Des Moines, IA - HDTV - Page 139

It is about 18 inches square plastic with no amp that I am aware of.

Do you have any other TVs in the house? Do they all have the same issues? Being in Ankeny, sometimes it almost becomes a problem of too much signal rather than not enough...

I'd be tempted to slap a set of rabbit-ears on the TV in question and see if it performs better (make sure the long rods are pulled out and fanned out). If your problem is only with VHF channels you might want to replace the square antenna outside with something else. Winegard has several models that should be fine for close-in VHF/UHF reception.

...which brings us to...

Now that it's been about 1-1/2 years since the transition, how would you grade the Des Moines market? It's one of the more interesting ones since all of the majors are on VHF (including WOI on the notorious low-V band).

Like Dallas-Ft. Worth, Des Moines is around 20% for OTA so antenna reception is more of a factor both there and here than in places such as Boston.

Broadcasting & Cable: Looks like KDSM is safe on Mediacom for at least two more years:

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...trans_Deal.php

Just the one that's HD. The other is standard with satellite.

I'd say the DSM market is in good shape now. I watch OTA only and have been since the HD-UHF days. Early on after the VHF transition, FOX was especially flakey and ABC was sketchy at times too. But now, I'd say all my OTA is rock solid with just a basic/passive VHF antenna in the attic.

With the exception of 39, I agree. I have amplified rabbit ears and pull 5, 8, 11, 13, 17, and 19/23 in just fine from Waukee.

Of course, I'll never consider this market complete until I can see Slumberland commercials in HD on 8 and 13. That's my endgame.

If possible, I'd say maybe try grig's idea with rabbit ears. If you get 8.1/2 better with the weaker antenna then it would be an indication your tv is just getting overloaded with too much signal. If you don't have rabbit ears, but your main antenna is on a rotor, you could also try slightly off-tuning it from what you think it should be pointed to attenuate the signal.

Thanks, I was around back then but forgot about the "you're only getting half the picture" spots, now I remember. Wish all the networks would make better use of the stereo effect (those that have that capability) for all programming. Even prime time shows seem to use it sparingly, but I dont have dolby or sony5 or anything other than good separation with a 2 speaker setup. Any channel with a music format should try to get it out in stereo if possible, stereo is to music like color was to a black and white picture.

I doubt COOL TV is sending it out in stereo to begin with, or even know if any sub channels in any markets are broadcasting in stereo. Also wonder if they want to put out quality stereo videos, for fear that people will record and share them.

That's not really a concern. Logo-free DVD rips of (almost) every music video in existence are already out there.

Can anyone confirm if 13.3 is on the air? Thanks Mike

Just did a scan on two different devices, not getting anything on 13.3

Thanks for the reply mofford. According to the Antenna TV website they went on air Jan. 1st. The WHO site does not have much info. At one time I thought I saw Jan. 3rd as a date. , just cant seem to find much info on their site. Mike

All I could find is that WHO will launch Antenna TV network sometime in early January. Looks like we missed out on Benny Hill this weekend. Was just looking over their programming schedule, surprised "The Jeffersons" is missing from their lineup, need some Mr. Bentley back-tracks to honor his passing a couple years back. Here's the Antenna TV site with schedule contained within.

http://www.antennatv.tv/about/antv-w...0,433552.story

Thanks for the link---thats more info than I found. I can't believe they would have a little more on the WHO site though. Mike

Meant to say wouldn't have more info on the WHO site. Anyone notice a power increase from KCCI? Coming in better than normal in Marshall county, with an indoor antenna. Mike

I've also noticed a huge reception improvement from KCCI here in Ames.

WHO is running an on-air teaser promo for Antenna TV, but I can't remember if it has a specific date on it or not.

My Phillips LCD, which periodically turns itself on and auto-scans for new channels, hasn't added 13.3 yet.

Mediacom shows it starting Jan 6 http://mediacomtoday-lineup.com/line...ive_des_m.aspx
Joe

I called WHO TV and was told that Antenna TV on the 13.3 channel will begin sometime in February. She wasn't able to give a specific date but said they were shooting for February.

Thanks for that information everyone. I wonder why the hold up and conflicting dates? I was really looking forward to it starting! Mike

bravo, cnbc, and toon have been added to the hd lineup on mediacom.

Looks like Mediacom is moving forward with plans to get rid of analog channels.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette is reporting that the cable company is eliminating all analog channels above 22 in a nine-county area of eastern Iowa, beginning in March.

Although I haven't seen anything about this in Des Moines media yet, I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

Just moved to a 5th floor apartment in downtown Des Moines with a south-facing window. I get ABC, and channel 5.2 crystal clear but nothing else. I have a Terk indoor UHFVHF combo antennae Model # HD-TVA. Anyone have any advice? Thank you.

Ouch...that south-facing apartment is not going to help much. The only signal you're getting is from WOI's channel 50 repeater on the Financial Center roof.

Your best option may be to play with the antenna's position...make sure it's pointing out that south window (or ANY window) and see if you can catch a signal bouncing off a nearby building. Try several different angles.

I suppose another idea would be to see if you could get someone to install a TV antenna for you on the roof...if the apartment management has a policy for installing DirectTV or Dish Network dishes up there, I don't see why that same policy couldn't be extended to OTA antennas. You would also have the chance to install an antenna physically large enough to pull in VHF channels well.

From WHO's Facebook feed...

Interesting.

On an unrelated note, did anyone else notice how WHO was having tech issues last night? They weren't showing any commercials at 10:00, just dead air. I have Mediacom, but I don't think that was the issue. It was kinda weird.

I have recently had trouble with WHO's 13.1 signal when they're broadcasting local or syndicated programming. I'm not a Wheel of Fortune fan, but sometimes it ends up on that program and my one-year-old likes it. A few times this month, it would stutter and break up badly enough that I was forced to tune my TiVo to Mediacom's analog 13 instead of the usual 13.1 over the air signal. Once, it crippled the TiVo badly enough that I had to reboot it. It has never done this during NBC-fed programming. Problem or coincidence, I don't know.