Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD - HDTV [Text View] - Page 44

mattydr

09-28-09, 12:59 PM

Not sure if 7 and/or 9 are still experimenting with different power levels? Of late my C4 has *almost* had enough to get the channels. Strangely, both have a high-60s-70 signal strength, but are still choppy. My experience in the past has been that with UHF channels, they are more of the classic either-you-get-it-or-you-dont, with a dramatic dropoff from perfect quality to unwatchable mess. Is that different with digital on VHF? With 7 and 9, it seems like a mostly steady signal, with lots of blips. Borderline watchable if you're taking in a football game and you care who wins.

I finally tried putting up an upper-VHF yagi, and the results have been mixed. It's definintely an improvement over the C4, but even with stead ~70% signal stregth, I still get semi-regular blips and hiccups. Is that indicative of a multipath problem? I'm combining the Yagi and the C4 with a CM 7777. The amplification gives me a 5-10% signal boost on most UHF channels, but doesn't seem to make much a difference either way on VHF. I guess part of the problem is that I am in Manassas, on the ground floor of a condo. It's a fluke of the way the condos are oriented that I even have a decent view of the towers, but I'm still longing for the good ol' days when 4, 5, 7, and 9 all came in great on my C4. :-(

On the plus side, I was able to get Fox 45 from Baltimore yesterday, so I got a double-header on FOX. :D

Dave Loudin

09-29-09, 07:26 AM

Mattydr, is your antenna inside or outside? I finally correlated hiccups on my weaker channels to a pump motor kicking on, so you could be dealing with impulse noise interference.

I've had a Radio Shack VU-90 in the attic for 10 years that has served me well for analog and digital reception. Baltimore is only slightly east in azimuth from DC here, and Richmond is a little past 180 degrees from DC, so DX can be pretty cool. I kept the antenna in place with strings attached to the rafters.

After analog shut-off, I pretty much lost WJLA and WUSA. I could catch 7 most evenings and 9 occasionally. UHF reception was still good. For the first time in ages, I checked on the antenna a couple of days ago and found it laying on the duct work, closer to the house wiring. That's when it hit me - noise! Along with catching more of the power noise, the antenna has been over the ceiling fan that runs almost all the time, catching the additional noise from the motor.

I've moved the antenna towards one end of the attic and resuspended it. Pointing is not optimum, as it was too hot to work in the attic any longer. However, WJLA is now back to 90% reliability and I can get WUSA every morning and evening. Signal strength is low, still.

Lesson: local noise really matters.

Marcus Carr

09-29-09, 04:58 PM

Cox to Launch ESPN360.com in Hampton Roads on September 30

High-Speed Internet Customers Gain Access to More Than 3,500 Live Events Online, Including Hundreds of College Football Games

CHESAPEAKE, Va., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Just as college football gets into full swing, Cox and ESPN today announced that Cox High Speed Internet and Cox Business Internet customers in Hampton Roads will have access to ESPN360.com beginning September 30. ESPN360.com is ESPN's 24/7 broadband sports network, which offers more than 3,500 live, global sports events annually. It will be available at no cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet service from Cox.

"This season, not only can Cox customers view more than 400 football games, including tons of free high-definition action with digital cable, but with the addition of ESPN360, fans will have access to even more football games," said Gary McCollum, Cox Senior Vice President and General Manager. "Making ESPN360.com available for free to our high-speed Internet customers is just one more way Cox is committed to providing the best value to our customers."

ESPN360.com features live online sports coverage from a broad array of global events including (but not limited to):

Basketball: NBA, Euroleague, FIBA, NCAA Men's and Women's basketball, WNBA;
Football: NCAA College Football, AFL;
Global Soccer: FIFA World Cup events and global qualifiers, Confederations Cup, Football League (UK), Carling Cup (UK), La Liga (Spain), Italian Serie A, Portuguese Liga Sagres, MLS, US National team, international "friendlies" and more;
Global Baseball: MLB, World Baseball Classic, College World Series, Little League World Series;
Tennis: multi-court coverage of all four "grand slam" events and select other tennis events;
Golf: extensive coverage of the US Open, The Masters, The Open Championship and more;
Lacrosse: Major League Lacrosse, NCAA College Lacrosse;
Misc. Sports: X Games and Winter X Games, NCAA Hockey and Softball, Open-wheel Racing, Professional Racquetball, International Polo and more.

Upcoming Virginia highlights include:

10/11/09; 7:00PM; NHRA VIRGINIA NATIONALS
10/29/09; 7:30PM; NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA TECH; ESPN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRIMETIME
11/05/09; 7:30PM; VIRGINIA TECH/EAST CAROLINA; ESPN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRIMETIME
11/30/09; 7:00PM; PENN STATE/VIRGINIA; 2009 BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE PRESENTED

Through a sleek, simple video player accessible via ESPN360.com, the service gives consumers control over their broadband sports viewing experience -- providing reliable, high-quality video and the ability to pause, rewind and fast-forward live events. With the ability to deliver up to 15 simultaneous live events, fans are able to toggle between events in a main viewing window, and with a single click, jump to another event. Video can be viewed in widescreen (16:9) and normal (4:3) views and can be expanded to full screen or reduced to a compact size. Recently completed events are archived and available for on-demand replay.

Cox customers can visit www.cox.com/espn360 from their home computer or a computer served by Cox Business Internet service to learn more and link to the ESPN360 content.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-to-launch-espn360com-in-hampton-roads-on-september-30-62316597.html

mattydr

09-29-09, 07:32 PM

djp952

09-29-09, 08:47 PM

Hmmm, it's outside, mounted on the fence that encloses all the HVAC units for my building. At the moment, I've got flawless reception and none of the units are running. I'll have to check up on it next time I'm having a reception problem. When you say noise, you're just talking about electric/power noise, not vibration/wind from the units running, right? I wonder if getting a mast a few feet taller would help. Thanks for the tip.

The taller the better. Also keep in mind that a few inches here or there can make a big difference, believe it or not! Also, you might want to consider adding a Low/High VHF combiner, with a 75ohm terminator cap on the low VHF port, to assist in filtering out any noise you're receiving below the FM bands. The combiner I used [Pico Macom HLSJ: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=HLSJ&d=Pico-Macom-HLSJ-VHF-Band-HighLow-Antenna-SeparatorCombiner-(HLSJ) ] really helped to remove noise from neighbor's lawn mowers and things like that. Of course, now it's in my big "TV stuff" box, but it did help while it was needed :)

imref

09-29-09, 09:02 PM

Has anyone heard if MASN will launch a 2nd HD channel next year so it can show both Nats and O's games in HD instead of relegating one to SD when they are on at the same time?

Potatoehead

09-29-09, 10:31 PM

We lost 24 analog channels on Comcast today as part of the digital upgrade. Hopefully that means lots of new HD channels soon. :D

nottenst

09-29-09, 10:32 PM

Does anyone know why Comcast On Demand has started having shows with the advertisements that were originally broadcast? I noticed this with the last two Psych episodes (which the Comcast info says are just 4X minutes though they run an hour) and just saw it with Sunday night's Mad Men. It is a bit disconcerting. I guess it might be a new deal with some of the networks or it might be a mistake of some kind.

afiggatt

09-30-09, 07:50 PM

Verizon Fios added 4 HD channels today to the Washington DC market:
649 WE TV (Women’s Entertainment)
716 Fuse HD
731 AMC HD
894 IFC HD

However, I am getting constant breakups for 731 AMC and 716 Fuse HD. They are placed down low on the QAM center frequency of 69 MHz which is same frequency band as VHF 4. Anyone else in the northern VA or DC market having problems with 731 AMC HD?

fmsjr

09-30-09, 08:36 PM

We lost 24 analog channels on Comcast today as part of the digital upgrade. Hopefully that means lots of new HD channels soon. :D
Likewise in Anne Arundel. 21 of those 24 have a banner inviting us to order a digital converter. There sure are a lot of clear QAM channels though.

djp952

09-30-09, 09:10 PM

markbulla, if you're reading this ....

Ever since I switched to FiOS I've noticed that the Fox 45 local news has had a really annoying audio problem. The audio is constantly popping, kinda similar to noise you might hear on an analog audio system. I've tried contacting Verizon, but they really have no clue about things like this. I'd be happy to contact Fox 45 directly, but was kinda hoping since you frequent this forum, you might be a better choice since you probably just won't send me into the "call Verizon, who will tell me to call WBFF, who will tell me to call Verizon" loop.

It happens on all TVs and computers, I'm 100% certain I'm hearing exactly what FiOS is sending me. If I tune WBFF-HD over the air, the audio is perfectly fine using the same equipment, so it's certainly not WBFF's issue in and of itself :) I also confirmed with a friend in Ellicott City that he hears the same problems on FiOS with the local news.

Thanks for your time, and if you can check out your news on FiOS, I'd really appreciate it :) Hopefully you hear the same thing I do.

edit: Everyone else, have you noticed that WBAL's audio has now gone "too quiet" from "too loud"? I really wish there was a standard in place for audio levels. I really appreciate that they finally dialed it down, but they're still not in line with all the other channels around here. (Be careful what you wish for, I suppose)

mark_e

09-30-09, 11:11 PM

Verizon Fios added 4 HD channels today to the Washington DC market:
649 WE TV (Women’s Entertainment)
716 Fuse HD
734 AMC HD
894 IFC HD

However, I am getting constant breakups for 734 AMC and 716 Fuse HD. They are placed down low on the QAM center frequency of 69 MHz which is same frequency band as VHF 4. Anyone else in the northern VA or DC market having problems with 734 AMC HD?

I have AMC HD on 731, not 734 on the Howard/AA system, but it is still on 69 MHz.

I didn't see any interference on either my VZ 7100 box or my TiVo.

markbulla

10-01-09, 08:09 AM

markbulla, if you're reading this ....

Ever since I switched to FiOS I've noticed that the Fox 45 local news has had a really annoying audio problem. The audio is constantly popping, kinda similar to noise you might hear on an analog audio system. I've tried contacting Verizon, but they really have no clue about things like this. I'd be happy to contact Fox 45 directly, but was kinda hoping since you frequent this forum, you might be a better choice since you probably just won't send me into the "call Verizon, who will tell me to call WBFF, who will tell me to call Verizon" loop.

It happens on all TVs and computers, I'm 100% certain I'm hearing exactly what FiOS is sending me. If I tune WBFF-HD over the air, the audio is perfectly fine using the same equipment, so it's certainly not WBFF's issue in and of itself :) I also confirmed with a friend in Ellicott City that he hears the same problems on FiOS with the local news.

Thanks for your time, and if you can check out your news on FiOS, I'd really appreciate it :) Hopefully you hear the same thing I do.
<snip>

Thanks for your input. The challenge that we have here at the station is that FIOS isn't available here, so we can't monitor it directly. I have to rely on people like you to let us know about problems like this. That's exactly why I read this forum (almost) ever morning.

I'll see what I can find out about the problem.
.

aaronwt

10-01-09, 08:40 AM

Verizon Fios added 4 HD channels today to the Washington DC market:
649 WE TV (Women’s Entertainment)
716 Fuse HD
734 AMC HD
894 IFC HD

However, I am getting constant breakups for 734 AMC and 716 Fuse HD. They are placed down low on the QAM center frequency of 69 MHz which is same frequency band as VHF 4. Anyone else in the northern VA or DC market having problems with 734 AMC HD?

I just noticed these in the TiVo guide this morning. I didn't see any problems in the few minute sthat I looked at them. But also my TiVo shows AMC HD on 731 instead of 734.

afiggatt

10-01-09, 09:04 AM

I have AMC HD on 731, not 734 on the Howard/AA system, but it is still on 69 MHz.

I didn't see any interference on either my VZ 7100 box or my TiVo.
My bad, AMC HD is on 731, not 734. I wrote 734 for the list and repeated my mistake. The breakups are still there on 716 and 734 as of this morning, although not as bad as last night. Since other people in VHO4 are not seeing this, the question is whether the interference problems are in the Sterling CO/VHO, the line to my neighborhood or just my house? If the breakups are still there later today, then I will contact Verizon tech support.

aaronwt

10-01-09, 11:11 AM

My bad, AMC HD is on 731, not 734. I wrote 734 for the list and repeated my mistake. The breakups are still there on 716 and 734 as of this morning, although not as bad as last night. Since other people in VHO4 are not seeing this, the question is whether the interference problems are in the Sterling CO/VHO, the line to my neighborhood or just my house? If the breakups are still there later today, then I will contact Verizon tech support.

I had a situation like you described earlier this year that affected only three or four HD channels.
My problem was caused by the coax connection at the ONT. It was only a quarter of a turn loose. Just by tightening the connection, the problem with those channels was fixed. Now I check my connection every few months to make sure it doesn't happen again. Although I have no idea how it got loose. I have connections that are over eight years old that have never come loose like that. And I don't know why a tech would be messing with it.

Kelly From KOMO

10-01-09, 12:26 PM

Here is an excellent article and industry discussion about VHF-DTV with a consultant who knows the science of DTV inside and out: http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/09/24/daily.2/?page=2

DK745

10-01-09, 05:48 PM

New Comcast HD channels aren't supposed to be launched until October 10th here in AA, but they have two channels up there now. CBS College Sports HD (it says Not Authorized, but I get the channel in SD without the sports package) and NBATV HD which does come in. CBS College Sports is on 854 and NBA TV is on 863. Comcast sent a second list a few weeks ago saying where all the HD channels would be and they were all in the 800s.

I wonder if they will add more channels than they advertised since we are only getting 38 while I see others are getting more than 40 HD channels such as Tennis Channel HD, WGN HD, and ESPNU HD, but they have to wait until November or December for those.

Marcus Carr

10-01-09, 08:11 PM

Potatoehead

10-01-09, 10:37 PM

I have those two channels in the guide as of this morning but they are not labeled or authorized yet. Analog reclamation hasn't happened or been announced in Baltimore City yet. I guess they have room to squeeze a few channels in. We got RedZone HD a few weeks ago.

I checked where comcast put the two new channels (CBS-C HD and NBAHD). They put it on analog channel 29 - one of the channels reclaimed on our system on Sept. 28. I wonder how or if they will be able to add these channels without the reclamation.

systems2000

10-02-09, 01:44 AM

At 147° Magnetic (D.C. is 162° Magnetic), I currently get (APEX DT502):

Station|Strength|Quality|Off-Axis
WMAR-DT|57%|92%|+15°
WTTG-DT|71%|25-62% (40-50%)|-15°
WJLA-DT|86%|100%|-15°
WUSA-DT|83%|35% (Not Watchable)|-15°
WJZ-DT|58%|20% (Blank Screen)|+15°
WDCA-DT|66%|24% (Not Watchable)|-15°
WHAG-DT|90%|81%|-90°
WWPB-DT|82%|13% (Not Watchable)|-89°
WVPY-DT|85%|24% (Artifacts)|-72°
WNUV-DT|52%|32% (Not Watchable - Unusual)|+15°
WWPX-DT|90%|100%|-79°
WJAL-DT|90%|100%|-142°

WJLA-DT has been rock-solid lately. Before, I could only receive it on a good night.

I'll re-check in the morning.

systems2000

10-02-09, 11:15 AM

mkfs

10-02-09, 12:32 PM

Here is an excellent article and industry discussion about VHF-DTV with a consultant who knows the science of DTV inside and out: http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/09/24/daily.2/?page=2

Cavell, Mertz is the firm behind http://www.fccinfo.com (http://www.fccinfo.com/) -- an addictive way to waste lots of time. The Google Earth plugin is even worse....

msmckay

10-02-09, 12:43 PM

systems2000

10-02-09, 09:20 PM

I don't watch drama, cop, or medical shows (except Scrubs), so I can't give you an answer.

systems2000

10-02-09, 09:20 PM

What's up with WTTG's EPG? Most of the time there's no information.

djp952

10-02-09, 10:24 PM

Thanks for your input. The challenge that we have here at the station is that FIOS isn't available here, so we can't monitor it directly. I have to rely on people like you to let us know about problems like this. That's exactly why I read this forum (almost) ever morning.

I'll see what I can find out about the problem.
.

I don't know if it's a coincidence or if I owe you a load of thanks, but I'm watching Fox 45 News at 10 right now, and I'm not hearing any weird pops or other strangeness :) Yea! Thanks Mark!!! [even if it is a coincidence -- you are very kind to come out here and listen to us and offer to look into issues we encounter with the systems you have influence over, and I think we all appreciate it]

dewster1977

10-02-09, 11:46 PM

Has something recently changed at WMAR. I have never been able to receive any signal from them before. Now (thursday and friday) they are rock solid at 90% to 95%

aaronwt

10-03-09, 12:22 AM

Did any of you Over the Air folks notice that the premier of CSI New York on the 23rd and Lie to Me on the 29th were broad cast without any sound? I did not watch in real time. I let them record on my HD TiVo to watch a few days later. In both cases the picture was very clear with no breakups or other obvious problem.

Thanks

There was audio on my OTA recordings for both of those shows. Although Lie to Me came on the 28th, not the 29th.
My OTA recordings were on a Series 3 box(OLED display) My FIOS recordings are on TiVoHD boxes now.

And surprisingly the WUSA recording had no glitches. I'm picking up WUSA much better than I could a few months ago. Back then I couldn't get much of anything.
The only reason I even have those recordings on my TiVos is because I have one that has leftover season passes. I normally watch my recordings from FIOS instead of OTA since the analog cutoff.

Marcus Carr

10-03-09, 03:21 AM

The Leno effect

WBAL feels pain due to lead-in, WJZ firmly in first place for ratings

By David Zurawik | Baltimore Sun TV critic

12:14 p.m. EDT, October 2, 2009

We are only two weeks into the new fall season, but already it looks as if we have an answer to the question of the TV year: How will Jay Leno do in prime time for NBC?

The answer: Pretty well when he is up against reruns or other weak competition, but not very well at all when he is faced with top-notch, first-run programs of the sort CBS is now throwing up against the lantern-jawed comedian on an almost nightly basis this fall.

And while NBC can probably live with being a low-cost alternative to the other networks on most nights, affiliates like Baltimore's WBAL (Channel 11), look as if they are going to be feeling some pain in the pocketbook as a result of NBC's bold move. After decades of a back-and-forth struggle between WBAL and WJZ for leadership in late news, the battle appears to be over in the new post-Leno era with WJZ firmly in first place for the first two weeks of the new season thanks in large part to the power of CBS dramas at 10 o'clock swamping Leno. And there is no single broadcast more important to a local station's fortunes than the late news.

"My thoughts on Leno is that we have always considered Jay Leno at 10 p.m. [to be] a 52-week strategy," WBAL General manager Jordan Wertlieb said this week, echoing a NBC network talking point that says you can't judge Leno solely by what he does against first-run programming. "We expect the program to perform better when running against repeats on the competition and to be the alternative viewing choice when running against first run programming. The first three weeks of the program have bore that out exactly."

NBC has been emphasizing the importance of taking a long view on Leno since the new season started on Sept. 21, and ratings in three different times periods for the network and its affiliates started heading south in the wake of the move.

Here is what the landscape looks like nationally in the wake of one of the biggest shifts since the networks embraced reality shows as NBC upended its prime-time schedule -- replacing expensive 10 p.m. dramas with Leno's new show to drastically cut programming costs.

On the one hand, NBC has reached the 2.0 rating in adult demographics from 10 to 11 p.m. on which it has been selling Leno to advertisers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But that is down more than 40 percent from what the network averaged in the time period last year with series like "ER" and Law & Order: SVU."

And as a result, NBC stations across the country are down about 15 percent with their late local news from 11 to 11:30 p.m. -- with Baltimore's WBAL firmly part of that pattern.

And the losses extend into late night, with "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" down more than 20 percent from what Leno was doing last year in the time period.

Consider the tremendous difference that 10 p.m. lead-ins made in Baltimore during the late news time period the last three weeks.

During the week of Sept. 14 when Leno debuted and the other channels still had network reruns, "The Jay Leno Show" averaged 84,700 households in the Baltimore market for four nights (The night of Sept. 14 is excluded because of U.S. Open tennis running into late news on CBS.)

Meanwhile, CBS prime-time programming during the 10 p.m. hour was viewed in only 66,000 Baltimore homes on the same four nights.

With the help of that lead-in, WBAL was the number one station in late local news in Baltimore with an average audience of 72,600 homes for the week. WJZ, by comparison, was runner-up with 60,500 households for its 11 p.m. newscast.

But look at what has happened since the new season started on Sept. 21, and CBS rolled out the likes of "The Good Wife" and "The Mentalist" at 10 p.m. on weeknights.

CBS has given WJZ a lead-in audience of 114,300 Baltimore area homes, and the local station has won the 11 p.m. newscast by holding onto 86,900 of them.

Leno and NBC, meanwhile, have delivered a lead-in of only 49,500 homes to WBAL, and the station has managed to average an audience of 52,800 homes. Even though, WBAL's news overachieves on its network lead-in, that audience delivered by Leno and NBC is so small that the station finishes a distant second to WJZ. That's the kind of fallout that is coming to be known as The Leno Effect.

And the pattern holds straight through to 12:35 p.m. as "Late Show with David Letterman" now clobbers Conan O'Brien locally.

"That's a huge swing," says Douglas Gomery, a media economist at the University of Maryland. "And the difference over the course of the season will be measured in the tens of millions of dollars in local station revenue."

Pointing to "The Oprah Effect" and the way Oprah Winfrey lifts the fortunes of local stations that are lucky enough to have her talk show leading into their early news, Gomery says, "Lead-ins matter -- it's just a fact. People have tended for years and years to go from the show they are watching at 10 p.m. to the late news on that channel."

While the move might prove to be cost effective for NBC in the short term, it is already hurting the affiliates. But maybe NBC is only concerned about its own fortunes in the short term, as the network is reportedly up for sale, with Comcast said to be the latest potential buyer.

"NBC certainly isn't thinking about its affiliates with the Leno move," Gomery says. "This is no way to run a network if you are in it for the long haul -- I don't care what kind of new spin they are offering about looking at 52 weeks now that they've seen Leno's premiere week audience disappear. If I'm running an NBC affiliate all I'm thinking about is how much money the Leno move is starting to cost me."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-zontv-leno-1002,0,6818228.story

sboller

10-04-09, 08:25 AM

Has something recently changed at WMAR. I have never been able to receive any signal from them before. Now (thursday and friday) they are rock solid at 90% to 95%

I logged in here this morning to find out this exact same thing! I have a TV connected to an INDOOR antenna (Phillips MANT940) on the ground floor of our home in Fairfax. At that pont the antenna is maybe 8 feet above ground, in a room, and outside there are tons of houses, trees, and buildings in every direction. I don't really know how it receives anything, but it does.

I did a rescan last night and got WMAR for the first time ever. And it was rock solid, no dropouts. I checked this morning and it's still there! This TV can't get CW 50 from DC, and WHUT channel 32 is iffy, but I'm getting WMAR from 50 miles away? Odd.

metrognomicon

10-04-09, 05:56 PM

On the minus side, by my count, the "standard service" folks, who currently have 59 channels, will be dropping 45, down to 14 channels, unless they get their digital equipment. I guess this means I have until Nov 17 to get my mother in law her DTAs. The costs of progress!

This would include one of my father, who is paying for Comcast "digital starter" package but is now getting only a very few channels on the internal tuners-- and they want him to start renting boxes for all the TVs at $10 a pop. It's absolutely infuriating. Not to mention the inconvenience of finding locations for the boxes and yet another remote control for aging parents to learn. We've wasted many hours with Comcast and they won't budge -- the bill goes up by $40/mo and that's that.

afiggatt

10-04-09, 06:12 PM

Has something recently changed at WMAR. I have never been able to receive any signal from them before. Now (thursday and friday) they are rock solid at 90% to 95%
WMAR 2 and WJZ 13 were putting up new stacked UHF 38 / VHF 13 antennas this past summer while operating off of the pre-transition VHF 13 and UHF 38 (WJZ) antennas on the tower. WJZ needed to switch to a directional antenna to reduce broadcast power to the west which caused me to lose WJZ 13 OTA when they switched.

My guess is that WMAR 2 switched to the new antenna. WMAR has been operating at the maximum power allowed for digital UHF at 1000 kW since June 12 and the new antenna is at the same 312 meter HAAT on the big candelabra in NW Baltimore. But the new antenna may have a somewhat different polarization pattern or there may have been some problems with the pre-transition UHF 38 antenna that caused WMAR to spend a half a million bucks or more on a new UHF 38 broadcast antenna. The pre-transition UHF 38 antenna becomes the backup antenna.

djp952

10-04-09, 09:41 PM

WMAR 2 and WJZ 13 were putting up new stacked UHF 38 / VHF 13 antennas this past summer while operating off of the pre-transition VHF 13 and UHF 38 (WJZ) antennas on the tower. WJZ needed to switch to a directional antenna to reduce broadcast power to the west which caused me to lose WJZ 13 OTA when they switched.

My guess is that WMAR 2 switched to the new antenna. WMAR has been operating at the maximum power allowed for digital UHF at 1000 kW since June 12 and the new antenna is at the same 312 meter HAAT on the big candelabra in NW Baltimore. But the new antenna may have a somewhat different polarization pattern or there may have been some problems with the pre-transition UHF 38 antenna that caused WMAR to spend a half a million bucks or more on a new UHF 38 broadcast antenna. The pre-transition UHF 38 antenna becomes the backup antenna.

Those things don't seriously cost $500K, do they? Given the margins on broadcast TV nowadays, I think we all owe WMAR a thank-you if that figure is accurate. Holy cow.

dewster1977

10-04-09, 09:53 PM

I logged in here this morning to find out this exact same thing! I have a TV connected to an INDOOR antenna (Phillips MANT940) on the ground floor of our home in Fairfax. At that pont the antenna is maybe 8 feet above ground, in a room, and outside there are tons of houses, trees, and buildings in every direction. I don't really know how it receives anything, but it does.

I did a rescan last night and got WMAR for the first time ever. And it was rock solid, no dropouts. I checked this morning and it's still there! This TV can't get CW 50 from DC, and WHUT channel 32 is iffy, but I'm getting WMAR from 50 miles away? Odd.

WMAR is still comming in strong here since thursday, I only had some issues here on Saturday afternoon.

dewster1977

10-04-09, 09:54 PM

Drewdawg

10-05-09, 12:28 AM

I logged in here this morning to find out this exact same thing! I have a TV connected to an INDOOR antenna (Phillips MANT940) on the ground floor of our home in Fairfax. At that pont the antenna is maybe 8 feet above ground, in a room, and outside there are tons of houses, trees, and buildings in every direction. I don't really know how it receives anything, but it does.

I did a rescan last night and got WMAR for the first time ever. And it was rock solid, no dropouts. I checked this morning and it's still there! This TV can't get CW 50 from DC, and WHUT channel 32 is iffy, but I'm getting WMAR from 50 miles away? Odd.

Not odd really as my setup is the same as yours, indoor loop, first floor on a Sylvania SRZ3000 and UHF 38 (first WJZ then WMAR) has always been reliable. I'm located just west of Dover, DE so I'm 56 miles out from Baltimore. Shows what a megawatt can get you. :)

ota.dt.man

10-05-09, 01:01 AM

We've been experiencing consistent OTA reception issues (mostly audio dropouts) with WUSA for about two weeks now. The audio dropouts have been so frequent that it is impossible to follow a program in which one is interested - very annoying! Channel 9 is now our least reliable DTV station.

We're about 40 miles away in Frederick County. However, channels 4, 5, 7, 14, 20, 26, 30, 32, 50, 62, and 60 have not been a consistent reception issue like WUSA.

We've not had any difficulty receiving WUSA for over 20 years. Analog broadcasts and UHF DTV were not an issue. However, ever since June 12, 2009, when WUSA moved their DTV transmission to VHF, consistent reception quality has been challenging.

Has anyone else had similar issues with WUSA recently?

Thanks

Dave Loudin

10-05-09, 06:11 AM

I'm not going to post details until I get a few more days of observation in, but since I moved the attic antenna away from ductwork and power wires, WJLA and WUSA have become much more reliable (90%, 75%).

nottenst

10-05-09, 09:50 AM

Digital Rules

10-05-09, 09:57 AM

Has anyone else had similar issues with WUSA recently?Are you seeing this on more than one tuner? I haven't any difference in the Manassas or Dulles area with 9. It has never been a problem.

ota.dt.man

10-05-09, 12:42 PM

Are you seeing this on more than one tuner?
Yes, frequent audio dropouts with both our tuners: a Samsung DTB-H260F and a CM-7000. This situation has caused me to remove the splitter to the second floor TV in attempt to maximize the signal strength to the first floor TV system - the one we use the most.

The signal strength meter on the Channel Master CM-7000 typically displays an average signal strength of about 40-50% for WUSA. However, there is a rapid and continuous signal strength variation from 0% to about 80%. When the signal strength drops below 20% we experience audio dropouts.

At one point last night we lost audio & video on channel 9. However, watching "Three Rivers" last night was not an issue.

For the past couple weeks we've had great difficulty listening to Letterman & Ferguson. Is WUSA turning down their power after prime time?

I'm aware that an attic mounted an antenna yields sub-optimal results compared to a roof-mounted antenna. However, we currently have no consistent difficulty receiving channels 4, 5, 7, 14, 20, 26, 30, 32, 50, 62, and 66. Only channel 9 has been consistently problematic.

Question:
We have Belden RG-6 going from the attic antenna to the basement. However, the coax going from the basement to the bedrooms and family room has no brand name or model # and is smaller in diameter than RG-6 (perhaps RG-59?).

Would upgrading the basement to family room coax to Belden RG-6 provide a significant increase in the signal strength to our CM-7000 and thus prevent audio dropouts and the cliff effect on Ch 9?

Or would we be more likely to solve this issue by replacing all the coax from the antenna to the family room with Belden RG-11?

Thanks

Digital Rules

10-05-09, 02:10 PM

Does WUSA work well with the splitter removed? Are you using any type of amplification? For some reason, I've always had a problem with WUSA (UHF & VHF) on my CM-7000 converter. No other tuners have a problem with it.

ota.dt.man

10-05-09, 02:37 PM

Does WUSA work well with the splitter removed?
No.
Are you using any type of amplification?
Yes,
CM-0100DSB (FM trap switched on)
VHF: 16 dB gain, 3.0 dB noise, 56 dBmV output capability
UHF: 23 dB gain, 2.2 dB noise, 50 dBmV output capability

markbulla

10-05-09, 03:17 PM

I don't know if it's a coincidence or if I owe you a load of thanks, but I'm watching Fox 45 News at 10 right now, and I'm not hearing any weird pops or other strangeness :) Yea! Thanks Mark!!! [even if it is a coincidence -- you are very kind to come out here and listen to us and offer to look into issues we encounter with the systems you have influence over, and I think we all appreciate it]

Thanks, although I didn't get through to anyone at Verizon about it. Maybe there's someone on the forum who would rather remain anonymous...

.

Digital Rules

10-05-09, 03:23 PM

I'm leaning towards attenuation from the attic install causing the dropouts.

Weak VHF stations are also very susceptible to any interference/overload. Is it possible to hook up one TV to the antenna with no amplification to help eliminate that possibility?

ota.dt.man

10-05-09, 03:35 PM

I'm leaning towards attenuation from the attic install causing the dropouts.
Yes, attic-mounted antennas will have reduced signal compared with roof-mounted antennas. However, we currently have no consistent difficulty receiving channels 4, 5, 7, 14, 20, 26, 30, 32, 50, 62, and 66 with our attic-mounted antenna.
Weak VHF stations are also very susceptible to any interference/overload. Is it possible to hook up one TV to the antenna with no amplification to help eliminate that possibility?
Our antenna was sufficient for analog TV. When DTV was first available along with analog broadcasts and most DTV signals were UHF in DC, our antenna was not sufficient to overcome the cliff effect so I added the CM-0100DSB cartridge amplifier that was specifically designed for our antenna - problem solved.

If necessary, I can temporarily remove the pre-amp.

mdviewer25

10-05-09, 04:24 PM

Comcast rearranged QAM last night in my area. At least the local network stations went to their regular (ABC = 7-1, CBS = 9-1, NBC = 4-1) locations. I didn't do a scan and test at the time. I was frantically trying to get Desp. H/W at 9 PM on 123-1 when it didn't appear and then saw that 7-1 worked.

I also noticed that last night. They have not touched WTTG, WDCA, and WDCW yet. They're still on 132 and 133. I'm still hoping for more HD available in the clear besides just A&E and Versus.

Digital Rules

10-05-09, 05:04 PM

.Our antenna was sufficient for analog TV.WUSA is very low powered compared to their previous analog output signal. It doesn't look like they will be allowed to increase their power anytime soon either. It can certainly be very tricky even with a good antenna at your distance.

I generally don't find much benefit to pre-amping VHF when hooked to one TV, so I always try bypassing that as a first step to see if it makes a difference either way. The line loss in your coax cable is not the cause.

ota.dt.man

10-05-09, 07:15 PM

I generally don't find much benefit to pre-amping VHF when hooked to one TV
Understood. We had two TVs connected to the attic antenna. I only recently disconnected the 2nd floor TV & splitter in an attempt to improve reception to our main TV.

A preamp wasn't needed for analog. However it was necessary at our location to overcome the cliff effect when the DC stations began broadcasting digital UHF signals in addition to analog.

I'll test the system w/o the preamp as you suggest later this week.

iontyre

10-05-09, 10:21 PM

This would include one of my father, who is paying for Comcast "digital starter" package but is now getting only a very few channels on the internal tuners-- and they want him to start renting boxes for all the TVs at $10 a pop. It's absolutely infuriating. Not to mention the inconvenience of finding locations for the boxes and yet another remote control for aging parents to learn. We've wasted many hours with Comcast and they won't budge -- the bill goes up by $40/mo and that's that.

What? They are supposed to offer all their customers two DTA's free, and if you do not have a full feature cable box you get one of those too, and extra DTA's are supposed to be $1.99. Where are you getting this $10 a pop from?

Hardtimes

10-06-09, 08:21 AM

We encourage all to conduct their own tests and to share your results on this page. Your work will be instrumental in determining whether the FCC should approve power increases for high-band VHF stations.

- Robert

I thought something was a little different in the signal lately. While not reliable to watch full-time, it does come in occasionally now at night whereas before I couldn't get anything unless the weather was just right.

I'm up in Edgewood using a 4228 about 25' up with a CM7777 preamp going to 4 tuners. I've tried a Antennas Direct (?) 1713 with no luck. My UHF actually had better performance which is bizarre! Not sure how some people are getting WJLA & WUSA from PA without some crazy equipment.

It's nice to see a station actually trying to work with the viewers instead of ignoring them. Thanks for that Robert!

systems2000

10-06-09, 10:49 AM

Kelly From KOMO

10-06-09, 01:54 PM

When are the broadcasters going to fix their PSIP DST time function?

WWPB, WWPX, & WDCA are the only stations that are showing accurate DST information on my CECB's.

WMAR, WPSU, WTTG, WJAL, WTAJ, WJZ, WLYH, WUTB, WNPB, WHAG, WVPY, WPMT, & WNUV are one hour behind and screwing with my EPG and timer settings.

NOTE: I don't receive WRC, WUSA, WBAL, WDCW, or WPXW and WBFF isn't currently coming in.

It seems strange that all those stations would have their PSIP generator clocks set to Standard Time only.

At the station end, all that makes up the clock is in the PC that provides the PSIP data. Since most PSIP generators run under Windows, it's a simple matter to have the machine change it's clock according to the time of year. Most stations even use Windows Time Server, or have their PSIP generator clock tied-in and calibrated to the house master clock system.

Please excuse the silly question, but have you checked the menu of your STB to make sure there isn't some sort of setting to allow for DST?

rkolsen

10-06-09, 04:35 PM

I saw that someone posted the Anne Arundell County "World of More" Comcast schedule, but I did not see that anyone posted the Baltimore County Comcast schedule, which is also out now. I received the flier in the mail while I was away on vacation, so I'm not sure the exact day it arrived. All dates are listed as "Starting On or about/around" so take with typical two grains of salt:

1st Round Channel moves - Nov 17 (21 Channels moving to digital equipment only - AnimalPlanet, E, EWTN, Food, FX, Hallmark, HGTV, History, Lifetime, MSNBC, Mtv, Syfy, TBN, TCM, Weather, TLC, TNT, truTV, Travel, TVLand, & Versus - some real biggies in there)

2nd Round Channel moves - Dec 17 (24 Channels moving to digital equipment only - A&E, ABCFamily, BET, Bravo, Cartoon, CNBC, CNN, HLN, CSN, Comedy Central, Discovery, Disc Health, Disney, ESPN, ESPN2, FoxNews, Golf, MASN, Nick, Speed, Spike, TBS, TVOne, USA, VH1 - more big names here too)

New High Definition Channel Adds - Nov 28. All of these are HD, to avoid typing 'HD' over and over again.

BET, BigTen, bio, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS College Sports, CMT, CNBC+, HLN, Comedy Central, DisneyXD, E, Encore, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, FoxBiz, fuse, G4, Hallmark, IFC, MLB Exta Innings/NHL Center Ice Featured Games (1 channel), NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick Featured Games (1 channel), IND PPV (had this previously, it went away to make room for others, now it's returning?), Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, MGM, MLB Network, Mtv, MSNBC, NBATV, NHL Network, Nick, PlanetGreen, QVC, Spike, Style, TCM, Weather, Tennis Channel, Travel, truTV, tvOne, VH1, We. Channel numbers were also listed, indicating a move of the HD channel block / cluster moving into the 800s, which will match other Comcast systems I have seen channels listed for online.

By my count, that is 44 new HD channels; 3 of which are PPV (the two sports "season" pack ones, and INDPPV) and 3 which are in the Sports Entertainment Pack (BigTen, CBS College Sports, & Tennis), making the other 38 new national HD cable nets. Add that to Baltimore County Comcast's current 43 channels, including 8 local networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, Independent, PBS-DC, & PBS-Balt), 2 regional sports nets (CSNDC and MASN), and 4 premiums (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, & Starz). That should give Comcast Baltimore County subs, like me, a total of 87 HD channels, with about 77 of them available to so-called Digital Classic (I think; I get the terms mixed up), customers. Pretty sweet.

On the minus side, by my count, the "standard service" folks, who currently have 59 channels, will be dropping 45, down to 14 channels, unless they get their digital equipment. I guess this means I have until Nov 17 to get my mother in law her DTAs. The costs of progress!

When did you receive this in the mail?

Doug Mac

10-06-09, 06:01 PM

Great article in Sun Wash Post Business section on cable companies by Rob Pegoraro. Bottom line, in the most technically advanced country we are all now stuck watching TV through a STB......what a waste of electricity

Knicks_Fan

10-06-09, 07:35 PM

Did you want to watch Wheel or Jeopardy? Nope, time for another Allbritton fundraisier featuring the two idiots running for governor.

I wish the FCC would take away WJLA's license with the endless pre-emptions.

mdviewer25

10-06-09, 09:07 PM

Comcast rearranged QAM last night in my area. At least the local network stations went to their regular (ABC = 7-1, CBS = 9-1, NBC = 4-1) locations. I didn't do a scan and test at the time. I was frantically trying to get Desp. H/W at 9 PM on 123-1 when it didn't appear and then saw that 7-1 worked.

Also, just noticed tonight they have PSIP data for the remapped QAM channels too.

systems2000

10-06-09, 09:24 PM

It seems strange that all those stations would have their PSIP generator clocks set to Standard Time only.

At the station end, all that makes up the clock is in the PC that provides the PSIP data. Since most PSIP generators run under Windows, it's a simple matter to have the machine change it's clock according to the time of year. Most stations even use Windows Time Server, or have their PSIP generator clock tied-in and calibrated to the house master clock system.

Please excuse the silly question, but have you checked the menu of your STB to make sure there isn't some sort of setting to allow for DST?
My Zinwell ZAT-970A v1 and 2, APEX DT502's, and Sunkey SK-801ATSC are doing the same thing.

Digital Rules

10-06-09, 09:43 PM

I've tried a Antennas Direct (?) 1713 with no luck. My UHF actually had better performance which is bizarre!Did you try the 1713 un-amplified to 1 tuner only? You shouldn't have much trouble with WJLA unless you are down in a hole. My 1713 reliably receives a much weaker channel 12 @ 65 miles away. (75 feet of cable, & "no" amplification) Proper amplifier selection is crucial when dealing with fragile VHF stations.

DK745

10-07-09, 08:38 AM

The new HD channels for Comcast are live in Anne Arundel County. There are no surprises here, all the channels they advertised are there. They are located in the 800s while all of the old HD channels are still located in their old spots in the 200s in addition to the 800s except for HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, HDPPV1 and 2, and WTTG (Fox DC, only HD DC station we get.)

Potatoehead

10-07-09, 08:40 AM

sboller

10-07-09, 08:56 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by dewster1977 View Post
Has something recently changed at WMAR. I have never been able to receive any signal from them before. Now (thursday and friday) they are rock solid at 90% to 95%

I logged in here this morning to find out this exact same thing! I have a TV connected to an INDOOR antenna (Phillips MANT940) on the ground floor of our home in Fairfax. At that pont the antenna is maybe 8 feet above ground, in a room, and outside there are tons of houses, trees, and buildings in every direction. I don't really know how it receives anything, but it does.

I did a rescan last night and got WMAR for the first time ever. And it was rock solid, no dropouts. I checked this morning and it's still there! This TV can't get CW 50 from DC, and WHUT channel 32 is iffy, but I'm getting WMAR from 50 miles away? Odd.

And now it's gone again. Gone as in "Signal Strength 0 db." I suspected it would be temporary, and it was. I'm not sure why I was getting it those few days.

Digital Rules

10-07-09, 09:31 AM

And now it's gone again. Gone as in "Signal Strength 0 db." I suspected it would be temporary, and it was. I'm not sure why I was getting it those few days.The atmosphere has been very favorable for long distance reception lately after dark.

rkolsen

10-07-09, 11:18 AM

DK745

10-07-09, 11:27 AM

Where did you see the advertising?

We got two ads in the mail. One talked about all the analog channels being moved and listed what HD channels we were going to get, then that same thing came a few weeks before the first set of analog channels went to digital saying to act now to keep seeing the channels (this also listed the channel numbers for the new HD channels.)

Both of those said On or About October 10th for the new HD channels; other than that I haven't seen any advertising on TV or messages on my cable box or anything to indicate that this happened. I just kept checking the 800 channels to see if they were there.

Potatoehead

10-07-09, 05:50 PM

We got two ads in the mail. One talked about all the analog channels being moved and listed what HD channels we were going to get, then that same thing came a few weeks before the first set of analog channels went to digital saying to act now to keep seeing the channels (this also listed the channel numbers for the new HD channels.)

Both of those said On or About October 10th for the new HD channels; other than that I haven't seen any advertising on TV or messages on my cable box or anything to indicate that this happened. I just kept checking the 800 channels to see if they were there.

We did not receive as much notice. We received a notice that DTA's were available about 5 months ago - no schedule or list of new channels. After that there was nothing. Perhaps the ads just got lost in the mail.:rolleyes:

Still I am very happy that we are finally over the hump with many analog channels gone and space for more HD channels.

rkolsen

10-07-09, 06:01 PM

We just got the DTA notices in the beginning of August with no date to complete the by. Needless to say I ordered them right away.

Whats funny is that my grandmother who lives with us did not like how long it takes to change the channel to channels under 12 on her old TV- she thought buying a new one would fix it and when I gave her the same DTA adapter remote she said I thought the TV would come with a remote. She gets inpatient with waiting 2 extra seconds for channels instead of them changing right away.

I should really get her an HD box - but that would screw her up even more.

dewster1977

10-08-09, 12:44 AM

WMAR is still coming in great for me, as of 9pm wednesday.

Marcus Carr

10-08-09, 04:43 AM

CBS College Sports HD and NBA TV HD are in my Comcast guide. They say Not Authorized at this point.

rkolsen

10-08-09, 08:05 AM

I have seen that for a while in the County - but still not authorized.

DK745

10-08-09, 11:26 AM

NBA TV HD is active for me, CBS College Sports HD says Not Authorized though.

systems2000

10-08-09, 01:10 PM

WJLA (2-edge) has now joined WMAR (2-edge), WTAJ (2-edge), and WNUV (2-edge) as being very dependable for viewing (Just as good as my LOS stations W08EE-D, WHAG, WWPB, WVPY, WWPX, & WJAL), even with the 40+ mph winds that I had affecting my CM3020 at 55' AGL and ~10' above my ladder tower.

The antenna sway and bounce was wild to watch.

iontyre

10-08-09, 06:12 PM

CBS College Sports HD and NBA TV HD are in my Comcast guide. They say Not Authorized at this point.

Here in Harford County we have CBS College Sports HD now on 854. I get it, and do not have the Sports package, so once again I think Harford Counties Comcast technicians are a little misinformed (we got the NFL Redzone channel in HD for the first three weeks without the package too! Finally lost that after the 4pm games on week 4.)

I don't see NBA TV HD anywhere, just the SD version (in the 700's somewhere).

jacindc

10-08-09, 06:50 PM

systems2000

10-08-09, 10:11 PM

Has anyone else noticed that WJLA is still using the WJLA-TV call sign? I just saw it on the RTN sub-channel.

Shouldn't they be using WJLA-DT?

rkolsen

10-09-09, 01:33 AM

I don't know. I know WBAL still uses WBAL TV for their top of the hour station identifiers and got rid of the WBAL TV/ WBAL DT when the switch occured.

Steve_AA_Co_MD

10-09-09, 03:03 PM

I don't know. I know WBAL still uses WBAL TV for their top of the hour station identifiers and got rid of the WBAL TV/ WBAL DT when the switch occured.

Every morning around 2:30 AM, WBAL runs it's sign on for the new "broadcast day". It bothers me that they still mention a visual and aural frequency. In a digital world, it's just a 6 MHz-wide pipe of data. WBAL should update their daily sign on message now that they no longer broadcast in NTSC.

rkolsen

10-09-09, 04:58 PM

Every morning around 2:30 AM, WBAL runs it's sign on for the new "broadcast day". It bothers me that they still mention a visual and aural frequency. In a digital world, it's just a 6 MHz-wide pipe of data. WBAL should update their daily sign on message now that they no longer broadcast in NTSC.

Sometimes its on at 2:00 after Carson Daly.

Jim Miller

10-09-09, 05:34 PM

Just spent a lovely hour on the phone with my 89 year old father in law trying to explain why his VCR will only now record on ch3 due to Comcast switching to all DTA in his area.

He's confused and unhappy that his VCR is now pretty useless since it now has no way of selecting a channel for recording.

ugh

jtm

AntAltMike

10-09-09, 05:56 PM

Jim Miller

10-09-09, 06:30 PM

mjw703

10-09-09, 08:14 PM

I've been reading pretty religiously, and don't think I've missed any posts, but just in case.... Has there been any news yet regarding Comcast in DC taking the plunge to get all these HD channels? Or do we have to wait for FiOS to start showing up in the city (next year) to light a fire under them?

I wouldn't expect Fios to scare Comcast to add any new HD channels in DC anytime soon. In Arlington we've had Fios for years and we won't get any new channels until well into next year. But at least you are using Motorola equipment, which means you will have analog reclamation sooner than us Virginians which is the key to getting more HD channels.

djp952

10-09-09, 11:59 PM

he's learned how to deal with that. took some time...

we're now seeing if his vcr has an ir blaster on it. i doubt it.

btw, before calling me he spent a lovely hour discussing vcrs with comcast support apparently in bangalore (or similar).

they had no clue.

comcast isn't making life easy for him.

jtm

It's probably little consolation and generally useless info, but FiOS doesn't use SDV and has no plans to do so in the forseeable future. It might be a better option for him short-medium term than Comcast. Although, long term I would really try to push him into a DVR that supports ClearQAM. Switching from VHS to DVD isn't nearly as big of a jump in my opinion as dealing with SDV and a plethora of remote controls. Just a thought.

Of course, if his area doesn't have FiOS, well ... nevermind.

DK745

10-10-09, 03:06 AM

NBA TV HD is active for me, CBS College Sports HD says Not Authorized though.

CBS College Sports HD is active now.

Jim Miller

10-10-09, 08:17 AM

as a nearly 90 year old on fixed income, plumping for a dvr monthly outlay really isn't feasible. plus he and his wife are accustomed to watching their tapes on vcrs in their bedrooms rather than in the living room.

dtas may be wonderful for comcast and those wanting more hd channels but make it hard on those who can't afford the latest and greatest.

jtm

systems2000

10-10-09, 01:17 PM

I post the following information for WJLA and those who are working through reception issues for RF7.

On my setup (here in Franklin Co., PA), my reception of WJLA has a 14° (144°-158°) window.

NOTE: According to the FCC Database, I have three other RF7 transmitters within 63 miles of my location (W07CD (TX), W07DP-D (LD), W07DN-D (LD)).

cableuser001

10-10-09, 04:58 PM

Why are WJLA-DT and WUSA-DT on VHF? I was under the impression that the whole point of DTV transition was to free up VHF frequencies. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Gerald C

10-10-09, 05:52 PM

Why are WJLA-DT and WUSA-DT on VHF? I was under the impression that the whole point of DTV transition was to free up VHF frequencies.
Nope. The purpose was to (1) provide a modern television transmission standard that not only provided a higher quality picture, but also did so more efficiently with digital compression, and (2) to free up (that is, sell $$) UHF channels 52-69 [note that UHF channels 70-81 had already been deleted for use by TV stations]. With respect to WJLA and WUSA remaining on VHF, they are able to save significantly on their electric power consumption (roughly 90%) vs. a corresponding UHF station, and there was initial hope/assumption that the characteristics of VHF which were advantageous in the analog NTSC days would carry over to ATSC. Unfortunately, the opposite of the latter seems to be the experience after the transition.

Doug Mac

10-10-09, 06:44 PM

hokiefan

10-11-09, 01:44 PM

Anyone else having problems with WTTG?

skinsfan64

10-11-09, 01:46 PM

I am having problems with WTTG via DirecTv.

Digital Rules

10-11-09, 01:46 PM

Anyone else having problems with WTTG?Yes, both OTA & FIOS

It looks to be a network issue.

jgantert

10-11-09, 01:47 PM

Looks like WTTG just went SD and pixelated. OTA only here. No sound, unwatchable.

Digital Rules

10-11-09, 01:50 PM

OTA is a mess. FIOS has switched to SD, but OK otherwise.

jgantert

10-11-09, 01:53 PM

So anyone have a phone number to call?

jgantert

10-11-09, 01:56 PM

Ut oh, grey screen now on the Tivo HD....

Digital Rules

10-11-09, 01:59 PM

I'm sure they are well aware of the problem. FIOS went blank for about a minute, but back on now.

Too bad WBFF isn't carrying the game.

dmorack

10-11-09, 02:00 PM

SD feed pixelated with little to no sound and HD feed non-existant (black screen) on Cox in Fairfax County.

robinsmw

10-11-09, 02:01 PM

This is a Fox 5 problem, not a network problem. I have DirecTV Sunday Ticket. On the RedZone channel (which basically switches around to different games) the Skins game is coming in clear. I wish Fox 5 would just release the blackout on the game since they can't figure out how to fix the problem.

dmorack

10-11-09, 02:10 PM

WTTG's SD channel on Cox in Fairfax County is back. The HD channel is showing the SD feed.

wmcbrine

10-11-09, 07:40 PM

Has anyone else noticed that WJLA is still using the WJLA-TV call sign? I just saw it on the RTN sub-channel.

Shouldn't they be using WJLA-DT?Post-transition, the "-DT" thing is no longer required.

djp952

10-11-09, 07:57 PM

Post-transition, the "-DT" thing is no longer required.

Exactly. Just like we'll slowly start to see the "HD" thing bleed off as the next new thing comes along. Anyone else remember "Stereo" or, for that matter, "Color" emblazened on everything? I'm aging myself here. lol. (1972, just barely young enough to remember the devices known as Black & White TVs)

I do agree that the video/audio frequencies message should be changed, though. It's not even true anymore.

REDSKINSFAN47

10-11-09, 11:32 PM

Looks like WTTG just went SD and pixelated. OTA only here. No sound, unwatchable.

+1 game ok on sunday ticket glad i got it

REDSKINSFAN47

10-11-09, 11:37 PM

Exactly. Just like we'll slowly start to see the "HD" thing bleed off as the next new thing comes along. Anyone else remember "Stereo" or, for that matter, "Color" emblazened on everything? I'm aging myself here. lol. (1972, just barely young enough to remember the devices known as Black & White TVs)

I do agree that the video/audio frequencies message should be changed, though. It's not even true anymore.

i had a 12 inch little b&w tv with 1 little antenna on it,ghosts on many channels mid 70s:)

mkfs

10-12-09, 12:24 AM

Is Comcast in MD or RCN peddling any kind of house-wide DVR system? I.e. set up from any set; play back from any? I have a neighbor seeking same.

huesmann

10-12-09, 08:13 AM

Dave Loudin

10-12-09, 02:27 PM

Via DCRTV, WTTG's issues Sunday were due to a Nielsen encoder failure that had to be patched around.

maestro73

10-12-09, 06:37 PM

Is anyone in Alex./Arl. experiencing no picture but clear sound on TBS-HD 232 and ESPN HD 252? I also have no picture/sound on Universal HD 250.

I did the old unplug and reset but it didn't fix it.

Thanks

jgantert

10-12-09, 08:03 PM

Via DCRTV, WTTG's issues Sunday were due to a Nielsen encoder failure that had to be patched around.
So I wonder how they did the Nielsen ratings before the digital switchover? :)

Too bad 45 didn't carry that game. Oh well. Turned out to be a horrible loss anyways. I don't see Zorn lasting the season.

aaronwt

10-12-09, 08:34 PM

Jonesy11

10-12-09, 11:49 PM

StevenJB

10-13-09, 01:26 AM

Wondering whether or not some of you other FIOS peeps have the same guide issue that I do on occasion.

When I use Channel Up or Channel Down, sometimes the program listing that appears on the screen doesn't change to the right listing, instead showing the previous channel's listing. Sometimes it will flash the correct listing for a few milliseconds before returning to the old channel's listing. For example, I could change from NBC, hit the up button several times and land on CBS, but the screen would still be showing the NBC listing until it goes off.

Naturally this makes surfing difficult to see what's playing on a channel before surfing past.

Do you have a QIP7xxx series STB? My son has a QIP7xxx series STB and has the same exact problem when changing channels. He also gets a full green screen on occasion due to the HDMI handshake issues he has between his Sony XBR TV and the FiOS Motorola STB. BTW, I have two QIP6xxx (6416) STBs and I have none of these problems with either STB.

The good news is that that the entire FiOS viewership will be getting a new interactive media guide/menu downloaded to their STB within the next two months region by region depending on where you live. It will be called IMG 1.7 and it will allegedly fix the video issues with the QIP7xxx series STBs. Hope this helps. The bad news is that every time FiOS gives us a new IMG update, it creates new and different problems at the same time that it fixes the old ones.

Big J

10-13-09, 07:24 AM

People still channel surf?

I use my TiVos, rarely watching in realtime. A Redskins game is one of the few exceptions.

I do occasionally, when I'm really bored. The truth is, that there is so little on that I really want to watch, that it isn't worth it to even own a Tivo. The very few things I do insist on seeing, I end up buying on disc.
J

maestro73

10-13-09, 08:18 AM

250 is still blank, had a few issues with 252, earlier but seems good now.

Thanks for checking/confirming. The games came back on not long after I posted but not 250.

machpost

10-13-09, 08:37 AM

Is Comcast in MD or RCN peddling any kind of house-wide DVR system? I.e. set up from any set; play back from any? I have a neighbor seeking same.

It's not available yet, but RCN is rolling out TiVo boxes as their standard DVRs sometime in January, and they will be capable of transferring recorded programs from room to room: http://www.rcn.com/tivo

Vila

10-13-09, 09:37 AM

What type/brand of amplifier are you using? I have found that some of the noisier high gain amplifiers actually do more harm than good (to a digital signal). Have you tried removing the amp? Also, if your amp has an FM trap, is it on or off?

!!!!!!OUCH!!!!!!

You shouldn't be needing any amplifier in Manassas except for maybe channel 50 or 22. Channel 30, broadcasting from just south of Manassas is most certainly overloading your amplifier. A good rooftop antenna with a low gain pre-amp (12 db), or a quality distribution amp should provide excellent reception for you. Channel 7 & 9 have always had a very robust, easy to recieve signal in Manassas.

Thanks everyone for suggestions (my first post on page 357,http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17220828#post17220828). Here is a bit more about my setup in Manassas: some kind of rooftop antenna is in the attic - don't know brand and don't know whether it is VHF/UHF or just UHF. Then RadioShack amplifier (I think it is 36 db, but maybe 24) and then 2 2-way splitters. My first digital to analog tuner is after the first splitter relatively close to amplifier. My HDTV sits after both splitters and relatively long cable run. Like I said, before the DTV switch I had a bit noisy, but watchable analog channels and after buying HDTV very watchable same digital channels.
Among analog VHF WUSA (9) was the best and 7 WJLA was close second. 5 was worse and ch. 4 was difficult to watch. So I deduct that my antenna has VHF capability.
Ch 14, 20, 26 were very good. When putting amplifier and orienting antenna I've spent quite a time to figure the best reception and amplifier is on max gain, reducing the gain slightly degraded weak channels. Before putting in amplifier I've tried just antenna - almost everything was very weak and noisy.

So, after the switch, 7 and 9 disappeared, being the most strong analog channles. Heck, I even found official very detailed map, which shows that in my location there should be no change whatsoever in reception after the switch. The only reason I could think of is that with the switch power of the transmitters was reduced thinking that digital signal is more protected against noise.
After increasing power on 7 I see 40% of strength on my digital to analog tuner and almost no dropouts. Whereas 9 shows also 40%, but then dropouts are frequent and during them slider jumps between 0 and 20%. I tried to experiment by Steve's suggestion with FM trap on amp. It has 2 positions "in" and "Off" and always been in "in" position. When I switch to "off" channel 7 goes from 40% to 0% right away.
All other channels are at 100% except a couple very close at 90-95%.
HDTV at the end of the line shows ch.7 at 20% and after long stable reception 10 - 120 minutes bad dropouts suddenly appear for 1 - 30 minutes. I considered that something interferes with a signal - my first thought was - refrigerator. But after observing for several days - I cannot pinpoint the problem in the house, maybe something outside. Air conditioning is completely off these days.
So if anything - I consider putting addtional 10 db amplifier for the HDTV line only, providing that increase in power on 7 is permanent.

Kelly From KOMO

10-13-09, 04:44 PM

Step #1. Take Radio Shack amplifier with FM trap and throw in the trash.

Those amps are rubbish. They generate more noise than amplify signal and they are not linear enough for reliable DTV use.

systems2000

10-13-09, 09:43 PM

Replace the Radio Shack Amplifier with a Channel Master CM7777 pre-amplifier.

systems2000

10-13-09, 10:15 PM

I checked my In-Laws fixed VHF antenna (see photos) reception tonight (they live outside Mercersburg, PA) and found the following:

Station|Strength|Quality
WJLA|60%|100%
WUSA|56%|61-99%
WBAL|59%|61-78%
WJZ|60%|100%
WWPX|66%|75%
WJAL|64%|100%

NOTE: They are also using a Channel Master 300 Ohm input/output (four TV) distribution amplifier.

Dave Loudin

10-14-09, 06:07 AM

Step #1. Take Radio Shack amplifier with FM trap and throw in the trash.

Those amps are rubbish. They generate more noise than amplify signal and they are not linear enough for reliable DTV use.

Believe it or not, but I've been using one of those RatShack amps for 15 years, and it "works" for me, as I'm even pulling in WUSA reliably with an attic-mounted VU-120 antenna. In my engineering heart, I know that chucking that beast for the CM-7777 could improve things, but I hate to change something that works.

Adding to the points I've made about noise, I confirmed that a compact fluorescent lamp on the second floor, within 15 feet of the antenna, was killing my reception last night. Every channel was afflicted with drop-outs, WUSA went below threshhold, and WJLA and WETA were mostly pixellated messes. With the CFL off, everything was back to normal.

Vila

10-14-09, 08:38 AM

Believe it or not, but I've been using one of those RatShack amps for 15 years, and it "works" for me, as I'm even pulling in WUSA reliably with an attic-mounted VU-120 antenna. In my engineering heart, I know that chucking that beast for the CM-7777 could improve things, but I hate to change something that works.

Same here. This RS amplifier works for 8 years and before the DTV switch analog channels were Ok and adding this amp improved all channels significantly. Signal strength on analog 7 and 9 was around 70%. Now after the switch the best I could sometimes get on 7 & 9 is 10% - that's before power increase. Nowadays 7 gives almost stable 20%. The only explanation I see - the power drop on transmitters was significant after the switch.
Yesterday I was in the house alone and 9 was watchable for about an hour and then suddenly became very bad. I suspected that there could be something in the house which interferes. So I went and checked that nothing worked (like a fridge) and switched off all lamps and disconnected computers. No luck. But 7 is Ok now - almost no dropouts.

shelby68gt500

10-14-09, 10:52 AM

Now that my attic is a bit more of a comfortable work environment, looking to revisit tweaking my antenna system to hopefully reacquire WBAL and WJZ and possibly even some of the Charlottesville/Richmond stations.
My antenna setup is as follows: CM4228 & CM4228HD stacked vertically in the attic about 25ft up, combined thru a splitter/combiner into the UHF input of a CM7777. A Y10-7-13 also in the attic going into the VHF input of the CM7777. FM trap on the 7777 is OUT as I wanted FM down to my basement. TV Fool report: http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90
All antennas are pointed directly at Baltimore, but I only get WBAL very intermittently and WJZ not at all. Used to get them when they were on UHF just fine. WMAR & WBFF come in just fine now. All DC stations are fine with the exception of 50 which will go away from time to time on some of my tuners, but not all.
My questions are:
1. If I turn on the FM trap on the CM7777, should I expect any noticable increase on reception on VHF or UHF? (especially concerning #2 below)
2. There is an LP analog transmitter 1.7 miles from my house that is on Ch 23, could this possibly be interfering with my reception of Baltimore stations or overloading my CM7777, and if so, how to rectify?
3. Looking at taking the CM4228HD off the "stacked" arrangement and moving it to the other end of my attic facing south to try and get Charlottesville and/or Richmond stations, but would still combine it with the CM4228 before the CM7777. Anyone else up my way (Warrenton, VA) pulling in anything from C'ville or Richmond? TV Fool report appears to tell me that I should get C'ville better than DC stations...

nottenst

10-14-09, 06:16 PM

djp952

10-14-09, 06:52 PM

You know, those RS amps actually have a purpose :) They're exceptionally good at reducing multipath problems in the DTV world. Provided you have a good primary signal to work with that will stay well above the noise floor, the garbage the amp introduces won't confuse DTV tuners trying so hard to discern which signal is which.

When we had the big (again, now known to be waaaay too big) aerial, DTV wouldn't work at all at first. I added the RS amp (15dB noise, I think) and we got perfect Baltimore DTV, on the moderately powered stations anyway (this was 2005/06ish). Same antenna with a 7775 was horrible, absolutely horrible. And I thought I was upgrading!

Just wanted to point out that the 'best' equipment isn't always ideal. That said, the 'proper' equipment always is. I was using improper equipment and it happened to work out for us at the time.

John_D

10-15-09, 01:07 PM

I live in Parkville (21234) and just installed a Winegard 7694p on my roof and thought I would share my experience. The azimuth for the Baltimore stations is 247 and 235 for DC. I am 8 miles from Baltimore and 43 miles from DC according to TV Fool. My main goal was to get DC so I pointed the antenna at 235 as best as I could. I thought that WUSA (9) would be the most difficult channel to receive that I really wanted so I optimized the signal strength using that channel with my DirecTV HR-200 set top box. I thought that if I pointed at DC that the Baltimore stations would come in without issue since I am so close to TV Hill. The results are pretty good but I do have 2 issues. WJZ (13) is at 100% but I get no lock, I think that I am getting too much signal. WNUV (54) suffers from multipath when I point to DC, the signal meter jumps from 20 to 80. I have a direct run to my TV that is not amplified or split of about 25 feet. I did try the ATSC tuner in my Sony TV and it would not lock 13 either. Overall I am very happy with the 7694p and here are my results:

2 100
4 75
5 65
7 90
9 55
11 100
13 100 (will not lock)
14 85
20 75
22 68
24 95
26 60
32 55
45 100
50 60
54 (20-80 jumping)
66 80
67 55

Digital Rules

10-15-09, 01:36 PM

The results are pretty good but I do have 2 issues. WJZ (13) is at 100% but I get no lock, I think that I am getting too much signal.Nice to hear you are getting decent results.:)

You may want to try an FM trap to help with WJZ. If you are real close to any FM transmitters, it may actually improve you overall reception as well.

nottenst

10-15-09, 03:26 PM

msmckay

10-15-09, 08:24 PM

[QUOTE=Vila;17345892]Thanks everyone for suggestions (my first post on page 357,http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17220828#post17220828). Here is a bit more about my setup in Manassas: some kind of rooftop antenna is in the attic - don't know brand and don't know whether it is VHF/UHF or just UHF. ]

Sounds like you may have an UHF only antenna. If the elements (Rods sticking out from the main central bar are in the range of 4 and 6 inches then it is a . If the elements are between UHF13 to 50 inches then it is a VHF antenna. The there are both sizes, then it could be a combination.

Channels 7 and 9 are in the upper VHF band so if you can't get them since the transition, you probably need to add a UHF antenna to the attic. Surf over to Antenns Direct or Solid Signal and explore.

While I'm up, has anyone noticed that WDCW 50 has dropped considerably in signal strength? The best signal strength reading I can get is 33 on my HD TiVo. Adjecent channel WRC comes in at 72.

djp952

10-15-09, 08:37 PM

[QUOTE=Vila;17345892]While I'm up, has anyone noticed that WDCW 50 has dropped considerably in signal strength? The best signal strength reading I can get is 33 on my HD TiVo. Adjecent channel WRC comes in at 72.

No change noted here (93%). Could just be the weather. Rain can do funny things.

djw99

10-16-09, 03:58 PM

Anyone know when annapolis, md comcast will be getting the center ice hd channel? It didn't seem to come thru in the recent round of hd channel additions. Also have some unknown channels in the 900's, 914 and 956 anyone know what these are?

C*Tedesco

10-18-09, 01:28 PM

Anyone watching the Redskins game on WUSA HD? To me the colors on the Chiefs seem way overbright. Floursescent almost. I thought it was my TV, but I"m thinking it's the Network. Anyone can confirm?

Or it it the jerseys the Chiefs are wearing?

DulacLancelot

10-18-09, 01:33 PM

i watch OTA tv on my Windows MCE 2005 system.
i use the cyberlink decoder that comes with PowerDVD 7.3.

whenever there is an NFL game or pregame show on tv, the center audio channel doesn't work.
if i recall, it happens regardless of which station (WRC, WTTG, WJLA, WUSA), but at the moment, i can confirm definitely it is happening on WUSA and WTTG.

all other programming that i have come across works great, though. for example, Numb3rs, which i think is a good example of 5.1 audio on WUSA, does indeed sound great.

some people in this thread seem to have a very good understanding of broadcast encodings, especially specific to the local stations.

does anyone know what it is about the NFL broadcast audio that sets it apart from most other audio? perhaps if it knew how it was different, i would know what it is on my system that needs to be fixed.

thanks!

Digital Rules

10-18-09, 01:37 PM

The color seems a bit over saturted. The macroblocking is very noticable at times also.

C*Tedesco

10-18-09, 02:30 PM

Yes, macro blocking has never been worse. Horrible reception.

hokiefan

10-18-09, 03:07 PM

lol did Synder pull the plug on the CBS broadcast of the Redskins. Oh wait, it just came back in SD.

R. Aster

10-18-09, 05:10 PM

gfparker

10-18-09, 07:05 PM

djp952

10-18-09, 08:38 PM

Anyone having problems receiving channel 4 in Washington tonight? Neither of my MCE machines or Samsung tv's are showing any signal strength? However a decoder box in the bedroom is working fine. I'm OTA with an antenna in the attic.

No problems here. 97% from 21075. I am seeing quite a bit more fluctuation on signal quality (SNR) than I typically do, though. (42XG attic-mount with a 7777).

My experience from this location is that as the weather gets cold on clear nights multipath becomes a lot worse around here. It could be as simple as that. Although I thought Samsung tuners were top-notch (don't have any myself - Sony snob). PC tuners are typically, again from my personal experience only, not good at all in multipath scenarios.

If the problem persists until Tuesday/Wednesday when we warm up again and then goes away, you might want to consider waiting for a truly cold and clear night and re-aiming/moving the antenna a bit. Again, just an off-the-cuff opinion, I could (and am likely) way off the mark on what the issue is, but it definately sounds like multipath. Where are you located geograhpically?

jcapellman

10-18-09, 08:53 PM

I am in Elkridge, MD and am using the Artec AN2 Flat Indoor Antenna mounted on my sliding door of my porch (on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex) and was wondering what my best choice would be for upgrading the antenna? I am able to get 11 channels, but the channel with the Titan/Patriot game tonight had the sound going in and out, the video was amazing though (1080i signal).

Thanks!

CycloneGT

10-19-09, 12:07 AM

45 & 54's CE To RT In DC - 10/18 - DCRTV hears that Mark Bulla, the chief engineer for Sinclair's Channel 45/WBFF and Channel 54/WNUV in Baltimore, is heading to DC to be chief engineer for Russia Today Television and its new bureau here. He starts on 11/2. You can watch the English language Russia Today at russiatoday.com and via Falls Church-based MHz Networks on Channel 30.4/WNVC and via Comcast channel 274...

Hmm. As someone who just bailed out on a sinking company, I can relate. :D Good luck with the new opportunity Mark.

markbulla

10-19-09, 01:23 PM

Hmm. As someone who just bailed out on a sinking company, I can relate. :D Good luck with the new opportunity Mark.

Thanks - I appreciate the sentiment, but actually, Sinclair is doing really well, as of late. I'm leaving to take advantage of the opportunity to do more managerial work (supervising, budgeting, etc.) that I'm not going to be able to get at Sinclair anytime soon. It's important for my career to take that step.

I'm still close enough to help out from time to time, too.

.

djp952

10-19-09, 07:26 PM

Thanks - I appreciate the sentiment, but actually, Sinclair is doing really well, as of late. I'm leaving to take advantage of the opportunity to do more managerial work (supervising, budgeting, etc.) that I'm not going to be able to get at Sinclair anytime soon. It's important for my career to take that step.

I'm still close enough to help out from time to time, too.

.

Congrats, Mark! I'm sure everyone here will miss our conduit into Sinclair engineering, but it sounds like a wonderful opportunity. See if you can get WNVT 30 to boost the power up a couple (or 20) notches, huh? (just kidding)

Thanks for all your attention and support out here, and the best of luck with the new gig.

albertso

10-19-09, 07:31 PM

Mark, all the best at your new place. Your responses to us here have been great. Thank you and good luck,

systems2000

10-19-09, 09:05 PM

Markbulla,

Have you taught your replacement about the goodwill generated by that replacement monitoring and posting here? We'll be looking forward to that.

Good Luck on your future.

cableuser001

10-20-09, 12:15 AM

If anyone has configured the sub-channels manually, would you care to share the atscchannels.xml file?

Thanks.

Marcus Carr

10-20-09, 12:09 PM

The future of television has arrived for more than 25,000 additional homes and businesses in Baltimore County as Verizon introduces FiOS TV via the company's revolutionary all-fiber-optic network.

...The new areas to get Verizon's revolutionary FiOS triple play of TV, Internet and voice services are Arbutus, Catonsville, Dundalk, Edgewood, Hunt Valley, North Point and Woodlawn.

...In Maryland, Verizon's FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services are available to dozens of communities in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Charles, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, including Aberdeen, Annapolis, Bel Air, LaPlata and Rockville.

http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2009/move-over-cable-tv.html

CycloneGT

10-20-09, 04:10 PM

Well, now Mark can post as a regular geek, like the rest of us. :D

tonyd79

10-20-09, 10:15 PM

armand1

10-21-09, 02:24 PM

robertforsyth

10-21-09, 03:57 PM

mkfs

10-21-09, 05:22 PM

I'm leaving to take advantage of the opportunity to do more managerial work (supervising, budgeting, etc.) that I'm not going to be able to get at Sinclair anytime soon.

.

AND, I assume, enjoy the fun & challenge of a cross-DC commute daily! This will encourage you to arrive early [~5am] and leave late [>7pm]; so you bosses will be happy too...

URFloorMatt

10-21-09, 09:27 PM

Here's my obligatory query into any developments regarding an HD local news broadcast from WRC: any new word? I haven't been keeping up with it lately. But I'm assuming it's not happening this year. Maybe if/when Comcast purchases NBC, the upgrade will become a priority. My first inclination is that Comcast would jettison all the O&Os to avoid regulatory ownership headaches though.

dewster1977

10-22-09, 12:16 AM

In our continuing efforts to improve the WJLA over-the-air digital signal, the station recently increased the effective radiated power from 30 kW to 52 kW.

This 73% increase was designed to improve the signal density and enhance the reception by indoor/set-top rabbit ear antennas.

We would be interested to know whether you or any viewers/friends have noticed any improvement in the channel 7 signal.

Some 'before the power increase' and 'after the power increase' feedback would be VERY helpful.

Thanks

Robert, I'm not in DC and not using rabbit ears, I'm in Franklin Co. PA. With the power increase Ch 7 is now solid 99% of the time for me and my parents. Almost as good as the analog days. Still some blips from time to time, but nothing to serious.

systems2000

10-22-09, 12:26 AM

robertforsyth (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/member.php?u=7461653),

Did you see my post (top of page 360 and maybe on 359), after the last time you made this request?

I'm also in Franklin Co., PA with Deep-Fringe 2-edge reception.

James

mkfs

10-22-09, 04:39 AM

And it was easy (http://thereifixedit.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/marks-spytruck.jpg?w=500&h=375)...

WJLA can turn the power back; I'm set now!!!!

[It's actually a multi-freq moonbounce rig but.....]

HDTV Sparky

10-22-09, 11:42 AM

We would be interested to know whether you or any viewers/friends have noticed any improvement in the channel 7 signal.

Some 'before the power increase' and 'after the power increase' feedback would be VERY helpful.

Thanks

Up here in Yok County Pennsylvania, channel 7 has never been solid.
Actually none of the DC stations were solid and reliable.
After reading the above post, I checked all the DC stations for comparison and found channel 7 is far ahead of the pack and solid.
From unwatchable ,......to 85% strength, compared to the 40- 60% for the others.

Dave Loudin

10-22-09, 01:18 PM

We would be interested to know whether you or any viewers/friends have noticed any improvement in the channel 7 signal.

Some 'before the power increase' and 'after the power increase' feedback would be VERY helpful.

Thanks

I'm 45 miles south, with a Radio Shack VU-120 in the attic, about 20 feet below line of sight. After transition, you and WUSA virtually disappeared, only occasionally at night would either my older Samsung tuner or GE CECB decode you. Your signal was near threshhold most of the time, however. Upon power increase, nighttime reception became reliable, and daytime reception went from zero to 40% reliability.

I've since moved the antenna from the center of the attic to one end, getting better isolation form the house wiring and ceiling fans. Now I have 100% reliable reception of you and about 80% of WUSA (outages during the day, mostly.) Of note, a compact fluorescent light about 15 feet away on the floor below will knock you (and WUSA) almost completely out and cause hits on WRC, WTTG, and WDCA.

Digital Rules

10-22-09, 01:57 PM

Advice on OTA antenna

I live in Nw DC and had been getting Baltimore channel 13 just fine up until the transition with a Wineguard 8-bay. I am 34.5 miles away with lots of tall buidings around. I'm sure I'm not the only one that lost reception.WJZ is noticably weaker as well in northern VA since the directional antenna was put into service. You likely need to augment the 8 bay with something like this.http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=Y5-7-13&d=AntennaCraft-Y5713-HighbandBroadband-VHF-HD-Yagi-for-Channels-713-(Y5713)&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=716079000987 Combine the 2 antennas with http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=UVSJ&d=Pico-Macom-UVSJ-UHF-VHF-Band-SeparatorCombiner-for-Antenna-(UVSJ)&c=Signal%20Combiners&sku=UVSJ

WJZ should be reliable out to Fairfax or so with the right outdoor antenna set-up.

huesmann

10-23-09, 03:13 PM

Do you have a QIP7xxx series STB? My son has a QIP7xxx series STB and has the same exact problem when changing channels. He also gets a full green screen on occasion due to the HDMI handshake issues he has between his Sony XBR TV and the FiOS Motorola STB. BTW, I have two QIP6xxx (6416) STBs and I have none of these problems with either STB.

The good news is that that the entire FiOS viewership will be getting a new interactive media guide/menu downloaded to their STB within the next two months region by region depending on where you live. It will be called IMG 1.7 and it will allegedly fix the video issues with the QIP7xxx series STBs. Hope this helps. The bad news is that every time FiOS gives us a new IMG update, it creates new and different problems at the same time that it fixes the old ones.
Yes, I have a QIP7200, I think. We'll see whether or not there's any real improvement...

And to the previous poster, yes, I occasionally still channel surf when bored.

chapelrun

10-24-09, 07:58 PM

Yankee's vs. Angels was supposed to be on WTTG 5 starting at 7:30 pm

Wassup!!!!

mdviewer25

10-24-09, 09:09 PM

Game 6 postponed due to rain. rescheduled for Sunday night. Game 7 (if necessary) on Monday night

systems2000

10-24-09, 10:04 PM

The game was rained out. I guess the Angels will have to wait until tomorrow to takedown the Yankees. :)

systems2000

10-24-09, 10:41 PM

Has anyone else noticed that the broadcast stations are limiting their broadcast quality (specifically those with only one channel)?

Here is what I found about the stations I receive:
V-CHANNEL|RF-CHANNEL|STATION|QUALITY
2|38|WMAR|720P/480i/480i
3|15|WPSU|1080i/480i/480i
5|36|WTTG|720P
7|7|WJLA|720P/480i/480i
9|9|WUSA|1080i/480i
10|32|WTAJ|1080i
13|13|WJZ|1080i
15|23|WLYH|1080i
20|35|WDCA|720P
24|8|W08EE-D (WNPB)|1080i/480i/480i
24|41|WUTB|720P
25|26|WHAG|1080i
31|44|WWPB|1080i/480i/480i
42|21|WVPY|1080i/480i/480i
43|47|WPMT|720P/480i
45|46|WBFF|720P/480i
49|30|WGCB|480i/480i
54|40|WNUV|720P
60|12|WWPX|720P/480i/480i/480i
68|39|WJAL|480i

With the exception of WLYH (CW), the only networks doing 1080i are CBS, NBC, & PBS. All the PBS stations (MD, PA, VA, & WV) have two sub-channels.

Why do independent stations only broadcast in 480i?

VARTV

10-25-09, 08:29 AM

Why do independent stations only broadcast in 480i?Money???

tonyd79

10-25-09, 10:37 AM

inlogan

10-25-09, 10:37 AM

Anyone else lose WRC over the air? It dropped out this morning when I was watching it and I can't get a signal at all.

Trip in VA

10-25-09, 10:40 AM

In your chart, I see only 2 stations "limiting quality" by doing 480i and they probably can't afford the HD equipment.

It probably has even more to do with the fact that little or none of their programming is available in HD.

- Trip

Digital Rules

10-25-09, 10:49 AM

Anyone else lose WRC over the air? It dropped out this morning when I was watching it and I can't get a signal at all.Yes, no signal here either.

jgantert

10-25-09, 11:08 AM

Anyone else lose WRC over the air? It dropped out this morning when I was watching it and I can't get a signal at all.
Same here in Columbia, zero signal. Everything else is ok, so I don't think it's my setup.

inlogan

10-25-09, 12:02 PM

Digital Rules

10-25-09, 12:02 PM

Anyone else lose WRC over the air? It dropped out this morning when I was watching it and I can't get a signal at all.WRC is on FIOS, but no OTA.

HDTV Sparky

10-25-09, 12:54 PM

systems2000

10-25-09, 01:01 PM

In your chart, I see only 2 stations "limiting quality" by doing 480i and they probably can't afford the HD equipment.
That's because they are the only two independents.
If I read between the lines, you are saying 720p is "limiting quality?" Not so. It is a choice between the two standards. Many arguments over what is better, 1080i or 720p.
What about 1080P?

Between the lines is more about users with plasma televisions wanting 1080i broadcasting.

Dave Loudin

10-25-09, 06:21 PM

Not enough bandwidth for 1080p.

biker19

10-25-09, 07:41 PM

WRC is down until 3

WRC-TV's over-the-air signal will go dark for several hours Sunday due to routine maintenance to the station's transmitter.

Viewers who watch WRC-TV over the air will be without the station's signal from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 25). Cable TV subscribers will not notice the outage.

Sorry for any inconvenience this causes.
Wow - for all the years watching back in the analog days I don't ever remember this happening. Pull the plug on the OTA transmitter for 6 hrs in the middle of the day - really? :rolleyes:

carltonrice

10-25-09, 08:30 PM

Can't believe no one has mentioned Baltimore's WJZ Tv -13-1 now has local High Def news!
They were testing it 'live' Saturday night @ 11, then made the announcement this morning (sunday) their now High - def. Beautiful.

Probably because I stopped watching them when other newscasts went HD. I guess I'll tune back in tonight and see what's up. Now, I guess we're just waiting on WMAR.

tonyd79

10-25-09, 08:46 PM

That's because they are the only two independents.

What about 1080P?

Between the lines is more about users with plasma televisions wanting 1080i broadcasting.

Nobody broadcasts in 1080p. It is not included in the broadcast standards. The only sources for 1080p are Blu Ray (and HD DVD) and satellite.

It has NOTHING to do with plasma or LCD or LED or projection or whatever.

BTW, there is enough bandwidth to broadcast 1080p depending upon the frames per second (DirecTV's 1080p/24fps file size is actually smaller than their 1080i/60fps in most cases). It is just that nothing supports it for broadcast. And, given what it takes to equip broadcasters in terms of money, it may be a long way off.

And don't assume 1080p will be that much better anyway. There is not enough bandwidth at all for Blu Ray data rates. The 1080p stuff on DirecTV is slightly better than the 1080i but not that much different.

wmcbrine

10-26-09, 03:55 PM

Now, I guess we're just waiting on WMAR.And WRC!

markbulla

10-26-09, 10:36 PM

And WRC!

On the subject of WRC, their sound on dish HD is really bad tonight. There's no high frequency to it - it's really muffled during Jay Leno. It's OK on WBAL ota, though.

CycloneGT

10-26-09, 11:24 PM

Can't believe no one has mentioned Baltimore's WJZ Tv -13-1 now has local High Def news!
They were testing it 'live' Saturday night @ 11, then made the announcement this morning (sunday) their now High - def. Beautiful.

Looks like its a race between 2 & 4 to see who is going to be last to have their news in HD.

bal1012

10-26-09, 11:56 PM

Hardtimes

10-27-09, 01:33 PM

That's cool! Denise doesn't look too bad in HD (for an 'old broad') ;)

Hardtimes

10-27-09, 02:26 PM

Did you try the 1713 un-amplified to 1 tuner only? You shouldn't have much trouble with WJLA unless you are down in a hole. My 1713 reliably receives a much weaker channel 12 @ 65 miles away. (75 feet of cable, & "no" amplification) Proper amplifier selection is crucial when dealing with fragile VHF stations.

Sorry for the delay - I don't check this thread too often unless there's a problem.

I'm not down in a hole but Edgewood is only 100' above sea level (according to wunderground; where I'm at is probably closer to 60) plus my 20' of antenna elevation probably doesn't help. Also I mistakenly said 1713 when I meant I used a Y5-7-13. I'm thinking I probably should have gotten the 1713. Anyway, I tried all kinds of scenarios - hooked in to the 7777 with my 4228, FM trap in/out, bypassed the amp, had a wire running directly to my computer's tuner in the bedroom with a monitor on the roof for remote tuning. Nothing worked better than my original setup and now my neighbors think I'm nuts. :D

John_D

10-27-09, 02:45 PM

rkolsen

10-28-09, 03:33 AM

For those who haven't tuned in yet:

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6696/wjz1.th.jpg (http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6696/wjz1.jpg)

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/8093/wjz2.th.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/8093/wjz2.jpg)

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/587/wjz3.th.jpg (http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/587/wjz3.jpg)

I guuess I didn't notice because they are using the same graphics and set. I only watch WBAL on my HDTV and sometimes the other stations on SDTVs. I just don't care for WMAR, WJZ, or WBFF's news operations. I am still waiting for WBAL to HD ENG.

systems2000

10-28-09, 01:10 PM

For those who have not noticed, WHAG has been Off-Air since before the 11:00p.m news last night. They have a problem at the transmitter and are working to get it back On-Air ASAP.

steeler

10-28-09, 02:40 PM

Sorry if this subject has been brought up before, I have been away and have not posted for a while. Is anyone having problems getting a VHF signal from WUSA and WJLA using a CM 4221?

steeler

10-28-09, 02:46 PM

For those who have not noticed, WHAG has been Off-Air since before the 11:00p.m news last night. They have a problem at the transmitter and are working to get it back On-Air ASAP.

WHAG is back up now.

Hardtimes

10-28-09, 02:50 PM

Digital Rules

10-28-09, 03:12 PM

Has anyone else noticed how bad WMAR Ch2's sound is the past few days? Sounds garbled, distorted, and broken up. It was especially bad/noticeable on Dancing w/ Stars when Taylor Swift was performing. Problem seems to be at the source since I noticed it on OTA, Comcrap's analog signal, and DirecTV's signal.I didn't notice anything unusual last night from 8-9:00 PM. To be fair, I was only using the TV's crappy internal speaker system at the time.

Potatoehead

10-28-09, 07:56 PM

We lost the rest of our Comcast analog channels above ch. 20 last night. The first half went away about a month ago. Should have plenty of room for more HD channels now! Maybe we can even get some of the Baltimore local HD channels back.:D

systems2000

10-28-09, 08:45 PM

Sorry if this subject has been brought up before, I have been away and have not posted for a while. Is anyone having problems getting a VHF signal from WUSA and WJLA using a CM 4221?

You're trying to receive VHF channels with a UHF antenna.

steeler

10-28-09, 10:24 PM

You're trying to receive VHF channels with a UHF antenna.

Not trying..... getting VHF with my 4221! I was wondering if anyone else is getting channels 7 and 9 with this antenna?

rkolsen

10-29-09, 12:57 AM

WJZ does not have HD ENG shots but does have what appears to be HD Chopper shots.

Marcus Carr

10-29-09, 08:52 AM

Comcast has duplicated most of the HD channels in the 800s in Baltimore City, even though we haven't received word on Project Cavalry/World of More yet.

tonyd79

10-29-09, 09:07 AM

Comcast has duplicated most of the HD channels in the 800s in Baltimore City, even though we haven't received word on Project Cavalry/World of More yet.

I haven't been keeping up. Is Cavalry coming to Howard County or did I see that it was not because we are not Motorola based?

Marcus Carr

10-29-09, 11:07 AM

DC Station WJLA Won't Blur Breast Exam

Will show unobscured exam to show viewers proper way to give self test

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/29/2009 10:51:22 AM

WJLA Washington says it will feature demonstrations of breast self-examinations without obscuring any body parts during a four-part series in the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. news over the next two days (Oct. 29 and 30).

"Touch of Life: The Guide to Breast Self Examination" is in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, according to station spokeswoman Abby Fenton, director of community relations. It also comes in the first days of the November sweeps period, when ratings help determine ad rates for stations.

"This unique television event will include a clinical demonstration of a breast self-exam without obscuring any of the breast area," the station says in bold, underlined type in the release announcing the series. News series involving mammograms or self-examinations are not unusual and blurring is standard practice, but the station said its news team discovered that many women don't know how to properly perform the test.

"I don't think the sweeps piece is as important as the fact that we are doing a piece about breast cancer because we have figured out that women in this area don't know how, when or how often, and that is really what we are getting at," says Fenton.

And what of the appearance that it could be a stunt? "It's irrelevant," she says. "If people want to take it as a sweeps piece, that is their business. But we're also doing something that is really important to women."

The series will include an interview with Elizabeth Edwards, fighting her own battle with cancer, and will be supported with a phone bank in partnership with Inova Breast Care Institute.

Fenton says there will be a "viewer discretion" content advisory.

Ironically, one of the first casualties of the FCC's indecency crackdown on nudity after Justin Timberlake bared too much of Janet Jackson's anatomy was the fleeting view of a female breast in a hospital setting, which was blurred on an episode of ER after affiliates expressed concern.

There should be no such issues with a news show, however. While news is not exempt from indecency enforcement, it has a much higher bar, and the 11 p.m. airing would be in the FCC's safe harbor for nudity (10 p.m.-6 a.m.).

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/366784-DC_Station_WJLA_Won_t_Blur_Breast_Exam.php

Wonder if this will be in HD.:D

Marcus Carr

10-29-09, 11:18 AM

From 2007:

SCRIPPS SPEEDS CONVERSION TO HD NEWS WITH ADOPTION OF JVC ProHD

JVC to Provide all 10 Scripps Stations with ProHD Cameras, Recorders and Monitors

...All Scripps broadcast television stations will be upgraded to JVC’s ProHD. ABC-affiliate stations: KNXV-TV Phoenix, AZ, WFTS-TV Tampa, FL, WMAR-TV Baltimore, MD, WXYZ-TV Detroit, MI, WCPO-TV Cincinnati, OH, WEWS-TV Cleveland, OH. NBC-affiliate stations: WPTV-TV West Palm Beach, FL, WSHB-TV Kansas City, MO, KJRH-TV Tulsa, OK. Independent station: KMCI-TV Lawrence, KS.

http://pro.jvc.com/pro/pr/2007/releases/scripps.html

Yep, any day now...:eek:

aaronwt

10-29-09, 11:37 AM

rkolsen

10-29-09, 03:42 PM

Comcast has duplicated most of the HD channels in the 800s in Baltimore City, even though we haven't received word on Project Cavalry/World of More yet.

I always wondered why Comcast duplicated their channels in the county we have duplicates of HBO HD, Sho HD, Starz! HD, and Max HD. These channels are both in the 200s as well as in the 300s next to their respective SD channels in the different packages. Do these duplicate channels take up more bandwidth? Or is it something like a virtual channel that PSIP uses?

DCRanger

10-29-09, 04:16 PM

Did anybody else have reception issues on WTTG Oct 25th during the Vikings/Steelers game? I'm using Direct TV, SD receiver and the audio/video feeds were horrible during the game. Tried contacting WTTG and they wouldn't respond. Also had the same reception problems during "So You Think You Can Dance" earlier this week.

PaulGo

10-29-09, 05:45 PM

I always wondered why Comcast duplicated their channels in the county we have duplicates of HBO HD, Sho HD, Starz! HD, and Max HD. These channels are both in the 200s as well as in the 300s next to their respective SD channels in the different packages. Do these duplicate channels take up more bandwidth? Or is it something like a virtual channel that PSIP uses?

These duplicate channels do not take up any additional bandwidth - they are the same channels mapped to to different channel numbers.

rkolsen

10-29-09, 07:20 PM

That's what I was guessing but wasn't sure.

fmsjr

10-29-09, 08:07 PM

Greeby

10-29-09, 09:43 PM

I guuess I didn't notice because they are using the same graphics and set. I only watch WBAL on my HDTV and sometimes the other stations on SDTVs. I just don't care for WMAR, WJZ, or WBFF's news operations. I am still waiting for WBAL to HD ENG.

WJZ studio cams look like SD widescreen to me...not HD. There is no sharpness there like there is on 45 and 11.

Digital Rules

10-29-09, 11:38 PM

WJZ studio cams look like SD widescreen to me...not HD. There is no sharpness there like there is on 45 and 11.Looks pretty good to me. Kudos to Denise for not having her up close shots blurred.

carltonrice

10-29-09, 11:39 PM

WJZ studio cams look like SD widescreen to me...not HD. There is no sharpness there like there is on 45 and 11.

Did anyone else notice tonight that there was a high pitched tone on throughout the 11 PM newscast on WJZ?

rkolsen

10-30-09, 01:33 AM

Did anyone else notice tonight that there was a high pitched tone on throughout the 11 PM newscast on WJZ?

No I did not notice it. I am transfering it to my comuter from my TiVo to take some screen grabs for a website. But I briefly watched the 4 PM news - there were some technical issues: Sally's mic not being on when during the beginning, instead of having the view of both anchors at first it was only Vic, the teleprompter didn't work with Sally on the first story she was saying "ah" and "um" alot. Also my big complaint is for the weather radar imagery it looks like it is just upconverted from 4:3.

It appears like someone mentioned before - CBS did this on the cheap end.

EditAfter watching a part of the 11 PM newcasts it appears as if they only have one or two studio cams. When the show started at 11 it showed with both anchors and did a quick zoom over to Vic. The crew I think needs more training. Yet another reason why I prefer WBAL news operation.

circusdog

10-30-09, 09:50 AM

For some reason, I have lost signal on WJLADT (1071) in my Vista Media Center. My other sets have good signal, but this Vista box doesn't.

I have posted on theGreenButton as well, and followed the advice with no change in the situation.

Is anyone else experiencing problems?

Thanks
Gil

biker19

10-30-09, 10:07 AM

Not trying..... getting VHF with my 4221! I was wondering if anyone else is getting channels 7 and 9 with this antenna?

Sure, if you are close enough.;)

biker19

10-30-09, 10:10 AM

For some reason, I have lost signal on WJLADT (1071) in my Vista Media Center. My other sets have good signal, but this Vista box doesn't.

As long as you know the signal is good getting the the HTPC, then it's a software/hardware issue inside the unit. Maybe a simple rescan might fix it. You might get better answers in the HTPC section.

steeler

10-30-09, 12:36 PM

Sure, if you are close enough.;)

Do you have a 4221? Anyone else out there have one?

aaronwt

10-30-09, 01:08 PM

has anyone noticed that WRC has been missing the subchannel in the audio stream this week? I see the Hagerstown station still has a 5.1 signal while WRC has been 5.0. And the bass has been greatly reduced so it seems like the 5.1 signal is being truncated to 5.0

artwire

10-31-09, 12:24 PM

I just received an "Attention Comcast Customers" postcard in the mail. It says that Digital Starter currently "includes a standard digital converter and remote on the primary outlet. Effective November 16, 2009, Digital Starter and above levels of video service will include a standard digital converter or digital adapter on the primary outlet, digital adapters for up to 2 additional outlets, and up to 3 remotes." So, I am wondering whether this means that they are going to have no analog service at all soon. I'd guess they will be mailing out the extra digital adapters, but there isn't anything about that. Later this week I might attempt to ask someone at customer service, but I wouldn't bet on an informed answer. If they do get rid of the analog service, I could do with the 2 adapters as I still have one analog TV and one VCR connected to cable outlets in addition to the one that currently uses the digital converter box and 2 HD TVs. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

I got the postcard, too - no other info.... it seems this is a major transition since I'm getting the majority of channels still as analog on my Digital Starter service. I did a count yesterday and was really shocked by how little 'digital' was coming in on my "digital cable" subscription -- nearly all of the so-called digital stations that I receive via QAM tuner are available over the air. I'm trying to ascertain whether or not the switch from analog to digital that they announced by POSTCARD actually means that if you have a digital tuner, you now will get these stations on the digital QAM tuner, or if they will just disappear. I understand analog tv owners absolutely need to have the d-to-a converter in order to see them, but there has been little explanation as to the impact on those of us with digital tuners. None of my neighbors seem to be aware of the upcoming change. It's going to be a mess. I find it very troubling the way cc is handling this... and I would seriously doubt that they are just going to mail the adapter to you without a specific request.

Also, if we are currently paying for a full-featured STB (I have one, but it appears we may need another)-- will it now be free since we are supposedly now "entitled" to one? Many questions..... few answers.... two weeks to go....

for now my concern is for these 'analog' stations that are part of my 'digital' cable service... the ones that are not already duplicated on the digital side ...

ANALOG reception only

31 HSN
32 WHUT (pbs)
34 weather channel
35 HLN
36 CNN
37 FoxNews
38 MSNBC
39 CNBC
41 Discovery
43 TLC
44 animal planet
45 CN
46 Disney
47 Nick
48 TV land
50 History
52 Hallmark
54 Lifetime
55 HGTV
56 food
57 oxygen
59 E
61 syfy
62 tnt
63 fx
64 TruTV
65 USA
66 TBS
67 Spike
68 comedy central
69 GSN

I do get Travel, Bravo, A & E, QVC, and shopNBC with the digital tuner so I erased those mid-range stations from my list above, but all these other channels "in the middle" of the lineup (30 - 70) are in question .... AMC and TCM disappeared long ago, and only can be received with a STB, not with the digital tuner.

It would be interesting to see how everyone fares after this change is implemented...

jacindc

11-01-09, 10:12 AM

Potatoehead

11-01-09, 12:49 PM

Those of you who got the postcard from Comcast--where are you? I got one, and I'm in DC. Did the folks on other systems who've gone through the big digital change get this postcard in advance of all of the changes?

We received the post card about 7 months ago and are just finishing the transition now. Hopefully it will be quicker for you.

rkolsen

11-01-09, 03:48 PM

Those of you who got the postcard from Comcast--where are you? I got one, and I'm in DC. Did the folks on other systems who've gone through the big digital change get this postcard in advance of all of the changes?

Baltimore County, MD we got the postcard for the DTA's at the end of July and received our boxes within 3 days of placing the order.

Jim Miller

11-01-09, 04:52 PM

I also received the card and my DTAs but misplaced the card. I know the cutover is soon for Balto but don't recall the details. Anyone have them that could post?

tnx
jtm

artwire

11-01-09, 06:19 PM

CycloneGT

11-02-09, 12:29 AM

Looks like CW 50 has been added to Dish's HD lineup sometime in this past week.

rkolsen

11-02-09, 12:52 AM

I also received the card and my DTAs but misplaced the card. I know the cutover is soon for Balto but don't recall the details. Anyone have them that could post?

tnx
jtm
Jim - go to www.comcast.com/digitalnow so you can order the DTAs.

Jim Miller

11-02-09, 08:45 AM

I've already received my DTAs. I just don't know what the cutover plan is for Baltimore County.

jtm

Big J

11-02-09, 09:54 AM

In DC -- supposedly it is effective as of Nov 16th, but there's very little info for non-analog customers. Do these channels simply move to digital lineup,where QAM tuners can pick them up when we rescan, or do they disappear entirely? Will they be encrypted? Seems like a big change with very little customer info .... in my estimation, we shouldn't each have to call CC individually, and each get a different answer when we do, as they try to get us to buy expanded services and rent more equipment ... one by one.
I contacted Comcast about this.
They will not be encrypted, and your QAM tuner will pick them up. Here in Montgomery County, I am already getting a digital version of every analog channel with my QAM tuner. They are in bizarre places, so you will have to do a rescan if you aren't getting them already.
J

ACW112983

11-02-09, 09:58 AM

Any news on Spike HD, G4HD, and Comedy Central HD for Comcast (in Arlington)?
I mean seriously, Fox News HD, HGTV, Food HD, Golf HD, but no Spike, G4, or Com. Cent. HD???

msmckay

11-02-09, 01:28 PM

WRC is down until 3

WRC-TV's over-the-air signal will go dark for several hours Sunday due to routine maintenance to the station's transmitter.

Viewers who watch WRC-TV over the air will be without the station's signal from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 25). Cable TV subscribers will not notice the outage.

Sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

Is WRC still off the air for the OTA folks? I lost it last week. I see why now. But I did not get it back as of late Sunday night.

Guess I'll rotate one of the antennas towards Hagerstown to pullin WHAG 25 for my Heroes fix.

Here is an unrelated question for the RF engineers in the crowd. Can the outputs of two CM7777s be conbined without damage to the Amps?

Thanks

URFloorMatt

11-02-09, 02:36 PM

I happened to flip on WRC today during Ellen and noticed they were running an HD lower-third promo bug for the Daily Connection at 3pm. I guess that makes sense since the NBC4 bug has been in HD since WRC started airing Ellen in HD.

Good to see they've got their transition priorites straight at WRC. :rolleyes:

Marcus Carr

11-02-09, 03:50 PM

WJZ started using HD graphics before their news went HD.

At least WRC has Ellen in HD, unlike WBAL (who has Dr. Oz and Oprah in HD before and after it).

Marcus Carr

11-02-09, 04:51 PM

Armstrong Adds Primetime Games As Part Of NFL Network Renewal

Operator Will Present Eight Contests To Subscribers On Value, HD Advantage Packages

Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 11/2/2009 4:08:42 PM

Armstrong and NFL Network have reached a multiyear contract extension that adds the service's primetime game schedule for the first time.

The operator, which provides video, high-speed Internet and telephone services to customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland, has been carrying NFL Network since 2005. NFL Network is available to Armstrong digital customers as part of its Value Package (channel 466) and to its high-definition customers as part of the HD Advantage Package (channel 180).

The new deal, terms of which were not disclosed, enables Armstrong to present NFL Network's eight primetime games, which kick off this season on Nov. 12 with the Chicago Bears visiting the San Francisco 49ers. Given its service area, NFL Network's Dec. 10 coverage of the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers at the Cleveland Browns should be of particular appeal to pro pigskin fans.

"Armstrong has carried NFL Network since 2005," said Jeff Ross president of Armstrong in a statement."We serve some of the most avid NFL fans in America and are pleased to continue offering our customers the most in depth coverage of NFL football."

"We are pleased to extend and expand our relationship with Armstrong," added NFL Network COO Kim Williams. "Armstrong subscribers will now get even more football when our Thursday Night Football schedule kicks off on November 12."

http://www.multichannel.com/article/367239-Armstrong_Adds_Primetime_Games_As_Part_Of_NFL_Network_Renewa l.php

rkolsen

11-03-09, 01:14 AM

WJZ started using HD graphics before their news went HD.

At least WRC has Ellen in HD, unlike WBAL (who has Dr. Oz and Oprah in HD before and after it).

I wonder if Dr. Oz & Oprah are broadcast in HD because they use the same distributor and or if the feed is sent out the day of the broadcast?

raidbuck

11-03-09, 08:07 AM

I'm in Harford County. I've been having repeated sound breakups on 213 Fox out of Baltimore (8300 DVR) but not on Fox from DC on 255. Has anyone else had this problem?
The sound breakups make watching 213 almost impossible.

Thanks,

Rich N.

OldHud

11-03-09, 08:32 AM

Here is an unrelated question for the RF engineers in the crowd. Can the outputs of two CM7777s be combined without damage to the Amps?
Thanks

Yes, but depending on the signals you are trying to add, it may not help. What is the input to the amplifiers? What are you trying to do?

overdrive51

11-03-09, 11:00 AM

Harford County also, same HDVR and audio problem with 213.

artwire

11-03-09, 11:09 AM

I contacted Comcast about this.
They will not be encrypted, and your QAM tuner will pick them up. Here in Montgomery County, I am already getting a digital version of every analog channel with my QAM tuner. They are in bizarre places, so you will have to do a rescan if you aren't getting them already.
J

Thanks, BigJ. That's good to hear. (too bad they didn't mention it in their postcard, or online....) I guess I'll wait and see what happens rather than rushing to get some sort of extra box - I will probably opt for a regular STB anyway, in order to have the extra options, but the low end converters do give a clue as to their arcane channel mapping, so maybe one of those would be handy, too.

I think their information on line is deceptive: They say to continue to receive the channels you're entitled to with the digital subscription you need

Digital Set Top Box (which offers On Demand, plus an on-screen guide, in addition to digital quality and sound)

OR

New digital adapter (which offers full digital quality and sound)

OR

New digital TV (Tru2Way, enabled with CableCARD), which you’ll need to purchase at a local retailer

it suggests that a 'new digital tv' has to be enabled with Tru2way or cableCARD) in order to function properly.

arubaflower

11-03-09, 04:54 PM

Advice on OTA antenna

I live in Nw DC and had been getting Baltimore channel 13 just fine up until the transition with a Wineguard 8-bay. I am 34.5 miles away with lots of tall buidings around. I'm sure I'm not the only one that lost reception. I am a long time Colts and now Ravens fan and would like to to be able to watch the Ravens on WJZ channnel 13. How are people getting channel 13 these days, any advice?

Missed most of the Ravens game this Sunday. Argggggh! Tried 3 different digital converter boxes and rotated the antenna and no luck. but fortuneatly DC (CBS) channel 9 switched over to the Ravens game in the last 4 minutes.
My Dad who lives in PG County no longer gets WJZ, as well. Although, the HD signal came in perfectly before the transition. I used to go over to my Dad's to watch Ravens games on WJZ when they weren't shown on WUSA. Now the antenna can't find WJZ at all, which is frustrating because all the other Baltimore stations come in just fine.

I am sure there is a technical reason as to why WJZ's transmission is different from the other stations, and perhaps putting up a new antenna might solve the problem. But it's seems a bit much to replace an antenna just because of one problem station.

HDTV Sparky

11-03-09, 06:13 PM

....and perhaps putting up a new antenna might solve the problem. But it's seems a bit much to replace an antenna just because of one problem station.
I had to replace a UHF only antenna to receive Baltimore 11 and 13.
Football season was here and although Comcast carries both stations up here in Pennsylvania, their not HD. Bite the bullet......, new antenna. You'll have it for years to come and in the long run be worth it.
Ofcourse, just my opinion.

Digital Rules

11-03-09, 08:57 PM

Now the antenna can't find WJZ at all, which is frustrating because all the other Baltimore stations come in just fine.

I am sure there is a technical reason as to why WJZ's transmission is different from the other stations, and perhaps putting up a new antenna might solve the problem. But it's seems a bit much to replace an antenna just because of one problem station. Does your dad live near Morningside, MD? If your dad is getting WBAL-11 well, he may only need to add an FM trap to fix the problem.

The strong FM in the Arlington/Falls Church VA area makes WBAL-11 & WJZ-13 tough to receive, even with the best antenna set-up.

msmckay

11-03-09, 09:17 PM

Yes, but depending on the signals you are trying to add, it may not help. What is the input to the amplifiers? What are you trying to do?

I have an XG91pointed at DC and a DB8 pointed at Balt combined into the UHF port of one CM777. A YA1713 Pointed at DC is on the VHF input.

The Second CM7777 has a second DB8 pointed at Hagerstown to pickup WWPB 31 MPT.

WRC 4 is marginal and WDCW 50 will not lock. Location is South of Purcellville.

Digital Rules

11-03-09, 09:44 PM

WRC 4 is marginal and WDCW 50 will not lock. Location is South of Purcellville.What does your TV FOOL report look like?

msmckay

11-03-09, 10:17 PM

What does your TV FOOL report look like?

The best signal is WJLA 7, 1-Edge @ -64.1dBm
Channel 4 is 1-Edge @ -76.6 dBm
Channel 50 is 2-Edge @-87.8 dBm
Suprisingly channels WUTB 24 and WMDO 8 come in fine even they are lower on the list.

Digital Rules

11-03-09, 10:54 PM

I'm surprised you aren't getting 4 & 50 better. I put a low gain combo antenna outside in a very low spot near Dulles airport. http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d8adfc4e70c3a7e It has no problem with all the DC stations except for WMDO. Even MPT from Frederick is reliable with a Wineagard 8275 feeding 3 sets. Dulles airport is a deal breaker for reliable Baltimore reception from this location.

Are your antennas outside?

djp952

11-03-09, 11:05 PM

The best signal is WJLA 7, 1-Edge @ -64.1dBm
Channel 4 is 1-Edge @ -76.6 dBm
Channel 50 is 2-Edge @-87.8 dBm
Suprisingly channels WUTB 24 and WMDO 8 come in fine even they are lower on the list.

2-edge @ -90dBm can be a considerable challenge. If TvFool is accurate about channels 48/50 for you, I'd honestly consider cable/FiOS if WRC/WDCW are deal-breakers for you. Again, assuming TvFool is accurate, you're not going to get 48/50 100% reliably without a fairly "killer" setup, like a 30' high tower or something like that. I don't mean to be a jerk, but in my opinion you're looking for more than ATSC can provide for you. All my experiences to date indicate that if you're farther out than about -65dBm for UHF channels, or -50dBm for VHF channels, you just won't be very happy redardless of the antenna you choose.

Jim Miller

11-03-09, 11:17 PM

FWIW, I found that TVFool was giving me a 2edge reading because it really didn't place my house very accurately. That's a real problem since we are on top of a 700ft MSL hill instead of where TVF put us: down in a nearby valley at 500ft.

Once I used the interactive version of TVF I could see the problem clearly and moved the indicator to the proper location and I became LOS to Balto. That took me from needing a big outside antenna to rabbit ears.

good luck

jtm

Digital Rules

11-03-09, 11:32 PM

2-edge @ -90dBm can be a considerable challenge.If the antenna is mounted indoors, I agree 100%.

I have gotten excellent results even with the low gain suburban "Winegard Ghost Killer" antenna mounted outside with proper pre-amp selection. Most signals are 2 edge. Even the Baltimore stations(-90's)come in fine until a jet crosses in front of the antenna.

Marcus Carr

11-04-09, 04:46 AM

WMAR was in SD from about 8:52 to 9:14.

ProjectSHO89

11-04-09, 06:32 AM

2-edge @ -90dBm can be a considerable challenge. If TvFool is accurate about channels 48/50 for you, I'd honestly consider cable/FiOS if WRC/WDCW are deal-breakers for you. Again, assuming TvFool is accurate, you're not going to get 48/50 100% reliably without a fairly "killer" setup, like a 30' high tower or something like that. I don't mean to be a jerk, but in my opinion you're looking for more than ATSC can provide for you. All my experiences to date indicate that if you're farther out than about -65dBm for UHF channels, or -50dBm for VHF channels, you just won't be very happy redardless of the antenna you choose.

You're far too negative in your assessments. I routinely see excellent reception at long ranges with sometimes dismal TVF predictions. It DOES take a proper antenna selection and proper height to pull off. Fringe and deep fringe reception has always required these attributes and, as someone who grew up living in such an area, I saw plenty of antennas that were both large and tall.

Big J

11-04-09, 07:55 AM

Thanks, BigJ.
I think their information on line is deceptive: They say to continue to receive the channels you're entitled to with the digital subscription you need

Digital Set Top Box (which offers On Demand, plus an on-screen guide, in addition to digital quality and sound)

OR

New digital adapter (which offers full digital quality and sound)

OR

New digital TV (Tru2Way, enabled with CableCARD), which you’ll need to purchase at a local retailer

it suggests that a 'new digital tv' has to be enabled with Tru2way or cableCARD) in order to function properly.

Well, yea, it is deceptive. They would like you to have 2 way, so they can make even more money off of you. If you are paying for their digital package, which I think includes on demand, that does need to have 2 way. They are hoping people like me will upgrade our subscription. I only have standard service, which means I only get their analog channels plus local HD as QAM clear. The transition really only effects those of us who are analog only. They really don't like standard service-I had to hunt for it on their website. I also had to ask them to take me off their mailing and phone list, since they were calling me every few days. I do get the TV guide channel now FWIW.
J