Madison, WI - HDTV - Page 179

So, I just added HBO and Cinemax to my Charter subscription, and it seems the CCI byte seems to be set to no copying, meaning I can't put movies on my PC when the TiVo fills up.

Anyone know if this is something Charter is responsible for, or if it's just an HBO-wide directive to all cable providers? My google search gave mixed results.

Found my own answer, finally. (Had to use google and have it search Charter's site). As I suspected, it's mandated by HBO. From their support boards:

Copy Control Information is mandated by the contractual agreement between Charter and the content provider that supplies the channel itself (HBO, Starz, Encore, etc). The particular type of copy protection can vary from program to program, but it comes in four flavors: Copy Freely - Any number of copies may be produced, Copy Once - One copy may be made, Copy No More - Meda cannot be copied again (this is what Copy Once switches to after the first copy is made), and Copy Never - No copies may be made (this is usually only found on PPV content specifically). Copy Never programming can still be "recorded" onto a TiVo, but only for a 90 minutes period, after which it can no longer be accessed or viewed

Oh well, guess I won't be keeping the channels long.

yeah, but I think it's in one of those buildings behind the main building... their old transmitter building? Isn't that across the parking lot?

WKOW is still having issues getting the audio correct via their server. How is it I can get ABC network audio correct and they can't?

Because you are THE MAN!!

If Nightline is delayed again tonight, I might try capturing WKOW and the net to see if I san see what is going on with the channel alignment.

Yep, with the BB game going long, Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel were delayed thru their server.

I captured WKOW and the network Mountain feed and analyzed the audio. Turns out I managed to sample three different audio configurations: stereo, true 5.1 and screwed up 5.1 (will explain that in a moment).

Nightline is stereo, only left and right. The center is quiet. The two ads were the 5.1 mix and were mixed correctly with the voice in the center on not in the left or right, except toward the end of the ConocoPhillips ad, there was bleed of the professor voice into the left and right channels. Jimmy Kimmel, had center channel voice, audio laughter, etc. But so did the left and right channels, but the voice was at a slightly reduced level. A correctly mixed 5.1 would not have had any vocals in the left and right channels. But, that helped figure out what is wrong at WKOW.

As a reminder, ABC sends out 4 audio stereo pairs, configured as such:
1) Stereo Dolby Surroung mixdown
2) Left and Right
3) Center and Lfe
4) Left and Right surround

WKOW dropped stream #3 into the bit-bucket. Stream #2 was applied correctly to the left and right, but at a reduced level (don't know why). Stream #2's left channel was applied to the Center channel and the right channel was applied to the Lfe. But, because of the filtering to reduce the bandwidth of the Lfe, it was very muddled, but it was there. AFAIK, the surrounds were applied correctly as there really wasn't any surround to detect just listening to it. I might have seen something if I pulled the waveforem into an audio editing program.

The video looked like crap as well. Since I have not analyzed their video in a while, I don't know if it is that way normally now, or just when it is stored on the server.

Every video frame has a ghostly image of the next frame. With motionless video it looks like this: WKOW image ABC image

With motion video it looks like this: WKOW image ABC image

That is just plain bad.

Wow, that is terrible. I can't remember the last time I watched anything on WKOW, but I might try to watch something so I have a personal frame of reference in which to send a complaint.

Keep in mind that I said that the video may be like that only of it goes thru the server. I'll have to look at some video when they are doing ABC net in pattern.

Like now?

System is busy doing other stuff, so it probably won't be until tomorrow night during Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel, which would also provide a video reference.

Wasn't able to do it tonight either. Other sat captures got in the way.

This is not acceptable.

This explains why Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice were messed up two weeks ago on the tape delay. They must have dumped the Center and LFE channels, as there was no dialog. Whoops.

Not only dumped the C/Lfe stream, replaced it with the L/R stream.

A friend's wife tried to watch their TiVo capture of the delayed GA and gave up, as she could not hear the dialog.

I captured WKOW's in pattern airing of Nightline and there were no issues with the video like what occurred when it was played out via their delay server. Other than the macroblocking, of course. Scene changes, or rapid motion, had none of the color issues that the server has, where there is next frame bleed.

I know that I hadn't seen that in the past with in pattern captures. Last Friday was the first time that I ever looked at their delayed video.

I get a better recording than their expensive server and I do it on a XP box. Plus, I could feed it out via my ASI card as well and have it go on air looking better than that. Plus, the audio would be right

You might want to think about using the backup until New York replaces/fixes the main G19 encoder. For the past 3 days the encoder has been having constant CEs (Continuity Error). I had about 19 CEs in ~25 minutes.

I've been monitoring G28 for the past 48 min and there have been 0 errors, indicating that the problem is really the G19 encoder.

Haven't seen any issues with ours. I'll take a look at it though.......

Continuity errors are subtle. For example, I ran the Wednesday night portion of the promo feed through VideReDo and it detected zero errors, yet thee were 19 CEs. But, as I was going through the promos, I spotted a visual error in one of the promos.

Don't know if standalone commercial IRDs even report CEs. I see these with TSReader vi a PCI or USB receiver. Can also be done with a commerical IRD via TSR and the ASI input of a PCI card.

UPDATE: Looks like the CBS Teleport center in NY fixed the problem, as I've not seen any errors over the last 15 minutes. Figures. I post, they fix. They must be telepathic

They're watching your posts for quality control......

^^^
Ya, that must be it

Wondering if WKOW has other signal issues? This morning, and even during other parts of the day, WKOW signal is erratic and breaks up dropping in and out. . . then, suddenly, becomes rock solid for hours on end. The next day. . . same thing. Are there signal tests they do in the morning or lower power transistions going on? This has actually been going on for maybe just over a month or maybe two. I posted this before and some said tropo or some other issue, yet all other channels on the tower are fine.

I'm near Edgerton on a ridge and get both Rockford and Madison channels usually at 75% to 100% locked using a just a roof top 5 element rat shack antenna I've used for 6 years (with a 2 port distribution amp for two feeds). No other signal issues at all.

This does not seem like some weather issue. As I said, all other channels are fine and so is WKOW. . . when suddenly it goes erratic. I check the other channels when this happens and they are a solid signal level. And suddenly the WKOW signal will become rock solid as the others and be fine???

Maybe you are getting some localized interference only on WKOW's spectrum causing your problem but not affecting other WKOW viewers nor other channels. You would expect erratic transmissions to generate a flood of viewer complaints.

That's a possibility. I've often wondered, for instance, what the effects of all the wireless networks may have on OTA reception using a roof top antenna. I know that these are different bands ( 2.4GHz and 5.8 KHz ) but could they somehow jam or interfere harmonically with TV reception if the signal was picked up by my antenna, amplified and then ???

I had a very weird , but unrelated thing, occur some years back. I was sitting at home using my desktop computer and suddenly I started hearing what apparently was one side (the airplane pilot) of air traffic radio transmissions. This was the back and forth banter they do as a plane comes in for approach to land. Anyway, this went on for about 25 minutes and then stopped. I wasn't even online at the time and had my connection disabled as I usually do when not wanting to use the internet. Plus. .. how does a computer suddenly start acting like an FM receiver?

Well, if I had an RF spectrum analyzer I guess I could tell if I'm getting any local interference. But it still seems unusual for just 27 to be affected.

We onetime had to track down an abandoned rooftop preamplifier that was still powered up and had run amock and was generating a birdie in the middle of our analog spectrum, causing wiggly lines in the picture but not affecting any other channels, and localized only to a certain area. Luckily it was always on and we were able to triangulate and find it. In your situation, besides coming and going, digital television makes it harder to find. If everyone saw it, you'd think the station would get corroborating calls. Can you shift to another antenna (like indoors) to troubleshoot, or have a friend across town to compare with??

Spoke too soon. The CEs are back again tonight.

A BUDhead friend who watches CBS (I don't) says that the CBS network transponder has been plagued by CEs over the past few days as well. He tuned in to Nikita tonight and mentioned the CEs.

Sure enough, they are back. The backup CW transponder is fine.

I watched Supernatural tonight (at home) and saw/heard some hits in the signal. Looks like I've got some work (and complaining) to do on Monday. Is your friend watching something other than 4060? Wonder if G19 is dying?

CBS on 4080, sometimes on 4100 (if CBS lites it up). Feeds on 4060 and 4180 out of CBS Teleport in LA are fine.

What I watched tonight was from G19 4060. Time to get the analyzer running.

Yep, there is where I captured Nikita from, via a timer (I was out eating). Came back and read that the CEs were back. Brought up TSR and tuned in and it didn't take long to have CEs show up.

So I went over to G28 to capture Nikita @ 10. Due to a screwup on my part, didn't get the promo feed. But, can get tonight's feed when it is repeated on Monday.

TSR on a PeeCee with a PCI/USB receiver, or ASI card, make a great analyzer