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Springfield / Joplin, MO - HDTV - Page 164

post #4891 of 5397
12/29/10 at 10:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post

If she can take the TV back, do so and trade it for a Sony, Sanyo or LG. They are very good for weak signals like KOZK and kolr. Just curious, what brand converter box did she have?

arxaw,
I believe her first converter was the Zenith, she also had a RCA. Both worked well in that room with the same antenna. I'll let her know about changing tv's.... although she got a very good deal on the Sammy
One possibility is that something near the antenna or the TV itself may be interfering with reception, (particularly stoopid low power VHF). Try moving the antenna as far from the TV as possible. To extend the coax length, use a barrel splice, if the coax is hard wired to the antenna.

She did get in touch with a KOLR engineer. They are sending her a FM trap. I don't have high hopes, but you never know. We'll also try moving the antenna away from the tv. The coax is not hard-wired.

Also, amplified indoor antennas don't usually help VHF reception and can make it more prone to interference. Try a passive indoor antenna like the RS budget model.

The engineer at KOLR also told her this. We're gonna try about every configuration possible to get that station. She doesn't really care for PBS, so no huge deal there. But 10 is a different story.

Sincerely appreciate the help and will report back Friday/Saturday with current status.

Big thanks for the time & help.
Jeff
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post #4892 of 5397
12/29/10 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skid71 View Post

The engineer at KOLR also told her this. We're gonna try about every configuration possible to get that station. She doesn't really care for PBS, so no huge deal there. But 10 is a different story.

Sincerely appreciate the help and will report back Friday/Saturday with current status.

Big thanks for the time & help.
Jeff

Is there any way you can get the antenna higher, like up in the attic?
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post #4893 of 5397
12/29/10 at 2:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by motorhead0922 View Post

Is there any way you can get the antenna higher, like up in the attic?

There is an antenna in the attic they use for the living room tv.
I suppose they could split the line, my thinking is that it would take away from their good reception in the living room. However, if we are unsuccessful this weekend, I'll suggest that.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Jeff
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post #4894 of 5397
12/30/10 at 4:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skid71 View Post

Good afternoon all,
I was hoping someone could help me help my mom out. She lives about 3 miles N of Bolivar. Here is the situation

Previously had an analog TV with a digital-to-analog converter connected via a Phillips antenna (rabbit ears w/amp) This setup worked fine for pulling in all Springfield stations including KOLR.

Couple of weeks ago she got a new Samsung tv to replace it with. So we're taking the converter box out of the picture. Now she gets FOX, ABC, NBC just dandy, great picture. She cannot get KOLR or PBS. She tells me the tv says weak or no signal.

I've had her swap out antennas (both rabbit-ears) had her check to make sure that the antenna was a UHF/VHF type. Well heck, it was the same antenna she used to pull in KOLR fine just a couple fo weeks ago.

The living room tv is connected to an antenna in the attic that pulls in KOLR just fine. This one really leaves me scratching my head.

I cannot get down there until Friday to help her out. I did ask her to contact KOLR to check with them if anything is up. They are sending her a fm trap.

I was thinking it maybe had something to do with KOLR being VHF instead of UHF... but again, it's the same antenna that was pulling in channel 10 just fine not too long ago.

Anyone have suggestions, recommendations, etc.? rhoops?
Appreciate the help.
Happy New Year

Jeff


Have you tried updating the firmware in the Samsung TV? Check the model # on Samsung's website and see if there's a new firmware out there, put it on a flash drive and try updating. I suspect strongly its the firmware that is causing problems.
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post #4895 of 5397
12/30/10 at 7:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skid71 View Post

There is an antenna in the attic they use for the living room tv.
I suppose they could split the line, my thinking is that it would take away from their good reception in the living room. However, if we are unsuccessful this weekend, I'll suggest that.

A better antenna located away from the TV is probably your best choice for trouble-free reception. Outdoor would be best, but attic will often work fine.

Take the new TV in the living room and connect it to the attic antenna coax. If it works, consider splitting the antenna feed to the two TVs. If the split signal is too weak, I would add this low noise preamp in the attic, but only if needed.
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post #4896 of 5397
12/30/10 at 9:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sneaky snooper View Post
Have you tried updating the firmware in the Samsung TV? Check the model # on Samsung's website and see if there's a new firmware out there, put it on a flash drive and try updating. I suspect strongly its the firmware that is causing problems.
Great suggestion. Although I can't confirm until tomorrow, (mom has no idea what "firmware" is) you are correct. There is an available firmware update. Downloaded, unzipped & ready for installation.

Thanks,
Jeff
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post #4897 of 5397
12/30/10 at 10:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post
A better antenna located away from the TV is probably your best choice for trouble-free reception. Outdoor would be best, but attic will often work fine.

Take the new TV in the living room and connect it to the attic antenna coax. If it works, consider splitting the antenna feed to the two TVs. If the split signal is too weak, I would add this low noise preamp in the attic, but only if needed.
Yet another fine idea to try. My fingers are crossed for the firmware having some success. If not, it's only a 32", so it won't be difficult to haul in the living room.

Really appreciate the help on this one
Will report back

Jeff
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post #4898 of 5397
12/30/10 at 8:48pm
Is it also possible that Samsung just makes weak, crappy tuners? I've heard that since 90 percent of the population uses cable or SAT, that TV manufacturers don't care about how the OTA tuner performs in their units.
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post #4899 of 5397
12/31/10 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphanguy View Post

Is it also possible that Samsung just makes weak, crappy tuners? I've heard that since 90 percent of the population uses cable or SAT, that TV manufacturers don't care about how the OTA tuner performs in their units.

Could be. The Samsung tuner is not as good as the tuner in the converter box they used before.
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post #4900 of 5397
12/31/10 at 7:50am
The DTV converter boxes that qualified for the government coupon program had to meet minimum reception standards. AFAIK, tuners in TVs still do not have to meet such minimum standards, which is a shame.

A weak TV station, weak indoor antenna and marginal tuner are a good recipe for NO SIGNAL.
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post #4901 of 5397
1/1/11 at 8:26pm
First off,
Happy New Year!

Secondly, thank you for your time and help with this issue. Mom now loves being able to watch channel 10 in her computer room.

After upgrading the firmware in the Samsung, installing an fm trap, and trying different antennas.... resulting in about 3 bars top on the signal strength meter. (unwatchable)

We took the Samsung into the living room and hooked it up to another coax outlet that is connected to the attic antenna. KOLR great signal.

Then the work started. We put a cover plate over another coax outlet in the living room, cut a hole out in the computer room and put in a coax outlet in there, ran the cable around the room and connected directly to the Samsung, bypassing the fm trap.

She was/is thrilled.

Thanks again for your help with this.
Sincerely appreciated,
Jeff
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post #4902 of 5397
1/1/11 at 9:10pm
Glad it worked for you.

(gee, the "hoops" ya have to jump through to get kolr)
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post #4903 of 5397
1/2/11 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post

Glad it worked for you.

(gee, the "hoops" ya have to jump through to get kolr)

Without a doubt. While we were doing all of these things, I made it clear that this situation is a KOLR thing. Transmitting on VHF is not doing them any good at all.

Again, thanks for the help.

I've been keeping up with this thread for the last couple of years and will continue to do so.

Happy New Year & God Bless

Jeff
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post #4904 of 5397
1/25/11 at 6:33pm
Hi,
I have been wanting to fire Mediacom but I want the HBO on demand type of service so have avoided a satellite dish so far. Can anyone here comment on U-Verse in Springfield regarding HD and SD picture quality and reliability compared to Mediacom? TV is an LG 47LBX LCD.

Although it may be self explanatory I want to fire Mediacom because of bad customer service, bad service such as audio dropouts, Lost DVR recordings, " the channel will be available shortly ", small number of HD channels, and high cost.

Thanks
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post #4905 of 5397
1/25/11 at 7:47pm
What's up? All channels are poor on all 3 TVs. Started about 9:30.
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post #4906 of 5397
1/25/11 at 8:06pm
No problems here (10 miles southwest of Ava).
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post #4907 of 5397
2/1/11 at 6:26pm
U-Verse just came to my neighborhood (SW Springfield by Chestnut Expy. and I-44). Anybody here have U-Verse service in Springfield? Care to give a review?
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post #4908 of 5397
2/16/11 at 6:59pm
No KSFX tonight? Up here at Lake of the Ozarks it disappeared from Charter and I see nothing OTA.
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post #4909 of 5397
2/16/11 at 7:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottmo2020 View Post

No KSFX tonight? Up here at Lake of the Ozarks it disappeared from Charter and I see nothing OTA.

As of 21:12, Zero signal strength 10 miles SW of Ava, Missouri.
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post #4910 of 5397
2/16/11 at 7:48pm
Power outage in Fordland according to their facebook page.

People over on facebook are super-pissed about Idol not airing tonight. It baffles the mind that a major network TV affiliate can be offline that long because of a power outage. Seems like there should be some redundancy there. All the other Fordland stations are running fine.
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post #4911 of 5397
2/16/11 at 8:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottmo2020 View Post

Power outage in Fordland according to their facebook page.

People over on facebook are super-pissed about Idol not airing tonight. It baffles the mind that a major network TV affiliate can be offline that long because of a power outage. Seems like there should be some redundancy there. All the other Fordland stations are running fine.

It was back up a few minutes ago...
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post #4912 of 5397
3/16/11 at 6:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jliehr View Post
I spoke to David Smith and he seemed to know what I was talking about and mentioned rebooting something and that it'd happened before (NFL games seemed to have some problems last fall), fingers crossed.
A year later and CBS is having the same issues again, left a message with David Smith just now in hopes that they'll have this fixed for tomorrow's games.
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post #4913 of 5397
3/27/11 at 5:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jliehr View Post
A year later and CBS is having the same issues again, left a message with David Smith just now in hopes that they'll have this fixed for tomorrow's games.
I suspect they've cut engineers at KOLR/KSFX because lately, FOX has been in SD more often than not (I pulled up American Dad a while ago and it was in unacceptably bad SD, eg a postage stamp), and no one seems to hit the switch to fix it.

My expectations of KOLR/KSFX are near zero these days. Giving me unwatchable crap (eg, KOLR on 10), and even more unwatchable crap (SD on FOX), I'll just skip it and go to KFSM for CBS and just watch FOX online.
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post #4914 of 5397
3/27/11 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sneaky snooper View Post
My expectations of KOLR/KSFX are near zero these days. Giving me unwatchable crap (eg, KOLR on 10), and even more unwatchable crap (SD on FOX), I'll just skip it and go to KFSM for CBS and just watch FOX online.
I hear ya.

I watch KFSM for CBS (no glitches or dropouts) and KFTA for FOX (in HD).
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post #4915 of 5397
4/3/11 at 7:15pm
I installed an outdoor antenna (CM4228) about 2 years ago. I haven't had the typical problems with KOLOR10 until maybe the last month or two. All of a sudden I'm getting 1- to 2-second dropouts (sometimes as often as every 30 seconds), and the feed often looks like crap (any movement makes it look like SD). I haven't changed anything in my setup. I have no problems with the other stations.

Has anyone else had recent problems with KOLR10 that weren't there prior to the past month or two?
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post #4916 of 5397
4/3/11 at 8:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kalrith View Post

I installed an outdoor antenna (CM4228) about 2 years ago. I haven't had the typical problems with KOLOR10 until maybe the last month or two. All of a sudden I'm getting 1- to 2-second dropouts (sometimes as often as every 30 seconds), and the feed often looks like crap (any movement makes it look like SD). I haven't changed anything in my setup. I have no problems with the other stations.

Has anyone else had recent problems with KOLR10 that weren't there prior to the past month or two?

The grainy picture when there's movement (like when the camera pans the audience on The Price Is Right)
is a recurring problem the engineer is aware of.
No idea about the dropouts though...
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post #4917 of 5397
4/3/11 at 9:28pm
Due to the blurriness & persistent plague of dropouts on that underpowered VHF channel, I never watch it any more.

I watch KFSM (cbs) 18 (5-1) out of NW Arkansas.
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post #4918 of 5397
4/4/11 at 4:57am
I can't really watch KOLR anymore. Unfortunately my only other choice is KRCG in Jefferson City on VHF 12, which is even worse. You should see the weather alert overlays with scrolling text and banner ads on both sides! Anyway, the only time it bothers me is during football season. The rest of the time I get what I need off the Internet.
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post #4919 of 5397
4/4/11 at 7:09am
Unfortunately, I don't have an alternate CBS channel. So, I guess I'm stuck watching a grainy basketball game this evening.

KOLR sux.
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post #4920 of 5397
4/4/11 at 8:54am
KOLR looked terrible during the Final Four on Saturday. I had friends over who do not have HD and they even mentioned how it looked bad.
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