Madison, WI - HDTV - Page 184

Not to derail the latest topics in the thread.

But I was wondering what kind of cameras and equipment WISC Ch. 3 uses in the studio? I receive all my TV now via an OTA attic antenna in the garage out here near the Milton/Janesville NW border and I have to say WISC knocks my socks off with the picture quality compared to the other Madison area TV stations. I mean, I can see Sarah Carlson's freckles very clearly, much to her chagrin I am sure, and each and every gray hair that Rob Starbuck has. I also get all Rockford stations and none compare to WISC. NBC 15 is pretty good as is WKOW, but they just don't have the detail, clarity, and color saturation that WISC has. Is there something different or special in the studio production equipment that WISC uses?

Lastly, a bit more on topic. . . wondering why so many folks in the local Madison area won't opt to use an OTA antenna for local reception with so many complaints about cable signal quality? It would seem to me that most folks within a 20 to 30 mile or more radius of Madison TV towers would get better, uncompressed or otherwise doctored signal from a small attic TV antenna (exception for problem areas). Even my daughter gets great reception and live just a few blocks off of downtown Janesville. They have Charter, also, for other channels, but always use the attic antenna connection for local stations.

Can't speak to your question about Channel 3's studio equipment, but I agree with your assessment -- I think their newscast looks great, except for the live remotes, which appear to be widescreen SD. Not sure if any of the other local newscasts have HD for live remotes, because I usually watch Ch. 3.

As far as why more folks don't use OTA ... I don't know that Charter significantly recompresses the local HD stations. Most people (at least those who wouldn't visit a forum like this one) can't even tell whether they're watching HD or not, let alone whether the HD signal has been compressed. So they're not going to go through the aggravation of setting up an antenna when the feeds are available through their video provider. And unless you have an attic/rooftop antenna, the video from your cable/satellite provider is probably still going to be more reliable, even if it's compressed.

I live in Madison, 3 miles NE of the Ch. 15 tower and 5 miles west of the Madison Community Tower, but I do not have an attic/outdoor antenna. I just happened to have an UHF/VHF combo antenna (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103077&znt_campaign=Category_CMS&znt_source=CAT&znt_medium=RSCOM&znt_content=CT2032189) hooked up in case of a Charter cable outage, which happened Thursday during the blizzard. There were power outages in my neighborhood, which apparently took out my node. I was happy to be able to watch the local news, but watching OTA TV reconfirmed why I have my Tivo set to record the local stations off cable, not antenna. I can easily pick up the local stations on my TV, but the signal randomly drops out depending on where people stand in the living room. Repositioning or adjusting the antenna was no help. I have thought about putting an antenna in my attic, but it doesn't seem worth the money since I'm happy enough with the Charter feed. If we dropped cable, it would probably be worth it, but with all the sports my family watches on ESPN, ESPN2, and BTN, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Speaking of Tivo and OTA vs Cable signals.

Several Madison folks (myself included) are having an issue with receiving the WKOW digital channels on Charter using a Tivo Premiere (channels 607- WKOWDT, 966 - WKOWDT3, 967 - WKOWDT2). This has been going on for the last few weeks. The signals can be tuned using a direct connection to a TV (on ch. 27-1 to 27-3), and can even be tuned using a Tivo HD, but not the Tivo Premiere.

See this thread on the Tivo Community website for more specifics: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=498609

Does anyone here have a Tivo Premiere hooked up to an OTA antenna? If so, can you tune the WKOW OTA channels using the Tivo Premiere? Just trying to figure out if this is a WKOW issue or something that Charter is doing with the signal before re-transmission over the cable system.

WISC still running crawls and PSA's. Looks like there will be a blackout. Only question is how long?

DirecTV subscribers should start getting their antennas out.

Looks like they reached a last-minute agreement. Just saw this on Twitter:

WISCTV News 3 ‏@WISCTV_News3
For @DIRECTV subscribers: WISC-TV has reached a deal to continue service without interruption. Thanks for your patience. Happy New Year!

Not clear from the tweet whether this is just a short-term extension or a long-term deal, but either way, WISC won't be going off DirecTV at midnight.

Wish there was a way for them to only crawl that to Direct TV subscribers...

There actually is, since DirecTV's local uplink for Madison is at WISC. They get an HD-SDI signal, too. It wouldn't be too hard to drop a keyer in there. That said, DirecTV wouldn't like that.

I kinda thought there was.

Hi, i too just noticed Charter is going to only offer a number of channels in digital after 1/29/13. Much like RonBurgudy's inlaws i have a number of analog only sets hooked up to receive just "basic" channels. Laundry room, garage, etc. Losing NBC Sports, BTN and Golf will be a bummer. So, Please help on suggestions in order to avoid rental digital boxes from charter on each set. Link to info on HTPC?

Thanks,
ckrider.

I don't fully remember the specifics, but I think they're required to give you a box free of charge depending on the channels they're removing.

Really. That would be nice, if only i could get a few...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/fcc-cable-rules-change_n_2237212.html

"To offset the initial cost of the required new cable boxes, the FCC will require cable operators to provide two free convertor boxes to customers with only basic service and one free convertor box to customers with higher tiers of service for two years. After that, customers will be required to rent or buy boxes of their own."

The FCC said this will negatively affect a small number, but I agree with the consumer advocate's quote in the article that it's definitely not a small number.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57533637-38/fcc-allows-cable-operators-to-encrypt-basic-cable-tv-signals/

"The second option would require cable companies to provide a software solution for third-party device makers to offer access to the signal."

So a 3rd party device may be a solution without a rental fee. I doubt if the cable companies will let consumers know about that option and will only offer their rental boxes.

If U matter to Charter is still watching this thread, it would be nice to know what their official implementation plans are. Wouldn't it be nice if they replied with a link to their web site with clear information?

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,27796689?hilite=charter+social+media

You don't matter to Charter anymore.......

I have the Motorola DCX3400 DVR from Charter Cable. When I switch to an HD channel I will sometimes (it seems to be acting more frequently and on more stations) get a "This channel will be available soon" along with a ref. code of S0008. I've looked this code up in Charters ref and it says to check connections, etc. My connections are fine and it may not occur on that particular channel again for awhile.

Of course when I've call their service number I get the same old "check the cable, depower the unit, etc., etc. Has anyone else experienced this problem and is there a fix or should I ask for a new DVR?

Thanks

"This channel will be available soon" indicates (at least to me) that the channel is being "switched" in for SDV.

I don't think that's it because the picture may come on in 30 seconds or 5 min. it's not permanent and it may happen on only one channel today then happen on 7 channels the next day. And a channel may work perfectly when switching back and forth between programs and then all of a sudden it won't come in and will show the message. It can happen on HBO, SHO, TBS...... on all the HD channels.
Edited by maui jim - 1/5/13 at 5:32pm

It is an SDV and a signal strength issue, two mints in one. You should have them come check signal strength at the box, or just ask for a replacement. Whenever I had it, they were "working" in the area. Once that work was done, the problem cleared up. Many a morning I awoke to that message, and rebooted (pull power). When we first had the box, many channels had that, and would not go away. They came out, checked every connection, and of course, the last one was the culprit. YMMV. I dumped the box off this last month, have a Tivo and a HTPC. Hopefully less problematic, though the HTPC can be a pain.

Charter tech came out today. You are correct, it isn't the box. He said they need to send techs out to the outside boxes and "tweek" them, or whatever they do outside. It's a signal problem.

It's been 2 weeks and still have same problem. I was told Charter won't send their own techs out to fix the problem unless they continue to get complaints, then they consider it an 'outage'. I will be calling them again tomorrow to report a repeat problem that as of yet remains unfixed.

I find it hard to believe they can't send someone out when one of their contracted repairman reported the problem to them.

That is hard to swallow. It's their box. I fail to see what their problem is. You gotta do what you gotta do. Me, I'd call and politely cancel, when they bump you to someone else, then explain why. If they can't (or wont) fix their problem, well, there are alternatives. Other option, which will take you some time, is to continue to take back the box and exchange for another. If they wont send a tech out, it must be a box problem, right?

I think you may have misunderstood. The problem is not with my DVR box it is with the outside control 'box', , where the cable originates. I talked to Charter today and they are sending a supervisor tech out next week to look at it. The first tech said only Charter supervisor techs can work on the outside boxes to do whatever needs to be done.

Sat. evening I got the "channel will be available shortly" with code S0008 on over half my HD stations(only occurs on HD stations, not on their non HD stations).

I thought there was someone from Charter on this forum....would like to hear from him.

I just received a call from a Charter rep who recognized the problem and they are in the process off getting it fixed. He will get back to me shortly with their progress in solving the problem and I thank them for the explanation and their willingness to resove it.

Charter eliminated this group last month... big mistake. Those guys/girls really knew what they were doing and got things done right.

http://www.multichannel.com/cable-operators/charter-eliminates-social-media-customer-care-group/140555

No, I understood it was an outside thing. But it seems to me if they wont/can't fix THEIR outside elements, then I would play dumb, and say "It ain't workin'" and continue to exchange boxes, hopefully forcing them to acknowledge and fix the problem. Happy the ball is finally rolling.
And yeah, cutting those few online reps better have saved them a ton of money, because the volume of truck rolls will only increase without their help.

WISC has not turned off TVW (3.2) for the Super Bowl. I don't have the equipment to tell for sure if they're starving it or not, but everything's looked decent so far.

There is no way that a station is going to kill their subcarriers. That would mean that they know that subcarriers affect the quality of the HD video.

Too bad that you can't watch the NFL World Feed, which is running 4:2:2 MPEG-2 video @ 50-60 Mbps.

Averaging around 15 Mbps, peaking to around 15.8 Mbps.

Normal, According to RabbitEars. Which is sad, considering they starved it for Super Bowl XLIV and turned it off for Super Bowl XLI.

Hi Everyone

I have cut my Charter TV cord and am planning to put a 30-40 foot antenna tower in this spring. I will have A OTA Antenna and Anemometer for my website http://www.sunprairieweather.com/ . I would like a tilt over or some kind of mast where I dont have to climb to service or change anything. My Anemometer requires a battery change at least once a year. Any ideas or info on local antenna people would be appreciated.

Thank You

Andy

How about ditching the battery and running DC up to it, fed from an AC to DC adapter in the house?