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Chicago, IL - OTA

2M views 15K replies 680 participants last post by  Mike Beranek 
#1 · (Edited)
#12,321 ·
Noticed that WTTW has changed 11.1 to 720p.
On what may be a related note, the Create channel is broadcasting in widescreen now. I think it's still 480i, though.
 
#12,326 ·
I can tell it's much more compressed. On my Comcast DVR, a recording is now barely 3%/hour of it's tiny 120G drive. It used to be 4-5%.
I was recently thinking the same thing about all channels, not just WTTW.

On my Media Center recordings I seem to remember them being about 8 to 10GB an hour of recording. Now I'm seeing 6-8GB an hour.

Also, last night WYCC broadcast one of those high definition eye candy programs, an aerial tour of Hawaii, that used to be common when HD was new. From years ago, I remember the eye popping detail that made the aerial scenes simply stunning. Last night it was just a blurry fuzzy mess of pixels that looked no better than standard definition.
 
#12,327 ·
I was recently thinking the same thing about all channels, not just WTTW.

On my Media Center recordings I seem to remember them being about 8 to 10GB an hour of recording. Now I'm seeing 6-8GB an hour.

Also, last night WYCC broadcast one of those high definition eye candy programs, an aerial tour of Hawaii, that used to be common when HD was new. From years ago, I remember the eye popping detail that made the aerial scenes simply stunning. Last night it was just a blurry fuzzy mess of pixels that looked no better than standard definition.
On my Comcast DVR, it does highly vary from channel to channel. WBBM is the highest, nearly 8-9%. WLS 7.1 is the worst, although WTTW is probably about the same now.
 
#12,330 ·
How is ABC able to offer two HD channels at the same time from a bandwidth perspective? Right now the Cubs game is on 7.1 and ESPN Sports Saturday is on 7.2. And flipping between both of them, both have good picture quality. Is there a way to figure out how many bits are being dedicated to 7.1 and 7.2 and make a comparison to FOX - 32.1? The picture quality of the Cubs game on 7.1 and ESPN Sports Saturday on 7.2 both seem to be better than 32.1. I think 7.1, 7.2, and 32.1 are all 720p.
 
#12,332 ·
Nice thread! I just cancelled DirecTV and have been watching local TV with an Amazon Basics 50 mile indoor antenna. It works perfect, except for Channel 2.

I'm going to try the Winegard HD7694P on my roof. I live in Mount Prospect (22 miles from Sears Tower), so I'm hoping everything will come in crystal clear!
 
#12,333 ·
I'm having a similar experience not being able to pick up channel 2.1 CBS. I picked up an amplified Mohu Leaf 50 off of Amazon and can pick up the following channels in HD: 26.1 WCIU, 32.1 FOX, 66.1 UNI, 9.1 WGN, 7.1 ABC, 5.1 NBC, 50.1 WPWR, 44.1 TEL, 38.1 ION, 11.1 WTTW. I am located 40 miles from the towers in Volo, IL (near Wauconda)

The antenna is located on the second floor of a townhome. I am going to try the bedroom upstairs and check if I can pick it up there. Even without CBS I am very impressed by the Antenna. I wasn't sure what to expect being 40 miles away and in a townhome.

Called Comcast today to cancel my cable package and am now being charged $66.95 for their performance internet 25/5. Next step is to purchase my own modem and a roku stick.
 
#12,334 ·
WXFT 60.1
Is anybody else seeing WXFT 60.1 .2 .3 mapping to channels 50.1 .2 and .3 instead of 60.1 .2 and .3? It's been like this for me for the last several days. No psip data showing up either. It makes things a bit confusing when you're trying to tune WPWR and you punch in 50.1 and end up on WXFT instead of WPWR and have to scan up to reach WPWR.
 
#12,335 ·
WXFT 60.1
Is anybody else seeing WXFT 60.1 .2 .3 mapping to channels 50.1 .2 and .3 instead of 60.1 .2 and .3? It's been like this for me for the last several days. No psip data showing up either. It makes things a bit confusing when you're trying to tune WPWR and you punch in 50.1 and end up on WXFT instead of WPWR and have to scan up to reach WPWR.
I've noticed this happening too, for the last couple of days or so.
 
#12,336 ·
Cub Games

Am I the only one who can't hear the announcers during Cub games on ch 7? I can hear the crowd great but if I want to hear Len and Jim I have to really crank it up. They need to turn up the gain on their mics.

I notice this OTA and via Dish.
 
#12,338 ·
I can tell it's much more compressed. On my Comcast DVR, a recording is now barely 3%/hour of it's tiny 120G drive. It used to be 4-5%.
This probably has something to with the problems I'm having with my Tivo stream and watching shows on WTTW. Now, when I try to stream, the audio is fine, but the picture is basically still frames, showing a different frame about every 10 seconds.

Any contacts at WTTW to let them know about this?
 
#12,339 ·
Anyone else have problems picking up WGBO and ? I moved to the South Loop with a Radioshack loop and can't get the signal. I did the paperclip test and got most of the channels but still no WGBO. Probably because I have line of sight to Willis but my west-facing apartment has no line of site to John Hancock.

Apologies if this is the wrong place to post this...
 
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