Greensboro, NC - HDTV - Page 340

You mean this one? http://www.news-record.com/content/2012/07/21/article/tv_news_station_out_in_the_cold

Thought I'd beat FOXENG to the punch in posting it..

 

I'm no fan of Time Warner cable. (I use OTA for most of my viewing and just use TWC's broadcast cable package as a backup.)

That having been said, I don't think Greensboro residents have a legitimate complaint against TWC for not carrying WGSR.

After all, WGSR is a low-power station, not a full-power station. Few cable systems carry LPTV stations.

Even with a rooftop antenna, it could be hard for many Greensboro area residents to pick up WGSR over-the-air, so why should TWC carry it?

I don't suppose I have a dog in the hunt anymore, but, a couple of years ago when I was in the Southeast part of Greensboro, I pulled WGSR in with just a bowtie mounted on a wooden dowel, inside. Viewership was more a chicken and egg trick. The station could be received. but few would take the trouble as few knew about it, and the station could not program specifically for Greensboro until it had an audience there. With most viewers tied to cable, that might not change. If I were in Greensboro today, and had cable, I would need a switch to antenna and a receiver thar could hold both Qam and OTA channels in memory. Cable is just too limiting.

Nice article! WGSR comes in loud and clear here in Burlington without any effort. My antenna is actually pointed toward the Garner antenna farm! You can even get WGSR on Directv with the AM21 tuner if you add WRPX from the Raleigh DMA. Comes through just fine (only the WGSR-1, not the -2 and -3, but it's better than nothing!) There is a glitch in the AM21 database that lets it through. The guide data is for WRPX, but you can watch WGSR on 47-1. I have a pic posted several pages back in this thread. Screw TWC!!!
Edited by ejb1980 - 7/22/12 at 7:13pm

They do carry WHKY-14 on cable in the Charlotte region, which is a similar local independent station from Hickory. But it does have more of a full power signal, which may be more of a determining factor.

Time-Warner Cable does carry some low-power stations in its NC systems. In Wilmington, WILM-LP is carried system-wide. In Raleigh Metro, WAUG-LP is carried throughout the system, while WARZ-LD and WTNC-LP is carried in at least part of the metro. In Charlotte Metro currently no LPTV stations are on the Time-Warner system, but until recently WGTB-LP was carried on the system.

In Eastern NC, WHIG-LP and WNCR-LP are carred on SuddenLink and other cable systems. In Southside VA, WYAT-LP, WGSR-LD and WMDV-LD are carried by Comcast from Martinsville to South Boston and in the adjoining counties. Also, all three are available in Henry and Pittsylvania Counties of Virginia through Chatmoss Cable.

It is not an unusual thing for a cable system to carry low-power television stations, even for Time-Warner.

Matt Smith
WGSR/WMDV

I think you are right in that WHKY enjoys the 'must-carry' rules in the Charlotte market because they are a full power station, whereas a low power station like WGSR in the Triad does not have this privilege.

WXII dumping "This Carolina" for Me-TV on August 6:

http://www.wxii12.com/tv/about/WXII-12-adds-Me-TV/-/9679352/15705348/-/iif6cnz/-/index.html

I'm gonna miss my "Highway Patrol" fix, as WBTV has already pushed THIS over the cliff.. I don'r see myself making an extrodinary effort at WRAL, so I'll admit defeat. Tactical defeat.

 

This! doesn't have a strong enough library of movies to make it a very compelling choice for a subchannel, especially for people who have cable or satellite.

.

A lot of the movies on This! are MGM stuff, but not the stuff from the glory years of the studio. Turner owns that, I think.

 

Local stations have moved away from showing movies, and the broadcast networks have stopped making miniseries and made-for-TV movies.

 

Before cable and satellite took over the world, there used to be a lot more movies on broadcast TV.

Some of them were pretty bad, but it was nice to have them around.

I prefer MeTV and Antenna TV, but it is nice to have This TV as an option. WBTV also dropped This, but I still get it on WYFF4.

I well remember the days throughout the 70's and into the 80's when broadcast networks did lots of made-for-TV movies and miniseries. In those days, networks needed to attempt to appeal to a broader audience since cable networks were limited.

As for Me-TV, it's all a matter of personal choice. But I am personally glad to see that WXII made the decision to place Me-TV on their subchannel. Viewers in the Greensboro market will now have access to this network. For anyone who likes vintage tv programs, I think Me-TV complements the Antenna TV network on WGHP. Now, if we could get WFMY to put something on their subchannel besides the weather. And it would be interesting if another Triad station picked up This!

I've been able to watch Me-TV since WCCB Charlotte placed it on their subchannel. But we know the majority of viewers do not have antennas. And even they do, long range reception is not always possible based on location.

I wish the Raleigh market still had a weather subchannel. There used to be two, one on WTVD and one on WNCN, but both were eliminated.

 

I don't understand why UNC-TV devotes a full-time subchannel to children's programming.

Even Nickelodeon switches away from children's programming in the evening.

UNC-TV could switch that channel over to documentaries, how-to shows, and other kinds of programming at night.

Time Warner Digital channel 312 is called NBAHD, and shows "NBA All-Star HDTV Channel" in the guide. Right now it is displaying a 16x9 color bar pattern w/the words "InDemand NBA HD" in a small box in the center. My question is does one have to pay to access the programming that will start tomorrow? I know that DirectTV is offering the programming free if you subscribe to HD content, but what about Time Warner HD. I am not familar w/InDemand stuff, as I've never used it, so if anyone who has could please clue me in on what I need to do to get it, I would appreciate it. Thx in advance.

Once upon a time, UNC wanted to move all the kids programming to UNC-KD and put regular programming on UNC-TV full time but I don't think they were able to get universal carriage on UNC-KD like they needed (particularly with regard to satellite) so they seemingly didn't do it.

- Trip

 

I'm not objecting to the main channel having some children's programming during the daytime, as public television has always had.

What I don't understand is why the subchannel is kids' programming 24 hours a day. Are kids watching at midnight or 2:00 a.m.?

I guess having a full-time channel would allow the subchannel to air more programs per day, and people who have DVRs could time-shift the shows to a time when kids would actually be awake. Even so, I think UNC-TV could make better use of the subchannel by airing other types of programming on it after, say, 8:00 p.m.

I agree. I have no idea what the costs would be but I think there's an underserved market for UK shows that BBC America ("The Best in British Television") never seems to carry and seem to rarely appear on UNC-TV - period pieces, dramas, procedurals, britcoms, etc.

They did that. It is called UNC EX channel.

You may be missing an important fact in this. BBC America is NOT owned by the BBC. It is owned by Discovery Communications and they license the BBC name and they buy programming, when it is available worldwide from BBC, ITV and other British content providers. Not all British programming is available outside of the UK. The British programs you see on UNC are for the most part PBS programming. UNC buys very little if any British programming on it is own. They buy British programming through US content providers when not from PBS. It isn't as cut and dry as one might think.

Understood. I would guess that over 90% of the British programming with which I am familiar is via the PBS station I watched for the 14 years I lived in Dallas, so, at least at the time, that programming was apparently available to (or through) the PBS affiliation.

Re: UNC-EX - I haven't watched it much, but I everything I remember seeing on it is specifically travel-related.

WXII HD still off cable? Is cable turning on any special olympics channels? Down here they are. 1520, 1521

Once in a great while, This! has something worthwhile. But MeTV is a my favorite of the old-show channels, followed closely by Antenna TV. WRAL-2 still has This! if anyone is motivated to try to tune it in (The best part of WRAL-2's This! channel is Mister Ed at 6:30pm, which isn't part of the national This! line up...) I am not sure how far WRAL comes in deeper in the Greensboro market, but WRAL is my 4th strongest signal, behind WUNC, WGPX, and WCWG. WGHP is #5. I recognize, however, that I am the exception and not the norm as I am just barely in the Greensboro market.

I wish UNC-TV would get the PBS Create channel like many. PBS stations have. UNC-MX has a solid line-up, better than EX in my opinion.

If you want Create (and World and V-Me. And PBS-HD and Montana PBS and OETA from Oklahoma), a 90cm free-to-air satellite dish will pull them all in. I will be watching Doctor Who tonight on OETA actually.

- Trip

I have never seen the Create channel that some public television stations carry.

Apparently it was launched by a company called American Public Television that distributes programming, from a variety of producers, to local public TV stations.

I've seen their logo at the end of shows on public TV..

 

http://www.aptonline.org/

 

I like the UNC Explorer channel, UNC-EX, especially when it replays Ken Burns' documentaries.

He can make just about any topic interesting.

DirectTV user here.

Considering an AM21 purchase.

Has 12.2 had the same issues with Directv as the 8.2 issue I have read about?

I record from THIS! regularly using my AM21 and HR-24.

8.2 is the only Greensboro channel that doesn't work properly on the AM21. 20-4, 43-3, and 43-4 are just flat-out missing. The others work well. Where do you live, Steverster?

Children like adults, are awake or asleep all through the day or night. Right or wrong, there are many children that have to accomodate the adult(s) schedule by moving between baby sitter and home or staying overnight at grannie's house. More often than you think, a teenager is left in charge of the little ones while a single parent works. Visit the pediatric ward of any hospital and be surprised by how large, and full, the ward is. You can safely assume more children are sick at home than are in the hospital.

Nick programming versus PBS programming is not a valid compariosn because the two organizations have two different missions. Nick has Nick At Night because it is a for-profit network. PBS is a donor driven public organization meant to meet the needs of the community. A 24/7 young children's sub channel makes perfect sense for public television and compliments their misson of something for everyone.

By the way, I am not a PBS contributor or associated with PBS.

What model of HD DVR do you have? If you have the HR34 get an AM21N and you'll have no trouble getting 8.2. The HR34 has an ATSC scanner in it

If you have another model then you'll have trouble with 8.2.

Maybe I should have thought a little first. "Highway Patrol" airs at 5:00AM. There is often a trop duct then. I had WRAL steady as a rock at 5 this morning. I ain't beat yet. But I will need to turn the antenna, which I do manually.. I'll have to have my shoes on.
I will agree with others that THIS is not a great service generally.