Providence, RI - HDTV - Page 134

It really is THAT bad. My wife and I were laughing outloud when they interrupted THE OFFICE in HD to go back to that SD delay/cancel roll. And not only that they kept THE OFFICE in 16:9 so I think literally 60% of the picture at that moment wasn't devoted to the actual program on-screen!

It makes you question how WJAR is still #1 in the majority of the ratings. WPRI is breathing down their neck and if WJAR doesn't do anything I think WPRI will eventually leapfrog them in more timeslots. They must be #1 because they have a colorful NBC logo next to their channel number...

Can't they at least make it a bar at the bottom of the screen like all other normal TV stations do? The graphic looks like one of those old scoring graphics you'd see during sports games from the 90s:



Sorry but if your closings graphic compares to something designed in the 90s then you really need to start questioning the decisions you make at that station.

Pretty sure it makes you happy that you can snatch WHDH outta the air. Also, compare the sound quality between WJAR and WHDH during NBC network programming. The difference isn't even close. Makes me happy that Comcast provides WHDH in HD here over in Attleboro.

There are just so many things wrong at WJAR. It'd hard to find a place where to start, but it'd be so fun teeing off at that station. I seriously think they're on borrowed time with the ratings right now.

One other thing, WLNE (you know, the bankrupt TV station that's up for sale) is capable of inserting on screen graphics onto network programming without breaking out of HD. Sure, they're not exactly dazzling graphics, but it doesn't ruin the picture quality. WJAR should let that sink in (that a bankrupt TV station that is a distant third in the market is more technologically advanced than they are).

Hi, I am thinking of buying an antenna and dropping cable. I was wondering how the Providence stations are OTA with their guides? Want to make sure I can have my season pass on all channels

Thanks

RE: Providence OTA Guides

The Guide meta data info is good, it's just all these Prov. stations have a history of switching between HD & SD during any given broadcast, especially sporting events... drives me nuts...

if you can - try to point your antenna and get the Boston stations, better quality and for my money much better HD experience. I'm in southern RI, outdoor antenna with amplifier - comes in perfect.

but to your question - GUIDE data is fine for Providence stations, for recurring events/season pass, etc....

- Mitchman

I have a DTVPAL in a spare room and find it's guide to be right most of the time. Pretty sure it builds with PSIP data.

I cut the cord a few years back and setup a HTPC running SageTV for OTA DVR and Online content (hulu,netflix). No regrets.

How quickly does DTVPAL update with changes in the program guide from the station? Say I update a listing for the 8pm show on my station, how quickly will DTVPAL reflect the change?

It scans at power on and about every 8 hours when off.

I was going to try and get away with mounting the antenna in the attic. Looks like I will need to buy an amplifier and give Boston stations a shot. I assume to have a directional antenna?

Holy crap! Left Channel10 on and they're showing Extra in HD! I'm so proud of you NBC10 for entering the 21st century!!! ABC6 doesn't show any syndicated programs that are in HD anyway so who cares about them.

Yes, and I saw Oprah in HD on WJAR.

I was hoping they'd kinda get to the problem where their station ID causes the program to break out of HD, but I checked the other night and of course that still hasn't been looked at...

They're still a pretty laughable station from a technical standpoint...

Anybody hear anything new about the spread of FIOS in the state? I am in Middletown and less than happy with Cox. Was hoping FIOS was gonna be here soon.

So, it looks like NBC10 is going to be HD very very soon. They added the HD timer thing and they look like they're in a construction studio with boards all around them. New HD studio? Or simply repairs? I'm guessing (hoping) HD studio!

NBC 10 news is now in HD -- but something tells me even though they're first, they won't be the best. Their field cameras are all still SD (and apparently will remain that way) and instead of framing the 4:3 content properly, they're blowing it up and cropping it to 16:9 -- Bill Rappleye has never looked so awkward on camera!

The weather graphics are also horrible, the map views of RI are "flat" and look like some type of SD graphic they've blown up and stretched. The radar looks nice but...that's about all you can say.

WPRI has said their field cameras will be HD once they go high-def on the news side and they won't be "HD Lite." I wasn't sure what they were referring to but seeing WJAR's efforts today, I now know exactly what they are saying!

A question for those of you using OTA in Rhode Island.

I get WSBE DTV 21.1 and 21.2 over here in Norwich CT.

Seems like their program guide indicates a 24 hour program schedule on both channels, but for some reason the station goes blank at roughly 11:30 PM every night and comes back at 7:00 AM. and I mean the signal drops from 60% to 0 %.

There is no indications given that the station is going off the air, are they shutting off their OTA for the night and relying on cable for their night time schedule or are they simply drastically dropping down the power of their signal during the night time hours?

I have not seen any mention in this thread, of course this thread would take hours to read through to find an answer.

Thanks in advance!

Bruce.

Hi Bruce,

Yes they shut it down overnight.

Noticed during the 6/1 severe weather between 9pm-10pm WGBH/WBZ/WCVB all appeared to get knocked off air for a few moments. Does anyone know if it was a power issue at the site or did the gear take a hit?

Thank you for your reply!

Bruce.

The only thing common to all three stations is the RF section and the power.
A momentary simultaneous outage indicates a momentary power loss.

Thanks for the info/reply Mike.

I'm new to the area(Portsmouth) and picked up several Boston stations OTA last night(WBZ, WCVB, WFXT, WSBK, WGBH) with a simple indoor antenna from my 2nd floor on the North side of the house. Is this easy to do on a regular basis? Looking at the numbers on TV Fool, it shouldn't be this easy. I'm thinking it was optimal atmospheric conditions last night? I just set the antenna down, opened the UHF loop, extended the dipoles and did a scan, very surprised to find so much without any adjustments.

I'm guessing WPRI/WNAC is building their HD News Set? Anyone have the details?

I see WLNE has gone HD for their news...though truthfully it looked like 16:9 standard def. The weather graphics, and overall visual appearance of the whole newscast, couldn't hold a candle to WJAR's HD broadcast.

HD... not so much. I watched some last night, the studio/main cameras are definetly 16:9 SD. A recorded piece looked HD to me. And the graphics look awful for "HD"

However I've seen the transition in other markets happen in stages like this so at least they are working on it.

You're right, and it could be coming in stages. However, I'm not sure if some of it isn't just WLNE's poor HD output in general. Any ABC show looks crisper and has more detail on any other comparable HD channel...I thought I read they were going to improve their HD transmission? I may be wrong and it might be wishful thinking....I just don't understand why their image quality in general is so mediocre.

It appears that WPRI started their HD news broadcasts today. Who would have thought that they would have been the last of our "locals" to go HD?

Especially because it always seemed they were the closet to actually doing it (their crawls have been in HD forever already, for instance).

Doubtful it'll impact the ratings in this state. I'm sure everyone over the age of 50 still watches WJAR religiously and never changes the channel, despite how awful their news broadcasts actually are (especially the embarrassing 7pm report with "Dan and Allison" which is like watching a couple of college kids giggle at each other's jokes for 30 minutes). OK rant over

When did WJAR 10.2 replace Retro TV with MeTV?

On the morning of the 26 of September.

I like MeTV better that RTV, better choice of programming.

I am not sure why, but RTV still lists WJAR as than affiliate station.

I get WJAR here in Norwich Connecticut at 60 to 70 % here.

WMUR 9.1 from Manchester N.H. will be adding MeTV at the end of October on 9.2 for those of you near Boston MA.

Check the MeTV website for more details.

Bruce.

here in providence i get 21.8 and channel 21.9 - but my tv says unable to decode...what channel are those???

RI PBS should re-map to Channel 36, WSBE