Kansas City, MO - HDTV - Page 6

KMBC Channel 9(7) ABC

KCPT Channel 19(18) PBS

KSHB Channel 41(42) NBC *very soon*

Welcome to KC!!

Any news from KSHB lately? The rumored june 15th date came and went.

Also, from past posts, I believe the new fiscal year for Meredith/KCTV5(CBS) started at the beginning of June (may be July??). Has anyone heard from KCTV5 regarding the new fiscal year budget plans and if they will ever consider purchasing the HDTV equipment?

I emailed KSHB yesterday on this subject - no response back yet. I'll let you know if something comes in.

Meredith?? - ha, you must be kidding - the only hope is that WIBW powers up and we all put up nice big OTA antennas

Kendal

I live in Parkville in a slight valley and get the stations that are broadcasting just fine with a Channel Master in my attic. If you can go with an antenna on the roof, you'll be solidly in the 90s on signal strength for virtually everything but Fox.

Wow! I can't believe the that CBS affiliate in KC is not HD yet ... considering that, of all the networks, CBS passes the most HD content. Even Des Moines (where I live now) went HD on CBS a year ago, and we are one third the size of KC. You should start an advertising boycott of the station until they relent. So, WB is not HD down there either correct? I know the the UPN and FOX networks dont have any HD anyway right now ... Does the FOX network down there have 480p 16:9 (FAUX WIDESCREEN) at least? Also, does Topeka have an HD CBS affiliate on the air yet as an alternative?

Ok, here's a brief summary for ya:

Channel 4(34) FOX - They are broadcasting at very low power, 1kw to be exact. Only a few people are able to tune them in. They ARE passing along the 480 widescreen when available. Increasing their signal strength is far away, I'm afraid.

Channel 5(24) CBS - This station is Owned by Meredith. Meredith isn't doing HD on most of its stations across the country. There have been e-mail campaigns and articles in the Kansas City Star. They are broadcasting at decent power and a 480i 4:3 picture. Topeka DOES have a CBS station with HD. Many of us have tried SOOOO hard to get this station, but they are only broadcasting at 100kw.

Channel 9(7) ABC - These guys are EXCELLENT. They were on with a nice strong signal and HD on May 1st, 2002. I can't say enough about the Hearst-Argyle station group and all of the wonderful engineers.

Channel 19(18) PBS - They have been broadcasting HD with decent strength since 1998. They DO NOT show us the demo loop, just primetime HD programs. They multicast 480i 4:3 during the day.

Channel 29(31) UPN - This is the sister station to channel 9, so of course they were also on the air May 1st, 2002 with a strong signal and 720p. Unfortunately, they have no HD material to show us. They upconvert everything to 720p.

Channel 38(36) INDEPENDENT - They are not on the air yet. They will be on with full power and HD very soon, but they will have no HD material to show us. They will upconvert everything to 1080i with a Terenex. It should look great for an upconvert.

Channel 41(42) NBC - They are not on the air yet. They will be on with full power and HD very soon.

Channel 50(51) PAX - They are not on the air yet. They will be on with full power and a 480i 4:3 signal this year.

Channel 62(47) WB - This station is owned by Sinclair. I don't think we will be seeing HD on this station anytime soon. They are on at full power, but are only broadcasting 480i 4:3. *They had a HD decoder when they went on the air, but Sinclair made them ship it to St. Louis.

Questions and answers from Aaron Barnhart on Over the Air digital and HDTV broadcasts in today's Kansas City Star.http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...ng/6116723.htm

Just to let you all know, Channel 38 (analog) is up and running on the new tower as of this morning. With any luck, this will be the first of four dominoes to fall on the way to having KSHB-DT in HDTV before too long!

Brad

This is somewhat discouraging as the demo loop was a great way to show off a high def display. Does anyone know if they play this demo at all (i.e. late at night, etc.). I finally got my HDTV Fusion II card installed and wanted to record some of the loops for good demo material. What's funny is I've seen the all of the loops 100 times but never get tired of watching them.

Also, there doesn't seem to be many HD programs available on PBS. Their site lists only 3 or 4 programs for the entire month. The titantv listing contradicts this. I take it the titantv schedule for PBS is no longer correct?

Macman, I've discovered that TitanTV is correct, but only for the national PBS feed. KCPT often pre-empts the national feed with whatever other programs they want. Sometimes they'll tape the national feed and show that program at a different time. Apparently PBS affiliates don't have to always carry the network feed when it's aired as like the commercial network affiliates do.

olathebob, that's interesting to know - thanks for the info. Does anyone know how often KCPT broadcasts the national feed? There appears to be quite a bit more HD material (besides the loops) on there national schedule compared to the local schedule. I'd be curious to know if anyone has seen the demo loop lately also. Thanks.

I am a bit lucky out here in rural Jackson County Missouri-I can receive a digital HDTV PBS DT-15 station from Warrensburg MO along with KCPT DT-18. KCPT does not show alot of PBS HDTV programming compared to the national HDTV PBS feed from Warrensburg. I have called and e-mailed KCPT on their lack of PBS HDTV programming.

Another article in today's Kansas City Star on televisions and HDTV's.http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...ss/6147998.htm

KTWU Channel 11 (23) in Topeka was showing the demo loop but I haven't checked it lately. I haven't watched any TV in over a week. I might check it tonight and see if they still are.

I can also receive the PBS station broadcasting from Warrensburg. It is KMOS, Central Missouri State University's PBS station. Their transmitting tower is in Sedalia. They run the PBS HD loop in the evenings and occasionally the PBS HD programs. In my opinion their PQ is much better than KCPT's.

Thank you for the info on the local DTV.

FYI - I saw on the KSHB (analog 41) news last night that they announced the new tower for KMCI (analog 38). They also said that KMCI-DT (36?) and KSHB-DT (42) were coming on line within the next 30 days!! Yeah!!

Kendal

Check out this article in today's Kansas City Star by Aaron Barnhart on KSHB and other HDTV KC stations. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...ng/6134200.htm

Ha! The frustration is getting to Aaron too. He's no longer being politically correct towards KCTV.

About time someone with a little more clout than us lowly viewers had something to say - Meredith is a joke!

Great Article! Ha!

With the news yesterday that FOX will start 720p broadcasting, it will be interesting to see what WDAF will be doing. The best case scenario would be that they would put up their DTV antenna as soon as KSHB leaves their tower, then power-up and go to 720p. As a FOX owned-and-operated station, I would guess they might get some pressure from "corporate" to do so.

A somewhat more likely scenario would be that they would go to 720p and stay at low power, in which case Time Warner customers and Kendal will be the only ones to know!

Anyone hear anything "official" from KSHB on the switch to the new tower in analog? Aaron Barnhart seems to think they'll be on in digital within a month.

Brad

Yep, thats exactly what they said on the KSHB news the other night!! 30 days, NBC, HD, can't wait.

Brad - you're right, with Fox (WDAF) hopefully soon to follow at 720p, we'll be in decent shape except for KCTV - Meredith. Maybe they'll feel some pressure and get on board....nah, sorry - I was dreaming....they still stink.

Kendal

Looks like TWC will be adding Discovery HD and the InDemand HD channels fairly soon:

http://www.twckc.com/services/HDTV/

Their info on KSHB needs updated, though.

Has anyone noticed that KCTV DT-24 signal is better now even though it is still a 480i to 480p 4X3 picture? I have very few breakup problems and the signal strength is way up close to 96% for me. I keep hoping that CBS 1080i and dolby digital 5.1 programming is going to show up on my HDTV when I switch to KCTV DT-24.

I am surprised there is no advertiser boycott of the CBS station down there in KC considering they refuse to upgrade to 1080i to pass all that great CBS programming on to you. I would be pissed if I was denied CSI or Without a Trace in HD.

From KCTV (CBS) Engineering ...
Thank you for your inquiry. We assure you that we have listened to our
viewers requests for HD in Kansas City. I am pleased to announce that we
have gotten approval to move forward with the design and implementation
of our HD service. We are trying to get the necessary equipment in and
installed so that our viewers will be able to enjoy the HD signal by
this fall. Be assured that we have always been committed to bringing our
viewers the best programming and technology that we can. Thank you again and we hope that you will enjoy the HD service once online.

Daniel Somes
Director of Engineering KCTV 5

OMG - has hell frozen over??, or did Meredith finally succomb to the competitive environment??, or did divine intervention play a part???

Never thought I'd see this - can't wait, miracles never cease.

Kendal

OK, Kendal, before you get all dewey-eyed, does "by this fall" mean "by the beginning of the new season," or does it mean "by December 20?" I, too, would like to believe that KCTV has seen the light, but I'm skeptical by nature.

Eyedox, good work finally getting something promising out of Channel 5, and we're looking forward to having you on the Kansas City Forum full-time!

Brad

Yes! Excellent news from KCTV5 (DT-24). Wow! CBS 1080i 19.2mbs programming and hopefully Dolby Digital 5.1 Thank you KCTV5.