Greensboro, NC - HDTV - Page 6

I had hoped that the new software update for the stretched 4:3 would have been here already, but it has not. I was under the impression that it was to ship 2 weeks ago. I was talking to the manufacturer today and they confirmed it had not shipped yet. They were waiting on the new manual addendum's to be printed and as soon as that happened, they would be shipping. They were hoping that it would ship next week. They said the CD-Rom's were sitting there and I said "send me one now!" Well that didn't go very well.

I got a call yesterday from TW about DTV. Looks like they are gearing up to put the local DTVs on cable sometime around first of the year. They are just getting their equipment together now for receiving the DTV stations in the area so those who love cable will have the DTVs to watch as well.

foxeng,
Do you know what TW's plans are as far as having more boxes available? When I emailed them a couple of months ago asking why they didn't advertise that they were carrying HD HBO, they said that they didn't have enough STBs and so they didn't want to create a demand they couldn't meet. I was also curious about DVI outputs on any new boxes.

Man, wished I had checked this earlier. I just got off the phone with the guy about an analog problem (video was WAY hot - turned out to be a demod problem at the head in). I will try and remember to ask the next time I talk to him.

Thanks, that would be awesome.

foxeng,
What do you mean by the analog video being WAY hot?

I ask this because lately(last couple months) I've notice many(not all) of my analog cable channels apear dark with flesh tones looking dark pinkish red. I know it's not my tv because it's not like this on all analog channels nor the digital channels. I checked my pictures settings with VE and Avia. I get cable from Lumberton NC which comes out of Fayetteville NC.

I grew up in Fayetteville! Go Byrd Eagels!

Hot video refers to video that is too bright. When light color or bright scenes are shown, the picture washes out and you may here what is called "sync buzz."

Ahhhhh yes, I have two channels like that. Ones is local UPN and the other is TNN. A bright scene or one with a lot of white background comes on the image starts to wiggle or zig zag and buzzzzzzzz.

From Fayetteville huh, kewl. I'm from just 45 miles south in Pembroke.

I also worked in Lumberton from 82-85 at WAGR/WJSK. I hear that WJSK is now WFNC-FM and WAGR is run out of Fayetteville by another company. I was the Engineer that swapped WAGR and WTSB from 580 and 1340. I also was the Engineer that put WKML on th air in 85. Man, too many years ago!

Foxeng,

the news about TW and DTV is very exciting! something to look forward to next year. Like my digital box from TW, I signed up back in July of 2001, and I finally got it around January 2002.

Talos

I too waited several months before getting an SA 2000HD box. When my turn in the queue arrived, the installer arrived with the newer SA3000HD box, but since it did not have RBG outputs he had to go back to the office to get the older unit that did support RGB.

At the time I initially inquired, they had a waiting list of over 250. It looked like they were only doing one or two installations a day per crew and seemed to only have two crews doing HD installations. Rollout has been very slow. I'm not sure if they are advertising the service even now for fear of having too much demand.

I did have one issue... the box they supplied did not output negative sync. I had to build a sync inverter to get the unit to supply a signal my Barco 1208 was happy with.

It was worth the wait... The picture is great. Now that local HD content is predicted for January, I can put an HDTV tuner purchase on the back-burner (again) till I see what happens.

J. L.

When I was talking to their head end guy last week he did mention something about deploying the "Explorer box" in homes. It was the last one mentioned in a line of boxes that started with the 2000 and went through the 3100 then he said Explorer. Is that the box you are talking about?


Boy, very SORRY to hear that!

foxeng,

Dang! AM radio? I haven't tuned to an AM station since around 1977/78.

foxeng,

1. Yes, the unit I have is a an "Explorer 2000HD". It is the older unit in the series. The replacement (3000HD) does not support RGBHV output, only component output.

2. Currently, I am building my surround sound speakers. I've almost gotten the center channel finished, next will be the L/R and rear channels. The parts for those are the next major purchase. Unfortunately, I can't purchase everything I need at once without it making a serious dent in the wallet.

Since I already have HDTV (although limited by program material on HBO, SHO, and PBS demo loop carried by TWC) and use my theater for DVD as often as cable, but do not yet have surround sound in place, it is higher on my wish list than an OTA box. I do hope the newer boxes are less expensive than the current generation.

I do support your station, and actually visited it once, but not receiving it off the air in HDTV (yet)

I'm not too far from you, in Summerfield, about a mile or so from what used to be "Lake Higgens," before they drained it, so I expect that reception OTA will be great. I'm pretty high up at about 830 feet above sea level so I expect I will not need too much of an antenna to get HDTV off the air. (see... it is still on my list)

J. L.

My wallet thanks you!


At our low power you might not get us if you are down behind the ridge. The land at Westridge and Battleground is at 940 ft. We have great trouble with microwave shots past Westridge and we normally have to use our sat truck past there, but Channel 35 is only 600 MHz and not 2 GHz as our microwave and that may make all the difference.

foxeng,

Here is an interesting question...

What would I see if I tuned a old analog TV to UHF channel 35? Would I see a "pattern" of modulation from the digital signal that would be different than looking at "snow" from an unused channel? Would I be able to tell I am receiving something? (I know it would not be demodulated as NTSC, and there would be no audio, but the image on the screen might tell me something if it falls within the 3 Mhz bandwidth of the analog channel)

I still have an outside TV antenna and it has a UHF set of elements connected to a cable leading to my den TV. From what I can tell, your channel 35 transmitter would be southeast of me. I'm nearly even with the top of "pleasant ridge" and just might have a chance of receiving something.

I can turn the antenna and give it a try if you think I might see something loooking like a digital signal. (you are not the only one with an armstrong rotator).

J. L.

FWIW, when I tune into the "Digital Channels" in the Raleigh area, what I see on my screen is snow - and it is even "snowier"/"whiter" than a weak NTSC channel. Not a trace of anything resembling a picture. YMMV.

Not really. Since there is absolutely NOTHING that an analog receiver would recognize, it is just snow. I have noticed on an analog receiver at the transmitter the snow is a tad bit darker, but when I get away from the transmitter, even that goes away. I suspect it is just receiver overload at the transmitter site.

Without a spectrum analyzer or an 8VSB receiver, (DTV receiver), you will not know if you can receive it or not. The pattern on a spectrum analyser is pretty definitive. The signal looks just like a square wave where the NTSC signal has two very definitive signal peaks, one for the AM video carrier and one for the FM audio carrier.

I talked to Deborah Hooper on the 20th of Sept. and asked her about WFMY and TWC. She reported to me they were currently in talks with them and hopefully we should know something soon!

J.L, I have the Explorer 3100HD - Life is grand on HBO and the PBS loop! I just hope to see the locals join in soon!

Pam

I also have a 3100HD at home, this is actually my third one with TWC. First one is DOA, no audio out from the RCA ports. Second unit went dead about 2 months ago. At least I don't have to wait in line for a replacement unit.

Talos

foxeng,

I think that I have a wideband receiver with an "S-meter" that will tune to 600 MHz, although I'm not sure how sensitive it is at that frequency.

I might find an adapter to hook it up to the coax leading to the outside TV antenna and see if the "S-meter" shows anything. (Unfortunately, I do not have a spectrum-analyzer that I can use to look at the 600 MHz signal)

I'll let you know if I can find an adapter or two (SMC to F is NOT very common) and see any signal on the s-meter.

J. L.

It needs to be at least 6 MHz wide because that is the width of the 8VSB signal. Anything less and it may not show a signal. Be sure you know what you are looking for and at also. WXLV-DT is 560-566 (ch 29), WSLS-DT Lynchburg is 566-572 (ch 30), WXII is 572-578 (ch 31), WUNL-DT is 578-584 (ch 32), WUPN-DT is at 584-590 (ch 33), WSOC-DT is 590-596 (ch 34) and WCNC in Charlotte (analog) and WPXR-DT Roanoke is on 602-608 (ch 36). Channel 37 (608-614) is open. WPXR analog is on 614-620 (ch 38).

Channel 35 is 596-602.


Electronic Distributors in Winston-Salem usually has a good selection of connectors and they will ship if you don't feel like driving to Winston! They also sell antennas, but I am not sure which ones. I guess next time I am in there, I need to talk to them about that.

We are still waiting for the software update that will allow WGHP-DT to pull the stretched 4:3 back down to 4:3 with curtains. I am not sure exactly why we are waiting now, but it has something to do with how the system was purchased and we have to get the update through the "dealer" and not the factory, is the best way to put it in layman's terms. I was talking to the "dealer" Tuesday and told them point blank I had viewers calling about it and even though there are several software updates I need to have right now from them (DTV demod, closed captioning, etc), THAT ONE is top of the list and anything they could do to get it out the door would be appreciated. Silence came back so I don't know. I have many issues with this "dealer" on their customer service, and they are very aware of my unhappiness (which might be the reason for the delay, who knows!).

And you thought you had problems dealing with ISF and cablevision techs!

Charles Layno
FOX8 WGHP/WGHP-DT

Charles,

I feel your pain!!!!
I have just sent my bi-weekly email to TWC asking about their intentions in broadcasting the local affiliates in HD. I'll let you all know what their answer is; that is if I GET an answer.

I was at a series of seminars last week at NOW! Audio Video. Pretty much layman stuff, but interestingly enough, TWC (who was invited to attend and talk) declined the invitation. The satellite lady had a monopoly going, for sure!

I just don't know what they are thinking at TWC ! This definitely does not bring in more HD customers - for heaven's sake, most folks don't even know TWC has the HD boxes here!

OK, I've ranted enough - I feel much better now.

Pam

I just got a call from an antenna installer looking for business. He is in Greensboro. I know nothing about him, so "buyer beware." He says he used to work for Now A/V as a salesman and installer and has gone out on his own for the last 6 months or so. He seems to be a nice guy on the phone, but as I said, I know nothing about him. Use him at your own risk. He says he will install anywhere in the Triad.

THIS IS ***NOT*** AN ENDORSEMENT FOR HIM. I TAKE ***NO*** RESPONSIBILITY IF HE DOESN'T WORK OUT FOR YOU. FWIW

Here is his info:

Audio Video Installations
Roger Goodwin
292-4231
312-1690

Just checked back on this forum for the first time in quite a few months. I have been enjoying my Pioneer SD582 even though I returned my OTA HD receiver. I was able to pick up quite a few channels using just the RS double bowtie here in Stoney Creek, but I couldn't see spending that much money on the box for the available content at the time. I did just call TWC after reading the end of this thread and they are coming out on Tuesday to bring and set-up a HD box. They did not have a back-log and they have a special where you get HBO, Showtime and the digital tier for 1/2 price for the first 3 months. Now for my question. Should I ask for the older type box or the newer one? Oh, another question, how do I tell my wife that I have spent more money on electonic stuff???
Ron

Get the newer one, especially if it is the 3100 - the earlier model had some bugs in the system.

Have fun, good luck, and it's now time for me to email TWC again!

Pam

After a LONG WAIT, the new software for the aspect ratio converter is here! It arrived today. This will allow us to change from stretched 4:3 to 4:3 with side curtains when not in network 16:9. He have to come up with a USB CR-ROM drive, that the IS guys are getting today sometime, so hopefully tomorrow or Thursday, we have the update in and those with 16:9 sets will not have 4:3 stretched pictures from WGHP-DT.

Charles Layno
Transmitter Supervisor
FOX8 WGHP/WGHP-DT

As I reported on September 9, I've been using a borrowed set of Radio Shack 15-1862 amplified rabbit ears to feed a Samsung SIR-T151 for viewing on my Pioneer Elite. By carefully adjusting the antenna, I could receive several of the locals well enough for viewing. (By carefully, I mean to within 3/4 of an inch! If I was off by an inch, I'd lose reception on many of the channels.)

I've waited since September for my Channel Master rotor to finally arrive. I selected a Channel Master 4228 antenna (the highest passive gain, consumer grade, UHF antenna I could find), and had it mounted about 7 feet above the ridgeline of my house. I needed about 50 feet of lead-in to bring the signal inside.

I was sorely disappointed. The only new stations I picked up were WGHP and WDBJ. And, they weren't consistently reliable. Reception of WFMY was actually worse than with the rabbit ears!

In despiration, I added a Winegard AP-8275 preamp (28dB gain) about 3 feet below the antenna. (I'd originally wanted a Channel Master 7775. But, it was out of stock, and I was already sick of waiting for Channel Master parts.)

Oh, what a difference that preamp made! I now reliably receive these stations:

-WXLV 29 (45-1) ABC
-WXII 31 (missing PSIP, should be 12-n) NBC
-WUNL 32 (26-1, 26-3, 26-4, 26-5) PBS, with program guide.
-WUPN 33 (48-2) UPN
-WGHP 35 (8-1) FOX
- WFMY 51 (2-1) CBS, primetime only, plus one afternoon soap, with program guide, and very responsive and helpful transmitter manager.
- WDBJ 18 (7-1, 7-2) CBS, with program guide, and color bars and test tone on 7-2. What a great idea! I ought to drive to Roanoke and buy those guys a beer! Plus, it made me nostalgic. I used to watch their station as a kid.
-WSLS 30 (missing PSIP, should be 10-n) NBC
-WUNC 59 (4-1, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5) PBS, ocassionally intermittent in bad weather.

I'm one happy boy! I've scratched my plans to pay TWC for the privledge of watching the HD locals (if they ever get around to carrying them in 2003).

Even though I receive all of these stations reliably, they never kick the signal strength meter on my Samsung past about 50% of full scale.

I can also get glimpses of several of several Charlotte stations, but can't lock on good enough for viewing. Looking around my 40-year-old neighborhood (near PTI), I see several legacy antennas, all mounted back in the 60's, on masts much taller than mine. I think they may have done this to better receive signals down in the heavily wooded hole where my neighborhood is situated. So, I think I'll follow suit, and try adding another 5 or 10 feet of mast.

I'm not going to be happy until I can receive more stations than 'foxeng' with his antenna propped up against his deck

Do you guys think that raising my antenna another 5 or 10 feet will have much of an impact?

Who are you getting your parts from?


That will not be hard! It is always: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!


It will help only if that is the height you need to get over something. I would think in the 15 ft or higher range would be better.