Philadelphia, PA - Comcast - Page 11

...I'm pretty far north in New Hope (18938), I have the 2160 RS yagi in the attic, and got everything except WCAU.
I moved it around, got nothing.
Installed an RS amp, and got nothing.
Bought a Channel Master preamp, and got it.!
It also raised CBS form 80s to 90s and Fox from 40s to 60s.
Not that NBC has anything I was begging for, but I FINALLY got it.

Yes. straight from NBC10. Sorry there isn't better news.

I was able to get WCAU-DT for 3 straight days 2 weeks ago. Now, it all gone. My E* 6000 receiver cycles very quickly form 0%, 40% and 50% and back to 0. And the the cycle would repeat itself at nauseaum. I just can't get a good lock.

Thanks God for KYW-H (CBS), WPVI (ABC) and of course WHYY.

Franzius

I'm about half way between Franzius and Plasma George, near Princeton, NJ. I've been able to get WCAU-DT consistently for the past month with both a Hughes E86 and my current Samsung T-165, losing them only when they were off the air.

I'm using a 20 year old Winegard VHF/UHF yagi with a mast mounted preamp feeding a Blonder-Tongue 15 db gain preamp.

Experimenting with preamps might do the trick for those of us on the fringe.

WCAU-DT came back after I rebooted my receiver. There is a lot of breakups but, I am getting picture and sound. The signal meter is the same as previously reported. As the evening wore on, WCAU has become more and more watchable. Maybe, I will be able to get Leno tonight.

Quick Update. Leno is coming in at 50-54%. No breakups....

Can you give me a model# and a distributer? Thanks!

...http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...802196956&rd=1

I've noticed an intermittent flicker in the video (picture) image on channel 17-1 whenever they broadcast an HDTV program. It was happening steadily last night as I watched "Everwood" (about once every 90-120 seconds, but not on a steady cycle that I could tell).

By "flicker," I mean that the picture signal is disrupted for a fraction of a second and the screen "blinks" black very briefly. It's pretty annoying.

I've never seen this video flaw on any other digital channel, whether standard definition digital or high definition. I've noticed it regularly since I first started watching 17-1 (but I only see it on the HDTV programs). I wanted to wait to see if it persisted before asking about it here. Has anyone else noticed this?

If no one else has noticed this, maybe it's some artifact unique to my reception, perhaps multipath interference or something.

wcau this week... for some reason coming in very well on my Dish 6000 with no changes on my side.

Anyone from Hunterdon/Somerset Counties, NJ get Philly HD reception?

With antenna in crawlspace and properly adjusted, I can get good reception of analog Philly stations. In fact, I get better FOX PHILLY reception than I do NYC occasionally. I'm about to get a Zenith HDV420 and hopefully I can get ABC and NBC until there is a tower in NJ or they are setup at the ESB.

Thanks for any info

I'm in the southern part of Somerset County and I receive HD and analog ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, WB and PBS from Philly - all with solid signals.

I have a roof mounted VHF/UHF yagi with preamp and the Samsung SIR-T165.

Philly Tim: I see this too. At first I thought it was me blinking or something. But yes, the picture appears to blank out for a brief flash. It is only on Channel 17-1 for me also.

I use a Samsung T151 set top box -- what about you?

Although I don't think it is the set top box, I think it is an issue with 17.

Eric

Eric, mine is a Samsung SIR-T165. I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing this!

I agree it appears to be some problem emanating from the 17-1 signal. I wonder if the station is aware of it?

Ah, well, as long as there doesn't seem to be a problem with my equipment or reception, I guess I'll try to wait until they figure out how to fix their HDTV broadcast.

I wonder if this defect can be seen by those who receive 17-1 via their cable connection?

WHPL-17.1 - I'm seeing the same problem on a Sony HD200. Has anyone tried to report it to them?

whpl-17.1 same flickering seen in atlantic county with samsung sir-t151.

does anyone actually receive WHPL-DT over their cable connection. does time warner carry them.....i know comcast doesn't?

ditto in Voorhees w/ Sony HD200

Joe

I also see it on my SIR-T165 and my Dish 6000 in Nazareth, PA.

Bob

Flickering on 17-1 here too in Northeast Philly on a Mits SR-HD5

Just got a Zenith HDV420 here in Hunterdon County, NJ..

I'm getting great reception of all channels with the "small" Radio Shack directional outdoor in a crawlspace.

The PBS channel shows up as "80-3" on my Zenith.. what station is this? WNJT?

Also.. I can also receive WCBS-DT and WNYW-DT out of NYC.. is there anyway besides a rotor that I can pick up both philly and nyc stations at the same time?

Two antennas??

Anybody else getting abnormally GOOD reception for WCAU last night? Got to watch ED without a single drop out. Signal strength was a whopping 50%! That's excellent for me.

Jim,

I live in Center City in a row house near 12th & Pine. I have never been able to receive analog broadcasts very well since I live in the "shadow" of Liberty 1&2. Can I expect any better from digital? Is their any way to discern my potential for a solid digital signal other than buying an actual set-top decoder?

Thanks,
Jeff

Jeff:

I'm not Jim, but I can shed some light on your situation. I live in a rowhouse not far from 20th and Pine and have had the same difficulty receiving clear over-the-air analog signals, even though I have a large rooftop antenna and a rotor. The multipath (signals bouncing off of the tall buildings) caused ghosting even on the best reception days.

After I upgraded my TV to an HDTV-ready monitor, I ordered a set-top box because I wanted to see the HDTV transmissions (and I've never been a fan of cable). This tuner is attached to the same rooftop antenna that was not able to overcome the messy analog signal we get in Center City.

I am really glad that I made the transition to digital. I still cannot receive WCAU for some reason (but I fully expect that I will be able to get this signal clearly at the end of January when they will move to their new broadcast tower and increase their signal strength). I get ALL of the local channels broadcasting coming from Northeast Philly strongly. With my rotor, if I point the direction to the East, I can also receive several New Jersey stations. I have had no luck receiving stations from New York City.

The HDTV broadcasts are wonderful, but to my pleasant surprise, even the "standard definition" digital broadcasts are MUCH MUCH clearer than I had ever imagined. I don't have cable or satellite myself, but I have seen it in other homes, and the digital OTA broadcasts are notably sharper than the best cable or satellite signals I have seen.

There is NO possibility of "ghosting" (the usual manifestation of multipath interference) with digital broadcasts. If there is something interfering with your signal, then the worst outcome is that your set-top box will not be able to lock into a signal at all. That has happened maybe two or three times since I installed the digital tuner, and sometimes I suspect the digital broadcast was maybe down temporarily (e.g., for maintenance on the broadcast tower as reported on the early pages of this thread). Other times, adjusting the antenna slightly has brought in the signal. Of course, I can always tune in to the analog broadcast as a backup.

For a digital signal, a "bad" or weak signal shows up as pixellation (I think I spelled that right) of your video image. I have occasionally seen that, but it is very occasionally and not often enough to be bothersome. I've reported here about a "flicker" in the WB17 HD signal, but you have probably read the earlier posts on that problem already.

Even if you don't have an HDTV-ready set, I recommend that it is very worthwhile getting a digital tuner if you don't want to go with cable or satellite. My tuner, for instance, has outputs for "regular TVs" such as component, S-video cable, or even composite. If you already have a rooftop antenna, a digital tuner may be the next logical step for you, in order to get a nice sharp over-the-air signal. Then you will be well positioned when you are ready to upgrade your TV set to an HDTV model. Some online dealers (such as Crutchfield.com) will even give you a 30-day no-questions-asked return.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!

I live in Florence, NJ (exit 52B on I-295) and with my cheap ass rca low profile antenna, i'm recieving nbc, abc, and cbs. HOLY ****

I e-mailed WB-17 about the "flicker" problem earlier this week and got a reply today. In my e-mail, I had provided a link to this thread and invited the recipient to address this issues directly if s/he chose to, and indicated that I would share an e-mail reply here if I got one.

I'm assuming this person is not going to post anything here, so I will post the reply. However, out of respect for the individual's privacy, I'm not going to include the name and e-mail address.

Here was the reply:

"Tim,

We do have a software upgrade for our encoder scheduled. It fixes
an EIA-798 captioning problem, and also a re-boot problem with some Samsung receivers. This is the first I have heard of this problem. I hope this will take care of your problem. We will keep an eye out for this, thank you for letting me know."

On wednesday I got good WCAU reception watching West Wing in the weird box and Leno in HD... Thursday nothing (was looking forward to ER)... I only slightly changed antenna location so I doubt it's me.. could any one tell me any more info about WCAU-DT..

also.. on wednesday I got a "80-3" which had an HD show about the history of Islam and Muslims today.. is this channel only on when PBS is broadcasting an HD show? (1-2 minutes after show was over the station went off air; thursday had no PBS HD show on)

I'd really appreciate any info on WCAU or this PBS channel (I'm only familiar with the NYC situation)

thanks

tfg32:

There seems to be a similar PBS signal in the D.C.-Baltimore area. See the following thread for more info:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...88#post1635888

I don't think you are receiving your signal from Annapolis, but it must be coming from another PBS station closer in. In what direction was your antenna pointed when you tuned in 80-3? If it was pointed in the direction of New Jersey, I would guess it was from one of the many NJN stations. Or maybe you ARE in New Jersey? (your member profile doesn't specify your location)

tfg32 and Philly Tim:

The station at 80-3 is the hidef channel from NJN station WNJT in Trenton. It appears that when they are not broadcasting hidef, the broadcasts are on 43-1. I don't think I've seen them both on at the same time. 80-3 usually broadcasts a HDTV demo program later in the evening. I'm also curious about the ID 80-3. I thought that the assigned channels for digital broadcasts stopped at 69. Any thoughts?

Channel 43-2 is also available. This appears to be a PBS channel. However, I don't know the schedule and I don't know whether the programming is the same as WHYY 12-1.

RayN

80-3 is likely WVIA-44 the PBS station Scranton. They are on UHF 41. I pick them up loud and clear here. They are 80-3 as they do not have their own encoder and simply pass through the PBS feed from Virginia. 80-3 is the designation for the PBS feed.