Chattanooga, TN - HDTV - Page 2

Sounds like the signals from Signal Mountain are plenty strong enough. I was wondering how an attic antenna would work in our area. most people suggest a directional antenna outside but it seems that an attic antenna would be nice to have for me anyway.

Since all the DTV broadcasts are all close together a directional antenna works well if all you want are the DTV broadcasts.

I'm basically about 15 miles away and I read that if you are that close you should start with a silver sensor. I had wanted to try the Square shooter but couldn't get one locally without waiting two weeks and having to pay 20% restocking fee if it didn't work.

I got the silver sensor at BB ($40) and figured I could return it if it didn't work. Mine needed some height to get it working right but it works great now! Of course I can't get Fox but at this point I don't care.

Having the antenna in the living room caused problems because it needed more height and also any movement seemed to disturb the picture. My cats walking through the room would cause me to lose signal (using an old RCA antenna until I got the silver sensor).

WTVC comes in at basically 100% out here in Harrison, as does WTCI. WDEF and WRCB are probably around 90% or so, which is still very good.

On another subject, for anyone who may be having audio troubles with WDSI (if you can even pick them up):

Speaking of audio issues...it's a serious pet peeve of mine that WDEF has their DD5.1 encoder turned on 24/7.

Bob Ross (the national CBS HD guru) had PM'd with me and he was supposed to contact them to get them to stop this practice, but either that contact hasn't happened or they ignored it. Of course it's easy enough to figure out right now since only some of their sports programs are actually in 5.1.

It'll get much more confusing when their regular programming starts getting broadcast in 5.1.

Maharg18: I'm impressed that you get any response from WDSI! My HD receiver can switch between PCM and Digital Dolby. I would hope that it would detect if it wasn't Digital Dolby and switch back to PCM if needed. But again it's not a problem for me because I don't get anything from them.

I'm also confused by him listing WTVC-DT as 1080i but then stating correctly that they are 1280x720. The broadcast I get from them seems to be 720p but my TV can't do that so it gets unconverted to 1080i. Oh well doesn't matter.

wmessin: I'm not sure I understand the problem of them having the 5.1 encoder on all the time. Is it because it is on but not used?

What I mean is that my receiver is recognizing DD5.1 24/7 on WDEF even though no true DD5.1 is being passed through except for some sports HD programming. Bob Ross said they should not be keeping their encoder on 24/7...only when passing true DD5.1 audio.

I am in Red Bank. I am luckly getting Fox 61 with varying SQ from 1-45. Although, no audio is present. I receive 9, 12 and 45 pretty good or should I say 35, 47 and 29.1-3 in digital speak. Unfortunately, I don't get channel 3's digital signal. It has a varying SQ of 1-20.. Well, that means no Las Vega's in HD for me. Dang.

PBS isn't coming in that well for me any more. Not sure why it changed, but I guess I need to go and tweak my antenna.

timnchi: What antenna are you using?

Winegard GS2000A SensarII UHF/VHF Antenna

Well, 45 does pixelate occasionally. Sometimes I get a steady SQ other times it varies a lot on each subchannel. On 9 its steady 45-52 and 12 is steady 65-72.

That's probably the setting on his end. Most of the encoders can be programmed to accept multiple audio programs. (for example, if you wanted to offer a simultaneous Spanish-language soundtrack. Our local PBS station carries regular audio on one program, and Descriptive Video Services on the other -- an announcer describes the action. "Closed-captioning for the visually-impaired", you could say.)

It seems standard to carry one's main audio on the first program. One of the smaller religious stations up here has their audio on the second - and most receivers I've used get no audio by default.

How you select the other programs depends on your receiver. I have a PC tuner card; right-click in the window, and it offers me the choice. (if there's a choice to make)

I don't know what that means either... I also don't know why the other broadcasters would even bother sending out audio correctly. Maybe, because thats what goes along with the picture and they want everyone to hear the sound. Those that can hear and can't read lips.

I talked to Larry Pink(CE) at WDSI this evening about the audio problems on there digital signal. He said he would try to fix it and was going to check the channel it is on. I tuned in to see if the audio was working but nothing yet.

I have a Voom satellite receiver with digital tuner inside. There is no way to set the audio ch. to 0. I guess I have to rely on what is given by default. I try setting the audio output from Dolby digital to PCM but that doesn't help. Anyway to get this technical difficulty resolved?

Sorry, ignore my post.

FYI....Comcast just added four or five of the local PBS HD channels in a row onto their HD tier. Still working on adding the ABC affiliate but they are currently stuck in negotiations.

When I say I'm living in Sale Creek, I mean that's where my mail comes. I live out by the river and doubt that cable will ever get out here. This the need for a dish.

I'm in North Ga also (Chickamauga area) and was curious if anyone in that area has been able to get HD. I want it bad for the upcoming football season but i don't want to invest money for the card and antenna (HTPC) if it's not gonna work.

Thanks for any info.

Has anyone got an update on Fox or WB?

I live in Middle Valley and just bought a digital tuner. I have an old (15+ years) directional antenna outside and a newer (Wal-Mart) directional antenna in the attic. I couldn't seem to pick anything up with the antenna outside except for standard def (with ghosts) and ABC, with the antenna in the attic; I could get PBS, NBC, and CBS (all at about 25% signal). I have since been hoping to move the newer antenna outside, but when I did I can only get PBS, ABC, and CBS, although they are at 50% signal. I only live six miles from the towers of PBS, FOX (can't pull in anything), and the WB (start broadcasting in February 2006). I live about 8 miles from the towers of ABC, NBC, and CBS. I have a straight shot to the towers with no hills in-between, I do however have some fairly thick tree cover. I was thinking of buying a new antenna if I could increase my stations or signal strength. It seems that I am closer than most of you to the towers but I am not getting as good of reception. Any thoughts?

I am currently running Belden RG-6 (exactly 30ft) high bandwidth cable directly into my decoder. I am not using a wall plate nor am I using any splitters. I have even disconnected it from the line conditioner I was using because I got a bit better signal without it. I will have to insert some sort of surge protection before too long though.

Thanks

Brad

Samsung SIRT-150 Tuner
Sony 34-XBR-910

Also- What are most of the local channels broadcasting in 720p or 1080i? My TV can do either and was wondering which would give me the best overall quality.

What model of antenna are you trying to use? I'm right across the lake from you in Harrison and I get excellent signals from NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TBN. Also, if your antenna is UHF-only, that may be preventing you from getting a good lock on NBC, since it's a VHF station. Some UHF antennas are better than others at picking up VHF. I've used both a ChannelMaster 4228 and Winegard Sqareshooter and they both work very well, and pickup NBC easily.

As for FOX, they are currently broadcasting at a very low power from downtown, so don't even bother with trying to tune them in.

ABC is 720p, all others are 1080i.

You could try a preamp. I guess I'm in the area of maharg18, but I started with a silver sensor from BB. The antennas that maharg listed are probably some of the best antennas to use for HD, but I didn't need them.

Although I did lose PBS a while back for some reason. I guess I need to adjust my antenna to see if I can get it back.

I tried the silver sensor, but it was WAY too directional for me, and I would have ended up adjusting it everytime I changed channels!

Are you trying to receive non-HD broadcast? It seems all the HD towers (except Fox until they go full power) are all in the same general direction.

Nope, just the HD signals.. I figured it wouldn't be a problem either, but for some reason I couldn't get it to work without having to constantly tweak it.

I did have to put it in my attic to get it to work. Of course I have lost PBS for some reason, haven't felt like climbing around in the attic to fix it yet.

This is the antenna I am using in the attic- it should be good for both uhf/vhf

It is a Radio Shack - 50" Boom Length, 18 Element Antenna

(Sorry, tried to post a link, but it wouldn't let me)

The antenna outside is of similar design just old and a bit rusty.

After playing around with antenna placement some more, I am able to get PBS, NBC, and a slightly temperamental CBS. CBS cuts in and out on the signal strength meter from about 50% to 0% and I loose signal for about 2 seconds every five to ten minutes. PBS and NBC both are showing about 50% signal but do not exhibit the same problems as CBS. Currently, I am not receiving ABC at all. I need to do some more testing with antenna placement out on the roof, I was thinking of mounting both antennas on the roof and combining them to get all the channels (at least as a experiment). Maybe I will get a chance today as I haven't been able to mess with it anymore because of the rain (also could only get PBS in the storm).

Also, what is TBN? Is that the Turner Broadcasting Network? I can't get a high def or standard def picture from them. The only standard def channels I can get are ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and FOX.

As for the pre-amp, that would be an easy fix, but I thought they a pre-amp would only help to compensate for signal loss from long cable runs or multiple splits. Am I wrong? I am currently running RG-6 (30 ft) directly from the antenna to my decoder; I am not even using a wall plate so there are no splits until after it leaves the decoder. (I am splitting it from the SD coax output of the set top box and sending it to the other TVs in the house)

Why is it that even on what the Samsung decoder says is a HD broadcast many times both CBS and (particularly) NBC are showing 4:3 images. Am I the only one this is happening to? My TV will not stretch a HD 4:3 image to fit the screen and although I am rot real fond of the black bars, I am even more concerned about them damaging my tube TV. Some of the high def images don't really look high def to me either, are they up converting standard def stuff just to have something to show "in HD" on their digital channels.

Ever noticed that PBS 29.1 and 29.4 always seem to show the same thing on both channels? Why is that? PBS also must have a fairly limited selection of HD shows, they have some pretty interesting stuff and so far the best looking stuff I have seen, but they just seem to wear it out showing the same shows over and over.

I may try a new antenna if I can't get any better reception. I would really like to get ABC,NBC,CBS, and PBS without any drop outs.

Anything We/I can do to get FOX to "really start broadcasting in HD (at least their Fox Widescreen 480p)?


Thank you for all of your help maharg18 and ColdBrew!

Brad

Mocs123,

I know this may sound stupid, but do you have the antenna aimed the correct way? It's not uncommon for people to aim their VHF/UHF antenna backwards. The little end should point towards the towers. Just making sure.

It's stange that you aren't getting any signal at all from ABC, since they are currently the only station broadcasting at full power. Over here in Harrison I get a 85+ signal from ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS, so I'd think you should be able to do the same in Middle Valley, unless you are behind a huge hill or something. If all else fails I'd give a preamp a try just to see what happens. I'd try to get a good one like a channel master or something, though, as Radio Shack preamps can many times cause more harm than good.

TBN is Trinity Broadcasting Network, they're located on Lookout Mtn.. I never watch it, but I do get a decent signal from them.

As for your decoder, I think it will say HD for everything, even though as you pointed out that is not the case. Anything with the black side bars is not HD, but just upconverted. Most primetime shows are now in HD, and that should automatically stretch to 16:9 when they come on.

As for FOX, I think our only hope is that they get bought out by a decent company. Their current owner, Pegasus, is going through all sorts of financial problems, so I wouldn't expect them to spend any money for quite some time.

The good news is that WFLI WB53 just got bought by Meredith Corp., which actually has money, so hopefully they'll be going online sometime in the near future.

Maybe I am the one that was stupid. The antennas were up when I moved in and they were pointed" in the direction of the towers, however apparently both myself and the individual that positioned them did not know which direction was supposed to point to the towers. Thanks to your help, I am now receiving ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS with about 60% signal strength.

My decoder will actually say that programs are in SD or HD and some shows such as "Joey" on NBC which I would think should be in HD show up as 4:3. This seems to be a show by show thing rather than a station thing. The decoder may not always be correct though as some shows it says are HD are at the best up converted SD shows.

I just watched the Tennessee - Florida game in HD and it was awesome! Just what I needed after watching a disappointing UTC game. The ONLY way to watch football is in HD. I was flipping back and forth between HD and SD and my girlfriend even commented on the difference and she normally wouldn't notice such things.

Thanks!

Brad

Good to hear it all worked out, and I agree that I can't stand to watch Football in anything less than HD anymore!

My understanding is an "amp" not a "pre-amp" is for long haul or for spliting. Where as a "pre-amp" is for a weak signal.

Also a couple of the stations CBS and either ABC or NBC have a second station that is in 480p I believe. I like to use those when the show isn't in HD because my TV is 4:3 not 16:9... A show that isn't HD when up converted to 1080i has black bars on all four sides on my TV.

I bought a Wineguard squareshooter a while ago hoping I could get reception in my attic. No luck. I have resigned myself to the fact that I may have to mount the antenna on the roof near the dish. The problem i am having is trying to find someone who installs antennas. Does anyone know of a good antenna installer in the Chattanooga/Ringgold area?

Thanks.

Sorry I'm no help on your problem; but i was wondering if you had the NextTV from the Ringgold Telephone Company? My friend has it and i was questioning him as to whether he could recieve HD over it? Do you happen to know? Good luck with the antenna. Could you not istall it yourself?