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Traverse City, MI - HDTV - Page 52

post #1531 of 1743
1/12/10 at 6:04pm
27.1 out of Kalkaska finally appears to be HD and properly letterboxed. Nova looks great tonight. No info for Dishnetwork onscreen guides though.
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post #1532 of 1743
1/13/10 at 7:43am
PBS in HD prompts me to ask something which I've been wondering for a while.
Of note, I have all old TVs. I use Zenith DTT901 boxes and some are connected to replaytvs. I often run into widescreen content that is letterboxed all the way around (on my 4:3 screen). A 27" tv isn't big enough to letterbox ALL THE WAY AROUND.


Which channels should I use/record?

PBS - 27.1 or 27.2
NBC - 7.1 or 29.2
ABC - 7.2 or 29.1
Fox - 9.2 or 32.1
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post #1533 of 1743
1/13/10 at 8:48am
On my DTT901 I set each channel individually to "cropped" to avoid the windowboxing on my Tivo recordings. NBC and ABC are identical whichever channel you choose. The PBS and FOX channels are a mix of HD and SD, I would experiment with those.
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post #1534 of 1743
1/14/10 at 6:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by larkor View Post

On my DTT901 I set each channel individually to "cropped" to avoid the windowboxing on my Tivo recordings....of HD and SD, I would experiment with those.

I didn't know you could set that on a channel-by-channel basis.
which channels do you do that to? Doesn't it vary by show?
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post #1535 of 1743
1/14/10 at 8:11am
I adjusted the the channels individually by hitting the zoom button until I got the picture I wanted. It does sometime vary show by show but I get the best results for me choosing cropped.
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post #1536 of 1743
1/14/10 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mesickstan View Post

Looks like channel 50 will fire up in Harrietta in February:

We continue to work to improve our signal to viewers in our southern broadcast area and hope to have those improvements completed by the end of February, 2010.

http://www.upnorthlive.com/about/about.aspx?id=97103

I will believe it when I see it. Last I was told by them was December. Then again I am still holding out hope that the translator station for WXMI will go digital.
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post #1537 of 1743
1/17/10 at 9:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mesickstan View Post

Yeah, we need more info. FOX is on 9.2, 10.2, 32.1 & 45.1. CBS is on 9.1, 10.1 & 45.2

Two items - is it true that the local Fox/CBS owners will be putting in a TC translator? Will that boost my reception? I am north behind the hill for the TC Country Club and never could get CBS 9/10 OTA HD - now that Fox is onboard with the same owners and not sending from Kalkaska I get nothing. I got an amplified UHF/VHF antennae on my second floor but guess its not high enough??

Yes I can get both fox/CBS with my CADTV tuner at 108-1 & 107-3 respectively but I may cut my cable.

Also, I poured over the last five posting pages back through late last summer. I could not find any reference to the persistent audio failure on the Fox HDTV feed with Charter. It seems to happen on the Fox network broadcasts - it was horrid last Sunday during the football playoffs. It improved this weekend but it still would cut out for an instant. I could not find a contact for Fox and ended up calling Cadillac 9/10 news - John McGowan last weekend said that Yeah, they were working on it. Next since I could not find an email contact that seemed to relate to broadcast issues I emailed Scott Michael Trager. His response so far has been what's my provider. Has the OTA audio for Fox been ok
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post #1538 of 1743
1/18/10 at 6:12am
A low power (15 kW) UHF translator up on Cedar Run Road should help you. Last I heard, they were still waiting for FCC approval. FOX audio for me hasn't been dropping via OTA.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thetau View Post

Two items - is it true that the local Fox/CBS owners will be putting in a TC translator? Will that boost my reception? I am north behind the hill for the TC Country Club and never could get CBS 9/10 OTA HD - now that Fox is onboard with the same owners and not sending from Kalkaska I get nothing. I got an amplified UHF/VHF antennae on my second floor but guess its not high enough??

Yes I can get both fox/CBS with my CADTV tuner at 108-1 & 107-3 respectively but I may cut my cable.

Also, I poured over the last five posting pages back through late last summer. I could not find any reference to the persistent audio failure on the Fox HDTV feed with Charter. It seems to happen on the Fox network broadcasts - it was horrid last Sunday during the football playoffs. It improved this weekend but it still would cut out for an instant. I could not find a contact for Fox and ended up calling Cadillac 9/10 news - John McGowan last weekend said that Yeah, they were working on it. Next since I could not find an email contact that seemed to relate to broadcast issues I emailed Scott Michael Trager. His response so far has been what's my provider. Has the OTA audio for Fox been ok
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post #1539 of 1743
1/18/10 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mesickstan View Post

A low power (15 kW) UHF translator up on Cedar Run Road should help you. Last I heard, they were still waiting for FCC approval. FOX audio for me hasn't been dropping via OTA.

Glad to hear that OTA audio is ok for Fox.

Scott Michael Trager responded that his cable feed via Charter is fine - I am guessing he is using the digital cable box.

I forgot to mention in my first post that I DO NOT use Charter's box - Wonder if there are others who pick up Fox/CBS via their QAM with the in the clear channels? Is anyone else having audio issues via that feed?

And the other issue that I keep getting with the local HDTV in the clear feeds, NBC, CBS & Fox (maybe ABC but I do not watch it much right now), is that at times like 6pm, 10pm & 11pm, the signal cuts out. If I switch off the channel and back to it or turn the set off and back on then the signal is there. I am guessing it is some kind of switching by the locals from the national network feed. Anyone else using QAM in the clear getting these issues?
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post #1540 of 1743
1/19/10 at 1:39pm
I haven't had any issues with my audio and my signal hasn't cut out. I haven't experienced any signal cut outs either.
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post #1541 of 1743
1/19/10 at 3:10pm
Thread Starter 
The dropouts on Fox HD using Clear QAM over Charter was the main reason I got a cable box. No dropouts at all with the box. Of course now that I've changed to DirecTV I have a whole new batch of audio problems with the locals! I probably should have stuck with the cable box!
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post #1542 of 1743
1/19/10 at 4:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JHuibregtse View Post

The dropouts on Fox HD using Clear QAM over Charter was the main reason I got a cable box. No dropouts at all with the box. Of course now that I've changed to DirecTV I have a whole new batch of audio problems with the locals! I probably should have stuck with the cable box!

I had the TC HD Locals through Directv for awhile and they were just awful with all those nasty audio burps happening constantly. I switched my service address to where I now get the Green Bay HD channels from Directv and the audio issues are 100% gone (HD video quality is 100% better as well, especially ABC and NBC). Happy camper now...
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post #1543 of 1743
1/19/10 at 9:59pm
Thread Starter 
I "moved" my service address to Grand Rapids back before Dish Network had TC locals. Worked like a charm. Green Bay would be a pretty good choice too, all our weather passes over them first anyway! The Record Eagle even had an article about the terrible "brrrriiip" sound on DirecTV. I thought that may have lit a fire under them but it's even worse lately. Maybe I'll get my act together and "move" before the Olympics.
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post #1544 of 1743
1/20/10 at 4:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JHuibregtse View Post

I "moved" my service address to Grand Rapids back before Dish Network had TC locals. Worked like a charm. Green Bay would be a pretty good choice too, all our weather passes over them first anyway! The Record Eagle even had an article about the terrible "brrrriiip" sound on DirecTV. I thought that may have lit a fire under them but it's even worse lately. Maybe I'll get my act together and "move" before the Olympics.

Well Id highly recomend the Green Bay Locals if you do decide to move again. I cant remember the exact count, but GB locals have very few sub channels, and the quality of their locals overall is excellent. If you are concerned about FSN Detroit you can move to Menominee, MI and that will get you the GB locals and FSN Detroit at the same time. Signals for me are high 80's at a minimum.
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post #1545 of 1743
1/20/10 at 1:54pm
edited.
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post #1546 of 1743
2/11/10 at 9:11am
Any idea when, or if, Dish Network will be broadcasting TC locals in HD?
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post #1547 of 1743
2/12/10 at 1:39am
The hardware is in place and ready to go...I know that. I'm just not sure when they are going to flip the switch. According to the Satellite Guys forums, they haven't added any local HD in a very long time, and nobody seems to be sure when they will add more. When/if it happens, it sure will help my DVR'ing on Wednesday and Thursday nights to be able to record more than one local HD at a time!
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post #1548 of 1743
2/14/10 at 6:59pm
For those using Ace Comm's digital TV, here's an explanation as to why we're only getting Olympic coverage on WPBN:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...4#post18136944

I have a call in and will report what they say.

UPDATE: No Olympic coverage on NBC owned stations except WPBN for Ace Comm. Digital TV subscribers. Guide has now been updated for the other channels to reflect this.
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post #1549 of 1743
2/24/10 at 2:43am
Heard from a DISH tech this week that Northern Michigan HD L into L is coming in April. Not sure if that is true...but if it is, it will give DISH a big advantage over DIRECT and their HD Local sound problems in this market.
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post #1550 of 1743
3/9/10 at 8:17am
assuming dish doesn't have problems of it's own...
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post #1551 of 1743
3/14/10 at 10:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cire2282 View Post

I will believe it when I see it. Last I was told by them was December. Then again I am still holding out hope that the translator station for WXMI will go digital.

Did WPBN boost power on the Harrietta transmitter as planned? I have a summer place in Pentwater and analog WPBN was my best channel OTA until the digital conversion. Also it seems I read a year ago that an ABC channel would be added from Harrietta. Is that up? I won't be there to try these until at least April.
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post #1552 of 1743
3/14/10 at 3:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big_Al View Post

Did WPBN boost power on the Harrietta transmitter as planned? I have a summer place in Pentwater and analog WPBN was my best channel OTA until the digital conversion. Also it seems I read a year ago that an ABC channel would be added from Harrietta. Is that up? I won't be there to try these until at least April.

Sort of the same boat as you. Summer place near Harrietta. When the digital transition hit, I figured I would buy an amped indoor antenna so I could snag the traditional two channels that were now multicasting. Yes you can get all four networks now. Those with more technical knowledge can explain why but I found that my reception improved when I defeated the amp on the antenna. The simple ten buck rabbit ears from K-Mart worked the best for me. Could be that they broadcast VHF instead of UHF, I'm not sure. This whole set-up could be doomed if there's a switch to UHF by the two providers, but it worked like a charm last December.
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post #1553 of 1743
3/18/10 at 11:37am
Has anyone heard from WPBN on the Harrietta change to ch. 50?

My take on this is: The FCC is pondering the idea of increasing the
coochannel overlap criteria, if so and when, this may give WPBN the
chance to use ch 7 at Harrietta ? BUT this would still be a problem
with the rule of not more that two primary transmitters in the same
market. OR are they going relinquish ch 50 to the FCC for auction and
reap the payoff for that, and go to a lower channel in UHF for better
propagation ? Lots of scenerios to think of here.

For Big_Al:
Ch. 50 at Harrietta will "not" get to Pentwater, lucky if it gets to
the north of Ludington. As per the FCC 51dbu contour map.
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-serv...LD1324639.html

Jack in Wellston
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post #1554 of 1743
3/18/10 at 11:46am
I have a yagi-style UHF antenna pointed NNE (Cadillac to Kalkaska).
I pick up 7.x "cross ways" on my yagi.
I swear their power is up since the original conversion.
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post #1555 of 1743
3/18/10 at 12:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aeblank View Post

I have a yagi-style UHF antenna pointed NNE (Cadillac to Kalkaska).
I pick up 7.x "cross ways" on my yagi.
I swear their power is up since the original conversion.

Which 7.1 are you getting? Kalkaska or Harrietta ?

jack
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post #1556 of 1743
3/18/10 at 12:24pm
http://www.commlawblog.com/tags/lptvtv-translator/

This is gettinb bizzare !

Jack
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post #1557 of 1743
3/18/10 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mewdi View Post

Which 7.1 are you getting? Kalkaska or Harrietta ?

Both. 29.1, 29.2, 7.1, 7.2. Duplicate NBC and ABC.
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post #1558 of 1743
3/18/10 at 5:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aeblank View Post

Both. 29.1, 29.2, 7.1, 7.2. Duplicate NBC and ABC.

7.1 and 7.2 are broadcast from Harrietta and Kalkaska. You'd need a tuner that showed you the real frequency (7 or 47) to be sure which one you're getting.
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post #1559 of 1743
3/18/10 at 6:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mesickstan View Post

real frequency (7 or 47)

My bad, it is 47. I thought for sure it was 7.
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post #1560 of 1743
3/19/10 at 4:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aeblank View Post

My bad, it is 47. I thought for sure it was 7.

47 is broadcast at 500 kW and 7 at .5 kW. I'm 10 miles from Harrietta and get 47 much better than 7. 47 is not affected by impulse noise, either. 7 goes to crap when we turn on the microwave oven...
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