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Atlanta, GA - OTA

606K views 5K replies 583 participants last post by  vahighland 
#1 ·
On Thursday, I joined the ranks of the HDTV owners. I have Comcast HD here in Atlanta, but I'd like to enjoy the other local channels that they don't include. My Zenith has a built-in tuner, and I'm only about 10 miles from the towers. However, I live north of the city in Sandy Springs. My apartment is on the top floor of a three story building, but there is a building next door of the same size. Does anybody have a similar experience? If so, could I get away with an indoor antenna like the Silver Sensor? What's a good VHF antenna to pick up WSB? Thanks in advance.


[MOD EDIT]

Digital Ch. | Call letters | Affiliate | Primary Resolution

10 | WXIA | NBC | 1080i

19 | WGCL | CBS | 1080i

20 | WTBS | TBS (local) | 1080i

25 | WATL | WB | 1080i

27 | WAGA | FOX | 720p

39 | WSB | ABC | 720p

41 | WATC | TV57 | 480i

42 | WTHC | The Atlanta Channel (local) | 480i

43 | WUPA | UPN | 1080i

44 | WHSG | TBN | 480i

48 | WUVG | Univision | 480i

51 | WPXA | PAX | 480i



Contact information for the local channels: http://www.georgiahdtv.com/ht/atlanta_station_info.html
 
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#2 ·
I'm in Atlanta too, about 4-5 miles from towers - near Clairmont Rd. and I-85. Anyway, you'll find tons of recommendation of the Zenith Silver Sensor and the Radio Shack "double bow tie". Try them both out and see what you get - you can always return them. I bought a Silver Sensor from Best Buy and got nothing with it, so I returned it. I recently got a RS bow-tie and get everything, but I do have to move it around a bit for each channel. I've also got a chimney mounted Channel Master, which gets everything but CBS 46 (which I think is a multi-path problem). Bottom line, try out the Zenith and Radio Shack since they're easy to return.


Good luck. Unfortunately, nearly everyone's experiences are unique and what works for you may not even work for your neighbor.
 
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by jwarden
MSAT-


Have you had any trouble with 11-Alive digital (10d) in the last week? I used to pull it in fine, but have suddenly lost it. Not sure if it is my gear or something with them?


Thanks in advance...

So I know this was a long time ago, but I suddenly started having this problem. Right after the storm I discovered I've lost 11 (10d). Unfortunately I didn't notice this until after I missed Law and Order's Season Premiere (@#@#@#!). Is anyone else having this problem?


Peace.
 
#7 ·
 You can find a lot of information here.


atlantahdtv.org used to have a good summary but they seem to be off the air now.

Here is the list from Antennaweb.org - I can get most stations but not all at once.


WSB-DT 2.1 ABC Atlanta GA

WTBS-DT 17.1 TBS ATLANTA GA

WGCL-DT 46.1 CBS ATLANTA GA

WUVG-DT 34.1 UNI ATHENS GA

WATC-DT 41.1 REL ATLANTA GA

WATL-DT 36.1 WB Atlanta GA

WAGA-DT 5.1 FOX Atlanta GA

WPXA-DT 14.1 PAX Rome GA

WXIA-DT 11.1 NBC Atlanta GA

WUPA-DT 69.1 UPN ATLANTA GA

WHSG-DT 44.1 TBN MONROE GA


Neither PBS station listed below is broadcasting now. It is a touchy subject in the local HDTV discussion group.


WPBA-DT 21 PBS Atlanta GA

WGTV-DT 12 PBS Athens GA


Now if there is any Charter Cable HDTV user that can answer my question
The qustion on whether or not the HD QAM singals are encrypted..
 
#9 ·
Nice to see the ATL thread alive and well!


My new issue in the last few weeks is CBS 19(D), it would be nice to get it back for primetime stuff and sports...


Is anyone else on the fringe of Atlanta having trouble pulling it in? I can't get it at all anymore, regardless of the weather, but my antenna is pushed to it's (geographical) limits.


To follow up on my (way) earlier post, NBC 11(D) is reliably strong now, and since the Olympics, is showing weather radar on one of the sub channels. Nice to get 24/7 radar, but HD content would be better...


Thanks.
 
#10 ·
Unfortunately, my first experience with HDTV was from a Terk TV55 recommended by someone at Fry's. Why did he recommend it? It's a $100 antenna that I got from a friend via his Best Buy discount for $52. I'd say 96% markup is a good reason to recommend something. Prick.


Anyway, I now have Charter cable which gives me 9 HD channels, but I'd only really call 5 of them true HD, as 1 is Braves in HD (I can't count this as part of my lineup since I could probably only watch about 20 hours of HD a week during baseball season) and 3 are Fox, CBS, and NBC, which are simply upsampled 480i programming except for their prime time shows (CSI, Law and Order, etc) and sports.


We don't get ABC, but if that has the same problem, I probably wouldn't count it either.


So out of "9" channels, I'd really only count 5 of them.


Is this common with HD? Are most local HD channels simply really bad upsampled HD except a few shows a week? I mean, to be honest, if that's the case, this HD stuff is vastly overrated.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by et121212
You can find a lot of information here.


atlantahdtv.org used to have a good summary but they seem to be off the air now.

Here is the list from Antennaweb.org - I can get most stations but not all at once.


WSB-DT 2.1 ABC Atlanta GA

WTBS-DT 17.1 TBS ATLANTA GA

WGCL-DT 46.1 CBS ATLANTA GA

WUVG-DT 34.1 UNI ATHENS GA

WATC-DT 41.1 REL ATLANTA GA

WATL-DT 36.1 WB Atlanta GA

WAGA-DT 5.1 FOX Atlanta GA

WPXA-DT 14.1 PAX Rome GA

WXIA-DT 11.1 NBC Atlanta GA

WUPA-DT 69.1 UPN ATLANTA GA

WHSG-DT 44.1 TBN MONROE GA


Neither PBS station listed below is broadcasting now. It is a touchy subject in the local HDTV discussion group.


WPBA-DT 21 PBS Atlanta GA

WGTV-DT 12 PBS Athens GA


Now if there is any Charter Cable HDTV user that can answer my question
The qustion on whether or not the HD QAM singals are encrypted..

What this list does not show is the recent trend towards multicasting by a number of these stations, notably WSB, PAX (anybody care?) and WXIA in particular. WSB (ABC) is now multicasting the ABC News Channel, Pax has 4 (count 'em, 4) video streams, and WXIA (NBC) has a subchannel for digital radar. There have been recent complaints about the effect on HD PQ especially for WSB (MNF in particular) and WXIA (Olympics in particular).
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by DDisney
What this list does not show is the recent trend towards multicasting by a number of these stations, notably WSB, PAX (anybody care?) and WXIA in particular. WSB (ABC) is now multicasting the ABC News Channel, Pax has 4 (count 'em, 4) video streams, and WXIA (NBC) has a subchannel for digital radar. There have been recent complaints about the effect on HD PQ especially for WSB (MNF in particular) and WXIA (Olympics in particular).

Don't forget WAGA (FOX), which is multicasting the SD version of their programming on 5-2 and WTBS, doing the same on 17-2. Why? Who knows.
 
#13 ·
The above list reflects a combination of some remapped digital channels and some physical channels, which probably leads to a great deal of confusion for HDTV new recruits.


I've tried to keep this list updated:


Digital Ch. | Call letters | Affiliate | Primary Resolution

10 | WXIA | NBC | 1080i

19 | WGCL | CBS | 1080i

20 | WTBS | TBS (local) | 1080i

25 | WATL | WB | 1080i

27 | WAGA | FOX | 720p

39 | WSB | ABC | 720p

41 | WATC | TV57 | 480i

42 | WTHC | The Atlanta Channel (local) | 480i

43 | WUPA | UPN | 1080i

44 | WHSG | TBN | 480i

48 | WUVG | Univision | 480i

51 | WPXA | PAX | 480i


Contact information for the local channels: http://www.georgiahdtv.com/ht/atlanta_station_info.html


I agree that multicasting has been a problem here
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by jwarden
Nice to see the ATL thread alive and well!


My new issue in the last few weeks is CBS 19(D), it would be nice to get it back for primetime stuff and sports...


Is anyone else on the fringe of Atlanta having trouble pulling it in? I can't get it at all anymore, regardless of the weather, but my antenna is pushed to it's (geographical) limits.

First, thanks for Nathan's station clarifications!


Now for the rest of the story....WGCL (Channel 46, 46-1, and 19-1) has had over a year of problems with their HDTV signal. Their presentation of last year's Superbowl was a well-documented debacle.


The biggest issues with this CBS affiliate are:


1) They still continue to have the weakest broadcast signal in town, using only about 60% the power of their competitors (which confirms that anyone outside of I- 285 has an "iffy" chance of even pulling them in)


2) They continue to refuse waivers to alternative providers (like DirecTV's national CBS feeds), despite the fact that about 50% of the Atlanta market cannot get their station's Over The Air (OTA) signal with any level of strength or stability. Some folks in Cobb County have reported that they can't get them at all.


I spoke regularly with some of their "higher ups" about this. They fired their former senior engineer, and now have someone who appears to be dedicated to a solution - that said, it still boils down to money. WGLC has been slow in allocating the funds to get the proper newer equipment to effectively transmit Digital broadcasts at full power. I was originally told this would be "taken care of" by Summer, whereas now it looks like it may be Spring 2005.


Sad. A Major League city with a Minor League TV station.
 
#15 ·
it's nice to have this thread be active.


so anyway, I've lost 11 (10d) since the last big storm. My antenna is indoors so the wind shouldn't have made a difference and I never had a problem before. I can get all the other major channels (well I can't get PAX, but I'm still not sure why I should care).


I'm in unincorporated fayette county about six miles south of the airport. Has anyone else had this problem? it's driving me nuts. My antenna is mounted in an odd place in an attic space above my bedroom, so I'm loathe to go up there and fiddle with it while standing on a support beam to avoid falling through my bedroom ceiling.
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by clangro
Is this common with HD? Are most local HD channels simply really bad upsampled HD except a few shows a week? I mean, to be honest, if that's the case, this HD stuff is vastly overrated.

Did you expect daytime TV to be in HD? CBS has one soap in HD, but it will be many years before the majority of daytime TV is in HD. The major networks now have most of their primetime shows (not including those stupid "reality" shows) in HD. CBS has NCAA (SEC) football on Saturdays and NFL(AFC) football on Sundays in HD, Fox has NFL(NFC including the Falcons) in HD, and ABC has Monday Night Football in HD. Cable and satellite providers also have HBOHD, ShowtimeHD, ESPNHD, and several other HD channels.


To see what's on in HD, check TitanTV dot com.
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by Nathan_R
The above list reflects a combination of some remapped digital channels and some physical channels, which probably leads to a great deal of confusion for HDTV new recruits.


I've tried to keep this list updated:


Digital Ch. | Call letters | Affiliate | Primary Resolution

10 | WXIA | NBC | 1080i

19 | WGCL | CBS | 1080i

20 | WTBS | TBS (local) | 1080i

25 | WATL | WB | 1080i

27 | WAGA | FOX | 720p

39 | WSB | ABC | 720p

41 | WATC | TV57 | 480i

42 | WTHC | The Atlanta Channel (local) | 480i

43 | WUPA | UPN | 1080i

44 | WHSG | TBN | 480i

48 | WUVG | Univision | 480i

51 | WPXA | PAX | 480i


Contact information for the local channels: http://www.georgiahdtv.com/ht/atlanta_station_info.html


I agree that multicasting has been a problem here

Super - much clearer. I just wanted to keep the thread going by posting the first thing I could get my hands on.


Mod: please copy this list to the first thread to avoid confusion.
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by Gromit
Is anyone else's normally crappy CBS reception even worse today? It was fine earlier in the week but when I want to watch HD football today it's unwatchable.

Gromit,


CBS had the colored bars and the famous "beep" sound when I first tried it around 1:30 today.

About 10 minutes later it came in fine. I'm watching the Arkansas/Fla. game now.

Waiting patiently for the UGA LSU game!!!

CBS working for you now?

I'm in Fayetteville, 20 miles south of the city.


LET'S KEEP THIS ATL THREAD ALIVE AND KICKIN'!!!!


later,

jb
 
#20 ·
JB-


I am getting better than normal CBS OTA too- and I am 45 miles north of the perimeter.


But, the ARK vs. FLA game appears to be in SD though- I hope that doesn't mean the Dawgs will be too.... I am having a flashback to the SuperBowl!


I wish these guys would either get it fixed or approve my waiver!
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by Gromit
Is anyone else's normally crappy CBS reception even worse today? It was fine earlier in the week but when I want to watch HD football today it's unwatchable.

That game was in 4:3 SD.. Turn on CBS now



I pull in all the majors and I live way out in Suwanee.


PM me if you need assistance with an antenna in the Atlanta area.


Goooooooo Tigers!!
 
#25 ·
I'm in Canton but was getting great reception until Saturday. The guy who installed my antenna said he's never seen such a great signal from my area. He did warn me about the crappy CBS signal though.


I couldn't watch the UGA-LSU game in HD. It kept breaking up every few seconds. I'm going to call my installer back on Monday and see if he can tweak it. I was happy with the results of the game though, even if I had to watch in SD.
 
#26 ·
Sorry about the audio folks. That's still a manual switch! We hope to be full power by July 05. Basically, the entire HD plant will have to be re-installed.
 
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