Macon, GA - HDTV

have you check out groups.yahoo.com/group/ahdtv ?
It is an Atlanta group about HDTV
also
www.atlhometheater.com
both of these a very active in our area.
Can you receive any Atlanta HD stations?

Originally from Macon, but I've been here 23 years. My brother works for UPN64, WGNM. Still keep up a bit with news of the Macon stations!

Sorry to miss this post. I'm here as well. Looks like WMAZ has been issued an STA (special temporary authority to broadcast). They are authorized for half power (7kW instead of 14kW). In case anyone hasn't followed the local issues, they managed to get their channel allocation changed from 45 to 4, allowing them to get on the air quicker (and hopefully provide better coverage). It was a big fight with GPTV, who wanted channel 4 for their Athens station.

I'm expecting my new Dish 6000 to arrive today (my previous one died in the storms from a couple of weeks ago). At that point I'll start checking for broadcasts from channel 4.

In other local news, WMGT (41/40 digital) was admonished by the FCC for their lack of progress. They must be on the air by 11/1 or risk losing their construction permit (and channel allocation).

kenglish, any news from your brother's station? Anyone hear anything from WPGA? They are the most silent of all the locals about their plans.

Bob

Just that they wrecked their van and trailer a few weeks ago, leaving Macon for Louisville. That may have set back the station's budget a ways.

Breaking news!!! http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/business/3927122.htm

Channel 4 (WMAZ) is supposedly on the air! Thanks for publicizing it, Gannett! Their website is totally devoid of any mention of DTV/HDTV. I will check it out when I get home today.

According to the article, here's the tentative rollout schedule for the rest of the market:

WMGT NBC 41 (digital 40): November 1 (I'll believe it when I see it - this station has yet to impress me in any way) - transmitter and antenna should have arrived by now
WPGA ABC 58 (digital 32): December 1 - no inital HDTV passthrough, no promises to meet that date
WGXA Fox 24 (digital 16): Target is December 31, the GM is not optimistic about that date
WGNM UPN 64 (digital 50): No word (Ken, anything new??)

Success...my $2 rabbit ears were able to pick up ch. 4 (as long as I held them at head level pointing north ). Signal strength on the Dish 6000 ranged between 58-75. (How much do I love that signal meter overlaid on top of the picture?) I'll probably start trying out other indoor antennas this weekend, but it's not a high priority for me since I get CBS-HD on Dish already. I'm anxiously awaiting ABC and NBC.

Bob

I can break that silence. WPGA is very close to lighting up channel 32. All that remains is installing the antenna on the tower, otherwise all the equipment is in place and supposedly ready to go.

Also, WPGA will have 720p pass-thru (but not 5.1 audio) on ABC's HD programs, while all non-HD programs will be upconverted to 720p and pillarboxed similar to what WMAZ is doing.

Excellent! Any word on what power they'll be broadcasting at? Let's hope for more than WMGT's 3kW.
WOW. This is much more than I expected from them. I was expecting SD for many months, based on the station's reputation for spending as little as humanly possible.

Anyone picking up WMGT these days? I lost them when my amplifier crapped out (ch. 4 is still coming in strong, though). Still just SD at this point?

Bob

I think WPGA will be at 18 kW ERP. It might be less than 18 kW but should definitely be more than WMGT's token effort.

I get about 50% signal strength on a MyHD card on ch. 4 using plain rabbit ears, but after trying a variety of indoor antennas I have yet to see even a glimpse of signal to prove that WMGT-DT is actually on the air. I'm not going to make any further effort to pull in that weak signal, especially if it's only SD.

As soon as I say I'm not going to try anymore to get channel 40, today somebody showed me what it looks like. Now I know what I haven't been missing. I don't think I've ever seen worse looking 480i.

Update: I installed a new amplifier (ChannelMaster something-or-other from Lowe's), and I still can't get 40. It seems the old amplifier I had (Radio Shack UHF-only preamp) that worked well for me has been discontinued. I'm not impressed with the new one, relatively speaking. I think my problem may be in my antenna (Radio Shack mid-size yagi). Being only 12 miles from the towers, there is no reason I shouldn't be getting crystal clear analog reception. I'm getting 4, 13, and 29 great, 24 and 64 reasonably well, and 41 and 58 not well at all. Of course, with the storms lately I may need to check my antenna orientation as well.

Bob

Yeah, an antenna on the roof should have a clear signal that puts cable to shame. It's strange that you're getting 64 better than 41 or 58. 64 is the weakest of the bunch.

You should also be able to get at least some reception on the low power Trinity religious station on W52CL channel 52, and another on WDMA-LP channel 32, which will have to move to another channel (probably 18) when WPGA-DT goes online. Channel 52's antenna is halfway up the WPGA tower, and the channel 32 antenna is somewhere near Napier Ave. I've been able to see a weak signal on both with the Radio Shack double bowtie indoor antenna.

I used to get something on 32 and 52, but not recently. I guess my 64 signal isn't really as good as I made it out to be, but I was excited to get ANYTHING from them (sometimes before I just had white noise). I've read that RS antennas don't do well on the higher UHF. I guess I need to look into something better. Can't complain about the VHF reception though, and 29 comes in very well for a station in the wrong direction (always has, even when I was sure my antenna was oriented properly).

Bob

Actually, I think 64 is at full power now.....at least, they are licensed for it. The new transmitter is a couple of miles north of the old site, and it is licensed for over 1000 KW.

Maybe they have increased power, maybe they haven't. My antenna which gets a very clear signal on 41 and 58 suggests they either haven't or it wasn't enough. The picture doesn't look too good on Cox Cable either.

Did Cox move their "head end" to their fancy new digs on Hwy. 247 near the airport, or is it still in Macon (Holt Ave.?) Because if they moved it to the airport, there's no excuse for the poor picture quality I see on all of the local UHF channels on Cox. The towers are visible to the naked eye from the airport!

I hope to purchase a HDTV set this week so I thought I'd drop in. Still trying to decide on which set to get.

rbird- Very rare to see another member from Warner Robins.


-Matt-

There's a few of us hanging around.

I don't have an HD set yet, just a Dish 6000 hooked to a plain ol' 27" Toshiba. What can I say, I won the receiver in a contest, and I LOVE widescreen/OAR programming.

Bob

Any Middle GA updates?

I got my new TV and HDTV tuner and was disappointed to see that WMGT isn't broadcasting a HDTV signal. I emailed and they said they have no plans for the near future.

Can you actually see anything on ch. 40? If so, you're the first one besides me to admit it (and I can't currently see it with the antenna/amp combo I'm using). I'm still waiting for WPGA to start broadcasting...I can still pick up the LP religious channel on 32, so I know nothing's on yet.

Bob

Yeah Ch 40 comes in great. Looks good.

Will ABC be broadcasting in Standard Definition or High Def when it goes live?

WPGA will do 720p fulltime (HD whenever ABC has HD and upconverted with pillarboxing the rest of the time, like WMAZ does), just as soon as someone climbs up their tower to install the antenna.


The smiley denotes sarcasm, right?

Wayne- The picture on NBC (for me anyway) is a tad soft compared to CBS, but overall it's not bad at all.

Thanks for the info on WPGA.

I can't see 40 from my house in W.R. and I'm not going to try harder to get it, but someone in Macon showed it to me. It is more than just a tad soft, even for 480i. It looks like VHS.

I am new to HDTV. I Live in WR and will be looking into buying an STB for OTA only. Already have a projector that accepts 720p and 1080i.

amor, get that STB and some rabbit ears for channel 4 immediately! Actually I couldn't get a reliable signal w/ rabbit ears, but any decent antenna will do, as WMAZ is sending out a nice signal even at half power.

Flashram, what kind of set do you have? I didn't think ch. 40 was too bad either (for SD), but I'm watching on a 27" SD set!

I can't wait for ABC. Alias in HD, yum!

Bob

rbird- I have a 55" 16x9 Mitsubishi HDTV. I'm using a Terk antenna that clips onto my DirecTV dish to pull in the OTA signals and they all come in great. Maybe I'm lucky.

And about Alias, I agree! Too bad the season is about to end.