Dayton / Lima, OH - HDTV - Page 4

Paul,

That's cool, no problem. kinda figured that, I just have seen folks get awfully "sensitive" on this forum(not "here" though) with this kind of stuff on occasion and wanted anyone else reading our stuff to know what was going on from my end more than anything else I suppose.

Evan,

You Never know, might be "spooks" ...(Insert Twilight zone theme) :-) -- I'm sure you've noticed that Impulse noise is especially bad(and easy to detect) when it happens on analog Lo-VHF band stations with weak signals. Cincy 5 might be a good one to look at to see if it has much static, especially since they have been at low power the last few months while they do their tower work.

Something weird was happening here once from impulse noise, I'm almost sure it involved the utility lines/transformers/etc. and something arching in a "spark gap" type of manner "somewhere" nearby.

Just heard from the WKEF-DT CE, He reports that WKEF-DT has increased power again recently

Also, he mentioned something very encouraging relating to their "process" of providing NBC HD on a regular basis.

Well,

Noticed WKEF-DT wasn't passing HD for Leno last night, and today audio was missing on 51-1, so they must be having problems again. I'm glad I can switch to WLWT-DT for NBC HD!

Bummer on WKEF-DT!

I was just going to say, things have been looking pretty good here in the Dayton area. WHIO-DT looked great on Monday, I wonder if they allocated more bandwidth to 41-1? The picture seemed better than usual (except for the 4 blue lines.) Of course I didn't see the "IT"S ALL HERE" promo

Watched the world series game on WRGT-DT last night, does the WXIX-DT picture look any different? (WXIX-DT isn't strong enough for me to get.) The picture I saw looked exactly the same as when I stretch the SD picture with my TV.

Also, WCPO-DT came in loud and clear for NYPD Blue
My signal strength was a solid 85.....

Evan,

That's good news on WHIO-DT! I look forward to catching the next football game and seeing what it looks like.

Noticed last night shortly after making my last post that WKEF-DT was back to normal, and providing NBC HD

World series looks a little better than WRGT/WRGT-DT's SD on WXIX-DT as they upconvert everything to 1080i --- but it's not widescreen. However, WXIX-DT has been doing a good job providing the 480p "ED" Widescreen and 4x3 480p stuff from Fox lately --- This is not HD, but looks roughly as good as a progressively scanned DVD. WRGT-DT AFAIK or have noticed only does 4x3 SD at this time.

I would think you should have a good shot at WXIX-DT from your location. An outdoor antenna setup of course is always a good idea.

Evan,

It seems strange that you cannot receive WXIX-DT. Are you trying to receive them on 29? That is their channel assignment and it maps to 19. I get them just fine up here near Englewood, but I do have to rotate the antenna a little further west from the other Cincy towers. Their picture is definitely better than WRGT's standard def.

I tried the old "A-B" last night between WHIO-DT and WKRC-DT. WKRC still has the superior picture from what I'm seeing. A LOT less pixellization. And WHIO did run the 'It's All Here' promo last night. It looked terrible. I haven't seen the mystery signal drops lately, but the blue lines are still there.

Paul

Interesting on the differences between WXIX-DT and WRGT-DT. My signal on WKRC-DT and WXIX-DT is marginal. On occasion I get WXIX-DT, but most of the time I get the old screen blanker. I get WKRC-DT, but I have signal drops. (Hmmm, I'm still waiting on a back-ordered pre-amp....)

WCPO-DT and WLWT-DT are both pretty solid right now. (knocking on wood!)

I'll have to try WXIX-DT during the game tonight.... now, where did I put that roll of tin foil?

I keep checking on channel 50 for any signs of activity from WDTN. Nothing so far. I was hoping they would at least have a test signal of some sort.

6 Hours, 35 Minutes until the end of November 1. No sign of WDTN-DT as of yet. No sign on FCC site as of yet that they have filed for a 2nd extension.

There is also no sign of the Other 2 stations in our area that were "projected" by TitanTV to began broadcasting today.

TitanTV now shows WDTN-DT and the other two stations live date as being "under review".

I'm Not getting that "kid at Christmas" feeling today as of yet.

Paul,

Hard to say on WDTN-DT. I'm thinking they will be up soon, but I wouldn't want to bet on it. Will keep my eye on the FCC site to see if a 2nd extension request rolls in from them. If I recall correctly from info posted on other threads at AVS and, from what they told FCC in their first CP extension app, they have missed several "expected" on air dates for July and August 2002, so it's hard to want to wager on what might happen. \\

Surely would have been nice if WDTN-DT had been up with ABC HD tonight though, as WCPO-DT was late in providing HD for "Gladiator". Missed much of the first 30 minutes of the movie while instead I monitored a Gladiator thread in the programming area as well as contacted WCPO-DT via email about the situation.(Won't call Cincy long distance for this kind of stuff, sorry guys, I'm too cheap for that). Not sure when WCPO-DT flipped the switch, but know it wasn't before 9:15pm, and I didn't get back to screen until 9:30pm. Although I've never seen "Gladiator" before tonight, I just couldn't bear to watch it pan'n'scan SD. Now, I will probably have to rent the DVD in order to watch the first 30 minutes/etc.

Concerning WKEF .... Although I watch the Cincinnati stations more than Dayton, I have been tuning into WKEF-DT lately for NBC HD since they've been "generally" doing such a great job providing the HD, even though WLWT-DT seems reliable for NBC HD too. In addition, I think WKEF-DT does a better job with the bandwidth than WHIO-DT does.

Which reminds me, I did a test during ER in HD last night with eyes about 6 feet from screen and I'm still seeing compression artifacts during fast action on WLWT-DT that I'm not seeing on WKEF-DT for some reason.

All things considered, I think WKEF-DT is the #1 DTV station in Dayton these days. Which is saying a lot considering their ownership. Heck, they even came on air 3 months early for HD Olympics even though they had to displace Dayton's WRCX-LP off 51 temporarily at the time to do it.

Hmmm.

Did some digging on FCC site, and if the info is correct, it appears that WDTN-DT's first CP extension expires on 12/5/2002. Although I know a CP extension is usually granted for 6 months, I had thought that all DTV stations that had a 5/1/2002 deadline only had until 11/1. I guess not. Except, that is, stations that were denied an extension, who were given an extra month, until 12/1.

Think we will see WDTN-DT on air by 12/5/2002?

I sure hope so. I used to get WCPO-DT intermittently but now it's very rare that I can get a lock. I don't know what's changed. I'm tired of watching ABC in blurry analog.

When I checked yesterday I noticed that WHIO-DT had the SEC HD game in .... SD. It looked good in HD via WKRC-DT. By now you'd think WHIO would know there is HD football at 3:30p on Saturday from CBS ..... Could be wrong, but since they had CBS HD last night, I'm guessing this was a "flip the switch" problem.

I was wondering if I was the only person that noticed WHIO-DT's lack of HD yesterday. It seems that someone trying to sell HDTV's would make a call to them considering the big Samsung promotion on CBS. Imagine going to Sears to watch that game and seeing SD. I don't think that would sell too many people on buying an expensive TV.

I finally reconnected my RCA F38310 to the antenna. I was curious as to the state of the WHIO-DT 4 blue lines on this set, since my Hughes E86/Pioneer 710HD consistently shows the problem. Well, guess what? I get (ONE) faint blue line on the RCA. I haven't had a chance watch a lot yet, but I did see one of the lines the other night. I've also found that the lines seem to show when there's a significant amount of blue content on the screen. ( not just a darker scene as I thought earlier...)

I'll watch more tonight to see if I can see more then one line. I'll get the camera ready too....

Also, I've found the RCA is more sensitive to signal quality than the Hughes.

Well, I checked the RCA again last night during King of Queens. All four lines are definitely there. If I sit right in front of the set and look at the lower left corner, they show up during blue/black content. They also show during some of the 4:3 commercials with 2 lines in the black bar. They aren't as obvious as on my other set, but they are visible.

I didn't get a good photograph yet, I'll try again today.

Also, still no WDTN-DT

I wonder if WHIO even has a clue that they're there? I sat right in front of my TV last night and there are definitely 4 blue lines in the lower left quadrant.

On the good side, the mystery 'every 10 minute signal drops' have been gone for awhile now.

C'mon WDTN-DT!!!

I noticed last night that WHIO-DT now has a sub channel--41-2. I wonder how much that's going to affect bandwidth? Also, still watching for anything out of WDTN-DT. Absolutely nothing yet.

Just checked at 9:45 and 10pm, and noticed WHIO-DT has CBS HD tonight ... But WKRC-DT doesn't! Also, WKEF-DT has L&O at 10 in HD ... and WLWT-DT is off the air at present(as has been the case much of the fall season).

Way to go CBS and NBC Dayton

I get the blue lines on channel 41 too! My STB is a DTC-100. I figure it's a problem with the station as it's the only channel I have problems with. I only notice it when there isn't much else on the screen.

Hello All!

Thanx for the link to the Dayton thread! Don't know why it didn't turn up on a search...

O.K., where can I get an STB locally? Does anyone carry the RCA DTC-100? What are your opinions of this STB?

Thanx!

Griff

p.s., if anyone on the Cinci thread mistook my comment about intruding, that was NOT my intent. please accept my apology if you were torqued by it. I find these forums an invaluable asset, and wouldn't want to alienate the members.

Thanx Again!

Griff,

Welcome to the Dayton thread!

Not sure about the RCA. Most of the hot talk lately seems to be about the Zenith HD-SAT520 or the equivalent Sony model. I've seen where some people like the newer Samsungs. The majority of the boxes available locally seem to be the Samsungs or the Hughes. I haven't read anything outstanding about the Hughes.
You may want to read of other users' experiences in the hardware forum:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forum...?s=&forumid=25

Paul

Welcome Griff!

I had a DTC-100 about a year ago. Now I have a hughes E86. Of the two, I would go with the hughes, it has a much better program guide. As far as the picture goes, they both produce a great HD picture.

I agree with Paul, check the hardware forum. The DTC-100 was 1st generation and the E86 was 2nd. I would give the 3rd generation boxes a serious look.

Good Luck!

I've been checking 50 every day or so. Haven't seen a thing!

I canx the Samsung today. It was the 151, and I think I'd be better off waiting and looking at some of the newer boxes and their features. One of the complaints I had was the inability to use this box as a switcher. Do any of the boxes offer this option. I only have 2 inputs,a dn they're both being used by TWC HD box and prog scan DVD.

Griff

Griff,

I have no idea if any STB for OTA DTV/HD have component inputs/switchers in them, I haven't heard of any but it does seem like it would be a nice feature, even for Cable STBs since most HD displays have a limited number of Component inputs. There may be some A/V receivers out there that offer Component inputs+switching, however, if that's another option for you.

All,

No sign of WDTN-DT here yet either. Unless they file for a 2nd CP extension with FCC soon, seems like they'll turn into a pumpkin on 12/6

WBDT-DT 18 (Dayton WB) did get their 2nd CP extension granted by FCC recently. According to the info sent with the app, the antenna and transmission line is up, and the Transmitter is on site, as it has been since August. However, for some reason, the Transmitter manufacturer(Thales) has to Install and Comission the Transmitter, which they can't do until Late Dec/Early January. I believe WBDT-DT's current expected on air Date is Mid-January. Last I spoke with them several months ago, they weren't sure when they would have WB HD. For some reason, I've been enjoying "Everwood" and "Smallville" as of late, sure would be nice to see them in HD instead of seeing the "Available in High Definition" banner in SD. My fingers are crossed though, since I'm sort of doubtful that WSTR-DT Cincy(Sinclair) will have WB HD. BTW, WSTR-DT is another station, which should have turned into a pumpkin on 12/1, along with WKOI-DT (TBN). Both WSTR and WKOI have filed for a 2nd CP extension, although the 1st one was denied by FCC. LOL.

Last I spoke to WPTD-DT 58's (ThinkTV/PBS Dayton)CE, they were planning on being on the air "on or around" May 1, 2003, with PBS HD too. Who knows, maybe we'll see them sooner than that.

Has anyone in East Dayton, or East or SE(Xenia, etc) of Dayton Pulled in WWHO-DT 46, whose tower is near Chillicothe? My understanding is that they are doing WB HD (They have both UPN and WB programming), and are running at full power, 1000KW ERP from a nice, high tower. So, those in East Dayton, or east of Dayton should have a good shot at them with a decent outdoor antenna setup. They are a little far out for me though, at 70 miles with a big hill I have to aim through.

Guess what?

WDTN-DT has filed(apparantly Yesterday) for a 2nd CP extension with FCC. Link below(PDF file) is the info attached to their extension app explaining why they need more time. Per this info, hopefully it won't be too much longer before they are able to apply for the STA mentioned. I hope it's for more than 10 watts.

http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs...hibit_id=99451

Jeff,

Thanks for the info on WDTN. I'll be happy if it is only 10 watts, as long as I can receive it! Just be thankful that you can receive WCPO-DT. I'm tired of watching ABC in blurry analog.

Also, you guys on the Cincinnati thread are a bunch of teases talking about WCET's HD they were transmitting yesterday! I'm drooling in anticipation of a PBS station.

Paul

Paul210,

What channels are your currently receiving in HD.
I just setup a Zenith HDV420 OTA tuner. Haven't really been able to determine any HD broadcast in Vandalia, OH.
I have a RS Double Bow tie in the attic. Can pull in 30-1, 41-1, 41-2,51-1, 51-2, and cincy 5-1.
In the afternoon, 51-1 came in strong , and 8:00 PM Sunday, when American Dreams came on , the signal dropped to "bad".
Thanks

Jon