Shreveport / Monroe, LA - HDTV - Page 8

Ken,

My buddy and I have talked to KMSS and they will NOT be full power by Feb 2. We bought ChannelMaster 4-bay bowtie antennas and are able to get a signal. Football in High Definition! The chief engineer gave my friend his home number to call if the HDTV "Switch" does not get thrown on Sundays so he can call the weekend crew and chew some butt. I cannot say enough kind things about the chief engineer at KMSS. He has been very helpful to me and my friend. (My friend is going to get a larger 8-bay bowtie antenna because he has fluctuating signal strength with the 4-bay.

At least KTAL is kind enough to approve waivers so we can get NBC HD via D*.

A few more things...even if we got a waiver for Fox on D*, there is not, to my knowledge, a high definition feed on D* for Fox...only the standard definition channel in the higher numbers. For CBS, NBC and ABC, the HD versions are in the lower numbers, below 100.

ALso, regarding NBC HD...only a couple of prime time shows and Leno are in HD. They seem to have even fewer HD shows than Fox!

Also...I routed my antenna wire down to the receiver, *not* through the amplifier, and my signal strength is still 80%. I bought an A/B antenna switch at Radio Shack and wired it into the equipment cabinet.

I'm ready for some football!

Well... glad I read this thred, so I won't be dissappointed after my antenna goes up tommorrow.

is this number to KMSS something you can share in the event an HD event is not being transmitted in HD?

Sorry. The number resides with my friend. I don't even want to know it. I don't want to abuse the trust of the chief engineer after he was so forthcoming and helpful.

my apologies... I just now read it was his home number :-)... I thought it was for someone AT WORK at KMSS during an HD event...

I've stumbled across some really awesome web resources for HD. Believe it or not, I found them through KSLA's web site!

They are:

http://www.checkhd.com/

-- and --

http://www.titantv.com

Both sites can be customized to your location, channel lists, etc. and will tell you what HD shows are available at any time of day. I have CheckHD email me a list of High definition shows coming on each day and Titan TV shows me 3 hour blocks at a time.

I realize I can get this information using my channel guide on D*, but this lets me check for HD wherever I (and my computer) might be.

The guys at Fox aand KSLA managed to find the High definition switches yesterday. (It took the guys at Fox a few minutes to get it together...)

Ken,

I'm not able to get KTAL at all, except over the satellite. They granted my waiver a couple of years ago (D*applied for it for me.) I applied for the waiver for general poor reception. The High definition channel was just a bonus!

The antenna came from Solid Signal.com. (It's a ChannelMaster 4 bay bow tie.) Note: It's UHF only. That means it won't bring in any regular channels, like 3, 6 and 12. HD is all UHF, though, so it's good for those. Also note that, from Bossier City, KMSS is south west and all the other antennas are north west. That's why I now have 2 antennas in my attic.

By the way, the Dallas game *was* in HD, but the Fox weekend crew didn't make the switch - ever! My friend called the engineer's house repeatedly without success.

We called KMSS today and were told that he is on vacation (out of town.) That explains why we couldn't reach him.

I now have the direct number to Master Control so I can call them when they miss the boat.

Channels 88 & 89 on D* = FOXHD...

now here's hoping for a waiver from keithville...

Antenna info for KMSS:

I thought I would pass along the link for the antenna which allowed me to receive KMSS for those of you who want to grab one for Super Bowl Sunday.

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...=&PROD=ANC3021

The engineer told me to aim it toward KMSS studios at Jewella and Greenwood (near Independence Stadium.)

One word to the wise: Solid Signal requires an adult over 21 to be home when UPS delivers the antenna. I had one heck of a time getting the antenna because we kept missing each other. Perhaps call them and ask them to delete that requirement before shipping.

Good luck and happy HD to all.

Now if we could get them to pay attention in the control room and pass along the hd signal when coming back from commercial. It is like they go out for a smoke break and forget that they are supposed to flip a switch. About half the time on the prime time line up i see two FOX logos, one small grey one and one big blue one. Only notice that when they screw up and send over the stretched sd version. For example the end of House last night. KMSS is the only one that has that problem. (it seems)

I TRIED TO CALL THIS WEEKEND DURING THE MINN-GREEN BAY GAME AND I GOT SWITCHED FROM KMSS TO KSHV BACK TO KMSS AND SO ON. COULD NEVER TALK TO A REAL PERSON. WAS FUNNY THOUGH THAT I LET THE PHONE RING TO DIFFERENT OFFICES AND AFTER ABOUT 10 MIN I GOT FED UP AND HUNG UP. THE SIGNAL SWITCHED TO HD AND STAYED THERE THE REST OF THE BALLGAME. DOES ANYBODY HAVE THE DIRECT NUMBER TO THE CONTROL ROOM. I WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE PUBLISHED.
SORRY ALL CAPS BUT JUST NOW REALIZED THAT IT WAS IN CAPS. SHOULDN'T BE USING MY WORK COMPUTER.

You need to go ahead and order the Channel Master 4228. It is basically two of the 4221's put together. I had the 4221 and then got the 4228. I was able to get a stronger signal and even some stations I could not get before. I lived in S-port for 23 years and it is good to see them finally advancing some.

Good luck with KMSS!!!!!

Burg,

I have the number for the control room. I'm not sure I want to post it globally, but I will email it to you.

Just by way of an update,

Cableone came through on their promise to have HD for two of the three local channels in Texarkana by the end of the year. KTBS and KSLA are now in the HD package from Cableone in Texarkana. Also, they added PBS HD as well. These channels went online sometime while I was out of town for Christmas.

I still wish they would finish up their little chest thumping battle with KTAL so I don't miss my NBC shows...but so far, they've gotten big points from me for this Christmas present.

Hope all of you have a happy and safe New Year.

Cheers,
unconfirmed

I second that----Happy and safe New Year to all!

Ken,

Bummer, for sure. Did you do a digital channel re-scan? You can't just key-in 33.1 and expect it to pick up. You have to screw in the bowtie, aim the bow tie elements at KMSS (not the metal screen) and tell your tuner to scan for digital channels.

Good luck.

Steve

(I guess that's how you found 6.1 ... duh.)

I have the new RCA box - one generation newer than the Samsung. It does have a really great tuner. However, I'm also able to tune 33.1 using the built-in digital tuner in the sony gwIV. Go figure. Maybe I'm just in a good place in Greenacres place, signal-wise.

DirecTV installed it for me - for the low, low price of 349 minus the first payment. (Something like 230.00)