Providence, RI - HDTV - Page 13

The Weather Plus will be on 10.2 on 1/17 right? or will it only be on digital cable?

NBC Weather Plus will be on 10.2 OTA only starting 1/18, it will not be available on Cox it will be on Comcast in February.

Mark

Well take this with whatever grains of salt you may have nearby, but several days ago I had my regular HD cable box swapped out with the DVR model and the installer said we can expect Fox and CBS by the end of February. He actually said end of January, February, but I'll stretch that to the end of February to avoid pitching a personal fit if I don't see it by end of January/early February.

Hopefully this guy knew what he was talking about. It's been too long waiting for these stations.

I am suprised they have not run any promos yet. Its less than a week away....

Tell Clare


Tim

HD Problems for week of 1/2-8/05

Thursday 1/6/05 Committed 8:30p Entire Show in SD
Friday 1/7/05 Third Watch 9:00p Started with HD, then 9:20-9:43 loss of HD at break. At second break, all that was shown was the NBC Peacock Loader. Went back after Second break.


-

I am in Newport and just set up my antenna this week. I got an 80" boom roof antenna from Radio Shack. I am able to pull in all of the Providence and Boston stations without much of a problem. The only problem is that you can't mount it in the attic, it needs to be high up on the roof.
HTH

That's great. Are you able to receive Boston stations in HD? With no trouble? In particular, can you get WB or UPN in HD?

How clear is your antenna's view? If I chiminey mount, there will be a big tree in the path of 18 to 20 degrees, about 100 feet away. I'm actually thinking of mounting off the corner of my house b/c it looks like that's far enough to the side that that tree won't be in the way. I'll lose some height, but it will still just clear the house across the street.

I don't have a problem pulling in the Boston stations, but I haven't tried WB or UPN yet. I still have to finish mounting my antenna, which will be on the side of the house. It is a pretty clear view without many trees. If you can, I would suggest trying to test mount the antenna on the side of the house and also on the chimney and see which one works better for you.

The antenna will be on the roof, just not attached to the roof, and not in the center. It will be wall mounted from below the eave, close to the edge of the roof, to get me around a particular tree.

Not that you need to know any of this.

Please do post when you know whether or not you can get digital from Boston.

By the way, do you know of *anywhere* in Newport that has Fox on HD yet? Public I mean, like a sports bar, etc. I'm wondering if I can accurately advertise to all my friends that I'll be the only HD superbowl available to them ;-)

This just in!

Grrrrrrrr

"Dear Cox High Definition Customer:

With the NFL playoffs underway, we wanted to provide you with some information
concerning carriage of WPRI (CBS) and WNAC (Fox) programming in high definition (HD).

As you know, Cox Rhode Island currently carries the high definition (HD) programming
of local broadcasters WLNE (ABC), WJAR (NBC), WGBH (PBS), as well as ESPN, Discovery,
INHD1&2, HBO, and Showtime. We are currently negotiating with the owners of WPRI (CBS)
and WNAC (FOX) to carry their high definition programming, but do not have their permission
at this time. As a result, we will not be allowed to offer the NFL Playoffs or Superbowl
in high definition during the upcoming weeks unless permission is granted by the stations'
ownership. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and assure you that we are
making every effort to resolve this problem. Ultimately, however, it is up to the local
broadcaster - WPRI and WNAC - to grant permission for their signals to be carried by Cox in HD.

Cox has otherwise successfully negotiated sports programming of both Red Sox baseball and
the NBA in high definition format on INHD2. In the near future, we are planning to add
more channels to your high definition lineup from Cox, and look forward to communicating
those additions in the upcoming months.

Thank you for being a Cox High Definition Customer!"

Cox free video and PROUD of it!

Cox does suck...does anybody have lines and hissing through there video (ingest). They have said they would fix it and never have. I can barely watch channel 10. Cox SUCKS

avramd,
I mounted the antenna yesterday on the chimney. I am now able to pull in all of the boston channels, including WB and UPN with no problems. Good luck with your mounting!
As far as I know, there are no places in Newport that have Fox in HD yet, so tell all your friends that you'll be the only one!

the boston stations (wb & upn) are in HD?

That's great, congrats... Thanks for the info, hopefully my hardware will be here in the next few days.

I went with Dish network nearly 5 years ago after I asked Cox about their HD plans and they said "HDTV is not available in RI". I said OK and dropped them, put up an OTA antenna, installed a Dish 6000 and have not looked back.

Some people do not like rooftop antennas, but I think my VHF and 4228 UHF look great along with a pair of DBS dishes!

Howard

Hi Keith.
Thanks for the welcom and response.

I ended up needing to purchase an ATI graphics card to make the HD card work (surprise!), but it finally did work. I am now into the antenna/waiting-for-services game.

I have been able to get a number of local stations with the little passive antenna out the window on the sill. I got to watch the Patriots in HD which was pretty cool. I point the thing roughly east by northeast. (re-directing it a little loses me some signal and gets an unwatchable non-HD signal from New Bedford I think)

I have no PBS or UPN yet. My best, closest local options are yet to begin transmission:
WSBE-DT 21 PBS PROVIDENCE
WLWC-DT 22 UPN NEW BEDFORD

I do occaisionaly lock in channel 21, just as others have reported. I can no longer find the RIPBS document on-line which used to be on thier site about how much of a burdon it was going to be to comply with the FCC regulation for DT rollout schedules. I think they're probably working on it, maybe in a little trouble with the government?

I did try a low end Turk antenna with a 40db amp and it was pointless -- worse than my little passive antenna. I am considering the tube-shaped Turk TV55. Getyting a little queasy about spending money for a not-so-sure thing.

Keith: What model Winegard* do you have, and in what direction do you point it?
It looks to me like I have a lot of sky out my window in the direction of Needham, which is about 30 miles away. I'm holding out hope that I can pick up those Boston stations with the right amplified antenna (in time to see Ken Burns' Jack Johnson biography on PBS ... ha ha).

Thanks again.

*oops, just read earlier post "Winegard indoor/outdoor GS-220 "

I got the following reply to an inquiry at RIPBS (Rhode Island Public Television)

Dear Mr. Benway:
We sure do intend to broadcast HDTV - later this year! According to our engineering and operations folks, we should be broadcasting our digital signal by March, with high-definition arriving later. Our Web site will have the information.
Please feel free to stay in touch with any additional questions. Thank you for writing, and for watching Rhode Island PBS.




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ms. Lucie M. Houle
Public Information Manager
Rhode Island PBS
50 Park Lane
Providence, RI 02907
T: 401-222-3636, ext. 216
F: 401-222-3407
E: lhoule@RIpbs.org

Any update on when the NBC Weather Plus channel will be on 10-2? I know Mark from WJAR had said today was the start-up.

Mike,
My antenna is basically on the floor up against a North-facing wall---sometimes I have to move/tilt it a few inches, and I consider myself lucky getting everything I do. The antenna/amp/receiver combo just happened to work perfectly for me.
[If I move soon, I hope my luck holds out in my new place further South.]

Keith

NBCU WeatherPLUS is on the air as of 11AM, it will be on and off a few times over the next few days as we have to upgrade some software. We will be adding other features as we receive more equipment for the service over the next month or so.

Mark

Thanks Mark,

Its good to have an Owner Opperated affiliate (WJAR) who's is helpling us out here in the community.


However, I feel I have to address an earilier issue in regard to the highjacking of the NFL in HD and who's the real bad guy.

The highest top ten paid CEO's in Rhode Island include the CEO's that run CBS affiliate WPRI 12 and Fox affiliate WNAC 64. They realize that the majority of televisions in the State of Rhode Island are hooked up to Cox Cable. These two greedy slugs want to get paid cold cash from COX to carry their Stations. No other Television licensee in the State of RI has ever made such a request using what are Public Air Ways. Like last years playoffs and Superbowl, they are using the NFL as leverage against Cox. Its not COX cable who is the bad guy and would have to pass the cost to their customers, but the slugs who run those stations.

Both affiliate WPRI 12 and affiliate WNAC 64 are not owned by Fox and CBS.

Their interest is purely to make as much money as they can. The Stations move from investor to investor over the years. They represent the Typhoid Mary's of the Broadcasting Profession and also led the way to defeat the Fairness Doctrine in 1993. Just like slumlords, they go into a property and hang on to it only to sell it for a profit and move up to another station somewhere and up the money ladder they go. Their greediness only prevents the public they sever from experiencing a broadcast quality standard they deserve.

Cox in this case is doing the State of RI and its customers a big favor.

Thanks Mark. Had to do a rescan of the digital channels on my HD TiVo but receiving 10-2 fine now.

A question for Mark from WJAR. (or anyone else that can answer it)

Mark,
I live in the north end of Narragansett RI and I have 2 antennas in the attic with a preamp. Of all the digital stations I get, including 4 and 5 out of Boston, WJAR , channel 10 is about the weakest of all and I get a good bit of drop out. Do you have any idea why this might be. Is channel 10 at low power ?


thanks

Ken

Just keeping everyone informed.

I asked the following question of WPRI:

Is there any reason as to why you have not allowed Cox to pick up and carry your HD feed? I have spoken with the Cox representatives and I have been told that the problem is a result of WPRI management not wanting to cooperate.

This was the response I got:

LIN Television has been unable to come to an agreement with Cox to
allow them to put WPRI-DT and WNAC-DT on Cox. I am hopeful that we will be able to come to an agreement soon, but I cannot honestly say that progress has been made in negotiations. I do hope that you realize that both stations are broadcast over the air free of charge throughout the market and that many viewers are enjoying FOX and CBS HD programming, including the football playoffs and the upcoming Super Bowl. Please let me know if you need any assistance in determining what you would need to do to receive FREE over the air HDTV.

I turned my TV on today and COX was carrying 12.1 WPRI-DI today.

TV actualy says WPRI DI as appossed to DT

- Ken

I just checked my TV and I do not have a CBS HD channel. What channel was it listed as? Was this the RI Cox feed?

I would suggest try turning the antenna to see if that improves the signal it sounds like you are getting a bit of multipath. We will be going up to our full licensed power this spring.

Mark

Are you getting this signal from Cox through a cable input (with an HD tuner)? What I mean, is you are not getting it through the Cox HD receiver?

Are you getting this signal from Cox through a cable input (with an HD tuner)? What I mean, is you are not getting it through the Cox HD receiver?

Are you getting this signal from Cox through a cable input (with an HD tuner)? What I mean, is you are not getting it through the Cox HD receiver?

Hello Everyone,

Ok, I got my antenna up today, and I'm thrilled with the results. I'm receiving 22 digital stations with a single UHF Yagi medium range antenna, and a 12.5 db signal amplifier. The amp is nothing special, it is whatever Wal-Mart had.

My antenna is an XG42 from antennasdirect.com. They rate it at 14.5 db gain I believe. it's very small and light - 39" by 17". My house is 1.5 stories. It is mounted from the rear corner of my house, an exterior wall mounted mast on 18" stand-offs, with two 4.5' mast sections. It's only about 5.5' above the roof, and because it's mounted from the corner of the house, it's well below the peak of the roof. It just barely clears the roof of the house across the street. I put it on the corner because that gives it a straight shot to all the Providence and Boston stations w/out interference from a tree across the street. I could have gone to the peak or chimney, but the tree would have been in the way.

I haven't tried it without the preamp, I don't know if it's necessary or not. However, with a couple of the stations I want being 57 miles away, I'm fairly sure that it is.

Here is the list of stations I get - "x" means I'm not blocking it out (sorry I can't format it any better here, I don't know how):

ch station type network dist
12.1 wpri-hd high cbs 27 x
12.2 wpri-wx weather cbs 27
64.1 wnac-hd high fox 27 x
64.2 wnac-wx weather fox 27
46.1 wwdp-dt digital shopping 38
6.1 wlne-dt digital abc 49 x
6.2 wlne-nw weather 49
10.1 wjar-dt digital nbc 51 x
2.1 wgbh-sd digital pbs 57
2.2 pbs-hd high pbs 57 x
4.1 wbz-dt digital cbs 57
5.1 wcvb-dt digital abc 57
5.2 wcvb-dt digital abc 57
7.1 whdh-hd high nbc 57
10.2 wjar-we weather nbc 57
25.1 wfxt-dt digital fox 57
38.1 wsbk-dt digital upn 57 x
44.2 wgbx-hd high pbs 57 x
56.1 wlvi-d1 digital wb 57 x
66.1 wutf-dt digital spanish 63