Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD - HDTV

[nottenst]

Originally Posted by PGHammer

Actually, the Baltimore HD channels shouldn't even be there (remember, Comcast here in PG dropped Baltimore's analogs a few years back).

They were moved to the digital lineup. But, MPT-1, and -2 are also gone and MPT has always been there.

I just went to http://www.comcast.com/Customers/clu/ChannelLineup.ashx
and looked under All Channels and none of these channels, not even the MPT digitals are listed. I'll have to check one of my old listings, but I was sure they all used to be listed in the lineup before. There used to be slots for the Baltimore HD channels.

Neil

[buckydc]

Hi,
I wonder if any OTA viewing members are experiencing this problem. I have both the Insignia and Zenith dtv boxes. Both are displaying the WETA 26.1 epg information on the WHUT 32.1 epg as well. Not sure if this is a box problem, or a transmission problem. I'd be interested to see if any other folks with cecb's are noticing this as well.

[afiggatt]

Originally Posted by buckydc

Hi,
I wonder if any OTA viewing members are experiencing this problem. I have both the Insignia and Zenith dtv boxes. Both are displaying the WETA 26.1 epg information on the WHUT 32.1 epg as well. Not sure if this is a box problem, or a transmission problem. I'd be interested to see if any other folks with cecb's are noticing this as well.

The epg data is provided by the station; nothing wrong with your dtv boxes. WHUT-DT showing guide data for WETA-DT has happened before when WHUT-DT first started showing guide data. I think WETA handles the digital transmission for WHUT-DT and is supposed to add the guide data for WHUT's programming, but they made a mistake and inserted the guide data for WETA-DT's schedule. Someone should contact WHUT and/or WETA and point out the problem. After all, it took weeks for WHUT to realize they were not sending out the correct channel 32 mapping after the digital signal went on the air last fall.

[buckydc]

Someone should contact WHUT and/or WETA and point out the problem.

Thanks for the reply afiggatt. Just called WETA. What an adventure that was Apparantly they don't have an engineering dept with a phone. After several attempts I gave up and sent them an email.

I'm new to the cecb world and am discovering lots of anamolies in the local dtv arena. E.g, WRC time code off by over an hour. WFDC timecode off by over 11 years!

[vthokie820]

Has anyone else noticed signal problems with WUSA in the last couple of weeks? I live in Arlington, so I should be point blank from the guns. The signal on mine dropped from smoking hot(no dropouts) to borderline constantly dropping out in the matter of a couple of weeks. I originally thought it was the leaves on the trees, but none of the other channels that reside on higher frequencies than WUSA are having problems. In fact, i haven't noticed problems on any other channel. Is anyone else having problems or it just me?

[aaronwt]

Originally Posted by vthokie820

Has anyone else noticed signal problems with WUSA in the last couple of weeks? I live in Arlington, so I should be point blank from the guns. The signal on mine dropped from smoking hot(no dropouts) to borderline constantly dropping out in the matter of a couple of weeks. I originally thought it was the leaves on the trees, but none of the other channels that reside on higher frequencies than WUSA are having problems. In fact, i haven't noticed problems on any other channel. Is anyone else having problems or it just me?

It could still be the foilage. I used to have problems when the leaves fell of the trees, but only for WRC. The other channels were fine. But once a storm knocked down a third of the tree, my signal problem went away. But again I only had problems with the one channel, nothing else was ever affected. And it happened every year when the leaves were around 80% gone, and once the leaves grew back, the signal was rock solid.

[Skeptic Tank]

Originally Posted by PGHammer

WMAR-DT is still present at 2-1 (WMAR-DT2 is still at 120-10) while WJZ-DT is still at 13-1.

Is there any way you can tell me what the physical QAM channel numbers are for WJZ-DT and WMAR-DT? I can't find them on my Samsung SIR-T451. Are they higher than channel 125?

[CycloneGT]

My favorite TV infobabe has been spotted locally.

Originally Posted by dcrtv

Laurie Dhue Seen At 7 - 4/28 - Seen at the Rosslyn HQ of Channel 7/WJLA today: Laurie Dhue, formerly an anchor at Fox News and other cable news nets. Possible new JLA anchor? You know, 7's never formally replaced evening anchor Kathleen Matthews, who left more than a year ago. Hmmm. Stay tuned.....

[knnirs]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Tank

Is there any way you can tell me what the physical QAM channel numbers are for WJZ-DT and WMAR-DT? I can't find them on my Samsung SIR-T451. Are they higher than channel 125?

You and I appear to have the same Comcast signals. On my connection, WMAR-DT and WJZ-DT were on sub-channels of 124. However those signal levels went to zero over the past weekend.Aat 10:00 am this morning I find that the RF signals are at full strength, but the only sub-channel not scrambled is 124-2, and it has E&E-HD at 720p at the present time. All of the sub-channelas of 125 are at full signal level also, but scrambled. Channel 128-1 is also showing A&E-HD as it has for the past few months.
I agree with Hammner that P.G. Comcast is not required to provide these QAM signals, but they have done so for some time. It is fun to try and keep up with the changes which Comcast will not comment about.

[nottenst]

Originally Posted by knnirs

You and I appear to have the same Comcast signals. On my connection, WMAR-DT and WJZ-DT were on sub-channels of 124. However those signal levels went to zero over the past weekend. ...
I agree with Hammner that P.G. Comcast is not required to provide these QAM signals, but they have done so for some time. It is fun to try and keep up with the changes which Comcast will not comment about.

last night I couldn't find the old listing which I thought I had which had the Baltimore channels on it. I guess my memory saw something else. I think Comcast really should provide the MPT subchannels and maybe I'll write to (or call) MPT about that. The Baltimore channels would be nice to have especially when they are showing something different than the DC channels. At least I can get some of the Baltimore channels over the air okay.

Neil

[nottenst]

I just called MPT and they said they hadn't received any reports about it. Looking on the MPT and WETA websites it appears that with Comcast on their nominal box settings it really is MPT or WETA in the digital channels. MPT has Channel 220 – MPT Comcast (regular MPT HD), Channel 200 – MPTSL Comcast (MPT Select), and Channel 201 – V-ME Comcast. WETA has WETA HD - Channel 220, WETA Create - Channel 200, WETA Kids - Channel 201, and WETA World - Channel 202. Note that Verizon FIOS doesn't have this overlap (MPT is on 806, 880, and 881 while WETA is on 804, 874, 872, and 873).

Neil

[mdviewer25]

Is anyone else missing program guide info for WTTG-DT and WJZ-DT?

[chrisherbert]

I'm moving from Arlington to DC proper in a month, and since there's no Fios there, I'm probably going with Comcast. Do they have the new HD channels (Food, Animal Planet, etc)? Are they as heavily compressed as in Arlington?

Are there other good options?

[azitnay]

We do have Food Network HD, but no Animal Planet HD yet... You can pull up a full list on comcast.com.

Without FIOS, the only other options for HD are OTA or satellite (unless you're moving to the part of DC serviced by RCN, which I know very little about).

Drew

[HDDAVID]

I heard a radio commercial this morning from WBFF Fox 45. As part of the promo they mentioned their newscasts will be in HD very soon.

Anyone heard anything on this?

[afiggatt]

Originally Posted by HDDAVID

I heard a radio commercial this morning from WBFF Fox 45. As part of the promo they mentioned their newscasts will be in HD very soon.

Anyone heard anything on this?

Go back to post #5238 of this thread for Sinclair owned WBFF. It was indicated some weeks ago that both WBFF Fox 45 in Baltimore and Fox O&O WTTG 5 in DC would be upgrading their local news to HD during the May sweeps. If they are advertizing it on the radio, it must be occuring very soon for WBFF-DT.

[Skeptic Tank]

Originally Posted by knnirs

Comcast is not required to provide these QAM signals, but they have done so for some time. It is fun to try and keep up with the changes which Comcast will not comment about.

As far as I can tell, 2,11,13,22,45, and 54 are now gone from Comcast's Clear QAM lineup
in PG.

I'm not happy about it even though I know they were not "required".

Does anyone know what Verizon's FIOS QAM looks like in PG?

[markbulla]

WBFF is now on the new digital master control as of this morning. We're still working on some issues, so sorry in advance for any problems that you notice (if any...), but the pictures, especially the news, look a lot better.

The news is not currently in HD, but this is a step in that direction.

Cheers -

[machpost]

Originally Posted by chrisherbert

I'm moving from Arlington to DC proper in a month, and since there's no Fios there, I'm probably going with Comcast. Do they have the new HD channels (Food, Animal Planet, etc)? Are they as heavily compressed as in Arlington?

Are there other good options?

RCN, if they're available at your location. Cheaper than Comcast, and far better customer service. After they go digital-only sometime within the next year, their HD offerings will blow Comcast away.

[CycloneGT]

So was today's WBFF news in HD or not?

Originally Posted by dcrtv

45 Launches HD Newscasts - 4/30 - A DCRTVer tells us that Baltimore's Fox affiliate, Channel 45/WBFF, debuts its high-def newscasts today. DCRTV told you a while back that station owner Sinclair was planning to start HD local news broadcasts on Fox45 this spring. That would make WBFF the second TVer in the DC-Baltimore area to air news in HD. Joining DC's Channel 9/WUSA. DC's Channel 5/WTTG is expected to launch HD news in May..

I won't be home until after 9pm, so I can't check it out until then.

[Count Blah]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Tank

As far as I can tell, 2,11,13,22,45, and 54 are now gone from Comcast's Clear QAM lineup
in PG.

I'm not happy about it even though I know they were not "required".

Does anyone know what Verizon's FIOS QAM looks like in PG?

That would be the simplest thing Comcast could do to lose my business.

[clifburns]

Earlier this year I received a letter from Comcast, in response to an inquiry of mine, that indicated that Comcast planned to roll-out CNN-HD during the first quarter of 2008. When that didn't occur I followed up with Comcast and received this email from Patrick Carroll this afternoon, which indicated that CNN-HD isn't coming anytime soon to DC. Instead we get Mickey Mouse in Stretch-o-Vision.

Mr. Burns:

I just came from his office. The only new Hi-Def channels that are definite at this time are the Science Channel in HD (Channel 217), the Disney Channel in HD (Channel 244) and ABC Family in HD (Channel 245). These will debut on May 15th. Our Marketing Manager expects that there will be some others but nothing else is definite at this time. Please feel free to check back with me in June and I will hopefully have some updates.

I did ask him about CNN-HD and he said that it isn’t on the list at this time. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t getting it ever, it just isn’t definite yet so it isn’t on the list.

I hope this helps.

Patrick Carroll

Blech. More stretched upconverted simulcasts of SD channels. At least CNN-HD has HD origination out of its NYC studios and has started pushing HD cameras into the field for location reporting. Instead DC Comcast customers get Mickey Mouse stretched into the size of a rat.

[Marcus Carr]

Originally Posted by clifburns

Earlier this year I received a letter from Comcast, in response to an inquiry of mine, that indicated that Comcast planned to roll-out CNN-HD during the first quarter of 2008. When that didn't occur I followed up with Comcast and received this email from Patrick Carroll this afternoon, which indicated that CNN-HD isn't coming anytime soon to DC. Instead we get Mickey Mouse in Stretch-o-Vision.



Blech. More stretched upconverted simulcasts of SD channels. At least CNN-HD has HD origination out of its NYC studios and has started pushing HD cameras into the field for location reporting. Instead DC Comcast customers get Mickey Mouse stretched into the size of a rat.

Disney doesn't stretch and has HD programs.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post13610807

[Marcus Carr]

Originally Posted by CycloneGT

So was today's WBFF news in HD or not?



I won't be home until after 9pm, so I can't check it out until then.

No HD news yet, but WBFF does look better. The news ticker goes all the way across the screen.

[clifburns]

Originally Posted by Marcus Carr

Disney doesn't stretch and has HD programs.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post13610807

That's good to know. But I still think the DC market would prefer to see news programs in HD as opposed to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in HD (which was one of the programs that the link said was in HD).

[euckersw]

Just turned on the TV and noticed on a promo channel that Cox in Fairfax is due to receive 5 new HD channels on May 31st. The channels listed are:

USA HD
Bravo HD
Sci-Fi HD
CNBC HD
Lifetime HD

It states that brings the total to 39 HD channels for Cox in Fairfax with "...more coming soon!" being touted on the promo channel.

[vidioteic]

Originally Posted by CycloneGT

So was today's WBFF news in HD or not?

I won't be home until after 9pm, so I can't check it out until then.

10pm news, indeed the ticker goes all the way across the screen, but the video is in 4:3. (BTW, Mark, I'm missing the bottom line of the ticker on my set, so an L looks like an |).

The image looks better though. I know the engineers have been working hard. I'm not convinced the studio is HD (yet), but it is certainly being upconverted and fed out of an HD Master Control.

Nice work guys!

[CycloneGT]

I guess HD comes later on for Fox45 news. I saw the ticker on the widescreen.

[tonyd79]

Originally Posted by vidioteic

10pm news, indeed the ticker goes all the way across the screen, but the video is in 4:3. (BTW, Mark, I'm missing the bottom line of the ticker on my set, so an L looks like an |).

Mine, too. Overscan. On both TVs on multiple sources.

Looking forward to all HD!

[Steve_AA_Co_MD]

Prince Georges County Comcast not only removed the Baltimore QAM digital channels from their system, but the Annapolis & Anne Arundel Comcast system removed many DC QAM digital channels yesterday (4, 7, 9, & 26). I still have 5, 20, and 50, but probably not for long. I miss having the option of watching WUSA's HD news. Not only that, I often watched several other DC locals on the QAM side since the SD version is so overly-compressed. This was one of the reasons that I initially chose Comcast over satellite, especially since the town that I live in is actually quite a bit closer to DC than it is to Baltimore. I'd rather watch DC locals. Most severe weather moves generally from West to East. I live directly East of DC. Baltimore weather rarely matches up with what I experience in my town. I don't expect to see FIOS install crews for years either. Maybe I need to look into a good D*/OTA hybrid solution.