Fort Wayne, IN - HDTV - Page 3

well WISE is currently upconverting their analog signal and cropping it and broadcasting in 1080i. So it isn't HD but since it is digitally broadcast, it looks much better than what I get over cable. On their site it says that they will be rebroadcasting HD material in HD starting in mid october. But I am the same as you, I will watch PBS for the HD even if it is something i dont care for that much, just to justify my purchase of a 1000 dollar tv.

My analog from WISE actually looks BETTER than the CRAP WISE-DT is transmitting. I can't watch it. No matter how hard I try, I always end up back on analog. The cropping is terrible. Their line doubler, or whatever they use to upconvert, introduces more noise and distortion than I EVER got...even on bad cable. The only HD I receive regularly is PBS's demo loop which I quit watching months ago because I was bored of it.

I'm starving for some real HD content.

Sorry for the rant.

Got bored momentarily today, in between watching the Matrix followed by Matrix Reloaded.

Decided to do a side by side comparison between my analog ota reception and SD D* picture. Used the Red Sox vs. Yankees game as my comparison. The picture from the ota source WFFT was much better than the picture from D*. The most noticable is when graphics are put on the screen. With D* there is some very evident digital artifacts around text (a result of MPEG-2 compression scheme), with ota the graphics were very sharp and clean looking.

It's frustrating that Ft. Wayne is 102 of 206 in dma and we still don't have any ota HD sources (other than the PBS demo loop).

It's nice to keep informed like this and hopefully, WISE will get the HD going soon. Oh yeah, WPTA really could make me happy with some HD MNF!

Jason

Anyone hear any more news about WPTA? It's been 2 weeks since their date that they had originally scheduled and antennaweb.org still lists them as "under review".

Sure would be nice if they could get their act together.

Just looked at WISE's website. They have quite a bit of info posted about their new antenna. Said in the article that they would be passing on the HDTV signal by late Oct. This seems encouraging.

Jason

Sent an e-mail to WPTA asking when they would be broadcasting digitally. This is the response that I received.



A DTV signal is now available on 24.1 (4:3).

We will be operating in HDTV in a few weeks, if all goes well.

Thank you for your patience.

Chris Fedele
WPTA-TV

I haven't been home yet to see if I can actually receive the signal but hopefully they are broadcasting at a similar power to WISE and not WFFT. WISE's signal strength measures very good for my setup.

Lets all cross our fingers and hope we can watch a MNF game sooner than later.

Jason

Dang,
I live up in auburn and with just an indoor antenna, I get wpta at about 75-90 percent. That is much better than what i get wise which is normally about 50-70 percent. So yes i can confirm that they are broadcasting digital and it is a strong signal at that.
Yippie, maybe some MNF in HD soon. Can't wait.

Based on the reception that I am receiving, I believe WPTA is running with at least as much power as WISE. I am getting a solid robust signal on rabbit ears on the north side of Fort Wayne (Wallen Road area). This is considerably better than my reception of WISE and is comparable to the PBS D40 transmission.

Talk about a nice surprise last night, thank you WPTA for finally getting your act together!

It was upconverted 480i to 720p, but the picture was nice and clear.

According to www.fccinfo.com WPTA-DT 24 is operating with 335kw. @ 224 meters (735 ft.), while WFWA-DT 40 is operating with 90kw. @ 221 meters (725 ft.) Meanwhile, WISE-DT 19 is supposedly operating with only 9.9kw. @ 235 meters (771 ft.).

Ft Wayne's newest DT entry is indeed very robust,with brief glimpses here 112mi south,while all other analog stations,except WANE-15,are extremely snowy under dead-band conditions.

A nice surprise,DTV# 155 logged.

http://community-2.webtv.net/GregBarker/UHFQUADSTACK/

GregB

I am able to receive both WISE and WPTA with good signal strengths. I also don't experience any audio/video dropouts with either channel. Based on the power numbers on the fcc website it appears to me that WISE is broadcasting at a high enough power to satisfy a large area, and WPTA is really putting out a strong signal.

Hopefully now that these two are online and going WANE will be able to meet their date of Nov. 30th. Although I just checked antennaweb.org and they showed WPTA's live date as December 15th? WFFT could get their act together too and raise their antenna up a little higher and boost the power. At least that way we can enjoy some "FOX widescreen."

Hopefully we'll all be able to enjoy some HDTV very soon.

Jason

I just got a HDTV receiver and waiting on the TV. Is anyone, in Huntington, able to get any of the Indy stations? If so I might work on the antenna before I get the TV. Thanks.

Depends on where you live. If you don't live in the Wabash Valley, just get a good mast and a decent preamp and you should be able to pull in anything.

23 out of Marion is easy, that can be done with a decent pair of rabbit ears.

I am just north of Kmart, in Huntington, and yes 23 does come in easy. I am not sure if a larger antenna would get the Indy stations that are broadcasting in UHF. Anyone getting any of the South Bend stations? I am going to move my roof mounted antenna and see this weekend. The amp that is installed is one of the better cheaper ones I have used.

Thanks.

If it's the subdivison I'm thinking of, better watch out for the Neighborhood Code Enforcement bunch. You start playing with the antenna on your roof and they might put one of those pink notes on your door.

I am unable to receive channel 23 out of Marion, but I am using a directional antenna that is pointed at the Ft. Wayne towers. I don't have a rotor installed but wondering if it might be worth it? I'm sure that if I installed a rotor I could easily pick up this channel. It might be worth it if I could pick up Indy stations as well.

What is channel 23 anyway? UPN? WB?

Thanks for the help,

Jason

UPN 23 is located about 160 degrees from the Fort Wayne towers, so your directional antenna won't see it. What I did was bridge in my Silver Sensor with a 15db amp which brings in 23 without a problem.

Perhaps the code enforcers should be introduced to the FCC. There are rules AGAINST prohibiting antennas on private property, and they apply to OTA reception as well as satellite dishes.

Look of the FCC site at fcc.gov for the OTARD rules.

(I tried to post the direct link, but I'm too new.)

/mb/facts/otard.html

JL

No, I know the FCC code. The subdivison I think the person lives in is absolutely notorious for going overboard on code enforcement.

Actually the FCC may put the local code enforcers in their place:

"The rule prohibits most restrictions that: (1) unreasonably delay or prevent installation, maintenance or use; (2) unreasonably increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (3) preclude reception of an acceptable quality signal."

States, cities, and even local cooperatives and landlords are barred from making rules that prevent a resident from getting an acceptable signal (within the limits of OTARD).

Not that I'd want to go up against a co-op or 'code enforcer', but the FCC rules might help get around any local attempts at stopping reception.

JL

No, the point of my previous post was in the vein of:

"Even with the law on your side, the people in code-enforcement might be stupid enough to put a violation on your door and run it up the flagpole to whatever legal ends it would be. That is, until someone with a clue tells them they don't have a case."

I'm the head of code-enforcement in my subdivison (hey, someone has to do it, might as well be me and not have to worry about getting nasty-grams in the mail). In the two cases where something was out of whack with someone's property, a quick chat usually made everyone happy.

I thought WPTA, 24-1 in Fort Wayne was being broadcast in 720p. My Zenith 520, when in Native mode, shows it to be 1080i. What are others showing? Thanks.

Jim

Jim,

Interesting observation. I have heard other reports of local ABC affiliates broadcasting in 1080i so if they were it wouldn't be that big of a surprise. Currently all they are doing in upconverting 480i, but when they start passing along the network feels we'll have to see what the format is.

I'll check my setup tonight and report back tomorrow.

Jason

I just got this email from the engineer over at WISE 33:

I just installed the gear that will allow HD from NBC. It should work OK but I will not know
until the NBC HD feed becomes active tonight. Currently you can view any prime time NBC
programs that are in the HD format.
The schedule changes depending on shows
You can check here on a daily basis to see what is in HD.
http://www.nbc.com/nbc/header/TV_Schedule/index.html
or here
http://www.titantv.com/ttv/home/HDTVUpdate.aspx

Good luck. Let me know how things look for you.

I'll have to check it out, but it sounds promising.

Just to follow up on my other post, ER and the tonight show looked great last night on WISE and today 31-2 is coming in, it's only the weather radar but that is promising.

Does your reference to 31-2 mean that WANE-DT 31 has signed on? If so, that is promising. If the station is only passing the weather radar, it sounds as though they are still setting up and testing equipment. Thanks.

Yes it looks like WANE has signed on. I'm not getting the radar today, but they are supposed to be live as of November 1 according to another post in this thread.

is 40-1/40-2 and 36-1/36-2 off air for now? i used to get a high signal from 40..but no longer,36 was iffy at best,also shows 36-2 as a "channel" but no audio or video received.

I'm on the south side of Elkhart ...
This past evening I hooked up a small antenna on my roof to replace my attic mount. The attic mount was enough for receiving local analog with limited loss but my DTV tuner didn't want to lock on to all five signals. Since I was on the roof I pointed the antenna at Fort Wayne to see what I could get.

In analog everything was snowy ... but I let my DTV box scan and got a good lock on 24. Very good signal.

Can someone give a quick summary of what is where in Fort Wayne? I've tried to glean from this thread but got lost. Who is running what subchannels.
WANE 15 seems to have a CP for Chan 4 and an App for Chan 31 Which are they using?
WPTA 21 has the good signal I saw on Chan 24.
WISE 33 is apparently up on Chan 19.
WFWA 39 has Chan 40 - are they back yet?
WFFT 55 has Chan 36 - are they back yet?
And looking North ... What is WINM 63 DT 12 Angola transmitting?

Thanks in advance for a summary. I'm trying to decide if it would be worth a bigger antenna to try to pick up a second market.

BTW: The locals in South Bend seem to be using their NTSC channel numbers on digital (Chan 16.2 transmitting on Chan 42). The exception is the PBS station which for some reason is using it's DT channel number 35.1 and 35.2 instead of 34. Does that trend follow in Fort Wayne?

JL

I live on the north side and have been trying to get HD from Fort Wayne also. What type of antenna are you using and what is your azmuth? I sure would apreciate any info you may have. Thanks.