Greensboro, NC - HDTV - Page 346

Idiocy like TWC's stance on NFL Network and MASN, Dish's nonsense with many RSNs, and now Directv's ignorance with the Pac 12 Network make me livid since sports are the only reason I pay for TV. 95% of non-sports programming I watch is available OTA, especially when I lived near the Canadian border and the Daily Show and Colbert Report were available OTA on CTV Montreal.

 

I have very little respect for college sports. When Louisville is in the Big East and Missouri is in the SEC, you know that the whole system has gone irrecoverably astray. And I resent ESPN pushing up the cost of cable and satellite TV for people who are not sports fanatics.

 

As for MASN, now that TWC has told them to take a hike, the owners of MASN should consider negotiating a deal with some of the local broadcast stations in North Carolina to carry some of the Orioles and Nationals games. In larger markets such as NY, LA,and Chicago, MLB teams put some of their games on local broadcast stations in the metropolitan area and also in smaller markets in the same state or neighboring states.

You're right - MASN should negotiate with local channels to get the Orioles and Nats into NC in a more wide-spread basis. The "MY" channels or something like that could broadcast the games. Currently, the Nats are on the CW in DC so I don't see why something like that couldn't happen here. With Directv, I have MASN, but for those who don't, it would be a nice thing. Of course, then you'd have blackout issues, but as long as the game is on (IN HD), it doesn't matter where it is.

Fox 8 looks "funny" tonight - the picture is not crisp at all. The writing on the screen looks almost ghosted and pixelated. Images seem blurry. I am seeing this on the Directv feed and the OTA but it does not seem to be as bad on the TWC QAM feed. I noticed it earlier during the news and it's there now during the 10pm news. I hope it is fixed before the football game tomorrow as there is no HD alternative for the game (WRAL is showing it on 5-2).

We have made no changes so there should be no difference today than yesterday than tomorrow.

I don't wanna nag, but...
Here is how I am seeing it through all sources I have:

Directv WGHP HD: blurry, everything is surrounded by weird "dots" - it is hard to read small writing on the screen.
Directv WGHP SD: normal
OTA via AM21 WGHP: same as Directv HD feed
OTA through TV: still has some "blurriness" but clearer than Directv HD feed and AM21.
TWC QAM WGHP HD: same as OTA through TV
TWC QAM WGHP SD: normal
A friend with regular TWC said it's fuzzy but watchable.
Other Directv-provided HD locals (WFMY, WXII, WCWG, UNC, and WXLV) look fine and crisp as usual.

The graffics for the ACC pre-game are very blurry on WGHP HD Directv right now. The SD feed on WRAL2 is MUCH better looking than the HD WGHP.

My cell camera does not do it justice, but here's a visual:

I just talked to the station and they said they are having signal loss from the uplink at the game. Raycom confirmed it that due to a storm in the Atlanta area, they are having transmission issues. I have had the operator switch HD encoders while I do a remote reset of the main HD encoder. We will see what happens.

Edit: Also remember, we are downconverting from 1080i to 720p and you will see some artifacts in the cross i to p conversion. I have reset the main encoder and we are back on it.
Edited by foxeng - 9/8/12 at 10:49am

Thanks! WGHP is crisp and clear on all sources!

Just in case this happens:

Since we are carrying the Redskins/Saints game as the 1pm game, if that game runs beyond the start of the Panthers/Bucs game at 4pm, by NFL contract FOX MUST switch games at that time since we are in the Panthers media area. We have no control over that. That switch is done at FOX. We just air what FOX sends us.

There is still a problem.

Text and the "FOX 8" time/temperature box are pixilated now during the Panthers game.

Even the text on ads is pixilated.

Be interested to know what the problem was when you get it fixed.

Yeah, that's how it was yesterday. It appears to have returned on stuff originating from Fox 8 as national Fox network stuff is fine.

Would it be worth my time trying to get WFXR out of Roanoke VA? Info about my current setup is as follows:
I live in southern Forsyth County and can currently get all the Charlotte stations with a 4228 and a winegard pre-amp. I'm thinking about pointing the antenna to the north to see if I can get WFXR so I can watch the Redskins games. Worth a try or a pipe dream?

Go for it. The signal is there, unless you're in a difficult place.. It would be best to remove any "17": you have in your tuner scan. And, if you can, try to get WFXR early in the morning, or sometime after dark. If you can get it put into your scan it will help finding a permanent point to aim your antenna.. Three years ago I got a steady signal on that station, from some south and east of where you are. BUT, I could not touch any part of the antenna without taking some pain to retrieve the signal. It is not a pipe dream, but might be difficult.

I am curious to see the results of the WFXR attempt. They and WRBA (RF 3..yikes!) are the only Roanoke channels I can't get OTA when I turn the antenna for fun. I assume I am too close to WNCN Raleigh, also on RF17 (WNCN and WFXR appear with similar dB values on TV Fool, slight bonus to WNCN.) If you are not able to get WFXR, try WWCW... WFXR is a subchannel. (WWCW is WFXR's subchannel, too)

There may be some problematic tuning issues with WUNE-17 from Linville, which I think is also RF17. So you will have to rescan when you redirect your antenna. Some tuners allow manual input better than others.

This sounds like complaining, but I'm not. I will report that while watching, last evening, the 7:pm newscast on WGHP 8.2, the sound level was VERY low. The switch back to Antenna TV seemed a little early, and, the volume shot up considerably. This might have been an anomaly , I'm not sure.

difuse,

The 7pm news on 8.2 is a recording of the 6pm news. It is possible that it might either run a little long or short depending on what was in the news. It is not timed for 8.2. As far as the audio goes, we haven't installed our CALM Act processors for 8.2 yet. They just got here late last week so they are in the pipe to be installed soon. Probably in the next week or so, depending on other on going projects.

On a different note, it appears that all of our syndicated programming starting next week will be in HD, including Rachel Ray, who starts her season Monday. This means that all of our programming is available in HD. The only thing that might not be available in HD would be some of the earlier COPS that were shot in SD. COPS runs at 4am in the morning so it isn't like it is at 3pm in the afternoon. Just this week both Judge Joe and Judge Judy and Wendy Williams flipped the HD switch. That would make us 24 hours HD during the week. There are a couple of E/I programs we air on Saturday mornings that isn't available to us in HD, but the rest of the schedule is. If you asked me in 2009 would be all HD by this time, I would say no. Glad I would be wrong!

Thanks. I figured the thing was in hand.

If I had to guess, I'd say it would be quite the challenge to pick up Roanoke stations in southern Forsyth County. That's not to say completely impossible, especially if you are just below Kernersville. But in general, if you look at the signal maps, the Roanoke stations generally cut off mid way in Forsyth, parhaps as a result of mountains to the north of Winston-Salem, such as Sauratown. In general, (for viewers in Forsyth) it seems the best opportunities for any reception from Roanoke would be for those living in 'parts' of Walkertown, Kernersville, and some areas in the northeastern part of the county. I live in west Forsyth and have never picked up any of the Roanoke stations. But I can see the Charlotte locals with my long range antenna.

A challenge, yes. However, the signals aren't mapped to be received in Guilford County. But, the signals are well known to be received there.

Actually, the tvfool maps do a good job of showing signal behavior and the geographic areas of coverage. Looking up Roanoke stations such as WDBJ, WFXR or WSLS, one can see that there is a larger area in Guilford that would have the potential ability to receive these signals versus areas in Forsyth.

I guess I would agree with that., although eastern Forsyth County seems little different from Guilford to the east.. By the map, WFXR would not seem to have much of a coverage area, period. I think the only good way to determine if a signal might be had is to try it. Beyond the weak signal, there won't be anywhere in Forsyth County that WUNE will not be an issue, unless the antenna is pretty directional. I guess this is the sort of challenge I'd dig into, so my opinion is biased.

I cannot see any of the Roanoke stations (day or night). But if I point my Winegard 9095P due west (at 270 degrees), I can see WUNE-17 Linville (PBS) 24/7. For the most part though, I don't bother since I already have two other PBS stations (WUNL and WUNG). But at my location, WUNE-17 Linville is the most impressive station for OTA reception. It's almost 86 miles from my house.

On the other side of things, there is the pitiful signal from WGPX (ION). That tower (near Reidsville) is about 38 miles to my NE. But I've never been able to see it with my rooftop Winegard. And the coverage maps are a bit decieving with this station.

friday night 10:10pm. is WXII off the air? i've lost it on my OTA setup, and their tower is pretty close to me. i am getting WUNL, and lots of other stations.
is it off for other's via OTA?
is it off on t-w and the dishes too?

It was on for me OTA at 10:05 and again when I checked at 10:35.

well that is the one thing i hate about digital OTA. i'm very close to their tower, but my antenna is pointing away from it. i usually get more than enough signal from the back side of the antenna, and i'm having no problem tonight with wunl, also from sauratown mountain. but wxii is non-existant.

Sometimes weather conditions adversely effect signals. I have my UHF antenna pointed north towards Charlotte, and I normally receive WYFF4 and WHNS21 off the back without problems at about 86%. But sometimes atmospheric conditions force them to drop out or pixelate. But normally good about 95% of the time. Plus I have an indoor antenna and A/B switch at the TV input should I need a local back up for NBC and Fox. But my attic antenna set up works very good most of the time for both GSP and CLT channels. And I also have a VHF antenna in the attic for 7 and 13.

I currently have Time Warner Cable. So far the service has been fine, but I am missing out on the NFL Network. I was hoping that TWC would have gotten the channel by now, but it does not look like it will happen. I can get AT&T Uverse at my address. Does anyone have AT&T Uverse? Do you like it? Pro/Cons?

Supposedly DirecTV has the best NFL package. But if you have an outside antenna, WSOC is airing the Panthers game Thursday on Channel 9 if interested.

There are rumblings that Time Warner and the NFL Network have finally reached a deal