging equipment considerations) or any time between Feb 17th and June 12th, but no later than June 12th."

Because, you know, what people REALLY have been craving for is a fuzzy date some time between Feb 17th and June 12th so that they can guess every tome they get home from work whether or not another station in their network has switched to digital-only or not. You thought a 4 HOUR window to wait for the cable guy to show up was bad? How about a 4 MONTH window to guess as to when your analog TV will stop working? Not that KWWL, KCRG, et. al. would switch over unannounced, but I can't imagine that they would have the time to notify people if their analog equipment suddenly failed on March 23rd, to the point where it was just a better idea to go all-digital than fix it.

What happens in mid-May? Do they extend it again because people "still aren't ready"?

Every last moron who voted for this should be required to tour a transmission tower, since most of them probably have been exposed to TV operations only through their publicity stunt interviews and smear campaign commercials. Frak them all.

weaselfest

01-27-09, 07:20 PM

there are people who simply won't make any changes until the issue is pushed.

uhf

01-27-09, 07:23 PM

CR_Client

01-27-09, 11:24 PM

The latest word is that IPTV plans to continue analog service until the mandatory cutoff (whenever that ends up being). The changes to the digital line up scheduled for Feb 1 will still take place as scheduled.

I've heard that KGAN plans to shut down analog on 2/17. If KWWL does as well I would think that KCRG would. I really wish that IPTV would at least follow the other stations in the market rather than confuse people by not changing over.

Don't tell the on-air talent at KCRG that... They might get even more confused about the whole thing than they already are. I mean, I love Beth and all, but she's not exactly the first person that pops into my head when I think "accurate technology reporting".

A casual observation from this week, too. It seems that, now that KCRG has their digital character generator, they're actually sending the news out as a digital feed with a digital Time and Temp Chyron, instead of just switching to an analog re-transmission. The only problem is that the time and temp are squished and tiny, and the time is 2 minutes behind the time on the analog Time and Temp Chyron. :o

dline

01-28-09, 05:11 AM

BREAKING NEWS: KGAN files for STA to terminate analog on February 17, along with KDSM in Des Moines.

Text from the STA application (sorry it's all caps; I don't have time to re-type it):

"STATION KGAN(TV), CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, HEREBY NOTIFIES THE COMMISSION OF ITS INTENT TO PERMANENTLY TERMINATE ANALOG OPERATIONS FEBRUARY 17, 2009 TO PREPARE FOR FULL, POST-TRANSITION DIGITAL-ONLY OPERATIONS ON ITS POST-TRANSITION CHANNEL. ALTHOUGH THE DTV TRANSITION DATE HAS NOT YET BEEN EXTENDED, THIS TERMINATION NOTIFICATION IS BEING PROVIDED OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION. THIS AUTHORITY IS SOUGHT PURSUANT TO THE THIRD PERIODIC DTV REVIEW REPORT AND ORDER, 23 FCC RCD 2994 (2007). THE INSTANT REQUEST MEETS THE CRITERIA SET FORTH BY THE COMMISSION IN THAT (1) THE TERMINATION OF OPERATIONS IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE STATION'S FULL ALLOTTED POST-TRANSITION DIGITAL FACILITIES AND ENSURES THAT THE STATION WILL BE ABLE TO MEET THE TRANSITION DEADLINE, AND (2) THE LICENSEE WILL COMPLY WITH THE VIEWER NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMISSION. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE THIRD PERIODIC REVIEW REPORT AND ORDER, THE STATION INTENDS TO AIR VIEWER NOTIFICATIONS CONCERNING ITS EARLY ANALOG SERVICE TERMINATION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, INFORMATION ON HOW VIEWERS CAN CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE STATION'S SIGNAL."

tvguy01

01-28-09, 11:43 AM

House Vote On DTV Delay Bill Probably Not Until Wednesday
Spokesperson says she expects the bill to pass
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/27/2009 4:21:49 PM MT
According to a spokesperson for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a vote on a bill to delay the DTV transition date probably will not come until Wednesday. And even then, the bill will likely have to go back to the Senate for a re-vote on some small changes, according to a Hill source.

The Senate version of a bill to change the date from Feb. 17 to June 12 passed Monday. That bill is still expected to be debated in the House "on suspension" Tuesday night, said Hoyer spokeswoman Katie Grant, which means limited debate, no amendments, and a two-thirds majority rather than a simple majority is required for passage. Grant said she expects the bill will pass.

But the debate probably won't come until 8 or 9 p.m., after general debate on the economic stimulus package.

The Senate re-vote would be over some language "tweaks," as the House source put it, related to technical fixes in budget language and a change in the public safety language. But budget and emergency communications are key issues with Republicans.

The $64,000 question is whether Senate Republicans agree those are only tweaks. One indicator would be how many Republicans wind up voting for the House version.

If the tweaks are only that, the Senate could substitute the House bill for its version, approve it, and it would be off to the president's desk for signing. Since he proposed moving the date, that is a pretty safe bet.

iowahawkeye

01-28-09, 02:11 PM

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162898-DTV_Delay_Bill_Fails_To_Pass_In_House.php

DTV-Delay Bill Fails To Pass In House
House falls short of 2/3 majority required to approve moving date of DTV transition
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/28/2009 11:02:08 AM MT
Related:

The DTV Countdown - Complete Coverage of the DTV Transition

Barton, Stearns Ask Pelosi To Delay DTV Vote

The House Wednesday failed to follow the Senate's lead and pass a DTV date-change bill, putting the move of the DTV transition date in doubt after all the momentum seemed to be moving toward the four-month delay to June 12.

It was also something of a defeat for the Obama administration, which had pushed Congress to move the date, citing the problems in distributing DTV-to-analog converter box coupons and a lack of funding for DTV education. Republicans pushed back hard, saying it was a solution in search of a problem.

The vote was 258 to 168 in favor of changing the date, but under House expedited rules, a 2/3 majority was required for approval.

A spokesperson for Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) had no immediate comment on what the next move will be, but ranking Republican Joe Barton (R-TX) has a bill that would pump more money into the coupon box program without moving the date.

The Senate had passed a compromise bill Monday by unanimous consent, and Waxman had cancelled a markup on his DTV date change bill to get behind the Senate version.

adgedomin

01-28-09, 04:44 PM

Does anyone know why Idol and Fringe weren't in HD last night?

iowahawkeye

01-28-09, 05:23 PM

Looking at the state of iowa fy '10 budget, IPT currently (fy'09) got/getting $8,948,864, fy'10 request $9,085,141,
chet recommended $8,170.392 http://www.governor.iowa.gov/news/2009/attachments/Iowa_Budget_Report_Fiscal_Year_2010.pdf

tsduke

01-28-09, 06:52 PM

Does anyone know why Idol and Fringe weren't in HD last night?

I was going to ask the same question, but forgot all about it until I saw your post.

Edit: I tried to email them but none of their contact info works.

dline

01-28-09, 08:10 PM

Broadcasting & Cable: "House, Senate could take second stab at date delay"

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/print/162924-House_Senate_Could_Take_Second_Stab_At_Date_Delay.php

House could vote again, perhaps by next Tuesday or Wednesday -- with just 14 or fewer days to go by then ...

diggerg56

01-29-09, 08:46 PM

I was going to ask the same question, but forgot all about it until I saw your post.

Edit: I tried to email them but none of their contact info works.

No HD tonight either. Not sure if it's equipment related or someone is "asleep at the switch."

sgarringer

01-29-09, 08:54 PM

Some interesting news for those of us with E*

As you may (or may not) know, E* is launching a new sat at 129W which will include spotbeams.

E* has recently started modifying channel tables in anticipation for the new bird.

5251(2) - KGAN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cedar Rapids, IA)
5252(7) - KWWL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Waterloo, IA)
5250(9) - KCRG [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cedar Rapids, IA)
5253(28) - KFXA [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cedar Rapids, IA)

This doesn't mean they necessarily have the rights to carry these channels, but it does mean they're reserving spots for these channels...

dline

01-29-09, 09:06 PM

Broadcasting & Cable is now reporting that the Senate has passed a second bill delaying the drop dead date for analog.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162977-Senate_Passes_Second_Bill_Changing_DTV_Transition_Date.php

On a related note:

As of this afternoon, online records indicate only KWWL and KGAN have pre-emptive "silent" notices with the FCC indicating they will definitely shut down analog Feb. 17.

Stay tuned ...

uhf

01-29-09, 11:11 PM

dline

01-30-09, 03:44 AM

MORE BREAKING NEWS:
KCRG notifies FCC of intent to shut off analog on Feb. 17

KCRG has filed a "Notice of Suspension of Operations," which can be found here (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1292299&Form_id=910&Facility_id=9719). Here's what they have to say on their form:

"To assist KCRG-TV's digital transition, given the uncertainty surrounding the date of the digital transition deadline, and to accommodate the notice requirement ... Station KCRG-TV hereby notifies the Commission that, on February 17, 2009, it intends to permanently terminate analog (ch. 9) and pre-transition digital (ch. 52) operations, whereupon it will immediately commence operations with its post-transition digital (ch. 9) facilities authorized ..."

"In light of the uncertainties noted above, and to comply with the spirit of the Commission's existing DTV transition procedures, Station KCRG-TV will broadcast the type of viewer notifications described in Paragraph 134 of the Report and Order until it terminates analog operations on February 17, 2009."

KCRG joins KWWL and KGAN among Eastern Iowa stations seeking to shut down analog on the original deadline.

mred53

01-30-09, 12:32 PM

So there are three stations in the CR market changing digital frequencies (KWWL, KCRG, and KIIN). The first two are changing digital frequencies on Feb 17th when they shut down analog. KIIN will not change frequencies until as late as August according to an FCC filing (although they'll of course shut down analog before then). That means there are two dates people will need to rescan, and oddly enough neither of the dates will be the proposed delayed transition date in June.

Do I have all that right?

gjvrieze

01-30-09, 02:13 PM

Here is an email from Director of Engineering and Technology at Iowa Public Television

Hi Garrett,

IPTV will continue to operate analog services until the mandated analog shutoff date whether that is February 17, 2009 or the proposed June 12, 2009. There is indeed an added cost to maintaining two operations and our costs are amplified due to the fact that we have 9 full powered facilities statewide that are each operating two transmitters. Based on my experience doing DTV information sessions statewide (and out of state, I was just in Albert Lea on Tuesday) there are a great many people that rely on over the air television reception that are not ready. We think IPTV is better serving the viewer and communities that rely on us by continuing to operate analog for as long as possible to provide the most opportunity for people to get ready and deal with any reception issues. We recognize that even if we delay until June, we will still deal with the procrastinators but we would rather have them scrambling on their roofs checking antennas and cables in June rather than February.

We do not plan on being the night light station because we cannot do it statewide due to FCC restrictions.

Bill

ShrinerMonkey

02-01-09, 05:25 PM

I am not getting any HD through my Mediacom HD PVR. KWWL is not showing up in HD through this crappy cable box. When I pull up input info on my Samsung PN50A550 connected via HDMI through my Onkyo TX-SR606 I see 720x480 on everything even if the info in the listing says HD. Awsome that I can't watch the superbowl in HD on my brand new HD TV.

Is anyone else not able to get HD through their mediacom HD PVR?

I tired connecting the cable box directly to my TV with the same result.

I have pretty much decided to switch to Dish but this is the last nail in the coffin for this terrible cable company.

tsduke

02-01-09, 05:42 PM

ShrinerMonkey

02-01-09, 05:46 PM

Well I figured out how to force the cable box to output 1080i (and that is what my Samsung is now showing that it is receiving), but the picture quality is no better so I think KWWL may not be broadcasting in HD.

tsduke

02-01-09, 05:48 PM

I'm getting KWWL in HD on Mediacom through QAM.

DLPDA

02-01-09, 06:37 PM

Been getting KWWL-DT OTA just fine since started watching around an hour ago...

uhf

02-01-09, 08:10 PM

KWWL is looking great in HD OTA here as well. No issues noticed at all.

The 3D commercials were pretty cool!

tsduke

02-01-09, 08:17 PM

I still can't get it OTA through my Directv AM21 for some reason. I did reset my receiver before the game started but still no signal. I'm not going to try and figure it our until the game is over. Got KWWL-DT over Directv and Mediacom qam so I covered anyway.

A friend of mine said OTA was breaking up pretty bad during pregame for him.

Kelud

02-01-09, 10:21 PM

I watched the Super Bowl in HD(KWWL) via QAM as well and had no problems.

iowahawkeye

02-02-09, 07:34 AM

You need to see this old photo of a "mobile TV unit. (WOI - 1950)
Des Moines Register's old-time photo of the day (2/2).
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090202/NEWS/302020002/1004/NEWS02

sgarringer

02-02-09, 09:38 AM

I watched the entire super bowl OTA from SW Cedar Rapids (just a tad east of the wal-mart) without a single glitch or breakup. Then watched the entire office, also.

But, then again, somehow I manage to get all the local stations in the high 90s on my Dish 612 and 722.

ShrinerMonkey

02-02-09, 09:38 AM

I don't know what is going on with my mediacom cable box because I am not getting anything in HD through it. The game looked like s%$@, looked the same as all the other SD channels. In fact the commercials usually looked better than the game did. A lot of the time the sound was terrible, the audio commentary is barely audible sometimes. I tried hooking my cable directly to my TV with the same crappy picture. Dish, here I come.

4lids

02-02-09, 11:27 AM

This appears it might be a KWWL issue. I have it through Directv, but strangly enough I can't get a lock OTA.

I, obviously, was watching like a hawk last night on both CFU and over the air. I thought everything looked and sounded as good as I could expect. I only had a couple messages when I got in from people trying to figure out how to use the box. There was one person in Kalona though that was getting us fine until yesterday and then couldn't get us. Not sure if an antenna got bumped or if something else was amiss.

We are still full steam ahead for Feb. 17th. We'll see what congress does in the next couple days though. In any event, we are protecting our right to go on 2/17, so even if congress tries to mandate something, they are going to have to fight us on it!
-Jarrett

tsduke

02-02-09, 11:32 AM

DLPDA

02-02-09, 12:14 PM

I'm not sure why my Directv AM21(add-on ota tuner for HR22) won't pull in KWWL. Every other station is fine. I redid the setup for ota and still nothing for KWWL.

Edit: I wonder if Directv did something that changed the data for KWWL to where it's mapped wrong.

No problems pulling 7-1, 7-2 or 7-3 in with my HR22-100 and the AM21. (The AM21 is a much better tuner than what D* put in the HR20... (at least mine developed issues (over time) breaking up frequently)). I'm near Iowa City with an attic mounted VHF-UHF combo antenna.

What are you using for an antenna? Is it possible your antenna got knocked out of alignment? Have you tried pulling it in on another device (TV/DirecTV receiver/PC) using the same antenna feed?

What are

tsduke

02-02-09, 12:18 PM

My antenna hasn't moved. Signals on other stations haven't changed. I have not hooked the antenna directly to my tv yet.

I'm using a Winegard 70XX mounted to the peak of my roof.

DLPDA

02-02-09, 12:31 PM

My antenna hasn't moved. Signals on other stations haven't changed. I have not hooked the antenna directly to my tv yet.

I'm using a Winegard 70XX mounted to the peak of my roof.

Would seem to point to the AM21 being at fault (since my AM21 is still getting KWWL fine I doubt it's a remapping issue at D*), but probably worth hooking the antenna directly to the TV just to rule out antenna issues. Not sure how far away from the transmitters you are, but with your antenna setup I'm sure you know even a degree or two one way or the other can make a huge difference.

I've had my HR22 and AM21 since November and have been happy with the AM21's OTA reception. I'm migrating my regular OTA recordings over to it instead of my HR20 which has proven unreliable for OTA for me. I know others that have the HR20 and haven't had a problem at all... so everyone's situation is different.

Good luck!

tsduke

02-02-09, 12:39 PM

Would seem to point to the AM21 being at fault (since my AM21 is still getting KWWL fine I doubt it's a remapping issue at D*), but probably worth hooking the antenna directly to the TV just to rule out antenna issues. Not sure how far away from the transmitters you are, but with your antenna setup I'm sure you know even a degree or two one way or the other can make a huge difference.

I've had my HR22 and AM21 since November and have been happy with the AM21's OTA reception. I'm migrating my regular OTA recordings over to it instead of my HR20 which has proven unreliable for OTA for me. I know others that have the HR20 and haven't had a problem at all... so everyone's situation is different.

Good luck!
I'll try direct to the tv tonight or tomorrow night. Since I get it on sat too I might even wait until afer 2/17 to mess with it beyond that. KWWL has always been the touchiest for me, but I've never lost it completely. I have to sacrafice 28 signal strength to keep lock on 7. I'm 26 miles out and in West Waterloo.

I've has my AM21 since beginning of November too and had no issues untill this weekend.

ShrinerMonkey

02-02-09, 10:00 PM

tsduke

02-02-09, 10:05 PM

Why are they recommending UHF only antennas? I would guess that Dish will have locals for Cedar Rapids/Waterloo withing the next couple months. They were uplinked to a new sat that's not online yet.

hdtvincr

02-02-09, 10:14 PM

Speaking of satellite uplinks, for at least the 3rd time over the last week DirectTvs' KFXA-28 HD feed has been SD only. :(

I checked MC, and the HD was there. Not sure if the contact I used to have at KFXA is still there, but it's time for an email....

tsduke

02-02-09, 10:17 PM

ShrinerMonkey

02-02-09, 10:22 PM

tsduke

02-02-09, 10:26 PM

I was also confused about the UHF only antennas and they may be surprised to loose KWWL after the conversion (at least according to antennaweb). They both claim to get all locals in HD with these antennas. One is going to loan me his unused powered indoor antenna so that I can try it out and see if I can get anything with it.

According to Dish's website all the locals are available now but not in HD.

I'm talking about HD locals. You'll see the HD locals for our area list in this uplink report. Ciel-2 will be replacing the dieing sat at 129W within the next couple months.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-uplink-center/162933-1-28-2009-4-47pm-uplink-activity-report-85-changes.html

hdtvincr

02-03-09, 12:06 AM

I noticed that again tonight as well. What's the deal? I have yet to find a good contact for KFXA.
My email contact for Dell Morse failed as did the kfxa@kfxa.tv email. The user feedback webpage also failed.

I have no idea how to contact anyone. I may still have a direct phone # to the control room that Dell once gave me, but I'll have to dig for it.

tsduke

02-03-09, 08:40 AM

My email contact for Dell Morse failed as did the kfxa@kfxa.tv email. The user feedback webpage also failed.

I have no idea how to contact anyone. I may still have a direct phone # to the control room that Dell once gave me, but I'll have to dig for it.

Go this route.

Bill Evans
blevans @ sbgnet.com
General Manager
KGAN / KFXA

hdtvincr

02-03-09, 08:42 AM

I'll give that a try. Thanks...

That worked very well. Mr. Evans responded within 5 minutes and forwarded my email to the Engineers.

tsduke

02-03-09, 08:47 AM

I sent an email as well. I contacted him about a KGAN issue awhile back and he was pretty quick to respond.

4lids

02-03-09, 10:26 AM

My email contact for Dell Morse failed as did the kfxa@kfxa.tv email. The user feedback webpage also failed.

I have no idea how to contact anyone. I may still have a direct phone # to the control room that Dell once gave me, but I'll have to dig for it.

The Chief Engineer at KFXA is Eric Rand. He is a good guy... but I don't have his latest email info. Try asking for him when you call the general line to see if he can shed some light on the subject.
-Jarrett

hdtvincr

02-03-09, 11:29 AM

I did talk to Eric. He stated that there was one night last week that equipment problems did prevent the HD uplink to DirectTv, but that was the only time that he was aware of.

His last response was:

I called DirectTV and they will start a log on it to monitor the HD. I
will also tell our operators here to monitor the DirectTV HD as well.

tsduke

02-03-09, 03:07 PM

I thought Directv & Mediacom got their signal from ota.

DLPDA

02-03-09, 04:08 PM

I thought Directv & Mediacom got their signal from ota.

Last I knew, DirecTV was still taking locals (SD and HD)OTA from antennas on the WMT broadcast park tower. I beleive Mediacom has had an SD fiber feed from at least some of the local channels and they were (as of late last year) upgrading equipment to take HD signals via fiber.

uhf

02-03-09, 07:39 PM

My email contact for Dell Morse failed

Dell left the dark side over two years ago and now does transmitter work in SE Iowa for another network.

tsduke

02-03-09, 07:42 PM

No problems pulling 7-1, 7-2 or 7-3 in with my HR22-100 and the AM21. (The AM21 is a much better tuner than what D* put in the HR20... (at least mine developed issues (over time) breaking up frequently)). I'm near Iowa City with an attic mounted VHF-UHF combo antenna.

What are you using for an antenna? Is it possible your antenna got knocked out of alignment? Have you tried pulling it in on another device (TV/DirecTV receiver/PC) using the same antenna feed?

What are
What ota KGAN channels do you get on your AM21? Mine shows 2.1 & 2.3, but no 2.2.

tsduke

02-03-09, 08:05 PM

Still no HD on fox tonight.

DLPDA

02-03-09, 09:32 PM

What ota KGAN channels do you get on your AM21? Mine shows 2.1 & 2.3, but no 2.2.

like you i get 2.1 & 2.3. actually is that way on my HR20 too and has been for some time. Not sure if they made a PSIP change a while back that causes the DirecTV receivers to see it that way for some reason or what. I haven't done a new channel scan for some time...

I will have to look at the tuners on my TVs later tonight (stuck watching an episode of Mickey Mouse off the DVR with my daughter (at least its in HD :-) ))

DLPDA

02-03-09, 10:32 PM

Still no HD on fox tonight.

Must be a DirecTV issue with the HD Local signal for KFXA (and not with the station itself). I just pulled up Idol recorded OTA from earlier tonight and it IS in HD.

hdtvincr

02-04-09, 08:43 AM

Don't know where the DirectTv HD feed comes from, but yes it is a DirectTv issue. As stated above, OTA & Mediacom both were HD last night but not the DirectTv feed.

I sent Eric an email so I'm sure he will be looking into it this morning.

dline

02-04-09, 02:36 PM

sgarringer

02-04-09, 02:57 PM

Dish has announced Cedar Rapids locals will be offered in HD starting Feb 18th. See screen grab here: http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=33723&d=1233775060

I'm pretty excited to see how it looks and what channels they have carry agreements with.

bagdropper

02-04-09, 03:35 PM

The DN additions...I see KCRG, KGAN, KWWL, and KFXA.

Looks like DN ain't afraid to overpay for KCRG.

Channel Additions:
4778 - KOAT [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Albuquerque, NM)
4779 - KRQE [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Albuquerque, NM)
4780 - KOB [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Albuquerque, NM)
4781 - KASA [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Santa Fe, NM)
4782 - KMGH [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Denver, CO)
4783 - KCNC [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Denver, CO)
4784 - KUSA [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Denver, CO)
4785 - KDVR [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Denver, CO)
4786 - KWGN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Denver, CO)
4787 - KTVX [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 01 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Salt Lake City, UT)
4788 - KUTV [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 01 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Salt Lake City, UT)
4789 - KSL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 01 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Salt Lake City, UT)
4790 - KSTU [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 01 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Salt Lake City, UT)
5153(40) - WDBD [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 01 Area 9 beam (NA)(Jackson, MS)
5162(15) - WPMI [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 03 Area 9 beam (NA)(Mobile, AL)
5250(13) - WTVG [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Toledo, OH)
5250(22) - WKEF [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Dayton, OH)
5250(33) - KDEV [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cheyenne, WY)
5250(4) - WCIV [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Charleston, SC)
5250(7) - KRCR [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 05 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Redding, CA)
5250(9) - KCRG [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cedar Rapids, IA)
5251(11) - WTOL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Toledo, OH)
5251(12) - KHSL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 05 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Chico, CA)
5251(2) - KGAN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cedar Rapids, IA)
5251(5) - KGWN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cheyenne, WY)
5251(5) - WCSC [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Charleston, SC)
5251(7) - WHIO [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Dayton, OH)
5252(11) - KCHY [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
5252(2) - WCBD [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Charleston, SC)
5252(2) - WDTN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Dayton, OH)
5252(24) - KNVN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 05 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Chico, CA)
5252(24) - WNWO [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Toledo, OH)
5252(7) - KWWL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Waterloo, IA)
5253(24) - WTAT [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Charleston, SC)
5253(27) - KLWY [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cheyenne, WY)
5253(28) - KFXA [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Cedar Rapids, IA)
5253(30) - KCVU [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 05 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Paradise, CA)
5253(36) - WUPW [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Toledo, OH)
5253(45) - WRGT [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Dayton, OH)
5260(8) - KOLO [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Reno, NV)
5261(10) - WTHI [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Terre Haute, IN)
5261(2) - KTVN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Reno, NV)
5262(2) - WTWO [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Terre Haute, IN)
5262(4) - KRNV [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Reno, NV)
5263(11) - KRXI [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Reno, NV)
5263(38) - WFXW [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Terre Haute, IN)
6124 - APUNJ [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 27 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6389(13) - KTRK [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)(Houston, TX)
6390(11) - KHOU [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)(Houston, TX)
6391(2) - KPRC [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)(Houston, TX)
6392(26) - KRIV [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)(Houston, TX)
6393(39) - KIAH [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)
7792(9) - WNBW [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar10 110W TP 23 Spotbeam 03 (A) (H)
7928(8) - WJHGD [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar10 110W TP 04 Spotbeam 07 (NA)(Panama City, FL)
8375(20) - KTXH [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)(Houston, TX)
8376(8) - KUHT [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)(Houston, TX)
8377(51) - KNWS [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 13 Area 3 beam (NA)(Katy, TX)
8378(45) - KXLN [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Rosenberg, TX)
8379(47) - KTMD [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Galveston, TX)
8380(67) - KFTH [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Alvin, TX)
8381(57) - KAZH [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Baytown, TX)
8382(55) - KTBU [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Conroe, TX)
8384(61) - KZJL [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Houston, TX)
8385(34) - KUVM [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Dewalt, TX)
19214 - HISAP [DATA] added to EchoStar7 119W TP 02 ConUS beam (A) (H)

DishNetwork Uplink Activity Report - 1/21/2009 4:35pm - 145 changes

Uplink Comparison Range: 01/21/2009 03:37P - 01/21/2009 04:12P

Channel Additions:
5131 - KUAC3 [MPEG4 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 13 ConUS beam (NA)(Fairbanks, AK)
5192(50) - KBMTD [MPEG4 HD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 3 beam (NA)(Beaumont, TX)
5250(10) - WDIO [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Duluth, MN)
5250(20) - WCJB [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Gainesville, FL)
5250(3) - KIII [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Corpus Christi, TX)
5250(32) - WNCF [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Montgomery, AL)
5250(35) - KAPP [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 11 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Yakima, WA)
5250(6) - KIVI [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Nampa, ID)
5250(9) - KEZI [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 14 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Eugene, OR)
5251(10) - KZTV [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Corpus Christi, TX)
5251(13) - KVAL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 14 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Eugene, OR)
5251(2) - KBCI [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Boise, ID)
5251(29) - KIMA [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 11 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Yakima, WA)
5251(3) - KDLH [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Duluth, MN)
5251(4) - WGFL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(High Springs, FL)
5251(8) - WAKA [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Selma, AL)
5252(12) - WSFA [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Montgomery, AL)
5252(16) - KMTR [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 14 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Eugene, OR)
5252(25) - KNDU [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 11 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Richland, WA)
5252(51) - WOGX [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Ocala, FL)
5252(6) - KBJR [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Superior, WI)
5252(6) - KRIS [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Corpus Christi, TX)
5252(7) - KTVB [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Boise, ID)
5253(12) - KTRV [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Nampa, ID)
5253(20) - WCOV [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Montgomery, AL)
5253(21) - KQDS [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Duluth, MN)
5253(34) - KLSR [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 14 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Eugene, OR)
5253(38) - KUQI [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Corpus Christi, TX)
5253(41) - KCYU [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 11 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Yakima, WA)
5260(23) - WATM [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Altoona, PA)
5260(30) - KFSN [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Fresno, CA)
5261(10) - WTAJ [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Altoona, PA)
5261(47) - KGPE [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Fresno, CA)
5262(24) - KSEE [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Fresno, CA)
5262(6) - WJAC [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Johnstown, PA)
5263(26) - KMPH [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Merced-mariposa, CA)
5263(8) - WWCP [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Johnstown, PA)
5270(26) - WGNO [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(New Orleans, LA)
5271(4) - WWL [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(New Orleans, LA)
5272(6) - WDSU [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(New Orleans, LA)
5273(8) - WVUE [SD TV] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(New Orleans, LA)
5280(3) - KEYT [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Santa Barbara, CA)
5281(12) - KCOY [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(Santa Maria, CA)
5282(6) - KSBY [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(San Luis Obispo, CA)
5283(24) - KKFX [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)(San Luis Obispo, CA)
6113 - ATV [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 01 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6114 - TELSD [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 25 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6115 - ITVN [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 09 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6116 - KINO [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 07 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6117 - ZGUJ [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 27 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6118 - CCTV4 [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 25 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6119 - TRACE [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 25 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6120 - PHNIX [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 01 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6121 - TV5 [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 01 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6122 - PLSAT [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 27 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6123 - TVN24 [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 07 ConUS beam (A) (H)
6148(5) - INFO [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 03 ConUS beam (NA)
6149(10) - INFO [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 03 ConUS beam (NA)
6803 - UP3 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 05 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6804 - UP7 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 07 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6806 - UP8 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6807 - UP10 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6809 - UP4 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 14 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6815 - UP5 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6816 - UP5 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6817 - UP5 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6819 - UP5 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6822 - UP5 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 10 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6824 - UP6 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6825 - UP6 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 01 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6826 - UP6 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6827 - UP6 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 04 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6828 - UP6 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 06 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6830 - UP6 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6831 - UP7 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 11 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6832 - UP7 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6833 - UP7 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6834 - UP7 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 01 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6837 - UP7 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 03 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6840 - UP8 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6842 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 11 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6843 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6844 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6847 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 06 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6860 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 13 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6861 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 02 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6864 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 08 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6865 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 09 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6868 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 12 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6871 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
6872 - UP29 [MPEG4 HD] added to Ciel-2 129W TP 16 Spotbeam ?? (NA)
7082(49) - WBME [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 09 Area 4 beam (NA)
7172(18) - WMAV [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 05 Area 9 beam (NA)(Oxford, MS)
7174(14) - WTWV [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 05 Area 9 beam (NA)(Memphis, TN)
8522(12) - WMFD [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 01 Area 4 beam (NA)(Mansfield, OH)
8717(64) - WLLA [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 15 Area 4 beam (NA)(Kalamazoo, MI)
8761(30) - WRAY [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 03 Area 5 beam (NA)(Wilson, NC)
8875(21) - WTCE [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 01 Area 2 beam (NA)(Fort Pierce, FL)
9059(59) - WJEB [MPEG4 SD] added to EchoStar8 77W TP 05 ConUS beam (NA)(Jacksonville, FL)
9118(56) - KDMI [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 15 Area 8 beam (NA)(Des Moines, IA)
9306 - WTOK3 [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar10 110W TP 31 Spotbeam 11(AL,MS) (NA)(Meridian, MS)
9898 - ITMP2 [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar1 148W TP 11 ConUS beam (NA)
9990 - ETC10 [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar11 110W TP 08 ConUS beam (A) (H)

stanger89

02-04-09, 03:57 PM

Locals launch of Feb 18 according to the Dealer Chat notes over at Satelliteguys.

uhf

02-04-09, 04:19 PM

The House has approved the DTV Transition Delay until June 12th.

bluegras

02-04-09, 04:27 PM

thats true about the transtion date but i know alot of station in my area are going to switch over to digital on feb 17th

oldsyd

02-04-09, 04:31 PM

So, now we wait and see who decides to go ahead and shutoff analog anyways in the CID market?

hdtvincr

02-04-09, 04:33 PM

This is just a hunch, but do you think the DirecTV receive equipment somehow got switched to pick up the wrong subchannel? (i.e.: 28-2 instead of 28-1)? If that happened, they'd be picking up the SD feed.
I thought the same thing. I haven't heard back from Eric, but I think I will drop him a line with that "hunch".

dline

02-04-09, 04:44 PM

So, now we wait and see who decides to go ahead and shutoff analog anyways in the CID market?Online FCC records have Feb. 17 shutoff notices from KCRG, KGAN and KWWL as of right now.

n0cf (Chris)

02-04-09, 05:10 PM

The House has approved the DTV Transition Delay until June 12th.

Aarrgh! The count-down counters are all resetting, upward!! :mad:
128 days until "digital TV" (see dtvanswers dot com -- I'm too young to post urls)

So the groundhog saw his shadow, and that means 16 more weeks of high-powered analog TV? (well, hopefully not in CR/Waterloo market other than KRIN)

uhf

02-04-09, 05:15 PM

Yes, KRIN will stay on the air in analog after 2/17, but I don't yet know for how long.

(who woulda thunk I'd see n0cf on here?)

oldsyd

02-04-09, 07:42 PM

This will be fun watching every station in this market shut off analog on 2/18 and only IPTV staying on.

This means the only TV station that relies on donations and grants to operate will be spending our money to power multiple sites until June, then all the last last LAST minute stragglers will be calling them wanting to know what to do in June.

Makes sense, putting the greatest burden on the broadcaster with the least amount of resources and the biggest audience. :rolleyes:

iowegian3

02-04-09, 08:32 PM

This thing is very fluid right now. And w/ provisions in the bill that's heading for the President's sig which states individual broadcasters have ability to shutdown analog upon proper notice (to be determined?! see below) anything could happen.

I look for IPTV to strike a balance between PCness and bizness. Dangerous to make predictions, but I put my Monopoly money on </= 5/1. If they drag analog out to 6/12, they'll only be on for the legal broadcast day, which I believe is 10a to 10p. (Upon further inspection (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2007/octqtr/pdf/47cfr73.1740.pdf), it appears non-comm TVs can pretty much broadcast as little or long as they want. Still, a few hours of kids PBS and primetime hours would seem prudent)

from Broadcasting and Cable, 2/4/09 (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/173613-Congress_Changes_DTV_Hard_Date_to_June_12.php)
"It will now be up to broadcasters to decide when to make the switch between now and June 12, since the bill allows them to move early so long as they clear it with the FCC.

The FCC said Tuesday that over a thousand stations would still be able to turn off their analog signals before June 12 if they choose to.

Some stations have already indicated they are sticking with the Feb. 17 date. The FCC said it had heard from 276 stations to that effect, in addition to 143 stations that had already pulled the plug, and another 60 who said they planned to do so before Feb. 17. The FCC had pointed out that some of those 276 may change their minds once the date changes.

Joe Barton (R-TX), who has led the opposition to the bill in the House, suggested that the bill was unnecessary because, according to acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps, some 61% of TV stations were going to make the transtion before June 12 anyway.

He was referring to a letter Copps sent Barton in response to a query about how many stations could move early. But in that letter, Copps simply identified how many stations (61% o about 1,800), could make the transition early without intefering with other stations, not how many would chose to do so.

But some clearly are going ahead with the move. In fact, a larger number of stations than previously anticipated are likely to terminate their analog operations on the original date of Feb. 17, according to Ardell Hill, senior VP of broadcast operations for Media General. Maintaining analog service for the Media General group costs $150,000 in electricity costs alone.

"That's just raw electric, to keep analog running," says Hill. "In today's environment, that's a lot of money."

So Media General plans to turn off early in several markets, mainly ones where all the stations are already on their final DTV channel assignment.

"We've got six that are a no-brainer," says Hill. "We're on at full-power now, and on our final channel."

One legislator during the debate estimated that across the country, the additional cost could be on the order of $141 million.

It will also be up to the FCC to quickly come up with rules to implement the new law, including whether an FCC requirement that stations must give viewers at least 30 days notice before pulling the plug on analog still applies.

An FCC source says that the commission has already been working on that implementation language just in case."

CR_Client

02-04-09, 09:53 PM

I am looking to switch to satellite for my cable service here in Iowa City because Mediacom provides almost no HD programming and what they do is very poor quality. I am leaning towards Dish and would like to try to get locals OTA with an antenna in the attic mounted to my dish if possible. I have a couple recommendations from co-workers for either a CM 4228 or a DB8. The 4228 is out because it won't fit through my attic door. I was interesting in mounting an antenna to the same mast as the Dish but not sure if an installer would do that. If I go that rount I would probably get something smaller so it isn't such of an eye sore. I live towards the top of a hill on the East side of town but have lots of large trees around the neighborhood.

What antennas are I.C. folks using to get the local CR stations?

I'm not sure what the deal is with your particular situation, but I watched the game in Iowa City at a friend's house using his HD DVR, provided by MediaCom, and it looked fine the entire game.

Don't blame an entire cable company for your individual issues setting up equipment. It's also possible that you got a bad box from them... have you tried calling and having them send out a new DVR with an install technician to ensure that it's set up properly?

Alternatively, you could always try and see if there is someone else you know locally that is using a similar setup, and see if they're having the same problem, or if they can help you check your setup.

I recently had an acquaintance that complained that his new digital converter box was broken straight out of the box. I finally convinced him to take his converter to a friend's house, where they were using a similar box, and see if his box worked there. Sure enough, it did. He fixed his antenna issues at home and hasn't had any problems since.

Of course, I also had a friend a number of years ago whose computer started randomly rebooting after he installed a new keyboard. And, even after convincing him to run with his old keyboard for a week without any random reboots, he still insisted on using the new keyboard, and it kept randomly rebooting on him.

It's up to you whether you want to be the keyboard guy or the converter box guy.

I'd offer to help, but my posts are often construed as rather condescending, so people rarely ask for my help after I've proffered up an opinion.

VintonShellsburg

02-04-09, 10:24 PM

And then there were four.

Tiffany O'Donnell just said on the Fox News that KFXA Channel 28 will be transitioning 11:59PM on 2/17 regardless of the new delay.

CR_Client

02-04-09, 10:46 PM

iowegian3

02-04-09, 11:19 PM

Post is still newsworthy in that it reflects intentions of station mgmt. after Congress officially passed DTV delay bill.

Example: KKTV Colo. Spgs on their 4 pm cast today said basically rest easy, transition delayed til June. That's basically all the stooge at AP wrote, so they ran with it. I emailed their news dir., who had story changed for the 5:30pm cast to include that KKTV still intends to end analog on 2/17.

oldsyd

02-04-09, 11:47 PM

I think I found the FCC page to look this stuff up, here's the tally of
stations that have filed SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORIZATION forms
to end analog on 2/17 (unable to find Notification of Suspension of Operations forms)

KCRG 9
KFXA 28
KWWL 7
KGAN 2

Nothing filed yet for these:

KIIN 12
KYOU 15
KWKB 20
KRIN 32
KPXR 48

Trip in VA

02-05-09, 12:05 AM

There's nothing on file for KFXA.

EDIT: One just now came in. KFXA goes on the 17th.

- Trip

hdtvincr

02-05-09, 12:13 AM

For those interested in the DirectTv missing HD issue, the night started in SD and about 32 minutes in switched to HD!

I hope to hear from Eric tomorrow as to whether this problem is cured permanently.

dline

02-05-09, 05:02 AM

Given that KFXA is owned by Sinclair and run in parallel with KGAN, I would expect nothing less than for them to follow in lock-step with each other. I'm not sure why anyone on here would anticipate anything differently.Although Sinclair bought most of KFXA's assets and KGAN pretty much runs the place, the license is still officially held by Second Generation. Sinclair has offered to buy the license at a later date, presumably if the duopoly rules loosen up to the point where Sinclair can own two stations outright in a market this size. So far the records show no attempt to transfer the license.

But they DO show that application Trip was referring to:
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1293701&Service=TV&Form_id=911&Facility_id=35336

The Big Four are now accounted for in Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, and intend to shut down analog 2-17-09.

ShrinerMonkey

02-05-09, 10:02 AM

I'm not sure what the deal is with your particular situation, but I watched the game in Iowa City at a friend's house using his HD DVR, provided by MediaCom, and it looked fine the entire game.

Don't blame an entire cable company for your individual issues setting up equipment. It's also possible that you got a bad box from them... have you tried calling and having them send out a new DVR with an install technician to ensure that it's set up properly?

Alternatively, you could always try and see if there is someone else you know locally that is using a similar setup, and see if they're having the same problem, or if they can help you check your setup.

I recently had an acquaintance that complained that his new digital converter box was broken straight out of the box. I finally convinced him to take his converter to a friend's house, where they were using a similar box, and see if his box worked there. Sure enough, it did. He fixed his antenna issues at home and hasn't had any problems since.

Of course, I also had a friend a number of years ago whose computer started randomly rebooting after he installed a new keyboard. And, even after convincing him to run with his old keyboard for a week without any random reboots, he still insisted on using the new keyboard, and it kept randomly rebooting on him.

It's up to you whether you want to be the keyboard guy or the converter box guy.

I'd offer to help, but my posts are often construed as rather condescending, so people rarely ask for my help after I've proffered up an opinion.
Oh I figured out my issue but was embarrassed to admit what I did wrong. :o
Since I am an HDTV newbie I didn't realize I had to acutally tune to the HD stations to get HD. In my defense, I find it confusing that Mediacom specifies that shows are HD on the SD channel listings, when you can't get them in HD by watching that station.

So thanks for bringing this up, when I was hoping to just slink away in shame. ;)

P.S. - Mediacom's pathetic HD offerings still do suck and is over-priced. Still planning on switching to Dish, especially since I can get locals in HD on Feb 18th without having to deal with an antenna.

tvguy01

02-05-09, 10:06 AM

DMA 88
Eastern Iowa Stations Sticking with Feb. 17
TVNEWSDAY, Feb 4 2009, 5:46 PM ET

Stations in the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque-Iowa City television market (DMA 88) will convert to digital-only broadcasting on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The announcement was made today, jointly, by KWWL, KCRG, KGAN, KFXA and KFXB.

In a joint statement the stations' representatives said their research indicates that less than 1 percent of the households in the market are not yet prepared for the conversion from analog to digital. The stations said they would be ready to answer any questions viewers might have about the digital conversion through their Web sites and via phone calls to the stations during business hours.

A DTV bill that moves the required national digital conversion date to June 12 was approved by the House today. With Senate approval of the bill already in place, the president is expected to sign it into law in the next week to 10 days. This new legislation, though, still allows for stations to convert earlier if they so choose.

"The stations in this market have done an outstanding job of educating the public to this conversion and that it would occur on Feb. 17," said Kim Leer, station manager of KWWL. "We greatly appreciate members of Congress for providing stations the flexibility to convert in February as we believe our viewers are ready,"

It is anticipated that the stations will transition to digital-only broadcasting between noon and 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 17. Each station will be informing their viewers of the exact time of the switch through station announcements and newscasts.

4lids

02-05-09, 01:42 PM

Our plan is that both the analog 7 and digital 55 for KWWL will go off at 1:00PM on the 17th. It will take me about a half hour to 45 minutes to get the line switched over to the new channel 7 digital, but I expect that to be on by 2:00PM at latest. You can try rescanning anytime around then to see how the new signal comes in. Remember... it will be VHF once again, so those rabbit ears come back into play now! I just hope that the "HD" antenna owners (many of which are UHF only antennas), won't struggle too badly).

I think the other stations are going at midnight, but we felt it would be better to be around to answer immediate calls and for cable headend personnel to switch things over. If we did the cutover in the middle of the night, we felt it would be more difficult to handle the calls and many cable outlets may not switch until later in the morning.

I'm sure there will be a lot of confusion out there, so please pass on the word and help out anyone you can who may be struggling with this cutover. Thanks!
-Jarrett

gjvrieze

02-05-09, 01:55 PM

tsduke

02-05-09, 06:56 PM

I'm gonna be real curious to see if my Directv AM21 picks up the stations after the switch. The AM21 ota tuner doesn't scan for stations. It's based on a database of zips that map each channel.

tvguy01

02-06-09, 06:57 AM

Congress Wednesday passed a new law changing the DTV transition date from Feb. 17 to June 12, but directing the FCC to accommodate those wanting to go earlier, including on the Feb. 17 date they have been advertising for a couple of years.

But while Acting Chairman Michael Copps said in his first meeting Thursday that the FCC would be flexible in terms of stations that want to still pull the plug on Feb. 17, he said the FCC would have the option of not agreeing to do so if it were not in the public interest, including not giving viewers sufficient chance to prepare.

For example, he said, if all the major stations in a market were going on Feb. 17, that would bear scrutiny, he said.

The commission also told stations that if they terminate analog before June 12, they must continue to broadcast on their temporary DTV channel rather than their final channel. If they want instead to move to their final channel allotment, they must file a request for special temporary authority.

mred53

02-06-09, 11:07 AM

The commission also told stations that if they terminate analog before June 12, they must continue to broadcast on their temporary DTV channel rather than their final channel. If they want instead to move to their final channel allotment, they must file a request for special temporary authority.

This portion makes sense because there could be some markets where one station's final destination could interfere with another stations temporary digital or analog frequency. I don't think it's the case in our market, though. The bad thing is I don't know how long it'll take to get that paperwork through.

...he said the FCC would have the option of not agreeing to do so if it were not in the public interest, including not giving viewers sufficient chance to prepare.

For example, he said, if all the major stations in a market were going on Feb. 17, that would bear scrutiny, he said.

This really scares me. I heard someone from one of the CR stations on local radio saying they estimated fewer than 1% of people in our DMA were unprepared for the conversion. If they have solid data to back that up, that would probably be enough to convince the FCC that the analog shutdown in CR on the 17th is fine.

This is all happening waaaaaay too close to the 17th.

dline

02-06-09, 03:03 PM

This really scares me. I heard someone from one of the CR stations on local radio saying they estimated fewer than 1% of people in our DMA were unprepared for the conversion. If they have solid data to back that up, that would probably be enough to convince the FCC that the analog shutdown in CR on the 17th is fine.

This is all happening waaaaaay too close to the 17th.One mitigating factor is Iowa Public Television. They've got emergency alert system equipment and run weather alert crawls (at least on analog) for the entire state, and they're staying on until the new deadline. They're also the ones producing many of the educational programs which are pushing DTV conversion in Iowa.

I agree, though, it's way too close. In fact, Broadcasting & Cable says the DTV delay isn't even law yet -- President Obama hasn't signed it, and won't until at least Monday (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/173712-White_House_Seeks_Comment_on_Delay_Bill.php). Apparently he wants to give the public at least five days to comment on bills before he signs them. But as I said on another thread, although we'd probably love to see him veto this thing, I'd HATE to see what a veto would do to stations who took the president on his word and rescheduled tower and transmitter crew appointments to the new date.

bellbm

02-06-09, 04:23 PM

I wonder if cable companies are going to letterbox the digital signal, or do a center cut. Most of NBC's prime time programming is composed in 16x9 and shown in letterbox, although the graphics are 4x3 safe.

CR_Client

02-06-09, 04:31 PM

uhf

02-07-09, 09:33 PM

The White House wants YOUR opinion on the DTV Transition Delay. Please voice your opinion now at the following URL:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/dtv_delay_act/

tvguy01

02-07-09, 10:25 PM

Reply submitted to the White House....

dline

02-08-09, 04:11 AM

I noticed that Leno gets center-cut, while Conan gets letter-boxed, at least on KWWL. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that, but it might be the way NBC pushes the shows out.

In Chicago, though, I noticed that Conan was center-cut, rather than letter-boxed, which really bothered me for some reason.

I've seen most primetime programming letterboxed. At least, for the 16x9 stuff (few of the reality shows are in HD).As I recall, The Tonight Show went HD around 1999 or so, years before anyone out here could broadcast it that way. My guess is that by the time Late Night went HD, they figured even the SD/analog viewers would be more tolerant of airing the show in its original aspect ratio even if it meant black bars on the top and bottom, which in turn would save them from feeding two different versions of the same show (the SD would simply be downconverted HD). As for Chicago, my guess is maybe the cable or sat company has started taking the affiliate's digital signal, which is NOT letterboxed, and center-cutting it 24/7. (DirecTV has started doing that with some of our stations.) But those are just guesses.

GaryP2

02-08-09, 12:51 PM

As I recall, The Tonight Show went HD around 1999 or so, years before anyone out here could broadcast it that way.

Wow, what a good memory! I never would have guessed it was that long ago, but you are correct.

On April 26, 1999, the show began broadcasting in 1080i HDTV, becoming the first American nightly talk show to be shot in high definition. The show is shot in 16:9 aspect ratio with a 4:3 center-cut for standard definition television sets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno

Just think of how many things have changed in the last ten years but how we're still struggling to deliver high definition consistently!

oldsyd

02-08-09, 04:09 PM

Done!

Also, check out Iowa Public Televisions reason they are not shutting down their 9 analog transmitters on 2/18:

http://iowadigitaltv.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-about-that-dtv-delay.html

I can understand a privately held company doing it, but these are donor dollars they will be spending to be one of the few analog stations still broadcasting after 2/18.

Whoever posted that comment there pretty much sums it up.

The White House wants YOUR opinion on the DTV Transition Delay. Please voice your opinion now at the following URL:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/dtv_delay_act/

dline

02-09-09, 04:11 AM

Today's the deadline for stations to file new forms if they seek to shut off analog on 2/17.

The first such form -- from KFXB (CTN 40) in Dubuque -- now shows in a database search. Nothing else yet.

4lids

02-09-09, 05:52 PM

Hot off the press:

KCRG-TV9 to Extend Analog Broadcasting

Cedar Rapids, IA - After careful review of the latest Federal Communication Commission rules regarding the digital television transition that were made available late February 5th, KCRG-TV9 has determined the risks inherent in the new rules are too great for our viewers and ourselves.

Because of that, KCRG-TV9 will continue to offer both analog and digital signals through the legally-mandated extended date of June 12, 2009. For additional information about digital broadcasting, go to www.kcrg.com.

We deliberated a little today, and we have decided to still move forward at KWWL with our analog shutdown and changeover on the 17th. KGAN and KFXA will be turning off analog (or converting to a nightlight station) at midnight the 17th as well.
-Jarrett

oldsyd

02-09-09, 05:59 PM

Jarrett,

I realize you and KCRG are in a similar position where you risk losing
viewers due to the frequency change of your DTV signal, but I applaud you
for having the confidence to go ahead with your original plan.

On another note, IPTV continues to explain why it makes good sense
to extend analog transmission on their 9 high powered transmitters until
June.

http://iowadigitaltv.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-is-iptv-continuing-analog.html

I just recently heard that Oregon Public Television is going ahead with the
2/18 analog cutoff. It's interesting how opinions differ even among similar
groups of broadcasters.

sgarringer

02-09-09, 08:46 PM

Boo! Hiss! KCRG is not switching on Feb 17th. Lets see what other stations change their minds now.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/39328387.html

Boo! Hiss!

CR_Client

02-09-09, 11:32 PM

From what I heard, unofficially, KCRG reviewed the recent FCC ruling and deemed it to be too great of a risk to be non-compliant.

Because, essentially, the recent FCC ruling has been interpreted by KCRG as stating "The FCC can deny an early cutover for any reason, and basically can do whatever the hell it wants," and I can't say that I necessarily blame them in their interpretation.

Of course, they could always try and call the FCC and find out what the actual implications of the ruling are, but why take the time to get clarification and risk paying fines when you can just blame the FCC for your lack of preparedness?

Besides, if they delay until June, they can save money on retrofitting in case they decide that they'd rather go another direction with everything.

Unofficially, of course.

uhf

02-09-09, 11:43 PM

having read through the new rules, I believe that IPTV and KCRG have made the correct decision. I have a sneaky suspicion that KGAN and KFXA will come around as well. As for KWWL? They may well have a good reason to go early, but they have to be able to justify it later on, and it's pretty much the whim of the FCC as to whether they accept that reason or not.

And the way I read it, the previously submitted STA requests to shut down, even though already approved, are now no longer considered valid notification to the FCC and must be re-submitted by midnight tonight.

Of course, I am a not a lawyer, yada yada yada... I very well may be full of it, but it sure sounds like KCRG decided to err on the side of caution..

kdawg25

02-09-09, 11:45 PM

CR_Client

02-10-09, 01:52 AM

KWWL started flaking out around 12:00 tonight, and, as of about 12:45 CST, is off the air. It's been off at least 5 minutes now, but I've decided to call it a night, so I won't know if or when it comes back on.

I had a number of branches down in my neighborhood this evening; hopefully the wind and rain that rolled through earlier didn't cause any problems for KWWL.

4lids

02-10-09, 11:16 AM

having read through the new rules, I believe that IPTV and KCRG have made the correct decision. I have a sneaky suspicion that KGAN and KFXA will come around as well. As for KWWL? They may well have a good reason to go early, but they have to be able to justify it later on, and it's pretty much the whim of the FCC as to whether they accept that reason or not.

KWWL-DT STA to operate on channel 7 on 2/17/2009 has been granted as of this morning. Looks like we made the right call!

Last night we were doing some wiring work to deal with a flashing issue we had related to AFD (those triggers that tell our 4x3 viewer sets which format to be in... letterbox or centercut). That was causing our interruptions last night. We're still not quite done... but we are closer now.

-Jarrett (7 days, 3 hours... and counting... down!)

tsduke

02-10-09, 11:30 AM

Good news Jarret.

KWWL has always been my weekest station for whatever reason. Just the slight angle change makes a big signal change for me. The switch to vhf alone should give positive results on my signal.

gjvrieze

02-10-09, 12:01 PM

4lids

02-10-09, 12:15 PM

Cool deal, I DXed KWWL analog channel 7 the other night from Rochester, MN...

Waterloo/Cedar Rapids, IA KWWL-TV (RF 7): 116 miles to tower
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s129/gjvrieze/DX-02-08-09/KWWL-TV72.jpg
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s129/gjvrieze/DX-02-08-09/KWWL-TV7Newsscreenshot.jpg

WOW! That is pretty impressive as we are only about about 5% power with our analog at the moment! You shouldn't have any issues when the digital 7 hits the air next week!

DLPDA

02-10-09, 12:23 PM

I am wondering what Antenna people are using in the North Liberty area (52317). I'm looking at antennaweb and it appears that pretty much everything is 340-346 degrees and 45 miles. I'm looking to get ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW.

I'm looking at the DB8 or the CM 4221, but am afraid I won't get ABC/NBC. Am I going to have to step up to a more directional antenna?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

The DB8 and CM4221 are both UHF only antennas, so your fear of not receiving digital signals from KCRG(ABC), KWWL (NBC) and the IPTV transmisions from West Branch (Ch12 will also be VHF digital) when they switch to VHF is justified. You need a VHF/UHF combo antenna to ensure you'll get everything.

I live in the area and have successful experience pulling all the signals (some 20 digital signals in all including sub-channels) with an attic mounted VHF/UHF combo roof top antenna. I bought the medium sized VHF/UHF combo antenna from radio shack a little over 4 years ago for somewhere around fifty bucks. I also noticed the other day when scanning channels on a new DTV set I hooked up to my antenna that I'm also receiving KGCW-DT (26-1) the CW affiliate out of the Quad Cities (even though my antenna is pointed north toward Walker)!

I also have helped friends in North Liberty setup their new DTVs and was amazed to be able to pull in all the channels on an amplified rabbit ear antenna (I wouldn't recomend it though)... so there's plenty of signal making into the North Liberty area.

What works for you depends a lot on your specific location, where you plan to install the antenna etc. My experience has been that antennaweb is conservative on what channels it lists as available channels for a given location. Another good resource is tvfool.

Bottom line - you shouldn't have a problem getting the digital signals from North Liberty with an antenna pointed in the right direction. If you plan on attic mounting, try to get it mounted as high in the attic as possible and avoid letting the elements touch anything. For greatest satisfaction I'd STRONGLY suggest considering a VHF/UHF combo antenna and not a UHF only antenna so you can receive all the over-the-air digital signals.

Hope that helps!

DLPda

Jon Ellis

02-10-09, 12:36 PM

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned KWKB's filing yet. They say their analog transmitter suffered some sort of failure last Friday (2/6). In addition to requesting termination of analog on 2/17, they also requested an STA for the analog to remain silent from 2/6 to 2/17 and an exemption from the rules for crawls, etc. since the analog transmitter is already off. So 20 is probably off for good.

The # of Upper Midwest stations planning termination of analog on or before 2/17 is now 53% (www.northpine.com/broadcast).

gjvrieze

02-10-09, 12:43 PM

WOW! That is pretty impressive as we are only about about 5% power with our analog at the moment! You shouldn't have any issues when the digital 7 hits the air next week!

WOW, I was not aware that KWWL-TV was at a lower power (and 5% to boot!), it actually looked really good, I did have some good weather conditions as I also got WISC-DT and WKOW-TV (Madison, WI) in the UHF side of things off of my tower.... I have a bada** VHF-HI antenna, a Funke psp.1922 with a 28dB pre-amp mounted 35ft in the air... Be interesting to see what your digital signal "looks" like in Rochester after it moves back to the VHF transmitter... It is almost the same aim for me as KTTC (my local NBC affiliate) so if I could get KWWL-DT-7 reliably off of that aim, that would be great....

kdawg25

02-10-09, 01:25 PM

DLPDA

02-10-09, 02:30 PM

Thanks DLPda, that's what I was thinking also. Just don't want to purchase an antenna that won't do what I need.

Any suggestions on a decent combo antenna? Single story house with clear view of the north. Plan on mounting outside about 5ft above peak. Would a CM2016 be able to get the job done, or would I need a larger antenna to pull in channel 2?

Like you, I'm in a single story house with a clear view of the north. The RS antenna I have in the attic is around 60" long and the elements spread out a good 48" or so. By having it in the attic I get significantly less signal strength than if I had mounted it outside. Still, I'm able to reliable view all the signals just fine. I'm not too familiar with the CM2016, but it looks like it would be worth trying. With its stated 35 mile range you could be pushing it and it might be worth considering the next size up (can you get it someplace where you can try and return if it doesn't work?). I'd assume with your plans to mount it 5' above the peak you'll have no problems.

The UHF elements on the CM2016 appear to be similar in size to most other antennas. You shouldn't have difficulties pulling in 2's digital signal or any other signal from this market. Channel 2, 9 and 32 (IPTV) all originate from the same tower near Walker Iowa. Channel 7's tower is a bit further north. Channel 28 (Fox) is closer to Vinton.

About a year ago I helped a friend pull in the digital OTA signals from her condo south of Coralridge. She had tried 3-4 set-top style antennas and was only able to pull in the West Branch signals and Fox of all things (seems to be a common theme among those trying to get the digital signals via rabbit ears in Iowa City). Her place sat down in a "hole", but I was still able to get all the signals by placing my small UHF Yagi antenna up in the attic of the 2 story condo and pointing it North-NW (again I don't recomend a UHF only antenna now with 7,9 and 12 going back to VHF). My point is, with a little effort its quite possible to reliably receive the digital signals.

Keep in mind that if you have any thoughts about throwing a rotor on the antenna and swinging it to the SE to try to get the Quad Cities Stations or to the West to try to get Des Moines/Ames you'll want a bigger antenna. I tried to get the QC stations 4 years ago by mounting the small UHF Yagi in my attic facing that direction with no luck. The fact that I'm receiving the Quad Cities CW off the back side of my antenna gives me new hope that I may be able to pull in more signals from other markets...

Good luck!
DLPda

VintonShellsburg

02-10-09, 03:21 PM

I'm lucky enough to live in NE Benton County where a plain set of rabbit ears is sufficient enough to pick up all the local stations without trouble. But, I have some family who lives north of Prairie du Chien (about halfway between PDC and Lansing). The long distance combined with the hilly terrain obviously kills OTA reception. They've been struggling with rabbit ears for years, which is obviously not a workable solution up there, especially when you add the digital cliff effect they're going to be dealing with after the DTV transition is finalized.

I've been in touch with them, and I finally convinced them that a roof-mounted antenna is the only way to go. The problem is...they are extremely worried about lightning being attracted to any antenna they put on the roof. Their last house burned down after getting struck by lightning about 10 years ago, and ever since they've vehemently tried to avoid having anything on the roof of their new house (they even had their furnace converted to thru-the-wall venting and had the chimney removed). Even though I have reluctantly convinced them to finally get a roof-mounted antenna, they strongly insist that the antenna must be absolutely as small as functionally possible.

Thus, I was wondering if anyone around here has any experience or luck using those small "flat panel" style amplified antennas, like the Radio Shack 15-2186. If this type of antenna would work well for them, then that's what I'll recommend to them. Otherwise, I'll have to find a way to ease their lightning paranoia and try to convince them to get a real antenna.

oldsyd

02-10-09, 03:48 PM

I'm not a lighting expert, but I would probably run the coax from the external antenna down the exterior of the house, preferably along a non combustible route like a chimmney, then to an exterior grounding block and ground rod, making sure the soil has enough mineral content to draw current. I know that area tends to have very sandy soil.

The goal is to give the lightning a strong direct path to the ground.

I would not skimp on antenna size, but get a good VHF high and UHF combo
antenna. Eliminating VHF low (Ch. 2-6) will help keep the size down.

This site might help with lightning protection:
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/lpts.html

Oh, and even with lightning protection, if the antenna takes a direct hit, it will still probably ruin the TV tuner even if there is no smoke and fire. Best protection is to disconnect the antenna during a lightning storm.

Or, on second thought, could the outdoor antenna be mounted on a nearby structure like a lightpole, shed
or barn, and run a drop to the house? This would minimize the risk of the house taking a hit from the antenna.

gjvrieze

02-10-09, 03:53 PM

Biggest reason for grounding antenna/mast is that it bleeds off static the antenna/mast build up being out in the wind, which makes them a bigger target for lightning because of the attraction... No amount of grouding will prevent a direct hit from following the cable, short of high grade lightning arrestors like those used by profession towers and hams with tall towers... Make sure to bind the grounding to the house's ground, so that there is not a ground loop, which shocks whoever hooks up the cable coming down from the antenna....

CR_Client

02-10-09, 05:27 PM

It amazes me the number of people who are worried about lightning strikes but reluctant to install lightning rods on their houses.

It amazes me even more the people who live in neighborhoods where 10% of the homes have been struck and also refuse to consider lightning rods, but solely for aesthetic reasons...

tsduke

02-10-09, 07:24 PM

tvguy01

02-10-09, 08:00 PM

491 TV Stations Want To Keep Feb. 17 DTV Transition Date

Another 190 have already switched or are doing so before Feb. 17

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/10/2009 3:15:43 PM MT

Between a quarter and a third of all TV stations want to go ahead and pull the plug on analog Feb. 17, which could make for what is effectively a staggered start to the DTV era, depending on how many the FCC allows to go on that date.

A total of 491 TV stations have told the FCC they want to make the transition to digital Feb. 17, according to a just-released list from the commission.

Another 190 have already switched or are doing so before Feb. 17.

It is now up to the FCC to let stations know whether they can or not.

dline

02-10-09, 09:30 PM

The FCC published a list of 2/17 cutovers today, here:

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A5.pdf

The Cedar Rapids market starts on page 6 of this pdf. The 2/17 cutovers are in red.

Essentially, it's KGAN, KFXA, KFXB, KWKB and KWWL cutting off by or on the original deadline. In addition, KGAN and KFXA will keep their analog on temporarily as "nightlights." If you know any procrastinators, let them know. They will lose programming even though KCRG analog is staying on.

(Sorry I'm late; I needed to take a break from this stuff.)

EDIT: the Fox station in Ottumwa is waiting. It looks as if full-power DT from KYOU will be unavailable until June.

theTide

02-10-09, 11:11 PM

Has anyone heard when Directv will get local HD channels in CR?

faxthat

02-11-09, 12:12 AM

I'm trying to help a friend with the numbers for QAM HD channels on Mediacom. Pls post. Thanks.

hdtvincr

02-11-09, 09:20 AM

Has anyone heard when Directv will get local HD channels in CR?
I hate to guess on items such as this, but I feel pretty confident on this one! :D

THe crystal ball sez........ About 6 months ago!!!! (Except for KCRG which whom they are still negotiating)