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Roanoke, VA / Bluefield, WV - HDTV - Page 2

post #31 of 6053
1/22/04 at 6:38am
heard on am 960 that starting today cox will carry cbs HD in roanoke.

great news.

in time for superbowl

too bad missed play-offs
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post #32 of 6053
1/22/04 at 8:56am
The Roanoke Times had an online article today about Cox and WDBJ-HD. Actually the first half of the article was likely a Cox press release - up until the part where it said most anybody can pick the signal up off the air for free.
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post #33 of 6053
1/22/04 at 1:13pm
What is the status of local HD channels other than WDBJ on cox?
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post #34 of 6053
1/23/04 at 10:47am
Adelphia in Martinsville has finally added HBOHD.

Other Roanoke area Adelphia customers should note that Adelphia has signed contracts for HDnet and HDnet movies. I haven't seen any internet mention of ESPNHD (although folks at the local Adelphia HQ said they were working on it) or DiscoveryHD on Adelphia, much less any of the other newer HD channels (STARZ, Cinemax, Bravo)
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post #35 of 6053
1/23/04 at 11:08am
I did see an article mentioning Cox signing for Bravo.
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post #36 of 6053
1/23/04 at 11:33am
I watched WDBJ DT for the first time last night on cox cable. Picture and sound was very good. CSI looked better than Without a Trace. I am very excited about watching the superbowl and grammy's.

I have been happy with my cox hd service to date. Sat. night college football was very impressive. College basketball does not have the wow factor like other sporting events. Hockey has been hit or miss. Some games look great while others look so so.

SD picture quality is poor if run thru the STB, so I switch to analog cable if I am not watching HD.

Once cox adds WSLS DT & WSET DT , I think the $6.95 box rental will be worth it.

Does anyone know if WDBJ is planning on doing the local news in HD?

What are other posters reviews of cox's HD service ?
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post #37 of 6053
1/23/04 at 1:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by mpmosdell
Does anyone know if WDBJ is planning on doing the local news in HD?

I wouldn't count on it for a long time. Just because WDBJ literally owns all of Poor Mountain and is the strongest in local news/programming doesn't mean they have money to burn on HD Cameras.

If we're really lucky, they'll be out burning that money buying WPXR, upgrading it to HD and showing HDNet Lite like WRAZ in Raleigh does in addition to a nice independent with lots of syndicated stuff on the analog/digital SD side. Plus when Fox/UPN/WB's contracts are up, WPXR could step in and say 'Hey! We've already got HD! We'll do it now! Don't wait for slowpokes, go with the leader!'

- Trip
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post #38 of 6053
1/26/04 at 12:00pm
Trip:
In regards to the 'sparklies' on 21-1. I do see them- not sure how long they've been there - about a month or so I think. I have an Samsung SIR-TS160 receiver. Note: I dont see them on 21-3.

Very disapointing about Grant Media's decision to not allow waivers - even though it was predicatable. Perhaps I'll write a letter to them.
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post #39 of 6053
1/26/04 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
Does anyone else think 7-3 is skewed to the left? It's gotten very annoying.

And what's with 10-2? I wanted a live radar yesterday afternoon; turn it on and find a useless SATELLITE image.

- Trip
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post #40 of 6053
1/26/04 at 1:18pm
Haven't noticed any problem with 7-3.

10-2 seems to change - it looks like it is being fed by a computer sitting around in the weather office and shows us whatever they happen to leave it on when they walk away. Sometimes it will be a closer up image - sometimes it will be a national image etc.
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post #41 of 6053
1/26/04 at 1:20pm
I sent another email to Fox21/27 just to their basic info email address. Once again asking about HD plans and if no HD plan then waiver request. I also stated, if the blanket answer is no to waivers per the owner, I would like the direct address to send the owner a letter outlining a waiver request.
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post #42 of 6053
1/26/04 at 2:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by Chris Loker
I sent another email to Fox21/27 just to their basic info email address. Once again asking about HD plans and if no HD plan then waiver request. I also stated, if the blanket answer is no to waivers per the owner, I would like the direct address to send the owner a letter outlining a waiver request.

I already said once, they have no idea what's happening with HD and they are saying no to any waiver request. Grant Media is based out of Fort Lauderdale, that's all I know.

- Trip
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post #43 of 6053
1/26/04 at 2:56pm
I heard you before Trip - just want to keep pressuring them by asking them.
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post #44 of 6053
1/26/04 at 3:06pm
I did find the parent company address on the internet - wasn't easy.

Grant Broadcasting System II, Inc.
915 Middle River Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
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post #45 of 6053
1/27/04 at 5:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by Chris Loker
I heard you before Trip - just want to keep pressuring them by asking them.

Well asking a bunch of people who have no say in the matter over and over isn't going to help things IMO. What we can do is start writing letters to Grant Media. The most important thing is to ask them to do HD, because from how Robert said it, Grant has had some bad experiences with waivers and probably won't be willing to grant more.

Try to point out that Fox will be providing a way to 'splice' in Fox-HD 720p + DD5.1 right into their stream if the encoder is at the studio (they won't even need an HD encoder if I understand correctly how this is going to work). So they could do HD on both stations if the encoder was at the studio and completely create the signals there. Then microwave each signal out and feed it right into the transmitter.

By doing it that way, they can eventually drop Fox-HD for WB-HD at the WJPR station if they wanted to with less trouble. The less you have to do at the top of a mountain, the better off you are.

- Trip
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post #46 of 6053
1/27/04 at 5:58am
I would like them to respond to me directly before I go writing a letter to their home office. I also sent it to the info address this time hoping maybe the response would come from the station GM. I do not see it as a worthless process.
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post #47 of 6053
1/27/04 at 6:02am
Thread Starter 
Oh, did I tell y'all that last time I talked to Mel at WDRL, he said that they'll be upgrading to 1080i when they get their new tower at Smith Mountain? I asked him about it and being that they'd have to get a new microwave system anyway, might as well get one that'll do 1080i--and that's the most expensive part of the system from what I hear. He told me that he'd love to be doing HD now, but it wouldn't reach but a couple of cows (not his words) so there's no point in spending money the station doesn't have.

Estimated Time of Completion: 2007.

Because of the above date, I'm considering asking if he'd make an offer for WPXR. Then it wouldn't be necessary to move WDRL at all. Besides, W54BT already shares a tower with WPXR. You'd think the least they could do is lease a subchannel from WPXR-DT to put a digital signal on so "WDRL-DTV" makes more sense. LOL.

WDRL-TV 24 Danville -- WDRL-DT 41 Danville
W54BT 54 Roanoke -- WPXR-DT 36 Roanoke

Could you imagine that ID?

- Trip
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post #48 of 6053
1/27/04 at 6:37am
2007 - Will there even be a UPN network in 2007
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post #49 of 6053
1/27/04 at 3:06pm
Did WSET-DT boost its signal? Last night it was coming in twice as strong as I had previously been able to receive. Or maybe it was the weather (icy fog).
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post #50 of 6053
1/27/04 at 3:46pm
Coming a lot stronger for me as well. WSLS also looks stronger to me. Maybe the snow help reflect the signal better.
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post #51 of 6053
1/27/04 at 4:50pm
Thread Starter 
It's probably atmospheric, and I'm hoping UPN will still be around, or at least Star Trek.

Is power out on Poor Mountain? At 7:02 or so, I was watching News Hour when it went dead (switched to W60BM). Upon further investigation, all Poor Mountain UHF stations and WBRA-DT were dead (WBRA-15, WBRA-DT 3, WFXR-27, WPXR-38, WPXR-DT 36, WRKV-CA 43, W54BT 54). The first one to return to the air was WRKV-CA (!) followed by audio on WBRA (no video). Then W54BT and WBRA's video. WPXR is now back and surprisingly, the station that I was told specifically HAD a generator is the only one still silent. WFXR.

The oddest thing is that WPXR and W54BT share a tower and yet W54BT was back 10 minutes before WPXR.

No absence was noted of WDBJ or WSLS.

- Trip
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post #52 of 6053
1/27/04 at 7:43pm
Quote:


Originally posted by one1step1
Yes they are testing HDTV in blacksburg for Adelphia.

Currently they are offering CBS, PBS, NBC, HBO, ABC, and Showtime.

I think the CBS has the best picture quality for the hdtv, they run native 1080i, but HBO is right there with them. The PBS is HDTV on all of the programs, but all of the other channels are only HDTV when they are broadcast that way from the network. The good thing is most of the prime time on the networks are broadcasting most of their shows.

Last I heard, they are going to allow subscribers to come on board in the next few months.

Its still in the testing stages. They have a demo of it in the office, they have a HDTV monitor setup last time I was in there.

Thank for the info. I've had many people tell me they thought Adelphia would never do it any time soon after everything that happened with them upgrading their network aroud here.
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post #53 of 6053
1/28/04 at 3:16pm
Hey guys, I live in NW Lynchburg and am eagerly awaiting my 60xbr950 which has an integrated HD tuner in it. How is the WSLS reception in LYH? I have a friend who lives about 3 miles from me, and he doesn't get much from WSLS. I really hope I have my new TV in time for the Daytona 500 which will be in HD this year. Thanks,
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post #54 of 6053
1/28/04 at 7:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by Ben:Gb
Hey guys, I live in NW Lynchburg and am eagerly awaiting my 60xbr950 which has an integrated HD tuner in it. How is the WSLS reception in LYH? I have a friend who lives about 3 miles from me, and he doesn't get much from WSLS. I really hope I have my new TV in time for the Daytona 500 which will be in HD this year. Thanks,

Welcome to the gang.

I am not sure. WSLS is not difficult to pick up, but is not as easy as WDBJ or WPXR. You'll just have to try it out. Can you be more specific (perhaps PM it to me?)? I have topography software and I will try to find out if you have any major obstructions to be concerned about.

- Trip
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post #55 of 6053
1/28/04 at 7:37pm
Speaking of WSLS, anyone having problems with it? I get -2, but -1 is showing nada. It started last night with absolutely no signal. I'm assuming they are having issues because of the snow and things. Anyone else having issues as well?
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post #56 of 6053
1/28/04 at 8:05pm
Figures.. as soon as I post this, it's starts working.. sheesh..
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post #57 of 6053
1/29/04 at 5:30am
Thread Starter 
Wow Ben, you are in probably the worst possible spot in Lynchburg. You have Thaxton Mountain almost directly between you and Poor Mountain. Now, Because Poor Mountain is almost 4000 feet above sea level and Thaxton Mountain is only about 1900 feet (and the line from you to Poor Mountain runs over a point that is 1500 feet), you might still have decent line of sight being around 750 feet up.

- Trip
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post #58 of 6053
1/29/04 at 6:51am
Is WDBJ broadcasting in 1080i when they show the school closings(I do not think they are). I had the grey bars on the side like an SD feed. Do they have to have the closing on the digital channel? Its a real disappointment when every show starts out in SD until the closings are done. There cannot be that manny people watching the digital channel yet. I wish they could just leave the closings off.
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post #59 of 6053
1/29/04 at 6:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by mpmosdell
Is WDBJ broadcasting in 1080i when they show the school closings(I do not think they are). I had the grey bars on the side like an SD feed. Do they have to have the closing on the digital channel? Its a real disappointment when every show starts out in SD until the closings are done. There cannot be that manny people watching the digital channel yet. I wish they could just leave the closings off.

I know they have the ability to add graphics to their HD as evidenced once I saw a football game that was late switching and the ID at the bottom said "WDBJ-7" and then it suddenly switched to HD with "WDBJDT" instead.

I have already suggested that they put the school closings on 7-2 or 7-3 instead of on the main one when HD is being done.

- Trip
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post #60 of 6053
1/29/04 at 7:39am
The school closings are definately something that shouldn't ever be on 7-1. Since they have 7-2 and 7-3 it just makes no sense to put them on the primary feed. The regular analog station - sure it is a must have.

What would be great is put them in list form like on the website and stick them in on on one of the subchannels. They would probalby fit in about 3-4 pages and people wouldn't have to sit and watch them for 10 minutes to see their school/organization.
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