Boston, MA - OTA

[David Bott]

THIS THREAD Continued below...

------------------
David Bott
It's A World Of Entertainment...Experience It!
AV Science/AVS Forum Admin
http://www.avscience.com
http://www.avsforum.com
The Nate Home Theater

[Richard_P_Harvey]

WOW we made it to a the third thread split

------------------
Hopelessly addicted to HDTV and lost deep in the woods of Charlton, MA - Rich
rharvey@at-com.com

[Bob Hess]

Over the last week or so my reception of WBZ has really gotten spotty - it used to be my strongest, most reliable channel. Has anyone else noticed a drop in strength?
I live in Back Bay Boston and am using an indoor silver sensor antenna. Nothing in my setup has changed before/after the WBZ reception problems. Reception of other digital channels remains the same.

No change at WBZ....

- Bob

[This message has been edited by Bob Hess (edited 05-15-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Bob Hess (edited 05-15-2001).]

[metamatt]

Yes, I too noticed a drop. I moved the antenna a bit and finally got WBZ back up.

[mkingman]

Originally posted by Striola:
Over the last week or so my reception of WBZ has really gotten spotty - it used to be my strongest, most reliable channel. Has anyone else noticed a drop in strength?

I live in Back Bay Boston and am using an indoor silver sensor antenna. Nothing in my setup has changed before/after the WBZ reception problems. Reception of other digital channels remains the same.

Yes, I've noticed it. I'm about 30mi west of the towers so I thought it might be the leaves on the trees, but I can still receive 20, 31, and 42 just fine.

/Matt

[This message has been edited by mkingman (edited 05-15-2001).]

[This message has been edited by mkingman (edited 05-15-2001).]

[This message has been edited by mkingman (edited 05-15-2001).]

[Steve Richards]

I can't say that I noticed picture problems, but I did notice a lot of sound problems on the commercials last night during KoQs, Raymond and Becker. The sound on the shows were OK.

------------------
Steve,
(STOP DFAST SUPPORTER)

[Carbo]

All is well down in Brockton. Signal is still 100%.

[rudolpht]

Looks good in Boxborough (except Guide Issues on DST-3000), nudge nudge, in this THIRD (despite unintuitive CONTINUED II title) Boston Megathread.

Of course Bob Hess remains our tower/content/OAR/responsiveness idol.

Tim

[Benji]

<FONT COLOR="Green">Text</FONT c>Receiving a 93-100% on 30, 60% on 20, and little or no signal on 23, 31 and 42 in Taunton.

------------------

[Bob Hess]

Hi Guys,

Leaves on trees can affect UHF reception. Very common, especially if you are using an indoor antenna.

Did not see any audio problems on our daily variance report for Raymond and Becker. What was the problem?

Tim: What's with the B/W picture on this hi-tech forum dude?

- Bob

[metamatt]

Ah, leaves on trees... Did anyone have problems with 5-1 last night? NYPD Blue had flashes during first half, then slight sound interruption in second half.

Also, I notice that 42-1 is off now and I pick it up as 7-1. Is this due to leaves or what?

[mkingman]

Originally posted by Bob Hess:
Leaves on trees can affect UHF reception. Very common, especially if you are using an indoor antenna.

I'm using a RS double-bowtie... I just find it odd that I can still receive 20 perfectly while 30 is all over the place. No amount of antenna adjustment can give me a solid signal on 30 anymore. My DTC100 still reports a quality of about 88 when it's locked-on, but I get frequent fluctuations and dropouts.

Perhaps it's just time to get a BFA (big funky antenna ;-).

/Matt

[mkingman]

Originally posted by metamatt:
Ah, leaves on trees... Did anyone have problems with 5-1 last night? NYPD Blue had flashes during first half, then slight sound interruption in second half.

Also, I notice that 42-1 is off now and I pick it up as 7-1. Is this due to leaves or what?

Yes, there were a few glitches in last night's NYPD Blue.

WHDH-DT is now broadcasting PSIP which causes your receiver to do the virtual channel mapping. See http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum20/HTML/002700.html

/Matt

[Steve Richards]

Originally posted by Bob Hess:


Did not see any audio problems on our daily variance report for Raymond and Becker. What was the problem?

During commercials the audio would drop intermittantly. Not during the shows. I noticed the DD light flicker on the receiver whenn this happened. May be the STB (MITS HD5).
Seemed to be at the end of the commercial as it was going back into the program, but definitely before the show resumed. This was the first I've noticed this, and I usually catch the Monday night lineup every week.
Not a big deal to me because the shows where fine.
Steve


------------------
Steve,
(STOP DFAST SUPPORTER)

[rudolpht]

Originally posted by Bob Hess:
Tim: What's with the B/W picture on this hi-tech forum dude?

Bob,
I'm a man of the 90s, just happens to be the 1890s. TR also looks like my better looking (and thinner) brother.
Tim

[chs4]

Originally posted by metamatt:
Ah, leaves on trees... Did anyone have problems with 5-1 last night?

Can someone confirm that WCVB is providing PSIP? My E*6000 is still showing 20-1, whereas WBZ and WHDH are mapping to 4-1 and 7-1 respectively.

Just curious...

Chip

[Bob Hess]

Originally posted by chs4:
Can someone confirm that WCVB is providing PSIP? My E*6000 is still showing 20-1, whereas WBZ and WHDH are mapping to 4-1 and 7-1 respectively.

Just curious...

Chip

Chip,

WCVB is not running PSIP at this time.

Bob

[JoeMA]

Newbie Question regarding HDTV and OTA Reception

If I purchase the Dish 6000 system with 2 sats and the OTA module and antenna - but don't yet have a hi def TV, will I be able to at least check out the installation to make sure it was done right - in other words, on my regular TV will I be able to determine if I am getting the right signal strength for OTA stations? will they come in on my regular TV (although obviously not in HD)?

And also, if i have the OTA module and antenna, do I need to subscribe to local programing from Dish for $5. extra per month?
Thanks

[chs4]

Originally posted by Bob Hess:
Chip,

WCVB is not running PSIP at this time.

Bob

Thanks Bob...just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out!

Chip

[rudolpht]

Originally posted by JoeMA:
will they come in on my regular TV (although obviously not in HD)?

Joe,

You can through S-Video or composite and should still see improvement on HBO (9440), ShoHD (9430), HDPPV (9428), HDDemo (9443). You will get letterboxing for the 16x9 screen to show up in a 4:3 analog TV, but on ShoHd at least you'll see the movie as intended.

(These are full bandwidth so picture should be much better than compressed premiums).

And also, if i have the OTA module and antenna, do I need to subscribe to local programing from Dish for $5. extra per month?
Thanks

No, but you do need the sat aimed & working for OTA to work. Getting locals via Dish is unnecessary if your OTA works (and sat locals would be much lower quality, even to an analog set.)

Tim

[mkingman]

Originally posted by mkingman:
I'm using a RS double-bowtie... I just find it odd that I can still receive 20 perfectly while 30 is all over the place. No amount of antenna adjustment can give me a solid signal on 30 anymore. My DTC100 still reports a quality of about 88 when it's locked-on, but I get frequent fluctuations and dropouts.

Just a follow-up... I bought a CM4248 antenna and CM7775 amp today. I haven't set-up the antenna yet, but as a test I put the amp on my RS double-bowtie and it made the WBZ signal solid like it used to be.

/Matt

[Jim_S]

Originally posted by mkingman:
No amount of antenna adjustment can give me a solid signal on 30 anymore. My DTC100 still reports a quality of about 88 when it's locked-on, but I get frequent fluctuations and dropouts.
/Matt

Matt

You are being affected by multipath interference. Your DTC 100 locks on the main signal, and within a few seconds tries to lock onto an echo (the multipath) which is not as strong and is out of sync with the main signal. This confuses the heck out of the receiver.

New England is unique because of the many small hills, and the multipath interference it generates. The problem seems to compound in May, when all the leaves on the trees arrive. Look at the increased reports of dropouts over the past couple of weeks. The leaves contain moisture that scatters the digital signal. Short of importing Rodmanbra to New England to lobby to cut down all the trees, it's something we have to live with.

Making the signal stronger is not necessary. What is needed is a more directional antenna, capable of rejecting the secondary signals. Antenna positioning is key. Not only pointing, but also elevation is just as important. A few feet up or down can make all the difference in the world.

If all else fails, there is Tim's Voodoo. A $10 Radio Shack Attenuator that cuts down on the signal, rather than boosting it up. The theory is to reduce the signal to the point where the DTC 100 can not lock onto the multipath signal. I have had one on the back of my DTC 100 for over a year and it works wonders.


------------------
Nothing difficult ever turns out to be easy

[This message has been edited by Jim_S (edited 05-18-2001).]

[JoeMA]

Thanks rudolpht:
That was what I needed to know- I wanted to go to the HD sat/ota setup even before I get a HDTV and wanted to ensure everything was installed correctly, so that when I do get an HDTV this fall I will be ready.

[metamatt]

For more on attenuators
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum11/HTML/013905.html

[brandish]

FYI

WCVB-DT operates at half the power of WBZ-DT, pending FCC Authorization to increase power.

PSIP is coming in the not too distant future.

Ross

------------------
Ross Kauffman

[shelly]

Is there any curent information as to when Boston PBS (WGBH) or NBC (WHDH) might begin to transmit the HD programming?

[This message has been edited by shelly (edited 05-22-2001).]

[metamatt]

Yesterday I re-started the Panasonic TU-HDS20 and now channel 5 (ABC) is at 20-1 and channel 25 (Fox)is at 31-2, the others are as usual: channel 7 (NBC) is at 7-1, and channel 4 (CBS) is at 30-1.

Does anyone know why the changes?

[rudolpht]

Only Channel 42 & 30 are providing PSIP info to do mapping to the Analog equivalent (7 & 4, respectively) channels. ABC 20 & FOX 32 never have. If the Panasonic does mapping of non-PSIP channels (like the newer Hughes/Tosh/Mits does) then it sounds like something giot reset in the advanced programming guide.

Tim

[Doug G]

My TU-HDS20 is fine following a power on/off cycle. In my experience this resets the channel lineup from 'favorite' to 'all' so you need to reselect after powering back up, although I'm unsure this would have affected the actual channel setting. Sounds like your setup got messed up somehow, I would re-check it. Incidentally, my unit seems to have developed a clicking sound in the last day or so. It seems to come in three's every so often. Its been benign as far as I can tell so far. Anyone else have this or know what it may be?

On another note, I recently calibrated my Elite 510HD using Avia and MAN what a difference! So DVD now looks better than ever, but how to calibrate the settings for my TU-HDS20? Tried the DVD/VCR RF setup, but no picture. Tried to eyeball it, but as it turns out I wasn't even close. Oddly enough, I just happened to be up at 5AM today courtesy of my 9 month old son, and figured since I couldn't get back to sleep I'd head downstairs and check the tube for the morning financial forecasts. Well, the tuner just happened to be set on WFXT-DT (the last show we watched last night was the season finale of the X-files) and to my amazement what did I see? You got it, COLOR BARS!!! Imagine that, I knew what they were and what they're used for! I promptly broke out my Avia blue filter and went to work. In 2 minutes I had both the tint and color perfectly set. Thanks FOX! If anyone with this STB/monitor combo is interested, let me know and I can mail/post my settings, which BTW are dramatically different than for my interlaced DVD (Pioneer DV-525.) I guess those nighttime wake-up calls do have a silver lining after all....

[JOtteman]

Originally posted by Doug G:
If anyone with this STB/monitor combo is interested, let me know and I can mail/post my settings, which BTW are dramatically different than for my interlaced DVD (Pioneer DV-525.) I guess those nighttime wake-up calls do have a silver lining after all....[/b]

Please post or e-mail at JOtteman@aol.com the settings. I have the same monitor and STB andw would appreciate the settings. Thanks-- Jay

[This message has been edited by JOtteman (edited 05-21-2001).]