Greenville, SC - HDTV - Page 285

Re :Transition from RTV to MeTV....

Firstly I would believe that Media General HQ is handling the negotiations with owners of MeTV (Weigel Broadcasting) .

But as far as the technical issues I doubt it is too involved...perhaps they need to install a new proprietary mini sat dish+receiver to pick it up....and possibly they will have to reconfigure their cart (i don't know what the digital ad system is called today sorry!) system to insert various spot ads and the like according to the time cycle that MeTV uses but with a digital system I doubt it is that difficult at all.

I do have a technical question for Doug about this ....when a station's MC is handled remotely (like WSPA's) is how complex are the workings for the addition of a seperate digi-cart for the subchannel not to mention the main channels . I guessing that Media General handles all of its related affiliate stations MC items from Atlanta...correct?

Is some of this handled by hardwire (fiber optics) as well as sat, or something else.

And you would be incorrect. It is quite involved. It's a cband feed on a 3.7m dish with a proprietary server,software and control system. Not to mention the logistics involved changing the stations log and program schedule. Going thru all that myself. Not a quickie project.

After many months of very BAD tv from the U. of Ga. the former WNEG ch 32 Toccoa is now WUGA TV broadcasting pbs programs... Hopefully the U of Ga will never ever try programming a television station that covers more than 1 sq mile...
If you haven't seen 32 lately, it is now worth watching... Not sure when the switch was made, but a welcome sight....

Wow, there still sending out programming on C band like this??? So is MeTV also available unencrypted via FTA satellite??? I know that quite a bit of C band stuff still is FREE! I'm actually surprised because many other services like this are sent via a consumer style dishes (D* or E* ) perhaps just slightly larger. I'm not saying it is "consumer EASY" but relatively speaking for skilled broadcast engineers it is actually pretty easy.

I'm actually looking into buying a FTA satellite set up because after paying through the nose for D* with 200+ channels mostly with crap programming and super high prices I'm ready for a change.

I hear that you still see quite a bit of back haul feeds even on the FTA sat set ups for the consumer, like raw news feeds from around the world, ect. This type of thing seems much more interesting than the mostly junk programming you see on cable , D* or E* today.

Anyone have experience with FTA set ups?

Don F.

Re: WUGA/WNEG

My parents still get that station on Northland Cable. When I stop by their house I will check it out. I have always been astounded as to how incompetently that station has been managed by so called professionals.

If it isn't on C-band, where do you expect it to be? KU? NBC went down that path and now backs up their KU with C-band. All the other networks are all on C-band for network distribution. They never left. 99.9% of all syndication is also on C-band for the same reason including ME-TV, AntennaTV, RTV, etc. KU is used for news gathering and with rain hard enough, you have rain fade, same as DBS so it makes KU unfavorable for full time distribution.

ME-TV along with the other OTA subchannel providers are all encrypted along with all the major networks. Very little is unencrypted these days. Mostly religious and such with home shopping are in the clear.

I'm not so sure about that. I know RTV/Tuff TV/My Family TV are in the clear, and I've heard that This TV and MeTV are in the clear as well. Universal Sports is in the clear. I've watched NBC in the clear. I've watched PBS in the clear. mrvideo in Madison watches ABC, CBS, and CW in the clear. My Network TV and ION are supposedly in the clear, though I don't know anyone who actually watches them.

Only Fox and Antenna TV are encrypted, to my knowledge. Not sure about Univision and Telefutura though, or any network that I didn't mention.

- Trip

Dubber, I have been a dedicated FTA viewer for over 8 years. I cannot get all satellites because of trees but I currently get 584 channels, 193 of them are in English. This does not include live feeds. So that we don't clog up the forum my email address if you have more questions is rid0617@yahoo.com

Actual feeds are. There are other ways to get those feeds post first distribution. Even mrvideop gets a FOX feed because he has told me so and he wouldn't tell me where he is getting them from.

Me is not encrypted, at least for now..tho there is a CA pid in the stream.

Don, take a look at satforums.com as well as Gofastmotorsports.com

Then I was told incorrectly. I stand corrected on ME-TV.

Thank you very much Bill.

We received the letter, forwarded it to our executive offices and already received confirmation it's been taken care of!

Thank you once again for taking the time to submit your feedback. Please feel free to contact us anytime we can assist you.

Thank you,
Steve
http://www.charter.com/Umatter2Charter

Since there are multiple steps to get MeTV started on WSPA, I wonder if they will have to take RTV down to prepare 7.2 for MeTV? It would seem to me that they would need to get it "out of the way" to set Me up.

Since they are starting MeTV on other Media General (as well as other groups) networks, I would think negotiations are already well under way.

Pardon me if I'm asking this in the wrong place.

We recently got rid of DIRECTV and are just using a Terk FDTV1A inside antenna. I live in Spartanburg, about 7-10 miles north of downtown. The weird thing is that I can't pick up 7.1 or 7.2 AT ALL. Is there something special about those channels that would cause me not to get them?

I don't get 13.1 either, which is frustrating, but at least I understand that more because of the distance.

Here is what I receive clearly:
4.1
4.2
16.1
16.2
16.3
21.1
21.2
29.1
29.2
29.3
40.1
40.2
49.1
49.2
49.3

I also get 3.1 and 3.2 out of Charlotte, but they are pretty weak.

Any thoughts on how to get 7.1 and 7.2 (and possibly 13.1)??

Does your Terk FDTV1A antenna have a VHF antenna. witch is need for 7.1 and 7.2 and i belive channel 13 is also on VHF.

According to the box, it is supposed to pick up UHF and VHF channels. But that seems to be the clear answer. Hhhhmmm....

Those flat panel antennas are marginal for UHF and bad for VHF. For 7 and 13, you probably need rabbit ears. You could go to RadioShack and try the budget antenna with basic loop and rabbit ears, or upgrade to a Terk HDTVi/HDTVa. HHG sells the HDTVa locally. Or check out Antennacraft HBU22 at RadioShack if you want a better outdoor antenna option.

I slapped one of THESE puppies on my dish and get 7.x (but still not 13).

A bigger antenna would be better of course. But this one is low profile and easy to mount. It got some bad reviews on amazon, but those people just don't understand how to connect it. It fits the slimline fine with a little bending and works best with a dedicated line.

Thats not the greatest antenna either so that's why you are getting marginal results. In Spartanburg, a good UHF antenna such as Clearstream 2 or 4221 should get most GSP and CLT locals, but for 7 and 13 you may need to add a VHF component. Although I have tested a CS1 in Mauldin and get 4, 7, 13, 21, 29, 49, 16, 3, 36, 46, and 55, as well as 9 at night. If you want ABC, you will have to decide between 13 and 9 and which is easier to receive. With a good UHF antenna, WSOC is doable on both 9.1 and 9.5 in Spartanburg, and 13 should be feasible with a better VHF antenna. So, with an antenna upgrade, both GSP and CLT channels should be receiveable in Spartanburg. Again, good combo antennas include Antennacraft HBU22/HBU33, or Winegard 7694/7696.

People on Charter elsewhere are reporting HBO on demand in HD. Anybody seeing that around Asheville-Greenville-Spartanburg?

EDIT: At least as of Thursday 5/20, Charter has HBO HD titles on demand in the Asheville area. They're not in a separate folder.

Apparently WBTW in Florence/Myrtle Beach is requesting a move from RF13 to RF41. If they indeed move to UHF, perhaps WLOS could request an increase in power and a better omnidirectional signal pattern for channel 13. Their current power limit and directional pattern do not serve the Upstate area very well as they were designed to protect WBTW which also uses channel 13. If this indeed changes, WLOS should modify their signal to improve their local coverage area. Or at least add some digital translators.

For those in or near Asheville who have tried both Charter and satellite TV:
I am strongly considering dropping Charter TV in favor of Dish. I would keep Charter internet. I do not intend to get a bunch of premium channels like HBO, but I do need plenty of HD and an HD DVR. Absence of things like AMCHD, TCMHD and many others is the reason I would switch. Dish's absence of MLBHD is a negative but not a deal killer. Other sports do not matter to us.
I think but am not certain that the Dish satellites are visible from a reasonable place on my house.
Based on actual experience in the mountain area of WNC, is there something I should know before pulling the trigger on this?

Anything that we can help out with? If you have any questions please let us know.

Thanks,

Seph

Seph said: Anything that we can help out with?

Seph,
So far, I don't think so. I have repeatedly requested the addition of HD channels significant to us, but only one has appeared: CNN. Absent a believable announcement of imminent and appropriate HD expansion in our area, the end of my two-year contract with Charter will be the end of my cable TV.

These days, all recorded material is played from video servers. The days of video tape are gone. So it depends on the number of outputs on the video server. Adding additional play-out ports is not a trivial or inexpensive task assuming the server can be upgraded/expanded.

The Media General master control hub is in Spartanburg, not Atlanta. There are a couple different ways of handling remote master control operations. One does involve fiber or satellite (usually fiber) to feed the content from the centralized facility. The other method is simply remotely controlling the local equipment and using a low bandwidth video/audio return for monitoring.

A lot of MeTV affiliates that signed when WSPA did have either launched in the last week or are planning launches through the middle of June. I'm no expert, but maybe we could see MeTV replace RTV on 7.2 next month?

My neighbor has Dish and he needed two different satellite dishes for SD and HD programming. One is pointing (roughly) S and the other SW, so you will need line of sight access both directions. Only one dish is needed for DirecTV.

^ I thought DN had fixed that problem. I have a neighbor who had two but they have replaced it with one TurboHD elliptical-shaped dish.

Could be the difference in LIL markets I guess.

ME TV will not start on WSPA 7.2 untill the current RTV contract expires sometime in the Fall.

That's ancient history AFAIK. I'm in Greenville SC and have one dish and get everything. Could be a different story in your area but I don't think so. As long as you have good line of sight to the south you should be fine.

I'm enjoying very much AMC and TCM HD among many others. Vastly superior to cable in terms of content, picture quality and price. DirecTV would be fine too, especially if you're a sports fan. I'm a long time DirecTV sub who recently switched to Dish for more basic HD content. I'm very glad I made the switch.

Just plan for all the equipment you need before the install since new customers get a lot more goodies than existing ones. I'd go for at least a 722k for the primary DVR, plus a free Sling adapter and possibly a free OTA module, and any other receivers you may need now or in the near future. They may also set up internet connectivity to your DVR if you ask. You'll need that for Sling and some On Demand.