Myrtle Beach, SC - HDTV

[Scott Burns]

Well, there is a Columbia and a Charleston thread, so I thought I would start a Florence /M.B. thread since hopefully things are going to pick up soon.

The current DTV channels available in our area are as follows:

WBTW-DT 56 CBS (SD only) Florence
WLTX-DT 17 CBS Columbia
WRLK-DT 32 PBS Columbia (very difficult to receive and not reliable)
WOLO-DT 8 ABC Columbia
Fayetteville PAX 36
NC PBS 25

Supposedly as of Nov. 1, Fox WFXB 18 and Sumter 38 WQHB are supposed to be on the air, but I haven't seen a signal yet. WPDE-DT 16 ABC and WWMB 20 UPN are supposed to be on by Dec 1. WIS-DT 41 in Columbia, which is NBC, is supposed to be up by Jan 1, 2003. PBS in Florence has a May 2003 deadline, but Hap said Sumter would be on by the end of the year but I haven't heard any new news concerning that.

We just got a new Best Buy. They have a large selection of HDTV's. I saw a 40" Panasonic LCD RPTV that had a really nice picture.

WBTW is still passing SD only and I am not sure when that will change. I cannot seem to get much feedback from the other stations, either.

Just hopeing to stimulate some discussion,

Scott

[Daryl L]

Well, I spoke with Norman Worley, Cheif Engineer of WPDE15/WWMB21 about 1 1/2 month ago and he said their transmitter was mounted and secured. They just need to install the transmittion line. Due to a delay they were waiting on a crew to install the transmition line. According to their request to the FCC for an extention the transmition line install was due to begin Nov. 1st.

WWMB request in .pdf
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs...hibit_id=86608

WPDE request in .pdf
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs...hibit_id=85931

[Scott Burns]

That is pretty good news, I guess. How did you find those FCC documents?

I guess the station right now that I am most interested in is WIS-DT since I can receive CBS and ABC in HD out of Columbia. It would be nice to see some NBCHD.

What about FOX WFXB-DT 18? Have you heard anything? Can you search to see if they got another extention? Last I heard, they were supposed to be on the air by Nov 1.

Scott

[Daryl L]

If you go to the FCC link below, Select Digital TV next to Service, Select CP Extention next to Application Type, Input State Abreviation next to State, Click Submit Search. On the search results page click Application next to the station of your choice, go to bottom and click Exibit link to read the Extention Request in .pdf format.

http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs...d/app_sear.htm

I don't see any extention request for WFXB listed since June 11th. So I'm unsure about WFXXB status.

[Scott Burns]

Mitchell,

My recommended antenna setup for our market is as follows:

Channel Master 4248 for the UHF side on a CM IR controlled rotator and Winegard high band VHF yagi on the VHF side aimed at WIS 10 and WOLO-DT 8 in Columbia. The two sides are connected with a Channel Master Titan 7777 preamp.

This is after considerable experimentation.

Scott

[Mitchell B.]

Thanks Scott for the info. I,ll give you a call and find out more!!!

[Scott Burns]

As far as I know, Time Warner Cable is not carrying any HD yet. Are you getting HBO and Showtime in HD?

Scott

[Daryl L]

This morning I noticed WWMB-TV 21 & WPDE-TV 15 is off the air. Since transmition line installation was due to begin Nov. 1st. maybe they got the lines installed and are nearly ready to go live with their digital channels. Lets hope by Dec 1st or before.

[Daryl L]

And again this morning both WWMB-TV 21 & WPDE-TV 15 were off the air for awhile. WPDE is back on now but WWMB is still off.

[Scott Burns]

I guess this is great news. I wonder if WPDE is going to pass the network HD feed? Daryl, have you been able to get a signal on channel 8 or 18?

Scott

[Daryl L]

I wonder if WPDE is going to pass the network HD feed?

I don't know but I sure hope so. Everytime I try calling WPDE/WWMB(both have the same phone number) to find anything out the receptionist connects me through but I only get an answering machine. I tried today and when I asked for Mr. Norman Worley(chief engineer) she said he was no longer with them and patched me through to another person(Robert Blair) and again just an answering machine.

have you been able to get a signal on channel 8 or 18?

Never on WOLO-DT 8, it's to far from me. I'm ~30 miles North of the SC state line but ocasionally I get a weak signal on 18 but I'm sure its not WFXB-DT 43. So I'm not sure how far long WFXB 43 has gotten in their digital buildup. Fox WFXB-TV 43 of Florence/Myrtle Beach and Fox WSFX-TV 26 of Wilmington NC are affiliated with each other. Here's a quote from an e-mail corrspondence I had with Dave Carfolite, VP & GM. This was back on July 15th, 2002.

Dave Carfolite
VP & General Manager
WFXB FOX43 Myrtle Beach
http://www.wfxb.com/
843.828.4300 ext.230
fax 843.828.4343
WFXB FOX43 Florence
843.629.1431
fax 843.629.1166
WSFX FOX26 Wilmington
http://www.wsfx.com
910.343.8826 ext.116
fax 910.251.0978
gm@foxcarolina.tv
david@carfolite.com

First correspondance

I noticed on www.titantv.com that WSFX 26 plans to start transmitting DTV by November 1, 2002. I was curious if you are still going to meet that date. Thanks for any information you can provide. I'm a regular satisfied viewer of WSFX 26.

reply:

We are awaiting delivery of our Harris Transmitter as we speak.
However, because of the very low penetration of DTV receivers we are
going to put in a low power transmitter to cover New Hanover County to start, which might be a problem if you are in Pembroke. There are still a great many problems to resolve with DTV.

Second Correspondance

Previously I asked about WSFX then I noticed in your signature that
your also associated with WFXB FOX43. I noticed at www.antennaweb.org
that WFXB also plans to go live digitaly November 1, 2002. Will WFXB still be metting that date? Also, will WFXB be very low penetration to only cover a small area at first like you will be doing with WSFX in New Hanover County? If WFXB does go very low power I still may be able to receive the signal since WFXB's transmitters are much closer to Pembroke than WSFX is. Thanks for any information.

his reply:

We will be later than WSFX but we are also planning a low power digital
launch - however, since our city of licence is Myrtle Beach our signal will
be coming from our studios and the signal will be mostly Horry
County. Yes, our five million watt analog transmitter (and our digital
ready tower) is in Mullins - but we can't hit Myrtle Beach with low power
from Mullins. Until there are enough digital receivers to justify the
additional $15,000/ month full 5 MegaWatt power bill, we will be on low power.

But thanks for asking - I appreciate your interest.

Now this month WSFX 26 has requested and was granted another 6 month extention and WFXB 43 has no new request listed on the FCC page so I have no info on WFXB 43.

[Daryl L]

And for the 3rd morning in a row WWMB is off the air. I'm not sure when it went off. I noticed 1 1/2 hour ago and it's still off. I don't think they took WPDE off the air today thought. I keep checking for a digital signal on 16 and 20 but nothing so far.

[Scott Burns]

Daryl,

ThaNKS for keeping an eye out! I am off line for a week or two due to a move. I will let you know when I am back up and running. Painting the new theater now as we speak.

Scott

[Daryl L]

Not looking to good for WFXB Fox 43 going digital anytime soon. According to the information at the link below WFXB filled for an extention Nov 22, 2002. The reason is stated at the bottom of the request form under Exhibit 1.

WFXB FOX 43

[Scott Burns]

Daryl,

I am luckily able to pull in the new Fox WACH-DT in Columbia, not that I would be watching a whole lot of SDTV anyway. I guess WFXB-DT will be delayed even more. They seem like a low budget station.

Scott

[Daryl L]

Same here. Luckily I get Fox WRAZ-DT 50(49-1 49-2) OTA(50% of the time) and on TWC(100% of the time) out of Raleigh NC. So I'm ok for Fox. And luckily WRAZ does 1080i(upconverts Fox's 480i/p National feed to 1080i).

Scott, have a good 2 weeks away.

[Daryl L]

Well, WPDE 15 & WWMB 21 did not go live December 1st as we hoped. Their gonna be late but I'm pretty sure they'll go live before Dec. 31st.

[crosbyclan]

I appreciate the info Scott and Darryl. It seems there would be more people seeking HD. I guess I'm going to have to get me a high band VHF antenna. I currently use my FM ant. for VHF. I was hoping that WPDE would be on air by now. I also doubt they will transmit HD. Scott did you move closer to Columbia ?

[Daryl L]

crosbyclan,

I'm not sure about if WPDE will be 720p or not but I think I heard awhile back that they would be. I just e-mailed Billy Huggins(vice president & general mgr) asking. I also included a link to this posting inviting him to join in. Hopefully he will and clue us viewers in on their progress and intentions.

Edited format #

[Scott Burns]

WPDE, if they do HD, will likely be 720p since that is the ABC standard.

Jim I am off 2nd loop rd so the difference is negligable. I have a VHF antenna I will sell you. Call me.

Scott

[Daryl L]

Your right on the 720p stuff. Don't know were my mind was when I typed that. Day dreaming of that new Toshiba LCos 1080p tv I guess.

[Scott Burns]

I am going to buy that TV when the second generation is $3-4k. I have been drooling over the specs too. Probably 4thQ 2003 or 1-2ndQ 2004

Scott

[crosbyclan]

I'll give you a call scott. A friend of mine went to CEDIA this year and he said by and far the best display was Lcos. forget which one it was though.

[Daryl L]

Anybody notice anything odd about WBTW-DT 13(56.1) signal strength? I normally have a signal strength of 100% from WBTW 24/7. Lastnight I had no signal at all and today it's steadily fluctuating between 0% and 9%. I've never lost their signal before even during storms.

[Scott Burns]

I noticed it too. I think they were off the air

[Daryl L]

They probably were. The weak signal I was picking up was probably some distant digital ch 56 in another direction. I get that alot. I hoped they were off switching to an HD setup but apparently not. They came back on at 100% again sometime between 8pm and 9pm lastnight back to their old digitized analog signal.

[Daryl L]

WBTW-DT 13's signal is off again today. Has been all afternoon. No Idea whats up though.

[Daryl L]

I just checked WBTW-DT 13(56.1) again and their back on. The good news(and I could be wrong about this) is it looks like their now doing 1080i HD(currently upconverted local programming) but it looks much sharper. And my HD box(Toshiba DST3000) wont let me change their aspect ratio anymore. It only behaves this was on HD(720p/1080i) material.

Lets hope they pass the national CBS HD feed. I guess we'll find out tonight at 8pm when King of Queens comes on. All CBS's lineup except Everybody loves Raymond will be new first-run episodes.

[crosbyclan]

Daryl when I got home last night David letterman was in 1080i. Tis the seasonto be jolly. now lets see what happens with WPDE.

[Daryl L]

Ok, then we know WBTW has gone to 1080i but they did not pass the National HD widescreen feed during primetime lastnight.

As for WPDE 15/WWMB 21, I think they plan to go live by Dec, 31st. Lets hope they keep on schedule.