Not according to the sticky thread in the programming sub-forum.

According to HD Sports guide, all the first round games are in HD. In that thread, a lot of people say the same thing, that all games will be in HD, except if the station switches from its scheduled game to another game.

Most stations would do it as long as they were allowed to -- because they build their branding around their analog channel assignments.

OK, there's that, too.

Although, I agree with the previous poster who brought up the point that things are going to wierd after the analog shutoff. People going to have to call the station to find out what channel I actually am broadcasting on, if their TV doesn't pick it up when they are auto-programming it (unless they look it up on the web).

Mark

According to HD Sports guide, all the first round games are in HD. In that thread, a lot of people say the same thing, that all games will be in HD, except if the station switches from its scheduled game to another game.


I believe it is the other way around.

If it is a constant feed, like the Georgetown, Maryland, and GW games will be in DC, we will get upconverted SD, which makes no sense whatsoever.

From Sue Baldwin at WUSA 9

Thursday's games are as follows:

On 3/15/07, W*USA 9 will air the following games on our analog and
digital channels:

(same game will air on both)

Daytime Games (scheduled 12:10-7pm)

Game #1 12:20pm Maryland vs. Davidson

Game #2 2:45pm Georgetown vs. Belmont

Game #3 4:55pm Vanderbilt vs. George Washington

Nighttime Games (scheduled 7pm-12mid)

Game #1 7:10pm Duke vs. VCU

Game #2 9:40pm North Carolina vs. Eastern Kentucky

Friday's games are not yet confirmed.



Here are the Friday games according the WUSA website:

Daytime Games (scheduled 12:10-5pm)

Game #1 12:15pm - UVA vs. Albany
NOTE: Constant status is pending for this game.

Game #2 2:35pm - Notre Dame vs. Winthrop

Nighttime Games (scheduled 7pm-12mid)

Game #1 7:10pm - Virginia Tech vs. Illinois
NOTE: Constant status is pending for this game.

Game #2 9:30pm - Kentucky vs. Villanova



And most importantly:
CBS is not offering our local games as constants in High Definition. To contact their audience services department send e-mail to audsvcs@cbs.com


http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=56642&GID=hTajpyi53Hbbx2Ly4uqdvcvszgiT2sgIvMHUOQNueCQ%3D

What does that constant jargon mean?

Does it mean the local game will be in SD, and the HD channel will just have something else on it (whatever the national audience is seeing)??

If so, I'm assuming that is to allow us to see two games at a time?

No. Same game on both channels.

Constant means that the game will never be switched, even if it is a blowout. You'll see it from beginning to end.

No. Same game on both channels.

Constant means that the game will never be switched, even if it is a blowout. You'll see it from beginning to end.

Duh, I realize that...

But what does "CBS is not offering our local games as constants in High Definition" mean?

I figure it means the local games will not be on HD, and in place of them, some other game will be?

Duh, I realize that...

But what does "CBS is not offering our local games as constants in High Definition" mean?

I figure it means the local games will not be on HD, and in place of them, some other game will be?


Like I said before it is the same game on both channels and based on the thread in the programming forum, the digital channel will be an upconverted SD feed, even though the areas of the country that get the game non-constant will have a HD feed. So simply put, since the Maryland, Georgetown, and GW games (and possibly VT and UVA games) are "local games as constants," we will not get these games in HD and will not get a different game on the digital channel.

The reason that constants will be in SD makes sense to me. Remember that CBS only has the ability to downlink four HD feeds at once now, and during the first two rounds, four games may be occurring at once. Most people will get a non-constant feed, and CBS will want to switch between games for those viewers. Apparently, it would be too difficult to independently switch each HD feed in a manner that will allow a constant area to view the whole game in HD, so all constants are being sent in SD to save CBS the trouble.

Maybe in later rounds, where only two games will occur at once, will there be constants and non-constants in HD.

I mean seriously, if this is going to happen as some of you and some of the stations are saying (upconverting SD in order to get a constant feed) this is a joke. I understand the technical limitations of CBS. But really, why can't we just have the constant feed on the SD channel and the HD feed on the HD channel. When CBS switches the HD feed to another game, I can just flip to the SD channel. Am I missing something here? Does this make sense? It may be time to overwhelm WUSA with e-mails about this.

dg28 nails it. The "constant" means that if Georgetown is beating whomever by 50, WUSA stays with it because it's a local team. I get that but for those of us that are more interested in the tournament overall than any local team, why not keep the SD feed as the constant and switch the HD feed to a closer game? Does WUSA have to have the same game on both? They didn't last year!

dg28 nails it. The "constant" means that if Georgetown is beating whomever by 50, WUSA stays with it because it's a local team. I get that but for those of us that are more interested in the tournament overall than any local team, why not keep the SD feed as the constant and switch the HD feed to a closer game? Does WUSA have to have the same game on both? They didn't last year!


In other thread, some touched on that. Not sure - they might have to.

Otherwise, I agree with you - they could go constant on the SD channel and flex on the HD and if they flex out, WUSA could easily run a crawl on 9.1 telling people to tune to 9 if they want to continue watching the local interest game.

Yeah, it royally bites. One more reason why I'll be spending the entire weekend at a friend's house with D*. But I'll still be screwed out of watching the Maryland game in HD.

Ok, I just fired off an email to WUSA about this. I encourage others to do so. Strength in numbers.

Ok, I just fired off an email to WUSA about this. I encourage others to do so. Strength in numbers.

Email address?

sbaldwin@wusa9.com

sbaldwin@wusa9.com

E-Mail sent. If the locals (I have rooting interests in UVA, Gtown, and GW) are not in HD, I will be really disappointed. How did WUSA handle local teams last year in the first couple rounds?

To whom it may concern,

I have just come to find out that WUSA Ch. 9 may not be showing the games of highest interest (local schools) in HD, in the Washington Metro Area. This is a horrible policy for fans of UVA (myself), Georgetown (my 2nd team), GW (my father's alma mater), UMD, and Virginia Tech. I have been looking forward to watching my teams play in HD, especially on CBS. CBS tends to have the best picture out of all networks/cable stations in HD especially for sports (NFL, SEC football, and SEC basketball). However, after reading numerous posts on local Hi-Def boards and sports boards, people are stating that our local teams are going to be broadcast as constants (despite blowouts). The fact that they are being broadcast as constants is a PLUS because we want to watch our teams all the way through. But, I believe this is the reason you are not going to be broadcasting these games in HD! This will be a great travesty and I would hope WUSA/CBS pulls out all the stops to show the premiere sporting event of the year in full HD glory! Do whatever it takes!

I found the following link/quote off a UVA bball forum (although it refers back to an article in the Houston Chronicle).

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/barron/4621084.html

HD compromises

Unlike last season, CBS will show every Tournament game in HDTV. The advantage is that every game will be in HDTV. The disadvantage is that stations no longer have the option, as they did last season, to show different games on standard-def and HD channels.

For example, any game assigned to KHOU (Channel 11) will air on both its standard def and its HD channel, which is Channel 31 for those of you using an antenna and channel 311 for Time Warner Cable customers.

There may, however, be an occasional wrinkle for HD purists. Texas or Texas A&M games will be "constant" games for the Houston market. HD programs, however, will be "flex" games, which means they can be switched to
another location at CBS' discretion.

There seems to be a contradiction in the first and last paragraph above. The first leads one to believe stations are forced to show both, while the latter allows for switching on the digital feed.

I sent an e-mail suggesting they go with the flex HD feed for the local teams and if the network center flexes off the local game in HD, then WUSA could switch to the upconverted SD constant transmission.

The tri-color spread on WRC 4 is bizarre. The picture for WBAL-DT 11 in Baltimore is not doing this, so this problem is with WRC. But I'm getting dropouts for WBAL-DT, as I sometimes do, so that is not a viable option at the moment. Argh!

I'm catching up on this thread now and just getting to this section... I watched Heroes on DVR a week or so late and I was panicking at first that my rear projection had bought the farm. :)

Like I said before it is the same game on both channels and based on the thread in the programming forum, the digital channel will be an upconverted SD feed, even though the areas of the country that get the game non-constant will have a HD feed. So simply put, since the Maryland, Georgetown, and GW games (and possibly VT and UVA games) are "local games as constants," we will not get these games in HD and will not get a different game on the digital channel.

Why would they do SD twice, on the regular SD channel and on the HD channel, for the same game?

That makes absolutely no sense.

Am I missing something?

Why would they do SD twice, on the regular SD channel and on the HD channel, for the same game?

That makes absolutely no sense.

Am I missing something?
Because CBS never does that with SD programming.

As a follow up to the issue with WUTB-DT, the station has since re-appeared correctly on digital channel 24-1. The stream also claims to be coming in at 720p.

During the primetime programming of My Network TV, the image appears to be a 16:9 video stream matted to fit a 4:3 aspect ratio. The 4:3 matted video is then stretched horizontally to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio. Unfortunately this leaves the image on the screen looking distorted because of the extra matting bars on the top and bottom that really shouldn't be that in an HD feed. On my 16:9 HDTV, the active video area has an aspect ratio of 64:27 or 2.37:1 instead of the usual 16:9 or 1.78:1 of most HD feeds. The picture quality doesn't look like 720p so I think they're simply taking a 16:9 video matted to 4:3 in SD and simply upsampling the entire 4:3 frame to 16:9 and using that for their HD feed.

Is anyone else in the Comcast/Arlington area having issues with HD Channels tonight? Fox/CBS/NBC and ABC are completely un-watchable. Video breakups and either audio drop outs or no audio at all. HBOHD is completely blank with no video or audio but Sho/Starz and most of my other HD channels are just fine.
Comcast says there are no signal problems and they beleive it's the DVR box but I have my doubts..

Does anybody have a scan of the new Comcast Arlington/Alexandria price list? I just moved into the area, and I remembered seeing it in my roommate's mail, but he must have thrown it out.

I'd like to make sure that my bill is adding up to what it's supposed to be, and the price list would really be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

Wait, so people watching HD care only about the tournament as a whole, and those watching SD only care about seeing the local team? Huh?

Personally, I only care about the tourney as a whole, but why would only HD customers (< 5%) get the option of switching? That makes zero sense, besides the fact that we're a very very very vocal minority?

-Mike

Wait, so people watching HD care only about the tournament as a whole, and those watching SD only care about seeing the local team? Huh?

-Mike

Yes, I can careless if the VT Hokies game is in HD or SD I don't want to watch any other game, even it is a blowout, just in case they make a miraculous comeback. The same thing goes for UVA, but for a different reason, I want to keep watching them lose even if it is a blow out. I do care about the tournament, but first I want to see my school's game before I watch UCLA's or UNC's.

As a follow up to the issue with WUTB-DT, the station has since re-appeared correctly on digital channel 24-1. The stream also claims to be coming in at 720p.

During the primetime programming of My Network TV, the image appears to be a 16:9 video stream matted to fit a 4:3 aspect ratio. The 4:3 matted video is then stretched horizontally to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio. Unfortunately this leaves the image on the screen looking distorted because of the extra matting bars on the top and bottom that really shouldn't be that in an HD feed. On my 16:9 HDTV, the active video area has an aspect ratio of 64:27 or 2.37:1 instead of the usual 16:9 or 1.78:1 of most HD feeds. The picture quality doesn't look like 720p so I think they're simply taking a 16:9 video matted to 4:3 in SD and simply upsampling the entire 4:3 frame to 16:9 and using that for their HD feed.
I'm not clear on what you are describing. The telenovels soaps are shot to 16:9 and are shown letterboxed on the Sd channel. If they are showing the SD version, then it would be window boxed on the HD channel. Was WUTB-DT 24 stretching the SD feed?

When I was channel surfing pass WDCA-DT 20 both on Tuesday and tonight, I noticed that they were not showing the new soaps in HD. They were upconverting the SD feed, so the shows were letterboxed. WDCA-DT 20 has been showing the My Network soaps in HD. But the movie last week that was reported to be shown in true HD in other markets was not in HD on WDCA-DT. But have they now gotten so sloppy, that WDCA-DT is not bothering to switch to the HD feed from the network?

Anyone get a response from WUSA regarding today's games? I did not. I guess our e-mails haven't gotten us very far, but we'll find out for sure today. If they stick to their decision, which apparently is what the network is telling them to do, they are going to be overwhelmed by phone calls beginning at about 12:20pm today.

Regarding WJZ, there is nothing specific about this issue on their website (though their online guide does list the games as in HD). Maybe they'll do something different? However, I'm not optimistic since WJZ is an O&O.

Is anyone else in the Comcast/Arlington area having issues with HD Channels tonight? Fox/CBS/NBC and ABC are completely un-watchable. Video breakups and either audio drop outs or no audio at all.

jcole66--last night I had no problem recording Bones, Jericho and Lost in HD via QAM in Arlington. I just bounced around to 4 or 5 spots within each show, everything seemed fine, no problems with digital audio dropping out.

I asked this question previously and no one answered--so I'll try again:

Anyone in Arlington with a QAM tuner having a problem with WDCW? It has always been in the clear for us at 113-9 and at 729MHz--now it's showing up as encrypted for me--can anyone else verify and/or confirm if it's been moved?

jcole66--last night I had no problem recording Bones, Jericho and Lost in HD via QAM in Arlington. I just bounced around to 4 or 5 spots within each show, everything seemed fine, no problems with digital audio dropping out.



Neither did I watching Jericho and Lost.

Does anybody have a scan of the new Comcast Arlington/Alexandria price list? I just moved into the area, and I remembered seeing it in my roommate's mail, but he must have thrown it out.

I'd like to make sure that my bill is adding up to what it's supposed to be, and the price list would really be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

I had some serious issues - VSHD (254) and Discovery HD (225) where unwatchable (even after a reboot). Also my wife records CBS (212) every afternoon from 12:30 to 4 and it was unwatchable (but better - w/ still some breakups that evening). I called Comcast - they asked me to reboot (standard answer). They are sending someone out tomorrow morning.

What Comcast doesn't know is while I was on hold waiting for a Comcast CSR - Verizon called on the other line and said "You can now get FiOS TV". W/o major concessions from Comcast (and I doubt they can meet my demands) - I'm gone.

I had no problems with Comcast last night.

Watching UMD on WJZ. Is that really upconverted SD? If so, it looks pretty damned good.

A pleasant surprise - both WJZDT and WUSADT are in full, glorious HD! If only Maryland was playing as pretty as the picture...

Definitely a pleasant surprise.

A pleasant surprise - both WJZDT and WUSADT are in full, glorious HD! If only Maryland was playing as pretty as the picture...

Wonderful! Thanks for the update. Looking forward to UVA in HD tomorrow.

has WJZ published a schedule anywhere for the tournament?

As I mentioned earlier today I can get Verizon FiOS installed (the fiber was run to the curb in front of my house in Nov. 05 - South Arlington). Is anyone aware of any "special packages/deals" I should be looking for? Are they offering anything similar to the Comcast "Tripleplay"? I went on the web and can get TV/Interent for 100.95/mo (3 boxes/1DVR no premium channels or packages). This is about $10 less than my current Comcast, but if I were a new subscriber to Comcast I could get the triple play for $100 (not including Boxes/DVRs).

Any good thoughts here?

Thanks

A pleasant surprise - both WJZDT and WUSADT are in full, glorious HD! If only Maryland was playing as pretty as the picture...
"Fear The Turtle", was great to see in HD

Guess the pleasant surprise is over. No HD for G-Town.

Guess the pleasant surprise is over. No HD for G-Town.
No HD for Georgetown on WUSA 9.1, but yes HD on WJZ 13! Belmont is giving them all they can handle through the first 8 minutes.

So-called 'HD Lite' to Continue

Starting in September, DirecTV plans to add 100 HD channels, but subscribers shouldn't expect a change in their HD signal quality.

The HD feeds will continue to feature the same transmission strength the satellite TV provider currently offers, spokesman Robert Mercer said. (read more - TV Week (http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=638))

No HD for Georgetown on WUSA 9.1, but yes HD on WJZ 13! Belmont is giving them all they can handle through the first 8 minutes.


That's cool. Normally I get that (from my hi-rise in Arlington), but I am over a friend's house with D* in DC (brought an extra TV over with my antenna), and I can't pull in the WJZ signal from here.

That's cool. Normally I get that (from my hi-rise in Arlington), but I am over a friend's house with D* in DC (brought an extra TV over with my antenna), and I can't pull in the WJZ signal from here.
About an hour ago a weather front moved through with some wind gusts that caused both WUSA and WJZ to break up. But all is good now and WJZ HD is coming in loud and clear. Georgetown finally came alive over the last 10 minutes and look to be in control of the game at the half.

So-called 'HD Lite' to Continue

Starting in September, DirecTV plans to add 100 HD channels, but subscribers shouldn't expect a change in their HD signal quality.

The HD feeds will continue to feature the same transmission strength the satellite TV provider currently offers, spokesman Robert Mercer said. (read more - TV Week (http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=638))

I didn't read it the same way.

I read the quotes as saying "We are good, we will stay good."

Doesn't say jack about actual numbers.

Assuming anything from those quotes is questionable reporting.

I read the quotes as saying "We are good, we will stay good."


Doesn't affect VARTV's interpretation, though ... seeing as we all know that means "We CLAIM we were good, and don't intend to bother to improve" and we all know they're bad.

To paraphrase a certain now jobless sports luminary ... "DirectTV is who we Thought they were. now if you want to crown their A$$ ..."

Just as long as you realize you're selling yourself down the river against long-term choices. Verizon's conned Congress into letting them exclude the fiber wiring from having to be shared with other services. And if you let them lie to you and insist they pull down your copper wiring you'll have to actually PAY to have it reinstalled in order to get choice again. So be sure you're willing to sell your soul to get fiber...

Are you saying they DON'T have to pull down the copper to install FiOS?

No HD for Georgetown on WUSA 9.1, but yes HD on WJZ 13! Belmont is giving them all they can handle through the first 8 minutes.

Both are in SD now.

Doesn't affect VARTV's interpretation, though ... seeing as we all know that means "We CLAIM we were good, and don't intend to bother to improve" and we all know they're bad.

To paraphrase a certain now jobless sports luminary ... "DirectTV is who we Thought they were. now if you want to crown their A$$ ..."

Great quote.

I don't think that was VARV's take. It was in the original article...

I still don't read it as they won't improve. Why would they not? If they have the bandwidth, why hoard it?

They will NOT say they will be better as they are claiming they are the best but they sure as shootin can say they got even better when they do.

People are reading too much into PR statements.

Both are in SD now.

Yeah. this is the behavior I am seeing on WJZ and D*:

They are using the HD feeds (which are flex). But if the station (either a D* 700 channel or WJZ or WUSA for local teams) is constant, they drop to SD when the HD feed flexes away to another game.

Not a horrible strategy but still, CBS needs to get its act together on multiple feeds since they support sports like this and the NFL.

GW game in SD on WUSA. Ridiculous since this is the only game in this timeslot.

GW game in SD on WUSA. Ridiculous since this is the only game in this timeslot.
..that HDTV programming in this country is still back in the GEICO Caveman days. CBS needs to get its act in gear, they spent billions for the NCAA rights, they can spend a few more bucks when it comes to all HD feeds.

And do we really need a "halftime news" edition instead of NCAA highlights of games I did not see earlier?

I still don't read it as they won't improve. Why would they not? If they have the bandwidth, why hoard it?

They will NOT say they will be better as they are claiming they are the best but they sure as shootin can say they got even better when they do.

I have no problem with DirecTV making the effort to improve the PQ - heck, even if they do it by going all MPEG-4. As long as I can use a TiVo (not their awful NDS junk) :)

I doubt I'll ever switch to a satellite provider, though - I love my combined internet/cableTV discount (and I MAY experiment with FIOS/FIOSTV when available) and don't like to pay separate bills :)

I have no problem with DirecTV making the effort to improve the PQ - heck, even if they do it by going all MPEG-4. As long as I can use a TiVo (not their awful NDS junk) :)


The HR20 seems to have matured to the point where it is close to the Tivo in performance. It has some features that are better and a couple glaring ones that are worse (like a lack of dual buffers). I am running both and pretty happy with both.


I doubt I'll ever switch to a satellite provider, though - I love my combined internet/cableTV discount (and I MAY experiment with FIOS/FIOSTV when available) and don't like to pay separate bills :)

Good points and why they make different flavors of ice cream. Different features/deficiencies mean different things to different people.

All I hear (even in fresh reviews) si the HR20 is still primarily a pile of turd, with DVR capabilities :)

But we digress ... it ain't a TiVo, won't enter my house.

WUSA switched to HD towards the end of the first half for the GW game. The laugher of a game was hardly worth watching though.

Wait, so people watching HD care only about the tournament as a whole, and those watching SD only care about seeing the local team? Huh?

Personally, I only care about the tourney as a whole, but why would only HD customers (< 5%) get the option of switching? That makes zero sense, besides the fact that we're a very very very vocal minority?

-Mike

You missed my point.

If we aren't going to get the local game in HD, but just an SD picture on the HD channel, then what is the point of that?

I can just tune to the regular SD channel to see the game in SD. Why reproduce the same SD feed on the HD channel?

Ah yes, sorry.

I'm sure they want us to buy the March Madness package to see other games ;) I would have, but i'll be out of town for 2wks right in the middle.

-Mike

GW game in SD on WUSA. Ridiculous since this is the only game in this timeslot.

No point in watching any games in Sd. 95% of what I watch is in HD. I'm definitely not watching any sports unless it's in HD.

Are you saying they DON'T have to pull down the copper to install FiOS?I had FiOS installed in December and Verizon did not physicaly remove the copper aerial drop to the house, nor did they remove the NIM. They just disconnected it from my internal wiring and connected the ONT in its place.

Does Comcast do they same thing for their phone service?

Comcast isn't allowed to remove Verizon's wiring. They can hook theirs up in place at the NID. I was lucky, when I had FiOS installed, I had two Verizon accounts. One for work, the other for the household. Only the work account was switched to FiOS, the household line remained on copper. When I canceled the work phone numbers, I kept the FiOS internet, and my household line remained on copper. :D

I saw openned big green box on a phone poll near my house last week it was stuffed with Car batteries. I'm guessing they power FiOS incase of an power outtage. I don't know how well Comcasts network survives in a power outtage. Heck, now that I think about it, it could be Comcast's batteries up on that pole.

I know my CATV and internet never goes out during a power outage. Even an extended one.

I'm not clear on what you are describing. The telenovels soaps are shot to 16:9 and are shown letterboxed on the Sd channel. If they are showing the SD version, then it would be window boxed on the HD channel. Was WUTB-DT 24 stretching the SD feed?

Yup, it looked like they were simply stretching the SD feed and broadcasting that upsampled to 720p.

No point in watching any games in Sd. 95% of what I watch is in HD. I'm definitely not watching any sports unless it's in HD.are you serious? If there is a game I like, I can careless if it is HD or SD, I am going to watch it. Now that is not the same as saying I don't want HD, but if I want to see the game I will, SD won't stop me. Raycom/LF did not have the ACC games in HD, I kept watching the games. I wish that ALL the sporting events would be in HD, but right now it is not the case, that is not going to stop me from watching the Nationals on MASN which is only SD.

are you serious? If there is a game I like, I can careless if it is HD or SD, I am going to watch it. Now that is not the same as saying I don't want HD, but if I want to see the game I will, SD won't stop me. Raycom/LF did not have the ACC games in HD, I kept watching the games. I wish that ALL the sporting events would be in HD, but right now it is not the case, that is not going to stop me from watching the Nationals on MASN which is only SD.


I agree 100%! But it would be nice to have MASN in HD. At least it would help a little when the Nats lose a hundred games this year.

are you serious? If there is a game I like, I can careless if it is HD or SD, I am going to watch it. Now that is not the same as saying I don't want HD, but if I want to see the game I will, SD won't stop me. Raycom/LF did not have the ACC games in HD, I kept watching the games. I wish that ALL the sporting events would be in HD, but right now it is not the case, that is not going to stop me from watching the Nationals on MASN which is only SD.

Yes. I'm serious. After almost 6 years of watching and recording HD, I would rather not watch anything, especially sports, in SD. Sd is very hard on the eyes. So blurry and no detail. Once you get used to HD, why would you want to watch SD? I can't even bring myself to watch a DVD, it's got to be HD DVD or BD for me to watch it from a disc.

Yes. I'm serious. After almost 6 years of watching and recording HD, I would rather not watch anything, especially sports, in SD. Sd is very hard on the eyes. So blurry and no detail. Once you get used to HD, why would you want to watch SD? I can't even bring myself to watch a DVD, it's got to be HD DVD or BD for me to watch it from a disc.

Guess you're not a die hard fan of any sports teams.

Yes. I'm serious. After almost 6 years of watching and recording HD, I would rather not watch anything, especially sports, in SD. Sd is very hard on the eyes. So blurry and no detail. Once you get used to HD, why would you want to watch SD? I can't even bring myself to watch a DVD, it's got to be HD DVD or BD for me to watch it from a disc.

I understand where you are coming from but it seems extreme when you won't even watch a good DVD upconverted. I think you are just more aware of the artifacts because you know the source is SD or DVD.

SD programs (like comedies) aren't so hard but sports does look horrible in SD on an HD set. The only SD sports I will watch are my favorite teams. (I had to for most of the Ravens season this year.)

Is WUSA or WJW HD for the UVa-Albany game?

WUSA is not HD for the UVA. A-holes.

Is WUSA or WJW HD for the UVa-Albany game?WUSA is SD. Doesn't matter TOO much, as even though it's the middle of the first half, I can already see how it's going to end.

As for WJW, I didn't know that a) Fox aired any NCAA tourney games, or b) we could regularly pick up OTA signals from Cleveland. ;)

If you mean WJZ :p, I don't know -- I don't have a strong enough signal.

On Howard Co. Comcast.

WJZ has Memphis vs. N. Texas HD
WUSA has ALB vs. UVA, 19 point blowout SD

Thank you WJZ for switching!

WJZ is on the flex feed (UVA is not local for Baltimore) so they are HD (right now on the N Texas/Memphis game).

Edit: They were HD for UVA when it started.

On Howard Co. Comcast.

WJZ has Memphis vs. N. Texas HD
WUSA has ALB vs. UVA, 19 point blowout SD

Thank you WJZ for switching!

In Howard County, you don't get WUSA HD on Comcast, so it will always be SD.

Oh, and WJZ didn't switch. CBS did the switch for them.

So in the Flex option they can carry other games that aren't local? Guess I can check their website.

Will WUSA be using the HD flex feed for the next game when this UVA debacle is over?

In MoCo, we're stuck with the VA blow out but 10 minutes away, up 29, they can see the other games? How does this make sense when Charlottesville is hours away from DC?

In MoCo, we're stuck with the VA blow out but 10 minutes away, up 29, they can see the other games? How does this make sense when Charlottesville is hours away from DC?

Technically, it is local since they have campuses in Northern Virginia. My question now is why is WUSA still in SD?

Notre Dame v. Winthrop in HD on WUSA. Of course it would be a flex game, anyway, but still. This one might be a good, exciting game, though.

are you serious? I wish that ALL the sporting events would be in HD, but right now it is not the case, that is not going to stop me from watching the Nationals on MASN which is only SD.
I'm not going to watch any Nats or O's games this year if they are not in HD. I won't attend a game, listen to them on the radio or anything. I'm going to do to them what they did to HD. Give them the big F-U. :mad:

*YAWN*

[rhetorical]
When will March Madness end? This discussion is SO boring.

I'm not going to watch any Nats or O's games this year if they are not in HD. I won't attend a game, listen to them on the radio or anything. I'm going to do to them what they did to HD. Give them the big F-U. :mad:

Yes. I'm serious. After almost 6 years of watching and recording HD, I would rather not watch anything, especially sports, in SD. Sd is very hard on the eyes. So blurry and no detail. Once you get used to HD, why would you want to watch SD? I can't even bring myself to watch a DVD, it's got to be HD DVD or BD for me to watch it from a disc.

Like some members said before, you are not die hard sports fans, or even a sports fan for that matter. If there is a good game on TV, my favorite team or not, I will watch it. If the NYY play BOS and I can't get the HD feed I will still watch it. If NE Patriots play the Indy Colts, I will watch it on a SD channel. How is HD TV changing the gameplay? Isn't that why you watch the sport to begin with? If that is not why you are watching the sport, the game itself, then you were misled this whole time.

I DON'T want to watch SD, but if it is the only thing available I will watch it. It was not too long ago that HD did not even exist. Yes, we should be moving forward and embracing new technology, but sometimes it is difficult. If you apply to a company and their systems only have Windows 2000, not even XP, would you refuse to work for them because they are not up to date?

I am not asking either one of you to watch SD games, each one of us can do whatever we like.

I saw openned big green box on a phone poll near my house last week it was stuffed with Car batteries. I'm guessing they power FiOS incase of an power outtage.Fios is a "passive" network -- TTBOMK, the only power is at the CO, and at the other end: your house. They do install a backup battery (inside your house) for the ONT.

Attention all Hokie fans: The VT-IL game is in HD on WUSA.

I had FiOS installed in December and Verizon did not physicaly remove the copper aerial drop to the house, nor did they remove the NIM. They just disconnected it from my internal wiring and connected the ONT in its place.
Well in a sense that's "removing" it. The copper is no longer active and part of it between your house and the CO might get reused for some else's line. If you were to try to get DSL from another provider, you'd likely have to pay to have the copper reactivated.
I know my CATV and internet never goes out during a power outage. Even an extended one.
Comcast goes out here after about 6-8 hours... if the power outage is wide-spread, or a mile or two up the road. They must have some kind of regen or distribution facility in the area (we're about 10 miles from the head end.)

Yes. I'm serious. After almost 6 years of watching and recording HD, I would rather not watch anything, especially sports, in SD.

I agree. I also can't watch anything that's not widescreen.

Attention all Hokie fans: The VT-IL game is in HD on WUSA.

Probably not constant coverage.

I know it was undetermined as of yesterday.

I agree. I also can't watch anything that's not widescreen.

Including a movie made in 1942?

Yes, I can careless if the VT Hokies game is in HD or SD I don't want to watch any other game, even it is a blowout, just in case they make a miraculous comeback.

I know the game was not a blow out, but when I said the Hokies might have a miraculous comeback, I did not think it was going to be the first game. Nice thing it was in HD, otherwise I would have changed the channel to House on Fox which was in HD. :rolleyes:

:) A Sign of Progress. :)

It says "promo", but I suspect they've installed it for full-time use, which would explain the improved PQ lately.

http://www.inv3.com/newse.html
WTTG-FOX5 Washington D.C. Introduces

"The Edge" Promo in v3



Shelia Smith shoots the FOX5 "The Edge" promo with

v3/Angenieux 26x7.8 HD Lens



CONTACT
Walter Pollard/ Vision III Imaging, Inc.
Phone: (703) 478-5270
Fax: (703) 478-5274
wpollard@v3imaging.com

WTTG – FOX5 in Washington D.C. recently collaborated with Vision III Imaging, Inc. for their new on-air promotion of the “The Edge” news show at 11. FOX5, using the v3/Angenieux 26x7.8 ENG HD zoom lens, produced a promotion with the v3 look that achieves a three dimensional enhanced broadcast image. This introduction into the local Washington D.C. market included on-air promotions and was incorporated into FOX5 sponsored jumbo screen ads at FEDEX field during Redskin games, as well as other advertising venues.

Shelia Smith, a local Director of Photography in the Washington D.C. market, used the lens for the first time on the shoot. She thought it integrated seamlessly into the production process and was very enthusiastic about using the lens in future productions.


- END -

Like some members said before, you are not die hard sports fans, or even a sports fan for that matter. If there is a good game on TV, my favorite team or not, I will watch it. If the NYY play BOS and I can't get the HD feed I will still watch it. If NE Patriots play the Indy Colts, I will watch it on a SD channel. How is HD TV changing the gameplay? Isn't that why you watch the sport to begin with? If that is not why you are watching the sport, the game itself, then you were misled this whole time.


I'm with you on this.

I've got a 7" B&W in my garage that I watch sports on when I'm tinkering with the car. Talk about a crappy picture. :)

Fios is a "passive" network -- TTBOMK, the only power is at the CO, and at the other end: your house. They do install a backup battery (inside your house) for the ONT.Hmm. That makes sense. Perhaps it powered a remote DSLAM.

SD for Maryland again. Ridiculous - no excuse since there is only one other game in this slot.

CBS is really screwed up, they did not cut away for the
start of the Maryland game, they went to commercials
before joining the game in progress, and the freaking
game (like this narrow post) is in SD

"SD for Maryland again. Ridiculous - no excuse since there is only one other game in this slot".


I think this is the local CBS that is presenting the game in SD. The last minutes of the Ohio State game was also SD. What is up??

The biggest fans, the ones with the constant, get the lesser signal. How does this make any sense? CBS should be prohibited from carrying any sports unless and until every single game is in HD.

so go spend a few more bucks and get the HD equipment needed, for God's sake, CBS.

It's in HD on 13, SD on 9. Why?

The biggest fans, the ones with the constant, get the lesser signal. How does this make any sense? CBS should be prohibited from carrying any sports unless and until every single game is in HD.

Because CBS cant supply all the games in HD simultaneously. Therefore they make the flex feed, the one with the MOST VIEWERS, the HD feed and the areas that are locked into one game get the SD feeds.

How does it not make sense?

How about having more more HD feeds? If that's not feasible, not even possible, I'll retract my comment.

Because CBS cant supply all the games in HD simultaneously. Therefore they make the flex feed, the one with the MOST VIEWERS, the HD feed and the areas that are locked into one game get the SD feeds.

How does it not make sense?

Then how do you explain the fact that the MD game is now on in HD on Channel 13 out of Baltimore?

How about having more more HD feeds? If that's not feasible, not even possible, I'll retract my comment.

From what I have read, currently for CBS that is not possible to show all the games in HD at once, so our options here are to either watch the flex feed in HD, and hope that they stay with the MD game, or watch the SD feed.

I suspect that 13 is showing the flex feed, but monitoring it, so if the Network switches games they will then go to the SD feed, but I am no expert so thats just a guess.

For a while MD was the only game on, so the flex feed was showing it, but as more games tip off, they may jump ship at halftime.

WUSA's own website says that the game should be in HD.

Thanks Ronin. It's obviously frustrating to know that this game is available on HD everywhere but here (and Indiana).

I called WUSA and when I asked for engineering the guy on the phone immediate said "are you calling about the basketball game?" I then explained that it was HD on WJZ and not on WUSA.

He said it was a technicality that they had to show the SD feed, but it would help if we emailed the general manger at 9news@wusa9.com to express our thoughts.

I called WUSA and when I asked for engineering the guy on the phone immediate said "are you calling about the basketball game?" I then explained that it was HD on WJZ and not on WUSA.

He said it was a technicality that they had to show the SD feed, but it would help if we emailed the general manger at 9news@wusa9.com to express our thoughts.

He is right, we were deemed as a constant coverage area for this game by the network, therefore they are supposed to switch to the constant feed. Is seems like we should not so much be mad at wusa, but commend wjz for doing the smart thing as holding the HD flex feed as long as they can.

the question is, now that the other games have started does the flex feed come back to the MD game after the half, or will WJZ have to go to the sd constant feed.

If this is the case, the next few hours will be SD as Georgetown is playing, meaning another "constant feed" and SD for us and Boston (and probably Providence) I'll have to go look at the local forums there later today and see if WBZ and WPRI viewers are having the same issues.

What I dont get is CBS has 2 or 3 HD video paths. There are only TWO games on right now. Confirmed both are in HD as I was watching the feed out of NYC which is showing the Lou/txa&m game in HD and WJZ is showing the MD game in HD. Why not show the HD feed, and if it ever switches to another game, then goto the SD?

I wish I knew, checked the Indanapolis forum and the same SD thing is happening on their end.

*YAWN*

[rhetorical]
When will March Madness end? This discussion is SO boring.
To answer your rhetorical question ;), I expect the amount of posts to dwindle once we get pass this weekend. I would think that all the games from the Sweet 16 on will be in HD, so there won't be all this yes, it is in HD, nope, it's SD discussion.

We have also been discussing the effect of sports being available in HD or SD. Put me down as one person who will not be watching the Nat or the Os on MASN very often specifically because they will not be in HD. I don't go very often to the SD channels anymore with the exception of a few programs or to watch the cable news channels. I have rarely checked to see what is on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic SD or MASN. I'm not even sure what their exact channel numbers are. I will probably occasionally look at some Nats or Os games on MASN, but that's it. If MASN is actually going to take a huge step backwards by having the Os home games go from HD for those who had Comcast MA HD last year to SD only and not provide any HD at all for the Os and the Nats, then the heck with them (the clean family friendly way of putting it). If I was the owner of the Nats, I would be unhappy about this MASN / Peter Angelos deal, but I guess there is little the Lerners can do about it.

Sorry for posting what I know has been asked before, but I searched and couldn't fond it...

My brother purchased an HD tv, and has Comcast cable. I was telling him that he can hook the cable directly to the TV and do a channel search to find the HD channels.

Can someone please provide a link to the qam channel numbers for the HD channels in Baltimore County?

Thanks!

Mark

Someone at WUSA BROADCAST HOUSE is asleep at the wheel.... wake up!

HOKIEFAN - call the station up again!

Update: I called the news line and they said the engineering dept can't switch to HD, again something about the constant feed issue and the upcoming Hoya game which will also be in SD. I asked why they could not switch back and show the Cardinals-Aggies in HD as time permitted. Sounds like CBS, not WUSA is the problem. I was given the same e-mail address given earlier by Hokiefan.

So I assume we can look forward to the Georgetown game in SD on WUSA. :rolleyes:

Someone at WUSA BROADCAST HOUSE is asleep at the wheel.... wake up!

HOKIEFAN - call the station up again!

It's in HD up in Baltimore.

Mark

So I assume we can look forward to the Georgetown game in SD on WUSA. :rolleyes:
Just pathetic :mad:

So glad I have this great TV to watch all the wonderful HD programming in. A full day of sitting in front of SD games. Terrific job by CBS, welcome to the 21st century.

Oh well, at least the NBC golf was on in HD today.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

So I assume we can look forward to the Georgetown game in SD on WUSA. :rolleyes:

It's in SD in Baltimore... :-(

Anybody know why weta-hd sound is so totally screwed up.

Hoyas on SD, NOT HD in Frederick...at least at the 11:30 mark of the 1st half.

Anybody else with the D* package seeing the VCU/Pitt game blacked out on 705, while the Georgetown game (local) is not blacked out on 706?

Sounds like CBS, not WUSA is the problem.


True. its the networks issue with trying to distribute 3 or 4 games simultaneously.

Baltimore has gone SD as well because the HD Flex feed is still showing the A&M-Lou game, and the only way to see Gtown is on the constant SD feed.

Ok, a non NCAA / sports question <grin>. I have a QAM capable HDTV. I'm in Frederick where Adelphia is on the way out, and Comcast is on the way in. I've been viewing the QAM HDTV channels w/Adelphia for the past year. Can I expect this to change when Comcast is our provider, or does Comcast offer the same feature? Can anyone point me to a post where the COMCAST QAM programming is? Thanks

Gtown just switched to HD

Now the Georgetown game is in HD on WUSA. No rhyme or reason to this.

Nope, or the fact a "constant feed" also ends up cutting away to the end of another game. Exciting finish, but a lot of BC and G'town fans still screaming.

My DVR now says Comcast on it. Looks like adelphia is bye bye

Pyrr

My DVR now says Comcast on it. Looks like adelphia is bye bye

Pyrr

Thanks. I might re-scan for new channels tonight....hope for the best and expect nothing new.

Ok, a non NCAA / sports question <grin>. I have a QAM capable HDTV. I'm in Frederick where Adelphia is on the way out, and Comcast is on the way in. I've been viewing the QAM HDTV channels w/Adelphia for the past year. Can I expect this to change when Comcast is our provider, or does Comcast offer the same feature? Can anyone point me to a post where the COMCAST QAM programming is? Thanks
Comcast should leave the local HD broadcast channels unscrambled. They may change the location of the channels, if they have not done so already. Do the local HD stations show up as 4-1, 5-1, 7-1, etc or are they at QAM channels such as 97.1, 105.3? Adelphia in Loudoun scrambled the national HD and SD channels, so I assume you are asking about the local broadcast stations.

It's almost like we need a seperate thread for March Madness....

For those that don't care (like me), you'll be interested to know that WTTG was on the splicer for a good part of the news tonight. (Still SD though)

Adelphia in Loudoun scrambled the national HD and SD channels, so I assume you are asking about the local broadcast stations.

umm, no they didn't. Until my CableCards arrived, my S3 TiVo was able to tune them all in just fine (NBC, FOX, CBS, ABC, PBS - all HD). And my TV likely still would, if I cared to try!

They did, as expected, scramble all premium/package HD channels, but left MusicChoice channels and a few PPV frequencies (by design) in the clear.

Last I checked - January.

umm, no they didn't. Until my CableCards arrived, my S3 TiVo was able to tune them all in just fine (NBC, FOX, CBS, ABC, PBS - all HD). And my TV likely still would, if I cared to try!

They did, as expected, scramble all premium/package HD channels, but left MusicChoice channels and a few PPV frequencies (by design) in the clear.

Last I checked - January.

Right, as afiggatt said they did not scramble the networks, just the National channels, i.e. ESPN, HDNet, INHD etc.

It's almost like we need a seperate thread for March Madness....

For those that don't care (like me), you'll be interested to know that WTTG was on the splicer for a good part of the news tonight. (Still SD though)What is a splicer if you don't mind me asking? I keep reading about WTTG using some special lens or focus equipments so the picture looks better, which does look better. BTW, I do care about March Madness.

Right, as afiggatt said they did not scramble the networks, just the National channels, i.e. ESPN, HDNet, INHD etc.

Whoops - interpretation short circuit on my part :)
I tend to think of the 5 networks as National channels (seeing as *I* never watch any local news/programming) and of the ESPNs et al as the 'Cable' or addon channels. SHO/HBO etc as the premiums, of course.

umm, no they didn't. Until my CableCards arrived, my S3 TiVo was able to tune them all in just fine (NBC, FOX, CBS, ABC, PBS - all HD). And my TV likely still would, if I cared to try!

They did, as expected, scramble all premium/package HD channels, but left MusicChoice channels and a few PPV frequencies (by design) in the clear.

Last I checked - January. What do think they wanted to do by leaving those channels in the clear, the PPV I mean? I tried to help a friend who got a new HD set and when we hooked up the coax to the back of his TV, there were at least a couple of porn channels that were picked up along with SHO HD. The TV was Olevia and the cable was Cox. I have FiOS and it will only let you have up to channel 50(the locals) :( .

It's in HD up in Baltimore.

Mark

Keep the phone calls and e-mails going to WUSA. We need to keep the pressure on, and in high volume. They need to realize the percentage of HDTVs has increased significantly, and they need to pay much more attention to this now. The fact that WJZ was able to show yesterday's MD game in HD says it all for WUSA.

Keep the phone calls and e-mails going to WUSA. We need to keep the pressure on, and in high volume. They need to realize the percentage of HDTVs has increased significantly, and they need to pay much more attention to this now. The fact that WJZ was able to show yesterday's MD game in HD says it all for WUSA.
Wouldn't it also be prudent to CC: your emails to CBS Sports since they are the ones dictating the SD/HD issues in the first place? Anyone have the email contact for CBS?

I would hope/think that UVA will be in HD at noon today since there are no other games to switch to. I'm taking a chance by only DVRing CBS-HD since I'm low on space. Hope this game doesn't cut out at the end by switching to a flex feed. I highly doubt it would since the next tip off would occur when this game is ending and there's no reason to switch to a game that's just beginning in favor of the local.

What is a splicer if you don't mind me asking? I keep reading about WTTG using some special lens or focus equipments so the picture looks better, which does look better. BTW, I do care about March Madness.
The splicer is the way the FOX Network distributes its HD feed. It has really good upconverters, and it's very rare that local programming would end up on it. You can tell when the splicer is being used when the FOX 5 logo is present in the right pillarbar area. Some have suggested earlier that they could be testing out HD equipment if they're using the splicer (I don't know why, but I guess people have their reasoning, and it would be nice to know while everyone else is busy watching the basketball games)

Wouldn't it also be prudent to CC: your emails to CBS Sports since they are the ones dictating the SD/HD issues in the first place? Anyone have the email contact for CBS?

Good idea, but if WJZ was able to show yesterday's Maryland game in HD and WUSA did not, it doesn't sound like it was CBS that caused the problem.

Okay, I've looked everywhere and I can't find the Qam channels available on Comcast, Howard County. I know this has been discussed before. Anyone? Thanks!

I was watching the G.T.\B.C. game on digital QAM Channel WJZ on P.G. Comcast last night and about 7:30 pm the screen went blank with a "NO SIGNAL' message. I checked the Analog and it was also dead, so I placed a call to Comcast. Received a message that all lines were in use "call back later".
This convinced me that the problem was not in my house, so I switched to OTA and my attic antenna to watch the finish of the game. The Cable system became active after about 15 minutes, but it went dead again at about 8:00 pm for a couple of minutes. Since then the Cable has been fine.

Good idea, but if WJZ was able to show yesterday's Maryland game in HD and WUSA did not, it doesn't sound like it was CBS that caused the problem.

Well, carboning CBS does two things:

1. They are the reason things are messed up in the first place since they don't have enough HD feeds and don't have a quality plan in place to make up for it.

2. WUSA is part of the CBS network. They can put pressure on WUSA or help them if there is an issue. In the end, it is a CBS product that is looking shabby.

The email I have for them is: audsvcs@cbs.com

Now why would WJZ not show the Hokie game? They have shown all the other regional teams games so far. Thank goodness for OTA and WUSA overing the VT game.

Now why would WJZ not show the Hokie game? They have shown all the other regional teams games so far. Thank goodness for OTA and WUSA overing the VT game.

Maybe because VT is over a 6 hour drive from Baltimore? If that is regional, then so are UConn and Ohio State.

Right, as afiggatt said they did not scramble the networks, just the National channels, i.e. ESPN, HDNet, INHD etc.

Thanks so much for the info. I re-scanned last night here in Frederick, and with comcast, it looks like the WETA channel which was on 86.1 is also now at 1.1. I'll have to look during a weekday to see if any subchannels are active on WETA. Other than that, the CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and Discovery HD Theater are in the 80's...like CBS is 81.1 and the audio channels. I may succomb to a cable card for espn though. Will look into prices...

VT/SI in HD 1st half, then SD for part of the 2nd half and now back in HD! what the hell is going on at CBS. Why would WUSA have the constant feed for this game? And they are shoving enough commercials down our throats. If i see the "NO STAN" lady one more time...


and back and forth again... Someone at WUSA must be a Hokie fan and has decided to carry VT's last gasp of air in the dance so back to the SD feed.

Looks like DC is getting the flex of Kansas-Kentucky. Hopefully, once we get to third round games, this crap should stop. My eyes are tired from all the back and forth.

With about 5 minutes left in the second half, get ready for the guy who has named his grumbling stomach "Charlie."

K_F: what I don't understand is that we apparently have the VT game as "constant" because it's SD, but they were able to switch to another game which contradicts having a "constant."

and now it switches back to HD.

and back to SD within 2 minutes.

and back to SD within 2 minutes.
WTF is going on over there? Pick one or the other, but some games have made the switch between SD and HD 4 or 5 times in the course of the game.

Memphis / Nevada now showing in beautiful standard definition. Welcome to 1997.

K_F: what I don't understand is that we apparently have the VT game as "constant" because it's SD, but they were able to switch to another game which contradicts having a "constant."

Having the constant feed, doesnt mean they wont send us to another game for a short period of time, such as the last minute of a close game, but what it does mean is that they wont switch permanently.

Just because we are a constant area, doesnt mean we dont care about the other games.

If you really think about the whole situation it does make sense I promise.

The real problem is with CBS not their affiliates.

That switch from HD to SD and back and forth so many times made the game even harder to watch. I was already frustrated with VT being so pathetic at the FT line and that switch was just annoying. Also, they kept going to the FL and Purdue game, I thought we were supposed to have a CONSTANT feed, I guess VT is not a local team here.

Maybe because VT is over a 6 hour drive from Baltimore? If that is regional, then so are UConn and Ohio State.

Except that ther is a large number of VT grads in the greater Baltimore/Washington area. Can't say the same for Uconn and OSU. Plus, they are an ACC team and WJZ serves an ACC market.

Anyone in the Woodbridge area else been having weaker OTA signals with WJLA recently? I tried doing a channel scan on my Samsung T-451 today and lost 7.* ... I checked on my MythTV box and signal strength is around 55-60%. WTTG, WUSA and WRC are all in the high 90s. I used to get WJLA at about the same strength as the others.

Except that ther is a large number of VT grads in the greater Baltimore/Washington area. Can't say the same for Uconn and OSU. Plus, they are an ACC team and WJZ serves an ACC market.

Most of the VT grads are in the Washington area and WUSA is carried on the cable in Blacksburg.

My point wasn't just Ohio State and UConn. My point was the VT is just another school to the Baltimore market.

There are literally several dozen schools within the driving distance of VT.

As for that ACC garbage. I am soooo tired of getting saddled with games just because team so and so is in the ACC. And VT is barely an ACC team.

Anyone in the Woodbridge area else been having weaker OTA signals with WJLA recently? I tried doing a channel scan on my Samsung T-451 today and lost 7.* ... I checked on my MythTV box and signal strength is around 55-60%. WTTG, WUSA and WRC are all in the high 90s. I used to get WJLA at about the same strength as the others.
No problem here with WJLA. I just checked and I'm still getting in the low 90's on my Series 3 TiVo for WJLA which is where it's been for me since I started using the series 3 in December.

Anyone in the Woodbridge area else been having weaker OTA signals with WJLA recently? I tried doing a channel scan on my Samsung T-451 today and lost 7.* ... I checked on my MythTV box and signal strength is around 55-60%. WTTG, WUSA and WRC are all in the high 90s. I used to get WJLA at about the same strength as the others.
I'm in Vienna and WJLA-7 has always been my most local difficult channel to receive OTA, especially when the wind blows because their transmitter is located directly through my neighbor's big silver maple tree. It was windy over the weekend, and my reception on WJLA was lousy. Luckily WMAR-2 in Baltimore comes in very well so I still can watch the ABC lineup plus Jeopardy and WOF in HD. Right now the wind is calm and WJLA is coming in fine but at a signal strength of only 50%, whereas WMAR is at 80%.

Personally I'm THRILLED that rather than spend money to upgrade their HD capabilities/feeds etc, CBS spends whatever money they can to get blimps at all of these indoor basketball games. FASCINATING to see all the cars in the parking lot and nice shots of the various roofing architectures that these arenas have employed....

:rolleyes:

The splicer is the way the FOX Network distributes its HD feed. It has really good upconverters, and it's very rare that local programming would end up on it. You can tell when the splicer is being used when the FOX 5 logo is present in the right pillarbar area. Some have suggested earlier that they could be testing out HD equipment if they're using the splicer (I don't know why, but I guess people have their reasoning, and it would be nice to know while everyone else is busy watching the basketball games)

A couple of clarifications about the splicer -

The splicer, which is actually a Terayon BP5100 (here's a link to info about it: http://www.terayon.com/tools/static_page/view.html?phase=show&id=1075712690&tool_id=100&cat_id=9.2.8), is used by FOX to switch between HD sources, and put the FOX logo over the picture without having to bring signal down to baseband HD video and audio. That allows FOX to send you a very high quality picture, because it doesn't have to be decoded and re-encoded in order to switch it into the program stream. Because of that, the splicer has no up, down, or any other kind of converters in it.

In our case (WBFF, FOX 45), we have an external box made by Miranda that makes our SD video into upconverted HD video, which is then fed into a Harmonic HD encoder, which compresses the signal down so that it will fit into the part of the 19.36 Mbps transport stream that we are using for our HD channel. That goes into a multiplexer with the PSIP data and our 45.2 SD subchannel, and comes out as the full 19.36 Mbsp ASI transport stream, which is fed into the splicer. Also going into the splicer is the ASI output of one of our FOX satellite receivers. This ASI output is about 49 Mbps, and has the HD signal in addition to a number of SD signals and other data multiplexed together. During prime-time, the splicer magically removes the HD portion of our ASI stream, and inserts the HD portion of FOX's ASI stream - no downconverting or re-encoding, which would reduce the resolution of the picture due to decompression/recompression of the HD picture. The splicer also inserts the bug in the lower right corner of the picture. That is the only place on the picture where there is some modification of the HD video.

Anyhow, local programming is always going into the splicer. Our programming is upconverted externally, WTTG's may be native HD, I don't know. Because the local programming is always going through the splicer, the logo can be turned on and off in the picture locally, at any time (I've never seen us do that, but that function is available). The logo is normally turned on during prime time by FOX (BTW, I've tried to come up with something that would turn off the logo after a short time, and am able to do that when we turn it on locally, but nothing I can do will allow me to turn it off during prime time...). It's conceivable that WTTG is turning on the logo locally during their news (although I doubt that they are doing that). My point is, just because the logo is in the picture, it doesn't necessarily mean that the signal is coming from FOX.

OTOH, the way that WUTB (channel 24 in Baltimore) does their programming is that they send it to NJ via fiber, and they (the FOX network operations center) switch the shows in and out for them, and send it back down to the WUTB transmitter on another fiber. Recently, as mentioned elsewhere in this forum, WUTB has gotten their HD fiber feed going, so they are broadcasting (maybe not so "broad" since they are still low power...) in HD. I wouldn't be surprised if WTTG has gotten the same thing. This would allow even an SD digital program to look pretty good (I haven't actually watched the channel 5 news recently...), since it could be upconverted at FOX NJ, and kept in an HD format all the way through. It would also allow them to put the logo into the picture easily.

Cheers!

Mark

I'm in Vienna and WJLA-7 has always been my most local difficult channel to receive OTA, especially when the wind blows because their transmitter is located directly through my neighbor's big silver maple tree. It was windy over the weekend, and my reception on WJLA was lousy. Luckily WMAR-2 in Baltimore comes in very well so I still can watch the ABC lineup plus Jeopardy and WOF in HD. Right now the wind is calm and WJLA is coming in fine but at a signal strength of only 50%, whereas WMAR is at 80%. I live in Oakton and have tried getting WMAR but I don't know where to point my antenna. I even used a signal amplifier but that didn't help either. Then thing is, I used to get it with Dish HD receiver, but now I don't. Where do you point your antenna, north east?

Can anyone tell me if Verizon FIOS is available in Arlington VA? And if so is it the entire Arlington area?
Thanks

Can anyone tell me if Verizon FIOS is available in Arlington VA? And if so is it the entire Arlington area?
Thanks
You can go to Verizon's site somewhere (google verizon fios I imagine) there's a page in there where you can put your phone # and it will tell you if its available in your area.

Can anyone tell me if Verizon FIOS is available in Arlington VA? And if so is it the entire Arlington area?
Thanks You can go to Verizon FiOS website (http://www22.verizon.com/content/FiosTV) and put in your phone number to see if it is available. You also might want to try qualifying your address. Sometime it will tell you that it is not available, like my case, even though I had FiOS before and switched all 3 to cable. I called FiOS and they told me that I could get it but my phone number was not in their system that is why I kept getting the "FiOS is currently unavailable in your area" message.

I live in Oakton and have tried getting WMAR but I don't know where to point my antenna. I even used a signal amplifier but that didn't help either. Then thing is, I used to get it with Dish HD receiver, but now I don't. Where do you point your antenna, north east?
Go to www.antennaweb.org, enter your zip code and look at the azimuth for the stations in Baltimore. If the Baltimore stations don't show up because antennaweb is very conservative on digital reception (and because just the zip code will put you at some random spot near the center of the zip), go back and click on the options link & enter an antenna height of 300' or more.

To make it easy, using a zip of 22124 for Oakton, the Baltimore stations are a compass azimuth of 59 degrees, the DC stations are 81 to 84 degrees. This is the azimuth with a compass to compensate for the around 9 degree offset between magnetic north and true north for our area.

Thanks so much for the info. I re-scanned last night here in Frederick, and with comcast, it looks like the WETA channel which was on 86.1 is also now at 1.1. I'll have to look during a weekday to see if any subchannels are active on WETA. Other than that, the CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and Discovery HD Theater are in the 80's...like CBS is 81.1 and the audio channels. I may succomb to a cable card for espn though. Will look into prices...

I've had to do several re-scans over the last few days. Sometimes the HD channels are all at 1.#, other times where they were previously (80 & 81). Only DiscoveryHD seems constant (85.2).

Literally stumbled on this. Gives an insight into the distribution of MyNetworkTV:
(BTW, here's the link http://satelliteanalysis.com/, which also gives info on the splicer.)
Attention HD Affiliates: Please manually check your Tandberg 1280 receiver(s) to insure “Service 2” is selected. In menu 2, it should display MyTV HD with a 0005 in the upper right hand corner.

Attention SD Affiliates: Please manually check your Tandberg 1260 receiver(s) to insure “Service 1” is selected. In menu 2, it should display MyTV SD with a 0001 in the upper right hand corner.

If the services are incorrect, press “Edit” and change the stream number to 0005 for HD and 0001 for SD. Then press “Save” to save the configuration. You may have to go to menu item 7.1 on the 1280 receivers, and menu 6.1 on the 1260 receivers to place your receiver in the Front Panel Operation Mode to allow editing.


Note all MNTV transmissions delivered via Galaxy 16, transponder 19 are digital and at the parameters of: Modulation: QPSK, 42.669 Mbps, FEC 5/6, encrypted (Scrambled) on Galaxy 16 transponder 19 (horizontal pol), 4080 MHz.

Approximate test times (Eastern Time) are as follows as of September 7, 2006. All start times are approximate and may be delayed up to five (5) minutes.

Mondays: 1200-1300 ET, 1800-1930 ET
Tuesdays: 1200-1300 ET, 1900-1930 ET
Wednesdays: 1200-1415 ET, 1800-2000 ET
Thursdays: 1200-1415 ET, 1800-2000 ET
Fridays: 1200-1415 ET, 1800-1930 ET

In each receiver box is a three page “Quick Start” guide. An online copy of the guide can be found by click on “Quick Start” text.

For technical information regarding RF engineering questions, or to have your receiver authorized, please call 631-439-6855 or 631-439-6828.

Over the last week or so, the signal strength on the spot beam from Dish network has dropped to 68-70 in signal strength. Does anyone else here get Baltimore Dish locals and could you go to something like channel 2 (WMAR) and then check signal strength? I've been getting a dozen or more dropouts for every 30 minutes show on all the locals lately and the drop in signal strength coincides. All other transponders on the 110 satellite are 95 to 105 on my VIP 622. It's just the transponder 23 (spot beam) that is messed up so I don't think it's my dish alignment or anything here. I think Dish did something to kill signal strength to the Baltimore spot beam!

Mike

Does anybody have a scan of the new Comcast Arlington/Alexandria price list? I just moved into the area, and I remembered seeing it in my roommate's mail, but he must have thrown it out.

I'd like to make sure that my bill is adding up to what it's supposed to be, and the price list would really be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone else live in Bowie, MD 20716? What antenna are you using? I live off of mitcheville road and have a small hill to the west where I need to point towards for DC channels. I currently am using just a philips tv top 410 antenna from walmart and can get 4, 5 and 50 well but 2 and 7 come in and out and I really want to watch Lost.

The Antenna is in the attic and I live in a townhouse.

I was thinking of getting the antennasdirect DB8 and putting that in the attic. Would that be overkill being around 25 miles from the towers?

Also would I need to ground that antenna if it is in my attic?

Thanks

I'm about 5 miles south of Upper Marlboro (15 miles south of you). I pull in all the DC stations with a CM4228 and pre-amp mounted a 2nd story deck.

Does anyone else live in Bowie, MD 20716? What antenna are you using? I live off of mitcheville road and have a small hill to the west where I need to point towards for DC channels. I currently am using just a philips tv top 410 antenna from walmart and can get 4, 5 and 50 well but 2 and 7 come in and out and I really want to watch Lost.

The Antenna is in the attic and I live in a townhouse.

I was thinking of getting the antennasdirect DB8 and putting that in the attic. Would that be overkill being around 25 miles from the towers?
Is the antenna that you have the Philips Mant-410? This is a cheap amplified rabbit ear and UHF loop antenna.

The AntennasDirect DB8 is a long range and very directional antenna for 40 to 50+ mile range. You are around 16 to 20 miles? from the DC stations. What you want is a more multi-directional antenna to get the DC stations in NW DC, WETA-DT down in Arlington, and from where you are something that has a shot at picking up the Baltimore stations as well. The almost 90 degree angle from Bowie between the DC and the Baltimore stations makes this tough however with a single antenna.

I suggest you give the Channel Master 4221 4 Bay bowtie UHF antenna a shot first. Should get you all the DC major stations, some others and maybe the stronger Baltimore stations when aimed at DC. It is a good antenna for this area with it's broad pickup in azimuth. Fits in an attic better than the DB8 as well. Goes for around $25 plus shipping from on-line deals such as solidsignal.com or warrenelectronics.com. The CM 4221 is UHF with some performance for upper VHF, so you may need to add a upper VHF antenna in 2009 when WJLA and WUSA switch their digital signal to channels 7 and 9. But adding a upper VHF antenna is not hard with a UHF/VHF combiner.

Does anyone ever hear anything reliable regarding WHUT's digital plans/progress?

I've had to do several re-scans over the last few days. Sometimes the HD channels are all at 1.#, other times where they were previously (80 & 81). Only DiscoveryHD seems constant (85.2).

Comcast moved everything (except discovery) to 1.#... the problem is, sometimes a get a "poor signal quality" error on some channels... does anyone know how to fix this?

ive attached the channels which im supposed to be picking up from antennaweb. im new to this so be easy... but i just got the philips indoor hdtv antenna from circuit city and i only pick up 4.1/4.2 if i can position it right and even then the stations aren't clear. am i doing something wrong?! i have the antenna hooked directly into my atsc coax...

is there another antenna that works better or are they all this 'fickle'? im thinking maybe i should just go w/ a tv w/ qam-seems a lot simpler!

im in fairfax (right off of exit 60/123)

thanks!!

ive attached the channels which im supposed to be picking up from antennaweb. im new to this so be easy... but i just got the philips indoor hdtv antenna from circuit city and i only pick up 4.1/4.2 if i can position it right and even then the stations aren't clear. am i doing something wrong?! i have the antenna hooked directly into my atsc coax...

is there another antenna that works better or are they all this 'fickle'? im thinking maybe i should just go w/ a tv w/ qam-seems a lot simpler!

im in fairfax (right off of exit 60/123)
Have you tried different locations for the antenna? Placed it facing a window in the direction of the DC broadcast towers? You need to think about what in the house may be blocking the signal. If you have the Philips Silver Sensor, aim it towards the DC stations, but try aiming to the left and right a bit.

Go to www.antennaweb.org, enter your zip code and look at the azimuth for the stations in Baltimore. If the Baltimore stations don't show up because antennaweb is very conservative on digital reception (and because just the zip code will put you at some random spot near the center of the zip), go back and click on the options link & enter an antenna height of 300' or more.

To make it easy, using a zip of 22124 for Oakton, the Baltimore stations are a compass azimuth of 59 degrees, the DC stations are 81 to 84 degrees. This is the azimuth with a compass to compensate for the around 9 degree offset between magnetic north and true north for our area.Tried that, I did pick up WJZ CBS13 but that is it. For some reason I can't get ABC2 from Baltimore. I hooked up the E* receiver and scanned for channel and got ABC2. The thing is since I don't have E* services anymore, it won't tune in to that channel. I can only watch Dish info channels.

Have you tried different locations for the antenna? Placed it facing a window in the direction of the DC broadcast towers? You need to think about what in the house may be blocking the signal. If you have the Philips Silver Sensor, aim it towards the DC stations, but try aiming to the left and right a bit.
yeah i tried the clock method too. i think i may just return the tv and get one w/ QAM! it's kind of frustrating....

i'm in an apt building too so maybe that's affecting it. thanks for your help though!

Is the antenna that you have the Philips Mant-410? This is a cheap amplified rabbit ear and UHF loop antenna.
The AntennasDirect DB8 is a long range and very directional antenna for 40 to 50+ mile range. You are around 16 to 20 miles? from the DC stations. What you want is a more multi-directional antenna to get the DC stations in NW DC, WETA-DT down in Arlington, and from where you are something that has a shot at picking up the Baltimore stations as well.
I suggest you give the Channel Master 4221 4 Bay bowtie UHF antenna a shot first. Should get you all the DC major stations, some others and maybe the stronger Baltimore stations when aimed at DC.

Thank You
Yes, I have the Philips Mant-410.
Will I need any pre-amp?
Also the Channel Master 4221 says it is directional with 45 degrees on solidsignal but the DB4 says multi directional with 90 degrees.
Would that be better because I want to pick up both DC and Baltimore.
Or could I use two Channel Master 4221s and a combiner?
What combiner would be good?

yeah i tried the clock method too. i think i may just return the tv and get one w/ QAM! it's kind of frustrating....

i'm in an apt building too so maybe that's affecting it. thanks for your help though!


Are you in a building that has digital cable? Is that why you're talking about using QAM?

Don't most newish TV's tuners do both QAM and ATSC? If you are in a building with digital cable, you could hook your TV up to it, and do a channel scan to see what you get.

Mark

Thank You
Yes, I have the Philips Mant-410.
Will I need any pre-amp?
Also the Channel Master 4221 says it is directional with 45 degrees on solidsignal but the DB4 says multi directional with 90 degrees.
Would that be better because I want to pick up both DC and Baltimore.
Or could I use two Channel Master 4221s and a combiner?
What combiner would be good?
You should try this in stages because a single CM 4221 might work. Combining two antennas is tricky. The CM 4221 has slightly better performance numbers than the DB4 and is less expensive. See the "comparing some commercially available antennas" link at this useful website for antenna and OTA reception: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html.

Get one CM 4221, put it up in the attic and try aiming it at DC, Baltimore and places in between to see what stations you can get. Attics have null spots, so you also need to not fix the antenna into place until you have found a good spot.

I have a CM 4221 in my attic crawlspace mounted on a flat piece of scrap wood so I could slide it across the beams. I also have a CM7777 pre-amp, but I can get several of the Baltimore stations at 43 miles without it. I have local obstructions in the direction of Baltimore which made me add the pre-amp to boost the signal.

Bowie puts you roughly around 25 miles from the Baltimore towers and 20 miles from the DC towers. Hold off on getting a pre-amp as well. You may not need to spend the $50 and up on a CM or Winegard pre-amp. You can add a pre-amp later if some stations are weak or borderline.

Here is the Regional Semis coverage that WUSA has listed so far:

These games will be seen on our analog and digital channels.

Thursday, 3/22

7:10 p.m. - Kansas vs. Southern Illinois

9:57pm - Ohio State vs. Tennessee

Friday, 3/23

7:27 p.m.- Vanderbilt vs. Georgetown

9:57 p.m. - UNC vs. USC

Local games will not air through conclusion in High Definition.

Looks like they still will be dealing with HD issues in the Georgetown game. Can't understand why.

Anybody have any idea of what WJZ will be airing? They don't list anything on the website.

I live in Oakton and have tried getting WMAR but I don't know where to point my antenna. I even used a signal amplifier but that didn't help either. Then thing is, I used to get it with Dish HD receiver, but now I don't. Where do you point your antenna, north east?
As afiggatt suggested, I used antennaweb.org and determined that the direction to the Baltimore stations from my house was N55E and the direction to the DC stations was about N74E (referenced to magnetic north). I pointed my CM4221, which is mounted outside on the chimney, about midway between the Baltimore and DC at about N64E. I also have a CM7775 preamp that greatly helps pull in the Baltimore signals.

Does anybody have a scan of the new Comcast Arlington/Alexandria price list? I just moved into the area, and I remembered seeing it in my roommate's mail, but he must have thrown it out.

I'd like to make sure that my bill is adding up to what it's supposed to be, and the price list would really be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

I posted Western PW County's earlier this month. Should be pretty close if not the same.

Post# 733 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9910905&&#post9910905)

WDCW finally aired Smallville in 5.1 last week! I think it was the first episode since the switch to the CW to broadcast 5.1, though my center channel was down for the count until the past week so I had surround sound turned off for a while.

Bowie puts you roughly around 25 miles from the Baltimore towers and 20 miles from the DC towers. Hold off on getting a pre-amp as well. You may not need to spend the $50 and up on a CM or Winegard pre-amp. You can add a pre-amp later if some stations are weak or borderline.

I got the 4221 today and hooked it up in the direction that antenna web told me (285 degrees). I have not adjusted it yet but most stations come in at 60-75%.
If moving the antenna around does not improve the strength what else could I do?

Over the last few nights I've noticed that my reception for WJZ (CBS) on Comcast has been somewhat grainy. I thought it might be the TV but I switched over to Fox and the picture was crystal clear. Did anyone else notice this or are my eyes deceiving me?
Specifically I am referring to the 2.5 Men, CSI Miami, and NCID shows.

Comcast moved everything (except discovery) to 1.#... the problem is, sometimes a get a "poor signal quality" error on some channels... does anyone know how to fix this?

the 1.xx is a virtual channel number. The 1.x subchannels could be all over the place in terms of frequency and therefore signal strength.

There are three ways a QAM station could be displayed:

Physical channel and program number: This is what you were seeing when the channels were 80.x, 81.x, 85.x, etc... this is the actual RF channel (2-151) and program ID the stream is on. You see this when there's no program ID data.

ATSC virtual channel and subchannel: When a cableco is rebroadcasting OTA digitals, they might copy the PSIP information so your tuner (hopefully) presents the QAM program as the OTA station: 2.1, 11.1, 13.1, etc. If your QAM stations have all become 1.x, that's them screwing with the virtuals. They could make it whatever they want it to be. (...but apparently never 0.0: That will crash or even brick some tuners. Thanks a lot, Comcast. )

Channel number and name: If your cable company is really really nice, they might even provide the full program ID field. If they do this, the channel should appear exactly the same as it does on the digital boxes. Riiiiight. :rolleyes:

I got the 4221 today and hooked it up in the direction that antenna web told me (285 degrees). I have not adjusted it yet but most stations come in at 60-75%.
If moving the antenna around does not improve the strength what else could I do?
Which digital stations are you getting? Channels 4,5,7,9,20,26,50 in DC? Are you getting any of the Baltimore stations?

Try adjusting the aim at several different spots moving north towards Baltimore to see if there is a spot where you can get the DC and Baltimore stations. The angle from Bowie may too big to get all the DC and Baltimore stations, but it is worth the shot. If the antenna mount is not fixed, move it around several feet in the attic to see if that improves reception.

BTW, antennaweb provides the compass direction with respect to magnetic north. If you use a map and the framework of the house to aim the antenna, you have to add around 10 degrees to the antennaweb azimuths (magnetic north is approx 10 degrees east of true north in the DC area).

the 1.xx is a virtual channel number. The 1.x subchannels could be all over the place in terms of frequency and therefore signal strength.

There are three ways a QAM station could be displayed:

Physical channel and program number: This is what you were seeing when the channels were 80.x, 81.x, 85.x, etc... this is the actual RF channel (2-151) and program ID the stream is on. You see this when there's no program ID data.

ATSC virtual channel and subchannel: When a cableco is rebroadcasting OTA digitals, they might copy the PSIP information so your tuner (hopefully) presents the QAM program as the OTA station: 2.1, 11.1, 13.1, etc. If your QAM stations have all become 1.x, that's them screwing with the virtuals. They could make it whatever they want it to be. (...but apparently never 0.0: That will crash or even brick some tuners. Thanks a lot, Comcast. )

Channel number and name: If your cable company is really really nice, they might even provide the full program ID field. If they do this, the channel should appear exactly the same as it does on the digital boxes. Riiiiight. :rolleyes:

So how come they don't work on the Physical channel address (80.x, 81.x, 85.x) and only on the virtual channel?

And is there a way to fix "poor signal quality"? When I do a rescan, it fixes it, but it goes the error comes back randomly a few days later....

So how come they don't work on the Physical channel address (80.x, 81.x, 85.x) and only on the virtual channel?

And is there a way to fix "poor signal quality"? When I do a rescan, it fixes it, but it goes the error comes back randomly a few days later....

Interestingly, in Frederick the COMCAST QAM channels have stayed rock solid in the 80's. The WETA is on both the 80.X (can't recall what it is) and now at the same time its on 1.1...at least that's what it was yesterday and last night. When I re-scanned most recently I did pick up more audio channels. There are lots of those.

Hopefully it stays stable, and doesn't flip around as you describe, and I guess it's too much to ask to get the Baltimore affliliate's via COMCAST QAM too huh? An OTA is not an option where we live.

Which digital stations are you getting? Channels 4,5,7,9,20,26,50 in DC? Are you getting any of the Baltimore stations?
BTW, antennaweb provides the compass direction with respect to magnetic north. If you use a map and the framework of the house to aim the antenna, you have to add around 10 degrees to the antennaweb azimuths (magnetic north is approx 10 degrees east of true north in the DC area).

I used a compass.
I am getting all the channels DC and Baltimore. 2,4,5,7,9,11,13,14,20,22,26,45,50,54,67

However they just don't come in well enough I guess; because the audio drops out sometimes and none of them are 80+ % on the TV's signal meter.

What is the recommended strenth that you need for a channel to come in without dropping?

Thank You

Anybody have any idea of what WJZ will be airing? They don't list anything on the website.


Got an e-mail from WJZ. Same games as WUSA...."games are "Swing" and in HD"

I used a compass.
I am getting all the channels DC and Baltimore. 2,4,5,7,9,11,13,14,20,22,26,45,50,54,67

However they just don't come in well enough I guess; because the audio drops out sometimes and none of them are 80+ % on the TV's signal meter.

What is the recommended strenth that you need for a channel to come in without dropping?
You are doing pretty well given the large difference in angle between DC and Baltimore from the Bowie area. Have you tried to tweak the aim of the CM 4221 towards Baltimore and points in between the direction to the two cities? What do you get if you aim the antenna at DC for signal strength for the DC stations and what do you get if you aim the antenna at Baltimore?

The meaning of the percentage on the signal meter varies between different ATSC tuners. The Samsung SIR-T451 ATSC receivers displays up to 10 vertical bars and generally needs around 4-5 bars to get a good lock. Check the manual, they may have interpretation for the percentages in there.

If tweaking the aim does not get stable reception for all the stations you want to get, then a pre-amp is the next step. A pre-amp is a bit of a nuisance as you have to leave it powered up all the time unless you are willing to turn it on or off manually or have a power plug on the back of a stereo receiver which turns off when the receiver is off. But if you have a OTA DVR like I do, it stays on all the time.

You are far enough away from the broadcast towers that a pre-amp should not overload the front end of the ATSC tuner as can be a problem if some stations are too close. Avoid the Radio Shack amps and pre-amps as they are generally not very good. Channel Master and Winegard make outdoor pre-amps that are widely used. The CM 7777 pre-amp is the most powerful model, but is likely more than you need. The pre-amps that have separate inputs for VHF and UHF are more flexible as you may want to boost the UHF signal while not doing so. Here is a comparison page for the Winegard and CM pre-amps from solidsignal: http://www.solidsignal.com/antennas/preamplifiers.asp.

This afternoon all of WETA's OTA digital channels have disappeared. Reprogramming did nothing. Anybody else having this problem? I checked their website but they have no info posted on this.

This afternoon all of WETA's OTA digital channels have disappeared. Reprogramming did nothing. Anybody else having this problem? I checked their website but they have no info posted on this.

I've got them here but I lost all the TVGOS data for some reason.

I posted Western PW County's earlier this month. Should be pretty close if not the same.

Post# 733 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9910905&&#post9910905)

I'm surprised many of the rates for Eastern PW are less than the rates for Western PW. Although we also only have one standard service for $52.50 with the new rates. We don't have the options for limited basic and expanded service.
The diferences seem to be between $1 and $7 for the different packages, all lower for Eastern PW.

I've got them here but I lost all the TVGOS data for some reason.

I changed from my attic antenna to my rooftop antenna,reprogrammed my set. Joy, now I am getting WETA's digital OTA channels!

WJZ is a flex feed though, correct? So at anytime if CBS switches off the constant feed from WUSA then we can have 2 different games. Hope that happens!

This afternoon all of WETA's OTA digital channels have disappeared. Reprogramming did nothing. Anybody else having this problem? I checked their website but they have no info posted on this.
WETA-DT is on the air tonight. Can anyone else confirm whether WETA-DT 26 appeared to be ff the air this afternoon? The reason why I ask is that there has this been long standing question of when WETA-DT would move from Arlington to the broadcast tower in NW DC. If WETA-DT was off the air for a while, perhaps that is a sign that they are doing some checkouts in prep for moving to the new tower. Or perhaps they moved, but I don't notice a stronger signal.

Also, I see WDCA-DT My 20 is broadcasting the telenovel soap Saints & Sinners in HD tonight. (Mel Harris is in this??) Can anyone who is able to receive WUTB-DT My 24 OTA see if WUTB-DT is providing a true HD picture tonight or not?

I also noticed WETA DT off the air here in Leesburg this afternoon - was back up tonight.

Also, I see WDCA-DT My 20 is broadcasting the telenovel soap Saints & Sinners in HD tonight. (Mel Harris is in this??) Can anyone who is able to receive WUTB-DT My 24 OTA see if WUTB-DT is providing a true HD picture tonight or not?

Saw this too late. Seinfeld is on 24 now. 720p in full stretch mode.

I'll try to check tomorrow when the HD stuff is supposed to be on.

Comcast made some changes yesterday:

ESPN Deportes was added on channel 604.
DMX music channels 450-457 were dropped.
CSPAN2 is now also on channel 186. On channel 17 it will share with MASN2.

what is ESPN Deportes?

what is ESPN Deportes?

Spanish ESPN.

Still no NGHD in Howard County. ;(

So deportes means sports in Spanish? so it's called ESPN sports?
So the title means Entertainment and Sports Programming Network Sports? That doesn't make much sense.

We've had VS/Golf HD for over a month in Harford County, but still no program guide. Does any other area have a program guide for that channel?

Oh, and whatever happened to A&EHD?

Thanks,

Rich N.

WJZ is a flex feed though, correct? So at anytime if CBS switches off the constant feed from WUSA then we can have 2 different games. Hope that happens!


WUSA should only have 1 constant game - the Georgetown game. Otherwise, they should behave the same way as WJZ.

We've had VS/Golf HD for over a month in Harford County, but still no program guide. Does any other area have a program guide for that channel?

Baltimore City does.

FIOS TV is now available for parts of Montgomery County, MD served by the BTHSMDBD wire center (CO) at the intersection of Bradley Blvd. and Seven Locks Rd. This inlcudes parts of North and West Bethesda and Potomac. Phone exhanges include 301-365 301-299 301-469 301-765 301-767 and 301-983. My install date is 3/27. If you don't already have FIOS data service, your install date may be a week later or more.

FIOS TV is now available for parts of Montgomery County, MD served by the BTHSMDBD wire center (CO) at the intersection of Bradley Blvd. and Seven Locks Rd. This inlcudes parts of North and West Bethesda and Potomac. Phone exhanges include 301-365 301-299 301-469 301-765 301-767 and 301-983. My install date is 3/27. If you don't already have FIOS data service, your install date may be a week later or more.

oh snap, its here! :D thanks for the update

WJZ is a flex feed though, correct? So at anytime if CBS switches off the constant feed from WUSA then we can have 2 different games. Hope that happens!
If you're close enough the northern MD/PA border, WHP is showing the Pitt-UCLA game instead of Ohio St.-Tenn, otherwise they're the same.

WETA-DT 26 appears to be off the air again. Hmmm.

WETA-DT is on the air tonight. Can anyone else confirm whether WETA-DT 26 appeared to be ff the air this afternoon? The reason why I ask is that there has this been long standing question of when WETA-DT would move from Arlington to the broadcast tower in NW DC. If WETA-DT was off the air for a while, perhaps that is a sign that they are doing some checkouts in prep for moving to the new tower. Or perhaps they moved, but I don't notice a stronger signal.

The OTA WETA-DT appears to have been off during the day several days this week, but back on at night. I imagine the engineers are possibly doing some troubleshooting.

Dana

Hi Guys,
Newb here....
Just downgraded my Comcast service to standard service only (Saving $100 a month for now...)... What cheap HD antenna would you suggest to receive HD signals? If I can get local HD and save money, I will be thrilled. (I am in Howard County - Columbia)

Thanks,
Matthew

Anyone know a timeline on us getting NGCHD in Howard County on Comcast? Also still looking for someone who knows the QAM channels for this area.
Thanks!

So deportes means sports in Spanish? so it's called ESPN sports?
So the title means Entertainment and Sports Programming Network Sports? That doesn't make much sense.

Si.

I mean, yes.

It is just the way they show it is espanol.

Anyone know a timeline on us getting NGCHD in Howard County on Comcast? Also still looking for someone who knows the QAM channels for this area.
Thanks!

NGC in Howard is this month, If I recall correctly next Mon/Tues. Going on memory here so sorry I can't be more specific. On qualm assignment I will have to defer to the cable card users for help.

GoIrish

ATSC virtual channel and subchannel: When a cableco is rebroadcasting OTA digitals, they might copy the PSIP information so your tuner (hopefully) presents the QAM program as the OTA station: 2.1, 11.1, 13.1, etc. If your QAM stations have all become 1.x, that's them screwing with the virtuals. They could make it whatever they want it to be. (...but apparently never 0.0: That will crash or even brick some tuners. Thanks a lot, Comcast. )
The OTA WETA-DT appears to have been off during the day several days this week, but back on at night. I imagine the engineers are possibly doing some troubleshooting.
This might explain some of the problems I've seen recently that requires a re-scan. Some of the PSIP info might be mapped to the same channel/sub-channel. Sometimes WETA will be on and I won't have WUSA or WTTG. I re-scan and have WUSA and WTTG on CH/SUB that WETA was on, but no longer have WETA. It's unreliable right now, but thankfully I have OTA. :)

BBT

Hi Guys,
Newb here....
Just downgraded my Comcast service to standard service only (Saving $100 a month for now...)... What cheap HD antenna would you suggest to receive HD signals? If I can get local HD and save money, I will be thrilled. (I am in Howard County - Columbia)

Thanks,
Matthew

Keep the HD box and you'll probably continue to receive the networks in HD (plus the guide, free on-demand content, etc). I have basic cable ($10/month) and receive all that. The box is less than $5/month.

Si.

I mean, yes.

It is just the way they show it is espanol.
Plus a completely different line up of shows and the sports they cover. International Futbol, for instance. It's a completely different channel, not just ESPN with Spanish language.

So deportes means sports in Spanish? so it's called ESPN sports?
So the title means Entertainment and Sports Programming Network Sports? That doesn't make much sense.
Just about as much as Cable News Network News.
ESPN technically doesn't "mean" anything. Networks rebranded themselves a while ago, those initials ARE the brand name now (in most cases), not American Broadcasting Company, Colombia Broadcasting System, United Paramount Network, etc.

Keep the HD box and you'll probably continue to receive the networks in HD (plus the guide, free on-demand content, etc). I have basic cable ($10/month) and receive all that. The box is less than $5/month.
Or just use the QAM tuner of the TV. ;)

Anyone watching the AFL game on ESPN 2 HD? It looks too good for SD, is it available in HD?

I used a compass.
I am getting all the channels DC and Baltimore. 2,4,5,7,9,11,13,14,20,22,26,45,50,54,67

However they just don't come in well enough I guess; because the audio drops out sometimes and none of them are 80+ % on the TV's signal meter.

What is the recommended strenth that you need for a channel to come in without dropping?

Thank You
Those levels are pretty good... the dropouts might be due to multipath, especially since your aren't pointing directly at either set of transmitters. You could try re-aiming directly towards Baltimore or DC to see if the dropouts go away. A preamp might help (and may be needed for Baltimore anyway...) but it could also make multipath reflections worse.
We combined two 4221s which are mounted on the same mast at right angles to each other. Just used a 2-way splitter in reverse & it works well. Oh and the combiner is followed by a preamp.

Also, I see WDCA-DT My 20 is broadcasting the telenovel soap Saints & Sinners in HD tonight. (Mel Harris is in this??) Can anyone who is able to receive WUTB-DT My 24 OTA see if WUTB-DT is providing a true HD picture tonight or not?

Sorry. I tried to check tonight but 24 is not doing any HD stuff according to my HR20 guide. No HD until next week. I thought the MyNetwork shows were Monday thru Friday?

Sorry. I tried to check tonight but 24 is not doing any HD stuff according to my HR20 guide. No HD until next week. I thought the MyNetwork shows were Monday thru Friday?
The movie Insomnia with Al Pacino and Robin Williams is in HD on WDCA-DT My 20 tonight. Guides are unreliable as to whether a program will be in HD or not. The question is what is WUTB-DT My 24 sending out on their 24.1 channel: true HD, stretched SD, or 4:3 SD ?

SO does WDCA always broadcast in 720P? I haven't looked at 20-1 in a while, I see the Insomnia movie looks like it's zoomed in and in 720P.

SO does WDCA always broadcast in 720P? I haven't looked at 20-1 in a while, I see the Insomnia movie looks like it's zoomed in and in 720P.
Well, yes. WDCA-DT 20-1 is always a 720p signal. Because My Network only provides 2 hours of programming a day, the station is usually sending out upconverted SD. Last week I noticed while channel surfing by that the new telenovel soaps and movies were upconverted SD on WDCA-DT. So this week, they are paying attention to their HD feed.

Checking imdb, Insomnia is a 1.85:1 movie so it is not cropped (much) for the 16:9 HD presentation. I noticed it has a lot of close-ups which is presumably intentional to give a closed-in feel to the movie. Which is about a detective who can't sleep. Pretty good movie.

Just reposting this hear, see if anyone else is having a problem:

I didn't know who to talk to about this. And hopefully this is the right place.

I'm part of a sports forum, and some of the people there capture NBA highlights, but usually it was only local stations. I wanted to get in on the action so I took the necessary steps, in getting HD service, a firewire, and CapDVHS. When I went to record this to my Computer (which I also purchased a 320 gig external HD for so I could capture shows to rewatch), I was disappointed to find out that nearly all my channels were encrypted (couldn't capture). Now I know thats ok for cable stations like TNT, Discovery and others.... but even local channels like Fox, and CBS were blocked.

So my question is, is there something I should mess with on my computer or TV? Maybe it just needs some fine tuning to pick up these channels (some work like National Geographic, ABC, and NBC). Or if nothing helps, what should I do legally? As I hear encoding local channels is in violation of FCC rules.

Also if it helps I have a Motorola HD cable box provided by Comcast Cable.

Thank you for any help, and if this is the wrong section, I apologize.

Just reposting this hear, see if anyone else is having a problem:Thank you.

Michael Scott
Regional Manager
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc

Or just use the QAM tuner of the TV. ;)

...if the TV has one, sure. The box may be simpler though. The channels won't move around, you get on-demand, the guide, etc.

Thank you.

Michael Scott
Regional Manager
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc
Haha, touche. I actually tried to sign up as Michael Scott but it was taken.

The movie Insomnia with Al Pacino and Robin Williams is in HD on WDCA-DT My 20 tonight. Guides are unreliable as to whether a program will be in HD or not. The question is what is WUTB-DT My 24 sending out on their 24.1 channel: true HD, stretched SD, or 4:3 SD ?

I have no idea what is MyTV and what is just crap 24 puts on (since I watch like 0% of it).

For what it is worth, Insomnia was stretched garbage.

24 stretches everything like WBAL does. (Except for about 10 glorious minutes of Scrubs this week where they broke the stretch-o-vision.)

I see that some people here did watch Insomnia last night. WDCA had some problems during the movie. More than once, right before the commercials, it would cut to WTTG and then quickly back to commercials. Did anyone else experience that? I have FiOS in northern VA, I don't know if it was just FiOS or WDCA itself.

GTown-Vanderbilt game begins in HD on WUSA-DT.

I see that some people here did watch Insomnia last night. WDCA had some problems during the movie. More than once, right before the commercials, it would cut to WTTG and then quickly back to commercials. Did anyone else experience that? I have FiOS in northern VA, I don't know if it was just FiOS or WDCA itself.
It was either WDCA or MyNetworkTV. I saw no FOX 5 branding in that, and it appeared to be the SD feed of FOX.

BTW, now FOX 5's field cameras are starting to have the HD look. It could be imminent.

And, does anyone know what's going on with WRC? Normally, their pillarboxes look thinner than others, but tonight, they look barely there.

It was either WDCA or MyNetworkTV. I saw no FOX 5 branding in that, and it appeared to be the SD feed of FOX.It might have been the HD feed since both shows, Are you smarter than a 5th grader and Family Guy, have pillarboxes.

And, does anyone know what's going on with WRC? Normally, their pillarboxes look thinner than others, but tonight, they look barely there.

Doesn't it also look better, or is it just me? You are right the pillarboxes were smaller than usual tonight.

...if the TV has one, sure. The box may be simpler though. The channels won't move around, you get on-demand, the guide, etc.

Wow guys - thanks. We have moved into my parents - they have basic only.

1. Hooked my box up - It gave me all the channels, + HD + premium channels... + all the on-demands.
2. Unhooked that, hooked up my TV. Got all the local channels in HD. 13.1 was the Vanderbilt vs GT game. :-)

Now, why would I get all of the channels with the box? That does not make any sense...

Thanks,
Matthew

It might have been the HD feed since both shows, Are you smarter than a 5th grader and Family Guy, have pillarboxes.
No, the FOX logo was present in the 4:3 area.



Doesn't it also look better, or is it just me? You are right the pillarboxes were smaller than usual tonight.
Yes, WRC has some of the best SD I've ever seen. Their news looks like 4:3 HD.

…All of CBS' 17 stations are at some stage of shifting to hi-def news...WCBS New York rolls out HD news next month, and stations in San Francisco and Miami, among others, are also slated to make the leap in the near future. Says Kane, “Over the next year or so, all of CBS' [O&Os] will do HD news.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/in...cleID=CA6427588

1. Hooked my box up - It gave me all the channels, + HD + premium channels... + all the on-demands.
2. Unhooked that, hooked up my TV. Got all the local channels in HD. 13.1 was the Vanderbilt vs GT game. :-)

Now, why would I get all of the channels with the box? That does not make any sense...

Cause the STB decrypts the rest of the stuff a direct TV connection can't.

Cause the STB decrypts the rest of the stuff a direct TV connection can't.

Ok, but then how can I "rent" a box? They should not allow that since I will obviously get more channels than I am suppose to.

Matthew

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/in...cleID=CA6427588

Link is broken.

Link is broken.
The full link is http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6427588. The article was posted in the local news in HD thread in the HDTV Programming forum. The gist is that four CBS owned & operated (O&O) stations are upgrading to local news in HD very soon - KCBS & KCAL in LA on April 21, KYW in Philadelphia on April 2, and WCBS in NYC in the next month. The part of "Over the next year or so, all of CBS' [O&Os] will do HD news.” that applies to our area is that WJZ CBS 13 in Baltimore is a CBS O&O station.

Ok, but then how can I "rent" a box? They should not allow that sense I will obviously get more channels than I am suppose to.

Matthew
That's a morality issue - do you fess up and tell them that? Eventually the cable cos will find out about this and fix it. Yet another reason they're going to a mostly encrypted QAM lineup.

Boston-Pittsburgh NHL game is HD on WRC, SD on WBAL.

I hope WBAL knows to flip the switch on NBC Nightly News tomorrow.

Has everyone lost their clear QAM feed of WETA chs on COX cable?

WETA-DT OTA is out (all four channels).

WETA-DT OTA is out (all four channels).
WETA is fine on Comcast QAM, all channels at 7:50 pm.
Earlier there was a message at the bottom of the screen noting that antenna work was keeping WETA off the air, but this did not affect the cable signal.