Colorado Springs, CO - HDTV

Well, I'm up here in Denver, but I'd certainly be willing to put a big-a** antenna up on my roof to try to get your signals. You'll probably have it before we do...

I was in a local A/V retailer today talking to the sale guy about HT in general and he told me that one of the techs from KKTV Ch 11 had been in recently and that he had stated that KKTV would start HDTV test broadcasts in January of 2003! I spoke with an engineer from KOAA a few months ago and he said that they are going to put up a 200' tower in order to broadcast HDTV, no date given though.

We might just get out of the dark ages in the near future!

I wish that KKTV would confirm or deny, but I've never had any luck getting a response from them. I've emailed the station before and never received a reply.

I sent an email to KKTV this morning and was really surprised when I got this from Charlie Hogetvedt...

"We anticipate the initiation of a digital broadcast signal in Dec. of this
year, pending
resolution of several technical and other questions."

At least it is something to hope for!

Finally got a response from KOAA regarding their HDTV plans

http://www.koaa.com/community/listens/

Click on the "technical" forum and read the response from ADMIN

I was not able to provide a direct link to the thread for some strange reason.

Not looking too good for NBC viewers in the Springs!

Still waiting on KRDO to respond to an email I sent a few WEEKS ago. If it takes this long to answer a simple email I have my doubts about their ability to get an HD broadcast on the air in this century!

That's great news about KKTV, and yes I believe I can pick up a signal, as I have LOS from here in Castle Rock and i can see Cheyenne MTN, I am 500 ft above the town, in Castle Wood Ranch, so i am crossing my fingers.

any word from KRDO? and what was the guy from KOAA talking about channel 32? i thought they were going to be channel 42?

Still nothing from KRDO,.I don't think that they really understand the adavantage that KKTV is going to have with regards to pulling in more advertisers.

I'm not sure what channel KOAA will be on. A lot can happen in 2 years so I don't think that they really know either.

I'm getting ready KKTV, I just ordered my OTA Module and am really looking forward to getting more use out of my TV!!

So then your saying to me - when I get my stb - to just skip the antenna install and just be happy watching Directtv Hd ? :-) Well at least we have 300 days of sunshine :-)

Mr. Miller
Direct TV!! Your supposed to have E*!!

I was hoping to get the locals on E*, but everytime I call and ask when it will be available I get the standard "I dunno." I'll just have to make due with CBS-HD and 1 PPV channel for the time being.

E* has Disc. HD, D* has HDNet. otther than than the HD content is the same. D* will not have our locals any time soon, E* is supposed too.

here you go:
ABC 24 KRDO-DT
CBS 10 KKTV-DT
FOX 22 KXRM-DT
NBC 42 KOAA-DT
PBS 26 KTSC-DT

i think i have them all, Frank have I forgot any?

This is what I found at TitanTV.

http://www.titantv.com/ttv/programming/ComingSoon.asp

Well guys - hopefully we wont have to start a support group will waiting for Vatican West to come up to speed with the rest of the planet :-)

Although waiting for the Zenith SAT-520 / Samsung SIR-TS160 is about to drive me over the edge.... lol..........

So I guess, I will have the installer diplex the Terk 55 (unless we have other suggestions, but without an actual station I wont take your suggestions too seriously, cus how would you know?) on my roof while he up there putting the 3lnb, that he should have put up there last month - but didnt since I wasnt getting the HD stb, the put up the small dish....

I asked them to do this once - but hey - its their ladder, body, and liability - so much for my planning, maybe they get $ for a second service call ?

Does anyone use that dish warmer? or cover their dish with that bag? I am wondering how winter will be - like most maybe, all melted by 11am..

Can I come over and watch tv Drvais while I am waiting? :-)

Well its nice meeting you all -

MRMILLER,
If it helps I'm also waiting patiently to see if my TV55 will work as well with HD as it does with our local analog channels.

I just picked up the 8VSB module for my #6000 receiver today, so I'm ready!! Guess I'll have to prime myself by watching CBS-HD (East Coast via E*) as much as possible and maybe even a few PPV.

Let the excitement begin - :-) I want updates regularly...

mrmiller and Frank,

Back when I lived in Colorado Springs I made the unfortunate decision to part with >$100 for a Terk 50. The thing did a lousy job of receiving the analog channels in the Colorado Springs area. That same Terk did a poor job with digital when I moved out of Colorado.

From my experience, I would advocate going with a decent quality Channelmaster or Winegard antenna. Your local CBS station will be on VHF, so you may want to go with a combination VHF/UHF antenna instead of the UHF-only antennae that are often suggested here on AVS Forum. The other possibility would be to go with a cut to channel antenna for channel 10 and a UHF bowtie or yagi. (Actually that would probably be the best solution, but I don't know if you want to deal with two antennae.)

Some of the bigger Radioshack antennae were on sale for serious discounts about a month ago. You may want to see if they have any left. The only problem with Radioshack is that they're not as sturdy as Channelmaster or Winegard, so you may want to mount the antenna in the attic to survive the ice and high winds during those Front Range winters.

Jim

Jim,
I have been getting extremely good results with the TV55(analog only of course). I am a little worried about how well they will perform with an HD signal. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens. I have not seen any comments (good, bad , or indifferent) regarding the TV55 HD performance on this site, or any of the other sites for that matter. Do you know how the TV50 compares to the newer TV55?

BTW, I took a look at your profile and saw that you are in the Air Force. My dad was the first Senior Enlisted Adisor for Space Command in the Springs. He did 26 years, my older brother brother and I joined the Marines. The old man still can't figure out where he went wrong.

God Bless You for keeping us safe and free!

drvais,
The dishwarmer/heater is an electric heater that is attached to the back of a dish to warm the surface to prevent snow from accumulating and obstructing the signal from the dish to the LNB. Last winter, hell for the last 3 winters we have not had enough snow to be a proplem. But in prior years we have had enough snow that I did lose the signal. A properly aimed snowball will eliminate the problem. The amount of snow that sticks on the dish is going to depend on the angle and elavation of the dish. If your dish is pointing west or northwest and the elevation is acute, a heater may be needed to prevent signal loss.

Nope,
The Springs, thats why I'm following this thread closely.

Hi ya - got my Samsung TS160 - the D*tv stuff is nice :-) - purchased a RShack indoor digital antenna to get locals (15-1890)- 5/8/11/13/21 ? and only pbs 8 looks good - ? I get some snow on 11 and 13 has like a moving 1/4 screen section up the image.

So do I take back the antenna and go get a real antenna and diplex it from my roof ? You know the more I think about it, what could I possibly want to see locally? Maybe I will just return the antenna and remain ignorant?

And so then do I have to wait until channel 11 or 5 like have a primetime show that is broadcast in Hd ? or have I not scanned the channels correctly? is this a part time broadcast thing?

Well - like I said, its a good thing we have lots of sunshine - so that when I become frustrated with the indoors I can go out :-)

Have a great day - Matthew - d4d9d4@adelphia.net

.

None of the Colorado Springs locals have started broadcasting a digital signal yet. As mentioned previously KKTV (channel 11) will be the first to get one on the air, it will be channel 10.

Here's what I got from KOAA.

http://www.koaa.com/community/listen...p?TOPIC_ID=807

As far as your RS antenna is concerned, take it back. I have had great results with my Terk TV55. It cost me $100 at SoundTrack. I am hopefull that it will perform as well for DTV as it has for analog.

For those of you in the Colorado Springs/ Southern colorado area, Dishnetwork is getting closer to having our locals on their system. Click on the link below and go to the very bottom of the page.

http://www.dishchannelchart.com/

Frank - where do you have your antenna ? in your room / attic ? Where do you live ? I live at Oro Blanco / North Carefree - so I have a great line of sight to Cheyenne .. :-)

I have mine mounted under a 2' over hang on the outside of my house. It is on the west side so I get really good results. The only channel that I don't get too well is 57.

I could throw a rock from my house to yours! Powers and Stetson Hills.